Tag Archives: Star Wars: Episode IX

Disney’s D23 announcements – The Force Awakens, Toy Story 4, Doctor Strange, Finding Dory and more!

If you felt that Comic-Con didn’t lift the lid on Disney’s upcoming works enough than D23 is for you. The expo of all things Disney enlightened us on all of their properties from Star Wars to Pixar to Marvel and all of the studio’s very own animated and live action features. Sadly there’s been no word on the likes of in the works projects such as Wreck-It Ralph 2, Frozen 2 or proposed remakes of Dumbo and Pinocchio. Firstly…

Pixar!

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After critical and commercial triumph of Inside Out, the studio is rolling out its slate of six upcoming movies. The Good Dinosaur will tell the story of an alternate reality where humans are the Earth’s secondary species and dinosaurs still rule. It comes from director Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy) and stars Anna Paquin (X-Men), Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading). November 25th 2015

THE GOOD DINOSAUR

Thirteen years after Finding Nemo, Finding Dory will pick up with the characters of the previous instalment when Dory finds herself in a marine study institute. Newly announced cast members include Hayden Rolence (Whom I Fear), Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) and Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) and Angus MacLane (Toy Story of Terror) direct the cast of Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen), Albert Brooks (Drive), Diane Keaton (The Godfather), Eugene Levy (American Pie), Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Dominic West (The Wire), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man). June 17th 2016

D23 Expo 2015

D23 Expo 2015

Toy Story 4 is also on the way and a teaser poster graced and it was revealed that it will focus on a love story between Woody and Bo Peep. John Lasseter (Toy Story 1-2) and Josh Cooley (George and AJ) direct while we expect Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Joan Cusack (Say Anything) and Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest) to star. June 16th 2017

D23 Expo 2015

Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) has long been developing a film centred on the Mexican celebration of The Day of the Dead. It has finally been given a release date and a title, Coco. No casting announcements have yet been made. November 22nd 2017

D23 Expo 2015

Another sequel on the way is Cars 3. No plot details were offered but we do know that John Lasseter (Cars 1-2) will write and we’d expect Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers) and Larry the Cable Guy (Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector) to reprise their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater respectively. June 15th 2018

D23 Expo 2015

The sequel Pixar fans have actually asking for will finally come out, 15 years after they asked for it. Assuming that the studio don’t want two sequels in the same year, The Incredibles 2 will head for a 2019 release. Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) will direct while we’d expect Craig T Nelson (Poltergeist), Holly Hunter (The Piano) and Samuel L Jackson (Avengers Assemble) to star.

Next up…

Disney Animation!

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Disney’s latest animation Zootopia will portray a metropolis populated by mammals. Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) were already set to star but the latest addition is pop star/actress Shakira. The directors are Byron Howard (Tangled), Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and Jared Bush (behind the creative team of Big Hero 6). March 4th 2016

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Next, the team behind Aladdin, Hercules and The Princess and the Frog arrived to unveil more from their latest work, Moana. Dwayne Johnson (Fast Five) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) will star in the story of a plucky young woman who is assisted by a demi-god to reach a fabled island. November 23rd 2016

D23: Disney Animation Announces Gigantic and Previews Dwayne Johnson's Moana.

The newest announcement was Gigantic. Tangled‘s Nathan Greno will collaborate with Frozen’s songwriters, Robert and Kristen Lopez to bring the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to Spain in the age of exploration. March 9th 2018

Following that was…

Disney live action (aka Worlds, Galaxies and Universes)

True life disaster thriller The Finest Hours will depict the struggle for survival of a group of sailors in 1952. Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm) directs with a cast including Chris Pine (Star Trek Into Darkness), Ben Foster (Lone Survivor), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Holliday Grainger (Cinderella) and Eric Bana (Munich). January 29th 2016

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The latest adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book was promoted by director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) as well as Oscar winning stars Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and newcomer Neel Sethi. The classic story of an orphan raised by the animals of the jungle also stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim), Bill Murray (Ghostbusters), Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects) and Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter). April 15th 2016

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Alice Through the Looking Glass will build upon the established world built in the Lewis Carroll books and the Tim Burton’s 2010 billion dollar hit. James Bobin (The Muppets) directs a cast featuring Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), Alan Rickman (Die Hard), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon), Andrew Scott (Pride), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Toby Jones (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Lindsay Duncan (About Time), Stephen Fry (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and Timothy Spall (Mr Turner). May 27th 2016

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Next up was the family fantasy adventure Pete’s Dragon, about a young boy who seeks refuge from his family with a dragon. David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) directs while the film stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Wes Bentley (Interstellar), Karl Urban (Dredd) and Robert Redford (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). August 12th 2016

Two films delivered no material as such but were teased or mentioned. Firstly, Queen of Katwe – a drama about a girl from Uganda who trains to become a world chess champion. Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and David Oyelowo (Selma) will star with director Mira Nair (The Namesake). 2016

Also, Disney’s new iteration of Beauty and the Beast was present. The reboot (telling the story of a relationship between a monstrous prince and a young woman) is directed by Bill Condon (Mr Holmes) and stars Emma Watson (Harry Potter), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Josh Gad (Frozen), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle), Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wonda), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) and Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings). March 17th 2017

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Finally, there was news from the fifth instalment of a legendary franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. This one will see Captain Jack in search of the trident of Poseidon. Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) was announced to be returning as Will Turner for the first time since 2007. The duo of Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) direct an ensemble including Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), Brendon Thwaites (Maleficent), David Wenham (300), Stephen Graham (This is England) and Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men). July 17th 2017

Marvel

We won’t include Marvel’s full extensive line up but two of their instalments next year. Because of the studio’s infamous secrecy, none of the material shown has made it to the public. Captain America: Civil War showed off its trailer to the D23 audience. Anthony and Joe Russo (The Winter Soldier) direct with a cast including Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Daniel Bruhl (Rush), Sebastian Stan (Black Swan), Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Tom Holland (The Impossible), William Hurt (Artificial Intelligence) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit). April 29th 2016

Doctor Strange is another of Marvel’s latest. Scott Derickson (Sinister) directs the supernatural thriller of which the recent concept art many likened to Inception. Marvel head Kevin Feige (Iron Man trilogy) could neither confirm or deny the rumours of Rachel McAdams joining the film but we do know that Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave). November 4th 2016

Star Wars

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens was heralded by this stunning poster from Drew Struzan – the legendary poster designer who craft iconic works for Back to the Future and Blade Runner. JJ Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness) directs a cast including Harrison Ford (Blade Runner), Mark Hamill (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Carrie Fisher (When Harry Met Sally), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Toast of London), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Adam Driver (Frances Ha) and Max Von Sydow (Shutter Island). December 18th 2015

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The first spin-off has had a full title announcement, cast reveals and first still. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has added to its ranks Alan Tudyk (Serenity), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Wen Jiang (Devils on the Doorstep) and Mads Mikkelson (Casino Royale). Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct with the cast of Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Ben Mendelsohn (Killing Them Softly), Diego Luna (Elysium), Jonathan Aris (Sherlock), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland). December 16th 2017

There wasn’t any news on Star Wars: Episode VIII – directed by Looper’s Rian Johnson and coming out May 26th 2017 – or the Han Solo spin off – directed by 21 Jump Street’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller and coming out May 25th 2018.

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It was revealed that the third and final instalment of the new sequel trilogy (Star Wars: Episode IX) will be directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) but the returning cast members are yet to be announced!

Colin Trevorrow rumoured for Star Wars

star wars episode 9 director colin trevorrow Rumor: Jurassic World Helmer Colin Trevorrow To Direct Star Wars 9

Disney’s ownership of Star Wars as taken the franchise in a new direction with five upcoming releases. With amazing filmmakers including JJ Abrams (Super 8), Rian Johnson (Looper) and Gareth Edwards (Godzilla), they’ve been poaching talent in – most recently Sony wonder-boys Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Jump Street). The latest rumour is that Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed, Jurassic World) has been tempted from Universal’s Jurassic Park series to Star Wars for Episode IX. Here’s the franchise’s schedule so far.

Film: Star Wars
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness
Release: May 1977
Oscar nominations: 11
Box-office: $775 million

Film: The Empire Strikes Back
Director: Irvin Kershner
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones
Release: May 1980
Oscar nominations: 4
Box-office: $538 million

Film: Return of the Jedi
Director:
 Richard Marquand
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Ian McDiarmid, James Earl Jones
Release: June 1983
Oscar nominations: 5
Box-office: $572 million

Film: The Phantom Menace
Director:
 George Lucas
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan MacGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Terence Stamp
Release: July 1999
Oscar nominations: 3
Box-office: $1 billion

Film: Attack of the Clones
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Natalie Portman, Samuel L Jackson
Release: May 2002
Oscar nominations: 1
Box-office: $649 million

Film: Revenge of the Sith
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Natalie Portman, Samuel L Jackson
Release: May 2005
Oscar nominations: 1
Box-office: $848 million

Film: The Force Awakens
Director: JJ Abrams
Starring: Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford
Release: December 2015

Film: Rogue One
Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Sam Claflin, Forest Whitaker
Release: December 2016

Film: Episode VIII
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis
Release: May 2017

Film: Han Solo
Directors: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Starring: ?
Release: May 2018

Film: Episode IX
Director: Colin Trevorrow?
Starring: Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow
Release: 2019

Damon in new rumour for Bourne 5, first trailer Downey Jr’s Judge, Dawson joins Daredevil and director confirmed for Star Wars 8

It’s been well established that the Bourne franchise, a series that began with a trio of action masterclasses (Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum) from Doug Liman and then Paul Greengrass with star Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan, Green Zone, Good Will Hunting) as Jason Bourne before Tony Gilroy turned it into an unintelligent mess in The Bourne Legacy with Jeremy Renner (The Avengers, The Hurt Locker, The Town) as all new spy Aaron Cross, will soon be continuing with its fifth instalment. The film was, however, pushed back till 2016 and its now rumoured that the delay was to accommodate for returning star Damon. While we’d love this to happen, its unlikely as the Oscar winner only expressed interest in reprising the role should he do it with Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) directing. I’d bet that the film’ll go on without them.

It’s hard to make early predictions for the next years awards season as so very few of the Oscar contenders by been seen by any audience, although Before I Go To Sleep, Magic in the Moonlight, Foxcatcher, Fury, The Birdman, Big Eyes, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Gone Girl and Interstellar are proving popular options. We’ve got our eyes on The Avengers/Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr’s return to drama in the hotly tipped The Judge. With director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Clay Pigeons) and acting ensemble of Robert Duvall, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vera Farmiga and Billy Bob Thornton, it sees a successful lawyer returning to his hometown to find his father, the local judge, at the centre of a murderous conspiracy whist the two try to bond. Find the first trailer here.

It’s awesome to see that Marvel and Netflix’s new collaboration on comic book adaptation Daredevil is building up a truly awesome cast of film stars. Charlie Cox (Broadwalk Empire, Stardust) portrays the titular blind lawyer, inheriting the role from the disastrous Ben Affleck, while Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket, Jurassic World) will take on the villainous Kingpin. Showrunner Stephen S DeKnight has now cast Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds, Trance, Sin City) in an unconfirmed role and suggestions from Marvel fans are stretching from Misty Knight to Karen Page to Elektra. We’ll be bringing you all the latest from Daredevil and the rest of The Defenders very soon.

2012’s genius time travel gangster thriller Looper currently ranks as our second favourite sci-fi film of the decade so far, only just beaten by Inception. Its director Rian Johnson (who also wrote and directed Brick, The Brothers Bloom and numerous episodes of Breaking Bad) has been heading for the big leagues for some time and he’s now landed his biggest gig of career yet. He’s officially been appointed to helm Star Wars: Episodes VIII and IX.

We couldn’t be more thrilled with the hiring. This follows the excellent appointments of JJ Abrams (Super 8, Star Trek Into Darkness), Josh Trank (The Fantastic Four, Chronicle) and Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) for Episode VII and the untitled spin offs. Abrams fans need not worry as he’ll still scribe the new trilogy just with the assistance of Johnson, Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back) and Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3). The rebooted series will star Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Domnhall Gleeson, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Peter Mayhew, Gwendoline Christie, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Oscar Isaac, Max Von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o and Andy Serkis.

Daredevil – 2015

Star Wars: Episode VII – December 18th 2015

The Judge – October 24th

The Bourne Betrayal – July 15th 2016