Tag Archives: Disney

The Mega-Blog

Star Wars Episode IX Will No Longer Be Directed By Colin Trevorrow

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In a bit of news no one really saw coming, yesterday it was announced that Colin Trevorrow is no longer directing Star Wars Episode IX. A brief statement was posted to StarWars.com about it yesterday:

Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon.

This, of course, isn’t the first time Lucasfilm and Disney have replaced a director on a Star Wars project. Most notably the Han Solo film has seen Phil Lord and Chris Miller replaced by Ron Howard, but even Rogue One‘s reshoots were directed by Tony Gilroy and not the film’s credited director Gareth Edwards.

Heck, Josh Trank got fired before we ever found out what film he was supposed to be directing in the first place.

According to THR, Trevorrow’s departure isn’t a shock. He’s apparently had trouble getting an acceptable script together, even with Jack Thorne brought in to help. Fortunately a departure this early in preproduction shouldn’t delay the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.

No word yet on who will replace Trevorrow, though according to both THR and Deadline, the likely studio favorite is Rian Johnson. Johnson, of course, is the director of Episode VIII The Last Jedi, which comes out later this year. THR also proposed that Episode VII director J.J. Abrams is also on the shortlist. All of that is speculation of course, as the studio will have only just now started negotiations with Trevorrow’s successor.

Episode IX is currently scheduled for a May 24, 2019 release.

Via StarWars.com, THR, Deadline

The Nerd & Tie Podcast

Episode 104 – The Rainwater Blues

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On this episode of Nerd & Tie we make our triumphant return to video! We talk about the Anime News Network hack, Disney planning its own streaming service, and Netflix buying Millarworld. Then we head to the con scene, where Angry Goat Productions is at it again (and using a different name), five GeekGirlCon staffers have quit claiming “reverse racism,” and Otakon had a rain drainage system dump all over their artist alley.

Yeah, that happened.

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The Mega-Blog

Star Wars Episode IX Gets a May 2019 Release Date

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The eighth episode in the Skywalker saga, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, may not be coming until later this year, but that hasn’t stopped Lucasfilm and Disney from wanting to tease us with the new trilogy’s conclusion. Earlier today Episode IX’s release date was announced by the studio, and unlike The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, it won’t be in December.

It’s now official that Episode IX will hit theaters May 24, 2019.

This isn’t the first film in the revived franchise to come earlier in the year, as the Han Solo anthology film will release in the spring as well (with a May 25, 2018 release date). These seem like much larger gambles though than the December dates that The Force Awakens and Rogue One enjoyed. As there was little January competition for the films, they remained in theaters longer, and saw better ticket sales. By putting out movies in May, the movies will face much stronger competition.

I guess we’ll find out how they’ll do.

Via StarWars.com

The Mega-Blog

Fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ Movie Delayed Until 2020

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Well, almost another year has passed, which means it’s time to check in on the progress of the proposed fifth Indiana Jones movie. We first heard rumblings about the movie in the spring of 2015, and last year we were teased with a 2019 release date. Well, this time we have some bad news for you, as it seems like you’re going to have to wait a bit longer.

Earlier today THR’s Borys Kit posted the following to Twitter:

The delay isn’t exactly the most exciting thing to hear, and we really don’t know why it’s happening for sure. Likely the the only reason for the move is to make room for the “Let’s pretend this CGI movie is Live Action” Lion King film which has now snagged the 2019 slot.

I think we’ll survive the wait though.

The Mega-Blog

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Has a New Trailer

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Disney decided to go back to the well for a fifth time with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and today they’ve dropped a new trailer for the film. Unlike the previous teaser trailer we got last fall, this one actually gives us some backstory for the film’s villain (and an explanation for why he’s after Jack Sparrow).

Honestly, while the rousing theme of “He’s a Pirate” gets me into the trailer, I have to question whether or not this entry will be worth it. The fourth movie was fairly disappointing, and recapturing the magic of the first three movies is going to be incredibly difficult.

But hey, at least Orlando Bloom is back this time.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales comes out May 26, 2017.

The Mega-Blog

The First ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Trailer is Here

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The first trailer for the fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise came out this weekend, and as it’s full of dead pirates taking over a boat hunting for Jack Sparrow, the series seems to be going back to its roots.

Honestly, while I knew on an intellectual level that this movie was happening, I think a small part of my brain was refusing to accept it. I mean, do we really need (or want) another Pirates movie? The original trilogy was pretty enjoyable, but the fourth installment was kind of terrible. Now in a world where Disney’s bread and butter is milking franchises, there was no way they were going to let this potential money maker collect dust.

Hopefully they do a better job this time around.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales hits theaters May 26, 2017.

The Nerd & Tie Podcast

Episode 79 – Mailbag Explosion

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This episode we go audio only, and dig into a massive pile of your messages to us. Before that though, we spend some time talking about Matt Ryan reprising Constantine in Justice League Dark, The Rocketeer possibly getting sequel/reboot, and actor Steve Cardenas calls out the organizer of Texas Comicon.

Yep, he seriously did it.

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The Mega-Blog

‘The Rocketeer’ Sequel/Reboot in Development, With a Black Woman as the Star

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The Rocketeer is probably one of the more underappreciated films of the 1990s. I mean, the premise of the film (and the comic character it’s based on) is simple — dude has a rocket pack and uses it to fight bad guys. It’s very much in line with the old jetpack/rocketpack Republic serials, and it’s just good fun.

And now it might get a sequel.

THR is reporting that Disney is currently developing a modern day sequel/reboot of the film, with the lead character being played by a black woman. Currently titled The Rocketeers, Brigham Taylor, Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil are producing the film. All of this is early, so things can change (and projects can get abandoned). I’m hopeful though, as I think this could be a pretty damned cool film.

Or at least the version I’m imagining in my head is…

Via THR

The Mega-Blog

‘Rogue One’ Going in For Reshoots, Stop Making a Big Deal Out of It

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So Disney execs have apparently seen a rough cut of the upcoming Star Wars anthology film Rogue One and have ordered reshoots over tone concerns. Some sources, of course, have freaked the f**k out decrying “panicked” executives.

But everyone needs to take a breath, okay?

It is true that there are tone concerns with the film — that it was too dark — and that it wouldn’t quite fit into the Star Wars franchise as a whole, but reshoots aren’t uncommon these days. In fact, it’s pretty damned clear the studio expected reshoots, as they had a rough cut of the film in May for a movie not coming out until December. Getting the first Star Wars anthology film right is important, and they want to make sure that they get it right.

And while it’s true the whole point of the anthology films is that they can be different kinds of stories than Episodes, Rogue One is set immediately prior to A New Hope and needs to mesh with that world. I do think Disney and Lucasfilm are putting too high of an expectation on this film though if they expect it to do as well as The Force Awakens (a movie fans had to wait years for), but you can’t blame them for hoping.

In any case, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out December 16, 2016.

Via THR

The Mega-Blog

Harrison Ford Will Star in Fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ Movie, Release Date Set

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Almost a year ago we talked about how Lucasfilm was contemplating a fifth Indiana Jones film. We knew literally nothing about it though, and words and phrases like “prequel” and “recasting Dr. Jones” got tossed around in the wild hypotheses of the Internet’s back hallways.

Well, it’s 2016 and concrete information is now available.

It turns out, it’s not a prequel — and the septuagenarian Harrison Ford will return to don the brown fedora and whip yet again. Steven Spielberg will direct, and the as-of-yet untitled sequel has a release date too: July 19, 2019.

I’m excited, but as I’ve said before I’m one of the few people who actually enjoyed Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It’s not as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark or Last Crusade, but it’s a hell of a lot better than Temple of Doom. Temple of Doom is literally one of my least favorite movies ever. I also really enjoyed cranky-old Harrison Ford in The Force Awakens, so there’s that too.

But I have a feeling I’m going to be in the minority on this one…

Via THR