Monday, May 11, 2020

Boba Fett Returns for The Mandalorian Season 2

For long time fans of the Star Wars Extended Universe, Boba Fett surviving the sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi was part of canon for decades. However, when Abrams couldn't be bothered with the EU so Disney shut it down entirely, that survival became an unknown again. Assumed because Disney isn't going to leave that character unused, but that survival was no longer canon. Until now.

The fan favorite character is joining The Mandalorian season 2 and will be played by a familiar face. Temuera Morrison will play the character. He was the same actor that played Jango Fett in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Keep in mind all clones were based on Jango and that Boba Fett himself is actually a clone that was raised by Jango as a son. As a result the return of Morrison to Star Wars make perfect sense. The role is considered small for the series but once he appears on screen, the possibilities for the character (and likely books, comics, etc to follow) will be endless.

Monday, May 4, 2020

May the 4orce Brings Star Wars Movie News

Happy May the 4th! While the celebration was muted due to Coronavirus, it did come with the finale of The Clone Wars and movie news. StarWars.com revealed that Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit) will direct a Star Wars movie. He will also co-write it with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917). There is no story plans, date or other details revealed other then its in the works. Considering the high level of mis-management of the movies by Kathleen Kennedy with directors replaced on more than half their projects (only JJ Abrams has gone unscathed), I wouldn't get too attached to this current plan until at least half-way through the movie production. I would say the most optimistic estimate for a release for the movie is late 2022.

On the cartoon front, now that The Clone Wars and Rebels is done, something needs to fill the creative vacuum. It seems Disney's plan is for Leslye Headland (Russian Doll) to create that new series for Disney+. Considering the average TV cartoon takes at least a year to turnaround from concept to final product, this new series is unlikely to premiere until at least Fall 2021, if not later.

Speaking of Disney+, the entire Star Wars movie and TV library is now on the channel instead of separated across streaming services. Good news if have a subscription, bad if don't. Welcome to the new normal of multiple streaming services that do not share their IP to their now streaming competitors.