Welcome to our weekly roundup of news. Early this week I was beginning to wonder if maybe I’d have nothing to report, but Star Wars came through in a big way in time for this post.
This week’s addition to the Star Wars canon from our folks at Del Rey Books is Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Alliances. The new book is getting rave reviews from fans of the Thrawn of Legends as well as those who were only introduced to the character via his appearances on Star Wars Rebels. Have a look at our Staff’s GO/NO GO article, and Bria’s REVIEW to know more about this newest adventure featuring our favorite Chiss Grand Admiral.
For those of you who follow Lucasfilm’s parent company, Disney, on the corporate level, it is important to note that this week the contentious acquisition of much of the Murdoch media empire was finalized. The $71.3 billion purchase includes film properties such as Avatar and the X-Men series, television including The Simpsons and This is Us, the FX family of cable networks and National Geographic, and the streaming service Hulu. The deal must be approved by regulators in more than a dozen countries, but has been approved by shareholders in the US and abroad.
The big news out of Lucasfilm this week was the announcement of the principal cast for the next (and reportedly final) episode in the Skywalker saga. Sequel Trilogy stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac were no surprise. TFA and TLJ veterans Domnhall Gleeson, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Billie Lourd, and Lupita Nyong’o will also be returning. New cast members announced include The Americans’ Keri Russell, well-known British character actor Richard E. Grant, and 2017 BIFA Most Promising Newcomer award winner Naomi Ackie.
While I was pleased as punch to hear of both the returning cast and the newcomers, it was the news of certain members of the Original Trilogy cast that got me gushing. Mark Hamill’s return to the role of Luke Skywalker has many people speculating as to whether he will appear in flashbacks or as a Force Ghost to live up to his iconic pledge to “see ya ’round, kid”. Either way, fans will once again get to see Luke Skywalker on screen, and that is never a bad thing. Anthony Daniels will once again don his signature golden plates as C-3PO. And in a delightful surprise, it has been announced that Billy Dee Williams will once again bring Lando Calrissian to the screen.
But the news that had me in tears was that the role of Leia Organa will once again be played by the late Carrie Fisher. Since Carrie’s untimely passing in December of 2016, there has been much speculation as to what would happen to the character in the final episode of the saga. Director J. J. Abrams has announced that there is enough existing footage of Fisher’s Leia to tell her story to its conclusion. The choice to use existing footage (and likely ADR) possibly alongside body and photo doubles as opposed to digitally re-creating the actress in total or re-casting the role was the one I was hoping the team would make and has been signed off on by Carrie’s daughter, Billie and her brother, Todd.
John Williams will be scoring the film.
Principal Photography on Episode IX is slated to begin August 1 at Pinewood Studios in London.
The film’s release is currently scheduled for December of 2019.
That’s it for this week’s news from a Galaxy Far, Far Away. Send Star Wars news tips to us here at Tosche Station and send Carrie Fisher feels to @MandaTheGinger.
