And in other, totally unsurprising Star Wars: Episode IX news… Following this morning’s announcement that J.J. Abrams is returning to direct (and co-write) the trilogy finale comes word that the release date has been pushed back seven months from May 24, 2019 to December 20. Meanwhile, despite a change in directors and Ron Howard’s ongoing reshoots, the Han Solo spinoff weirdly remains the one Star Wars property that won’t be released in December.
J.J. Abrams has long since kept a hand in TV after his movie career, but Meryl Streep isn’t a name we expected to see on the small screen anytime soon, let alone together. So it is, that Streep is likely to lead a TV adaptation of breakout Nathan Hill satire The Nix, as directed and produced by none other than Abrams himself.
HBO’s Westworld has had its share of production setbacks (as of publishing, without a premiere date as well), but showrunner Jonathan Nolan insists that the sci-fi drama hasn’t undergone any re-calibration, only that the massive production requirements proved significantly more complicated than HBO thought.
If the ho-hum release of HBO’s Vinyl put a cap on the premium cable network’s difficulty launching a major hit in recent years, the well may run far deeper than we realized. HBO’s Westworld adaptation in particular may now end up pushed to 2017, reportedly owing to creative clashes with showrunner Jonathan Nolan.
J.J. Abrams revved up the engine on the ol’ Star Wars ship, launching the series on a new journey with The Force Awakens, but declining to return for the subsequent sequels. Instead, Rian Johnson (Looper) and Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) will be steering the franchise from here on out, directing Episodes 8 and 9, respectively. Johnson is in production on Episode 8 right now, and according to The Force Awakens star Daisy Ridley, the script is “very good.” How good? Abrams regrets turning down the chance to direct it.
By now, you probably know all about some of the cameos in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, like Daniel Craig’s secret appearance and the actors behind the voice of BB-8. But there are a couple more hidden cameos you most likely didn’t notice — as it turns out, Luke, Leia, Han and Admiral Ackbar aren’t the only classic characters from the original trilogy who appear in The Force Awakens, but J...
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