Disney Investor Day was overloaded with announcements so we will cover the rest of Lucasfilm and National Geographic! Kathleen Kennedy continued with the Lucasfilm presentation with Willow. The 1988 fantasy film was directed by Ron Howard, could Bryce Dallas Howard be one of the series directors?, it takes place “decades after the movie.” There was a book trilogy, Chronicles of the Shadow War, that took place after the film. George Lucas worked on the story with X-Men scribe Chris Claremont writing the books starting with Shadow Moon (1995). It is a post-apocalyptic world with Willow taking the name Thorn Drumheller. Warwick Davis is returning to the series. Jon M. Chu is directing the pilot and Kennedy said that it will “shoot next March in Wales.” The series is set to debut in 2022. Next was another investor pause.
The theatrical release from Lucasfilm include the last Indiana Jones film. It is currently in pre-production with James Mangold as director. Harrison Ford will “conclude the journey.” It will film in late Spring 2021 with a opening on July 2022. The cycle of Indiana Jones seems to be like Star Wars with the fourth movie like the Prequels. So this new film look like the Sequel Trilogy. I’m happy with the original Indiana Jones Trilogy and don’t need other stories. What is promising is the film of Tomi Adeyemi’s 2018 novel, Children of Blood and Bone. Kennedy describes it as a “young African American girl’s quest to restore magic to her people, the maji.” It is set in the world of Orïsha which has divîners, the maji, and kosidán who don’t have magic. It is topical and is also inspired by the West African, Yoruba, culture. There is the second book, Children of Virtue and Vengeance (2019), of a planned trilogy. This has the potential to be at Harry Potter proportions.
Kennedy also discussed the new Star Wars movies. There is in development, the new Star Wars feature, from Taika Waititi who is “currently writing” it. He directed Chapter 8 of The Mandalorian and of course voiced IG-11. His take on Star Wars is promised to be “fresh, unexpected and unique.” He has shown that he can revitalize characters and worlds in the MCU franchise with Thor: Ragnarok (2017). There is a shot of a black diamond over an explosion and the dark profile of an X-Wing. The image reminds me of an Imperial superweapon called the Sun Crusher. It turns a star into a supernova destroying an entire system! This was in the first book of the Jedi Academy trilogy, Jedi Search (1994), by Kevin J. Anderson. It has potential with Waititi's writing and direction. It will be interesting to see what time the film is set in and the cast assembled for it. There is no mention of the Rian Johnson Star Wars or other films.
The next Star Wars feature film is Rogue Squadron directed by Patty Jenkins! She of course has been fantastic as a studio director with Wonder Woman (2017) and now Wonder Woman 1984! This is intriguing since Kathleen Kennedy was looking for a woman director and Jenkins is the first woman film director, not second unit, for Star Wars! I’ve waited FOREVER for a female main character X-Wing pilot, looks like this will happen in the movie! The film is set to open on Christmas 2023. There was an X-Wing novel series following Wedge Antilles that debuted with X-Wing: Rogue Squadron (1996) by Michael A. Stackpole. Also, a series of video games by LucasArts starting with Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (1998). Kennedy says the film is about the “new generation of starfighter pilots.” This may be about New Republic pilots like the young readers series introduced by Star Wars: Join the Resistance (2017) by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker. In all of these Star Wars movies and tv shows and I’m still waiting for Teek!
Lastly, we have National Geographic, an esteemed name in photography and documentaries. It was hosted by Courtney Monroe, president of National Geographic content. There was a preview of Cousteau that uses archival footage of the famous sea explorer. For scripted dramas in the Genius series, the next subject is Martin Luther King, Jr. Next is a four part series from James Cameron, Secrets of the Whales, narrated by Sigourney Weaver. America the Beautiful has exclusive footage using an 8k camera that shows wildlife. This was taken in a fighter jet going supersonic through the national parks. There are two series from Darren Aronofsky, Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, that has the actor undergoing tests on “how to stay young and healthy.” Welcome to Earth has Will Smith as host. The series follows Smith around the Earth, to extreme places like an active volcano, to diving 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. National Geographic is an interesting combination of Hollywood and the sophistication of Nat Geo’s resources. The Lucasfilm and National Geographic titles are some diverse and creative works that will draw viewers to Disney+!
#DisneyInvestorDay, #Willow, #ChildrenofBloodandBone, #TaikaWaititi, #RogueSquadron, #PattyJenkins, #Cousteau, #SecretsoftheWhales, #AmericatheBEautiful, #DarrenAronofsky, #LimitlesswithChrisHemsworth, #WelcometoEarth
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