Tag: forest whitaker

Kathleen Kennedy Teases Future Saw Gerrera Development

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(SPOILER WARNING FOR ROGUE ONE)

The Star Wars character of Saw Gerrera who first appeared in The Clone Wars animated series and most recently in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — played by Forest Whitaker — is set to come full circle this January as he makes his debut on the DisneyXD animated series Star Wars: Rebels. But it seems Lucasfilm has further plans to develop Gerrera beyond Rebels in the future.

While speaking with Empire, President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy revealed we will see even more of the character in the future to come:

“To be honest, we originally thought we were going to develop Saw into something much larger, but we couldn’t accommodate it. So he is not in the movie as much as we would like to have him in the movie, which creates the opportunity to explore his character even further in our future development.”

Whitaker added:

“I’m curious about what else they’re about to do. Because they seem to really like the character, which is great!”

Whether it be a novel, comic, or some form of animation, there are several interesting points in Saw’s life that myself and surely many fans would like to see explored, one being the point in time (again, spoiler warning for Rogue One) when Saw is raising Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones). Jones, who has a sequel clause built into her contract, is still locked into the franchise for a future appearance if Lucasfilm comes calling. While there is no chance of her magically returning from the dead, Lucasfilm still has the opportunity to go back and tell an animated story of how she was essentially raised as a soldier by Saw only for him to abandon her at the age of 16 for her own safety.

Another interesting storyline for Gerrera would be to see the downward spiral of his health unfold. In Rogue One we see him in good condition when he rescues Jyn but later when she is taken to him on Jedha he relies on a ventilator to breathe and sports a robotic foot.

Hopefully, we will also get to see Saw’s extremist tactics and how he became a public relations nightmare leading to him splintering off from the rebellion with his own faction.

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SOURCE: EMPIRE

Forest Whitaker Returns as Saw Gerrera in ‘Star Wars: Rebels’

Entertainment Weekly has released a new featurette from Lucasfilm giving us a look at Saw Gerrera in Star Wars: Rebels just two years before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The series will take the opportunity to fill in some of the gap for Saw between The Clone Wars and Rebels.

What is interesting about Saw at the point in time he is seen in Rebels is that he is without his breathing apparatus and is still able to speak normally. Since Rebels will be exploring the connection to Rogue One with Saw, it’s possible we could see not only what lead him to his need for an oxygen device but also some of his actions that caused public relation issues for the Rebel Alliance, earning them their reputation as a terrorist organization.

You can watch the featurette below.

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SOURCE: STAR WARS

‘Rogue One’: “Hope” TV Spot

The marketing campaign for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is ramping up to the films release and today the barrage of TV spots has officially begun. After yesterday’s international trailer that revealed new footage, we now have a new international TV spot that offers a few glimpses at previously never before seen footage.

The TV spot offers an incredible look at a squadron of TIE fighters overtop Scariff as well as a shot of Donnie Yen looking as powerful as ever.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.

Produced by Lucasfilm, the film stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelson, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk,  Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker with a script penned by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, directed by Garreth Edwards.

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. In theaters December 2016.

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‘Black Panther’ To Begin Filming This January

The cameras are set to roll on Marvel’s Black Panther this January in Atlanta. Tammy Lyn Casting has put out a casting call looking for extras to populate the great nation of Wakanda which will serve as the setting for the film.

The cameras are set to roll on Marvel’s Black Panther this January in Atlanta. Tammy Lyn Casting has put out a casting call looking for extras to populate the great nation of Wakanda which will serve as the setting for the film.

The production is looking for athletic type extras experienced in African style drumming, Martial Arts and MMA, boxing, wrestling, military/weapons/knife handling, stick-fighting,

The film will shoot until May, set for a February 2018 release and stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, and Florence Kasumba.

Marvel’s Black Panther hits theaters February 16, 2018

‘Rogue One’: Official Character Posters Revealed

Lucasfilm just dropped a series of character posters from the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars story via the official Star Wars twitter account.

Lucasfilm just dropped a series of character posters from the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story via the official Star Wars twitter account.

The posters feature our heroic rebel spies as well as the film’s main villain, Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). Each poster also gives us a very short bio for each of the characters. Check it out below!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.

Incredible Fan Made ‘Rogue One’ Super Trailer

Science vs. Cinema has put together an incredible six-minute supercut featuring footage from every Rogue One trailer released thus far.

Science vs. Cinema has put together an incredible six-minute supercut featuring footage from every Rogue One trailer released thus far.

I feel like I have seen the entire movie at this point but anyone who still has doubts about the film because of the infamous reshoots should watch this. The supercut gives you a sense of how the film is going to flow — almost beat for beat in the scene where Jyn Erso is briefed on her Father’s involvement with the creation of the original Death Star. Bottom line: it looks absolutely incredible. Garreth Edwards seems to have made something worthy of being not just the first spin-off, but the backstory detailed in the opening crawl of A New Hope as well.

It’s fan made though so don’t expect a high production value. Some of the editing is a bit wonky as it’s cutting together scenes from multiple trailers into one but it’s easily forgivable. Prepare for your mind to be blown.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.

SOURCE: SCIENCE VS. CINEMA, SLASHFILM

‘Rogue One’: Poster Revealed; Official Trailer Tomorrow

The new poster features the entire cast set against the backdrop of the original Death Star.

The new official U.S. poster for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has been revealed! Over the last few weeks we saw both a Japanese and Korean poster which didn’t look too great, however. This new poster is fantastic and features the entire cast set against the backdrop of the original Death Star. The helmet of Darth Vader can also be seen in the upper right corner representing the looming presence he will have over the film.

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The poster was revealed today on The Star Wars Show by the film’s Director Garreth Edwards. But that wasn’t all, Edwards took this opportunity to announce that the final trailer for the film will be released tomorrow morning.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.

Felicity Jones on ‘Rogue One’ Reshoots

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actress Felicity Jones discusses her upcoming films Inferno, A Monster Calls, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actress Felicity Jones discusses her upcoming films Inferno, A Monster Calls, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Only two short months from now Jones will lead Lucasfilm into their first outing from the Skywalker saga with the experimental spin-off.

The film tells the story of Jyn Erso (Jones) and a band of rebel spies as they embark on a mission to steal the plans of the original Death Star described in the first paragraph of the opening crawl to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Rogue will serve as a direct prequel to the original classic and lead right up to the moments before Princess Leia’s Tantive IV is captured by Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer, “The Executor”.

Jones told THR her biggest inspiration for Jyn was Florence Welch of the british rock band Florence + The Machine. She spent hours watching music videos by the group as she crafted who the character was and describes the physicality Florence brings to her performances as her inspiration for the physicality she brought to the role.

So much of Jyn is movement. It became a very important part of finding her. She walks almost a bit like a caged animal. Her fight sequences become like dances.

In the trailers, Jones can be seen as she storms a beach crawling with AT-AT’s. The film has her taking on stormtroopers head to head, leaping from one piece of a set to another, and even coming face to face with a TIE Fighter as she smuggles the plans that the Rebel Alliance will later use when Luke Skywalker makes his attack run on the Death Star.

THR also managed to slide in a burn about the the film’s notorious reshoots which is getting old at this point and is just flat out ignorant. Jones commented on the controversy surrounding the film going back into production this past June.

Obviously when you come to the edit, you see the film come together and you think, ‘Actually, we could do this better, and this would make more sense if we did this. I’ve done it so many times. I mean, you wouldn’t just give your first draft on this story, would you?

Every blockbuster has reshoots.

What may have once been a reaction to pieces of a film not working is now part of the production, built into the schedule and the budget from the beginning. The difference with Rogue and what makes it concerning is that director Tony Gilroy was brought in to handle the reshoots rather than the film’s director Garreth Edwards. There was a lot of talk about Lucasfilm being dissatisfied with the tone of the film saying it wasn’t Star Wars enough. Rogue — from its initial conception was to be a war film. The trailers released for the film thus far evoke vibes of Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, and Apocalypse Now. My fear is that the film will suffer from a tonal clash. One train being derailed by another because of bad feedback from a focus group. At what point does Edwards’ vision and intention become compromised? Will the levity Star Wars is known for mix well with what Edwards has crafted?

To read the full interview with Jones where she also discusses her reluctance to join Inferno as well as the loss of her former co-star Anton Yelchin, head on over to THR.

Rogue One hits theaters December 16, 2016.

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Marvel Adds Forest Whitaker to ‘Black Panther’

Forest Whitaker is set to join an already star studded cast in the upcoming Marvel’s Black Panther. Announced today via Marvel.com, Whitaker will play the role of Zuri, an elder statesmen in Wakanda.

The film has also added Daniel Kaluuya (Sicario, Black Mirror), Winston Duke (Person of Interest), and Florence Kasumba (Captain America: Civil War).

Kasumba is going to reprise her role as the stone cold Ayo (Move or you will be moved), a member of the Dora Milaje—the personal bodyguards of T’Challah A.K.A. Black Panther. Kaluuya is playing the role of W’Kabe, a loyal confidant to T’Challah who in the comics was the head of Wakandan security and T’Challahs second in command. Duke fills the role of M’Baku A.K.A. Man-Ape. M’Baku is the leader of a rival tribe in Wakanda. He is the greatest warrior in the nation second only to T’Challah.

The film stars Chadwick Boseman in the title role as Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia and Danai Gurira as Okoye.

Marvel’s Black Panther hits theaters February 16, 2018