Kevin Feige’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie Backburnered Alongside Patty Jenkins’ ‘Rogue Squadron’

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Liv Tyler is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 16 years after her last appearance. The actor will appear in 2024’s “Captain America: New World Order,” reprising her role from 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” as scientist Betty Ross, the daughter of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. That role was originated by the late William Hurt, who reappeared several times for Marvel Studios, starting with 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” in which Ross had become Secretary of State. Harrison Ford is stepping into the role of Thaddeus Ross for “New World Order,” in which the character has become President of the United States.

Zachary Levi isn’t having such a great couple of weeks, is he? Obviously, he was hoping “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” would be a massive hit and that would force James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-CEOs of DC Studios, to somehow work the character into their new slate of projects. Alas, that’s far from the truth.

The Walt Disney Company is facing “serious consequences” and possible legal action over the pink slipping this week of Marvel VFX chief Victoria Alonso.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is set to write the screenplay for a new Star Wars film, according to reports.As reported by Variety, original screenwriters Damon Lindelof (Lost) and Justin Britt-Gibson have departed the project, with Knight on board as a replacement.The untitled film, which is expected to be among Lucasfilm’s first Star Wars films since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel).More information about the project is expected to be announced at Star Wars Celebration in London on April 7-10.Along with Peaky Blinders, Knight is known for writing and directing 2013 films Locke starring Tom Hardy and Hummingbird with Jason Statham.

This week it was revealed that Lucasfilm had lost writers screenwriters Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, as the pair left last month after working on the script for the latest “Star Wars” film, with two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel“) attached to direct.

Victoria Alonso was overwhelmed.   The veteran Marvel Studios executive and producer of the nominated film “Argentina, 1985” was stopped on the red carpet, posing for photographers assigned to capture top executives on Hollywood’s big night. But something shocked her.   “Look at this! Two women!” Alonso said of the female photographers hired for the gig (as in most corners of Hollywood, women are outnumbered by men on the photo line). Emotional, Alonso insisted the pair put down their cameras and pose for a photo with her in front of a giant Oscar statuette. As they all smiled, she told them, “We’ve worked so hard to get here, and we’re not going anywhere.”  

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight is set to write the screenplay for the untitled “Star Wars” movie that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) is attached to direct, as original screenwriters Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson have departed the project, Variety has confirmed. The movie is widely expected to be among Lucasfilm’s first “Star Wars” films since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” More information about the movie, including a possible title, is expected to be announced at the Star Wars Celebration in London in April. (A representative for Lucasfilm did not respond to a request for comment.)

The next “Star Wars” movie, to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chino, has lost its screenwriters. TheWrap has confirmed that Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson (“Counterpart”) have left the untitled, unannounced project.“’Star Wars’ scripts are a lot like James Bond scripts or most tentpoles for that matter.

she left the business this past Friday. While the reasons are unclear, the move has taken the industry by surprise.Alonso was influential within Marvel Studios, and was one of boss Kevin Feige’s key lieutenants.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Elizabeth Olsen has no idea when she will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, but she’s hoping her character finds humor and redemption whenever that time comes. Scarlet Witch was the villain of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which ended with the character being crushed under a collapsing building after she sacrificed herself to destroy the Darkhold, the evil book of sorcery that had corrupted her. “We can do anything with her now!” Olsen recently told ScreenRant about Scarlet Witch’s next appearance. “I feel like we’ve done so much. Now, we can really have fun; I feel like there’s a lot more humor to be had with her. She’s often the emotion of a story, and I’m curious to see what we can explore. And hopefully [we can] give her some redemption.”

Star Wars universe is in rude health following a string of well-received Disney+ tv shows but the franchise hasn’t released a full-length movie since 2019’s The Rise Of Skywalker.Following Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars in 2012, work began on a sequel trilogy and the original plan was to release one full film every year, starting with 2015’s The Force Awakens and including spin-offs Rogue One and Solo.However, following the mixed reception to The Rise Of Skywalker, Disney seems to be focusing more on its acclaimed television universe. Season three of The Mandalorian is currently being released onto the streamer with Ahsoka set to premiere later this year.Jude Law’s Skeleton Crew is also due for release in 2023 and there’s a second season of Andor in the works alongside a series focusing on original trilogy hero Lando Calrissian.The next Star Wars movie is currently due for release December 2025.

Despite the historic Best Director wins by Chloe Zhao and Jane Campion over the past couple of years at the Oscars, this year’s nominees proved that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make sure women filmmakers are recognized in the same way as their male counterparts. And for someone like Patty Jenkins, a filmmaker who has been in the business for decades, it’s disheartening to see one step forward and two steps back when it comes to the Academy recognizing women directors at the Oscars.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Ruth E. Carter has become the first Black woman to win two Oscars. Carter, who in 2019 became the first Black person to win the Oscar for costume design for her work on Marvel’s “Black Panther,” was recognized for the film’s sequel, “Wakanda Forever.” In her speech, she thanked director Ryan Coogler and asked late “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman to look after her own mother, who recently died at 101. “Nice to see you again,” Carter said as she took the stage. “Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman. She endure, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film. She is my mother. This past week, Mable Carter became an ancestor. This film prepared me for this moment. Chadwick, please take care of Mom. Ryan Coogler, Nate Moore, thank you both for your vision. Together, we are reshaping how culture is represented. The Marvel family, Kevin Feige, Victoria Alonso, Louis D’Esposito and their arsenal of genius, thank you. I share this with many dedicated artists whose hands and hearts helped manifest the costumes of Wakanda and Talokan. This is for my mother. She was 101.”

K.J. Yossman The first panels and guests for Star Wars Celebration London have been unveiled. The official fan event, which switches each year between the U.S. and an international location, is headed to London, U.K. From April 7-10, the Force is set to take over the ExCel exhibition center in London. Among the highlights are the Lucasfilm Studio Showcase on Friday, April 7, which promises the “current crop of live-action filmmakers” as well as special guests to discuss “Star Wars” projects including “The Mandalorian, “Andor” and more. On Saturday, the Lucasfilm team will give fans a sneak peak at the upcoming “Ahsoka” series, with exec producers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau on hand to share some secrets while on Monday Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen and Indira Varma will make an appearance to discuss “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

EXCLUSIVE: There is a disturbance in the Force.

There’s a minor disturbance in the force, but there always is when it comes to Lucasfilm and “Star Wars” Celebration. And what we mean by that is Lucasfilm always makes major “Star Wars” updates at Celebration—which is coming up in April of this year in the U.K.—and the nature of development over at the company, which has been admittedly a little rocky over the last few years, means, some projects go forward and some get nixed (and honestly, this is a better approach than just releasing a movie with a weak script because it has a release date like a lot of blockbusters).

The Jojo Rabbit Oscar winner is in talks to potentially star in his own Star Wars movie, however, Taika Waititi is still working on the script. It’s very early days for his Star Wars movie, like several projects that Lucasfilm has in the works.

Two longtime Star Wars projects have been officially shelved.

There’s a minor disturbance in the force, but there always is when it comes to Lucasfilm and “Star Wars” Celebration. And what we mean by that is Lucasfilm always makes major “Star Wars” updates at Celebration—which is coming up in April of this year in the U.K.—and the nature of development over at the company, which has been admittedly a little rocky over the last few years, means, some projects go forward and some get nixed (and honestly, this is a better approach than just releasing a movie with a weak script because it has a release date like a lot of blockbusters).

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer When Jon Favreau stepped onto the red carpet for the Season 3 premiere of “The Mandalorian” on Feb. 28, the Disney+ show’s creator and executive producer was feeling nostalgic. “It’s been a while since we’ve been all together here like this,” Favreau told Variety, evoking the November 2019 premiere for the launch of the show — and of Disney+ itself. “It was before the first episode aired!” At that time, “The Mandalorian” was a scrappy landspeeder in the vast “Star Wars” galaxy, nipping at the heels of “The Rise of Skywalker,” the culminating feature film from director J.J. Abrams that was expected just a month later to obliterate the box office like a cinematic Death Star. Instead, “The Mandalorian” became a global sensation thanks to the incandescent cuteness of Baby Yoda, blasting Disney+ into light-speed with 26.5 million subscribers in its first six weeks.