Star Wars Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

during a quarterly earnings call on Tuesday. “The team is one that I have tremendous confidence in,” he began.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The theme of Disney‘s 2024 upfront presentation to advertisers Tuesday was “connections” — and not just because of the running bit started by “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Rob McElhenney, which involved their constant replaying of a five-second ad spot that said “Connections!” with a Disneyified logo and voiceover. No, the symbol of unity across Disney’s brands was made up of a slew of announcements from Marvel, and about such other high-wattage projects as “Star Wars,” “The Bear,” “Only Murders in the Building,” the “Wizards of Waverly Place” sequel series, “9-1-1,” Ryan Murphy’s new slate of FX titles and more franchises with intersecting talent. Disney kicked off the event when Oscar-winning “Poor Things” star Emma Stone introduced the Mouse House’s big boss, Bob Iger — a job like that would traditionally go to a top ABC star.

An iconic sci-fi star is joining a legendary science-fiction fantasy series. Sigourney Weaver, known for her turn as Ellen Ripley in the “Alien” series, has been cast in the upcoming “Star Wars” film, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” according to THR.

A month after Disney and Lucasfilm filed paperwork to have Gina Carano’s wrongful-discharge and sex-discrimination suit tossed out, the fired Mandalorian star has kicked back to keep her Elon Musk-backed legal action off the mat.

Selome Hailu According to director Prentice Penny, “Black Twitter: A People’s History” is something of a coming-of-age story. Chronicling a decade and a half of posts and news stories, the Hulu docuseries examines how culture and politics have been influenced by Black users of the social media site now known as X — a relationship that has evolved and matured over time thanks to changes in technology, the White House, the site’s ownership and more. “The big reference is ‘Star Wars,'” Penny says.

Patty Jenkins is giving an update on film projects she’s been attached to, such as Wonder Woman 3 and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.

Over the weekend, many celebrated the unofficial “Star Wars” holiday, May the 4th. While Lucasfilm didn’t announce anything monumental, the studio did release a trailer for the next “Star Wars” live-action TV series coming, “The Acolyte.” But that’s not the only “Star Wars” show coming in 2024, apparently.

It’s May 4th, and you know what that means. In honor of the annual “Star Wars” fan holiday (“May The Force”), Lucasfilm has revealed the new trailer for “The Acolyte,” and if you were maybe a bit underwhelmed by the secretive nature of the first teaser, well, this trailer rips off the mask, unveils secrets and looks pretty damn great.

Carolyn Giardina A half-century ago when George Lucas decided to make “Star Wars,” a core visual effects team was handed a sizable challenge: Figure out a believable way to transport audiences to a galaxy far, far away. Essential to that goal was the development of a new type of motion control camera system: built in a Van Nuys warehouse where the production filmed space-set scenes such as the climatic trench run.

Naman Ramachandran “Doctor Who” star Ncuti Gatwa leads the cast of a revival of Oscar Wilde‘s 1895 play “The Importance of Being Earnest” at London’s National Theatre. The play follows Jack Worthing, who while assuming the role of dutiful guardian in the country, lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algernon Moncrieff takes on a similar facade.

Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa and W1A’s Hugh Skinner will star in a National Theatre revival of Oscar Wilde’s play about courtships, betrothals, and confused identities. The Importance of Being Earnest also stars three-time Olivier Award winner Sharon D. Clarke playing the imperious Lady Bracknell.

Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis, has died aged 53.Davis paid tribute to Samantha in a statement, revealing his wife of 32 years had died on March 24.The couple, who first met on the set of Ron Howard’s 1988 fantasy film Willow, co-founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK.Davis told the BBC that Samantha’s death “has left a huge hole in our lives as a family”, adding: “I miss her hugs.”The Life’s Too Short actor, who also hosted ITV game shows Celebrity Squares and Tenable, described Samantha as his “most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career”.He added: “She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life she had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes.Davis said that with his wife by his side, he felt as if he could achieve anything, adding: “It was like having a super-power.”“Without Sammy, there would have been no Tenable quiz show, no Willow series. No Idiot Abroad Series 3.”The actor explained that it was his wife who persuaded Ricky Gervais to send him with Karl Pilkington for the third series of the hit travel show.The couple’s children, Harrison and Annabelle, joined their father in paying tribute, saying “her love and happiness carried us through our whole lives.

the BBC, revealing that his wife, whom he referred to as his “favorite person,” had died on March 24. He did not disclose the cause of death.“Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family,” the actor, 54, told the outlet.

Warwick Davis’ wife has sadly passed away.

Warwick Davis' wife Samantha has died aged 53. The Harry Potter star has since paid tribute to his 'favourite human', who died on March 24.

Critically acclaimed and Emmy-nominated, while it may not have matched the ratings of similar “Star Wars” shows like “The Mandalorian”—perhaps more adult and mature than expected— the “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” prequel spinoff series “Andor” was very adored by its fans. Already highly anticipated, the second season will be something special, according to the show’s creator/showrunner Tony Gilroy, who added to the hype.

Disney has stated the reason behind their decision to dismiss Gina Carano from The Mandalorian.Carano took Disney to court in February to attempt to win back her role as Cara Dune in the Star Wars spin-off series, as well as more than $75,000 in damages after the company terminated her employment in 2021 following posts she made on social media.In February 2021, Carano seemed to compare the treatment of the Jewish community during the Holocaust to that of people with differing political views, by reposting a controversial post made by a different user.On April 9, Disney filed the reasoning behind her dismissal, saying (via Deadline): “Carano’s social-media usage sunk to its nadir on February 10, 2021. On that day, she reposted an Instagram post from user warriorpriestgympodcast.

After years of waiting, “Star Wars” actor Ewan McGregor was able to finally explore his lone wolf Jedi Masters character in the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Disney+ series prequel. Initially envisioned as three films, Lucasfilm eventually pivoted towards a series in 2018, and some of the longer, darker ideas were scrapped.

Star Wars actor Billy Dee Williams has said that actors should be able to perform in blackface in a new interview.Speaking on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast, Williams recalled watching Laurence Olivier in 1965’s Othello, in which Olivier wore blackface to portray the title role.He told the podcast: “When he did Othello, I fell out laughing. He stuck his ass out and walked around with his ass, you know, because Black people are supposed to have big asses.”“I thought it was hysterical.

Daisy Ridley is ready to return to a galaxy far far away!

Lucasfilm is finally getting back to making “Star Wars” films, tasking director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) to continue the Rey Skywalker journey in the tentatively titled “Star Wars: New Jedi Order.” Actress Daisy Ridley will obviously reprise her role from the sequel trilogy, and Empire Magazine recently spoke to the actress, who talked about “owning” the role and generally less trepidatious about the part and the expectations around it.

After years of exile on planet Disney+, Lucasfilm’s plan to marshal “Star Wars” back to the big screen is about to take off. Just a few hours after “The Mandalorian & Grogu” landed a summer 2026 release date from Disney, another “Star Wars” film from director James Mangold is starting to take shape.

Brent Lang Executive Editor It’s going to take a live action version of “Moana” a little longer to swim to shore than Disney first expected. The film, originally slated to open in 2025, has been pushed back to July 10, 2026. That news came as part of a deluge of Disney release date announcements and shifting debuts.

While kept under wraps for what seemed like years, the “Star Wars” Lucasfilm series “The Acolyte” was finally revealed last month with the first trailer that pulled back the curtain on the series. Created by “Russian Doll” writer/director Leslye Headland, also known for raunchy R-rated comedies like “Bachelorette,” the trailer teased some of its influences, such as “The Phantom Menace” (it’s set 100 years before those events, the but similarities are undeniable), noir-mysteries and little bit of “The Matrix”-style kung-fu action.

Star Wars franchise filmmaker George Lucas has been revealed as the richest celebrity in the world.The director, 79, who has accumulated a $5.5billion fortune, topped the annual Forbes list of celebrity billionaires.Lucas, who was the executive producer, writer and director of the Star Wars franchise up until Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005, also produced the Indiana Jones film series.His production company, Lucasfilm was sold to Disney in 2012 for $4billion, and has produced the later films in the Star Wars series, along with other projects.In his early career, Lucas wrote and directed the 1973 hit, American Graffiti, for which he received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Picture.But it was 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the first film in the franchise, which would secure his success, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time and winning six Oscars, as well as nominations for Best Picture and Best Director.Lucasfilm have also produced two upcoming Star Wars spin-off series, The Acolyte, and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, both scheduled for release this year.Sitting at second place on the list is celebrated director of Jaws, E.T: The Extra Terrestrial and Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg, with a hefty $4.8billion.Others in the top 20 list include NBA star Michael Jordan, broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, Lord Of The Rings creator Peter Jackson, and singer Taylor Swift.Swift appeared on the annual list for the first time, in 14th place, following reports by Bloomberg last October that she had become a billionaire.The singer, 34, has broken multiple streaming, box-office and ticket sale records in the past year with the success of her global tour and the release of the concert film, Tay

Saber Interactive boss has confirmed the remake of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic is still in development following the shake-up at Embracer.A remake of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic has been in the works since 2021 but it’s faced a turbulent development. Originally, the remake of the 2003 game was due to be created by Aspyr Media before development was put on hold in 2022, following the sudden firing of two senior developers.Saber Interactive, which had joined the project earlier that year, then took over the remake.Updates have been few and far between, with Knights Of The Old Republic predicted to have a 2025 release date.

“Star Wars” is set to make a grand return this June with the highly-anticipated Disney+ series “Star Wars: The Acolyte.” A recent feature from Entertainment Weekly has shed light on the character played by actress Dafne Keen (“Logan”), a young Jedi, the Padawan of Lee Jung-jae’s Jedi Master Sol. The series revolves around the enigmatic murder mystery of multiple Jedi, a case that Sol is determined to solve.

For years, Ewan McGregor was forced to play coy or straight-up lie about a return to the “Star Wars” universe as the Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. But once the 2022 “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series on Disney+ aired, the actor seemingly couldn’t help but talk about it.

It’s no secret that Lucasfilm, in recent years, hasn’t had an exceptional batting average regarding films announced and projects made. The list of “Star Wars” films and series announced in recent years that haven’t come to pass is too long to list but includes an unrealized new trilogy from Rian Johnson, a movie from Taika Waiti that may or may not get made, “Rangers Of The Republic,” a still-unmade “Lando” series, Patty Jenkins’ “Rogue Squadron” (which may have some life in it still) and an unproduced trilogy by the creators of “Game Of Thrones.” READ MORE: ‘Star Wars’: James Mangold His Dawn Of The Force Film Will Pre-Date The Existence Of Jedi & Jedi Order Shortly after “Game Of Thrones” ended, creators and writers David Benioff and D.B.

Rose promised Jack she’d never let go at the end of James Cameron’s film, Titanic. And she lived up to that vow until recently, when the door that saved her was the top-selling item at “The Treasures from Planet Hollywood” auction, which ended Sunday.