Cantina Talk: Leia's Family Loves Episode IX, and a Rogue One Show Blasts Off
Who knew that the nearly two-year gap between Star Wars movies would see the space in fans’ hearts filled so completely by small-screen developments? Forget the multiplex—at least until December 2019, when Episode IX hits theaters—because a galaxy far, far away seems to be in your own home, or wherever you take your devices. (Or, you know, hotels on Disney resorts, but that’s neither here nor there.) Is this the future of a long time ago?
Episode IX is “Magical”
The Source: Billie Lourd, cast member (and Carrie Fisher’s daughter)
Probability of Accuracy: Subjectivity makes accuracy tough to gauge, but let’s take her at her word.
The Real Deal: There’s been a lot of talk about whether J.J. Abrams will use next year’s Star Wars: Episode IX as a potential “course correction” to Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and return the franchise to former glory. (An idea that is itself questionable, but one that Simon Pegg seems to share.) While the reality of that idea is unlikely to be clear until December 2019 when the movie is released, fans on both sides of the Star Wars schism were happy to hear from Billie Lourd, who told Entertainment Tonight that the final chapter in the trilogy is everything fans could want and more. “I gotta watch myself because the Star Wars PD is going to come get me, but it is incredible,” she said. “I’ve read the script and I’ve been on set. I was on set for, like, three weeks back in September, and it’s going to be magical.” Surely the word of Carrie Fisher’s daughter is going to carry some weight with the doubters.
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Rogue One Lives Again
The Source: Disney boss Bob Iger
Probability of Accuracy: When the boss of the company says it, it’s accurate.
The Real Deal: Good news for fans wondering whether or not it was worth subscribing to Disney's forthcoming streaming service for a single Star Wars series: There will actually be at least two, as Iger announced a new mini-series starring Rogue One’s Cassian Andor, with Diego Luna reprising his role from the movie. The announcement, along with Iger's revelation that the streaming service will be called Disney+ , came during an investor call, and sent waves of excitement throughout the galaxy. The series will take place before Rogue One for obvious reasons, and will focus on the beginnings of the Rebellion, with Lucasfilm describing the show as a “rousing spy thriller.” Production is set to begin next year, with a release date to follow at some undisclosed point.
The Mandalorian Unmasked
The Source: Official casting announcements
Probability of Accuracy: Stay on target. Stay on target.
The Real Deal: Meanwhile, things are moving quickly for The Mandalorian, the first of the Disney+ shows, with Pedro Pascal named as the lead actor in the series, and Deadpool and Fast and Furious 6 star Gina Carano also officially joining the cast. Carano’s role remains secret, like almost everything about The Mandalorian at this point, but expect that to change over the next few months, as the show nears its (as yet unknown) release date.
Episode IX Will See The Return Of A Familiar Face, Kind Of
The Source: Online rumormongering
Probability of Accuracy: While this isn’t entirely outside of the realm of possibility, it’s also not something that feels entirely likely. Let’s mark it down as an official Ehhh.
The Real Deal: Amongst all the unlikely rumors floating around concerning the plot of Episode IX—including, most recently, that Luke Skywalker will return in a non-Force Ghost form, and that somehow we’ll get to see Leia with a lightsaber—one report stood out as being simultaneously unlikely and curiously plausible. The idea that Matt Smith will play a young Palpatine in the new movie seems to suggest a flashback or several, given that Palpatine died at the end of Return of the Jedi, but it’s been pointed out by some that the no-longer-canon Expanded Universe contained a plot line concerning the clone of the Emperor causing trouble after the original’s death. While Star Wars has, indeed, borrowed from the EU in recent years—not least of which includes Kylo Ren and Rey, and bringing Thrawn into canon in the Star Wars Rebels series—would it really lift an entire plot line for the final movie of the new trilogy? We’ll find out in a little over a year, I guess.
The Mandalorian Will See The Return Of A Familiar Helmet, Kind Of
The Source: More online rumormongering
Probability of Accuracy: Unlike the Time Lord Palpatine scuttlebutt, this story seems far more likely—and would even if it wasn’t backed up by a set visit. File under “I can see this happening.”
The Real Deal: Although the new series takes place after the events of Return of the Jedi, a new report from The Mandalorian suggests that there’s a connection between the show and prequel movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story—namely, that Rogue One's Death Troopers be showing up to fight with the titular soldier. Quite what this means in terms of the larger mythology of Star Wars remains shrouded in mystery. Are the specially-redesigned Stormtroopers the last remnants of the collapsing Empire, or is this going to be revealed to be others wearing stolen armor for reasons that aren’t immediately clear? We’ll have to wait and see, but this much is known: Expect to see a whole bunch of cool armored fights in The Mandalorian when it eventually debuts on Disney+.