Alan Ladd Jr., Who Greenlit ‘Star Wars’ and Produced ‘Braveheart,’ Dies at 84

Rarely do we see actors that have appeared in both “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” franchises, but given that Lucasfilm is developing multiple live-action shows and films at the same time, there is going to be franchise crossover at some point. The third season of the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” is currently shooting in southern California at the central production hub, and a new casting addition sees an old ‘Trek’ actor from the original wave of films join the “Star Wars” universe.

Star Wars director J.J. Abrams.According to reports in The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and Deadline, Abrams and his Bad Robot Productions company are developing a scripted series for Netflix about the Bono-fronted band.There are reports that the script for the show is being written by Anthony McCarten, the scrip-writer behind Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody.As per The Hollywood Reporter, U2 are “expected to be involved and sanction the project.”NME has reached out to representatives of Abrams and Netflix for comment.Last November, U2 guitarist The Edge revealed that the band were working on a new album.The update came shortly after the four-piece released the track ‘Your Song Saved My Life’, their first new material in two years.Their most recent studio album, ‘Songs Of Experience’, came out back in 2017.

EXCLUSIVE:  Francis Lawrence is set to direct the feature take of Kevin J. Anderson and Steven L. Sears’ Stalag-X following New Republic Pictures winning the graphic novel’s rights.

Samuel L. Jackson is just as eager to get back to the Star Wars franchise as fans are for him to make a return. During a recent live taping of the  podcast, the star revealed that he's lobbied for his Jedi Master character, Mace Windu, to make a return much like how other past franchise stars have made it back into the fold in recent years.«There's a huge history of people with one hand returning in ,'» Jackson joked, referring to both Anakin Skywalker severing his character's right hand before his eventual murder by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, as well as the multiple Skywalkers who have lost a hand. Jackson played Mace in the  prequel trilogy alongside stars Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Natalie Portman (Padmé Amidala). He reprised the role for the 2008 animated film and voiced the character in 2019's The character has also appeared in various  books, comics and video games, as well as the television series voiced by Terrence C.

Star Wars spin-off series.In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Pulp Fiction star was asked if by Horowitz if he should hold out hope for a return to the role of Windu – a role he performed in all three of the “prequel” films between 1999 and 2005.“Definitely,” Jackson replied, adding: “There’s a huge history of people with one hand returning in the Star Wars franchise. The only person I’ve ever said that to about coming back was Bryce Dallas Howard, ’cause I just did a movie with her.

While fans of “Star Wars” and Lucasfilm would both argue that “The Mandalorian” is a NEW series about NEW characters in the galaxy far, far away, there’s an argument to be made that Mando (the character and the show) is just an excuse to continue to mine the characters and stories of the franchise’s past. Hell, we even got the return of a young-ish Luke “Uncanny Valley” Skywalker.

Zack Sharf The first trailer for Disney Plus’ upcoming “Star Wars” limited series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” was nearly stolen by a young Luke Skywalker, who briefly appears in the footage being watched by Ewan McGregor’s eponymous Jedi. The series, set 10 years after the events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” follows Obi-Wan as he’s thrown into a new adventure while keeping watch over Luke on Tatooine.

Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast, Jackson was asked if he’d be up for returning, considering how many other past franchise stars have made it back into the fold in recent years. His answer was a definitive yes, as he joked that he’s pretty sure Mace Windu survived his fall in 2005’s “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.”Jackson also acknowledged a certain trend in the area of returners as well.“There’s a huge history of people with one hand returning in ‘Star Wars,'” Jackson joked, referring, of course, to the multiple Skywalkers who lost a hand.

As we prepare for the highly-anticipated release of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” on Disney+ in May, it’s clear Lucasfilm has fully embraced “Star Wars” on your TV screen. But what about the movies? It seemed like Patty Jenkins was going to have her “Rogue Squadron” film coming next year, but that got shelved.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorEva Zaoralová, the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival’s artistic advisor and its artistic director for many years, has died, the festival confirmed Friday.

bad motherf – – ker.“The Marvel actor, 73, was gifted a purple lightsaber from “Star Wars” creator George Lucas after starring as Mace Windu in the Darth Vader prequels. And the color wasn’t the only unique thing about it: the weapon was also engraved with the letters “BMF,” or “bad motherf – – ker,” a nod to Jackson’s character, Jules Winnfield, in the 1994 action flick “Pulp Fiction.”But during an appearance Wednesday on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Jackson revealed that he didn’t request that his present have a reference engraved on it.“They did that because they loved me — I didn’t ask for it,” Jackson explained to host Fallon.“When the shoot was over, when they presented it to me, it had ‘BMF’ on the on-off button,” the “Glass” actor said of his gift.

Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ has been shared.The clip, which you can view below, begins with Ewan McGregor reprising his role as the titular Star Wars character on the sand dunes of Tatooine looking over a young Luke Skywalker before The Phantom Menace theme ‘Duel Of The Fates’ plays out.It goes on to show Obi-Wan’s new nemesis, Inquisitor Reva played by Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit), who comes face to face with Skywalker’s Uncle Owen, played once again by Joel Edgerton.The trailer comes after new images for the series were shared earlier today (March 9).Obi-Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after the events of the 2005 Star Wars film Revenge Of The Sith, where Kenobi witnessed the downfall of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.“We find Obi-Wan at the beginning of our story rather broken, and faithless, and beaten, somewhat given up,” McGregor told Entertainment Weekly of the new series.The show’s director Deborah Chow added of Inquisitor Reva that the character is “ruthlessly ambitious”, while Ingram compared her to the Grand Inquisitor and Darth Vader.“They share a common dark-side goal. They’re on the same team,” she said, before adding that “it’s all heart” in terms of Reva’s ambition.

Ewan McGregor hasn’t starred in a “Star Wars” project since 2005’s “Revenge Of The Sith.” In that film, McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi suffered arguably his most significant defeat: the corruption of his Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen. READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2022 Now, Disney‘s take on the “Star Wars” universe looks to explore what happened to Kenobi and Vader between the events of “Sith” and “A New Hope.” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the latest new “Star Wars” show on Disney+, sees McGregor and Christensen return in a new tale set ten years after the events of “Sith.” In the show, Obi-Wan lives in exile on Tatooine and watches over an infant Luke Skywalker, while Vader rules the Empire alongside Emperor Palpatine.

Veteran actor Mitchell Ryan has died at the age of 88.

Disney said Friday consumer streaming service, Disney+ will introduce an ad-supported subscription in addition to its option without ads in the U.S. starting in late 2022, with plans to expand internationally in 2023.

Oscar-winning producer and influential motion picture executive Alan Ladd Jr., who ushered in the "Star Wars" era of motion pictures, died Wednesday. He was 84. "With the heaviest of hearts, we announce that on March 2, 2022, Alan Ladd, Jr.

The Walking Stick, A Severed Head, Villain, and The Nightcomers. He returned to the US in 1973 to become Head of Creative Affairs at 20th Century Fox. In August 1976, he was promoted from worldwide production head to president of Fox’s film division.

Alan Ladd Jr, the Oscar-winning producer and studio boss who as a 20th Century Fox executive greenlit Star Wars, has died aged 84. Ladd Jr died on Wednesday, his daughter Amanda Ladd-Jones, who directed the documentary Laddie: The Man Behind The Movies, wrote in a Facebook post. No cause of death was given.