Jon Favreau Doesn’t Rule Out ‘Mandalorian’ Feature Film Spinoffs: “There’s No Rulebook Now”

Christopher Vourlias Christos Nikou’s “Apples” will represent Greece in the best international feature film race at the 2021 Oscars, Variety has learned.Nikou’s directorial debut, which opened the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival and was also a selection in Telluride and Toronto, is the story of a man struggling to recover his memory in the midst of a pandemic that causes widespread amnesia.

Amid his ongoing presidential campaign, Kanye West is still out here making music. If that sounds like something you're interested in, you're probably already familiar with his newest single "Nah Nah Nah," in which he fights for his masters and samples Star Wars.

Remember blockbusters? The closest anyone is going to get to that blockbuster feeling in Fall 2020 is the second season of Disney+’s flagship series, “The Mandalorian,” which dropped its premiere this morning, a little less than a year after the show debuted with the streaming service in November 2019.

Back in January, when COVID wasn’t a global pandemic and the film industry was operating as if everything was perfectly fine, it was announced that Timothée Chalamet was set to star as Bob Dylan in a biopic directed by James Mangold. Even if you’re not a huge fan of Dylan, the idea of Chalamet teaming with Mangold is enough to get any film fan excited.

Now that ‘Rise of Skywalker’ has been released on all platforms for what feels like 10 years already, the dust has settled on Disney’s “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, and we can maybe begin to take stock of what worked and what clearly didn’t. And we can also discuss what might have been, such as with the unmade ‘Episode 9,’ tentatively titled “The Duel of the Fates,” which is a story that actor John Boyega thinks could have better suited his character, Finn.

We’ve been talking about a new “Willow” project for over two years now. What started as talk about a sequel film morphed into discussions about a TV series, but time after time, there was nothing confirmed.

After a lackluster box office performance, despite fairly solid reviews from fans and critics alike, Saban/Lionsgates’ “Power Rangers” reboot film from 2017 marked the beginning and end of what was a planned revival for the franchise. Since then, the rights have been sold to Hasbro, who then purchased the eOne production company.

About a year or so ago, Bob Iger said, the future of “Star Wars” lay in television, at least new film franchises were up and running. Yesterday, in a restructuring of media and entertainment division announcement (read: more layoffs), Disney announced its “primary focus” for entertainment is streaming.

The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal has stated his desire to turn the Disney+ Star Wars spin-off TV series into a movie.The second season of Jon Favreau’s show is set to arrive on the streaming service later this month.Speaking to Variety for a new cover feature ahead of the release of the second season of The Mandalorian, Pascal said he would “love” to make a movie based on the show, but has yet to hear official discussions about the possibility from bosses.“I think that the work is so beautiful

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterLess than a week after Pedro Pascal wrapped production on Season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” the entire entertainment industry — and much of the world — effectively shut down in the wake of the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentRomania has chosen Alexander Nanau’s documentary “Collective” (pictured) to be its official entry in the International Feature Film category of the 93rd Academy Awards, while Ecuador has selected Paul Venegas’ “Emptiness” and Algeria has entered Djaâfar Gacem’s “Héliopolis.”Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina has confirmed that Jasmila Zbanic’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” will represent the country in the contest, as reported last week by Variety.The

Peter White Television EditorEXCLUSIVE: Larry Wilmore is closing in on the U.S.

YouTube personality James Hobson has finally done what so many movie nerds before him have dreamed about: He created a functional — and potentially deadly — lightsaber fit for a real Jedi.Many a “Star Wars” fan have tried to create a genuine lightsaber, but have only succeeded in achieving the look through the use of non-retractable metal tubing and light — in other words, a glorified flashlight.However, the self-dubbed “Hacksmith” employed what no builder has yet — the principles of laser

didn't set out make Pixar history.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentKosovo has selected Visar Morina’s “Exil” as its official entry in the International Feature Film category of the 93rd Academy Awards. It follows submissions by Bhutan, Taiwan, Ukraine, Bosnia, Ivory Coast, Georgia, Luxembourg, Poland and Switzerland.“Exil” had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and also screened at the Berlinale as part of the Panorama section.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorBruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories and Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder’s Snoot Entertainment have optioned the rights to Christopher Paolini’s To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. Paolini will adapt the book with his sister and collaborator Angela Paolini for the big screen.

Independent, Paul said that he was on day 12 of his quarantine period in Greece and that he starts shooting this week on the film.He admits that he’s ‘terrified’ about starting work on the film but he’s hoping to learn as much as he can from the experience.Paul said: ‘I suppose the challenges that make me nervous and excited about acting, which are the same for TV and film and on stage, is holding yourself to a certain standard and praying to the acting gods.‘You obviously prepare meticulously,

Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins has been tapped to direct Disney’s The Lion King sequel.The Moonlight filmmaker will replace Jon Favreau behind the camera, while Jeff Nathanson, who revamped the screenplay for the 2019 film, will again pen the script.A release date for the sequel has not yet been set.Jenkins, who will also produce the film, tells Deadline, “Helping my sister raise two young boys during the ’90s, I grew up with these characters.Did you watch Beyoncé’s Black is King?“Having the