Kathleen Kennedy Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

“Star Wars” fans have received a lot of news coming out of Star Wars Celebration Europe, being held this weekend in London.

Star Wars Celebration in London, Variety spoke with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy about some of the franchise’s future installments. Kennedy was keen to talk about bringing back Daisy Ridley’s Rey for a new “Star Wars” film, which was announced during an April 7 panel. “It was a pretty straightforward phone call,” she said. “I started out by just saying, ‘Hey, I think we’re getting near being ready.’ We’ve been talking a lot about what we’re doing in the movie space and I said, ‘I think we’re getting close to being ready. How would you like to go to Celebration?’ That was really the beginning of it. She was out of her mind excited.”

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer The past, present and future of Star Wars was on ample display on Friday at the Star Wars Celebration fan convention, as Lucasfilm unveiled the most robust look yet at the company’s plans for the hallowed franchise. As studio chief Kathleen Kennedy revealed three new feature films and first looks at four upcoming TV series, Lucasfilm made clear it aims to test just how far it can stretch the Star Wars galaxy: creatively, logistically and even historically. Starting with “The Phantom Menace” and concluding with “The Rise of Skywalker,” the previous nine “Star Wars” movies have all taken place within a roughly 70-year timeline, straddling the climactic Battle of Yavin in “A New Hope” that has served as the official fulcrum point for the franchise for six decades. Every live-action and animated spinoff TV series has unfolded within that timeframe, including the shows launched on Disney+: “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Andor,” “The Bad Batch” and the upcoming shows “Ahsoka” and “Skeleton Crew.” (“Visions,” an animated anthology series launched in 2021, exists outside of Star Wars canon.)

Back to the galaxy! Daisy Ridley will reprise her role as Rey in a new Star Wars movie set after the events of Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker.

return to play Rey in a new, untitled movie. Although the flick will be about Rey, the badass orphan heroine of Episodes VII through IX, it likely won’t be a continuation of the studio’s tentpole Luke Skywalker-Darth Vader series.Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Vanity Fair in 2022, “We are moving on from the Skywalker saga. That’s what’s taking a lot of time, discussion, and thought right now.”Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy says the movie, set 15 years after 2019’s “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,” will “tell the story of the rebuilding of a new Jedi order.”“My heart is pounding,” Ridley said on stage in London.

Earlier today at the Star Wars Celebration in London, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy announced three upcoming “Star Wars” films: one from Dave Filoni, one from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and another from James Mangold. Filoni’s film wraps up several storylines from Disney+ shows, while Obaid-Chinoy’s follows up on Daisy Ridley‘s Rey as she builds a new Jedi Order.

Daisy Ridley is set to reprise her hero role in an upcoming  movie.Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy made the major announcement Friday in London at the Star Wars Celebration event. 's Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is set to direct and Steven Knight () will write the script. According to a press release announcing the news, " will head into the future, with a new feature set 15 years after the last events of the Skywalker Saga.«It's ' first feature film since 2019's . Obaid-Chinoy is set to tell the story of rebuilding the New Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down.

Three new Star Wars films are officially in development, including one that will explore the origins of the Jedi Order. Star Wars Celebration 2023 is being held this weekend, and within hours of kick-off fans have been blessed with a major announcement regarding the cinematic future of the franchise.

Star Wars have today (April 7) confirmed that three new films are in the works for the franchise, while also revealing the film’s directors.The announcement was made at this year’s Star Wars Celebration in London by LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy.The first film in the franchise will be directed by James Mangold, who has directed this year’s upcoming Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny. This film will explore “the first Jedi to wield the force”, according to Kennedy (via Empire).The second will be directed by The Mandalorian co-creator Dave Filoni.

Daisy Ridley is back as Rey!

Star Wars has confirmed that actor Daisy Ridley will return to the franchise.The announcement was made at this year’s Star Wars Celebration in London by LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy.Kennedy announced that three new Star Wars films are in the works and that one of them would see Ridley reprise her role as Rey. Ridley played Rey in the final three Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga films.The movie that Ridley will star in will be led by Ms Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and will pick up 15 years after The Rise Of Skywalker ends.Ridley also appeared at the convention to confirm her role in the project.

“Star Wars” fans are enjoying their first look at the latest Disney+ TV series from the franchise, with Rosario Dawson reprising the role of Ahsoka Tano, which she introduced in “The Mandalorian”.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” during the Lucasfilm Studio Showcase at the Star Wars Celebration convention in London on Friday.Described as the final film in the franchise, “Indiana Jones 5” finds Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role as the legendary hero archaeologist grapples with a new era (1969) and new characters (Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays his goddaughter Helena Shaw). The globe-trotting trek will take Indy to Morocco and Sicily.

Star Wars” movie future just came into sharper focus: Daisy Ridley’s Rey will be the central focus of the first “Star Wars” feature film since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced at Star Wars Celebration in London on Friday. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) will direct from a script by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”). The film follows the events of “Rise of Skywalker,” and will focus on Rey as she builds a new Jedi Order. The project marks several major milestones for the franchise: Obaid-Chinoy is the first woman and the first person of color to direct a “Star Wars” movie. The Pakistani filmmaker won two Academy Awards for documentary short, in 2011 for “Saving Face” and in 2015 for “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,” and she most recently directed two episodes of “Ms. Marvel” for Disney+.

“Ahsoka” was unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in London on Friday, and unlike the footage shown from “The Acolyte” and “Skeleton Crew,” this one’s actually online for all to see.Ahsoka Tano made her live-action “Star Wars” debut in the second season of “The Mandalorian,” but was originally introduced in the animated “Clone Wars” and “Rebels” series. Wielding double lightsabers, she quickly became a fan favorite.

Ahsoka,” showcasing the newest adventure for Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s beloved padawan. The trailer was released as part of London’s Star Wars Celebration on Friday. The upcoming Disney+ series stars Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka, an exiled Jedi who was once Anakin’s apprentice before he turned to the dark side and became Dark Vader. The show will premiere in August, Disney confirmed at the event. Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Favreau praised “Ahsoka” showrunner Dave Filoni, who was joined on stage by Dawson and Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who plays Sabin Wren, a Mandalorian warrior, revolutionary and graffiti artist who first appeared in “Star Wars Rebels.” Also surprising U.K. fans was Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who revealed she’ll be playing Hera Syndulla from Rebels.

“Skeleton Crew” was unveiled to fans at Star Wars Celebration in London on Friday.The new, original live-action show’s origins actually date back to before Disney+ existed, as “Spider-Man: Homecoming” director Jon Watts pitched the idea to “The Mandalorian” creator (and Happy Hogan actor) Jon Favreau. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said Watts “really got the tone,” which is in the vein of the Amblin movies Kennedy produced for Steven Spielberg.The show is set in the New Republic era, and will follow a group of kids lost in the galaxy trying to find their way home.

“The Acolyte” to thousands of fans at Star Wars Celebration in London on Friday. The new live-action show hails from creator Leslye Headland (“Bachelorette,” “Sleeping With Other People”) and is set the furthest back in the “Star Wars” timeline for a live-action TV show or film yet.The series takes place between the High Republic era and the beginning of the prequels and tells the story of “the bad guys.”“I wanted to delve into the ‘Star Wars’ universe and I wanted to tell the story of the world I love so much from the perspective of the villains,” Headland said from the stage.

Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Celebration event has hit London, where Lucasfilm execs and creatives are currently revealing some of the projects the studio is set to blast into a galaxy far away.

Donald Glover has confirmed that Lucasfilm are discussing the possibility of a Lando Calrissian series for Disney+.The potential Star Wars series was first announced back in 2020, but further developments have yet to emerge.Glover is set to reprise the role of the titular character, having previously portrayed him in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars story.While the fate of the series is still uncertain, Glover recently confirmed in an interview that Lucasfilm is definitely interested in moving ahead with the project.Speaking to GQ, he said: “Lando is definitely somebody I’d like to hang out with. I mean we’re talking about it.

Donald Glover is opening up about playing Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story and let it slip that he has been in talks to reprise his role.

The Cannes Film Festival has confirmed that it will announce the Official Selection for its 76th edition on April 13 in Paris.

Cannes has confirmed that Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny will get its world premiere on May 18 at the festival.

Jon Favreau is talking about The Mandalorian, the Disney+ series set in the Star Wars universe. With the current third season almost over, the filmmaker is opening up about how long the show could last for.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Willow” TV series is done after just one season at Disney+, Variety has confirmed. The news comes around two months after the high fantasy series aired its eighth and final episode, with the show having debuted in November 2022 and airing until January 2023. “Willow” continued the story of the film of the same name, with Warwick Davis returning for the series in the title role of Willow Ufgood. The show was originally reported as being in the works at Disney+ back in 2019 and ordered to series in late 2020. Along with Davis, the cast of the show included Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, Dempsey Bryk, and Joanne Whalley. The official logline for the series states “In a magical world where brownies, sorcerers, trolls, and other mystical creatures flourish, the adventure continues, as an unlikely group of heroes set off on a dangerous quest to places far beyond their home, where they must face their inner demons and come together to save their world.”

EW in December. “It was not a decision that was ever made because we thought we needed queer representation in the show or that that was something we were intent on doing. What was clear was that we wanted to put at the center of this story a daughter for Madmartigan, who was torn between two people.

EXCLUSIVE: There will be no second season of Willow, Disney+’s live-action original series based on the 1988 fantasy film directed by Ron Howard. The news comes two months after the eight-episode first season of the show, which served as a sequel to the classic movie, ended its run on the streaming platform.

EXCLUSIVE: There is a disturbance in the Force.

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.

Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that as soon as Disney+ started in late 2019, Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, and the Disney apparatus rolled out an ambitious plan for more and more “Star Wars,” including animated shows. While some of the live-action series haven’t come to fruition yet, or at all (“Lando,” “Rangers Of The Republic”), the animated side of Lucasfilm has seen no bumps in the road.

USC School of Cinematic Arts alums Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Fruitvale Station) and Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Little) have joined the school’s Board of Councilors.

Filmmakers Ryan Coogler and Tracy Oliver are the newest and youngest members of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors.“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” director Coogler graduated from the program in 2011. “Girls Trip” writer Oliver is an alum of the Class of 2010.The Board of Councilors oversees strategic planning, development, and fundraising efforts for the film school.

Disney+ released the trailer for Tha Mandalorian Season 3 during halftime of the NFL Super Wild Card matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Star Wars spinoff from Lucasfilm will start streaming on March 1. Watch the trailer in the video posted above.

Gale Anne Hurd has been selected by the Visual Effects Society (VES) as the next recipient of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to visual arts and filmed entertainment. The award will be presented at the 21st Annual VES Awards on February 15, 2023, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel.

It wasn’t very well reviewed and disappointed at the box office, but in the universe of Star Wars fanboys, even Solo: A Star Wars story has its adherents (disclosure: I am one of them). So when NME took a tour through Ron Howard’s oeuvre with the director, the mandatory question about a sequel had to be asked.

Hollywood Commission chairperson Anita Hill responded today to the conviction of Harvey Weinstein on three sex crime charges by a Los Angeles jury that could mean a sentence of 18 to 24 years behind bars for the Oscar-winning producer. Many of Weinstein’s accusers have said they were lured to hotel-room meetings that they thought were business-related, but turned out to be predicates for assault.