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      The Biggest Casting News From Disney’s Investor Day

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe Biggest Casting News From Disney’s Investor Day“Black Panther 2” will not recast King T’Challa. Harrison Ford is picking up the hat and whip again. And “Star Wars” recruited Rosario Dawson for her own show.Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira in the 2018 film “Black Panther.” Disney will not recast King T’Challa in the wake of Mr. Boseman’s death, the company announced.Credit…Marvel Studios/Disney, via Associated PressDec. 11, 2020Updated 6:27 p.m. ETIn unveiling a huge raft of content coming to theaters and its streaming service at a four-hour investor presentation on Thursday, Disney announced major cast news for many of its highest profile properties, including Pixar, Marvel and “Star Wars.”Each division of Disney’s entertainment empire brought big names to the table, though some landed with a bigger splash than others. Film and TV fans will have a hard time missing what’s coming.Here are some of the biggest casting announcements for Disney’s film and streaming projects:Marvel will not recast King T’Challa in “Black Panther,” first played by Chadwick BosemanPerhaps the biggest news at the event was a decision not to make a casting announcement. Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, said that, after the indelible mark that Chadwick Boseman, who died this year, made playing King T’Challa in the 2018 movie “Black Panther,” Marvel would not recast the role out of respect for the actor’s legacy. The film’s sequel, however, is still scheduled for release on July 8, 2022, with the director Ryan Coogler and much of the original cast returning.Mr. Boseman died at 43 on Aug. 28 of colon cancer. The news stunned the industry and fans, some of whom mounted a campaign demanding that Disney not recast the role. In a tribute shared with The Hollywood Reporter, Mr. Coogler wrote, “It is with a heavy heart and a sense of deep gratitude to have ever been in his presence, that I have to reckon with the fact that Chad is an ancestor now. And I know that he will watch over us, until we meet again.”Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Credit…ILM/Lucasfilm LTD, via 20th Century FoxHayden Christensen will again play Darth VaderIn the upcoming “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series for Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, the actor Hayden Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker, this time behind the mask of Darth Vader. The series will take place 10 years after the events of the 2005 movie “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” with Mr. Christensen starring opposite Ewan McGregor’s title character.After starring in two of George Lucas’s prequels to the original “Star Wars,” Mr. Christensen largely moved on to other projects. He did not completely part from the franchise, though: Die-hard fans could make his voice out at the end of last year’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” “Obi-Wan Kenobi” will debut in 2022.Amy Adams returns as Princess GiselleAmy Adams — who has been nominated for six Academy Awards — will reprise her role from the 2007 revisionist fairy tale “Enchanted” in a follow-up titled “Disenchanted” for Disney+.In The New York Times’s review of the original film, the critic Manohla Dargis called Ms. Adams “superb,” adding that she was an “irresistibly watchable screen presence and a felicitous physical comedian.”Harrison Ford in the 2008 film “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”Credit…David James/Paramount PicturesHarrison Ford will play Indiana Jones one last timeThe fifth and final “Indiana Jones” film is officially in preproduction, and Harrison Ford will, of course, play the title role. The director of “Logan” and “Ford v Ferrari,” James Mangold, will lead the project. Not much else is known about the film so far, other than that there will need to be a hat and a whip.The new Indy film is set to reach theaters in July 2022.Chris Evans will play Buzz Lightyear. No, the real Buzz Lightyear.Chris Evans, best known for playing Captain America and that guy with the great sweater in Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out,” will play the starring role in Pixar’s “Lightyear,” set for a release on June 17, 2022. The film will set out to explore the back story of the human whose likeness was turned into the toy that Tim Allen played in the “Toy Story” series. You get it.Rosario Dawson gets her own “Star Wars” seriesRosario Dawson will star in “Ahsoka,” a Disney+ series that, along with “Rangers of the New Republic,” will be a spinoff from “The Mandalorian.”Ms. Dawson first appeared in a “Star Wars” feature, “The Mandalorian,” only weeks ago, as Ahsoka Tano, a character whose exploits “Star Wars” fans have followed from the 2008 film “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” to the more recent animated series “Star Wars Rebels.” The new series doesn’t yet have a release date.Whoopi Goldberg, right, in “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.”Credit…Buena Vista PicturesWhoopi Goldberg signs on for “Sister Act 3”Whoopi Goldberg, who played the iconic Deloris Van Cartier in “Sister Act” nearly 30 years ago, will star in and produce “Sister Act 3” for Disney+. The writer-director Tyler Perry will produce alongside her.“Sister Act” was one of the top grossing movies of 1992, and went on to inspire a sequel and a Tony-nominated Broadway musical. “Ms. Goldberg starts out with some tough talk, but this turns out to be one of her ultra-lovable roles,” the Times critic Janet Maslin said in a review of the original.John Mulaney and Andy Samberg will play Rescue RangersThe “SNL” alumni John Mulaney and Andy Samberg will play the title roles in “Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers,” a live-action-animated hybrid heading to Disney+.The film will be an update on the 1989 animated series of the same name, wherein two chipmunks start a detective agency. It was a different time. Akiva Schaffer, a member of The Lonely Island with Samberg, will direct.Tatiana Maslany in “Orphan Black.” For Disney, she will play the character She-Hulk, a lawyer.Credit…Ian Watson/BBC AmericaTatiana Maslany will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as She-HulkTatiana Maslany, best known for award-winning turns as several clones on the BBC’s “Orphan Black,” will star in the upcoming Marvel series “She-Hulk” on Disney+. The series will involve her character, Jennifer Walters, taking on superhero-related legal cases.Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk in the Marvel movies, will also appear, along with Tim Roth, who played the Abomination in the 2008 movie — pre-Ruffalo entry in the series — “The Incredible Hulk.”HBO meets Marvel in Ant-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaThe stars of a few recent prestige dramas on HBO will appear in the next “Ant-Man” film. Jonathan Majors, a lead of “Lovecraft Country,” will appear as the villain in the movie, playing the classic Marvel character Kang the Conqueror. Kathryn Newton, who played a rebellious teenager opposite Reese Witherspoon in “Big Little Lies,” will play Cassie Lang, who comic fans know goes on to become the superhero Stature.Warwick Davis will reprise his role from WillowWarwick Davis will star as the title character in a sequel series to the 1988 cult classic “Willow” on Disney+, set to air in 2022.The original film, conceived by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, involved a farmer and would-be sorcerer, Willow Ufgood, tasked with helping an infant — the future empress of the realm — fulfill her destiny. Val Kilmer helps them out. The series will take place years after the film’s events.Christian Bale goes from Dark Knight to God ButcherChristian Bale, who donned superhero tights for three Batman movies, has officially joined the cast of “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the fourth installment in the “Thor” series and the second from the director Taika Waititi. Mr. Bale will play Gorr the God Butcher, a being who wants to kill all of the gods. Straightforward stuff, really. The film is scheduled for release on May 6, 2022.Hailee Steinfeld may be the next HawkeyeHailee Steinfeld, who could last be heard in “Spider-Man: Enter the Spider-Verse” as Gwen Stacy, will appear alongside Jeremy Renner in Marvel’s “Hawkeye” series, airing on Disney+ next year. She plays Kate Bishop, who in the comics takes the Hawkeye name for herself.Ms. Steinfeld has already been spotted in set photos from the series:Happy birthday, Ms. Steinfeld.Multiple series will deal with Tony Stark’s legacyDon Cheadle, already busy picking up Emmy nominations for his work in the Showtime series “Black Monday,” will star as James Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine, in a new series called “Armor Wars.” No longer playing second fiddle to Iron Man after Tony Stark’s death in “Avengers: Endgame,” his character will instead have to deal with, according to Mr. Feige, what happens when Stark’s tech falls into the wrong hands — something of a trend for Stark Industries.Dominique Thorne, whose film debut was in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” will star in “Ironheart,” Marvel’s first series featuring a Black female lead. The actress will play Riri Williams, a young inventor who reverse-engineers Iron Man armor to protect her neighborhood.Finally, Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn will return as Nick Fury and Talos in a Disney+ series based on Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” comics event. The series explored what happened when Marvel’s superheroes were replaced by Skrulls, the aliens first seen in the 2019 film “Captain Marvel.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2, Episode 7 Recap: Face-off on Morak

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe Mandalorian‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2, Episode 7 Recap: Face-off on MorakMando joins forces with an old enemy, just one of several major compromises he makes in hopes of rescuing Grogu.Mando and Boba (Pedro Pascal, left, and Temuera Morrison) took on the Empire together again, with a little help this time from a certain red-headed rogue.Credit…Lucasfilm Ltd.Dec. 11, 2020Season 2, Episode 7: ‘The Believer’It was bound to happen. All season long, Mando has been suffering loss after loss. The Child’s floating transport-egg? Totaled. The Razor Crest? Destroyed. Grogu himself? Kidnapped. So it was inevitable that at some point, Mando was going to have to give up what has mattered to him more than anything for most of his life: his helmet.About a third of the way through “The Believer,” Din Djarin realizes that the only way for him to infiltrate an Imperial refinery — and thus to obtain the information he needs to rescue Grogu — is to shed his near-impenetrable beskar shell and go undercover as a stormtrooper. He does get to stay masked, at least. He puts on a pathetic-looking helmet, with the little frown etched into the face-plate that’s common to the Empire’s armor. But as soon as he dons the gear, his body stiffens and he lapses into silence. The Mandalorian no longer feels like a Mandalorian.It gets worse. Once Din arrives in the facility, he discovers that he’s going to have to access a communications terminal that requires a face-scan. He makes one sad, fruitless attempt at keeping his stormtrooper disguise on while doing the scan, but immediately a warning alarm sounds, and he has to remove the helmet. For only the second time in this series, the actor Pedro Pascal — the star of “The Mandalorian” — shows his face.I could quibble with the narrative logic that led to this moment. We’re told early on that the Imperial base on the mining planet of Morak is protected by various devices which identify and weed out wanted fugitives. No one has seen Din’s face, so no scanners would register him as an outlaw. But wouldn’t it make sense for a scanner at an Imperial outpost to make sure the faces it’s scanning belong to actual Empire employees?I have no complaints, though, about the emotional punch of the scanner scene. It pains the Mandalorian to reveal himself — and it’s painful to see him do it. As the title of this week’s chapter, “The Believer,” implies, this is a man of deep faith who doesn’t take the trappings and the rituals of his order lightly. When the Imperial commander Valin Hess (Richard Brake) asks him to sit down and have a drink with him in the refinery’s commissary, Din is so mortified — so soul-sick — that he can barely move or speak.As with most of the episodes this season, this one was primarily made up of a few white-knuckle action sequences. Rick Famuyiwa directed and is credited as the screenwriter. Initially, Famuyiwa introduces a scenario reminiscent of the classic movie “The Wages of Fear,” with Din and the dastardly mercenary Migs Mayfeld (Bill Burr) driving a transport vehicle filled with the explosively volatile starship fuel rhydonium across bumpy roads. Then their transport is attacked by pirates, who keep coming in waves after seemingly every last-ditch effort by Mando to fend them off.Paradoxically, Din and Migs are saved by the Imperial forces, who salute them as they roll into the refinery with potentially enough rhydonium to help the Empire strike back (again). But when Migs hears this boast from Hess, it stirs the criminal’s conscience, reminding him of all the past atrocities he has witnessed. He impulsively shoots Hess before executing a daring escape with the help of Mando, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand and Cara Dune, finishing it with a long-distance shot that blows up the rhydonium and the refinery.But as exciting as all those chases and shootouts are, it’s almost more thrilling this week to hear Migs push back against Din’s understanding of how the galaxy works. Although Migs sabotages the Empire, he’s not really a partisan of any kind. He insists to Mando that folks born on one planet believe one thing and folks born on another planet believe something else, and that none of this matters because in a life-or-death crisis, people will cross any line they have to, just to survive.The action in this episode seems to probe Migs’s point as Mando finds himself delivering vital rhydonium to the enemy — and killing “pirates” who could well be agents of the Republic, for all he knows — in order to further his own personal agenda. It also can’t be too reassuring for the by-the-book Mando to hear Hess argue that the Empire will prevail again because “Everyone thinks they want freedom, but what they really want is order.”This is something else that our hero has been losing this season: his certainty about “the Way,” and about what he is and isn’t duty-bound to do. Taking care of Grogu has given him a new perspective on where his loyalty truly lies.That’s why it’s significant that during Migs’s rant about how both the Empire and the Republic routinely wreck the lives of ordinary citizens, Din is shown looking out the window at Morak’s native children. As an orphan himself, that’s who he identifies with the most. And as we head into next week’s season finale, that’s who the Mandalorian is most passionate to save.This is the way:After all the mythology built up around Boba Fett over the decades, it is both strange and awesome to have him just hanging around all the time as part of the Mandalorian’s team. (“Fett, punch in the coordinates!” Mando will say, as though it’s perfectly normal to be barking orders at one of the galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunters.) It was also cool this week to see how Fett’s ship, Slave 1, looks from the inside as it’s making the crazy horizontal-to-vertical pivot it does during takeoffs.Even with a stand-up comedian as a guest star, this episode featured fewer moments of comic relief than usual. I think I laughed out loud only once, when Migs shoots Hess, right as a stormtrooper walks into the cafeteria. The tension of that moment is immediately defused by the ridiculous image of a trooper carrying a lunch-tray, looking like a dumbfounded fifth grader.The locations this season have all been pretty spectacular — and impressively varied. This week, we begin in an imposing trash heap patrolled by giant “walkers,” and we end with a fight at a refinery by a towering dam. There’s nearly always something to marvel at on this show.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Pinocchio’ and More as Disney Leans Sharply Into Streaming

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Star Wars,’ ‘Pinocchio’ and More as Disney Leans Sharply Into StreamingThe company unveiled a blitz of new projects on Thursday, including 10 series from the “Star Wars” universe for Disney+, which now has 87 million subscribers. Hulu will also get a major content boost.The Disney+ hit “The Mandalorian” will soon have two spinoffs.Credit…Disney Plus, via Associated PressDec. 10, 2020Updated 7:36 p.m. ETLOS ANGELES — In February, Robert A. Iger stepped down as Disney’s chief executive and became executive chairman, saying he would decamp entirely in 2021. But he saw himself as having one final task. “I want to make sure that our creative pipelines are vibrant,” Mr. Iger said in an interview at the time. “That is very, very important, especially as we roll out Disney+ around the world.”On Thursday, as part of a four-hour investor presentation focused on the future of Disney’s streaming business, Wall Street got a sense of what Mr. Iger was talking about. Never have Disney’s content engines been turbocharged like this.Disney unveiled a blitz of new “Star Wars” projects, including 10 television shows — two of which will be “Mandalorian” spinoffs, another that will follow C-3PO and R2-D2 — and a new theatrical film, “Rogue Squadron,” directed by Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Woman”). Ms. Jenkins will be the first female filmmaker in the 43-year history of the “Star Wars” movie franchise.Patty Jenkins will direct a new “Star Wars” movie called “Rogue Squadron,” becoming the franchise’s first female filmmaker.Credit…Mike Coppola/Getty Images For TNTIn the coming years, 15 movies will be released directly on Disney+, with new installments in the “Ice Age,” “Night at the Museum,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “Sister Act” and “Cheaper by the Dozen” franchises on the way. Amy Adams will star in a sequel to the 2007 musical “Enchanted,” while Tom Hanks will appear as Geppetto in a live-action “Pinocchio.” Multiple sports dramas fill out the slate, including one based on the life of the Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.National Geographic, another Disney division, also announced a flurry of Disney+ shows, including an endurance-focused series starring Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”) and directed by the Oscar-winning Darren Aronofsky.Bob Chapek, Disney’s new chief executive, disclosed that Disney’s flagship streaming service had 87 million subscribers as of Thursday, nearing the high end of its initial five-year goal after only a year in operation. Disney+ has benefited from a low monthly price ($7), a smash hit (“The Mandalorian”) and the coronavirus pandemic, which has prompted Disney to reroute theatrical releases like “Hamilton” to the service and created spiking demand from homebound consumers. (A significant percentage of Disney+ subscribers — nearly 30 percent — come from India, where the monthly subscription price is much lower.)Wall Street has started to value Disney less as an old-line entertainment company with challenged businesses (traditional television networks in secular decline, theme parks closed or operating with coronavirus-forced capacity restrictions) and more of a streaming colossus in the making. Disney shares reached roughly $160 in after-hours trading on Thursday, an all-time high.The out-of-the-gate success of Disney+ has generated much of the excitement. Many analysts initially thought it would be lucky to achieve 55 million subscribers within five years. Having missed the mark in such epic fashion, Wall Street is now more willing to give Disney the benefit of the doubt.But daunting challenges lie ahead. Building streaming services is monstrously expensive, and Disney now has four: Disney+, Hulu (39 million subscribers), ESPN+ (11.5 million) and Star+, an overseas version of Hulu that will roll out in Latin America in the coming months. Losses in Disney’s direct-to-consumer division totaled $2.8 billion in the company’s 2020 fiscal year. The company has given up billions of dollars in licensing fees as it has amassed library content on Disney+ rather than selling to outside companies like Netflix.Disney also faces an increasingly competitive streaming environment. HBO Max, CBS All Access (soon to be renamed Paramount+), Peacock, Apple TV+ and the recently announced Discovery+ are determined to make inroads. Netflix and Amazon continue to pour billions of dollars a year into original programming.A significant portion of the presentation was dedicated to Star, which will be stocked with programming from Disney properties like ABC, FX, Freeform, Searchlight and 20th Century Studios, which Rupert Murdoch sold to Disney last year. In Latin America, Star+ will roll out as a stand-alone service in June and also include some ESPN coverage of sporting events. In Europe, Canada, Australia and several other markets, Star+ will be integrated directly into Disney+, which will add a vast amount of more mature programming to the service (“Deadpool 2,” the “Family Guy” cartoon series), allowing Disney to potentially reach an audience far beyond families.The addition of a Star channel inside Disney+ will also justify a price increase of roughly 28 percent, to about $11 a month.New programming is also headed to the Disney-owned Hulu, including the series “Nine Perfect Strangers,” a mystery from David E. Kelley and starring Regina Hall, Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy — what Dana Walden, chairman of entertainment for Walt Disney Television, called “juicy, can’t-turn-it-off content.” The Disney-owned FX, which funnels its programming to multiple Disney streaming services, is working on a television spinoff of the “Alien” movie franchise and a retelling of “Shogun,” the James Clavell saga, along with a half-dozen other high-profile projects.As part of the presentation, Disney discussed its evolving approach to movie distribution. The coronavirus pandemic has forced Disney and other studios to push back the releases of big-budget films — more than half of the cinemas in the United States are closed — and reroute others to streaming services. In September, Disney debuted “Mulan” on Disney+ as part of a “premium access” experiment, charging subscribers $30 for indefinite access. “Soul,” the latest Pixar film, will arrive on Disney+ on Christmas Day for no additional cost.Disney debuted “Mulan” on Disney+ as part of a “premium access” experiment, charging subscribers $30 for indefinite access.Credit…Jasin Boland/Disney, via Associated PressDisney said that some movies would continue to arrive in theaters for an exclusive play period. Others will follow the “Mulan” model; a coming animated film, “Raya and the Last Dragon,” for instance, will be made available on Disney+ in March for a premium price.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More