Thanks to the latest issue of Empire and Reddit, we have a few Star Wars Disney+ Series updates to mull over including Jude Law’s Jedi character that he will be playing in Skeleton Crew.
Head on down below to get caught up on the good stuff!
Skeleton Crew
Last week, Jaleel White revealed that he would be in Skeleton Crew as a Pirate, and that the series should launch in November or December of 2023, but thanks to Empire, there are some other cast updates.
Jude Law on setting the tone:
“I’d get all serious and they’d be looking around thinking, ‘Uh-oh, is Jude in a bad mood? But it was setting the tone: ‘This is really serious. We’re at risk.’ Of course, what’s wonderful about children is they believe.”
Jude Law – Empire
Jude Law on how he tried to infuse his favorite character Han Solo into his Jedi character:
“I hope so! What I wanted to imbue was the humour and the sardonic nature of Solo. The slight tone of, ‘Aw, this is all rubbish. What am I doing here?’ I think that’s a very Star Wars thing, the lovely irony that someone in it is a little throwaway about the whole thing.”
Jude Law – Empire
Jude Law on his character’s dynamic with the young kids:
“They need guidance, but they’re vulnerable, and so throughout, the people they meet, you question all of them. Is my character nice? Is he not? You just want them to be alright and get back home. But if you know Jon and Chris’ work, you’ll know that the kids aren’t always safe.”
Jude Law – Empire
The Acolyte
Leslye Headland on her pitch of the series being Kill Bill meets Frozen:
“It is sort of a joke, but it was my elevator pitch to Kathy [Kennedy]: ‘I want to take that revisionist version of female villains that you see in a fairy-tale media and tell it through that lens.
Leslye Headland – Empire
Headland on how the series looks to answer how Sith infiltrated the Republic without anyone noticing:
“A lot of Jedi” will be investigating a series of mysterious crimes.
Leslye Headland – Empire
Headland on how the series will be a mystery thriller that mirrors our own world:
“When you’re doing something completely original, like we are, you want to question the status quo of the era that you live in. What I think is so interesting right now is that everybody thinks they’re right! The Jedi really think they’re right — and George [Lucas] tells us that they’re wrong in Phantom. They missed a huge aspect of the dark side rising. That just felt like fertile ground to look into what’s going on for all of us right now.”
Leslye Headland – Empire
Leslye Headland on keeping focus on the Female Villains:
“When I was a young queer girl, I was just hanging out with Ursula the sea witch [from The Little Mermaid], as a queer girl growing up, if you don’t identify with the heroes, and the villains show up and they’re all queer-coded, you’re like — yes, that’s me!” As a queer filmmaker, you’re gonna see some camp. Inevitably! But I would say that tonally, our references are darker.”
Leslye Headland – Empire
Cast Updates From Reddit:
The show revolves around a former Padawan reuniting with her Jedi Master, played by Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) and Lee Jungjae (Squid Game) respectively.
*Charlie Barnett as a Jedi Knight (“I’m allowed to say what rank of Jedi I am,” he beams proudly)
*Dafne Keen as a half-alien, half-human “bi-species” Jedi – Theelin (“Dafne’s character could definitely kick my ass,” Barnett notes, to Keen’s visible enjoyment). Hesland loved the magenta-skinned, flame-haired Theelin woman in Jabba’s Palace in Return Of The Jedi, and was keen to return to the species for Dafne Keen’s character. Keen describes her as “David Bowie meets Star Wars: I have a little mullet, I have horns, it’s cute.”
*Rebecca Henderson as Vernestra Rwoh
*Dean-Charles Chapman as a Jedi with “great hair”, according to his co-star Jodie Turner-Smith
*a Wookiee Jedi, played by regular fuzzball actor Joonas Suotamo.
*Carrie-Anne Moss, also said to be playing a Jedi, was seen using Force powers in the footage screened at Celebration
*Turner-Smith confirms her own character has a decent Midi-chlorian count, too. “I do use the Force,” she reveals, “but I’m not a Jedi or Sith”
*The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto plays “just a regular guy,” he explains, “trying to have a good time, who gets swept up into the High Republic world and the Jedi, whether he likes it or not.”
*The visual references for Stenberg’s character, for example, are described as “Joan Of Arc meets Gogo Yubari”, according to Headland, referring to the 13th-century French military martyr and the deadly 17-year-old, meteorhammer- wielding schoolgirl played by Chiaki Kuriyama in Kill Bill. Stenberg says the character wears “clay-rolled dreadlocks, which is a North African reference”.
The Mandalorian Season 4
According to Deadline, Mando S4 filming may be delayed due to the WGA strike. Although, the show wasn’t set to film until September, so maybe there won’t be much of a delay at all if the contract issues get hammered out over the next month or so.
Dave Filoni’s Movie Rumored to be Called Star Wars: Heir to the Empire
Take this with a grain of salt, but according to Twitter leaker MTTSH, Dave Filoni’s Star Wars movie will be borrowing more from Zahn’s Heir to the Empire saga.
Nick and I will talk more about these update on today’s episode of the SWTS, so don’t forget to tune into the Star Wars Time Show on a weekly basis via our podcast platforms or via YouTube if you prefer the livestream angle.
