Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now two weekends old, and so far it’s doing pretty well at the box office. That’s not surprising; even with another split between fans and critics, just as we saw with The Last Jedi, that’s not going to keep it from being a massive hit. That said, there’s a lot which has fans angry, particularly the handling of story elements and characters established by Rian Johnson, but quickly discarded by JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio. One of those is the minimizing of Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, who was integral piece of the team in the last movie, but was left behind to “study” this time.
Many have seen this as an attempt to appease the toxic fandom who reacted to Rose with such venom in The Last Jedi. They were so awful Kelly Marie Tran abandoned social media due to all of the bullying she received. But according to Terrio in an interview with AwardsDaily, Rose’s smaller role is due to problems they had coordinating the unused footage they had of Carrie Fisher as Leia…
“Well, first of all, J.J. and I adore Kelly Marie Tran. One of the reasons that Rose has a few less scenes than we would like her to have has to do with the difficulty of using Carrie’s footage in the way we wanted to. We wanted Rose to be the anchor at the rebel base who was with Leia. We thought we couldn’t leave Leia at the base without any of the principals who we love, so Leia and Rose were working together.”
“As the process evolved, a few scenes we’d written with Rose and Leia turned out to not meet the standard of photorealism that we’d hoped for. Those scenes, unfortunately, fell out of the film. The last thing we were doing was deliberately trying to sideline Rose. We adore the character, and we adore Kelly – so much so that we anchored her with our favorite person in this galaxy, General Leia.”
I don’t know what’s true and what’s not, the only thing that matter is what made it to the screen, and Rose was barely a factor. For me, that hurt my enjoyment greatly. Others may not care, and that’s fine. Perhaps Rose will get her due in a future Star Wars project?
1. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker– $72M/$361.7M The Rise of Skywalker joined the infamous ‘$100M losers” club in its second weekend, tumbling 59% for $72M and a $361M domestic total. It joins predecessor The Last Jedi, which lost a whopping $149M in its second weekend, but had a larger debut and thus a $368M haul after 10-days. Worldwide the Skywalker Saga’s finale has $724M.
2. Jumanji: The Next Level– $35.3M/$175.4M
3. Little Women (review)- $16.52M/$29M
Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women had a $29M week, beginning with its Christmas Day debut. The star-studded film, which is led by Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, and rising star Florence Pugh (did she win 2019 or what?) as the March girls, along co-stars, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, and Timothee Chalamet, is the 7th film version of the Louisa May Alcott story, and given the strong start and reviews, it’s likely to surpass the 1994 movie’s $50M run. Personally, I loved the film, finding it to be the first time I’ve ever cared about this story.
4. Frozen 2– $16.5M/$421.2M
5. Spies in Disguise (review)- $13.2M/$22M
Fox and Blue sky’s animated film Spies in Disguise had a $22M week. The film stars Will Smith and Tom Holland, the former playing a super spy who gets transformed into a pigeon while on a world-threatening mission. It’s a fun film, not exactly taxing on the brain, and could prove to have long legs like many of Blue Sky Studio’s projects do. These are the same folks behind the Ice Age, Rio, and Ferdinand movies, after all.
6. Knives Out– $9.7M/$110.2M
7. Uncut Gems (review)- $9.5M/$20M
The Safdies’ critically-acclaimed thriller Uncut Gems expanded to over 2300 theaters, earning $18.6M since Christmas Day and $20M total over 17-days. That’s a huge start for A24, as they push to capitalize on the Oscar buzz surrounding Adam Sandler’s nerve-racking performance. They’ll have to overcome a big split between critics who loved it and audiences who saddled it with a ‘C+” Cinemascore.
8. Cats– $4.8M/$17.8M
9. Bombshell– $4.7M/$15.6M
10. Richard Jewell– $3M/$16M
Sam Mendes’ WWI film 1917 (review here) exploded into 11 theaters on Christmas Day and came away with $1M. From Fri-Sun it made $570K for an average of nearly $52K per site. Shot to look as if it was done in a single continuous take, the film is my pick for best of the year and the Oscar buzz surrounding it should carry through for a long time as it rolls into expansion.
Meanwhile, courtroom drama Just Mercy debuted on Christmas in just four theaters, totaling $229K for the week. The film stars Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson who is reuniting with her Short Term 12 and The Glass Castle director Destin Daniel Cretton.
The Mandalorian‘s first season came to an exciting conclusion today, teasing a new status quo and an exciting season two. If you’re like me, the wait for more is going to be rough, but at least we have an idea of when our favorite bounty hunter and Baby Yoda will be back. Creator JonT Favreau took to Twitter and revealed that season two will arrive in Fall 2020.
Favreau doesn’t go into details, but the image of a nearly-nude Gamorrean could tell us something. I mean, why not give us a shot of Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian? Or of the meme-factory known as Baby Yoda aka The Child? Why a friggin’ Gamorrean? The race of husky, brutish pig creatures are most notable as guards for Jabba the Hutt. Could Favreau be teasing the arrival of Jabba or another of the Hutt clan? Given the Hutts are fixtures of the criminal underworld it’s probably just a matter of time before Mando runs afoul of them.
For more on The Mandalorian, check out the latest recap here!
If you were worried that somehow Marvel wasn’t as interested in a certain chimichanga-loving mutant mercenary as you, just relax. If anything, we knew Ryan Reynolds wouldn’t let Deadpool go away quietly. He fought to get these movies made over at Fox, and he’s been pretty vocal ever sicne the franchise was acquired by Disney. So leave it up to him to be the one to confirm what fans have been hoping for.
Appearing on Live with Regis and Kelly, Reynolds confirmed that a new Deadpool film is in the works over at Marvel Studios…
“Yeah we’re working on it right now with the whole team,” Reynolds said. “We’re over at Marvel [Studios] now, which is like the big leagues all of a sudden. It’s kinda crazy. So yeah, we’re working on it.”
That’s obviously awesome, and totally unsurprising news. But hey, it gives the fans what they want, which is confirmation that their favorite Merc with a Mouth will be back and part of the MCU. What he doesn’t say is whether this will be a true Deadpool sequel or part of a total reboot of the X-Men line. Nor does he address if it will maintain the R-rating that has been such a big part of its success. Those are the questions that still linger, and that we aren’t likely to get answers to anytime soon.
Watch the interview below. Reynolds talks about Deadpool quite a bit, but the relevant portion begins at about nine minutes. [Comicbook]
This is part two of my Top 100 Movies of the 2010s! The process of coming up with this list damn near broke me, so do me a solid and check out the first part, as well!
The prolific Takashi Miike could’ve filled this list up all by himself given his workrate, but the one entry to make the cut is his grandiose samurai epic, 13 Assassins. Showing a maturity that has often eluded him of late, Miike crafts what I think is the definitive samurai movie of the period, with an incredible 45-minute final battle that needs to be seen to be believed.
79. A Most Violent Year (2014)
Director: JC Chandor
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Albert Brooks
The third film from the wildly diverse JC Chandor, A Most Violent Year is nothing like what its title implies. Set in 1981 during the most violent year in New York City history, the story follows a level-headed heating oil magnate played by Oscar Isaac, who tries to walk the righteous path while internal and external pressures edge him towards criminality. This methodical slow-burn drama shows explores the rot at the heart of the American Dream because of the corrupt things one must do to attain it. Compelling and with a noticeable grit underneath its nails, the film also boasts remarkable cinematography by Bradford Young, whose work is all over this list.
Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda’s Shoplifters finds him once again exploring the idea of family, and whether the bonds we choose to forge are stronger than those we are born into. The close-knit group of struggling thieves live in the shadows (they are very similar to the family in Parasite), but step into the light to bring in a troubled young girl and make her a part of their family. The experience changes them all in profound ways, but the open-hearted example they set has the potential of changing us, as well. Koreeda has long been my favorite filmmaker, telling these human dramas with a depth and sincerity that is unmatched. He’ll appear again later on this list, but he was very close to have a much larger presence.
77. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
Director: Banksy
Cast: Banksy, Mr. Brainwash, Shepard Fairey
Is Exit Through the Gift Shop truly a documentary? Or just another chance for the mysterious street artist Banksy to mock the art world? It doesn’t truly matter, because either way this is a wildly entertaining, audacious look at the art scene from the lens of its most cherished outsider, who watches as eccentric copycat Thierry Guetta transforms overnight into the ridiculously commercial Mr. Brainwash persona.
I seriously weighed whether to include this or Marriage Story as the “divorce entry” on this list. Ultimately, A Separation just has so much more going on. The dissolution of a marriage in Iran comes with concerns and consequences that we simply can’t fathom here in America, restrictions that Farhadi gently criticizes by effortlessly weaving them into the narrative. It’s an amazing movie deserving of the accolades showered upon it, including an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, an award Farhadi would win again five years later for The Salesman.
75. A Quiet Place (2018)
Director: John Krasinski
Cast: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds
I’ve never had a theatrical experience quite like when I saw John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place. Me and the crowd around me were terrified and into a silent bond of fear right along with the film’s terrorized family. If there’s ever a movie that demands to be seen in a crowded multiplex, this was it.
74. The Farewell (2019)
Director: Lulu Wang
Cast: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen
A fake wedding and cultural misunderstandings make for a funny and deeply intimate gem from writer/director Lulu Wang. Starring Awkwafina in a breakthrough dramatic performance, this biographical drama is as personal as it is universal in exploring familial reconciliation, mortality, and even gentrification, all done with a sense of humor that connects when you need it most.
73. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Director: Lee Unkrich
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
I don’t normally bond with my fellow film critics, but we were locked in a grip of sheer terror during the searing finale of Toy Story 3. The darkest, most heartbreaking Pixar movie yet (albeit diminished somewhat by Toy Story 4), it combined humor with decidedly adult concerns while maintaining its sense of adventure. Pixar has made a lot of great movies but they’ve yet to top this one and I’m not sure they ever will.
72. Birdman (2014)
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Cast: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Naomi Watts
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s kinetic, virtuoso meta-comedy Birdman reminded us, because we had clearly forgotten, just how great Michael Keaton really is. As Riggan Thompson, a former superhero actor looking to become a respected thespian he shows us levels of sadness, desperation, and rage we haven’t seen from him in awhile. While his performance alone would be worthy of putting Birdman on anybody’s list, one can’t overlook the flawless cinematic contribution of DP Emmanuelle Lubezki who literally doesn’t give us a moment to blink; his camera always moving. The supporting ensemble is equally great with Emma Stone and Edward Norton, the latter playing a manic, heightened version of himself. But what’s most startling to me is the total change of gears this was for Inarritu. There is almost no connecting tissue between Birdman and the multi-tiered, heavy moral dramas of his past, and certainly not with the film he would do next, which is also on this list.
71. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Cast: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Mae Whitman
I know, others will point to Eighth Grade but for me no other movie captured school-aged angst and loneliness better than The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In an absolutely packed year of teen-centric films, this one boasted a trio of emotionally raw performances and took on the issues of depression and abuse with heart and no small amount of hope. It manages to be profound without being flashy, keeping it contained until all of that boundless optimism bursts forth with the words, “And in this moment, I swear we are infinite.” Yeah, it’s corny as shit but it also feels just right, like an old friend you want to stay in touch with forever.
70. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pts. 1&2 (2010, 2011)
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon
I didn’t actually read the Harry Potter books until last year, so for the longest time my only exposure was through these movies. Simply put, I was not prepared for how dark this would get. I was not prepared for the hardships that would test The Boy Who Lived, making him a greater hero in my eyes for rising above them. Admittedly, the first half of this two-part story is a slog, virtually all slow-moving setup, but part two is pure, magical exhilaration with epic battle (the courtyard apocalypse!!) after epic battle, shocking deaths, and a final showdown between Harry and Voldemort that actually paid off. I was a bigger Harry Potter fan after these movies, and isn’t that the point of what these adaptations are for?
69. Green Room (2016)
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Joe Cole
Charles Xavier’s baddest crew is a bunch of Hitler youths who use German attack dogs rather than superpowers. The second entry on this list from director Jeremy Saulnier still makes me nervous for the punk band that walked into the wrong green room at just the wrong time. Every single time I watch it, it makes me want to curl up until a ball with terror, afraid for the violence I know is coming but dare not look away from. The suspense Saulnier builds is incredible, the feeling of being trapped with no hope of escape is pervasive. I want to watch it right now, tucked under a bunch of blankets and peeking from behind a pillow.
68. Calvary (2014)
Director: John Michael McDonagh
Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Kelly Reilly, Chris O’Dowd, Aidan Gillen, Isaach de Bankole
Part existential comedy, film noir, and commentary on the scandalous Catholic Church, John Michael McDonagh’s ability to balance three competing tones is a thing of pure beauty. In a rare spotlight role, Brendan Gleeson plays the weary Father James, who refuses to let go of his faith while belief in the Church crumbles around him. Over the course of a trying week, with his life literally at stake, James continues to shepherd his flock while grappling with mortality and the place for religion in an increasingly dark and cynical world.
67. Get Out (2017)
Director: Jordan Peele
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Lakeith Stanfield
Who can forget it? The first time Catherine Keener banishes a tearful Daniel Kaluuya into the “Sunken Place”? It’s an image that has been seared into our brains and became shorthand for the systemic racism African-Americans still face on a daily basis. Shit, we have a racist in the damn White House, yo. Get Out is not only painfully relevant and timely but hilarious and downright scary. If this is what Jordan Peele has to offer in his directorial debut I can’t wait to see the path his career takes.
66. Bridesmaids (2011)
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd
Remember how Paul Feig kept getting asked, for a few years, whether he’d do a Bridesmaids sequel? There was never any need to, the female-led comedy’s influence ran far and deep enough already. Emerging at a time when most female comedies treated women like scornful witches who sabotage one another, Bridesmaids broke through it with a story about true friendship that was as raunchy and silly as anything with a bunch of dudes. Feig would go on to bigger (not necessarily better) things, and the film served as a launching pad for a host of future stars including Rebel Wilson, Ellie Kemper, and Oscar-nominee Melissa McCarthy. How many straight-up comedies have boasted an Oscar nomination this decade? Not too damn many, but this is one.
65. Annihilation (2018)
Director: Alex Garland
Cast: Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuva Novotny
I still can’t tell you what the Hell is really going on in Alex Garland’s weird, beautiful, surreal sci-fi film, but I think that’s kind of the point? As Natalie Portman and her team venture beyond the veil to explore a strange phenomenon, the experience is wholly sensory and defies easy explanation.
64. Haywire (2012)
Director: Stephen Soderbergh
Cast: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxon, Michael Douglas
Gina Carano punched and kicked her way into my heart forever (Cara Dune 4 Life!!) with Haywire, the unexpectedly awesome action flick from Steven Soderbergh. Stylish and undeniably cool, the film gives Carano the chance to show her sexy side as well as put her MMA background to brutally good use against a bunch of dickish A-list dudes. It’s terrific fun, but also expertly crafted by Soderbergh, who helped guide Carano through her first movie role. She knocked it out of the park, and the film became a cult favorite. I’ve long hoped for a sequel, and if I ever get a chance to speak with Soderbergh it’ll be the first question he gets.
A thinking person’s sci-fi film, touching on everything from language to time travel, Arrival is director Denis Villeneuve showing his cinematic dexterity once again. How is this the same guy who directed Prisoners, Sicario, and Enemy? Villeneuve will pop up multiple times on this list, and each movie is vastly different from the last.
62. The Act of Killing/The Look of Silence (2013, 2014)
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Like horror movies? Great, then you need to check out Joshua Oppenheimer’s chilling documentaries The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence. You won’t see Hollywood celebrating this “movie about movies”, which offers probably the clearest look at the impact of our violent movie culture. Oppenheimer, who had gone to Indonesia for totally different reasons, ended up meeting Anwar Congo and a number of other movie-loving gangsters who had committed wholesale genocide of Communists and other enemies of state back in the 1960s, and have been living for decades as heroes, unabashedly boastful of their murderous actions. In the first movie, we see these heinous killers re-enacting the slaughter in the style of their favorite movies, which is as unsettling as it sounds. In the sequel, those same killers are confronted anonymously by someone impacted by their violence, and what’s truly horrific is how the passage of time has not given them the benefit of remorse. I’ve never seen true evil captured on screen as it is in these films and hope to never see it again.
61. Baby Driver (2017)
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez
A true stylistic achievement, Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is a musical opus, a killer heist flick, and a damn sweet love story. How many movies could pull that off? How many directors would dare to try? Impeccable editing and a killer soundtrack combine to drive the narrative in a way that I’ve not seen in any other film. And to think, if Wright had stayed on Ant-Man we probably wouldn’t have this movie at all.
Here we are! The eighth and final episode of The Mandalorian‘s first season, title “Redemption”, is one of the best of the season and sets up an intriguing mission statement for season two. It’s also one of the most revealing episodes we’ve seen, with many of the biggest questions about Mando brought to light while the character gets some much-needed progression. We also get one Hell of a cliffhanger that opens up even more questions and is sure to have fans of The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels buzzing. The fingerprints of co-creator Dave Filoni are all over this one.
That said, the script is by Jon Favreau and the director is Taika Waititi, so there’s a ton of unexpected humor. Things were pretty dire when we last left. Mando (Pedro Pascal), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) were pinned down by an Imperial army led by Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), while The Child was sped away by Stormtroopers who had just murdered Kuiil (Nick Nolte). Given that, it throws us off-balance to see this episode begin with so much humor. The two Stormtroopers engage in a silly conversation about The Child, occasionally stopping to bonk the little tyke on its head. Once your blood pressure goes down at hearing Baby Yoda squeal in pain, you’ll be overjoyed at the sight of IG-11 (voiced by Waititi), who shows up and gets them to lower their defense, telling them he is a nurse droid. The incompetent troopers are soon bashed into smithereens, and IG-11 flies off to find the others, the kid all bundled up and safe.
Baby Yoda on a Speeder Bike will be plastered all over t-shirts, stickers, memes…it’s just too cute.
It turns out, IG-11 is extremely crucial to this episode, arguably the star of it. His dual programming, that of a bounty hunter and a nurse droid, compliment one another when we would expect them to be in conflict. Overcoming internal conflicts is what every character has to go through in this aptly-titled episode, with each getting their moment to make a tough decision. Moff Gideon tells us a lot about each of them before IG-11 can arrive. He reveals that he knows Mando’s true name, and no, he’s still not a Fett. He’s Din Djarin, which is exactly what Pedro Pascal told us his name would be. See, he’s not a liar! Gideon also calls out the ex-shocktrooper Cara “Cynthia” Dune, formerly of Alderaan, which we all know was the home of Princess Leia, as well. As for Greef Kara, well, he’s referred to as a “disgraced magistrate”. No respect.
The trio are all shook up when Gideon’s battalion begins setting up a powerful E-Web cannon, which he said Mando would recognize from watching previous versions decimate scores of Mandalorians. Dune, as a former Imperial officer, also knows of its capabilities. Fortunately for them, IG-11 swoops in and destroys most of the troops, getting an assist from Manda, Cara, and Greef who join in the fighting. However, Gideon coldly steps into the middle of the fight and blasts the E-Web power source, injuring Mando badly.
Right now you’re probably wondering why Baby Yoda doesn’t just do that Jedi healing trick we’ve been seeing so much lately? He can’t, having drained his Force powers stopping a stormtrooper’s flamethrower attack. While the others escape, Mando stays behind believing that he is about to die, and doesn’t want to slow the others down. But it’s IG-11 that comes to the rescue again. He can heal Mando’s wounds, but he’ll have to remove his helmet, something the Mandalorian warrior is reluctant to do because no living creature has seen his face since taking the oath. Of course, IG-11 isn’t actually alive.
It takes a bit of humor from the droid to catch Mando offguard and put him at ease…
“You have suffered damage to your central processing unit,” IG-11 jokes.
“You mean my brain?”, Mando replies.
This is the first time we see Pedro Pascal’s face on the show. The man Din Djarin is a bloody mess, ready to throw in the towel. But IG-11 comes through with the bacta spray that gets him back on his feet. Shortly thereafter, the team find their way back to the Mandalorian sanctuary, where we get our next shocking moment. A pile of discarded Mandalorian armor, proving that many of Mando’s people have died since they came to his rescue in Episode 3. The Armorer (Emily Swallow) is still there, however, repurposing their armor for future use, “For the Foundlings”. We learn why that’s been so important to them all of this time.
The Mandalorians aren’t a race, but a creed. Flashbacks show the full brunt of the Imperial attack that orphaned Mando as a child. He’s rescued from certain death by the Fighting Squad, a group of Mandalorians who take him in as one of their own. The foundlings are literally how the Mandalorian creed is sustained, which is why Mando and the Armorer work so hard to maintain their ways. The Armorer chooses not to flee with the others, but to stay behind and fight until the end.
If there was some concern this season had lost its focus, something happens that sets up an exciting premise for season two. The Armorer tells Mando’s mission is to protect Baby Yoda. She mentions the Jedi after hearing of the Child’s abilities with the Force, and says that Mando’s new purpose is to train the baby as a foundling, before reuniting him with the missing Jedi. She marks Mando with a new signal, signifying he is now part of a “clan of two” with Baby Yoda, the two having saved one another on numerous occasions.
Of course, the Jedi are practically nonexistent at this point in Star Wars history, so finding them won’t be an easy task. But they aren’t completely gone, and that should make things very interesting if one is ever encountered. Making their escape through an underground lava flow, Mando and the team see their exit blocked by Stormtroopers. There’s no way to get through, so once again IG-11 comes through in the clutch. Given that his core programming is to ensure Baby Yoda’s safety, it volunteers to self-detonate and clear a path, much to Mando’s sadness. It is the first time we’ve seen Mando show any emotion other than hatred for a droid, showing a clear evolution from those early episodes.
On the way out, they are stopped one last time by Moff Gideon, attacking from the air in his Tie Fighter. He doesn’t prove to be that big of a deal, though. Using his newly-acquired jet pack, Mando latches on to the Tie and drops a perfectly placed bomb, detonating the ship. We’re not stupid, though. It doesn’t blow up nearly enough for Gideon to be dead. Plus, Giancarlo Esposito characters never die that easy. Cara decides she’s going to stay there on Navarro, while Greef tries to convince her to join the Bounty Hunters’ Guild, or act as his enforcer. Mando and Baby Yoda fly off into parts unknown, in search of Jedi who are largely believed to be a myth.
If that were all, it would already be an incredibly jam-packed episode. But moments later, a handful of scavenging Jawas flee in shock as Moff Gideon cuts his way out of the ship using the Darksaber! As he was cutting, I was slack-jawed wondering if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. But that is definitely it, the ancient Mandalorian weapon known as the Darksaber. How did Gideon get his hands on it? And why is Dave Filoni messing with us like this??? I need answers!
I wasn’t sure if Jon Favreau and Co. could stick the landing, but they definitely did. The Mandalorian wraps up its first season on a high, wrapping up numerous plot points, fleshing out its wonderful supporting cast, and setting on a course that makes us want season 2 right now. Complaints about the meandering nature of Baby Yoda’s story have been quieted for the moment, and the series finds renewed purpose. I’m curious how deep into Mandalorian culture they’re going to get, but the introduction of the Darksaber, which has its on-screen origins in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, suggests we’re going to get very deep in the weeds and I can’t wait.
Overall, there wasn’t a single episode this season I found to be outright bad. Some lagged more than others, but for the most part I found The Mandalorian to be the most enjoyable Star Wars project this year. If the future Disney+ shows (Caspian Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi) are this good, perhaps there will be less of a need to rush into another movie?
I’ve complained about the way Star Wars will tease details in the movies without fully exploring them, as if their ultimate goal is to get you to read the Wookiepedia entry (I often fall down that rabbit hole) or buy some tie-in novel for the full story. Well, it’s sorta happening again, except in this case I think we may eventually get the whole story on the big screen or a Disney+ series, and it involves the missing fan-favorite character, Ahsoka Tano.
You may recall that just days ahead of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, director JJ Abrams teased Ahsoka Tano would be in the movie. Well, he wasn’t lying. It just wasn’t the way fans would’ve hoped. We never actually saw her on screen, but she was among the many Jedi whose voice was heard by Rey as she connected with the Force and the “thousand generations of Jedi” who helped her defeat the Emperor. Other voices heard included Mace Windu, Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, Kanan Jarrus, Adi Gallia, and Aayla Secura. What do they have in common? They’re all dead. And that would seem to include Ahsoka Tano, as well. I mean, why wouldn’t it?
Well, Star Wars Rebels and The Mandalorian mastermind Dave Filoni may be suggesting otherwise. He dropped the below image featuring Ahsoka Tano alongside Lord of the Rings‘ wizard Gandalf, who reminds her that he was thought dead once, too, but came back to save the day…
A post shared by Dave Filoni (@dave.filoni) on Dec 25, 2019 at 12:31pm PST
Filoni is one of the most integral pieces in shaping the future of Star Wars, so if he’s got something up his sleeve it’s a good idea to take it seriously. That said, it would take a lot of explaining why she, of all of the powerful Jedi who perished and became Force Ghosts in Rey’s vision, is the only one to still be alive. The exiled Jedi-in-training was never fully part of their Order, and last we saw of her she was going off with Sabine Wren to find the missing Ezra Bridger. That would be in the final episode of Star Wars Rebels, taking place about 14-15 years after Return of the Jedi. Unless she was killed at some point, she should still be alive. My guess is Filoni is just messing with us, and when we see Tano again it’ll be part of the newly-revived The Clone Wars series, which returns in 2020.
The #ReleasetheSnyderCut die-hards just aren’t letting this go, and it turns out neither is Zack Snyder himself. Over the holidays he continued to tease his cut of Justice League, y’know, the one nobody’s ever going to see and probably isn’t that great? Yeah, that one. Along with a few black & white photos that don’t amount to much, Snyder dropped more story details and what he thinks about the theatrical version by Joss Whedon.
So among the many things Snyder did over the last few days is seek to make good use of the situation by selling hoodies with the words “Zack Snyder’s JL” on them. The proceeds will go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a worthy cause to be sure. Some have taken this as an unofficial title for his Justice League movie, which is fine except there’s no movie and it’s not even a work-in-progress. I guess this’ll be a collector’s item someday? You willing to bet $48 on that?
In a series of tweets, Snyder let us know that he still hasn’t seen Whedon’s version of Justice League, without really giving a reason why. He does manage to refer to his film as the “true cut” which is weird because…well, his cut isn’t finished, which he also admitted to. So how is it the true anything other than truly incomplete?
“A lot of reasons…people who I trust who have seen the theatrical cut and the true cut have told me never to watch it,”, Snyder said.
So because said not to watch it he just…didn’t? Alrighty then. Snyder also teases the debut of Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern, without giving any details other than he would’ve been in the movie somewhere.
It’s been more than two years, the movie isn’t finished and never will be, but as long as Snyder keeps teasing what might’ve been, the #ReleasetheSnyderCut movement will soldier on whether we like it or not. I used to find this kinda funny but now it’s becoming sorta cult-ish. It’ll be interesting to see whether this movement actually follows Snyder over to his next non-DCEU project, or if they only care about a movie they can’t have.
Michael B. Jordan’s courtroom drama Just Mercy is out in limited release right now (our review), which means he and star Jamie Foxx are doing press all over and getting questions about…Superman.
Jordan has been the subject of Superman rumors since last year (unless you count those old Batman v Superman rumors), but recently we learned he had pitched some Man of Steel plans to Warner Bros. Speaking with MTV, Jordan addressed the rumors with a bit of humor, then talked about what he’d need if he were to make a Superman movie or anything comic book-related: the answer? Accuracy and faithfulness to the source material…
“I’ve been rumored to play Morpheus to Superman, to ‘Duck Tales’ reboot, to ‘Power Rangers,’ and everything in between, so it’s like, I’m kinda used to the rumors I’m playing something. Anything I do dive in has gotta be done the right way. It has to be full of authenticity. I’m a fan of comic books, you know? I understand the fans being upset at… ‘Oh no, why are doing this and why are they changing that?’ I would feel the same way about certain things. So, just know, if I ever were to dabble in anything, it would be authentic and something that I feel like people would really support.”
Not surprising he feels that way. Jordan starred in one of the least faithful, most hated comic book movies ever in 2015’s Fantastic Four. Doubtful he’d put himself through anything like that again.
Just Mercy is in select cities now, and opens here in DC on January 10th.
