Star Wars Reveals Titles, Crew for Two New Movies!

StarWars.com released a ton of new details from a Lucasfilm shareholder meeting, and a lot of it is good! The first piece is a confirmation of something we reported way back when, that Rian Johnson will be writing and directing Episode VIII. This is fantastic news - Johnson's three films have ranged from good (Brothers Bloom) to great (Looper, Brick), and his episodes of Breaking Bad were some of the best in that show's run. We can't wait to see what he does with Star Wars.

The other piece of news concerns the title for Felicity Jones starring Star Wars standalone, directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella). The film is entitled "Rogue One," and was developed based on an idea that John Knoll, Chief Creative Officer at ILM, had. If that name doesn't excite you, let me explain why it should: Rogue One is the callsign for the leader of Rogue Squadron, the X-wing pilots that heroically led the charge for the Rebel Alliance and were immortalized in the series of X-wing: Rogue Squadron books. The books are no longer canon, but a film all about X-wing fighters could be amazing. And while she's not confirmed to be playing Rogue One, a film about a female leader of a group of X-wing pilots would be friggin' gold.

Also announced were the release dates for the films:

Star Wars: Rogue One: December 16 2016
Star Wars VIII: May 26 2017

Felicity Jones Confirmed for Star Wars Standalone

Whoops, our bad.

After a few days of most of the internet reporting that Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany had been booked for the role, it turns out we were all completely wrong, as Variety is now reporting that Felicity Jones (most recently from The Theory of Everything) has claimed the lead role in Gareth Edwards' Star Wars standalone film.

Original speculation had said that this film would be following a young Han Solo or Boba Fett, but with the hunt for a female lead, the rumor mongers are now saying that this film will be about a young Princess Leia. That would be cool, but honestly I'd prefer it if the films just followed a brand new set of characters.

We'll see for sure when the film releases on December 16, 2016.

Tatiana Maslaney confirmed for Star Wars Standalone?

Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, Parks and Recreation, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed) (She probably doesn't want us to remember her for that last one. -Ed) has been rumored for a lead role in Gareth Edward's stand-alone Star Wars project for Disney, although nothing has been officially confirmed yet. Not much else is known at this point about this project.

What we do know is that Maslany has pulled out of an off-Broadway production of "The Way We Get By" due to filming schedule conflicts. The play is set to debut later this spring. So far, the rumored release for the film is some time in 2016, but there's been nothing confirmed as yet with regard to a title or the exact release date.

The only other things about this project that are known so far is that Chris Weitz (producer/executive Producer of the American Pie movies, screenplay writer for Antz, and  upcoming live action Cinderella) has signed on to write. He replaces Gary Whitta on the project. Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla" 2014) is to direct.

Personally, I'm really excited for this. As much as I love Tatiana Maslany as clones (and I still don't know how she didn't drive herself insane with all those personalities in her head), I would love to see her be a kick-ass Star Wars heroine or villain. I'm kinda pulling for a villain.