This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away: More The Acolyte and Star Wars Filming Schedules Talk

Happy Sunday everyone, and welcome to a new edition of 'This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away'. With the exception of a frenzied Wednesday, it's been a rather quiet week in Star Wars, but hopefully, this is just the calm before the storm. I speculated last week that we may be on the edge of The Acolyte kicking off its marketing, and we're now just barely three months away from a new Star Wars film starting production. And that's what we'll be talking about today, my favorite topic: production schedules!



A few plugs before we start. We posted this week some details on our new YouTube venture, including an official introduction to our second weekly show, The Timeline Show. In this week's edition, Tyler and Brian discussed two comic series, The High Republic Adventures: Quest of the Jedi and The High Republic: The Blade; check out the episode here. They also hosted, along with Jay, Thursday's episode of SWNN Live!, in which they talked about the latest episode of The Bad Batch (you can also read Jay's review here; I personally liked it quite a bit!)



Some personal plugs as well. On our sister site, I reviewed Netflix's Spaceman movie starring Adam Sandler. I have also seen Dune: Part Two; look forward to my (glowing) review there soon! Also, check out my new favorite Star Wars Twitter video here.



Let us now begin.


<h2>Three Things That May Have Flown Casual</h2>

• Animation news: I'm already exhausted from receiving notifications on our news chat about posts from other websites milking five-minute conversations with the cast and crew of The Bad Batch into 17 different articles. Make it stop! We've covered a few, here is Dee Bradley Baker's latest. There's also a new edition of Actor asking for a job within this segment, as James Arnold Taylor is manifesting an animated series following Plo Koon and young Ahsoka. It just so happens that Lucasfilm is hiring new animators! Could that be a coincidence? Is that a hint that they are actively working on those Tales of the Jedi spin-offs that were rumored a few weeks ago? (I do think we'll get animation news this year.)
• Video games news: EA will be cutting 5% of its workforce, and as a consequence, Respawn's first-person-shooter project has been put on ice. Darkness rises, and the light to meet it, though. Ahmed Best hinted at a possible motion-capture role in an upcoming video game for Activision (the Call of Duty publishers), which hasn't announced any collaborations with Disney/Lucasfilm. (The actor added a bunch of Star Wars-themed hashtags, though keep in mind he uses those a lot.) Finally, the remaster of Dark Forces is now out on all major platforms.
• Publishing news: Lucasfilm announced this week the return of The Edge of Balance, revealing the cover and synopsis for the next installment in the High Republic manga. They have also revealed the first excerpt from John Jackson Miller's The Living Force. And finally, check out Josh's review of Thrawn: Alliances #2, the Marvel Comics adaptation of Timothy Zahn's novel.

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<h2>Quote of the Week</h2>

That was one of the few semi-interesting quotes from a new profile interview that Magazine C did with Amandla Stenberg a few weeks ago, and which Star Wars fans didn't notice until this week. Though the piece was mostly centered around fashion, she did discuss Leslye Headland's new show for a little bit; admittedly, she didn't drop a lot of new information.



Regardless, anything surrounding this show has us, and our readers, craving for more, so it was a no-brainer for us to cover. I do believe that we're a few weeks, if not days, away from our first look at the show. Lucasfilm hasn't yet confirmed the Collider report about an early June date for The Acolyte, but even if it turns out to be July because of the streaming competition, they will probably roll out the marketing campaign as is, regardless. We could also get a new cover reveal from Empire Magazine this week for their June issue; will it be Acolyte-centered?



As far as Stenberg's quote goes, it was definitely interesting to hear that her role is much bigger than her castmates, even if we already thought she was the lead. What is she hinting at, exactly? I can't wait to get more details on this!



Credit: RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images


<h3>Runner-up</h3>

That was Hayden Christensen speaking to Empire Magazine, also in an interview that was published weeks ago but which resurfaced this week, when the publication posted it in full online. It was by far the most interesting (and newsworthy) bit of a conversation that otherwise I've already read a thousand times -- it even took a publicist for Lucasfilm by surprise, as she posted on Twitter.



TORONTO, ONTARIO Ð JUNE 22: Hayden Christensen attends ÒObi-Wan KenobiÓ Marathon Screening in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario on June 22nd. The series streams exclusively on Disney+. (Photo by George Pimentel/Disney)



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<h2>More Speculation on Star Wars Filming Schedules</h2>


If you've been reading this weekly series long enough, you probably know by now how much I love speculating on filming dates for upcoming projects. I firmly believe they can reveal so much about it, like the state in which it's in at the moment and when we can expect some news. We got minor updates on that front this week.



First, the California Film Commission announced it will be giving back $21.755M to Disney/Lucasfilm for using the Golden State as a location to shoot The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu. It will happen this summer, and the process will last 92 days, which is a long shoot. Jon Favreau is just happy he can have Friday night dinners at his usual place.



Our friends from Sith Council broke this down on Wednesday, where Kristian Harloff speculated that this means the film will use the Volume for significant portions of the production, a tool that initially pushed Star Wars TV forward, but that now it's almost holding the entire franchise back. I personally think that the 92-day schedule, which roughly equals four months of filming, hints that they will not be using the soundstages as much as they did for the TV shows, because that speeds up the process, and four months is far too long for a two-hour movie. Remember that The Rise of Skywalker took six months to shoot, and that involved shooting all over the world, including long periods in Jordan, outdoors, and in London, indoors.



J.J. Abrams and Maryann Brandon on the set of STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER



The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu will be taking up the entire summer, which I've been speculating for a while, even before the first reports about this came out. I must admit, though, I thought they'd be done by Labor Day, which clearly won't be the case. Instead, an October wrap seems more in place. We'll circle back to this in a moment, but here's where Kristian and I are in full agreement: Why is this taking so long to come out?



Even if they're using the Volume for 50% of the production, most of the VFX on that footage will be done before the cameras roll. (If this is indeed a retooled version of season 4, they've probably had a heavy load of that work done for a while, since pre-production had started before the May 2023 WGA strike.) Are you telling me they can have a season of TV out in less than a year (season 3 wrapped in late March 2022, it came out March 1, 2023, for instance) but they can't edit a two-hour movie in less than a year and a half? That's when Bob Iger hinted The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu will come out: May 22, 2026.



I think the key date here is August 9-11. That's when D23 Expo (or whatever fancy name they're giving it this year) is happening, and I think we'll be getting some real news then. I wouldn't expect any more big announcements regarding feature films before then, aside from a 'Now filming' post about The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu, because they will probably be holding it back until Anaheim. An official release date might be announced then, plus some news on Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's New Jedi Order movie.







And that's our next topic here, because, like clockwork, we had to shoot down another fake rumor about the movie on Wednesday like it seems the entire Internet is doing every couple of months. I (do not) look forward to seeing what the next one will be. This one was about the film possibly getting the 'Episode X' title treatment, which is 100% false. I doubt the final name of the film has been decided, though I hear that internally it's only been referred to as 'New Jedi Order'. Honestly? I'm good if we keep that one. It just makes sense.



Lucasfilm's eyes are set on The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu for the most part now, which is officially in pre-production. But that doesn't mean that New Jedi Order has been put on hold. Stephen Knight is still writing away, as I understand it, and the company could be taking meetings with certain actors for some of the roles that will be featured -- like, say, Angela Bassett. I believe this is an announcement that could be made in August.



LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 07: Dave Filoni, Daisy Ridley and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy onstage during the studio panel at the Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)



But when will it start filming? I've been saying for a while that it could be the fall, but I wouldn't be surprised now if they pushed it until the beginning of 2025, especially if The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu will be taking May 2026. There are a couple of reasons behind that, and neither have to do with the quality or state of the script, as social media will likely interpret should a delay be announced:


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[*]The Lucasfilm leadership, and especially Dave Filoni and Carrie Beck, will be centered on The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu and probably don't want both film schedules to overlap. Because we now know that this could go on until Halloween, they could just decide to start New Jedi Order in the New Year.
[*]Pinewood Studios, which is where we assume the Daisy Ridley-led film will be shot, will be used by Marvel's Fantastic Four later this year. The schedule on that isn't super clear, but I'd be shocked if they were wrapped by Halloween. Of course, two projects could film there simultaneously, but do they need to, especially with their massive size and the corporate synergy between them?
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One final note on Pedro Pascal's schedule. It's a super minor update that doesn't really involve Star Wars, but I've been keeping track of this one for so long that I feel the need to share it. I've been speculating for months that Pascal's work on The Last of Us season 2, which is currently set up in Vancouver, will conclude by the end of March(-ish). On Friday, HBO announced the actors that will be playing four of the members of Abby's crew in the new season. They are needed for a scene(s) at the end of the prologue, which is where Pascal's character is mostly featured in the second game. I interpret that as a hint that they will be shooting stuff with them this next week. Then, I assume they will be shooting the rest of Joel's footage in the coming weeks, hoping for a wrap by the end of the month. That's just my educated guess.



(L-R): Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.



What then? Pascal has been rumored for a while to appear in Ari Aster's Eddington, which starts filming this month. Maybe he'll just join later, as his role is mostly supporting, right? That's what I thought. But Jeff Sneider reported a few weeks ago via his newsletter that Austin Butler, of Elvis and Dune: Part Two fame, was in talks to star in the pic, and he recently speculated that it could be for the same role as Pascal once was. Without knowing details about the character, it's impossible for me to say, but I found that at the very least interesting. He's later supposed to play a supporting role in Celine Song's Materialists, which goes up in May.



Reading between the lines of several reports and rumors, it seems like there should be an opening between Materialists, an indie rom-com that could wrap before mid-June, and Marvel's Fantastic Four, for Pedro Pascal to take a flight to California and visit the set of The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu. Will that happen, or will he use the downtime in the summer to 1) shoot more Joel scenes for The Last of Us, or 2) take a nap?



I'll end with this: the studios are sitting down with IATSE and Teamsters on Monday to start negotiations on a new contract. Here's hoping they reach a settlement soon, where everyone is paid fairly, and we don't have another strike happening this summer.



LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Pedro Pascal and Jon Favreau attend 'The Forge' experience inspired by the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, on February 22, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)


<h2>Jocasta Nu's Reading List</h2>

• <a style='color: #f7e028;' href='https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2024/03/what-star-wars-owes-dune.html' rel='noopener']SWNN[/url]: We reposted a two-year-old feature by Grant Davis on the many influences that Dune had over Star Wars, for topical reasons. It's a great read!
• <a style='color: #f7e028;' href='https://screenrant.com/star-wars-palpatine-mandalore-purge-operation-cinder-connection/' rel='noopener']Screen Rant[/url]: Sean Morrison spotted an interesting connection between Mandalore and Project Necromancer.
• <a style='color: #f7e028;' href='https://gamerant.com/star-wars-what-would-have-happened-galactic-empire-won/' rel='noopener']Game Rant[/url]: Cameron Miller goes down the dark path of 'What If... the Empire won?'
• <a style='color: #f7e028;' href='https://www.cbr.com/gina-carano-x-lawsuit-elon-musk/' rel='noopener']CBR[/url]: Here's a good laugh for a Sunday night. Gina Carano talks about that Disney lawsuit... and compares Elon Musk to Batman!

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Before I sign off, I'd like to mention the passing of Mark Dodson, who voiced Salacious B. Crumb in Return of the Jedi. He was 64. All of our hearts go out to his friends and family.



What did you think of the latest edition of “This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away”? Let me know your thoughts and suggestions down below in the comment section. You can also send them, or reach out with any information tips, directly via our Contact page.



Have a great week!



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