Star Wars: Infos zu Episode VIII und erstem Spin-off

Während eines Aktionärstreffens im Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco hat der Vorsitzende und CEO von Disney, Bob Iger, erste Informationen zum ersten Star Wars-Spin-off sowie Star Wars: Episode VIII bekannt gegeben.

Widmen wir uns zu Beginn in Stichpunkten den Informationen zum Spin-off-Film, der den Titel Rogue One tragen wird.

• Beginn der Dreharbeiten ist diesen Sommer in London.
• Geplanter Kinostart ist der 16. Dezember 2016.
• Regisseur ist Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla).
• Christ Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz) schreibt das Drehbuch basierend auf einer Idee von John Knoll ( Oscar-Preisträger, Visual Effects Supervisor und Chief Creative Officer bei Industrial Light & Magic).
• Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6), Jason McGatlin (Tim und Struppi, Krieg der Welten) und John Knoll sind ausführende Produzenten.
• Kathleen Kennedy und Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) fungieren als Produzenten, John Swartz (Star Wars: Das Erwachen der Macht) als Co-Produzent.

Zusätzlich bestätigte Iger Rian Johnson (Looper, Brick, The BrothersBloom) als Regisseur und Autor von Star Wars: Episode VIII. Als Termin für den Kinostart ist der 26. Mai 2017, also genau 40 Jahre und einen Tage nach Star Wars: Episode IV – Eine neue Hoffnung, geplant. Als Produzenten sind Kathleen Kennedy und Ram Bergman (Looper, Don Jon, Brick, The Brothers Bloom) mit an Bord.

Nachfolgend die auf starwars.com veröffentlichte, englischsprachige Pressemitteilung:

“Always in motion is the future,” Yoda said. The future of the Star Wars cinematic galaxy, however, is taking shape.

This morning at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, across the street from Lucasfilm, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger hosted a shareholder meeting where he announced news regarding the first Star Wars stand-alone movie as well as Star Wars: Episode VIII.

Rogue One is the title for the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga. Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz). The first actress cast is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim for her performance in The Theory of Everything. The idea for the story of Rogue One came from John Knoll, an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic. He will executive produce along with Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds). Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) are on board to produce and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co-produce. The film starts shooting this summer in London and is due for release on December 16, 2016.

In addition, Iger confirmed that Rian Johnson will write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. The film, which continues the saga after the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is set for release on May 26, 2017 — forty years and a day after the release of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. Johnson is widely considered one of cinema’s most gifted young filmmakers, having directed the modern sci-fi classic, Looper, as well as Brick and The Brothers Bloom. He was also behind the camera for three episodes of the critically-acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad, including “Ozymandias,” which series creator Vince Gilligan named as the best installment of the show. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, producer of Looper, Don Jon, Brick, and The Brothers Bloom, are on board to produce.