Star Wars Movie News Roundup: General Leia, Thandie Newton and Edgar Wright

In this week’s Star Wars movie news roundup, we cover Leia in Episode IX, Thandie Newton’s thoughts on the Han Solo movie, & the rumor that Edgar Wright will direct the next Star Wars standalone.

Always in motion is Star Wars news. Even though no major Star Wars movie headlines broke last week, small developments occurred which stacked together ease the passing of these long months before Episode IX hits theaters in December.

Let’s get right into it.

Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow says IX will treat General Leia with “love and respect.”

In an interview with Cinema Blend, Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow assured fans he will address General Leia’s story in that film with tact:

"She [Carrie Fisher] was a major character, that’s not a secret. She really was. And it was extremely sad for all of us, mostly just because she was so loved by the Star Wars family and everyone that worked with her. I feel like our options are limited mostly by ourselves, in that there is only certain things that we are willing to do. But I can guarantee it will be handled with love and respect, and all of the soul that Carrie Fisher deserves."

Trevorrow also revealed that he never had the opportunity to meet Fisher before she died in December 2016. Unlike The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, who shot all of Fisher’s scenes prior to her passing, Trevorrow was unable to get any footage of Fisher for the next film. Thus, Lucasfilm was forced to rewrite the Episode IX script to address Leia’s fate in-universe without her actually appearing on-screen.

The task Lucasfilm and Trevorrow face is a hard one. My only hope is that however they choose to end Leia’s story, it does indeed contain “all of the soul that Carrie Fisher deserves” as Trevorrow said. Both Fisher and Leia deserve a proper Star Wars send-off.

Thandie Newton says the Han Solo film defied her expectations.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Westworld actress Thandie Newton spoke in glowing terms of her role in the 2018 standalone Star Wars movie about young Han Solo.

"To be part of a legacy like Star Wars, it’s loved for a reason. I could have been in it for a brief little nothing and I would have been thrilled and delighted."

Newton’s line “I could have been in it for a brief little nothing” implies her character occupies more than just a few seconds of screentime. That’s good news to hear because Newton is a terrific actress. Hopefully, we will glimpse of her character when Disney highlights their upcoming Star Wars movies at D23 Expo in July.

Edgar Wright could direct the next standalone Star Wars movie.

While interviewing the director of Baby Driver (2017), CNET asked Edgar Wright if he would be interested in directing a standalone Star Wars movie. Wright offered the following cryptic reply:

"I guess so, yeah. Yeah. I have something crazy, but I can’t tell you."

When CNET fished for clarification, Wright replied:

"“No, I really can’t,” [Wright said, laughing.] “You’ll see at Christmas.”"

Later, when CNET tweeted out the question, “Wait… could @edgarwright ACTUALLY be making a #StarWars movie?” Wright seemed to debunk the assumption with a tweet of his own.

To me, Wright’s tweet does nothing to dismiss him directing a Star Wars movie. It could be that he isn’t making a Star Wars movie right now. But come Christmas, Lucasfilm could announce his involvement in a standalone film following Han Solo’s premiere in May 2018. In this age of secrecy surrounding everything Star Wars, it’s worth it to keep an eye on any little hint we find of the franchise’s future projects.

Next: Watch the new trailer and gameplay footage for Star Wars Battlefront II

That’s it for this week’s Star Wars movie roundup! Keep following Dork Side for the latest developments on The Last Jedi and the Han Solo movie.