Obi Wan Kenobi: Celebs Rumors

EXCLUSIVE: Homeland and Death of Stalin actor Rupert Friend is set to star alongside Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch in James and Lucia, a biopic of celebrated author James Joyce which will focus on the Irish writer’s relationship with his daughter.

EXCLUSIVE: Monica Villarreal has joined Anonymous Content’s talent division as a manager and producer. She will be based out of both the company’s New York and Los Angeles offices. 

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (Drama, Theatrical):All Quiet on the Western FrontElvisTárTop Gun: MaverickThe Woman KingBEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (Comedy, Theatrical):The Banshees of InisherinEverything Everywhere All at OnceGlass Onion: A Knives Out MysteryThe MenuTriangle of SadnessBEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM (Theatrical or Non-Theatrical):The Bad GuysGuillermo del Toro’s PinocchioMarcel the Shell with Shoes OnPuss in Boots: The Last WishTurning RedBEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (Theatrical):All the Beauty and the BloodshedFire of LoveGood Night OppyMoonage DaydreamNavalnyBEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (Non-Theatrical):The Andy Warhol Diaries: “Collab: Andy & Basquiat“George Carlin’s American DreamThe Last Movie Stars: “Luck is an Art”Luci and DesiPelosi in the HouseBEST EDITED MULTI-CAMERA COMEDY SERIES:The Conners: “Of Missing Minds and Missing Fries“How I Met Your Father: “Timing is Everything”The Neighborhood: “Welcome to the Art of Negotiation”BEST EDITED SINGLE CAMERA COMEDY SERIES:Atlanta: “Andrew Wyeth.

Leave the lights on tonight. The trailer and poster for 20th Century Studios’ and 21 Laps’ horror-thriller The Boogeyman has arrived.

EXCLUSIVE: WME has promoted Amanda Hacohen and Abe Cohen Hoffing to Partner in the Scripted Television department.

Cue the menacing tuba. And the Imperial March. And the rousing Indiana Jones theme. Five-time Oscar-winning composer John Williams is getting the feature documentary treatment, and his half-century collaborator is among those wielding the baton.

Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures* Avatar: The Way of Water* The Banshees of Inisherin* Black Panther: Wakanda Forever* Elvis* Everything Everywhere All At Once* The Fabelmans* Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery* Tár* Top Gun: Maverick* The WhaleAward for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures* Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio* Marcel the Shell with Shoes On* Minions: The Rise of Gru* Puss in Boots: The Last Wish* Turning RedNorman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Drama* Andor * Better Call Saul * Ozark * Severance * The White Lotus Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Comedy* Abbott Elementary * Barry * The Bear * Hacks * Only Murders in the Building David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television* DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story* The Dropout * Inventing Anna * Obi-Wan Kenobi * Pam & Tommy Award for Outstanding Producer of Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures* Fire Island* Hocus Pocus 2* Pinocchio* Prey* Weird: The Al Yankovic StoryAward for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television* 30 for 30* 60 Minutes * George Carlin’s American Dream * Lucy and Desi* Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment, Variety, Sketch, Standup & Talk Television* The Daily Show with Trevor Noah * Jimmy Kimmel Live! * Last Week Tonight with John Oliver * The Late Show with Stephen Colbert * Saturday Night Live Award for Outstanding Producer of Game & Competition Television* The Amazing Race * Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls * RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars * Top Chef * The Voice 

The Directors Guild of America has unveiled the television and documentary nominations for its 75th anniversary DGA Awards, which will be handed out next month.

Fast growing, London-based VFX and animation studio group Cinesite said today it’s clinched a $235 million funding package as it continues to expand.

BAFTA winner John Boyega has returned to his roots in South London and spoken of the financial hardship he endured during his childhood. The Star Wars actor visited a Croydon youth centre and offered his advice on what he thinks is needed for young kids to turn their dreams into reality.

Enough with all the buzzing about Yellowjackets; it’s time to see what the gals from that high school soccer team are going to do next in the frigid mountain air.

Warning: The following interview has spoilers of Andor’s season one finale “Rix Road” on Disney+

Studio Ghibli took to Twitter on Thursday to hint at a collaboration with Lucasfilm.

Disney stock has fallen more than 11% today on double its normal trading volume, as investors recalibrate their expectations in light of a shaky quarterly earnings report.

This is the heartwarming moment a Scots Star Wars-obsessed schoolboy gets a surprise video message from his hero, Ewan McGregor.

This week’s guest is Joel Edgerton.

EXCLUSIVE: Michelle Rejwan is leaving her post as SVP Live Action Development & Production at Lucasfilm. She is transitioning back to being a full-time producer and has signed an overall deal with Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios. She will continue to be based out of the Lucasfilm office and will develop for both Lucasfilm and Disney.

Selome Hailu Indira Varma has been cast as Empress Natalya in “Dune: The Sisterhood” (working title), HBO Max’s upcoming “Dune” prequel series co-produced with Legendary Television. Empress Natalya is described as a formidable royal who united thousands of worlds in her marriage to Emperor Corrino. Varma is best known for playing Ellaria Sand in four seasons of “Game of Thrones” and recently starred as Tala Durith in “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Other prominent credits include “Luther” on BBC and “Paranoid” on ITV and Netflix. Up next, Varma will appear in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Extrapolations” on Apple TV+. She is reppedmby Gersh, Principal Entertainment LA and James Adams.

“Dune: Part Two” doesn’t hit theaters until November 3, 2023, but thanks to the box-office success of “Dune” last year, Legendary Pictures knows they have a hit on their hands. And that makes them confident enough to move ahead with their “Dune” series on the small screen with HBO Max.

EXCLUSIVE: Game Of Thrones, Obi-Wan and Carnival Row actress Indira Varma is the third actor to join anticipated prequel series Dune: The Sisterhood (working title) from HBO Max and Legendary Television.

Jon Burlingame editor Writing new music for the “Star Wars” universe would be daunting for any composer, considering its iconic scores by the legendary John Williams. Luckily for “Andor” composer Nicholas Britell, writer-producer Tony Gilroy and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy gave him “total freedom” to imagine a new, totally unique soundscape for the backstory of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the rebel spy first encountered in the 2016 film “Rogue One.” So, unlike “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the “Star Wars” series for which Williams wrote a new theme earlier this year, there isn’t a note of Williams music in “Andor,” which launched a 12-episode run last Wednesday on Disney+.

In some ways, James Earl Jones‘ baritone voice is as iconic to Darth Vader as the Sith lord’s helmet and red lightsaber. But now, after forty years, it’s time for someone else to take over the role — or at least, for someone to recreate the actor’s voice.

Star Wars character Darth Vader after 45 years in the role.As reported by Vanity Fair, the actor, 91, has signed off on archival voice recordings being used by young filmmakers, who plan to recreate Jones’ voice from his previous films for future Lucasfilm projects using artificial intelligence.“He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Matthew Wood, a veteran at Lucasfilm, said. “So how do we move forward?”Lucasfilm first partnered with Respeecher, a Ukrainian start-up that uses AI technology to create new dialogue from old voice recordings, on Disney+ series The Book Of Boba Fett to replicate the voice of young Luke Skywalker.Jones’ voice was artificially recreated for Darth Vader in recent series Obi Wan Kenobi, although Lucasfilm said the actor “guided” the performance.

James Earl Jones is reportedly stepping back from voicing “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader.

James Earl Jones is reportedly stepping back from voicing “Star Wars”‘ Darth Vader.

Vanity Fair reporting that the 91-year-old actor has agreed to allow a Ukrainian AI company to replicate his voice for future “Star Wars” titles. In Vanity Fair’s new report published on Friday, sound artists at Lucasfilm and the Ukrainian AI speech company Respeecher discussed how Jones’ voice was recreated digitally for the recently released Disney+ series “Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which saw prequel trilogy stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen return as Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker.

BreAnna Bell James Earl Jones, who has voiced Darth Vader for nearly 40 years of “Star Wars” films, seems to be stepping away from the role. According to Vanity Fair, the 91-year-old actor has signed off on archival voice recordings being used by young filmmakers, who plan to utilize artificial intelligence synthetic speech technology to recreate Jones’ younger voice from his previous films for future Lucasfilm projects. “He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Matthew Wood, a Lucasfilm veteran of 32 years, told the outlet. “So how do we move forward?”

Star Wars villain since 1977 and most recently took on the role for new Disney+ series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which also stars Ewan McGregor. But there have been reports of the actor wanting to retire, with speculation that Lucasfilm was using AI to replace Jones and use his voice for the future now confirmed. The actor himself seems to have approved the move, with the people behind the advanced technology saying he even offers them advice on it.

according to Vanity Fair.The Ukrainian start-up Respeecher, which specializes in voice cloning for content creators, used archival recordings and an AI algorithm to generate Jones’s voice for Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series, released in May.This was done in collaboration with Disney-owned “Star Wars'” production company Lucasfilm, which explained that Jones “guided” the character’s lines in the show, but his actual voice was generated by Respeecher, according to AV Club.Although the project coincided with the early days of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, Respeecher’s employees saw it to completion.

James Earl Jones – one of the most distinctive voices in the history of film – appears to have made steps to step back from voicing the Star Wars character, Darth Vader, after nearly 40 years in the role.

It looks like James Earl Jones will no longer be providing the voice of Darth Vader.

Amazon Studios has closed a three-year first look film deal with Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell’s Safehouse Pictures.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Yet another “Star Wars” series arrives on Disney+ today, this time a “prequel of a prequel” that centers around Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor following his home planet’s destruction and the rise of the Rebel Alliance. “Andor,” whose first three episodes premiered on the streamer on Sept. 21, stars Luna as the eponymous Rebel leader. It’s mostly set five years before the events of “Rogue One” with the exception of some flashback scenes tracing Andor’s childhood. Written by “Rogue One” co-writer Tony Gilroy, the series serves as an enthralling set-up to the dramatic mission that takes place in the 2016 film, which sees Cassian’s “Star Wars” legacy solidified when he successfully steals the Death Star plans.

“Andor” is the first Star Wars live-action show that does not star a Jedi or a bounty hunter. Instead, the series focuses on the beginning whispers of the Rebellion through the eyes of Cassian Andor, an assassin and a Rebel spy introduced during the last days of his life in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” And it’s all the better for it, resulting in one of the best “Star Wars” stories yet told.The series chronicles the five years leading up to the events of “Rogue One” and takes place just four years after “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the most recent Star Wars live-action series to debut on Disney+. In the four episodes released to the press, there are no Skywalkers or Sith yet, no light sabers or force users.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic “Andor” is, both by design and circumstance, immediately different from its “Star Wars” television predecessors. Where “The Mandalorian,” “Boba Fett,” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” wove their biggest reveals into the larger fabric of the Lucasfilm universe, “Andor” doesn’t rush toward those moments that might make fans gasp out of pure recognition. Instead, it does something more surprising still: it tells the story of people who have nothing to do with Solos, Skywalkers or Palpatines, but whose lives matter nonetheless. Of course, at least part of the reason the series can take its time this way is because haunted hustler Cassian Andor (Diego Luna, also an executive producer) isn’t a brand-new character at all. As the reluctant hero of 2016’s “Rogue One,” which portrayed the rebel pilot mission to steal the Death Star plans which drive “A New Hope,” Cassian’s “Star Wars” legacy is already written. We already know Cassian’s life will eventually intersect with someone like rebel leader Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly, returning for more in-depth work in “Andor”). We already know his fate — dramatic and hopeful and unforgettable in those final minutes of “Rogue One” — and that it’s well and truly sealed.  

Is there a dark secret lurking behind your guilty pleasures? Hulu’s new series “Welcome to Chippendales” reveals the true story of adult entertainment’s best-known dance troupe. The project focuses on founder Somen “Steve” Banerjee, an Indian immigrant who would find success before becoming embroiled in a criminal scandal.