It’s been a big week for Star Wars, especially on Disney+, with the series finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars racing to an epic finish, and even news of a third season of The Mandalorian already in pre-production. Now, Variety has broken more news from the Star Wars universe, with a new, unnamed, “female-centric” series coming to the streaming service.
The new series will be headed by Leslye Headland, the co-creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the critically-acclaimed Netflix series “Russian Doll.”
No exact details on the plot are known yet, but according to Variety, sources say it will be a female-centric series that takes place in a different part of the Star Wars timeline than other projects. Headland is said to be attached to write and serve as showrunner on the series, with the show currently staffing. (Many fans, including myself, are antsy at the thought of this potentially being the rumored Doctor Aphra project or an Ahsoka stand-alone series, but considering that this takes place “in a different part of the Star Wars timeline”, I’m more inclined to say it could be the former.)
Disney+ is proving to be the ultimate home for new Star Wars content, with two other series already in the works, including an Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor and a Cassian Andor (Rogue One) prequel series starring Diego Luna, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.
If you need more Baby Yoda and Mando adventures in your life (and Ahsoka soon enough, too!), then get ready the make a jump to hyperspace, because Variety has confirmed that Season 3 of “The Mandalorian” is already in pre-production.
According to Variety, the initial phases of the series––writing and creating artwork and concepts––are now well underway:
Sources close to the production have confirmed that creator Jon Favreau has been “writing season 3 for a while,” and that the art department, led by Lucasfilm vice president and executive creative director Doug Chiang, has been creating concepts for Season 3 “for the past few weeks.”
“We’ve just started pre-production and are looking into further adventures for the Mandalorian in Season 3,” revealed one source.
In addition, another source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the production design department began working on season 3 on April 20, pointing to the fact the department requires “such a huge lead time” to explain why “the gears have started grinding really early on.”
Season 2 of the ultra-popular Star Wars series on Disney+ is set to premiere this October.
As you wish! “If I was stuck in front of my TV, I could think of some fun things to watch, like ‘The Princess Bride’ movie we made together,” said Cary Elwes in a video call with Robin Wright. That’s right, “The Princess Bride” is coming to Disney+ on May 1.
The movie was withheld from the recent, all-encompassing list of movies, shows, and original programming coming to the streaming service in May, so it’s actually a surprise release! Will you be watching the 1987 classic while stuck at home? I, for one, am excited to see such a beloved cult classic make its way onto the Disney+ library.
If you love both Disney Princesses and superhero team-ups, the Disney+ Original Film Secret Society of Second-Born Royals might just be your new favorite film.
SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS – Coverage. (Disney Channel/John Medland)
ISABELLA BLAKE-THOMAS, FALY RAKOTOHAVANA, NILES FITCH, PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE, OLIVIA DEEBLE, SKYLAR ASTIN
New photos and details of the film were featured in Entertainment Weekly, and it promises plenty of adventure. The film takes place in the Kingdom of Illyria, where Sam (Peyton Elizabeth Lee, “Andi Mack”) struggles to find her place as her older sister, Princess Eleanor (Ashley Liao), prepares to eventually take the throne. As Lee told Entertainment Weekly‘s Sydney Bucksbaum, “Sam has always felt like not only is she second born, but she is also second best.” She is struggling to find where she can shine and where she belongs. She’s not your typical princess; she loves to skateboard, and doesn’t aspire to be a queen. Oh, and she also has superpowers.
SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS – Coverage. (Disney+/Jeff Weddell)
SKYLAR ASTIN
Yes, in this film, first-borns may get the throne, but second-borns get superpowers, and join an elite team of heroes tasked with protecting the world. Think The Princess Diaries meets The Avengers.
As Lee explained, “Sam is going to be a unique addition to the Disney princess family because she doesn’t want to be a princess, she doesn’t want to be royalty. Because of that, it takes her on this journey of figuring out how to make it work for herself that’s going to break that delicate princess mold. When she finds this secret society that feels the same way, they figure out how to create their own legacy and have an impact on their country and the world.”
So when you’ve got a team of second-born royalty, you need a team leader who can understand them. Enter Prof. James Morrow (Skylar Astin, Hamlet 2, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”), a second-born royal with superpowers of his own. Astin told Bucksbaum, “He is such a fun character and provides a little levity to this otherwise fantasy action movie.” Acting as the team’s version of Professor X, he guides the royals as they learn to harness their abilities and work together. His unique power assists with that, as Astin added: “James has the ability to multiply, so that is very convenient for teaching and combat. I made sure to make certain versions of him more eager, certain ones more serious. In a fight scene there’s one that’s more aggressive. My mother is going to love this movie because there will be 20 of me.”
Joining Sam on her journey are:
The extremely friendly Princess January (Isabella Blake-Thomas)…
SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS – Coverage. (Disney+/John Medland)
ISABELLA BLAKE-THOMAS
The charming, but egotistical Prince Tuma (Niles Fitch)…
SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS – Coverage. (Disney+/Brendan Adam-Zwelling)
NILES FITCH
The caring, shy, and intelligent Prince Matteo (Faly Rakotohavana)…
SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS – Coverage. (Disney+/Brendan Adam-Zwelling)
FALY RAKOTOHAVANA
…and the very popular Princess Roxana (Olivia Deeble).
SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS – Coverage. (Disney+/John Medland)
OLIVIA DEEBLE
With all this young talent, Astin remarked that it was a case of “art imitating life” on the set. “I’ve become a little bit of a mentor for the kids on set. You forget how much experience you have until you work with people so much younger and you’re like, ‘Wow, I guess I’ve been doing this for a while.’ Since like literally when these kids were born!”
Not only was his skill as an actor, but as a musical performer came into play, according to Lee: “Noah [Lomax], who plays my best friend and bandmate in the movie, we had a couple musical scenes together. And [Astin] was so helpful because neither of us played our instruments prior to the film. He was there to lend his musical ear to what we were doing.”
Of course, any good superhero movie needs a villain, and this film is no exception. When Inmate 34 (Greg Bryk, “The Handmaid’s Tale”) escapes one of Illyria’s most secure prisons after ten years, he plots his revenge by taking over the throne… and the world. It’s up to this secret team to save the day. “That’s when we get to see [the royals] make their mark,” as Lee put it.
In addition to this preview of the film, Disney also released the poster below!
The Secret Society of Second-Born Royals arrives on Disney+ this summer.
Stellan Skarsgard (“Thor”) and Kyle Soller (“Poldark”) are both in final negotiations to join the cast of the upcoming “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” spin-off series that will air on Disney+.
The series is based on the character of Cassian Andor, who was played by Diego Luna in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”, and will take place prior to the events of “Rogue One”. Alan Tudyk will also reprise his role as K-2SO, who was Cassian Andor’s faithful, yet confrontational, reprogrammed Imperial security droid.
The Cassian Andor series is scheduled to debut sometime in 2021 on Disney+.
