Harrison Ford wants to return to Indiana Jones. Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi tease the Doctor Who season finale. Aliens: Paradise Lost will explore the origins of the Aliens. Plus, oodles of new The Force Awakens pictures, and Peyton Reed talks about the importance of Ant-Man and the Wasp. Behold, Spoilers!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The flood of information from Entertainment Weekly’s blowout of Star Wars news
There’s not an abandoning of the character. He does not aspire to the position of Obi-‘Ben’ Kenobi, nor do I aspire to be some New Age Alec Guinness. His development is consistent with the character, and there are emotional elements which have occasioned his growth.
We spend a lot more time [in the movie] on his failure to master basic skills, like accounting, and accounting for his own behavior. There’s a lot of the rogue still left in Solo. Some things don’t change.
A huge gallery of images posted by the site also included myriad tidbits and quotes from the cast and the crew of the film. Speaking of Solo, J.J. Abrams touches on the life the smuggler has lead coming into the film:
I can’t imagine that Han Solo would ever not be a smartass. On the other hand, I’d like to think that he is very different at 30 than he is at around 70. When you live a life, you’ve had loss, you’ve experienced love and family and epiphanies and tragedies and disappointments and surprises. Those things accumulate.
Daisy Ridley discusses Rey’s family situation following her abandonment on Jakku:
She’s been alone for a long time. When something occurs when you’re 5, you know what went on but you don’t understand the reasoning. She’s hopeful for what lies ahead, whether that involves the past or not. Hope makes people good, a lot of the time. You hope for a brighter future, and resentment is outweighed.
And whether or not the staff she’s been seen using in footage is actually a lightsaber or not—specifically the saber staff of Darth Plagueis, the Sith master of Palpatine:
I mean everyone is praying that it’s Darth Plagueis’s staff. But... it’s just a staff. She’s a young woman in a galaxy by herself. It’s not primarily a weapon, it’s useful as well. It does all sorts of things roamin’ around Jakku. She uses it to defend herself. That’s really as far as it goes, unfortunately.
And where the new generation of heroes and villains find themselves in their personal journeys at the start of the film, especially Rey:
Rey, Finn, and Kylo, they all start off in a place where they have been led to feel like they’re wanting. She’s never sat around a table and had a meal with someone else. She works to feed herself, and she goes to sleep, and she gets up again. It is a sad life. The film, for Rey, is a journey of finding out that no one is no one.
Adam Driver briefly touches on Kylo Ren’s motivations as a villain:
When you break all of those things down, really it’s just because someone wasn’t loved enough or felt betrayed. That’s what makes those movies so universal. I think they can get in your mind in big and sweeping ways.
While John Boyega discusses Finn’s journey:
It’s about looking for a greater purpose, rather than thinking, ‘This is the only thing I can do’. He wants to change. He wants to make a difference. He’s trying to find some kind of moral dignity in this war.
You can find some of the images below—there’s many more at the link. [Entertainment Weekly]
And here’s a second TV spot—there’s no new footage, just extracts from previous trailers.
Han Solo Anthology Film
In the same Entertainment Weekly interview, Ford had some words of advice for whoever plays the younger Solo:
I would say, ‘Talk to your director. Watch the movies. And welcome aboard. Make it your own.’
Laurence Kasdan says the film will be his last Star Wars project. [Comic Book]
Indiana Jones 5
And once again from Entertainment Weekly, Ford leaps at the chance to return to Doctor Jones:
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’d love to do another Indiana Jones. A character that has a history and a potential, kind of a rollicking good movie ride for the audience, Steven Spielberg as a director — what’s not to like?
Ant-Man And The Wasp
Peyton Reed discusses why Janet Van Dyne will play a major role in the movie:
That was one of the things that was important to me in the first movie when I came on was emphasizing the Wasp more, both Hope Van Dyne and Janet Van Dyne. It’s a crucial part. It’s a crucial part because in the comic books, with the exception of the first handful of Ant-Man stories, Wasp came on pretty early on in the comics in the ’60s and you really thought of them as a partnership, a romantic partnership as well as a hero team. It’s going to be fun to play around with all the aspects of that in this movie.
[MTV]
Van Helsing
Unrelated to the Syfy TV show featuring a female Van Helsing
Alien: Paradise Lost
Ridley Scott says the film will explore just who created the alien creatures:
Prometheus 2 will start getting shot in February and I’ve already begun now so I know what the script is. Then there will be another one after that and then maybe we’ll back into Alien 1, as to why? Who would make such a dreadful thing?
[IGN]
Doctor Who
Steven Moffat says the title of the finale, “Hell Bent”, is in regards to The Doctor’s emotional state:
Episode 11 pushes the Doctor to the brink of madness, and Episode 12 is what happens next. If the Doctor has lost his moral compass, if he’s being selfish, if you really, really hacked him off, if you really got him angry and gave him nothing to fight for.. what would you end up with? That’s the ‘hellbent’ of the title. An angry, off-the-rails Doctor.
Peter Capaldi discusses the scope of the episode:
The whole episode’s quite big. It’s huge, actually – but also there’s a sadness, a romance, and a tragedy to Episode 12. It’s just so romantic. It’s very effective. And I loved all the stuff on one particular set. I was very excited. It looks so modern – a Kubrick-y kind of vibe. It was very nice. We’re in a very interesting place, because we’re competing with bigger shows, frankly. Most American shows have four times the budget per episode that we have, but that’s what we’re up against. We’re competing with Game of Thrones… This is traditional for Doctor Who, but it goes to show what this amazing production team can achieve.
Rassmussen reports on the events which led to the demise of Le Verrier Station in a new clip from “Sleep No More”.
Game of Thrones
The show has put out a casting call for two Northern Noblemen. Here’s the two casting descriptions:
“Boyce”: He’s a callow young nobleman in his 20’s who has been thrust into a position of power before he is ready. They’re looking for an actor using a Northern accent, and one who is physically fit, can play somewhat hot-headed and can look rugged.
“Fletcher”: He is a fat nobleman in his 60’s. He has distinctive rugged features, a Northern accent, and a distinguished air. Our source says he has a stirring speech during which he unexpectedly shifts political allegiances.
Watchers on the Wall speculates that the characters could be the new Lord Cerwyn—who’s taken over after the Boltons flayed the last Cerwyn in the previous season—and Wyman Manderly, a character who plays a small but important role during A Dance with Dragons as he switches sides to support Stannis’ (presumably instead Jon Snow’s in the show) cause. So there may be a crucial meeting in which these two Northern lords rally to fight the Boltons.
The X-Files
The show now has a solid date for its return: January 24th. [Den of Geek]
The Flash
Danielle Panabaker discusses what’s to come for Caitlin in an interview with DC All Access.
Once Upon A Time
A gallery of images from “The Bear King” has been released—you can find more at the link. [Spoiler TV]
The Vampire Diaries
Finally, Stefan is caught in a sticky situation in a clip from “Best Served Cold”.
Additional reporting by Gordon Jackson and Charlie Jane Anders. Image: Star Wars: The Force Awakens.