Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023: A new Ahsoka trailer and a Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny teaser.

by Thinus Ferreira

Several new Star Wars teasers and trailers - and as a bonus, a new teaser from the upcoming Indiana Jones film with Harrison Ford - made their debut at Friday's Star Wars Celebration Europe in London thanks to Lucasfilm, including for new live-action series Ahsoka.

Star Wars: The Acolyte

The live-action series Star Wars: The Acolyte, currently filming in London, is set to debut sometime in 2024 on Disney+, and is set 100 years before Star Wars Episode 1. 

The story takes place during the High Republic era of the Star Wars universe, during the height of the Republic era which was also known as the Golden Age of the ancient Jedi order.

With teaser material only shown to attendees, the series stars Amandla Stenberg and Lee Jung-jae, as well as Jodie Turner-Smith, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dean-Charles Chapman, Charlie Barnett and Margarita Levieva.

Star Wars: The Acolyte has been created by Leslye Headland, who told Star Wars Celebration conventiongoers that this is the furthest back in time Star Wars is yet to do a live-action series. 

"I really wanted to delve into the Star Wars universe and tell the story of this entire world that I love so much from the perspective of the villains, Headland said.

"The first thing that became apparent was that we're going to have to set this between the High Republic and the beginning of the prequels - not only because it's such an exciting part of the timeline, but also because this is when the bad guys are outnumbered. They are the underdogs."

Andor, season 2

Attendees also got a sneak peek of the second and final season of Andor with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) which will also make its debut on Disney+ in 2024. 

The second season which will have 12 episodes will cover a period of four years, leading up to the period right before the Star Wars: Rogue One film.

Skeleton Crew

Star Wars Celebration also showed the first trailer for the upcoming series Skeleton Crew just to attendees at the get-together, introducing and following a group of rebellious kids traversing the Star Wars galaxy, with Jude Law playing a Jedi.

Aksoka

Rosario Dawson who plays the exiled Jedi Aksoha Tano appeared at Star Wars Celebration Europe and said that the series will make its debut on Disney+ in August this year. 

The first teaser for Ahsoka was shown to attendees and this trailer was made available for a global audience. Mary Elizabeth Winstead also appeared on stage, who is portraying the Hera Syndulla character. 

Also part of the cast is Ivanna Sakhno, Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger and Hayden Christensen who will return as Anakin Skywalker. Creator Dave Filoni is the writer and co-executive producer.

According to the show's official description, Ahsoka is "set after the fall of the Empire, and follows the former Jedi knight as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy".

Star Wars film: Daisy Ridley back as Rey

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced that Daisey Ridley will be back in a new Star Wars film as her Jedi character Rey for an as-yet-untitled film.

The film from a script by Steven Knight will follow the events after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as Rey establishes a new Jedi order, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as director.

"I've spent the better part of my life by meeting real heroes who are overcoming oppressive regimes and battling impossible odds,” Obaid-Chinoy said. 

"I think that’s the heart of Star Wars and that's why I'm attracted to the promise of a new Jedi order and I'm attracted to the idea of immersing myself in a Jedi Academy with a powerful Jedi Master."

Two further Star Wars films

Kathleen Kenndy also revealed that two further Star Wars films will be made, which will be directed by Dave Filoni and James Mangold.

Dave Filoni's Star Wars film of which no title was given, will be set during the New Public era and will "close out" the various converging stories being told in Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett.

James Mangold's Star Wars film, of which no title was given, "will go back to the dawn of the Jedi" order", set 25 000 years before any of the Star Wars stories already told.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Since it's also from Lucasfilm, Disney has debut the first trailer of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, coming to cinemas in June.

Harrison Ford reprises his role as the archaeology explorer-adventurer, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas and John Rhys-Davies part of the cast. 

While conference attendees got to see six minutes of the upcoming film, global viewers at least get the latest trailer.

This time Indy is on the trail of an ancient device, chased by both himself and a villain portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen who remarks: "Hitler made mistakes and with this I will correct them all".

Harrison Ford who is 80, plays Indiana Jones at the age of 70, finding himself in a situation where he is being coaxed out of retirement for one last adventure. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg as the executive producers.

Production starts on Disney+'s Star Wars Ahsoka series with Rosario Dawson.

by Thinus Ferreira

Production has started on Disney+'s latest Star Wars series, Ahsoka, with Rosario Dawson reprising her role as seen in the other Disney+ Original, Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

The start of production was revealed through Star Wars' Twitter handle on social media, posting an image of the director's chair with the name Ahsoka printed on the back, and producer-director Dave Filoni's trademark black cowboy hat draped over the one side.

Hayden Christensen will be appearing in Ahsoka reprising his prequel role as Akshoka's former Jedi master Anakin Skywalker.

Hayden Christensen is also appearing as Darth Vader in the upcoming new Disney+ miniseries Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi launching on 27 May on Disney+ - with Disney+ launching in South Africa on 18 May just in time for South African viewers to watch the show without it getting ruined by spoilers.

The rest of the Ahsoka cast includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ray Stevenson.

The first season of Ahsoka will premiere on Disney+ in 2023.

Production on Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series for Disney+ to start in April, more casting announced.

by Thinus Ferreira

Production on the Star Wars series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, for The Walt Disney Company's Disney+ streaming service will start in April with Disney that made several casting announcements for the limited series on Monday.

Several actors have been added to the Obi-Wan Kenobi series that will be headlined by Ewan McGregor reprising his role and with Hayden Christensen also returning; including Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

It's very likely that Joel Edgerton will be reprising his role as the character of Owen Lars, the uncle of Luke Skywalker, which he played in the the Star Wars prequel trilogy films of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series will take place a decade after the events of Revenge of the Sith after which Anakin Skywalker who was Obi-Wan's Jedi apprentice has turned into the evil Sith lord Darth Vader.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is executive-produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Deborah Chow and Ewan McGregor. Joby Harold is the writer of the series which is one of several spin-offs that Disney has commissioned for Disney+ following the huge success of Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

ALSO READ: Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi series with Ewan McGregor put on hold as Disney reduces script order and looks for a new writer.

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 9 September 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:  

■ "Is this the best you can do for R900?"
DStv Premium subscribers continue to complain about the lack of value and quality content as BBC Studios' BBC First channel is also ripped away and subscribers say they have had enough of "junk viewing".

■ Another reader angry about the axing of ITV Choice and now BBC First, says DStv hasn't bothered to reply while having to pay R1000 monthly to watch repeats.
"What led MultiChoice to the belief thatno-one watched BBC First on channel 119?" asks the reader that wants to move from DStv to Netflix.


■ The disturbing photos from Ghana's trash-bad imitation TV version of M-Net and MultiChoice's Big Brother Naija.
Horrific production values as the so-called Biggy 237 trash show is marred by technical problems; contestant housemates sleeping in dirty, unkept room on student matrasses on the floor; organisers lied about the show being part of MultiChoice Ghana.


■ New BBC director-general Tim Davie against a switch to subscription.

■ New BBC boss Tim Davie to crack down on BBC staff posting their personal views on social media.
- Won't hesitate to shut down BBC TV channels if they no longer offer enough value.
- Says BBC has reached end of linear TV expansion.
- "There is still too much bureaucracy."

■ Star Wars actor John Boyega slams Disney and says he was pushed to the side.

■ How Netflix reinvented entertainment as well as corporate culture.

■ Covid-19 has wiped out 2020's new TV schedule in the United States.

■ Hollywood is filled with fear and loathing over the new stranglehold over cinema of video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

■ Andrew Lloyd Webber warns that the arts is "at the point of no return".

■ Away on Netflix is another mission-to-Mars TV drama that doesn't achieve liftoff.

■ Reporters from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Australian Financial Review flee China after media crackdown.


■ "Shame on you Unilever! Shame on you TRESemmé!"
eNCA (DStv 403) continues its slide into activism and blended in-news commentary, blurring the line between just reporting the facts in TV news bulletins and giving personal opinion.
- EFF political party harasses eNCA reporter Nobusuthu Hejana.
- EFF political party harasses eNCA reporter AGAIN.


■ South Africa's auditor-general (AG) questions the SABC's R63 million contract with 5 international news agencies - BBC, Reuters, Feature Stories, Associated Press (AP), and AFP awarded in 2017.

■ Ellen DeGeneres will address the behind-the-scenes scandal at her talk show on the air when the new 18th season starts.

■ Global pirate viewing will start on 30 October when the second season of Star Wars' The Mandalorian is released on Disney+ that hasn't yet launched or announced any launch date for Disney's video streaming service in South Africa or Africa.


■ What the end of Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E! (DStv 124) says about the changing TV industry in America.
- The internet today would not be what it is without the Kardashian influence.
- The influencer/creator culture we have today would not exist without Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Hills and The Simple Life.


■ "Very bad form": Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pull out of a fundraiser linked to a video streaming rival to Netlifx after they had already said yes but are now producers for Netflix (subscription required).

- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's "money panic" played amajor role in their decision to sign a production deal with Netflix.
- Netflix viewers cancel their subscriptions after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their Netflix production deal.

Disney drops the official trailer for the final spectacular-looking 7th season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars - but South African viewers won't get to see it.

Disney has dropped a fantastic official teaser for the final 12-episode 7th season of the revived animation series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars announcing that it will become available on its Disney+ streaming service from 21 February, with a new episode released on a weekly basis.

South African and African viewers watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars first on WarnerMedia's Cartoon Network (DStv 301) and then followed it to the Walt Disney Company's Disney XD (DStv 304) channel, and then to Netflix.

Now however there will be no legal way for them to see the final season's episodes when it debuts on Disney+.

Disney isn't making its streaming service available in South Africa or anywhere on the African continent which means that viewers who had invested their time in watching it, can't see how it ends.



by Thinus Ferreira

After its cancellation, Star Wars: The Clone Wars that has now been revived, will seamlessly resume where the unresolved storylines left off.

In the final and 7th season viewers will see with the same characters like Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker), Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Arnold Taylor) and Darth Maul (Sam Witwer), using the same voice actors and taking place at the same time period in that galaxy far, far away.

The show is set between the period of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith with the final episodes that will overlap with the events transpiring in Revenge of the Sith and that ends with the Jedi order being decimated through Order 66.

The official trailer shows what looks to be a spectacular duel between the failed Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano and Darth Maul on the planet of Mandalore.

E.K. Johnston's novel Ahsoka revealed that the Siege of Mandalore was brought to an abrupt end by Order 66, which means that the season might very well show how Ahsoka gets forced to break off her fight with Darth Maul to escape the Stormtroopers who will suddenly turn on all Jedi.

'Long have I waited': Final trailer drops for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that will conclude the epic space opera saga.

"Long have I waited, and now your coming together is your undoing," says the voice of the evil Emperor Palpatine in the final trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that brings back Luke, Leia, Palpatine and a C-3PO protocol droid that seems to be saying goodbye.

J.J. Abrams is the director and produced the film together with producers Kathleen Kennedy and Michelle Rejwan.

Both Luke (Mark Hamill) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) make an appearance in the rousing final trailer, while several scenes and characters hint at a finality and a sense of closure that might very well not mean happy endings for everyone involved.

"People keep telling me they know me," says Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the trailer. "No-one does." Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) appears, as does an older Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams).

In an already hauntingly emotional scene, the golden protocol droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) stares at his group of ragtag friends after he's asked what he's doing. "Taking one last look, sir, at my friends" as the rousing, iconic Star Wars score swells.

Other cast returning for the final instalment includes Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o and Kelly Marie Tran, and adding Richard E. Grant and Keri Russell.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will have its release on 20 December 2019 and will bring to a close George Lucas' sprawling space opera saga as the 9th and final film in the Skywalker story.

'I have a good feeling about this': Ewan McGregor set to return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a new Star Wars live-action drama series for Disney+.

The Scottish actor Ewan McGregor (48) is set to reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Lucasfilm's Star Wars film series for a new live-action Star Wars drama series for Disney's new video streaming service, Disney+ that will launch on 22 November in the United States.

Disney has not put out a statement about Ewan McGregor's return to the Star Wars universe and the new as-yet-untitled series, but the Hollywood trade publications all reported his attachment to a new series in development that will see him reprise the role he played in the three Star Wars prequel films, The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005).

The official announcement about Ewan McGregor's Star Wars drama series is likely being kept for Disney's annual D23 Expo that will take place from 23 August in Anaheim, California in the United States.

Ewan McGregor was originally in talks for a series of Star Wars feature films that would revolve around the legendary Jedi Knight character of Obi-Wan Kenobi but that plan was scuppered after Disney and Lucasfilm's stand-alone Han Solo origin story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, was a box office disappointment in the United States and internationally.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series would be the third live-action Star Wars drama series commissioned by Disney from Lucasfilm for its Disney+ subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, following The Mandalorian from Jon Favreau starring Pedro Pascal that will debut on Disney+ at launch.

Disney also commissioned an as-yet-untitled series based on the Cassian Andor character introduced in the Rogue One film, with Diego Luna who will be reprising his role in the prequel series from that film, alongside Alan Tudyk as the droid K-2S0. Stephen Schiff is the showrunner.

Disney+ won't be available in South Africa or Africa as a streaming service until at least 2022 according to Disney's investors' presentation it did earlier this year.

A new hope however exists that Disney will in the meantime while it doesn't have a presence in sub-Saharan Africa as a streaming service, distribute and make the original programming created for Disney+ available internationally to buyers like MultiChoice, M-Net (DStv 101), and possibly even MultiChoice's own video streaming service, Showmax.

Star Wars reveals first details about its live-action drama series, The Mandalorian, for its Disney+ video streaming service and how real-life Stormtroopers used as on-call extras suddenly became an on-set test audience.

Lucasfilm and Disney gave the first look and more details about the upcoming first-ever live-action Star Wars drama series, The Mandalorian, written and directed by Jon Favreau for Disney's upcoming new Disney+ video streaming service with the showrunners who explained how hiring some cosplay Stormtroopers as on-call extras suddenly created an on-set test audience.

At the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago during The Mandalorian panel discussion, Disney and Lucasfilm released 4 publicity photos and a 3-minute behind-the-scenes look of footage, featuring Pedro Pascal's Mandalorian warrior, Carl Weathers' Greef Carga as the head of a guild of bounty hunters, and Gina Carano's character of Cara Dune as a former Rebel Shock Trooper.

The Mandalorian is set after The Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens, in a period of extreme turmoil, political uncertainty and lawlessness in that "galaxy far, far away" with Dave Filoni who directs the first episode as co-executive producer together with Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson.

The Mandalorian will become available on Disney+ on 12 November when the new video streaming service launches in the United States and is set "5 years after the death of Darth Vader".

The protagonist makes use of a spaceship called Razor's Crest, described "a reflective silver old army gunship", and is a citizen of the underworld on the outer reaches of the galaxy - "a character you've never met before, a period of time you've never seen".

With Africa and South Africa not forming part of The Walt Disney Company's initial rollout of Disney+ and Disney's existing linear TV channels like Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service not appropriate for the show, it's highly likely that many Star Wars fans will be "sailing the high seas", meaning downloading and sharing illegal copies of The Mandalorian series from November.

That is unless Disney possibly sells content like The Mandalorian through its international TV distribution division in the way it has been doing with series produced by its Disney Television Studios, ABC Studios or 20th Century Fox Television (all now owned by Disney).

While the 3-minute footage of the show is blacked out from the live-stream feed, the rest of the fascinating panel discussion can be seen on YouTube in which Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni discuss the origin of The Mandalorian as well as its setting and time frame.

The Mandalorian is described as having a tone of old "gunslinger Westerns", mixed with Star Wars' science fiction elements.

"Fantasy fulfilment that's what's like," said Pedro Pascal about the role. "I don't know what I can and can't say. The Mandalorian is a mysterious lone gunfighter on the outer reaches of the galaxy. Some would say he has low moral character - he's badass."

Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni shared a funny, fascinating story about how they didn't have enough Stormtroopers and put out a call to recruit cosplay members of the 501st Legion to help portray Stormtroopers in The Mandalorian.

"So we're making the show and we're starting to bring in some vestigates of the Empire. And we had done some planning and there was a scene where we needed Stormtroopers," said Jon Favreau.

"We had our production meeting and after seeing the set we realised we didn't have enough stormtroopers to make the impact. There were only so many Stormtrooper uniforms we had and we were concerned that it was not going to do the trick for the storytelling."

"So we hatched a plan. Has the 501st Legion actually ever been on camera?" asked Jon Favreau.

Dave Filoni continued and said "we put a call out and said we need a bunch of Stormtroopers. And they came down, out of nowhere. The thing that you know about Star Wars fans is that, in all honestly, a lot of the costumes they made are even better than what's used on-screen at certain points."

"So I had no worry that it would hold up and it sure held up. And as much as their armour is accurate - they look like stormtroopers - they act like Stormtroopers. They know what to do."

Jon Favreau said "What was so funny was how surprised some of them looked because I didn't realise that they weren't told what it was for."

Dave Filoni said "And then we realised too everything that we rolled out in front of them was almost a test audience. And we would sit there as something would roll out and go 'Ooh, they seemed to like that'. So that was fascinating".

Pedro Pascal chosen as the lead actor in Lucasfilm and Disney's Star Wars drama series, The Mandalorian.

Lucasfilm and Disney have chosen Pedro Pascal as the lead actor in its Star Wars live-action drama series, The Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian is currently in production and filming for Disney's upcoming Disney+ video streaming service set to launch in late-2019.

With Disney+ at this point likely only for the United States, it stands to reason that The Mandalorian will likely be distributed and sold internationally to broadcasters and streaming services with a good chance that it could end up on M-Net (DStv 101) or Showmax for South African and African viewers.

Jon Favreau is the writer and executive producer of The Mandalorian, with Dave Filoni who will be directing the first episde.

Variety first reported about Pedro Pascal.

The Mandalorian takes place after the events of Return of the Jedi and before the evil First Order rose to replace the evil Empire.

Disney described The Mandalorian as "the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic".

Earlier this week Disney announced a second live-action Star Wars drama series that it will produce, and that will revolve around the Rogue One Rebel spy character of Cassian Andor, with Diego Luna who who will be reprising his role.

Star Wars creator George Lucas visits the set of Disney's first live-action drama series, The Mandalorian.

Jon Favreau/Instagram

The creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, this week visited the set of Disney's first live-action Star Wars drama series, The Mandalorian, that is currently in production with writer and executive producer Jon Favreau.

Filming recently started on The Mandalorian which is basically set after the film Return of the Jedi.

The Star Wars drama series that so far has no broadcasting date, will be produced for Disney's to-be-launched streaming service in America, but will likely be available through foreign distribution from The Walt Disney Company for international broadcasters.

It means that Lucasfilm's Star Wars series might become available to broadcaster's like M-Net for possible pick-up in countries where Disney's streaming service won't have a presence, in the way that Netflix picked up Star Trek: Discovery from CBS All Access for outside the United States.

This week George Lucas surprised the crew of The Mandalorian with a set visit, revealed by Jon Favreau who posted some images on his social media Instagram account. "Birthday Surprise," wrote Jon Favreau who celebrated his 52nd birthday.

Jon Favreau and George Lucas took the photos inside what looks like some kind of bar or cantina, with a photo including Dave Filoni who oversees all of Lucasfilm Animation projects, and who is the director of the first episode of The Mandalorian.

No casting has yet been announced for The Mandalorian.

Title of Disney's live-action Star Wars TV series from Lucasfilm revealed as The Mandalorian, will take place after the fall of the Empire.

The director of Disney's upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series has revealed that the title will be The Mandalorian.

Director Jon Favreau who is also writing and the executive producer of the show, said on Instagram that "After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic".

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A post shared by Jon Favreau (@jonfavreau) on Oct 3, 2018 at 4:17pm PDT

Mandalorians live on the planet Mandalore in the Outer Rim territories, a warrior-like society famed and feared throughout the known galaxy.

Filming recently started on The Mandalorian which is basically set after the film Return of the Jedi.

The Star Wars drama series that so far has no broadcasting date, will be produced for Disney's to-be-launched streaming service in America, but will likely be available through foreign distribution from The Walt Disney Company for international broadcasters.

It means that Lucasfilm's Star Wars series might become available to broadcaster's like M-Net for possible pick-up in countries where Disney's streaming service won't have a presence, in the way that Netflix picked up Star Trek: Discovery from CBS All Access for outside the United States.

M-Net for instance acquired the rights to series from both Netflix and Amazon before those video streaming services made their debut in South Africa and Africa.

The Star Wars TV drama series will reportedly be more expensive than Game of Thrones, itself one of the most expensive TV productions ever.

According to Making Star Wars, a new rumor indicates The Mandalorian's first season will be eight episodes long, and also showing some long-lensed paparazzi set photos indicating a desert planet.

e.tv strikes back with its first Star Wars film saga showing.

e.tv has acquired and scheduled Lucasfilm's Star Wars saga with seven of the films in the ongoing series that is being broadcast on the free-to-air broadcaster since Saturday 18 August.

I still remember very well the first time I saw Star Wars. I knew about it as a kid and what it was about, have read books about it and seen multiple photos, but never had the chance to see it.

Then it was finally scheduled on public South African television and I watched the second film, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on a Saturday night on what was then the CCV channel.

After M-Net for years showed the Star Wars films since the 80's, e.tv is finally, for the first time, showing the Star Wars films as a festival, starting with Episode IV: A New Hope and ending with Episode VII: The Force Awakes.

"Star Wars is one of the world's biggest film franchises, and e.tv is extremely proud to bring the action, drama and laughs of the saga to e.tv audiences for the first time. The force will be strong with e.tv and Star Wars this August and September," says Marlon Davids, MD of e.tv.

The interesting thing (and part of an ongoing debate) is whether viewers watching Star Wars or starting Star Wars, should watch the story chronologically - meaning from Episode 1 to Episode 8 - or how they were released, meaning, starting from Episode 4.

e.tv chose to start in media res with episode 4, which I believe is the right decision.

Episodes I to III of Star Wars are understood better, with added dramatic irony and contextual tension when those are viewed after Episodes IV to VI.

Here is e.tv's Star Wars movies line-up:

Saturday, 18 August 21:35: Star Wars: Episode IV - Episode A New Hope
Saturday, 25 August at 22:25: Star Wars Episode V - Empire Strikes Back
Saturday, 1 September at 21:40: Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi
Saturday, 8 September at 21:35: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Saturday, 15 September at 21:25: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of The Clones
Saturday, 22 September at 21:50: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
Sunday, 30 September at 20:00: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

The new live-action Star Wars TV drama series will be more expensive than Game of Thrones.

The upcoming new live-action Star Wars TV drama series will reportedly be more expensive than Game of Thrones - itself one of the most expensive TV productions ever in television's new so-called Gilded Age filled with more ultra-premium, high-cost series than what anyone can ever hope to all watch.

In television's new arms race to make and roll out expensive and prestige-filled series as existing broadcasters try to retain their relevance and ratings, while streaming video services likewise ramp up and splash the cash on lavish shows, Disney is the latest to make it rain mega-bucks to create a must-watch drama.

Hidden inside a lengthy new business article in The New York Times about The Walt Disney Company's as yet unnamed and to be launched Disney subscription video-on-demand service (SVOD), is an eye-watering statistic: that Disney plans to spend $10 million (R134.2 million) per episode - per episode! - on making the new Star Wars drama series.

The New York Times article also reveals that the as yet unnamed Star Wars series will have a first season of 10 episodes. It means that the production budget for the series will be over R100 million.

HBO, producer of the fantasy drama series, Game of Thrones, seen in South Africa and across the rest of Africa on M-Net (DStv 101), in September 2017 revealed that the 7th season of Game of Thrones cost $10 million per episode but that the upcoming final 8th season would cost $15 million per episode, making the last season of Game of Thrones TV's most expensive per-episode show yet.

However, because earlier seasons cost less and had more episodes and because Game of Thrones' last season will only have 6 episodes - and with Star Wars start off with $10 million and also foreseeably running into multiple season in the future - it's clear that Star Wars will actually surpass Game of Thrones as television's most expensive show. For now.

Other shows are however nipping at the heels when it comes to TV-making sticker shock.

Netflix's royalty-laden The Crown available on Netflix South Africa also cost $10 million per episode (Buckingham Palace is a big place with multiple drafty rooms to meticulously recreate inside a soundstage).

And there are other "scary things": The first season of the supernatural drama series Stranger Things also available on Netflix South Africa cost $6 million per episode, and increased to $8 million for the second season.

Star Trek: Discovery made by CBS Television Studios and available outside America on Netflix like Netflix South Africa, had a price tag of $8.5 million for its first season and a total production budget of more than $120 million.

Now take a deep breath because the upcoming Star Wars series with its "most expensive" label that hasn't even landed yet, will be eclipsed by another "most most expensive" show that will make it debut sometime in late-2019.

This one is even further off into production development. Amazon Studios' Lord of the Rings TV series that will unspool on its Amazon Prime Video streaming service, and rumoured to start around 2021, will come in at a cost of $1 billion for at least 5 seasons.

Lucasfilm adds Jon Favreau as writer and executive producer of Disney's first live-action Star Wars drama series.

Lucasfilm announced that it has added Jon Favreau as writer and executive producer of Disney's first live-action Star Wars drama series.

The as yet untitled Star Wars drama series that also has no broadcasting date, will be produced for Disney's to-be-launched streaming service in America, but will likely be available through foreign distribution from The Walt Disney Company for international broadcasters.

It means that the Star Wars series might become available to broadcaster's like M-Net for possible pick-up in countries where Disney's streaming service won't have a presence, in the way that Netflix picked up Star Trek: Discovery from CBS All Access for outside the United States, and how M-Net acquired the rights to both Netflix and Amazon series before those streamers made their debut in South Africa and Africa.

Walt Disney first revealed plans for a live-action Star Wars series in November 2017 and its streaming services is expected to launch in 2019 in the United States.

"I couldn’t be more excited about Jon coming on board to produce and write for the new direct-to-consumer platform," says Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm president, in a statement.

"Jon brings the perfect mix of producing and writing talent, combined with a fluency in the Star Wars universe. This series will allow Jon the chance to work with a diverse group of writers and directors and give Lucasfilm the opportunity to build a robust talent base."

Jon Favreau says "If you told me at 11 years old that I would be getting to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, I wouldn't have believed you. I can't wait to embark upon this exciting adventure".

The actor-director played roles in both the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series on the Cartoon Network and Disney XD in which he voiced the character of Pre Vizsla, and will appear in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story film.

He is also an executive producer of the Iron Man and Avengers films for Marvel Studios.

SA film critics react to latest Star War's latest film, The Last Jedi: 'Sh*t, that was amazing!'

Ecstatic and teary-eyed South African film critics walked out of the cinema yesterday evening after Disney’s closely guarded press preview screening for the latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, unable to contain their emotions and excitement with comments ranging from "shit, that was amazing", to "I enjoyed that the most since Empire".

Directed by Rian Johnson, The Last Jedi picks up where Star Wars: The Force Awakens ended in 2015, with Episode VIII that will likely become the 4th biggest film opening of all time, and definitely the biggest film earner of the year, including South Africa.

While American and United Kingdom reviews are out and available online since late Tuesday, TVwithThinus that has seen the film along with all other South African print and online publications are under an embargo and can only publish online reviews on Thursday 14 December from 10:01am.

Reviews of The Last Jedi in South Africa may only appear in print from Friday.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in South African theatres on Friday 15 December with Disney Africa that has created a dedicated, special website, www.thelastjedi.co.za for South African audiences.

It stars returning cast members Mark Hamill, the late Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Andy Serkis and will introduce new planets, hew characters and several new creatures ranging from crystal foxes to penguin-like porgs.

While reviews are strictly forbidden until Thursday and critics have been requested not to include spoilers in reviews so as to keep the many twists and surprises a secret for cinema-goers, the insta-reactions of film critics to the film as they leave cinemas can be reported.

On Tuesday South African critics got their first glimpse at the next installment in the Lucasfilm story set in that galaxy far, far away.

In Cape Town, a Disney staffer, aptly named Luke (but not Skywalker), told the gathered critics before the preview started that the Southern African Federation Against Copyright Theft (Safact) is present and monitoring.

Luke said he himself wouldn't be watching the preview screening; Disney staffers are all getting together on Friday to watch The Last Jedi together.

Critics were sternly told that cellphones need to be packed away and that any person seen with even the smallest light from any device will immediately be escorted from the cinema, the device checked and content, if any recorded, immediately deleted.

Two and a half hours later, chattering critics emerged from Cinema 2, with several looking emotional.

Some stood around in groups in the Ster Kinekor Nouveau lobby at the V&A Waterfront, momentarily huddling and not dispersing – as if to first recollect themselves and to get somewhat of a grip on what they’ve just seen and experienced.

"Shit, that was amazing!" was one critic's immediate reaction, while another said "I enjoyed that the most since Empire [Strikes Back]; every single scene".

At least two critics looked emotional, as if close to shedding physical tears. "Did you expect that?" one asked the other.

"Nope," was the reply.

On Wednesday NASA confirmed that The Last Jedi will also be shown in space. 

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) will soon get to see the new Star Wars film when the film will be beamed up as a digital file.

The Last Jedi will likely end up first - globally and in South Africa.

The Last Jedi will very likely end up 2017 in first place – globally and in South Africa.

The Force is is definitely strong with this one: Advanced tracking – Hollywood’s continuous marketing tracking of films to determine whether ad spent, publicity, exposure and word of mouth is raising awareness of a film – is through the roof for the next Star Wars film.

“Unaided awareness” – that’ is when ordinary people on the street are asked about upcoming movies and are not prodded by being given names but polled for what film titles they by themselves can mention – stands at a whopping 35 for The Last Jedi.

The previous installment in the new trilogy, The Force Awakens stood at 36.

“Total awareness” of The Last Jedi stands at a massive 94 to the 92 of The Force Awakens.

It spells huge box office returns for The Last Jedi that could become the 4th biggest film opening of all time, and definitely the biggest film earner for the year, including in South Africa.

Directed by Rian Johnson, The Last Jedi picks up where Star Wars: The Force Awakens ended in 2015.

It stars returning cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Andy Serkis and will introduce new planets and creatures ranging from crystal foxes to penguin-like porgs.

The Walt Disney Company is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to hyping films or to speak about possible box office returns or advanced tracking, but has offered up some clues revealing that the Mouse House is very aware that The Last Jedi will do boffo business across the galaxy all through the Christmas holidays.

Advanced ticket sales already opened on 9 October in America with Disney telling TVwithThinus that advanced sales started on 10 October in South Africa.

Disney Africa also created a dedicated, special website, www.thelastjedi.co.za, for South Africa.

In South Africa film critics will first get to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Tuesday 12 December under the very watchful gaze of security with night-goggles like Stormtroopers. 

Reviews are under a strict embargo for Thursday 14 December at 10:01.

Disney is once again asking the media and film critics to please not include spoilers in reviews, saying “The Last Jedi contains certain spoilers and we kindly request that you do not reveal these spoilers in your reviews to maintain the movie-going experience for all audiences”.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in South African theatres on 15 December.

Star Wars: The Security Awakens - Tight embargo and strict security in South Africa around press preview, reviews of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

A tight embargo and strict security surround the press preview of the latest Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens that will start showing in South Africa and several other territories a whole two days before its official release in the United States.

The latest 7^th installment in the archetypical science fiction blockbuster franchise set in that galaxy far, far away will start showing in South Africa and several other countries from Wednesday 16 December, 2 days before the film's official debut in the Unites States where it had its official, star-studded red carpet premiere in Los Angeles on Monday night.

While Disney is careful to temper expectations for the movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will likely shatter box office records in South Africa – especially for IMAX showings where pre-ticket sales have soared – as well as internationally as well as in the United States.

In South Africa, like in the United States, there's been no advance press showings to the media and film critics of the new movie as Disney and Lucasfilm are trying to keep the secrets and surprises of the film under wraps.

In America only a few publications and selected film critics are being shown the movie and in South Africa the press screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place on late Tuesday afternoon, less than 12 hours before the film opens to moviegoers locally.

Reviews for Star Wars: The Force Awakens are embargoed for Wednesday, 16 December at 12:01 in the United States and for Wednesday 10:01 in South Africa.

Disney is also requesting film critics to limit their reviews of Star Wars: The Force Awakens to not include spoilers as to keep the surprises of the film intact for fans and moviegoers. It means that film critics have to refrain from spoiling things like why the Millennium Falcon crashes, what happened to Luke Skywalker, who Rey really is and why C-3PO has a red arm.

As in America, and as has been done before for certain high-level security film, no recording devices are allowed for press screenings and South African film critics like their US counterparts will have their cellphones collected beforehand and only returned afterwards.

The new event film helmed by J.J. Abrams is already breaking movie records in South Africa which is setting a new benchmark for ticket pre-sales for IMAX.

Moviegoers clearly want to see the latest Star Wars film on a really big screen and it represents the most advance bookings of any IMAX title in the country before.

Advance bookings to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens at IMAX and 3D venues across South Africa have already reached record levels.

More than 34 500 tickets have already been sold to watch the film at Ster-Kinekor cinemas in the country alone. Meanwhile Nu Metro is also showing the film at its 4DX cinema at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

Are you a Jawa or a Jedi? M-Net has a cool Star Wars quiz to tie-in with its Star Wars pop-up channel on DStv - and the questions are fascinating.

Strong the Force might flow in you, young Padawan, but to find out you can't, if you try not.

And you also need to know what colour light sabre Luke Skywalker wields in Return of the Jedi and Emperor Palpatine's real first name.

With MultiChoice's pop-up Star Wars channel on DStv channel 109 which still run until 13 September, M-Net created an immersive online site at mnet.tv/starwars.

Here anyone (droids excluded) can do a Star Wars quiz which is surprisingly more difficult than what it looks.

While people on national census forms the world over jot down "Jedi" when asked their religion, you can't really do that unless you score high on M-Net Movies' Star Wars quiz where your midichlorian count climbs as you answer questions correctly.

Up for grabs are prizes like tickets to the Johannesburg movie premiere in mid-December of the next Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. (No tickets to the premieres in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban, M-Net tells me.)

Who sold R2-D2 to Owen Lars? If you don't know, you haven't watched the Star Wars movies enough. 

People taking the quiz has 30 seconds to answer each question. 

Get ready for some surprises as well: In M-Net Movies' Star Wars quiz there's some questions which will leave quiz takers momentarily baffled like the funny "Who shot first?" - one of the issues that has been much debated in Star Wars lore over the past few decades.

Even those Jawas not strong with the Force can win. Besides "other goodies" there's 6 DStv Explora decoders that can be won simply for completing the Star Wars quiz and entering the competition.

People can replay the Star Wars game as many times as they like to try and better their midichlorian count, although the quiz questions change with every try.

"M-Net has a strong digital presence with all its biggest properties and the Star Wars online experience is enhancing the content in a fresh way - what you would expect from M-Net Movies," Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of publicity told TV with Thinus.

MultiChoice to add a pop-up kids channel from Turner Broadcasting System to DStv for the December holiday.

MultiChoice will be adding a pop-up kids channel from Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) to DStv for the December holiday.

Turner Broadcasting System already supplies MultiChoice with kids channels like Cartoon Network (DStv 301) and the pre-school Cartoonito programming block, and Boomerang (DStv 302).

While Turner's Adult Swim TV channel is for 18+ viewers and therefore not a kids channel, it leaves channels like Boing, or Toonami (boys focused), or CN Too, as a second Cartoon Network channel as one of the possible channel options available from Turner Broadcasting to be joining DStv for a limited time period.

David Booth, chief content officer for MultiChoice Africa, revealed at the MultiChoice Content Showcase that MultiChoice will be adding a pop-up kids channel for the December period.

MultiChoice's 5 day DStv Content Showcase in Mauritius started on Tuesday with the satellite pay-TV service doing a programming and content upfront where several TV channels - from Sony Television and BBC Worldwide to SuperSport, M-Net, Viacom's BET, MTV Base, A+E Networks UK's History, Lifetime and others - are presenting their latest and upcoming programming and content over the coming months.

MultiChoice excluded South Africa's press and TV critics from attending the MultiChoice Content Showcase that media from other Africa countries are attending, and MultiChoice didn't inform South African journalists covering the TV industry beforehand that the event would be taking place.