In a galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars was out in force at Disney’s D23 expo this weekend, putting on quite a show and making some big announcements.

While JJ Abrams and Harrison Ford took to the stage to promote Episode VII and revealing a brand new poster for the film, Disney’s focus was definitely on the future of the franchise.

A wealth of information was revealed for Rogue One, the first of the Star Wars film, due out next December. This marked the first opportunity Disney have had to properly promote the film having stuck a deal with Paramount to not do anything until after the release of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, so audiences wouldn’t get confused given the similar titles.

Director Gareth Edwards took the opportunity to reveal his cast with a brooding group shot. Felicity Jones is the film’s lead, building on the success of The Theory of Everything. She will be joined by Mads Mikkelson and Forest Whitaker. The film tells the story of the resistance fighters who united to steal the plans for the Death Star and it’s safe to stay audience’s anticipation levels have started to rise.

Disney also announced its chosen director for Episode IX, the third and final film in the new trilogy. The lucky man to get the job is Colin Trevorrow, who has more than proven himself capable of handling the pressure of making a big blockbuster with the success of Jurassic World, which became the fastest film to gross $1 billion at the box office, a success Disney are no doubt hoping he will repeat.

Let’s Take a Look…

The marketing team behind Ridley Scott’s new film The Martian are at it in again. Following the success of their first ‘behind the mission’ promo videos they have released a second, featuring the character’s being evaluated after spending ten days in solitary confinement.

Also released this week was the first trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. Following script leaks and set backs, just getting a trailer is quite an achievement for this film. Featuring an all-star cast and a suitably Tarintinoesque plot, the film will no doubt shock, dismay and delight audiences.

And We Have A Lead…

There have been plenty of casting announcements over the past week, Chris Evans has joined Marc Webb’s Gifted and Clint Eastwood has chosen Laura Linney for his latest project (does that man ever stop!) Tobias Menzies will follow his villainous turn as Captain Black Jack Randall in Outlander with the role of a Lycan leader in the new Underworld film.

But perhaps the biggest casting news is the confirmation that Orlando Bloom has returned to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and will appear in Dead Men Tell No Tales. Little was revealed about exactly the extent of Bloom’s involvement is in the film which sees Captain Jack Sparrow attempting to track down the Trident of Poseidon which bestows mastery over the seas on whoever wields its.

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