News, buzz & rumours
CONTENT WERNING
They’re letting pretty much anyone in on Star Wars projects these days. Take famed auteur Werner Herzog — he’s never seen a single piece of content from the franchise, yet he’s playing an integral role in The Mandalorian. The series, which hails from Jon Favreau (a filmmaker whose work Herzog has also never seen), went viral thanks to its depiction of a baby Yoda. Even without context, Herzog was moved by the character. Speaking to Variety, he called baby Yoda “heartbreakingly beautiful,” adding, “On the set, it looked absolutely convincing. It made you cry when you saw it.”
CAGE ON CAGE
After decades in the biz, Nicolas Cage has finally happened upon the role of a lifetime — himself. The actor will play a fictionalized Nicolas Cage in a new movie called The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. In the film, the fictional Cage gets paid $1 million to attend a superfan’s birthday party, where he has to “become a version of some of his most iconic and beloved characters in order to extricate himself from an increasingly dangerous situation.”
LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK
As it turns out, big controversy pays off. After all, Todd Phillips’ Joker racked up an astonishing billion dollars and counting worldwide. Considering it was made for a tiny fraction of that, producers are desperate for a followup. Despite early reports that a sequel was already in development, Phillips clarified that he might make another Joker movie, if he feels like it, telling IndieWire, “There’s not a contract for us to even write a sequel, we’ve never approached Joaquin to be in a sequel.”
ED AND LIN
Depending on your proclivities, the next Star
Wars just got a lot better (or a hell of a lot worse). It’ll reportedly feature cameos from both Ed Sheeran and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The former was showcased in Stormtrooper gear in a recent behind-the-scenes drop, while the latter appears in Resistance garb. As long as neither of them try to rap, we’ll be okay.
PAIR O’ TIGHTS
Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho built an impressive name for himself before delivering his latest masterpiece, making him a sought-after talent. For sure, he won’t be making a superhero movie. Asked about it by Variety, he said no, but his reason was not what you’d expect: “I have a personal problem. I respect the creativity that goes into superhero films, but in real life and in movies, I can’t stand people wearing tight-fitting clothes. I’ll never wear something like that, and just seeing someone in tight clothes is mentally difficult.”