Via Variety: Disney Removes ‘Star Wars’ Movie From 2026 Slate, Replaced by ‘Ice Age 6’. It is important to note that The Mandalorian & Grogu is still expected for May 2026, although updates on that one are still a little spare. For those keeping track, Disney is very fond of announcing a lot of new movie projects but few get made - but it's probably enough to keep shareholders happy as Disney's other businesses continue along.

Via Variety: Disney Strikes Deal for Sony to Take Over Its DVD, Blu-ray Disc Business. From TFA: " As part of the deal, Sony will market, sell and distribute all Disney’s new releases and catalog titles on physical media to consumers through retailers and distributors in the U.S. and Canada. Disney will continue to manage its own digital media, like premium video-on-demand."

Some stores like FYE, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Walmart still carry some physical media while Best Buy retail stores are in the process of phasing it out. In many markets, local media and record shops might be an even better bet as the once-ubiquitous 5-inch digital versatile disc is increasingly a niche product, albeit one that has enjoyed a much longer and arguably stronger life than VHS.

Over at Variety, there's a new article called Disney Dates New ‘Star Wars’ Movie, Shifts ‘Deadpool 3’ and Entire Marvel Slate, Delays ‘Avatar’ Sequels Through 2031. That new date for Star Wars? December 18, 2026 and also May 22, 2026. Those of you who are fond of counting will realize that's two movies in one calendar year, a feat that has been attempted a few times but hasn't come to pass as of yet. (For those keeping track at home, The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story were released months apart in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and Rogue One was delayed from a May 2015 date.)

Today at Star Wars Celebration, they announced a whopping three new movies.  Reporting varies and some things aren't necessarily corroborated, but StarWars.com posted SWCE 2023: Three New Star Wars Movies Announced.  (And don't worry, I'll be collecting all this stuff for ASWN so you can skim it later.)

One movie takes place 25,000 years before the trilogies.  One takes place in the Mando timeframe. The other takes Rey a few years after The Rise of Skywalker, and there have been some interesting rumors going around about who may join her in that one. Absolutely no titles, dates, or other than Daisy Ridley specific on-screen talent were named.

From the article:

In 2013 if you told me that Lucasfilm had planned a Star Wars movie and shelved it, I would be incredibly sad.  I liked the prequels just fine.  I have no complaints about the Ewok movies.  They were fine, they were fun.  But after 5 movies in 5 years, I have learned that when Lucasfilm says "you know what, nevermind" that it's probably a good idea to say "yeah, yeah, you aren't wrong."   (But still, if you liked or loved 4 out of 5 that's a pretty good batting average!)

Over at Variety, the story is explained by the headline  ‘Star Wars’ Shakeup: Kevin Feige and Patty Jenkins Movies Shelved, Taika Waititi Looking to Star in His Own Film (EXCLUSIVE).  Basically, the big news? No news.

Via Vanity Fair: Star Wars: The Rebellion Will Be Televised.. This wide-ranging feature not only touches on this year's Star Wars streaming series, but also has some fascinating tidbits and non-answers about upcoming movies. For instance, don't expect Rogue Squadron for holiday 2023. Nor that Rian Johnson series any time soon.

There are plenty of perfectly nice photos, but the copy is packed with newsworthy gems about how trilogies are unlikely and more interconnected stories are pretty much guaranteed.  There are tidbits on the Andor show and lots of other odds and ends, but nothing particularly spoiler-worthy.  Also there are no release dates or targets for when you can expect to see another movie in theaters.

Reality is catching up with Hollywood this week as we pass denial, anger, bargaining, and everything else to get to the acceptance of the summer 2020 blockbuster season - and probably the holiday theatrical season - not happening.  Mulan has been removed off the slate without a moving release date.  Bill & Ted Face the Music will now get a September VOD release.   But what may interest you, dear readers, is that The Hollywood Reporter reports that:

Mulan was among numerous changes made to Disney's release calendar. All currently scheduled Avatar and Star Wars films are being delayed by a year. Avatar 2 moves from Dec. 17, 2021 to Dec. 16, 2022; Avatar 3 moves from Dec. 22, 2023 to Dec. 20, 2024; Avatar 4 from Dec. 19, 2025 to Dec. 18, 2026; and Avatar 5 from Dec. 17, 2027 to Dec. 22, 2028.

Because time no longer has meaning and this disease-ridden temporal vortex has enslaved us all, you may be curious to hear that 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, an indie film that we do hope you someday make some time to go see, has returned to drive-ins and something we think we have once heard of called "movie thee eighters."   According to Deadline it's on track to add another $400,000 to $500,000 to its domestic tally this weekend thanks to a generous lack of alternatives.   It made $175,000 just on Friday! 

Time for more ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!  You can face the strange over at The Digital Bits, their article  Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – A Visual Guide to Changes, Fixes, and Tweaks in the Disney+ 4K Version  gives you a look at multiple versions and extensive changes spanning 37 years.  From a Dug to Ewoks to the coloring of Luke in Jabba's Palace, there's a lot to see - and you should see it.

The Digital Bits strikes again! Check out  Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – A Visual Guide to Changes, Fixes, and Tweaks in the Disney+ 4K Version. Compositing changes, new explosion, old bloopers, and fixes that skipped a generation are shown in pretty decent detail.

This isn't a guide to the big obvious stuff, but you'll definitely notice relocated TIE bombers, altered cropping in the Millennium Falcon cockpit, and fixed rank badges on various Imperials in scenes that were flipped.  (Of course, Boba Fett is still wrong in Return of the Jedi.)  Anyway, check this out.

With the advent of Disney+, it was quickly discovered that the 4K remaster of the original 1977 Star Wars movie, called Star Wars, anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong, had some changes made to it.  The Fox fanfare was there, Greedo had a bit more to say, and it turns out there were several other tweaks and adjustments too.   Bill Hunt and Dave Stewart posted a , a great site you may remember as  being one of the big news and review sites for DVDs back when DVDs were a big and new thing - and they're still doing a fantastic job looking at digital home cinema releases.  If you're an old-school Star Wars fan, and you are, check this out. 

Game of Thrones TV masterminds David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are no longer developing Star Wars movies, so says every major trade including Variety.  For those keeping track, there's a lot in development still like several streaming shows, the Rian Johnson movies, and the barely-whispered-about Feige-headed project.  And probably more.  It looks like the future for streaming is a lot brighter than the silver screen, but at this point it is kind of tough to know what is going to happen next.

So a lot happened today.  Indiana Jones V is (as far as we know) still set for 2021, but Disney has delayed and announced a ton of movies with a few still yet-to-be announced.  Avatar 2 got pushed to 2021 with sequels every other year - so 2023, 2025, and 2027.  For those keeping track, that means Avatar 2 will be out 12 years after the first movie.  The time between Return of the  Jedi  and The Phantom Menace was 16 years.

3 unspecified Star Wars movies are now set for Christmas 2022, 2024, and 2026.  Marvel movies from Fox are also getting delayed, or possibly retooled or buried.  Click here for more from Variety.

For the first time in ages, we have only one known Star Wars movie release date.   Disney CEO Bob Iger talks about the possibility of having too many movies in THR's feature "Bob Iger Talks Disney's Streaming Service, 'Roseanne,' James Gunn and a Coming 'Star Wars' "Slowdown."   A choice quote:

"I made the [annual Star Wars theatrical release] timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn't mean we're not going to make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX. We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven't been specific about. And we are just at the point where we're going to start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.'s. But I think we're going to be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that."

Add another one to the list! StarWars.com posted Game of Thrones Creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to Write and Produce a New Series of Star Wars Films.  The two TV creators are set to work on a new strain of story separate from the side-story films, Rian Johnson's trilogy, and most likely the original numbered saga.   More here.   No dates or specifics were given, but for those keeping track at home this means Lucasfilm has somewhere around 7 - if not more - feature-length movies between today and the indefinite future.