> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theomnicosm.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Do we still need ‘Star Wars’ movies? - URL: https://www.theomnicosm.com/do-we-still-need-star-wars-movies/ - Published: 2023-03-09T12:01:14.000Z - Updated: 2024-01-13T02:36:02.000Z - Description: ‘Star Wars’ lives on TV now. Is there a reason for it to go back to cinemas? PLUS: I love the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ trailer, and Jon Bernthal brings the Punisher to the MCU. - Author: Bill Kuchman - Tags: Popculturology • Friday Newsletter, Popculturology, Star Wars There’s a *Star Wars* movie on Disney’s release schedule for December 2025. If it’s real is another question. By December 2025, it’ll have been six years since *Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker* hit theaters. Over that time, there have been multiple new *Star Wars* movies reportedly in the works. Some of them were even officially announced, like **Patty Jenkins**’ *Rogue Squadron* movie. Then you have the movie **Kevin Feige** was working on. The one **Taika Waititi** was writing and directing. The one **Damon Lindelof** is crafting. Let’s not forget the trilogy that **Rian Johnson** was supposed to deliver after *Star Wars: The Last Jedi*. There’s the chance we’ll get some new news about the next *Star Wars* movie at Star Wars Celebration in April. In the meantime, [*Variety*](https://variety.com/2023/film/news/star-wars-kevin-feige-patty-jenkins-movies-shelved-1235545774/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ broke the news on Tuesday](https://variety.com/2023/film/news/star-wars-kevin-feige-patty-jenkins-movies-shelved-1235545774/?ref=theomnicosm.com) that many of the *Star Wars* movies that had been floating around are dead. Jenkins’ *Rogue Squadron*? No longer in active development. Feige’s movie he had *Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness* scribe **Michael Waldron** writing? Also no longer in active development. Johnson’s movies? Too busy with his Benoit Blanc movies and *Poker Face*. According to *Variety*, there’s a chance Waititi’s movie could hit that December 2025 date. It turns out not only is he still working on it but he now wants to have a part in it too. And Lindelof’s movie, being written with **Justin Britt-Gibson**, will reportedly be directed by **Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy**. I have to ask, though … do we still need *Star Wars* movies? Before Disney bought Lucasfilm, there were six *Star Wars* movies. Three of them were released from 1977 to 1983\. Three more were released from 1999 to 2005\. Part of the fun of the Star Wars movies was that you sometimes had to wait a long time for them. I wasn’t around for when the original trilogy was released, but the pitch that *Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith* was the FINAL *Star Wars* movie made that release something special. It was an event. That’s why *Star Wars: The Force Awakens* wound up being an unprecedented domestic box office release. Fans had spent a decade believing *Star Wars* movies were done. Over. No more. Then Disney tried to apply the Marvel Cinematic Universe model to *Star Wars*. Getting a new *Star Wars* movie on a yearly basis — *The Force Awakens* in 2015, *Rogue One* in 2016, *The Last Jedi* in 2017, *Solo* in 2018, *The Rise of Skywalker* in 2019 — was only supposed to be the beginning. There was a potential future where multiple *Star Wars* movies hit theaters every year. Solo, a movie that would’ve thrived as a Disney+ series, put an end to that. Disney and Lucasfilm quickly showed that they didn’t know how to manage the release of two *Star Wars* movies at the same time. After *The Last Jedi* released in December 2017, *Solo* quickly followed in May 2018\. Disney failed to market *Solo* until just a few months before its release. The critical response to *The Rise of Skywalker* didn’t help things. The film was more interested in undoing *The Last Jedi* (and shelving Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico) than in actually telling a story that honored the Skywalker saga. Since then *Star Wars* has become a franchise that thrives on TV. *The Mandalorian*, *The Book of Boba Fett*, *Andor*, *Tales of the Jedi*, *The Bad Batch*, *Star Wars Visions*, *Obi-Wan Kenobi* — Disney+ has had an almost continuous stream of *Star Wars* content, both live-action and animated. So do we need new *Star Wars* movies? It seems like Lucasfilm hasn’t found a no-brainer idea to justify making a movie since *The Rise of Skywalker*. What story would rise to the level of needing to be told as a movie? We’re currently watching **Jon Favreau** and **Dave Filoni** pull the pieces together through *The Mandalorian*, *Book of Boba Fett* and *Ahsoka* to tell a larger story. They’re going to have dozens of hours to tell that story, while a story told on the big screen would have three hours — maybe nine hours if it’s a trilogy? — to tell a story. We’re likely to get an announcement of some sort on April 7\. Hopefully it’s worth *Star Wars* returning to cinemas. --- **Happy Thursday, and thanks for reading* *Popculturology*. I love writing about pop culture, and I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.* **Are you a subscriber yet?* It’s the easiest way to make sure you get every edition of *Popculturology*.* [Subscribe now](https://www.theomnicosm.com/subscribe) **Share your thoughts* on whether we’ll ever see another Star Wars movie and everything else pop culture below.* *And please *tap the ♥️ button* at the bottom of each post if you enjoyed the newsletter. Now let’s get to the news.* --- ![The News](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4bee8e13-6221-4eea-a85c-ecef7b56f6ab_2028x228-4.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ffc4c65e1-a7c0-4e3a-a72b-3c838d38e617_1200x675-webp.jpg) ****Jon Bernthal** as the Punisher. / Netflix ### Jon Bernthal is back as the Punisher for the Disney+ *Daredevil* show Think of the Marvel shows that ran on Netflix a few years back as suggestions. Possibilities of stories that can be told and actors that can fill the roles for those stories. Feige clearly doesn’t consider them as canon when it comes to the MCU, but he has no problem bringing an actor or two over from those shows for the MCU. After seeing **Charlie Cox** reprise his role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the *She-Hulk* series, **Jon Bernthal** will become the next former Netflix/Marvel star to jump into the MCU. Bernthal will reprise his role of the Punisher in *Daredevil: Born Again*, [*The Hollywood Reporter*](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/daredevil-born-again-casts-jon-bernthal-punisher-1235342229/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ wrote on Tuesday](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/daredevil-born-again-casts-jon-bernthal-punisher-1235342229/?ref=theomnicosm.com). The actor soon confirmed the news through his YouTube channel. Oh boy, I cannot wait to see how a certain segment of fans deals with how the Punisher looks and acts in a Disney+ show. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-269.png) ### Barry is ending after its upcoming season. Here’s a trailer. Did we know that *Barry* was going to end before its fourth season before [**Bill Hader**](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bill-hader-barry-season-4-last-1235544749/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ revealed the news to ](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bill-hader-barry-season-4-last-1235544749/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[*Variety*](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bill-hader-barry-season-4-last-1235544749/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ this week](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bill-hader-barry-season-4-last-1235544749/?ref=theomnicosm.com)? I knew that Hader and his team were working on the third and fourth seasons together, but I don't recall confirmation that this was it. “There are still so many questions with the other characters, and with Barry — and there’s so many things unsaid,” Hader told *Variety*. “What happens in Season 4 is structurally radical in some ways, but it made sense for what I think the characters needed to go through, and what I think the whole show is always kind of headed towards.” It feels like we’re coming to a natural conclusion for *Barry*. The title character is in jail. His secrets are all out in the open now. I’m eager to see how Hader spins the story for the final eight episodes of the show. *Barry* and *Succession* calling it a wrap within a week or two is quite the change for HBO. --- *💬 💬 💬 *Wanna share your comments, questions or recommendations?* Leave a comment at the bottom of the newsletter.* --- ![Trailer Watch](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6aa54423-83c2-4cc8-8d69-443edd9d3f9a_2028x228-4.png) ### *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem* I’m not a *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* guy. Nothing against them. (Except maybe the **Michael Bay** versions. Did you know Regal Cinemas was still airing the PSA about silencing your phone that had clips from the 2014 movie in like 2020?) There was only so much TV that I could secretly watch at friends’ houses if I wasn’t allowed to watch it at home. I’m very interested in *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem*, though. Twitter was quick to say that the reboot was mimicking the look and feel of *Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse*, but just because a film doesn’t look like the Disney/Pixar/DreamWorks style that’s become standard over the past twenty or thirty years doesn’t mean it’s copying another movie. **Jeff Rowe**, who wrote the fantastic *The Mitchells vs. the Machines*, jumps into the director’s chair for *Mutant Mayhem*. **Seth Rogen** and **Evan Goldberg** are producing. *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem opens on Aug. 4.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-270.png) ### *Ghosted* **Ana de Armas**’ appearance in *No Time to Die* is wildly considered to be one of the best parts of the movie. Unfortunately, that one was the final film in the **Daniel Craig** *James Bond* series, and with the Bond series now due for a reboot, the Paloma character had nowhere to go. That hasn’t kept other studios from working off the potential that de Armas showed as an action star. In addition to starring in *Ballerina*, a spinoff of the *John Wick* films, de Armas is returning to an action role for Apple TV+ in *Ghosted*. *Ghosted premieres on April 21.* --- ![Playlist](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f0383f204-1a32-4863-b02b-60f09d2affe4_2028x228-4.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8e795148-1809-4083-b9ff-b4abf3747665_980x653-jpeg.jpg) ****Pedro Pascal** and ****Bella Ramsey** in **The Last of Us* episode “When We Are in Need.” / HBO ### *The Last of Us* **“When We Are in Need”** One episode of *The Last of Us* left to go. How will the show top this one? Cannibals. A cult-y religious group. Ellie and Joel’s instantly iconic reunion. **Bella Ramsey** and **Pedro Pascal** continue to crush every performance they give in this show. I’ll be shocked if *The Last of Us* isn’t a major player when the next round of the Emmys comes around. “You have a violent heart.” Those five words not only sum up Ellie but also Joel. How did that guy go from being on his death bed in that abandoned basement to full-on murder mode in a matter of minutes? My hope that HBO would release the season finale of *The Last of Us* early to avoid competing with the Oscars turned out to be wrong. I guess HBO doesn’t see them as a real threat like they did the Super Bowl. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-271.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f9b518c67-ee88-4e8a-81b0-33bbcdfc198c_1725x722-png.jpg) Bo-Katan in **The Mandalorian* episode “The Mines of Mandalore.” / Lucasfilm ### *The Mandalorian* **“The Mines of Mandalore”** I do not understand the mechanics of Mandalorian helmets. Last episode, we saw a kid get his first helmet as part of a Mandalorian ceremony. It made a sealing sound when it was put on — even though we could see his hair sticking out from behind it. And then in this episode, Din Djarin makes it clear that he has the option to pressurize his helmet, protecting himself from the potentially toxic Mandalore air. But after he gets rescued from the Living Waters, he’s making sputtering sounds under his helmet. How did water get under there? Anyways … This was a good episode of *The Mandalorian*. It’s still wild to see Bo-Katan perfectly recreated as a live-action character, especially with **Katee Sackhoff** playing her. And when she’s armed with the Darksaber. “Din’s not very good at most things” was one of the original vibes during *The Mandalorian*’s first season. It’s fun to see that storyline back in this episode. Thanks to Grogu’s navigational work, Bo-Katan had to save Din twice, showing off a mastery of the Darksaber in the process. We’re getting close to Grogu saying real words, aren’t we? It’ll be interesting to see if *The Mandalorian* expands on the reveal that the mythosaur still exists or if that was just a cool Easter egg toward the end of the episode. I’m guessing that revelation will shake Bo-Katan’s beliefs about Mandalore. [**Mike Ryan**](https://uproxx.com/movies/the-mandalorian-r5-d4/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ over at ](https://uproxx.com/movies/the-mandalorian-r5-d4/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[*Uproxx*](https://uproxx.com/movies/the-mandalorian-r5-d4/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ has a fun piece](https://uproxx.com/movies/the-mandalorian-r5-d4/?ref=theomnicosm.com) about the return of R5-D4 and how Star Wars action figures used to inspire play beyond whatever their roles were in the movies. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-272.png) ### *Bob’s Burgers* **“These Boots Are Made for Stalking”** The Tina episodes of *Bob’s Burgers* are often the ones I’m least interested in. I’m sorry. I prefer a Bob or Louise storyline. “Fingers-Loose” bores me. This was a solid Tina episode, though. I enjoyed watching the Belcher family try to guide Tina through her attempt at a meet-cute with the cool kids at the Greek diner. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-273.png) ### Running behind on A few items on my watch list that I haven’t had a chance to get to yet: - *The Bad Batch* (“The Crossing,” “The Retrieval,” “Metamorphosis,” “The Outpost”) - *Poker Face* (“Escape from Shit Mountain”) --- ![The Links](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7f1dd043-0aeb-4f20-a18a-171d2bc47cf8_2028x228-4.png) - [The new cast reshaping ](https://www.gq.com/story/gq-hype-new-snl?ref=theomnicosm.com)[*SNL*](https://www.gq.com/story/gq-hype-new-snl?ref=theomnicosm.com)[’s next decade](https://www.gq.com/story/gq-hype-new-snl?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Luke Leifeste**, *GQ*) - [The making of ](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/03/awards-insider-the-making-of-eeaao-rock-world?ref=theomnicosm.com)[*Everything Everywhere All at Once*](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/03/awards-insider-the-making-of-eeaao-rock-world?ref=theomnicosm.com)[’s rock world](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/03/awards-insider-the-making-of-eeaao-rock-world?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Rebecca Ford**, *Vanity Fair*) - [The bewildering descent of Scott Adams and ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2023/03/06/scott-adams-dilbert-cartoon-controversy/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[*Dilbert*](https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2023/03/06/scott-adams-dilbert-cartoon-controversy/?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Michael Cavna** and **Samantha Chery**, *The Washington Post*) - [Chuck E. Cheese still uses floppy disks to make its rodent mascot dance — for now](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/chuck-e-cheese-animatronic-floppy-disks?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Katie Notopoulos**, *BuzzFeed News*) - [Why Toblerone is dropping a famous Swiss mountain from its packaging](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/business/toblerone-chocolate-switzerland-matterhorn.html?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Jenny Gross**, *The New York Times*) --- **Spread the news!* Share a free *Popculturology* subscription with your friends.* --- ![Odds and Ends](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb9283e5b-c33b-4ae6-918d-ecd7acdecbb6_2028x228-3.png) ### Jenna Ortega hosts *SNL* Looks like *Saturday Night Live* wasted no time checking “the dance from *Wednesday*” off its list of things to do with **Jenna Ortega** hosting this weekend. And what’s going on with *Please Don’t Destroy*’s newfound *SNL* spotlight? Their sketches are showing up super early in episodes and now they’re in a promo video? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-274.png) ### “Self-Defense” bloopers Speaking of *Please Don’t Destroy*, *SNL* posted bloopers from their [“Self-Defense” sketch with ](https://www.theomnicosm.com/p/deep-snl-thoughts-travis-kelce-knocks)[**Travis Kelce**](https://www.theomnicosm.com/p/deep-snl-thoughts-travis-kelce-knocks). --- *That’s the end of this issue of *Popculturology*. Thanks for reading. If you don’t already subscribe, please hit the “Subscribe now” button. Tapping the ♥️ at the bottom of each post also helps the newsletter.*