Variety: Disney Unlikely to Rehire James Gunn for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’

When Disney fired writer-director James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, due to some old offensive tweets which were dug up, we figured a backlash might happen. Disney had to protect its family friendly image, Gunn's tweets were far from innocent, so the decision to oust the writer-director was a no-brainer.  Earlier this week, the cast of 'Guardians' had released a statement in support of Gunn. The statement read as "yes, we know his tweets were wrong, but Gunn is a good guy and has grown as an individual since then.

The cast begging Disney to reinstate Gunn seems to have not worked at all, Variety is reporting that Disney is unlikely to rehire Gunn. “I don’t see Disney re-hiring him,” said a person close to the toon company. “Those tweets were so horrible and Disney has a different standard then other studios.” The article also states that “Gunn’s firing was approved by Disney Studios chief Alan Horn, with his boss, company CEO Bob Iger weighing in on the final decision.” the article goes on to add “Disney insiders say the company was not aware of the offensive tweets and was taken aback when they were recirculated.”

Listen, I won't delve into the nitty-gritty of what Disney qualifies as “standards," but Gunn's tweets were fairly outrageous and not welcome at all. However, people are allowed to change, better themselves, progress. After all, politicians that didn't support gay marriage just a decade ago have done a 180 and support it today (Obama, Clinton, most of the Democratic Party). Have they been fired for their past? Of course not. People are allowed to adapt to the times, aren't they? Let us not forget that the man himself, Walt Disney, had a terrible past of anti-Semitism and associating himself with Extremist groups. Do we now have to change Disney's name to forget about the past, of course not and, anyways, they can't afford to change the name because of how the ridiculous value of the Disney brand.

Variety also adds that, despite their protests, the 'Guardians' actors cannot exit 'Guardians 3' due to contractual obligations. What will Disney do then to replace Gunn's uniquely irreverent style? Oh, and how about that '70s kitschy soundtrack Guardians is so well known to use? Who knows! But it looks like Disney thrust themselves in lose-lose situation, a controversy that isn't about to be silenced.

‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ Trailer Hints at Another Lushly-told Story from Barry Jenkins

 Word is that Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk" is an extremely artsy take on the James Baldwin novel set in 1970's Harlem and having to do with a wrongful prison conviction. The film, Jenkins' follow-up to his 2016 Oscar Best Picture winner "Moonlight," has been test screening in Los Angeles for a few months now, and word of mouth has been decidedly mixed. 

Jenkins brought "Moonlight" to Telluride a few years ago, where he was the toast of the town. The director has a long history with the festival, starting there as a volunteer and then, eventually, being in charge of shorts program. It doesn't help that "If Beale Street Could Talk" is set to NOT appear at Telluride later this month. It will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival instead.

Here’s the synopsis for James Baldwin’s "If Beale Street Could Talk":

"In this honest and stunning novel, James Baldwin has given America a moving story of love in the face of injustice. Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin’s story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions–affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche."

Tom Hardy as Al Capone in Josh Trank's 'Fonzo. Coming 2019

Tom Hardy barely had time to breathe when he finished shooting this November's upcoming "Venom." Josh Trank's "Fonzo" was his next shoot, which has Hardy playing notorious gangster Al Capone. Today, we have our first official look at this transformation and, well, there's a lot of makeup involved. Hardy looks completely unrecognizable as Capone, who died at the age of 48, which is around when "Fonzo"is set.

There is currently no release date for the film, but Trank will surely be banking his major studio career on it as he is still reeling from the terrible production of "Fantastic Four."  Trank was a hot commodity in the industry, having directed low-budget superhero flick "Chronicle," but the Marvel movie all but killed his momentum when a studio-interfered version of "Fantastic Four" was released to terrible reviews and a lethargic box-office.

Xavier Dolan’s ‘The Death and Life of John F. Donovan’ to World Premiere at TIFF

Xavier Dolan's star-studded "The Death and Life of John F. Donovan" will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie is the Quebec phenom's highly anticipated English-language directorial debut starring Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Thandie Newton, Jacob Tremblay and Sarah Gadon. However, more worryingly, Jessica Chastain's role has been completely scrapped in the editing room.

I was not a fan of Dolan's last film "It's Only the End of the World," and it hasn't been smooth sailing for the filmmaker since then either. After the negative reviews that met his last film, Dolan seems to have had a hard time with "The Death and Life of John F. Donovan".

Official Synopsis:

"A decade ago, the publisher of a gossip magazine, Moira, exposed the correspondences of an American TV star, John F. Donovan, with an 11-year-old British boy, Rupert Turner. A storm kills Donovan's life and career and culminates in his death. Ten years later, Turner reminiscences the written correspondence, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives."

The TIFF announcement comes after last week's initial wave of premiere announcements. Dolan's “John F. Donovan” thus joins other World and North American premieres such as Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Steve McQueen’s “Widows,” Felix Van Groeningen's "Beautiful Boy," Dan Fogelman's "Life Itself," Bradley Cooper's "A Star is Born," and Jacques Audiard's "The Sisters Brothers." 

The TIFF opening night film is still a mystery with Joel Edgerton's “Boy Erased,” starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, and Russell Crowe, a rumored contender. 

TIFF will happen from September 6th to the 17th.

‘Terminator’ First Look: Linda Hamilton Is Back as Sarah Connor

The “Terminator” franchise has been all but dead to me. The last two films, “Terminator: Salvation” and “Terminator: Genisys,” well, they were soul-crushing. The only way I could hop back onto the bandwagon would be if James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton would make their return. Well, that is exactly what's happening for Terminator 6.

Hamilton hasn't been in a film since "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" which was released way back in 1991. She was the heart and soul of the first two films of the franchise, there's no denying that, and so, it is with great pleasure, that I saw the "Terminator 6" on-set photo and had a huge smile on my face. She just looks badass.

Yes, Hamilton, Arnie and James Cameron, as producer, are coming back for T6. “Deadpool” helmer Tim Miller will be directing, that's a good thing. In a chat with THR, Cameron and Miller are confirming that “This is a continuation of the story from ‘Terminator 1’ and ‘Terminator 2,’ Cameron further elaborates “And we’re pretending the other films were a bad dream. Or an alternate timeline, which is permissible in our multi-verse.” Amen!

The major surprise in all of this? Cameron luring back Hamilton, the main star of his two films in the franchise, and, gulp, his ex-wife. “Jim was fucking terrified,” Miller jokes. “I was,” Cameron confirms. “It took me a week just to get up the nerve. No, that’s not true. Linda and I have a great relationship. We’ve stayed friends through the thick and thin of it all. And she is the mother of my eldest daughter. So I called her up, and I said: ‘Look, we could rest on our laurels. It’s ours to lose, in a sense. We created this thing several decades ago. But, here’s what can be really cool. You can come back and show everybody how it’s done.’ Because in my mind, it hasn’t been done a whole lot since the way she did it back in ’91.”

So now all we need is a release date. Well, guess what?  A November 22nd  2019 date has been announced.

Official first look at the new @Terminator featuring Natalia Reyes, Mackenzie Davis and Linda Hamilton. Directed by Tim Miller (DEADPOOL). Produced by James Cameron and David Ellison. In theatres 11.22.19. #Terminator pic.twitter.com/0E9he6ujm8

— Paramount Pictures (@ParamountPics) August 1, 2018

The 2010s: The Worst Decade For Comedies

It really is a bad time for comedies, even though we really could use the comedic relief at the moment. Movie studios are just not putting the money into mid budget films anymore. Mainstream studio comedy has suffered quite a bit. Nobody has really cracked the code since the Apatow/Hangover era. It’s incredibly telling that “Game Night” is considered one of the bigger hit comedies recently and could only scrape $69 million domestically. 

Seth Rogen was on a podcast a couple years ago saying how hard it is to get studio comedies made nowadays compared to the 2000s where studios were buying up comedies like crazy because they all tended to turn profits on DVD. Big-budget movies are tailored more and more to a global audience. Comedies don't really translate well overseas, so there is less incentive to make them.

2010's
This is the End, Bridesmaids, Neighbors, 21 Jump Street, MacGruber, Trainwreck, That's My Boy, The Heat, The Sitter, Bad Teacher, Daddy's Home, The House

2000's
Superbad, Step Brothers, The Hangover, Wedding Crashers, Dodgeball, Anchorman, Elf, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Old School, Tropic Thunder, Mean Girls, School of Rock, Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Pineapple Express, Borat, Team America: World Police, Role Models, Bad Santa, Little Miss Sunshine

1990's
Office Space, Dumb and Dumber, Home Alone, Groundhog Day, Happy Gilmore, American Pie, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Ace Ventura, Tommy Boy, Mrs. Doubtfire, There's Something About Mary, My Cousin Vinny, Billy Madison, The Big Lebowski, The Waterboy, The Mask, South Park, What About Boy? Beavis and Butthead Do America

Terry Gilliam has been sharing some amazing new posters for 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' on his Facebook page. Here is one.

[Reddit]

Saturation incoming? We will be getting 10 superhero films in 2019

Fox has announced that both "Dark Phoenix" and "The New Mutants" will be released next year, only adding to the staggering lineup of superhero films due for release in 2019. This is mainly due to the DCEU trying to reboot itself with 3 releases whilst Fox will be releasing most likely their last 2 films before they integrate with Disney. Meanwhile, Marvel has another 3 films and an additional two smaller R-Rated superhero films. 

• Hellboy (January 11)

• Glass (January 18)

• Dark Phoenix (February 15)

• Captain Marvel (March 8)

• Shazam! (April 5)

• Avengers 4 (May 3)

• Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 5)

• The New Mutants (August 2)

• Joker (October 4)

• Wonder Woman 1984 (November 1)

2016 was deemed the biggest year for superhero movies (Captain America: Civil War, Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Deadpool, Suicide Squad, Doctor Strange and X-Men: Apocalypse) and then 2017 managed to beat it (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Wonder Woman, Justice League and Logan).

Is a saturation of the market about to happen? You know, the same saturation we've been talking about since the decade started. Yeah, not gonna happen next year. but I do think it will eventually, it's just that Disney have found ways to continuously hype up and immaculately market their brands. All good thing do come to an end eventually.

Luca Gudagnino's remake of 'Suspiria' has running time of 152 minutes

According to the “Suspiria” Twitter account,  Luca Guadagnino’s film will clock in at an epic 152 minutes. Unheard of as far as I'm concerned. We live in a day and age where movies can clock in at over 120 minutes. That would spell box-office death for ADD-inflicted mass audiences.

The director of “Call Me By Your Name” and his remake of Dario Argento’s “Suspiria,” which clocked in at 98 minutes, will be headed next month to Venice Film Festival to premiere the film. The film follows a dancer, played by Dakota Johnson, that discovers something sinister with her new dance troupe. The film also stars Mia Goth, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Tilda Swinton.

Antoine Fuqua Says “Dream” Project Would be Denzel Washington Starring in his ‘Scarface’ Remake

I have been critical of Antoine Fuqua's directing style, but he did direct “Training Day,” which earned Denzel Washington an Oscar for his performance. Ever since then the duo has collaborated on two ‘Equalizer’ films, and the misbegotten remake of “The Magnificent Seven.” They have a very good working relationship, but Fuqua told THR that they are not done. In fact, he wants Denzel to play Tony Montana in his remake of "Scarface."

“I would love for it to take place internationally, I think Denzel would be a great James Bond-type character. [Denzel and I] talk about a lot of different things. I’ve got some things I’m developing and roles I’d like him to play. Normally, that’s how it works with him. I’m dreaming him up as a cowboy or something, and then I’ve got to go pitch it,” explains the director.

“My dream is for him to be Scarface. He laughs sometimes and he kind of goes, ‘[Al] Pacino did a great job! I don’t want to do that.’ I’m nudging him. I’m trying to nudge him into doing it,” said Fuqua.

It sounds like Fuqua keeps bugging Denzel about it but the actor refuses to do it. The director has been in development on “Scarface” for years, with no actors really named to star in the film. Now that Fuqua has revealed Denzel we can't help but think no other actor should be cast.

[The Hollywood Reporter]

'Guardians of the Galaxy' cast releases open letter demanding Disney reinstate fired director James Gunn

The cast of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” probably asked themselves this ever-pertinent question: "How do we help James Gunn?" Well, they sure found a way today, as the 'Guardians' cast released a statement in support of director Gunn, who was recently fired after offensive tweets, he had written several years ago, resurfaced.

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementeiff and Michael Rooker all signed the open letter in which they insist Disney reinstate Gunn as director of the upcoming third installment of the 'Guardians' franchise.

“We fully support James Gunn,” it begins. “We were all shocked by his abrupt firing last week and have intentionally waited these ten days to respond in order to think, pray, listen and discuss.”

“We are not here to defend his jokes of many years ago but rather to share our experience having spent many years together on se making ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ 1 and 2,” the letter continued. “The character he has show in the wake of his firing is consistent with the man he was every day on set, and his apology, now and from years ago when first addressing these remarks, we believe is from the heart, a heart we all know, trust and love.”

“James is likely not the last good person to be put on trial. Given the growing political divide in this country, it’s safe to say instances like this will continue, although we hope Americans from across the political spectrum can ease up on the character assassinations and stop weaponizing mob mentality.” 

Chris Pratt, on Instagram:

“Although I don’t support James Gunn’s inappropriate jokes from years ago, he is a good man,” he wrote. “I’d personally love to see him reinstated as director of Volume 3.”

Spike Lee On the Academy Snubbing 'Do The Right Thing': ‘Who’s Still Watching Driving Miss Daisy?’

The Academy’s failure to recognize the greatness of Spike Lee’s third feature film "Do the Right Thing" constituted an injustice. The film has become Lee’s most fondly remembered work, yet it only received two Oscar nominations: best original screenplay and best actor in a supporting role, both of which it lost. To this day, Lee argues that the Academy snubbed his film because of racial bias. He claims that the predominantly white Academy members were unwilling to seriously consider a film that told its story from a non-white perspective and focused on uncomfortable themes regarding race.

This led to an overcompensation with the Oscars showering "Boyz in the Hood" and "Malcolm X" (both great movies) with more love than they would normally have gotten, but the Oscars in general until recently have had a hard time with black movies. The fact that "Hoop Dreams "wasn't nominated for best documentary has still gotta be one of the biggest snubs in oscar history

Lee, who was given an honorary Oscar in 2015, has been vocal in his outrage for the Academy failing to honor his masterpiece. He recently spoke to GQ and doubled down on the historic snub and even threw some darts at the winner that year, "Driving Miss Daisy."

“To be honest, after ‘Do the Right Thing,’ I said, ‘That’s it.’ You know?” Lee said. “That’s not to say I wasn’t happy to get the honorary award, but as far as Oscars, my thing has always been my body of work. What film won best film of 1989? ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’ Driving Miss motherfucking Daisy. Who’s watching that film now?”

Meanwhile, "Do the Right Thing" also lost the Palme D'or that very year to "Sex Lies and Videotape," and Lee tells us he heard it was because of then jury president Wim Wenders.

“[Jury members] Sally Field and the late, great Héctor Babenco, who directed one of my most favorite films, ‘Pixote,’ they told me that it was Wenders that did it,” Lee told GQ. “He was not letting it happen. He just lied again at Cannes this year and said jury presidents have no power. I would have left the hatchet buried, but now he lied again.”

"Do The Right" Thing should have won best picture, and Spike should have won Best director and Public Enemy should have won best original song for "Fight the Power." History frowns upon Hollywood for not getting it right that year and rewarding "Driving Miss Daisy," a film which adhered to Uncle Tom moralities when it came to racial divide, the Best Picture Oscar.

At the 1990 Academy Awards ceremony, actress Kim Basinger caused a stir when she used her brief moment on camera to criticize the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its failure to nominate what she believed to be the best film of the year for the “Best Picture” prize. 

Before fulfilling her original role of introducing "Dead Poets Society" as one of the nominees for the top prize, she declared to the audience: 

“We’ve got five great films here, and they’re great for one reason: because they tell the truth. But there is one film missing from this list that deserves to be on it because, ironically, it might tell the biggest truth of all. And that’s "Do the Right Thing.” 

MoviePass in trouble? ‘Lack of funds’ has company struggling to continue on.

I just couldn’t, for the life of me, jump onboard the MoviePass train. Why? Well, here’s the thing, I mostly go to press screenings and festival screenings for my movie consumption. Which means that I watch my cinema with mostly respectable audiences and not Average Joe moviegoers (texters, noisy eaters, drink-slurpers, constant bathroom-breakers, late arrivers, chit-chatters as Jeffrey Wells has alluded to). Whenever I do buy a ticket, I am almost guaranteed to be irked by somebody around me doing all those sacrilege things and not paying attention to the screen. Blasphemy! With all that being said, consider me uninterested in Sinemania, AMC Stubs-a-List, and the now in trouble Moviepass.

Yes, MoviePass is on the verge of collapse. According to an SEC filing on Friday (via Business Insider), MoviePass admitted that they had to borrow $5 million in cash to take care of a “service interruption” on Thursday. The subscription service ran out of cash and the lights got cut off. 

The official filing read: 

“The $5.0 million cash proceeds received from the Demand Note will be used by the Company to pay the Company’s merchant and fulfillment processors. If the Company is unable to make required payments to its merchant and fulfillment processors, the merchant and fulfillment processors may cease processing payments for MoviePass, Inc. (‘MoviePass’), which would cause a MoviePass service interruption. Such a service interruption occurred on July 26, 2018.” 

MoviePass tweeted, “We are still experiencing technical issues with our card-based check-in process and we are diligently working to resolve the issue.” This was followed by another tweet saying, “We’ve determined this issue is not with our card processor partners and will be continuing to work on a fix throughout this evening and night.” 

The Playlist’s Charles Barfield says: “Obviously, the company isn’t going to tweet, “Shit, we ran out of cash, our bad!” but these tweets are clearly hiding the bigger issue. And it’s something that is what we all expected to happen.

Tom Cruise jumped out of a plane 106 times to get the Halo Jump (30K feet jump) stunt right in the new "Mission Impossible: Fallout"

During the first half-hour of "Mission: Impossible — Fallout" there’s a sequence that has everybody who has seen the film over the weekend buzzing. Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill do a HALO jump (high altitude low open) over Paris. Cruise and Cavill’s plan is to parachute right onto the roof of the Grand Palais des Champs-Élysees. 

Chris McQuarrie explained to Deadline that the sequence was shot for real — Cruise and a DP with a head-mounted camera did over 100 jumps at magic hour to nail the sequence.

"A 30K feet jump out of a plane in which he tackles Henry Cavill’s character in mid-air, only to catch up with him again in the air and resuscitate the guy with his oxygen tank in free fall. Cruise jumped out of the plane 106 times to get it right, and the only place the production could pull the stunt off legally was in the air space above the United Arab Emirates. There are other highlights in Fallout, such as the Paris motorcycle chase and the scene where Cruise jumps across buildings (which resulted in him breaking his ankle). With all these breakneck speed scenes, audiences don’t even realize that Fallout is the longest M:I ever at 2 hours and 27 minutes."

[Deadline]

Joker: The curious case of director Todd Phillips

You must wonder how Todd Phillips managed to land the coveted director's job for DC's upcoming Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. I mean, by all accounts, Phillips' reputation has been that of a trustworthy comedy director more than anything in the genre of drama, except for 2014's underrated "War Dogs." 

Yes, the fact that Todd Phillips has been tasked in directing the Phoenix/Origin Joker flick has piqued people's interest in the director. He is very much in the spotlight now.  How did he manage to nab the job? I truly, for the life of me, have no clue. Yes, he did commendable dramatic work on the aforementioned "War Dogs," but Phillips' filmography consists of 95% comedy ("Road Trip," Old School," 'Starsky and Hutch," "School for Scoundrels," "The Hangover," "The Hangover II," "The Hangover III," and "Due Date.") 

He has directed two of the most gut-bustingly hilarious movies I have ever seen: "Old School," and "The Hangover." I recently re-watched both of them and was struck at how Phillips' use of space in his framing is actually exceptional. He rarely wastes a frame in these two films, there's always care and attention given. The glossy cinematography in his films, and also the unusual use of side-tilted shots with a handheld camera, all this makes me wonder, have we not appreciated Todd Phillips enough? Even "Road Trip" is a sort of "movie of its generation," it signaled the beginning of the end for the slacker generation, and, in consequence, the slacker comedy genre. 

As I delved further into his filmography I realized that I actually also liked his other films. I remember chuckling here and there at the sheer lunacy of "Starsky and Hutch," ah yes the days when Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson were some of the funniest comedians around. I must admit that "The Hangover Part II" had won me over back in the summer of 2011. Not to mention "Due Date" which had surprisingly successful chemistry between Zach Galafanakis and Robert Downey Jr.

Almost every Todd Phillips film will deal with the chaotic, jocular spirit of the male friendship. Why are the characters in his films so relatable? Well, because his films do have accurate portrayals of bro culture. That’s why Phillips’s movies strike such a chord with that specific demographic — we can all relate to the characters on-screen, either because we are them or we know somebody like them, a Stu or an Alan or a Phil or a Mitch or a Frank or a Beanie. They talk like us. They act like us. 

How that will translate into a low-budget Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix and produced by Martin Scorsese is still up in the air.

Neighborly Numbers: "Won't You Be My Neighbor" cracks $20M mark at the box-office

Morgan Neville‘s Won’t You Be My Neighbor? has been in theaters for less than 7 weeks, and yet the Fred Rogers doc is killing it at the Box-Office. It has earned close to $20 million. This obviously means a Best Feature Documentary Oscar nomination, at the very least.

There was a time when documentaries were HUGE. This happened around when "Bowling for Columbine" came out. Call it the Michael Moore effect but we got a slew of classic docs between 2002-2005 ("Bowling for Columbine," "Capturing the Friedmans," "Spellbound," "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Grizzly Man" and "An Inconvenient Truth.") Around this time "March of the Penguins" had taken advantage of "Penguin-fever" in the United States by racking up a $77M box-office intake, only second to "Fahrenheit 9/11" and its still record-breaking tally of $119M.

Are we entering another mini golden age of sorts for non-fiction? We shall see, but what's dominating the most are biopic docs such as "Neighbor," "Whitney,"and "RBG." That's what audiences seem to be wanting the most these days. Not necessarily a reinvention of the genre.

Sam Elliott Can’t Save ‘The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then Bigfoot’ [Fantasia Review]

I wrote about the peculiarly titled "The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot," as part of my coverage for Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival for The Playlist. I wasn't too keen on the film, even with the always welcome Sam Elliot in the lead role. Suffice to say, it wasn't as crazy as its title suggests. My next review from Fantasia will be much more positive, it'll be about the best surprise thus far at the fest, a film that was even bought by Netflix here last week. Stay tuned ...

Star Wars Episode 9 cast announced - Includes Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Billy Dee Williams

So I wonder how exactly they are gonna use Luke and Leia. Hologram Luke?

We do now know how Leia will be used.
"The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
Of note, Keri Russell isn't mentioned in this. I hope that doesn't mean she isn't in the movie, but I have no idea why they wouldn't announce her in this press release. 
Source: Star Wars

Star Wars: Episode IX will begin filming at London’s Pinewood Studios on August 1, 2018. J.J. Abrams returns to direct the final installment of the Skywalker saga. Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio.

Returning cast members include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast of Episode IX are Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant, who will be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.

The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” says Abrams. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.”

Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Episode IX.

Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Michelle Rejwan, and executive produced by Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin. The crew includes Dan Mindel (Director of Photography), Rick Carter and Kevin Jenkins (Co-Production Designers), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer), Neal Scanlan (Creature and Droid FX), Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube (Editors), Roger Guyett (VFX Supervisor), Tommy Gormley (1st AD), and Victoria Mahoney (2nd Unit Director).

Release is scheduled for December 2019.

Blockbuster of the Summer: "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" Opens Nationwide

Cinema is alive and well at multiplexes this weekend, and it's all because of Tom Cruise whose 22 year-old "Mission: Impossible" franchise is turning into the American James Bond. Who'da thunk it?The blockbuster of the summer is finally being released today, Christopher McQuarrie's "Mission: Impossible - Fallout," the sixth and best film of the franchise. 

I'm sure you've heard that the stunts are stunning, they are, and that Cruise puts his body, and life, on the line to thrill us with every action sequence. These overwhelmingly positive reviews the film is getting aren't surprising, it's a sort of pushback/statement from critics to Hollywood saying "Listen, we want more of this." More practical effects, more hand-touched cinematic artistry, even in blockbusters. No CGI, or, at the very least, a minimal amount of it. It can really make or break your movie.

As we head towards August, this has been the worst summer artistically for Hollywood in recent memory. I mean, this is bad. With the exception of "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" what have we had to be excited about in terms of summer movie blockbusters? "Incredibles 2" was fine, the rest? Disappointing. "Avengers: Infinity War," "Life of the Party," "Deadpool 2," "Solo: A Star Wars Story," "Ocean's 8,""Superfly," "Tag," "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," "Sicario: Day of the Soldado," "The First Purge," "Skyscarper," "Ant-Man and the Wasp," and "The Equalizer 2" all failed to match expectations.  August doesn't look too promising either. I am holding out hope for "The Happytime Murders" and "Mile 22," but everything else looks DOA.

With all that being said, please do go watch McQuarrie's movie on the big screen, it demands to be seen in that fashion. Don't cheapen out and wait for home video, that's not how to get the full experience of what the creatives have accomplished with this 140 minute action extravaganza.