Star Wars looks to James Bond

And hit show losing movie star lead

What to know

• Kathleen Kennedy is looking to James Bond as the template for Star Wars movie releases… Specifically, she wants to eventize the movies by putting a few years space between them (like Bond and like how Star Wars used to be). Kennedy doesn’t want the pressure of having to release a movie every year (which did have diminishing returns). That’s great — but one could argue that the TV shows, which are coming out more rapidly than ever, are also diluting the eventization of the big movies. Will the next Star Wars movie feel special when we already get cinematic Star Wars content on pretty frequent basis? Ironically, Marvel—who set up Star Wars to have this problem by releasing 2-3 massive movies a year— seems to already be on the path to correcting its over saturation problem. The Kevin Feige-led studio is pulling back on the number of TV shows it puts out on Disney+. Anyway, May the fourth be with you! ✨

• Kevin Costner not returning to Yellowstone after season 5… No surprises here, this news has been a long time coming. The really wild thing is that there’s still no word on when the cast and crew will return to Montana to finish season 5, which has led to a lot of “confusion and frustration,” according to ET. Puck News’ Matt Belloni reported in February that once Costner’s fate on the show was decided, Sheridan could finish writing the rest of season 5, they can shoot it, and it would ideally air in the fall. Except, Sheridan is in the WGA so, uh, if season 5 isn’t actually written yet that timeline might no longer be accurate. Either way, the waiting continues for Yellowstone fans, of which there are many. 🤠

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• “We no joke got 2,348,283,479 scripts dumped on us [Monday] night.”… Every writer and their mother seemingly turned in a script just before the strike started Tuesday, which should keep studio execs and their script coverage people plenty busy during the early weeks of the strike. What’s (a bit) interesting is the studios don’t have a uniform plan of response. Some execs are still emailing out feedback to writers, while others are waiting. What is uniform: None of the writers are responding — cause they’re on strike. 📑

• Cloverfield’s viral marketing site for Slusho is back online… Does this mean the Cloverfield franchise is coming back? Maybe! Remember how popular and newsworthy this mysterious digital ad campaigns were back in the late ‘00s? You could spend hours deep diving and coming up with theories that rarely every panned out! Also, wasn’t there some connected unniverse around Slusho appearing in different J.J. Abrams projects. This all seems like ancient history. 🥤

• Ed Sheeran wins “Thinking Out Loud” copyright case… The jury ruled that he did not plagiarize “Let’s Get It On.” This is a good thing for artists. There are only so many combinations in pop music, and this case, had it gone the other way, could have set precedent that a coincidental commonality between songs is plagiarism. 🎶

• Kieran Culkin and Jennifer Coolidge were going to host SNL this month… If not for the writers strike. Who knows, the strike could end and they would then host, but I wouldn’t count on it. And now I’m mad we won’t get a follow up to Culkin’s famous cable call sketch. 🗽

• THR asks: Can AI write a funny 30 Rock script?… And the answer is no. Read this thing and you’ll see that AI still has a long way to go in replacing human creativity in screenwriting. 🤖

• Drew Barrymore drops out as host of the MTV Movie & TV awards in deference to the writers strike… Good for her! 🪧

• A Babylon 5 animated movie is in the works… I had completely forgotten Babylon 5 existed until right now. 🆗

• Succession series finale will have a near 90-minute runtime… Cue the sad piano music! 👍

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What’s new

• White House Plumbers — May 1 | HBO miniseries | 🍅 71%

• Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story — May 4 | Netflix drama series | 🍅 96%

• Bupkis — May 4 | Peacock comedy series | 🍅 69%

• Silo — May 5 | Apple TV+ sci-fi series | 🍅 100%

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — May 5 | Marvel movie in theaters | 🍅 81%

• Returning: Star Wars Visions s2, The Other Two s3, Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi s2

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What to watch

Trailer: Dune: Part 2 — Nov 3 in theaters

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, written by Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, starring Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, and Léa Seydoux.

Hey look, it’s the rest of that movie I started watching in October 2021. I liked Dune, it’s very good — but let’s be real, it’s half a movie. Thankfully, we’re getting Part 2 in November and Denis Villenueve will have another chance at telling a full story this time. I’m optimistic based on this trailer that this one will feel more propulsive and complete — and that Chalamet will step even further into leading-mandom. What’s still intact from Part One is the stacked ensemble cast (plus the additions of Pugh, Butler (more on him in a sec), and Walken), the unparalleled production design, and the epic scope. Basically, everything that made Dune so spectacular. Did you catch Austin Butler in the trailer? He’s nearly unrecognizable as the bald and eyebrow-less dude at the 40-second mark. Pretty chilling and a big departure from Elvis. In general, I’m not losing my shit over this trailer. It looks solid and will probably be a grand time at the movies.

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!