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Movie Morsels: J.J. Abrams Talks Rian Johnson’s STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII

Like Luke Skywalker himself, Movie Morsels is looking out at the horizon today, at the Star Wars film that follows The Force Awakens — Episode VIII. Plus, we have the latest on Captain America: Civil War, a new Ice Age animated short, a new Finding Dory poster, a Batman: Bad Blood trailer, and release date, and more!

Star Wars: Episode VIII

J.J. Abrams

I don’t know about you folks, but I’m feeling the Force big time these days. And since I’m as greedy as the next Star Wars fans, I’m psyched to get an update on Star Wars: Episode VIII from The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams. While Abrams won’t direct the next film, he has laid the groundwork upon which director Rian Johnson will build. As Abrams reveals in an interview in this month’s Wired

“The script for VIII is written. I’m sure rewrites are going to be endless, like they always are. But what Larry (Kasdan) and I did was set up certain key relationships, certain key questions, conflicts. And we knew where certain things were going. We had meetings with Rian and Ram Bergman, the producer of VIII. They were watching dailies when we were shooting our movie. We wanted them to be part of the process, to make the transition to their film as seamless as possible. I showed Rian an early cut of the movie, because I knew he was doing his rewrite and prepping. And as executive producer of VIII, I need that movie to be really good. Withholding serves no one and certainly not the fans. So we’ve been as transparent as possible.”

He went on, adding that, “Rian has asked for a couple of things here and there that he needs for his story. He is an incredibly accomplished filmmaker and an incredibly strong writer. So the story he told took what we were doing and went in the direction that he felt was best, but that is very much in line with what we were thinking as well. But…that will be his movie; he’s going to do it in the way he sees fit. He’s neither asking for nor does he need me to oversee the process.”

[Wired]

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America Civil War

The fabulous Russo Brothers tell us that the trailer for their hotly anticipated Captain America: Civil War is “almost complete” with “a few special effects to edit in, it should be out soon. You’re really going to enjoy it.”

Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Emily VanCamp, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Frank Grillo, Tom Holland, William Hurt, and Daniel Brühl, the film opens on May 6, 2016 in 3D and IMAX.

[Heroic Hollywood]

Batman: Bad Blood

The first full official trailer for the first Batman animated movie to star the latest and greatest Batwoman has just landed online, as well as its release date. Bad Blood arrives on digital HD on January 19, 2016 and Blu-ray and DVD on February 2, 2016.

[Comic Book Resources]

Ice Age: Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe

No need to venture out to theaters to see the latest Ice Age short. Though it debuted before The Peanuts Movie this weekend, Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe is now online for all to enjoy…

[Fox]

Finding Dory

If the film’s latest poster is any indication, Pixar’s Finding Dory looks to tap into the same mix of humor and heart that made its predecessor, Finding Nemo, a global blockbuster. The film bows on June 17, 2016.

Finding Dory

[Coming Soon]

Aladdin

Robin Williams Aladdin

Finally today… The late Robin Williams was so proud of his work in Disney’s animated classic Aladdin that he wrote in his will that his unused vocals are not to be used in any film sequel. His outtakes can be heard, however, on the new Aladdin Blu-ray release.

[Consequence of Sound]

What do you think of today’s top stories? Let us know below!

Image Credit: Lucasfilm

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