Disney Will Test the Limits of ‘Franchise Fatigue’ in 2021 and 2022

An anonymous reader shares a report: In November 2019, just a few days after Disney+ launched, Netflix (NFLX) content chief (now co-CEO) Ted Sarandos, speaking at a Paley Center for Media event, said that Disney (DIS) is “bound by” its content universes, a reference mostly to Marvel and Star Wars. He continued: “I do think the risk of being bound in…

Netflix is Making a Series Based on ‘The Three-Body Problem’

Netflix today announced its plans to turn Cixin Liu’s “Three-Body Problem” trilogy into an original, English-language science fiction series. From a report: The show will be executive produced and written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (the “Game of Thrones” showrunners signed a multi-year deal with Netflix last year that is reportedly worth more than $200 million), along with Alexander Woo,…

Netflix Will Now Let You Disable Its Awful Autoplaying Feature

Netflix announced today that subscribers will now be able to disable the autoplay functionality that occurs on its homepage. The Verge reports: People can choose to disable autoplay in two different formats: one that automatically starts the next episode in a series and one that autoplays previews while browsing. Netflix rolled out an option to disable autoplay with episodes in a…

Why Is ‘Rise of Skywalker’ Dividing Critics and Fans?

“After opening 20 percent behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi last weekend, Skywalker has almost caught up with its predecessor as it heads for the $1 billion mark in a fitting end to Disney’s unprecedented domination at the 2019 box office,” writes the Hollywood Reporter. But Forbes senior contributor Paul Tassi notes that critics seem to hate it — while it’s…

‘Rise of Skywalker’ Falls Short of Predecessors. Is the Future Streaming?

After 42 years the final installment in the 9-movie Star Wars franchise arrived this weekend during a “moment of transition for the movie business,” reports Variety: Its $176 million debut, though massive, ranks as the lowest opening of the most recent three films in the saga, falling far below 2015’s “The Force Awakens” ($248 million) and 2017’s “The Last Jedi” ($220…

LucasFilm President Answers The Burning ‘Star Wars’ Question: What’s Next?

66-year-old Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy reveals what they’ll do after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Kennedy says that streaming “is a really important transition… What we’ve been focused on these last five or six years is finishing that family saga around the Skywalkers. Now is the time to start thinking about how to segue into something new and different.” Kennedy…

Carrie Fisher Was Originally Going To Be ‘The Last Jedi’ In the Final Star Wars Movie

Luke Skywalker wasn’t going to be the only Jedi in the final Star Wars movie, reports Yahoo Entertainment:
In the original version of the ninth and final installment, The Rise of Skywalker, his sister, Leia (played by Carrie Fisher), was going to emerge as a full-fledged Jedi warrior, complete with her very own lightsaber. That’s according to no less an authority than…