Established franchises announce their return.

     Hollywood has had a big day as breaking news was reported today when my phone was pinged with news from Entertainment Weekly. So without further ado...

The Galaxy far, far, away feels a little closer now...

     

     Do you feel that? That disturbance in the Force? It's the announcement that Star Wars: Episode VII has finished it's final day of shooting and now has a title.

     The next chapter of the Star Wars movie saga is called Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.

     The title does bring to question what the Force has been doing the last few decades.  Has Luke been slacking over the last few years, resting on his success of helping destroy another Death Star? Are there any new Jedi that have joined the new Jedi Master? These

     This entry picks up three decades after the events of Return of the Jedi and is headlined by the original trilogy stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO). New additions include Lupita Nyong'o (Best Supporting Actress winner from 12 Years a Slave), and Gwendoline Christie, the British actress who plays the female knight Brienne from Game of Thrones. It's also been announced that Andy Serkis will be a part of this phenomenal cast.

     C-3PO star Daniels tweeted an expectation-setter by stating that this movie is better than The Empire Strikes Back. That is saying a lot since a lot of hardcore fans consider that film as the standard bearer of the entire saga. I suppose we'll find out how good this film will be around 13 months.

     Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to fly out of hyperspace on December 18, 2015.

Send in the Toys!

     

    
     This was a pleasant surprise for me and made me smile like the frozen smile of the Woody doll before he comes to life when the kids are away.

     John Lasseter, the Pixar chief, returns to the directing chair and helms another entry in the movie series that changed the animation scene forever in 1995's Toy Story.

     The fourth film in the series is slated for release in June 16, 2017 and will be written by Rashida Jones, formerly of NBC's Parks and Recreation and her screen writing partner Will McCormack . The idea was kept under tight wraps by other Pixar directors and Walt Disney's CEO Robert Iger. It has not been revealed whether or not Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, or any of the other voice actors who voiced the toybox crew will return but it's hard to see this film go on without them coming back.

     As a fan, I am excited because this is a movie saga that I grew up with; that I was willing to go see Toy Story 3 eleven years after the last movie and I loved every minute of it. I felt that Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to the beloved trilogy and another film might sully the franchise.

     The online Entertainment Weekly article states that Lasseter thinks of these characters as family and wouldn't do anything with them unless it lived up to or surpassed what came before. So I guess that helps my confidence in this film.

     While past Pixar films have not been as well accepted such as Cars 2 or Planes, Toy Story has always been reliable. Let's hope that this return to the toybox is as epic as before.