Disney has announced a new Star Wars film will appear yearly from 2015, alternating between new episodes in the space saga and spinoff character films.
The announcement, made at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, was reported by Comingsoon.
Star Trek director JJ Abrams will begin the new cycle of movies with Episode VII, from a script by Little Miss Sunshine writer Michael Arndt.
Star Wars creator George Lucas sold his film production company Lucasfilm to Disney last year for $4.05 billion.
The latest announcement was made by Walt Disney Co chairman Alan Horn, at the annual movie theatre convention CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
In February, Disney announced that alongside a new trilogy, a series of films built around existing characters from the Star Wars universe were in development.
JJ Abrams will begin the new cycle of Star Wars movies with Episode VII, the first to be released in 2015
It is rumored the first stand-alone film could focus on the diminutive Jedi master Yoda.
The spinoff films will be written by Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg.
Lawrence Kasdan worked on the scripts of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi – the second and third installments of the first Star Wars trilogy while Simon Kinberg is best known for his work on X-Men: The Last Stand and Guy Ritchie’s hit reboot of Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr.
Fans’ reactions to Disney’s announcement on social networks and film websites have been mixed.
The original Star Wars film starred Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford as they took on the evil Empire “in a galaxy, far, far away”.
In a recent interview George Lucas hinted at a cast reunion, revealing the trio were “in final stages of negotiation”.
Annette Funicello, one of the original Mouseketeers of the 1950s Mickey Mouse Club and a star of numerous 1960s “beach party” films, died Monday at the age of 70, the Walt Disney Co. announced.
Annette Funicello “died peacefully from complications due to multiple sclerosis, a disease she battled for over 25 years,” at a California hospital, the Disney statement said.
“We are so sorry to lose Mother,” her three children said in a statement.
“She is no longer suffering anymore and is now dancing in heaven. We love and will miss her terribly.”
Annette Funicello, one of the original Mouseketeers of Mickey Mouse Club, died at the age of 70
Annette Funicello was just 13 when she was selected by Walt Disney himself to be one of the original Mouseketeers of the Mickey Mouse Club, the 1950s television variety show aimed at children.
She had a background in dance and quickly became one of the most popular Mouseketeers.
Annette Funicello “was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mouseketeer, and a true Disney Legend”, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger said.
She remained with Disney after leaving the “Mickey Mouse Club,” appearing in TV shows including Zorro (1957), The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca (1958) and starring in the Disney feature films The Shaggy Dog (1959), Babes in Toyland (1961), The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) and The Monkey’s Uncle (1965).
The most enduring images of Annette Funicello, though, may be of her in a bikini, her primary wardrobe when she co-starred with teen idol Frankie Avalon in beach party movies in the early 1960s.
Walt Disney saw Annette Funicello dancing the lead in Swan Lake at the Starlight Bowl in Burbank when she was 13. Disney asked her to audition for a new children’s TV series he was developing called The Mickey Mouse Club.
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