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It would appear that the first three (out of eight) episodes of Willow have been distributed to distinguished members of the press, or in any case to a bunch of sites with “geek” in the name. (Not to be a churl, Craig, but Ronda Scott would have hooked us up.) And while an embargo prevents full reviews from being published until Nov. 30th, these critics can at least tweet their general reaction, and so they have:

Well, if you’re inclined to put your trust in whomever those people are, the show sounds like it’s more fun than a sharp stick in the eye.

Need more to sustain your excitement? You might also want to check out Gizmodo’s new interview with showrunner Jon Kasdan, who among other things discusses how the show somehow features Val Kilmer without featuring him. TV Line also got in on the action with an exclusive clip. I’m telling you, with Monkey Island 6 out the way, you can all finally devote yourselves body and soul to the true messiah. That would be Willow, for those playing at home.

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Guess they wanted to save some stuff for the weekend. The latest Indy 5 tease is our first glimpse at Voller, the villain played by Mads Mikkelsen.

Follow the link for some new quotes and an image of Voller's "lapdog" played by Boyd Holbrook.

Source: Empire Magazine

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In Mojo’s typical mad dash to be the first to press, we overlooked the fact that Empire also released a new production still for Indy 5. Check it out beneath this excerpt from the first look you can enjoy in full when the magazine is published next Thursday.

Indiana Jones. Indy. Henry Jones Jr. Whatever you call him, Harrison Ford’s whip-cracking, Nazi-punching, relic-relishing archaeologist is cinema’s ultimate action hero – a man whose very image invokes the smell of popcorn and the thrill of big-screen adventure. Through the decades, he’s fought fascists, come face-to-face with the Ark Of The Covenant (albeit with his eyes closed), restored the Sankara Stones, drunk from the Holy Grail, and encountered interdimensional life. And he’s not done yet: 15 years after his last Indy outing, Harrison Ford is donning the fedora one last time in the as-yet-untitled Indiana Jones 5. Now, in a major world-exclusive, Empire presents your first look at his epic comeback.

In the new issue, we get the first word on the film that brings the iconic hero back to the screen – and its star promises all the excitement, emotion, spectacle, and unexpected turns that only Indiana Jones can provide. “It’s full of adventure, full of laughs, full of real emotion. And it’s complex and it’s sneaky,” Harrison Ford tells Empire. Stepping back into the world of Indy was no mean feat. “The shooting of it was tough and long and arduous,” he says. “But I’m very happy with the film that we have.”

Why go back, then? 2008’s Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull left our hero happily married to Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood. But while it found Indy older and perhaps wiser than we’d ever seen him in the original trilogy, it wasn’t necessarily an ending. That’s where Indiana Jones 5 comes in. “I just thought it would be nice to see one where Indiana Jones was at the end of his journey,” Ford explains. “If a script came along that I felt gave me a way to extend the character.”

That script comes from Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, writing alongside director James Mangold – the Logan and Ford V Ferrari filmmaker, now facing the daunting task of following up a certain Steven Spielberg (on board here as producer). For Mangold, it was all about the challenge of making a final Indiana Jones film. “It became really important to me to figure out how to make this a movie about a hero at sunset,” he says, noting that he steered the film further in that direction. “The issues I brought up about Indy’s age were not things I thought were being addressed in the material being developed at the time. There were ‘old’ jokes, but the material itself wasn’t about it. To me, whatever you greatest liability, you should fly straight towards that. If you try to pretend it’s not there, you end up getting slings and arrows the whole way.”

But let’s not get too hung up on the end just yet – the adventure is only just beginning. Stay tuned for more Indiana Jones exclusives coming soon from Empire, and seek out the world-exclusive Indiana Jones 5 issue – packed with the very first images and interviews, speaking to Harrison Ford, James Mangold, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Boyd Holbrook, James Mangold, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel – when it hits newsstands on Thursday 24 November. Pre-order a copy online here.

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Source: Empire Magazine

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Sure enough, Empire had something to share about Indy -- or will, in the upcoming edition of their magazine hitting newsstands November 24th. But to tease that preview, they do have these rad covers to show off:

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Source: Empire Magazine

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At least, that seems to be the consensus interpretation of this announcement:

If Empire is running the first magazine spread for the picture tomorrow, it would be a nice appetizer ahead of the teaser trailer, which director James Mangold has already alluded to appearing in a matter of weeks. Maybe Empire will unveil the title? Or maybe Lucasfilm just wants to cease-and-desist a fan game on a bigger stage this time.

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Variety is reporting that Disney+ is eyeing up an Indiana Jones TV series. Seems perfect timing now that Harrison Ford has retired from that iconic role to join the Marvel universe. Quite what the show will entail is still a ways off.

Details are still scant as Disney isn’t sure what kind of show this will be, a prequel, a sequel, a spin-off, or a reboot. But the vital thing to know is that the company has something non-specific in mind, the perfect place to start when reviving a beloved character.

Nice to see the character finally getting some more attention, what with the forthcoming movie and videogame.

Source: Variety

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Disney is meeting the interesting challenge of resuscitating Lucasfilm’s Willow with a certain amount of “How do we do this?” where the marketing is concerned. Few things say Modern Trailer quite like monotonous pop music and overdelivered comic beats that land with a thud, and the latest promo for the series is nothing if not fashionable:

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Sorry you had to go through that, but you’ll probably find yourself less cringe-stricken on average by this poster:

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I can’t identify the artist, but the victory here is that a poster was commissioned that actually called for one.

In any event: Willow.

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The Indiana Jones 5 sizzle reel that was shown at D23 was unfortunately exclusive to the expo, leaving its dissemination up to the cell phone videography of a sneaky audience member.

Well, that leak has occurred. With all the implied quality disclaimers, you can find it here...for now. If you'd rather wait for something that looks good for your first impression, a proper teaser is likely to drop in December (though it's unclear if it'll be a version of this or something new altogether) in front of the new Avatar.

Meanwhile, Willow has been given a 4K upgrade on Disney Plus, so you're gonna wanna get on that.

Source: What's On Disney Plus

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Expectations were exceeded for Indiana Jones 5's showing at D23. While the guarded speculation was that the title would be announced, this did not come to pass (which makes you wonder if they know it yet), but that couldn't have stung much for the panel's audience when the first footage was debuted to them instead.

Problem is, this sizzle reel was exclusive to the event, so no official upload will be forthcoming, and at this point an unofficial one doesn't seem likely either. You're going to have to make do with writeups of the trailer, such as the one below from The Wrap:

The “Indiana Jones 5” trailer was wonderful, showing a bunch of great moments: Mads Mikkelsen as a Nazi, Indy riding a horse through the New York subway, a chase that takes place in a Manhattan tickertape parade, and Sallah (played, once again, by John Rhys-Davies). We also see Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character and the trailer ends with Indy getting his whip out and snapping it at a bunch of bad guys, who promptly get out a lot of guns. He ducks.

It looks like it really captures the spirit of the original three films, a spirit that was sadly missing during the most recent installment, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

What did make it online was footage of James Mangold, Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge on stage before/after the trailer ran. Ford emotionally describes the movie as his last outing as Indy and praises his costar. Here is one capture:

Hey, at least Willow didn't let you down.

Source: The Wrap

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Not sure what else I can do to frame that, so here are the goods:

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The D23 Expo, a biennal to-do where Disney conspicuously sniffs its socks and shows off its future projects to the landowner class, is going down this weekend, and the internet seems convinced that the title of the new Indiana Jones movie will be unveiled during a presentation tomorrow.

In the meantime, attendees report that the movie has some representation on the floor, with an area devoted to it at the Lucasfilm booth where concept art and character costumes are on proud display:

Aside from the fact that they're adorably still trying to make that new logo a thing, it's all pretty tantalizing. Judging by that sweet concept art, Indy gets himself involved in a tuk tuk chase in Morocco (or else a location highly evocative of it), and all those mirrors in that cave don't do much to counter the Archimedes speculation, now do they. Can I presume that the very Toht-like character design belongs to Mads?

More tomorrow, perhaps.

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Though the movie is still almost a year away, the score for Indiana Jones 5 is currently being recorded, and John Williams got permission to play a piece for a live audience at The Hollywood Bowl. A rogue cell phone then did what it must. Enjoy “Helena’s Theme,” which belongs to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character:

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And let me round up a few items while I’m here by pointing out that the Willow series was recently previewed by Entertainment Weekly. Meanwhile, The Dig gets its turn being rotated into the Prime Gaming catalog. Nice to see they’re getting to seemingly every last one.

Source: YouTube

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Even those who don’t put Lucasfilm’s 1988 fantasy opus Willow on the highest pedestal will acknowledge that the late James Horner delivered a barnburner of a score. Thus it is in everyone’s interest, if not budget, that Intrada Records is giving it the prestige treatment with a two-disc expanded soundtrack album:

At last! Magnum opus fantasy score by James Horner receives expanded 2-CD set! A LucasFilm Production, Ron Howard directs, scripted by Bob Dolman, story by George Lucas who also executive produces with Val Kilmer, Warwick Davis sharing majority of the screen time with Joanne Whalley, Billy Barty, Jean Marsh all nearby. Evil sorceress Bavmorda imprisons all pregnant women in her domain to prevent birth of a baby prophesied to bring about the end of her reign. Said baby is born and cast adrift, with Bavmorda, her vicious Nockmaar Hounds and her army in pursuit. Enter Willow Ufgood and the Nelwyns, who find the infant. A perilous adventure ensues that involves the Brownies, a fairy queen, an aging enchantress… and flamboyant rogue and expert swordsman Madmartigan. James Horner took inspiration from rousing action and swordplay as well as fantastic special effects made by ILM, including landmark early use of digital morphing technology, a CGI breakthrough. Film unfolds with generous amount of dazzle dazzle and derring-do but also offers darker side to fantastic tale, especially in latter battle and climactic duel sequence. Horner showcases his energetic youthful big-orchestra vernacular on one hand while balancing with his newly-maturing severe, intense musical vocabulary, resulting in incredibly wide-ranging score. Richly drawn main theme anchors, makes key appearances, shares time with exhilarating theme for Madmartigan, takes back seat to ferocious sequences, then ultimately brings score home. Besides colorful array of material, score is also notable for several lengthy cues, amongst the longest of the composer’s career. Massive pieces often play as movements of a symphony, developing ideas with cohesion, complexity, generating considerable tension, then relief - no easy feat: “Canyon Of Mazes” (7 minutes), “Tir Asleen” (10 minutes), “Bavmorda’s Spell Is Cast” (18 minutes), “Willow The Sorcerer” (12 minutes) are massive, masterful works for large symphony orchestra. Generous original 1988 album featured over 70 minutes of music but film’s wall-to-wall scoring included over 100 minutes of music! Finally, on this Intrada 2-CD presentation, some 107 minutes of music by Horner appears, with a wealth of previously unavailable cues, including aggressive, fierce “Death Dogs”, colorful and fantastic “Enchanted Forest”, and riveting and florid “Sled Ride”, all courtesy LucasFilm and Disney, mastered from original digital stereo mixes made by Shawn Murphy at the scoring sessions and beautifully preserved by engineer Simon Rhodes. Front cover art by John Alvin, package design by Kay Marshall, booklet notes by Frank DeWald. Score recorded in January & February 1988 at Abbey Road Studios. Greig McRitchie orchestrates, James Horner composes, conducts. Intrada Special Collection 2-CD available while quantities and interest remain!

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Intrada produces these things in limited quantities, so run and buy if you’re in the market.

Source: Intrada

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Sure, he's lied to you before, but I figured you'd want to know all the same.

Source: Twitter

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From JWFAN.com:

John Williams will start recording music for the yet untitled fifth Indiana Jones film next Tuesday, June 28 at 10AM, the composer revealed during the Kennedy Center pre-concert talk on Thursday.

Williams, who started writing the score last fall, recently announced that Indy 5 would probably be his last composition for film.

Not much I can really add to this. It’s just nice to know, isn’t it?

Source: JWFAN.com

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Also from today's Lucasfilm showcase thingy:

Looks like Indy found the Marley heirlooms! Admittedly it's not much, but the movie is still thirteen months away. At least we know Harrison Ford can still cut that silhouette.

Source: Twitter

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Even Ron's got sense enough to understand that he's not working on the most anticipated of belated and unexpected sequels amongst Lucasfilm fringe properties. That honor belongs of course to the Willow series on Disney Plus. And during some sort of Lucasfilm hootenanny in Anaheim today, the crowd was treated to a release date (November 30th) alongside this trailer:

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Good to see Warwick Davis front and center. Does Disney think they have their answer to Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings with this? It seems wacky to think so, but that's the part I like about it.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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Mads Mikkelsen is the subject of a fat new profile at The Hollywood Reporter today. Naturally, the fact that Mikkelsen will be playing Indy's nemesis in next summer's fifth Indiana Jones wasn't likely to go unacknowledged, and while the actor can't reveal much, what he does say is likely to be what you want to hear:

His much-deserved break follows the actor working for 14 months on Beasts and his other upcoming big franchise project — the long-awaited Indiana Jones 5.

While he’s forbidden from discussing character or story details from the film (the rumor is that he plays, yes, the villain), Mikkelsen revealed the movie feels like a return to the franchise’s early 1980s roots.

“[Raiders of the Lost Ark] was one of my favorite films, and it just oozed that golden period of serials from the 1940s — and that’s in the fifth film as well,” he says. “They’re going heavily back to the first and second film and getting that original feel, the original Indy, something dense and epic.”

James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) has taken over directing duties from Steven Spielberg, who remains on board as an executive producer. “It felt like a Spielberg film, though it’s obviously James making it with the same vision,” Mikkelsen says. Harrison Ford, who’s pushing 80, returns as the iconic adventurer.

Asked how Ford was holding up following reports that he injured his shoulder on set, Mikkelsen says he was impressed with his co-star’s physicality. “It was the first time I met him, and he’s an insanely powerful person,” he says. “Not just as an actor, but physically. I remember the first day we were shooting, it was a night shoot, then we stopped at 5 a.m. — and then he got on his mountain bike and went biking for 50 kilometers [31 miles]. Harrison is a monster of a man, a very nice monster.”

Since the franchise is in such a throwback mood, and now that Lucasfilm is all buddy-buddy with adventure games again, maybe they can get to work on Indiana Jones 5: The Graphic Adventure? The 21st century needs its Indy Quotient put to the test. And really, what better things do Ron Gilbert and David Fox have to do right now?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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You see what happens when the grown-ups at Lucasfilm aren't paying attention? Something unrelated to Star Wars gets through.

Source: Twitter

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Word is making the rounds that principal photography on Indiana Jones 5 will wrap February 23rd.

Sure, that still leaves Harrison Ford plenty of time to kamikaze a golf course for kicks, necessitating his replacement by a digital sock puppet, and the release date remains the better part of 18 months away. But it's still a noteworthy milestone for a project that was looking as downright cancellable as an adventure game under Jim Ward on about four hundred different occasions throughout its fraught development.

So, congratulations to the crew on getting this thing safely in the can. Now it falls to the post-production team, but the news is good there, too: Insider buzz is that they’ve heard the feedback from the last installment and have vowed to redouble their efforts and make Mutt’s vine-swinging absolutely perfect this time out.

Source: TheRaider.net

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