Culture Crave Newsletter — #7 🎬

Happy Friday, readers! This week's newsletter is packed with Star Wars and MCU content — plus some other news.

Marvel is set to release 3 films and 6 TV shows in 2025. Originally, it was going to be 4 films, but Blade has been delayed indefinitely. Interestingly, our first real look at Blade will apparently be in Marvel Zombies, where the character appears as a version of Moon Knight. It’s unclear if Mahershala Ali will voice the character 🌙

Many Culture Crave commenters were quick to point out that Bob Iger mentioned reducing production on MCU projects. However, most of these have been filmed or in development for years, and Marvel likely wants to release them all before shifting full focus to the next Avengers films and Spider-Man 4 🍿

There are currently at least 9 Star Wars films in development, and we recently received major updates on a couple of them. The Mandalorian & Grogu has reportedly wrapped filming, while The New Jedi Order film just lost its third writer, Steven Knight 🎬

GOT film reportedly in the works at Warner Bros.

There is reportedly no director, writer, or cast for it yet. Personally, I feel they should focus on sticking the landing with House of the Dragon, and some of the other TV shows in development. However, George R.R. Martin has long mentioned talks of a GOT film — S8 was even once considered to be adapted into three feature-length films. HBO shut down those ideas before, but with WBD CEO David Zaslav’s push to milk their major IPs (new LOTR films, Harry Potter TV show), it’s hardly surprising ⚔️

With this potential film likely demanding a ~$200M budget, rivaling the entire season budgets of House of the Dragon, Expect this project to connect with the Targaryen dynasty, which will help draw in even casual fans. Here are some potential ideas:

• The Battle of the Trident in Robert’s Rebellion

• The Great Tourney at Harrenhal

• The beginning of Aegon’s Conquest

• The Doom of Valyria

The last two feel like the most likely options, as Variety mentioned a year ago that HBO was potentially thinking about making a feature film to lead into the Aegon the Conqueror series that’s in the works 🐉

Taika Waititi's Star Wars project was originally set to be the next film in the saga, but as you can see, he’s quite busy. His episode of Interior Chinatown and his next film, Klara and the Sun, are ready, but which of his other projects he’ll focus on next is anyone’s guess. Even as I typed this today, news came out he’s in talks for a role in David Williams FING!, based on the bestselling children’s book 🎞️

More news

• Tom Cruise is looking at making a sequel to Days of Thunder. The same report also says Mission Impossible 8 has a budget near $400M — one of the most expensive films ever 💰

• Ridley Scott confirms he’s developing another Alien film 👽

• Christopher Nolan is using new IMAX tech for his next project 🎥

• Quentin Tarantino loved Joker 2, but says he won’t watch Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films or Shogun because he watched the 80s versions and ‘doesn’t need to see [those stories] again’ 🤨 

That’s all for this week. Hit the subscribe button if you enjoyed it 🤝

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