Earlier this week, it was reported that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige had tapped Academy Award-winning Nomadland and Eternals director, Chloe Zhao, to oversee his upcoming Star Wars movie.
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Now, via The Hollywood Reporter, Culture Crave has shared that this is not the case and Zhao actually has no plans to direct any Star Wars film in the foreseeable future:
Chloé Zhao is not directing Kevin Feige’s #StarWars movie — or any Star Wars movie
(via @THR)
Chloé Zhao is not directing Kevin Feige's #StarWars movie — or any Star Wars movie
(via @THR) pic.twitter.com/40ZhrZiozV
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) November 12, 2021
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In the comment section, many fans were thrilled by this news, with one commenter noting that Zhao “ruined” Eternals in their opinion — the fan and critical reaction to the Marvel movie has been mixed, so it is unsurprising that some people are happy about the news that Zhao won’t be joining the Star Wars franchise at this time.
Zhao — who has spoken out about Nomadland star Frances McDormand’s desire to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe — currently has no upcoming projects listed on her IMDb page.
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As for Feige’s Star Wars project, there is the potential for it to be moved to an earlier Lucasfilm movie release slot, as Patty Jenkins’s Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was officially taken off the production schedule and has now been delayed indefinitely. Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company have not yet confirmed if Feige’s or Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movies will take the slot instead.
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The Marvel boss has been characteristically tight-lipped about his Star Wars movie. The closest he’s come to addressing the status of his project was in January 2021 — obviously prior to the Rogue Squadron delay — when he told Variety:
“We’re thinking that we’re not — that is, um — everything you’ve heard about [Michael Waldron] has been been leaked. It’s not stuff that we’ve officially announced or gotten into. So, suffice to say, the focus is on all the number of Marvel things we’re working on. The what, where, when and how of that [“Star Wars” movie], I don’t know. I’m excited for “The Book of Boba Fett,” and the “Rogue One” show, and the Obi-Wan show, and Patty’s movie, and Taika’s movie. [Smiles] After “Thor: Love and Thunder,” of course.”
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Since then, it has been confirmed that Loki head writer Waldron will oversee Feige’s screenplay set in a galaxy far, far away.
More on Marvel’s Eternals
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Marvel’s Eternals is officially described as:
Marvel Studios’ Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.
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The movie features an all-star cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, and Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie.
Do you want to see Chloe Zhao take on the Star Wars universe at some point