WIRE Buzz: Star Wars: The High Republic delayed; NOS4A2 S2 trailer; Bourne films not dead

The worlds of movies and TV aren’t the only ones in entertainment affected by the pandemic’s lockdown. Publishing and all the geeky books it brings to fans is suffering from similar delays and hiccups, especially from large institutions with massive IP. That reality struck today when Lucasfilm announced that its planned Star Wars: The High Republic launch had been delayed.

The High Republic, AKA Project Luminous, plans to tell tons of stories 200 years before the Skywalker saga of the films all featuring a time when the Jedi were strong and there was, effectively, a "Jedi Knights of the Round Table" situation. This was all set to begin in August, timed to Anaheim’s Star Wars Celebration. Cut to present day, quarantine in effect. 

Posting on the official Star Wars site, Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain explained what was going on with the planned “massive, interconnected, cross-publisher” book initiative. 

“I know that waiting isn’t easy. And I know fans have been excited for this since it was first announced,” Siglain said in a statement. “And while I still can’t say much about it, I can tell you that our story architects — Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule — are continuing to work away on this new era of stories.”

The launch in its entirety is getting pushed to January 2021, starting with Charles Soule’s adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi and Justina Ireland’s middle grade novel Star Wars: The High Republic: A Test of Courage. Those two hit stores on Jan. 5 while Claudia Gray’s YA story Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark will publish Feb. 2. Others, like Marvel’s Star Wars: The High Republic series and IDW Publishing’s Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures series, will get new dates in the near future.

Next, the second footage from the second season of AMC’s NOS4A2 is giving some gruesome details to the revival of the vampiric Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto). The official trailer shows off the new life of Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings), who’s got a young son, a lover, and a past she hopes to put behind her. But the “death” of Manx certainly doesn’t make her intense, paranormally-infested life any less crazy.

The sophomore entry into showrunner Jami O’Brien’s TV adaptation of Joe Hill’s 2013 novel picks up after the book’s time hop — eight years after season one — and sets Vic up against a timeless baddie who’s kidnapped her son and is heading to Christmasland.

Take a look:

Morgue murders, gas attacks, biker romance, and one very spooky wintery wonderland await fans of the otherworldly horror series. Oh, and magic Scrabble tiles. Never disobey the magic Scrabble tiles.

Jahkara Smith, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Virginia Kull, Jonathan Langdon, Ashley Romans, Jason David, and Mattea Conforti co-star in the second season when NOS4A2 rides again on June 21.

Finally, one of the creative voices behind the next Indiana Jones and the Bourne franchise has weighed in on the latter’s film future. The super-spy series last left its movie run with Matt Damon’s decade-spanning performances in The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Jason Bourne. But that doesn’t mean that the CIAmnesia action is over.

Speaking to Collider, series producer Frank Marshall explained that the hunt was on to find a proper cinematic voice to bring Bourne back to the big screen. “I do like the Bourne series, and I do think that’s an opportunity for different filmmakers to come in now,” said Marshall. “So, I’m hoping that we can find a new story for Bourne and a new filmmaker. We are looking.”

The fourth film in the series, The Bourne Legacy, already proved that a Damon-less version of the films work, focusing its story on Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner). But with the hunt for a new filmmaker, fans of the secret-filled series shouldn’t expect helmers  Doug Liman, Paul Greengrass, or Tony Gilroy to return.