Sigourney Weaver might be traveling to a galaxy far, far away. The “Alien” and “Avatar” star is in discussions to join the cast of “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” the first “Star Wars” movie to hit theaters since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
The movie will be directed by “The Mandalorian” creator Jon Favreau.
Lucasfilm announced the movie in January. Favreau said in a statement, “I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created. The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting.”
Favreau will also produce the movie, and will be joined by president of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni.
The movie is expected to begin a new wave of “Star Wars” movies. These will include Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey film (starring Daisy Ridley), James Mangold’s “biblical” origin-of-The Force movie, and Filoni’s own feature, which has been described as a culmination of all of the “Star Wars” streaming series in his pocket of the universe.
In addition to “The Mandalorian,” Filoni’s “Star Wars” series include “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Ashoka.”
It is so far unclear if Pedro Pascal will resume his role as Mandalorian Din Djarin for the new film, and it’s also not known if the movie will replace a new season of “The Mandalorian” streaming series.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” will also be the first “Star Wars” movie shot in California. The film earned a $21.7 million tax credit—the largest in the state’s history—in February. The movie will utilize an estimated 2,252 crew, 598 cast and 16,800 background performers for an expected 579 days of filming.
In a press release from the California Film Commission, a Lucasfilm representative explained at the time, “We are thrilled to be shooting the next Star Wars movie, ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu.’ We are proud to be creating film jobs in California and excited to start production, utilizing the world class crew available here.”
THR first reported the casting news.
Umberto Gonzalez contributed to this story.
