This Oct. 26, 2018 file photo shows Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige at the 2018 BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige is teaming up with Lucasfilm to develop a new "Star Wars" film.
Walt Disney Studios co-chairman Alan Horn told the entertainment trade The Hollywood Reporter that it made sense for Feige to team up with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy to help usher in a new era in Star Wars storytelling.
As the president of Marvel Studios, which Disney acquired in 2009, Feige turned the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the most successful franchise in movie history, boasting over $22 billion in worldwide ticket sales.
"Star Wars" is entering this new phase after the Skywalker saga comes to a close this December. "Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are also developing new Star Wars films, as is "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson.
Cynthia Erivo attends the National Board of Review Awards gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Cynthia Erivo, who is starring in the hit musical "Wicked," was named Tuesday as the 2025 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world's third-oldest still operating, said Erivo will receive her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast Feb. 5. Afterward, she will attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 176th production, "101 Damnations." Actor Jon Hamm, who came to fame starring as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series "Mad Men," is the 2025 Man of the Year. He will receive his Pudding Pot Jan. 31.
"We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo's arrival," Man and Woman of the Year Events Coordinator Hannah Frazer said in a statement. "We're sweeping out our broomstick closets and prepping some wicked smart humor as we eagerly await her in February. Before she flies off with her Pudding Pot, she'll have to work a little magic to earn it."
Along with starirng in the smash hit musical, the British entertainer is a two-time Oscar nominee and an Emmy Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award winner.
Erivo burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple." winning her the 2016 Tony for best actress in a musical. She performed songs from the play on the "Today" show, earning the Daytime Emmy for outstanding music performance in a daytime program. And the show's soundtrack won best musical theater album at the 2017 Grammys.
Last year, Erivo starred in and produced "Drift," which follows a young Liberian refugee who has escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic series "Genius:... Read More
