Peter Mayhew, The Man Behind Chewbacca In ‘Star Wars,’ Has Died At 74 Peter Mayhew, the imposing English actor who originated the role of Chewbacca inStar Warsand played him for decades beyond, has passed away at the age of 74. While we never saw his face in George Lucas' iconic universe, it’s hard to imagine the series without this loyal Wookiee – and it’s impossible to imagine the character without everything Mayhew brought to the part....

Phil Lord And Chris Miller Offer New Title, Plot Details For Warner Bros.' Lego Movie Whennews first brokethat Warner Bros. was developing a Lego film, we groaned at the thought of yet another film based on a beloved childhood property (see also:G.I. Joe,Transformers,Battleship, etc.). But thenCloudy With a Chance of MeatballshelmersPhil LordandChris Millerboarded the project, and the idea of a Lego movie suddenly got much more interesting — especially whenRobot Chicken’sChris McKaysigned on to co-direct as well....

R.L. Stine’s ‘Just Beyond’ TV Series At Disney+ Enlists ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Director Marc Webb We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Last year, we learned thatGooosebumpsauthor R.L. Stine’s horror anthology graphic novel seriesJust Beyondfrom BOOM! Studios was being turned into a TV series at Disney+. At the time, onlySeth Grahame-Smith(Pride and Prejudice and ZombiesandAbraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) had been announced as the writer, executive producer and showrunner. Now Disney has brought inAmazing Spider-Manfranchise directorMarc Webbto get behind the camera for the series....

Rita Ora Boards The Beauty And The Beast Prequel Series At Disney+ The tale as old as time is getting the royal prequel treatment and added a cinematic queen to the cast this week.TV Lineannounced British singer/songwriter Rita Ora is the latest actor on board for Disney+’s “Beauty and the Beast” series which starts production this spring. Returning to the small French town of Villeneuve, the series will take places years before Beast and Belle fall in love....

Ryan Reynolds Finds ‘Life’ On Mars With ‘Deadpool’ Scribes You’ve got to hand it toRyan Reynoldsfor sticking around as long as he has. His resume is littered with expensive stinkers that might’ve sunk a less talented or less charismatic actor, fromX-Men Origins: WolverinetoGreen LanterntoR.I.P.D.But not only has he managed to bounce back each time, he’s hotter than ever this week thanks to the record-breaking success ofDeadpool. So now thatDeadpoolhas put him back at the top of everyone’s most-wanted list, what’s his next move?...

Samm Levine To Star In Inglorious Bastards! German Critics Bickering About Depiction? Ha. UPDATE:Simon Pegghas dropped out ofInglorious Bastardsdue to “scheduling difficulties,” per the brief explanation on hisMySpace. OMG,Neal Schweiberis going to fight the Führer! Actor,Samm Levine, forever a babyface and best known for his role onFreaks and Geeks, is set to star as a Nazi-slaying U.S. soldier inQuentin Tarantino’sInglorious Bastards. The casting news was confirmed byAICN. His role was not specified....

Screenwriter William Monahan Reveals Story Idea For ‘The Departed’ Sequel Reports of a possible sequel toMartin Scorsese’sThe Departedhave been floating around pretty much since its release, but we haven’t heard any solid news about a follow-up in quite some time. In a recent interview, however, screenwriterWilliam Monahanre-ignited the conversation by revealing his thoughts on a possible storyline for the sequel — though he was also careful to warn that he thinks it may never happen....

Sequel Bits: ‘300: Rise Of An Empire’, ‘Fast And The Furious 6’, ‘Taken 3’, ‘Scary Movie 5’, ‘The Hobbit’, ‘Before Midnight’ Some of today’s tidbits involve actors claiming they probablywon’tdo a sequel. Imagine that. After the jump: Directed byNoam Murroand starringRodrigo Santoro,Sullivan Stapleton,Jack O’Connell,Jamie Blackley, andEva Green,300: Rise of an Empireis slated for anAugust 2, 2013release. [viaDaily Blam] Last week’sFast & Furious 6videoseemed to tease some kind of road heist involving a tank; this one suggests the same scene involves at least one big, fiery explosion....

Steve Jobs Called Disney CEO Bob Iger To Tell Him ‘Iron Man 2’ Sucked We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Another day, another interesting tidbit coming out of Disney CEOBob Iger’s recently released book,The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. So far, we’ve heard aboutIger’s meetingwith Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt, and George Lucas in which theStar Warscreator was disappointed that his ideas weren’t being used for the new trilogy....

Superhero Bits: ‘Batman Vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Clip, ‘Cloak And Dagger’ VFX & More Want to see a clip fromBatman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Who disappeared inThe Flashseason finale? Which MTV Movie & TV Awards nominations didCaptain Marvelget? How should theSpider-Man: Far From Hometrailer have ended? Want a look at the visual effects inCloak and Dagger? ShouldStan Leeget a statue of himself in New York City? All that and more in this edition ofSuperhero Bits....

The Daily Stream: ‘A Bully For Steve’ Is American Dad’s Finest Hour (Welcome toThe Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching, why it’s worth checking out, and where you can stream it.) The Show and Episode: “American Dad,” specifically season 5 and the episode “A Bully for Steve.” Where You Can Stream It: Hulu The Pitch: Seth McFarlane became known to Hollywood, and the world at large, through “Family Guy,” one of the longest-running and most successful animated shows of all time, right up there with the likes of"South Park"and “The Simpsons....

The Daily Stream: ‘Steel’ With Shaquille O’Neal Isn’t Great, But Has Its Heart In The Right Place (Welcome toThe Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching, why it’s worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)The Movie:SteelWhere You Can Stream It: HBO MaxThe Pitch:Metallurgist John Henry Irons (basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal) vows to do something when a renegade military reject (Judd Nelson) puts new superweapons in dangerous hands....

The Incredible One-Take Prison Fight Scene In ‘Daredevil’ Isn’t Eligible For An Emmy Because It’s Too Long The cancellation ofDaredevilwas one of the biggest losses for Netflix this year, but at least it went out with a bang. A comic book series that had become synonymous with gripping, backbreaking fight sequences — and started the whole Netflix-Marvel hallway fight trend with its firstOldboy-inspired season 1 fight —Daredeviloutdid itself in its third and final season with a rousing 11-minute fight sequence done entirely in one long take....