The Next Star Wars Movie Might Star a Sci-Fi Legend
This is very much the way.
She’s defeated an interdimensional destroyer known as Gozer, vanquished the violently destructive xenomorphs more than once, and fought alongside the Na’vi on the planet Pandora. And now, it seems almost totally confirmed that Sigourney Weaver will be dealing with the Force, and at least one person known as a Mandalorian.
In what can only be described as a science fiction fandom fever dream, it appears Weaver is all but confirmed to appear in the next Star Wars feature film, The Mandalorian & Grogu. According to the Hollywood Reporter, it is “confirmed” that Weaver is “in talks” to join the cast of the film, which is thought to go into production this year. If this happens, The Mandalorian & Grogu will gain a kind of pre-established star power the Star Wars franchise arguably hasn’t had since casting household names like Liam Neeson and Samuel L. Jackson in the prequels.
Then again, in some ways, bringing in Sigourney Weaver to The Mandalorian & Grogu is a bit like mega-stars Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing playing Obi-Wan Kenobi and Grand Moff Tarkin, respectively, in the original Star Wars film, back in 1977. Though the younger generation of moviegoers immediately focused on then-rising stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher, the presence of venerable and established folks like Guinness and Cushing, at least, in part, helped give the first Star Wars a somewhat old-school film vibe.
Sigourney Weaver with director James Cameron on the set of Aliens.
Interestingly, because Alien only came out two years after Star Wars, in 1979, Weaver’s rise to stardom parallels that of the New Hope gang, albeit, in a different galaxy. Although Weaver has done plenty of excellent films that aren’t science fiction (Working Girl is a classic) what makes her presence in movies like Galaxy Quest or Aliens so perfect is that Weaver always brings it down to Earth. When asked in 2009 what makes a good science fiction movie, Weaver said, “You really believe it could happen to you.”
So, that’s the great hope with Weaver coming to Star Wars. Arguably, The Mandalorian began as the most grounded Star Wars release in years, debuting on Disney+ in 2019, to critical acclaim, alongside the less-loved feature film The Rise of Skywalker. Now, thanks to the global love affair with Pedro Pascal and Baby Yoda, The Mandalorian & Grogu is poised to be the Star Wars movie that comes back to dazzle the mainstream, again. And if there’s any actor who keep that project feeling relatable and realistic it's Sigourney Weaver. For longtime fans, she’s the secret weapon of many classic sci-fi movies. And now, for the Star Wars franchise, she’s a literal new hope.
