Disney Animator Andrew Chesworth On His 15-Year Passion Project ‘The Brave Locomotive’; When the ‘Spider-Man Noir’ Series, ‘Supergirl’ Pic Will Film This Fall; Marvel Release Predictions
Disney Animator Andrew Chesworth On His 15-Year Passion Project ‘The Brave Locomotive’; When the ‘Spider-Man Noir’ Series, ‘Supergirl’ Pic Will Film This Fall; Marvel Release Predictions
Plus, my ‘Inside Out 2’ footage breakdown and filming details on ‘The Fantastic Four,’ ‘The Mandalorian & Grogru,’ ‘Star Wars: Episode X,’ and Scarlett Johansson’s MCU series ‘The Blonde Phantom’.
Welcome back to yet another issue of TheTrailBlazer! It’s been a hot minute, though I’ll make it worth it for you all with lots of content and stories to share! I want to start by saying a huge thank you to all who have been following my newsletter for these updates on the entertainment industry productions. Earlier this month, we reached our first 100 subscribers and it is all made possible by the generous time and commitment from every one of you! I do want to apologize for not publishing sooner, although I just wasn’t confident in some of the earlier production listings and sought out other stories to cover while awaiting further clarification. After all, I don’t want to share something unless I am certain in its credibility from these resources.
I have have been working on covering some nice stories about an Oscar-nominated Disney animator and my thoughts on the footage for that studio’s Inside Out 2 that I caught a screening of at the beginning of this month. Those are where this issue kicks off.
For production updates, I delve into when and where Star Wars: Episode X and The Mandalorian & Grogru will launch filming and for how long, the writers of DC’s Lanterns series and when Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will begin filming this fall, the filming timeline and a new location (or two) for Marvel’s The Fantastic Four, the filming plans for the next two Avengers films, what Marvel’s Nova series could entail, my predictions for the content announcements and release updates to Marvel’s slate, and when and where Sony’s Spider-Man Noir series with Nicolas Cage and Scarlett Johansson’s reported Marvel spy series The Blonde Phantom could film.
As always, thank you for reading TheTrailBlazer! Got a hot tip or an intriguing pitch to highlight for the next issue? Email me at trailblazer101@thetrailblazer.net or 101blazertrail@gmail.com. Don’t forget to comment and subscribe to help support what I do and see us grow! I am always open to writing for other publications, as well, and to provide my services as a freelance copyeditor and researcher, if anyone is interested. Feel free to hit me up as I am willing to collaborate!
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Trailblazing Creative Profile: How Animator Andrew Chesworth Made the Oscar Shortlisted Short Film ‘The Brave Locomotive’
There’s all this talk in Hollywood and among my fellow movie pundits about the Oscar winners and nominees, though some often do get overlooked. I am all for rooting for the underdogs in any situation, especially within this business, as I know what it is like to be overlooked in the immersive and competitive art scene of entertainment. That’s why for today’s issue, I have the privilege to share with you all animator Andrew Chesworth’s story.
At the end of February, I had the opportunity to attend a presentation from Chesworth, who had animated works for Disney and Netflix before working at Flying Bark Productions. During the presentation, Chesworth dove into the years-long process of achieving his passion project The Brave Locomotive, which was released last year and was on the shortlist for the Oscars. The Brave Locomotive, as of publishing this issue, has amassed 9 million views.
At Disney, Chesworth has animated some of kids and adults’ favorite features from the studio in recent years, from the likes of Frozen and Big Hero 6 to Zootopia and Moana, among many others. His fine artistry has touched the hearts of millions of aspiring and visionary fans full of imagination and a creative spirit!
In recent years, he has been working as a director and head of development at TAIKO Studios, where he recently co-wrote and co-directed the animated short One Small Step. He has also worked as a Head of Character Animation at Netflix Feature Animation, where he worked on the series My Dad the Bounty Hunter, and last April, he joined Flying Bark Productions as a character lead animator for an undisclosed production.
Chesworth chatted about his passion project short film The Brave Locomotive, which took him through his entire career between his early years working independently and being noticed by Disney to his most recent success. Chesworth collaborated on-and-off with several local friends and mentors, and assembled a diverse array of animators to bring his vision to life, though his early work was halted by much of his commitments to Disney in the 2010s. Chesworth did not immediately believe he had the resources to get his passion made, so he published an early version of the intro to YouTube. That, and the downtime during the COVID-19 pandemic, led Chesworth to pursue completing his passion and bringing his ensemble together.
You can watch the full version of The Brave Locomotive via Chesworth’s YouTube channel and his full presentation in the videos below:
Chesworth is represented by Anna Berthold at United Talent Agency and by David Neumann at Newmation. You can visit his website for more of his works here.
And speaking of Disney…
‘Inside Out 2’ Footage Breakdown: A Fun Look Into Growing Emotions As Tensions Begin to Stir from Within
In a fitting turn of events, at the start of this month, I was able to catch a special screening of the first 35 minutes of Disney-Pixar’s animated coming-of-age film Inside Out 2, ahead of its June 14 release. While this is only a mere fraction of the film’s 100-minute runtime-which is 5 minutes longer than the first pic from 2015-it was still enough to go off of for the overall vibe and direction that this long-anticipated sequel is taking. There was no embargo for the event so I am free to delve into my thoughts on it. Our protagonist is growing up and developing new emotions which
This is the same footage that was shown to CinemaCon attendees earlier in April, and while I know others from that event already covered it, you haven’t read my hot take on it yet! The footage offered up a nice tease for the rest of the film leaving audiences with just enough while still wanting to come back for more when it releases. That is a smart marketing play by Disney, if you ask me, though I can understand from an outside perspective why the optics may seem off for this.
I was part of the first general audience to see the Inside Out 2 preview screening for what I presume is to spread word of mouth about the film at a time when Disney is in serious need of a hit after their prior animated films released in recent years have not fared well at the box office due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an over-reliance on streaming causing limited theatrical runs, and social and political backlash that the company and studio have faced.
To the startling alarm of Riley’s puberty setting in, Joy throws the puberty construct into a new device she made, casting it away into the back of Riley’s mind, saying “We’re not going to think about that right now”, a move which is surely going to have some drastic effects and will be thought about later. This seems to be quite a fun movie to help jump start the summer season and a return to form for Pixar after experiencing several missed swings in recent years, and it will surely bode well with children and young audiences. Will it be the next big craze for kids? Probably for only a couple months. It by no means will be another Frozen II, though it will likely perform well for what it’s worth.
Into the DCU, ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy: ‘Lanterns’ Corp Expands with Writers; ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ to Fly in Atlanta This October; ‘Constantine 2’ in Active Development; ‘Star Wars: Episode X’ to Shoot This Fall Alongside ‘The Mandalorian & Grogru’
The DC Universe (DCU) from James Gunn and Peter Safran has received some promising updates this past month for two cosmic-based projects. The terrestrial detective series Lanterns is assembling a full writers’ room with Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King having written the pilot script and a series bible. Other writers include Justin Britt-Gibson, Breannah Gibson (who is an executive story editor on DC’s The Penguin series), and Vanessa Baden; Britt-Gibson previously wrote a Star Wars movie with Lindelof that fell through, which likely led to their involvement in this series. Mundy is reportedly the showrunner while Lindelof is a consulting producer, and King is a member of the DC Studios writers’ room for the DCU and an executive producer of this series.
The Writers Guild of America listings did provide a timeframe we could expect Lanterns to be ready by, as it lists the series should be out during the 2024-2025 television season, which is for series releasing between September 2024 and August 2025. Production Weekly previously listed Nathan Fillion is set to star in the series, reprising his role as the Green Lantern Guy Gardner from Gunn’s Superman film, out July 11, 2025.
Another little tidbit from Production Weekly is the fact that the second DCU film, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, will indeed begin filming later this year in the fall month, particularly by October 4 in Atlanta where Gunn’s film is currently being shot, although Umberto Gonzalez of TheWrap reports an early 2025 start could also be at play. Superman is currently halfway through filming and Milly Alcock is expected to debut as Supergirl in another DCU project, likely that pic, before flying back to Atlanta’s skies for the offshoot directed by Craig Gillespie (Cruella, I, Tonya). Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was recently given a release date of June 26, 2026, and casting should begin heating up in the following months.
In the depths of Hell, DC Studios is heating up its forthcoming Constantine 2, the sequel to the 2005 film starring Keanu Reeves. That film has recently been listed as in active development with Reeves, director Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman all returning. J. J. Abrams is still set to produce the pic alongside Hannah Minghella through his company Bad Robot Productions’ deal with Warner Bros., while Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers films, Madame Web), Erwin Stoff, and Lauren Shuler Donner (X-Men films) are listed as returning producers.
On the other side of the galaxy, the forthcoming two Star Wars films on the horizon have received some production updates, thanks to Production Weekly.
The next mainline pic, Star Wars: Episode X, from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel) and writer Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Spencer) is preparing for a hyper-speed launch this September at Pinewood. This would place it around the timeframe that Daisy Ridley said was a possibility, although she was unsure if filming would be this year or in early 2025, given the strike delays and the script not yet being completed. Given further reporting from Jordan Ruimy of World of Reel that there is still no script, it seems further delays are on the horizon, and could signal a release delay from the purported December 2026 date that has been theorized, which I’ll get into further below in this issue. Its original April 2024 start was delayed by the Hollywood strikes. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is producing the pic, which has had the titles “Star Wars: Episode X - A New Beginning” and “New Jedi Order” reported.
The next galactic installment from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, the feature film The Mandalorian & Grogru, is still flying the Razor Crest in front of cameras this June in California with the working title “Thunder Alley”, and we now have some further details on this production. Filming, as previously revealed, is set to begin this June, and the recently revealed schedule lists it will last until this November, with locations including Los Angeles and the United Kingdom, presumably at Pinewood. Favreau is directing from his and Filoni’s script, with the pair producing alongside Kennedy while Karen Gilchrist is executive producing. The Space Western is aiming for a May 22, 2026 release in theaters, and Sigourney Weaver (Ghostbusters, Avatar) recently entered talks to join the Mandalorian pic. Pascal remains unattached still, and with his busy schedule for The Fantastic Four and the Chris Hemsworth co-starrer Amazon film Crime 101, which shoots this September, one can’t help but question how he’ll make it all fit.
What Does Less Marvel Content Look Like In Its New Underdog Era, When Could More Announcements Arrive? ‘The Fantastic Four’ Filming Schedule; Next ‘Avengers’ Could Be Back-to-Back; Could Mahershala Ali’s ‘Blade’ Go the Way of the ‘Inhumans,’ ‘El Muerto’?
After suffering some losses and less-than-flattering performances and reception with some of their titles in the past few years, Marvel Studios is signaling to its fanbase (and all of Hollywood) that it is comfortable adapting to the changing landscape and reverting back to sitting comfortably as underdogs in the industry again, which they were when they started this whole “experiment” back in 2008 with the first Iron Man film.
While the dual Hollywood strikes put a much-needed halt and shock-to-the-system for Hollywood studios to wake up to the real threat that the ever-changing AI and streaming landscape have caused, it was Marvel’s own internal workings that needed fine tuning again after they became too familiar with churning out whatever they wanted to and thinking it would all stick the landing (News flash: They didn’t!) It’s no secret Marvel films haven’t performed as well as they used to, and Marvel knows this; hell, they admitted it to themselves, which is a rather bold and noble choice if you ask me, compared to others in Hollywood who don’t wake up, realize their mistakes, and dust off their boots to get back to work.
Disney CEO Bob Iger learned from his ABC Sports mentor Roone Arledge one key message: “Innovate or die”, and it seems he is applying that in his company wide mandate for their studios, including Marvel, to scale back on content and shift focus to prioritizing the best content they can produce. This means Marvel has returned to the more traditional model, which they were operating under when they were first producing their own films in the 2000s and in the early days of the MCU, by developing more content than they will actually produce.
Back in the day, Marvel tasked different executives to oversee different projects in development which involved attaching writers via their writers’ program. Some of the notable graduates from this program include Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Joe Robert Cole (Black Panther). While Perlman’s huge contributions led to what became James Gunn’s film, Cole started off writing a War Machine movie (which is now happening as Armor Wars) and an Inhumans movie (which was shoehorned in by ex-Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter and redeveloped into the failed ABC series), while the studio also had early films for the likes of Vision, the Runaways, Nick Fury, Power Pack, Dazzler, Captain Britain, Cloak and Dagger, and Iron Fist, just to name a few. Some of those never came into fruition (yet) while others were repurposed as television series.
As part of Iger’s Marvel mandate, the current plan is to release no more than three films in theaters and at least two series on streaming per year. In what is likely one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood, none of Marvel’s current film releases will stick. Disney last updated its Marvel calendar right when the dual Hollywood strikes ended in November, though taking the actual production timelines of their projects into account, further delays are needed. An updated schedule is bound to be imminent or at the very least, being talked about behind-the-scenes.
While I have no way of verifying or reporting on this type of information, I do have a few logical guesses and hypotheses as to when we may receive official announcements from Marvel (and Sony) regarding their future slate. This comes in lieu of various production updates and tidbits that lead me to be quite skeptical and cautious as to when these projects will realistically be completed and ready for release, and it keeps looking more and more clear that further delays are as Thanos would put it, inevitable.
With currently scheduled releases in 2025 for Captain America: Brave New World on February 14, Thunderbolts* on May 5 (or May 2, depending on who you ask), The Fantastic Four on July 25, and Blade on November 7, it would make sense for those to shift back as needed given Iger’s mandate and where each of these projects currently stand in their production schedules. Cap 4 is currently undergoing 22 days of reshoots, Thunderbolts* has been filming since the spring, the long Fantastic Four shoot will run from the middle of summer until the year’s end, and Blade is supposedly supposed to begin some filming this summer for main shooting in the fall.
You can’t seriously tell me these will all be released next year and get completed on time with no unforeseen issues or unrealistic rushed schedules during production. I’m not buying it, especially with Iger’s looming Marvel mandate and the pressure for the studio to rebound and perform well. They need rock-solid content, which means it’s going to take time to perfect that. Based on the production schedules I share below, I’m further convinced that Marvel will just shift back each film to the next scheduled date, and then some. Now, as for those filming updates…
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