Looper filmmaker Rian Johnson to direct Star Wars: Episode VIII

Plus: Sajid Khan's Humshakals goes the way of box-office dud Himmatwala; British Blackadder actress Byrne dies at age 80; Preity Zinta to testify against Ness Wadia tomorrow; Breaking Bad now as a Mr Men animation on YouTube.

Looper filmmaker Rian Johnson to direct Star Wars: Episode VIII Writer and director Rian Johnson. Photo by Matt Sayles / Invision / AP

The Looper filmmaker Rian Johnson has been roped in for Star Wars: Episode VIII – he will write and direct the second instalment in the new trilogy of Star Wars films produced by Walt Disney Co, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Johnson, 40, who also wrote and directed 2005's Brick and 2008's The Brothers Bloom, will also write the initial script for the third instalment of the trilogy, Episode IX. A Disney spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. – The National staff

Humshakals goes the way of Himmatwala

The filmmaker Sajid Khan's new comedy, Humshakals, which opened in UAE cinemas on Thursday, went from the third highest-opening movie of 2014 to empty cinemas within a few days. Critics across India have been unanimous in their reviews, refusing to give the film more than two stars and describing it as "miserable" and "torturous". Humshakals tells the story of three men (Saif Ali Khan, Ram Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh) who each happen to have two sets of ­doppelgangers. Khan's previous film, 2013's Himmatwala, starring Ajay Devgn and Tamannaah Bhatia, was the year's biggest box-office dud. – The National staff

British Blackadder actress Byrne dies

Patsy Byrne, who played Nursie in the popular British television comedy Blackadder, has died at the age of 80 – the second star from the cult 1980s series to die in two weeks, after Rik Mayall's sudden death. Denville Hall, a north-west London care home for elderly actors, said Byrne died on Tuesday. Her death came eight days after that of Mayall, who died at the age of 56 from a sudden heart failure following a run. In Blackadder II, Byrne played Queen Elizabeth I's bonkers former nanny Nursie – whose real name was Bernard. Educated in Kent, south-east England, Byrne joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and played parts on the London stage. Blackadder, starring Rowan Atkinson, was voted Britain's second-best situation-comedy series in a 2004 BBC-organised poll won by Only Fools and Horses. – AFP

Preity to testify against Ness tomorrow

The Bollywood actress, Preity Zinta, who a week ago filed a molestation charge against Ness Wadia, her ex-boyfriend and co-owner of the IPL cricket team Kings XI Punjab, will record her statement before police tomorrow. Zinta said the incident happened on May 30 during an IPL match in Mumbai. The city's police commissioner Rakesh Maria said a team of investigators is scrutinising CCTV footage. Wadia has said the allegations are "totally false and baseless". – IANS

See Breaking Bad as a Mr Men animation on YouTube

An animator duo have recreated the story of Breaking Bad as a Mr Men cartoon. Jonny Lang and Jason Burke put up the story of Mr White, a four-minute spoof, to their YouTube channel, eagerbeaverfilms, earlier this week, reported Digital Spy. The video cleverly combines the simple illustrations of the Mr Men creator Roger Hargreaves with the crystal meth world of the AMC crime drama. The video more or less follows the Breaking Bad plot, but with silly twists that reflect the nature of the 1970s children's ­cartoon (for example, Walter White, fresh from his first cook, says he wants to be known not as Heisenberg, but Battenberg). – The National staff