Star Wars Universe Thread: May The 4th Be With You

[AEA18]

 

[Nike Jordan]

Episode VII starts filming in May.

http://starwars.com/news/star-wars-episode-vii-set-to-roll-cameras-may-2014.html
[h2]Star Wars: Episode VII Set to Roll Cameras May 2014[/h2]
March 17, 2014

Disney and Lucasfilm are excited to announce that principal photography on Star Wars: Episode VII, directed by J.J. Abrams, will commence May 2014, and will be based at London's historic Pinewood Studios.

This will be the first Star Wars film to start shooting in the month of May. Lucasfilm has documented the first day of principal photography for every installment of the Star Wars saga:

• March 22, 1976 -- The first day of principal photography in Tozeur, Tunisia, for Star Wars. A crew of 130 ventures into the desert in 42 trucks and cars, including eight army trucks full of equipment. The first shot was completed at 9:35 a.m.
• March 5, 1979 -- The first day of principal photography in Finse, Norway, for The Empire Strikes Back. The crew endures the subzero temperatures, frostbite, heavy winds, and avalanches to pull off the first shot within 65 minutes of setup.
• January 11, 1982 -- The first day of principal photography at EMI Elstree Studios outside of London for Return of the Jedi. Although inside a studio, the set must weather a sandstorm in a scene that would ultimately be cut from the film.
• June 26, 1997 -- The first day of principal photography at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, for The Phantom Menace. Ending a long absence from the director's chair, George Lucas shoots a sequence in a bluescreen-lined set with actors Ian McDiarmid and Ray Park.
• June 26, 2000 -- The first day of principal photography for Attack of the Clones at Fox Studios Australia. In their new home Down Under, the production crew once again photographs actor Ian McDiarmid three years to the day after Episode I started shooting.
• June 30, 2003 -- The first day of principal photography for Revenge of the Sith at Fox Studios Australia. The first scenes shot feature Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, respectively, along with R2-D2.

It has also been confirmed that Star Wars: Episode VII is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and will star a trio of new young leads along with some very familiar faces. No further details on casting or plot are available at this time.

Star Wars: Episode VII will release in theaters on December 18, 2015.

StarWars.com. All Star Wars, all the time.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...-jedi-feature-new-trio-in-lead-roles-20140318

Star Wars: Episode VII' Takes Place 30 Years After 'Return of the Jedi,' Features New Trio In Lead Roles

Today, Walt Disney honcho Bob Iger got on the phone with investors, and gave them updates on the kind of stuff they want to hear about: sequels. Yep, sequels means throwing money after proven success instead of risking it on new territory, and those with a stake in the company got some good news on what's coming down the pike.

The biggest longterm investment by the Mouse House is in Lucasfilm and the "Star Wars" franchise, and Iger provided an update on what's coming in J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII," and it's a bit of old and new mixed together. Most notably, Iger revealed that the sequel will be set 30 years after "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi" and that cast wise, it will feature "very familiar faces returning" who will join a "trio of new leads."

Those "familiar faces" are largely expected to be Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, while casting rumors continue to run rampant on the newbies, with John Boyega, Ed Speelers, Matthew James Thomas, Ray Fisher, Jesse Plemons and Lupita Nyong'o all being tossed around as potential candidates. So, let the speculation game begin continue as the movie gears up to shoot in May.

And that's not all that's in the pipeline. Iger revealed that Disney was working on "Cars 3," because duh, it's their most valuable property in terms of licensed products. Meanwhile, Pixar diehards will be very happy to know that Brad Bird is finally writing "The Incredibles 2," the sequel that everyone has been asking for.

And by the way, with "Frozen" making over a billion dollars at the box office, you better believe that melting that into more money is a priority. "This has real franchise potential” Iger said, promising more a broader theme park presence for the movie and presumably, a sequel sometime down the line.

 

[blackboyfly]

FINALLY[/Size=5]

I mean, episode 7 being set 30 years after RoTJ and featuring the OT cast was probably the worst kept secret in the movie insurance, but it's awesome to get it confirmed.

Also means new info is inevitably about to start rolling out

 

[noblekane]

A new trio huh?

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Awesome. Nice bit of official news.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Star Wars Featurette: The Birth of the Lightsaber

 

[noblekane]

How many **** is will smith gonna suck to try to get jayden smith in this movie?

 

[blackboyfly]

Disney Chief Reveals 'Star Wars:VII' Casting Is Almost Complete, Says Film Is Already Shooting [/Size=5]

http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/entry/view/id/295082


Uhhhh what?????






How is the movie already shooting and we still know nothing?


JJ Abrams

 

[CP1708]

Peter Mayhew returns as Chewbaca for Episode VII.

No real surprise at all, but yet another 70 year old actor for this movie.

However, they already tinkering with the EU it seems. We'll see how this works out.

 

[noblekane]

Cant wait for disney to bring back lumpy
View media item 903897

 

[blackboyfly]

From the Hollywood Reporter,

This girl

Is up for a undisclosed possibly major role. One of the unfilled roles "is that of a black/mixed young female who will play Obi-Wan Kenobis daughter/granddaughter who will cross paths with Luke, Leia and Han "

http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/v/MoviesNews/starWarsEpisodeVi27

This is the fourth Star Wars story that these guys have broken this week, the trades are obviously getting close, I don't know why Disney/Lucasfilm doesn't just come out and confirm something

 

[CP1708]

Welp, we're screwed.....

Following today's announcement of Lucasfilm's new unified storytelling approach, Disney Publishing Worldwide is proud to announce their first step into that larger world, beginning with Del Rey Books. The publishing program will feature new adult fiction novels set in the beloved galaxy far, far away, and will be closely connected to the cinematic entertainment currently in development at Lucasfilm.

Star Wars novels consistently rank on the New York Times Bestseller lists -- from the very first tie-in novel, an adaptation of Star Wars: A New Hope released by Del Rey in 1976, to the recently published Star Wars: Kenobi -- and dozens of titles in between. With over 75 million copies sold worldwide, these books have captured the imaginations and creativity of authors who have enriched the Star Wars experience for fans around the globe.

Going forward, Lucasfilm has begun mapping out the narrative future of Star Wars storytelling that will appear on film and television and in other media so that all projects will benefit from real-time collaboration and alignment. The future Star Wars novels from Disney Publishing Worldwide and Del Rey Books will now be part of the official Star Wars canon as reflected on upcoming TV and movie screens.

"With the establishment of the Lucasfilm Story Group and our even greater focus on unified storytelling, we expect our entire publishing program to be stronger and more meaningful than ever before," said Jeanne Mosure, senior vice president and group publisher, Disney Publishing Worldwide. "We're extremely excited to kick off this new strategy with Del Rey Books."

The first novel to benefit from this deeper collaboration is Star Wars: A New Dawn, by bestselling author John Jackson Miller. Set prior to the events of the forthcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels, this novel tells the story of how two of the lead characters of the series, Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla, came to cross paths. To tell this important backstory, Miller benefited from contact with series executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg and Greg Weisman, who together ensured this tale will be part of the Star Wars canon of storytelling going forward. It is scheduled for hardcover and eBook release on September 2, 2014.

"We're extremely proud of the hundreds of amazing Star Wars books we've published at Del Rey," said Scott Shannon, SVP, publisher, Del Rey and Digital Content, "And now we're excited to finally be able to call our upcoming novels true canon -- a single, cohesive Star Wars storyline -- all while keeping the amazing backlist of Star Wars Legends content in print."

In years past, the storylines that would appear in print and on screen were developed separately, resulting in an "Expanded Universe" that differed in ways large and small from the filmmaker's "canon." These rich stories provide a treasure trove of characters to fall in love with -- and deep worlds to explore and will live on in both physical and digital editions, newly-branded as Star Wars Legends.

Disgusting.

 

[CP1708]

View media item 938065
View media item 938067
View media item 938070
View media item 938072

All rendered useless in the Disney decision.


Epic.. Failure.

 

[big j 33]

I mean.. I tried to warn you

Those books and stories aren't going to be changed. They're not going to make you burn your old books and erase your memories, so no.. they're not useless.

And you were the one who was talking about how Disney will just be printing money with Star Wars.. and that's still the plan Using books and stories that have already been written and purchased ..... or writing new material in conjunction with movies, shows, books that will make them money now. Hmm.. tough decision. Disney didn't buy Star Wars because they wanted to honor and respect the Expanded.. they bought it so they can make money.

They're going to print money regardless, they never needed to stick to the EU for that to happen.


http://starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page.html

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Maybe they're just trying to soften the blow, but at least they're saying they won't totally discard the EU, but they can still use it if they want.. it just won't be canon.

 

[CP1708]

I don't agree.

You can ALWAYS make new stories, tell different tales, expand, and expand, and expand. It's an entire universe, built on an enormous universe. You can introduce new planets/species in every movie/show/book/comic as you choose.

They could make new stories, and tell new tales, while still using the source material that's out there.


Again, this is the same thing as Marvel making the movies, and rather than making minor adjustments here or there to fit into a storyline, just completely scrapping it all and saying, Iron Man is Bruce Banner. Tony Stark is a woman. (Toni) Black Widow is an actual Spider from outer space. The Avengers is Wolverine, Doc Ock, Jarvis, and Happy.

Again, instead of simply tweaking a little of the canon for ease of production, they want to just pretend this **** ain't happened, and then say

The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

You realize what bull **** that is? 1980's?

The true EU began early 90's. Thrawn. That's where it starts. Thrawn. That's the true EU. He alone made millions of us want the EU to come to life. Thrawn means more to Star Wars at this point than George Lucas.

Anything less than that is spitting in our face.


I know, full well, they will still print money. I know that. Nothing that happened today will change that fact. I'm not stupid. But they just burned millions of fans in one fell swoop. And I hope they suffer for it in the long run. They probably won't, but at least today they will have to hear **** like this from fanbases around the globe. If they go the X-Men route, and keep screwing up, they will hear it louder, and louder.

They want to scrap the EU that gave us so much greatness, to follow a ******* idea that produced Jar Jar Binks. Go **** yourself on that one SW.

They better pray whoever rewrites the new "era" doesn't listen to a word George says. If they do, they've failed, already. And they hadn't even begun.


What a joke.

 

[Chester McFloppy]

To say I'm pissed off right now would be an understatement.

 

[big j 33]

But it's not "source material" it's an expanded universe of books. The new trilogy isn't an adaptation of the novels.. it's a new trilogy based on the films. I didn't expect them to completely scrap the expanded universe as non-canon.. but if they weren't going to follow it, they kind of had to in a way. It makes it a lot easier and cleaner. New movies, books, shows, all under one storyline. And the most important thing.. more money.

And it's not the same as Marvel making Tony Stark a woman... if the new movies made Luke a woman.. then yes, it's the same Not following storylines from the books, not doing Thrawn, etc. isn't the same as completely rewriting their original film characters. It's disappointing because there was so much great material out there and who knows... maybe they pull out the best from that and use it as they see fit, but what I've been trying to tell you for awhile.. even if they followed the EU beat by beat, diehard fans could still find something to complain about. The characters wouldn't be exactly right, the writing wouldn't be exactly the same, the action could have been better, etc.

Obviously, this is very disappointing news and I do feel bad for the diehard fans who expected to see the EU on screen. I'm just not surprised and I've tried to warn you that this might happen.. pretty much since the news broke that Disney bought Star Wars. The new trilogy could still be great without the EU.. and there was no guarantee that with the EU they would be better. That's the perspective I've had on the whole situation. Of course, I'm not a diehard EU fan, so I won't be as disappointed as many.. but I understand the frustration.

 

[CP1708]

The new trilogy isn't an adaptation of the novels.. it's a new trilogy based on the films.

We don't need it to be. We never expected it to be. I've said that 100 times.

But to scrap all the material they already have is beyond dumb. That's the problem I have.

It's totally fine if they want to jump ahead 30 years after Jedi, and use old man Luke, Han, Leia. Fine

Got a new story to tell? Great. New villain. Swell. But if they come out with 5 kids named Mike, Mary, John, Joe, and Ox, what a damn joke. They can just use the outline already out there. **** George and his stupid *** worthless canon. Why the **** are we stickin to the canon that gave us Jar Jar in the first place? Screw that, and move the hell on with the writers who have done it better the last 25 years, not his garbage.

Jesus, he had his own story created, and tried to go back and he couldn't even do that correctly. No reason to keep screwing up following his path.

 

[blackboyfly]

As long as Kotor/Tales of the Jedi and Darth Plagueis isn't touched I'm good.

They were never going to follow the post RoTJ EU. Could you imagine Chewie not being in Episode VII and the audience's reaction to finding out its because some ******ed writer decided a planet should fall on him in some book 15 years ago?

Or that Luke has a son and was married, but oh, his wife was killed by Han and Leias Son who became a Sith Lord and leader of the Republic, but this also happened off screen in a book almost 8 years ago

Nah. People would riot

The stories aren't gone, they're still there. Marvel and DC do this every 5 years . Just view it as alternate timelines

 

[noblekane]

Myley cyrus and jaden smith jedi master are coming along with tar tar jinx jar jar's great grandson

Lets not forget darth dork played by adam driver

Whats zach and cody of the suite life doing these days? Maybe team them up as lukes twin sons and bring glomer from the punky brewster cartoon to life as their sidekick

 

[blackboyfly]

RT: @serafinowicz: Met up with @HamillHimself in London today. I wonder why he's here.

 

[danger style]

Well, at least he spent the last 2 years or so getting into somewhat presentable shape. Its better than when he looked like this

View media item 941489
I can picture him as the grizzled Grand Master of the New Jedi Order now....or is he even gonna be one in the sequel? Does that title eem exist anymore?

 

[blackboyfly]

I think 'Grand Master of the Jedi Order' is a George Lucas created term so it probably still exists, even though it never was mentioned in episodes 1-6. Might not show up 7 either. Luke will still be Grand Master in my mind regardless

If there even is a Jedi Order in the sequel trilogy

 

[illmatic34]

I wasn't a big fan of the post ROTJ EU. The Thrawn Saga was great yes, but pretty much anything after the Yuuzhan Vong War to me was trash.

I think they should keep the same names though. Jaina, Jacen, etc. Allows for a new continuity for those not in the know but still gives a nod to the diehards.