Club Jade

A recent Reuters story on Guatemala, their Mayan temples, and Star Wars contains this paragraph:

Yavin 4 and the rebel base return to the Star Wars plot in the forthcoming Episode VII, announced in October by the Walt Disney Co, in which Skywalker comes back to the planet to build a Jedi Knight academy. However, fans said that Disney will likely film those scenes in a studio rather than return to Tikal.

First of all, as Big Shiny Robot’s Bryan Young points out, there’s absolutely no source for this. Yes, Yavin 4 does reappear as the site of the Jedi Academy in the Expanded Universe – but that certainly doesn’t mean it’ll show up in the movies.

But unlike Bryan, I don’t think I would call this anything as as sinister as “rumour-mongering.” Yes, I’m cynical about the EU and doubtful that it will play a large role in the new movies, but if I had to bet, I would say this is probably just the result of basic fan enthusiasm (“I know some EU!”) paired with ignorance. After all, we can’t expect everyone is going to be up on the half-dozen different levels of “canon” and all that jazz.

The EU’s first Jedi Academy is eventually destroyed in the New Jedi Order series, and at the end of the most recent series, Legacy of the Force, the Academy is moving to it’s third – third! – location. So even if they do follow the books, Yavin 4? Probably not.

Could they bring it back anyway? Of course. But I wouldn’t count on it. And I certainly wouldn’t give this report much weight.

UPDATE: Eric at TFN reached out to the article’s writer, Michael McDonald, who confirmed that he did not receive any inside information from Lucasfilm.

A little tidbit came in to me today: It looks like there are some people being called to work on Episode VII early next year… In England, where shooting will start “in April.” (Which fits with what Kathleen Kennedy said last week.)

The original trilogy was primarily filmed at Elstree Studios , while The Phantom Menace (as well as many of the Harry Potter films) were filmed at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden Studios. Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia was the main filming location used for the last two prequels, although some pickup shots were done at Elstree.

Buried at the end of a post on Hollywood types acting badly online, Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. writes that both Jon Favreau (Iron Man) and David Fincher (The Social Network) are both interested in directing Episode VII.

Favreau “panting after this job” is anything but a suprise – it’s right in his wheelhouse and he’s already expressed excitement about the sequels, and having voiced a character on The Clone Wars probably won’t hurt his chances.

Fincher is a bit of a wild card – I didn’t know that he worked at Industrial Light & Magic in his early days (or that he directed Alien 3 – ouch) but I do know that his Girl with the Dragon Tattoo failed to ignite what many thought would be a promising film franchise. Still, he’s a director with plenty of respectable films (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , Se7en, Fight Club) and a pair of Oscar nominations under his belt.

The Hollywood Reporter says their source tells them that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg – while hired – “will be writing separate projects” that may not necessarily be Episode VIII and Episode IX – though they still may be signed on as producers for them.

“Their scripts could turn into official ‘Episodes’ in the main Skywalker storyline, or they could form the basis for spinoffs focusing on side characters,” THR writes.

And, nope – none of this is in any way confirmed yet!

So it seems that actor Jason Flemyng – who played Azazel in X-Men: First Class – told the U.K. site DIY that director Matthew Vaughn is indeed working on Episode VII. (Yes, they typo’ed.) Of course, Flemyng could just be having a tease, or repeating the earlier rumor. (Via, with a hat tip to @PunkRockSonja.)

UPDATE: And there’s video of Flemyng’s comment.

For what it’s worth, Vaughn himself has yet to deny that he (or isn’t) up for Star Wars. On that note, Colin Trevorrow denies his involvement – again. (Turns out, he’s doing a remake/reboot of Flight of the Navigator.) And yes, the Kasdan/Kinberg thing is still unconfirmed!

Short answer: It’s on StarWars.com.

Long answer: It’s on StarWars.com, and is reported by media outlets as such. The outlet will either source/link StarWars.com or have quotes from Lucasfilm people using their actual names.

For a recent example of an outlet actually breaking news with Lucasfilm’s blessing, let’s look at IGN’s original report of David Tennant in The Clone Wars. It has extensive quotes from Dave Filoni and a video clip – which was exclusive to them when the story broke. (StarWars.com later posted it as a preview of the episode.) So far, Lucasfilm hasn’t been doing this with Episode VII news – the Arndt item simply appeared on the site – perhaps because they know that everyone is going to write about it anyway. The Tennant news simply isn’t as big, and getting it onto a mainstream outlet gives it an extra boost that will reach casual fans (and people like Doctor Who fans) who aren’t regularly watching The Clone Wars. This is also probably why Del Rey gave Entertainment Weekly that Scoundrels exclusive EU fandom spent a day agonizing over back in March.

Obviously, an outlet reporting something from unnamed sources – as is the case with last night’s Kasdan/Kinberg stories from Deadline and THR – are not confirmed.

Other outlets writing about those stories does not confirm them, either. Words like ‘reports’ and ‘reportedly’ are basically just a journalistic way of saying ‘rumors.’ It might give them a little more weight – I tend to use the word ‘report’ if I think something is just a tad more plausible than things like, say, Vader rising from the dead. But in essence? They mean exactly the same thing: It’s not official yet, just things people or the media are saying. That doesn’t make them fact, no matter how many people run the story.

Because nothing is confirmed until Lucasfilm says it is. Lucasfilm and, now, Disney. Not Major Entertainment News Outlet #47 reporting off Major Entertainment News Outlet #86. And trust me, we are watching.

Deadline is reporting today that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg have been approached by Disney to script Episode VIII and Episode IX.

The Hollywood Reporter has their own report, saying Kasdan and Kinberg will work as a pair on one of the films – and join Kathleen Kennedy as producers.

UPDATE: THR says Wednesday that the deal is done, but StarWars.com is staying mum.

Kasdan is a Lucasfilm veteran, responsible for the screenplays of Empire Strikes Back (sharing credit with Leigh Brackett,) Return of the Jedi and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Kinberg has some franchise experience as well – the 2009 Sherlock Holmes – though I’m not sure X-Men: The Last Stand and Jumper speak in his favor.

Kasdan returning would be a boon – but remember, it’s only a rumor. Lucasfilm has only confirmed that Michael Arndt will be handling the screenplay for Episode VII. (via)

With internet favorite Brad Bird officially out of the picture (sigh,) is Colin Trevorrow going to be the man to direct Episode VII? And has he already confirmed it in all but name?

Film School Rejects reports some interesting comments that Trevorrow made during an interview posted in June.

“I can’t speak with any specificity as to what the next thing will be. There are amazing opportunities that have arisen as a result of this. One of them, I will say, will probably create a good deal of ire against me on the Internet when people find out what it is. So, I just want to say in advance that I promise you, for all those who love the mythology that I will be tackling, trust that I love it as much as you do. And I will respect it, and hopefully make it not suck.”

Obviously, this could be pretty much any established franchise – even things like Twilight get the ‘mythology’ buzzword these days. But, as I said the first time Trevorrow’s name came up, a lesser-known director would fit with Lucas’ previous director choices, so it’s hard to discount him as a possible contender. At least until one checks Twitter…

To clarify, there is another film we all love that I’m currently trying not to mess up. Odds I will direct Episode VII: 3720 to 1.

— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) November 19, 2012

Well then. The longer this goes on, the more sure I am that none of us has any idea who’ll get the job.

TheForce.Net has a report from a reader who claims that at a book signing, Carrie Fisher said she is indeed going to be in Episode VII.

..The interview she did started with the question ‘Are you really going to be in a new star wars movie?’ and Carrie answered quietly ‘Yes….I thought it was already common knowledge.’

…Or was she joking? E’s Leslie Gornstein contacted Fisher’s rep, who had this to say:

“She hasn’t confirmed anything,” a rep told me this morning. “Everything you’ve seen has been tongue-in-cheek.”

Of course, there’s still a pretty good chance that Fisher – along with Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams, who was victimized by TMZ today – may indeed show up in the films, as cameos or otherwise. Certainly it’s going to be one of the first questions Lucasfilm, Disney and the actors themselves will continue to be pestered with until they confirm one way or another.

As always, remember, nothing is confirmed until we hear it authorized from Disney or Lucasfilm themselves… Particularly when it’s hearsay!

A CJ reader attending a Lucasfilm university recruiting event in October noticed something curious. During the Lucasfilm Animation portion of the presentation, University Relations Manager Anita Stokes said that in addition to The Clone Wars and Detours, “Lucasfilm Animation is also working on a feature film.” Our reader says it was heavily implied that this was a Clone Wars movie.

I have my skeptic hat on, even with yesterday’s report/very possible misquote of “two or three films a year.” With 3-D re-releases of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith late next year, plus the original trilogy to (presumably) spread out through 2014 before the new films in 2015, it seems like Lucasfilm is quickly approaching a Star Wars saturation point in theaters. I could certainly see a full-length Clone Wars movie for TV – to launch the show on Disney XD, perhaps? – but ‘feature’ implies otherwise.

Of course, this mystery feature could also very well be the fairy project or, if the Disney deal scuttled that, something else entirely. Or maybe brand-new Star Wars to aim for the Episode VII-VIII gap – perhaps related to the new films? A launching pad for another animated series, even? Time will tell…