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When we can expect an Episode VII title announcement and other con season fallout

Steve Sansweet reveals Revenge of the Sith at SDCC '04
Steve Sansweet reveals the Revenge of the Sith title via t-shirt at SDCC ’04.

For those of us who remember the prequel era, perhaps the most puzzling part of fan speculation about Episode VII reveals has been the assumption that a title would be offered this early in the process. Mike Ryan at The Huffington Post has a nice look at Star Wars title announcements – and wonder no more why none of us veterans* are expecting to see a full title before mid-2014.

* I use the term loosely. Look how shitty this post is. I didn’t even use the title. Bad baby blogger.

A few more pieces emerged yesterday about fan expectations in the wake of D23. Germain Lussier at Slashfilm points out in his (occasionally eye-roll worthy) piece on the backlash, part of the issue is that the landscape of movie announcements has changed drastically over the years. Most pointedly, Marvel is giving fans their titles, characters and other tidbits long before they begin filming. On the other hand, Scott Mendelson thinks that Marvel and others actually reveal far too much about their films before they’re out. And even Harrison Ford has spoken out on the trend, saying that if Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark came out today they “would be no fun at all.”

We’re in a holding period for Episode VII right now. We have some varied answers from folks at the top, but with the notoriously secretive J.J. Abrams at the helm we can probably safely predict they won’t be nearly as forthcoming as the Marvel folks. And maybe that’s a good thing. (Or are they just driving us on?) It’s a whole new landscape, and even Lucasfilm is still figuring it out. So again: patience.

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Let’s not lose our heads over the lack of Episode VII news this summer

Don't lose your head!

For all intents and purposes, convention season is now over for Star Wars fans. At least, con season in the sense of expecting big announcements.

In all honesty, it’s a bit of a relief. There are no more obvious ‘deadlines.’ News could break at any time, and it probably will. But I fully expect that John Williams returning will remain the biggest officially sanctioned news of the summer… And let’s not forget the rumors will only get bigger from here – just look at the Ian McDiarmid one we got last night.

Is it frustrating that we didn’t get any further announcements at Celebration Europe and D23? Yes, of course. But as Bleeding Cool points out, they don’t owe us anything at this point. They’ll tell us something when they’re ready to tell us something, and not a moment before. As Pablo Hidalgo said in our comments yesterday:

There are no casting ‘secrets’. If someone hasn’t been signed, they haven’t been cast. That’s what triggers an announcement. That’s why everyone who has been announced has been announced when they were.

That’s why these things emerge as ‘rumors’ first – because Lucasfilm can’t say anything until the ink is dry. So the rumors aren’t going away, and yes, some of them will be complete bullshit because that’s the way the game is played. That’s our lot, if we’re going to be following the films this closely.

I know this is a fandom of mighty whiners, but can we please, please, please just learn already to be patient for official news and confirmations? We have years of this roller coaster ahead of us, and the hand-wringing act is already getting old. I pretty much guarantee you that the folks in charge know far more about making a film than any of us do; We don’t need to ‘worry’ about them under the guise of wanting things revealed.

It’s not wrong to want things; we all want official casting confirmations. We’ve all got carried away at one point or another. Everyone in geek media is starved for more: Actors simply saying that they’d like to be in Episode VII regularly make headlines; last night’s Ian McDiarmid rumor is making the rounds today. But we have to stop demanding. Lucasfilm and Disney owe us a movie sometime in 2015 and that’s about it. I assure you they want this thing made just as much as we want to see it, and when the time comes to promote it, they will do so. But it’s not quite that time yet, so: Patience.

It’s still early, after all, and I’m sure we’ll get yet another rumor – crazy or not – before the end of the month in any case.

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George Lucas and Mellody Hobson welcome first child together

George and MellodyGeorge Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson are now parents – together. The couple welcomed a daughter, Everest Hobson Lucas, on Friday via surrogate.

Everest is the couple’s first child together, and Lucas’ first biological child. She joins older siblings Amanda, Katie and Jett Lucas.

Lucas and Hobson have been together for several years, but made their union official in June. Congratulations to George, Mellody and the whole family!

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Plenty of Star Wars hints from Pablo at D23

d23-vaderThere may not have been big Star Wars movie news at the D23 Expo, but Pablo Hidalgo did drop some interesting hints regarding some other upcoming projects.

As Slashfilm points out, Pablo hinted that the Jedi legacy “casts a long shadow” and “you will feel that presence” on Rebels, and that (as the rumors claim) the Orange Harvest bounty may make it to Disneyland first.

He also said that there’s more Clone Wars bonus footage than we think, and “they’re close to pushing it out,” and “thinking out of the box” about distribution. We may not have seen the last of Detours, either. And for those who are particularly old school:

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No Episode VII news out of D23 live-action panel

DisneyJust as we were warned yesterday, there’s no breaking Episode VII news out of the live action film panel at Disney’s D23 Expo. Alan Horn reiterates the “summer 2015” release date and a few other things that have already been well confirmed (Michael Arndt, J.J. Abrams, John Williams, spinoffs with Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg) and then moved on, much to the disappointment of the crowd.

There’s still Pablo Hidalgo’s Star Wars crash course later today, but I wouldn’t expect much breaking news there. (Please keep stormtroopers well away from the edge of the stage.)

Still, that said, they are previewing plenty of footage and stars from their other films – including a first look clip from Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent – so if nothing else that probably means good things for Star Wars fans attending D23 in the future.