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Has Colin Trevorrow all but confessed he’s directing Episode VII? Turns out, not so much

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…

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

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Zahn’s ‘Winner Lose All’ short gets a cover, blurb

‘Winner Lose All,’ Timothy Zahn’s short story tie-in to Scoundrels, has appeared in the Random House online catalog. The blurb:

Lando Calrissian’s no stranger to card tournaments, but this one has a truly electrifying atmosphere. That’s because the prize is a rare sculpture worth a whopping fifty million credits. If Lando’s not careful, he’s going to go bust, especially after meeting identical twins Bink and Tavia Kitik, master thieves who have reason to believe that the sculpture is a fake. The Kitiks are beautiful, dangerous, and determined to set things right—and they’ve convinced Lando to help them expose the scam. But what they’re up against is no simple double cross, nor even a twisted triple cross. It is a full-blown power play of colossal proportions. For an unseen mastermind holds all the cards and has a fail-proof solution for every problem: murder.

‘Winner Lose All’ will be available in digital formats on December 10. Scoundrels, a hardcover, will be out on January 1. (via)

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Brad Bird is not directing Episode VII

There have been a lot of names thrown into the ring by fans and media to direct Episode VII, and right at the top of most of the lists was Brad Bird. Alas, this evening he said he’s not doing Star Wars. (Or, if you want to slice hairs since clearly he wouldn’t be doing A New Hope, he did out and out say it’s not Episode VII.)

Bird’s directing credits include The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Pixar, as well as Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. His next film is 1952, which is not, as earlier rumored, a code-name for Episode VII.

This puts us at three for three denials in the top rumored directors: Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams have also denied.

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Carrie Fisher in Episode VII? Just kidding, rep says

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!

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Star Wars action figures inducted into Toy Hall of Fame

With the 501st and Rebel Legion in attendance, Star Wars action figures were named as one of the latest inductees into the National Toy Hall of Fame today.

“Their phenomenal popularity with movie fans revolutionized the toy industry,” the Hall of Fame states. “For more than three decades, kids have used Star Wars action figures—plus accessories, vehicles, and play sets—to tell stories of heroes and villains, of empire and rebellion, and of good triumphing over evil. Adults, too, play when they collect Star Wars action figures.”

Dominos were the other inductees this year; they join past honorees as varied as Barbie, marbles, and the cardboard box.

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Report: Is Lucasfilm Animation working on a feature film?

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…