The Mary Sue, via Reddit, spotted this 1983 interview that Hamill did with Maria Shriver. He talks about Return of the Jedi sequels at 3:06. (2004!)
“The books were always just the books:” Timothy Zahn on the Star Wars sequels and fan hopes for Heir
Entertainment Weekly caught up with Timothy Zahn to talk about the week’s big announcement and the amount of mainstream attention that the Thrawn trilogy has been getting due to all the speculation – and what he knew of possible plans for a trilogy after Return of the Jedi.
That means Zahn’s books won’t be directly adapted, but the author says that was always the case: “The books were always just the books.”
But years ago, he was briefed on Lucas’ plans for sequels, and how the Thrawn books would fit in. “The original idea as I understood it— and Lucas changes his mind off and on, so it may not be what he’s thinking right now – but it was going to be three generations. You’d have the original trilogy, then go back to Luke’s father and find out what happened to him [in the prequels], and if there was another 7th, 8th, or 9th film, it would be Luke’s children. The Thrawn Trilogy really would have fit into the gap,” the author said.
Tim talks – vaguely! – about what kind of things he’d like to see in the new films.
Roundup: Does the Disney buyout mean The Clone Wars is headed for a new channel?
The Clone Wars. The Hollywood Reporter’s sources confirm that the cartoon will likely be making the move to Disney XD. Cartoon Network, which is owned by Turner/Time Warner, has the rights only up through current season. DisneyXD airs action-oriented shows and currently has a block dedicated to Marvel cartoons.
Episode 7 rumors. First Showing has a source denying the 1952 rumor, while Skywalking author Dale Pollock tells The Wrap that 7, 8 and 9 were the “most exciting stories.” And though there have been some rumblings from some hopeful to see Steven Spielberg finally take on a full Star Wars film, Spielberg fan Paul Bullock lays out some reasons why this is unlikely.
Ladies! Slate’s Alyssa Rosenberg on how women can save the Star Wars franchise. Like I said earlier, I would love a female protagonist heading this thing! It doesn’t even have to be someone we already know.
Reaction. Entertainment Weekly nabbed some big name Hollywood talent on how they feel about more Star Wars. Knights Archive has a nice collection of comments from Lucasfilm folks, authors, actors and other notables. MTV talked to TFN’s Eric Geller and Big Shiny Robot’s Bryan Young, while ABC News asked Devi Laskar, artist Tom Hodges, and yours truly. And our friends over the pond at Jedi News are talking to the U.K. media! But you don’t have to go to the news sites: Thoughts from fans like Michael Heilemann and Amy Ratcliffe. As for Expanded Universe fans, here are more thoughts from Tosche Station’s Brian, Knight Archive’s Ryan, and Fangirl’s Tricia Barr.
Speculation! Lists! People just can’t stop writing them. The Hollywood Reporter finds 15 potential writers, Slashfilm has 10 filmmakers to direct (and 5 who shouldn’t,) and Big Shiny Robot has yet more possible directors. Taking a different track, Screenrant has pros and cons of the deal, while Hitfix has some things to watch.
And now for something completely different… You know it’s not real news until crazy folks at NMA weigh in with a video. For something more serious, check out Empire’s infographic of who has what franchises.
The Clone Wars review: Onderon, and on and on
One of the weird realizations about The Big Announcement is that if they’re going to make Episodes VII through IX, there’s no reason they won’t make Episodes X through XII as well. And if you find the idea of endless Star Wars movies a bit jarring, well, you’re not alone. But the truth is, we’ve already seen new Star Wars movies, because that’s what The Clone Wars has become: a series of longer-form stories, told over several installments. Yes, there are some standalone episodes throw in (and they’re almost always terrific), but it seems like these mini-movies are now the dominant mode. And that can be good. And that can be bad.
Editor’s note: This review covers the whole Onderon arc, episodes 5.02 – 5.05: ‘A War on Two Fronts,’ ‘Front Runners,’ ‘The Soft War,’ and ‘Tipping Points.’
Continue reading “The Clone Wars review: Onderon, and on and on”
The Clone Wars brings ‘The Gathering’ into a whole new world of Star Wars
…And now for something completely different. Yes, The Clone Wars must go on, as ‘The Gathering’ starts a new, youngling-focused arc of the show tomorrow morning – and possible backdoor pilot? (Can we trust our pre-Disney speculations?)
These were the episodes previewed at Celebration, and you can still check out James’ thoughts.. Or, you can view another preview clip under the cut.
Continue reading “The Clone Wars brings ‘The Gathering’ into a whole new world of Star Wars“
Conspiracy theory: Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof to direct, write Episode 7?
An AICN reader has a theory: That Disney has been making moves towards Lost’s Damon Lindelof and Pixar’s Brad Bird as the writer and director of Episode 7. This all hinges on the mystery film 1952 as the new Blue Harvest. (Hat tip to our old pal Fatboy Roberts.)
Bird has directed The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Lindelof is best known as the co-creator of Lost. He also produced 2009’s Star Trek and worked on the script for the sequel. He has writing credits for Prometheus and Cowboys & Aliens.
Bird is also listed on IMDB as director on 1906, a film in pre-production about the San Francisco earthquakes, but IMDB has never been 100% trustworthy on ‘early’ news of films.
What does 1952 mean to Star Wars? It’s the year Liam Neeson was born. In film history, it’s the year that High Noon and The Greatest Show on Earth and the first full color 3D movie were released. George Lucas was 8 that year – do any of these films ring a bell for Star Wars scholars?
UPDATE: First Showing has a source which claims that 1952 has nothing to do with Star Wars. (H/T to Justin Alicea.)
Hamill, Fisher told of sequel trilogy during the summer
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mark Hamill reveals that he and Carrie Fisher were told about the plans for Star Wars VII, VIII, and IX last summer. (At Celebration, perhaps?)
So when he said, “We decided we’re going to do Episodes VII, VIII, and IX,” I was just gobsmacked. “What? Are you nuts?!” [Laughs] I can see both sides of it. Because in a way, there was a beginning, a middle, and an end and we all lived happily ever after and that’s the way it should be — and it’s great that people have fond memories, if they do have fond memories. But on the other hand, there’s this ravenous desire on the part of the true believers to have more and more and more material.
Well, you can’t say they haven’t had practice keeping secrets!
Carrie’s reaction to the news breaking has so far been contained to, um, her dog. Harrison Ford is, I expect, looking into trips to Antarctica.
George Lucas plans to put Lucasfilm’s $4B purchase price towards education
A spokesperson tells The Hollywood Reporter that George Lucas plans to put most of the money he received from Disney – $4.05 billion dollars – towards “a foundation which will primarily focus on educational issues.”
This could mean a new foundation, but Lucas is already the chairman of Edutopia, a organization that fosters innovation in schools, part of The George Lucas Educational Foundation. He’s used the Foundation to make donations to various philanthropic causes in the past, including a record-breaking $175 million to USC in 2006. In 2010, Lucas was among the first to sign the Giving Pledge, vowing to give away at least half his wealth to charitable causes.
Report: Episode 7 to be “original story”
Stop compiling those exhaustive lists of your favorite Star Wars books: A Lucasfilm source tells EOnline’s Leslie Gornstein that Episode 7 will be “an original story.” Gornstein goes on to say that “Episode 7 will literally be nothing you’ve ever seen or read before from the Star Wars universe.” Not surprised. Not surprised in the least…
Unlearn what you have learned: Will the Expanded Universe survive new Star Wars movies? Should it?
I’m not going to be the first person to say this, and I certainly won’t be the last: Don’t expect the sequel trilogy to follow the existing Expanded Universe. We know that George Lucas has done story treatments for these films that he’s handing over to Kathleen Kennedy and Disney’s LFL, and Lucas’s take on the EU has been, for most of its existence, that they’re an alternate universe. He has been a distant and uncaring god, at least as far as post-Return of the Jedi is concerned. He has used things from the EU occasionally, but I wouldn’t expect straight adaptations of any of the existing books or comics – at least not as actual episodes.