What has the Jesse Plemons rumor wrought? The Hollywood Reporter is weighing in today with a triptych of new (or, well, ‘new’) names: Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving and Adam Driver. I’m sure you’re already familiar with Fassbender and Weaving; Driver is the dude from HBO’s Girls who can’t keep his shirt on.
But wait: That’s not the real meat of the article. THR also claims to know why Micheal Arndt split:
According to multiple insiders, the reason for the parting of ways was not due to a timeframe issue, as has been reported, but rather due to a difference in opinion of which characters to emphasize.
Arndt is said to have focused on the offspring of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), with the original trilogy heroes taking on supporting roles. Abrams, however, wanted Episode VII to focus on the classic trio of characters, so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a fitting send-off. The new characters, the offspring, will now be in supporting roles, according to these sources, and take center stage in Episode VIII and IX. Some characters have disappeared from the Arndt script and new ones are being drafted.
George Lucas was involved in the debate, but “acquiesced to Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy.” Several parts have been rewritten; one 20-year old character is now 40, and Weaving is supposedly being eyed to play a “an Imperial commander.” (Of course.)
And finally:
The latest bit to surface this week is that Abrams and Lucasfilm are now searching for a 20-something female actress who is either of mixed race or black. The rumor is that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a daughter or granddaughter.
I’m not going to knock a POC casting choice, but the idea of there being Kenobi spawn at all strikes me as disingenuous.
But remember: There’s a lot going on here, and who knows what’s going to end up as truth…
The original comments:
1 Doublesith // Jan 11, 2014 at 10:15 pm
Cue the “Weaving is Thrawn!!1!” speculation.
I kinda dislike that the reason (if the rumor is true) for the reworking of the script is to make Luke, Han and Leia the leads. I really liked the idea that they were there to pass the torch, like Obi-Wan in ANH. Now I worry that they won’t spend enough time establishing the characters of the new heroes.
As to the Kenobi descendant, that’s just plain old weird. I don’t see the point.
2 Dunc // Jan 11, 2014 at 10:31 pm
Yeah. Not looking forward to more Thrawn crap at all. The Cumberbatch thing was bad enough, and Weaving is more of the same, albeit an older version.
I’ll reserve judgement on the reworking…
I have to wonder if the ‘Kenobi descendant’ role is real but the Kenobi part is just a red herring. Hell, remember the “Lady Kenobi” rumor from the run-up to TPM? This seems like it could be something in the same vein.
3 Doublesith // Jan 11, 2014 at 10:35 pm
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Mysterious woman shows up claiming to Luke that her grandpappy was Old Ben could be something that starts the plot rolling…
4 Dunc // Jan 11, 2014 at 11:17 pm
Or she could be the descendent of another Jedi, maybe even a Order 66 survivor introduced in Rebels (hmm,) and the Kenobi thing is just a smokescreen for that.
The problem with Obi-wan is, he’s clearly shown to be a rule-abiding Jedi in the PT; it’s what makes him a successful foil to Anakin. I think he’d even avoid the gray areas like sex/kids. It may not be a popular opinion in fandom thanks to Ewan MacGregor being Ewan MacGregor, and I know the character has a couple G-rated romances/love interests in TCW and the EU, but I just can’t see him having had kids. At all.
5 Doublesith // Jan 11, 2014 at 11:26 pm
Agreed about Obi-Wan. Although George has said Jedi are not celibate per se, his relationship with Satine in TCW was never portrayed as anything more than platonic. Obi-Wan putting duty above all is a pretty defining trait of the character.
Maybe things got “a little rough” during one of his visits to the Mos Eisley cantina. :P
6 Dunc // Jan 11, 2014 at 11:31 pm
Yeah, the ‘gray area’ thing is me kind of interpreting George’s comments. But I really can’t see Obi-Wan, even young hot Obi-Wan, as a sexual figure at all. It’s something about Ewan’s Guinness impression, I think.
Maybe things got “a little rough” during one of his visits to the Mos Eisley cantina.
Let’s… Not go there.
7 Aaron // Jan 12, 2014 at 5:14 am
Maybe it’s granddaughter as in “Obi-Wan took care of my mother once”. They could even retcon all that and tie it to JJM’s Kenobi by making the “granddaughter” one of Annie’s descendants. I could even accept that Obi-Wan sat around on Tatooine and noticed how the Empire got ever stronger and that he then decided not to take up the fight again but rather to start a family and forget the rest of the galaxy. He had time enough for such a change of heart. And it might make for a great follow-up to Kenobi…
8 Paula // Jan 12, 2014 at 6:36 am
And a million fanfics are born.
Never say never, but the ObiWan offspring story seems off. The whole point was that he fully followed the Jedi way.
I suspect Bad Robot has a little office of people throwing out rumors just to keep us off the scent. :)
9 Mister Andersen // Jan 12, 2014 at 7:27 am
Why wouldn’t she be the next generation of the Calrissian line?
10 John Rozmiarek // Jan 12, 2014 at 8:13 am
Yeah kenobi is a rule follower to a “certain point of view”. (His own rules) I’m up for the idea that while watching Luke he a relationship.
11 Dunc // Jan 12, 2014 at 10:52 am
Why wouldn’t she be the next generation of the Calrissian line?
Because that’s the only way we’re going to see someone black? It’s 2014, let’s give them more credit than that. In any case, I’m reading Kenobi as a smokescreen for an Order 66 survivor. Maybe we see her grandparent and parent (as a kid) in Rebels, the grandparent dies, and the parent goes on to have her and (maybe?) train with Luke? Something in the vein of the Halcyon/Horn family, basically.
12 WFDT // Jan 13, 2014 at 9:46 am
Mari-Su Kenobi.
13 Dunc // Jan 13, 2014 at 11:17 am
Which is one reason I don’t buy she’s really a Kenobi. It’s such a 12-year-old move… Which is fine for actual 12-year-olds on FFN, but you expect something a little less cutesy from the pros – particularly when there’s so very little in the existing canon to support it.
14 Annalee // Jan 13, 2014 at 12:23 pm
The latest bit to surface this week is that Abrams and Lucasfilm are now searching for a 20-something female actress who is either of mixed race or black.
I can’t even start with how badly I want this to be true. I’m not really fussed about the Obi-Wan connection–I agree that it’d be out of character for him to have a kid–but a Jedi woman of color in a leading role? I would watch that movie like a million times. AND buy all the toys.