Domhnall Gleeson (via Jedi News) has supposedly said his Episode VII character is a “space pikey.” Per folks on Twitter, I have learned that “pikey” is a not-so-nice slang term in the U.K. for Travellers, so, uh, yeah. Great start we’re all off to here. (UPDATE: It’s TOTALLY a fake.)
Rumor: Another Episode VII working title?
Another Episode VII working title? Bleeding Cool is now saying that the film is being called “AVGO.” UPDATE: It’s actually Avco, who is (was?) a Los Angeles theater where young J.J. Abrams saw original Star Wars. So much for the acronyms.
Rumor: Episode VII’s working title is… (Per Harry Knowles?)
AICN’s Harry Knowles, after taking a trip down Star Wars nostalgia lane yesterday, is back this morning with what he claims is the working title to Episode VII. Ready? It’s The Ancient Fear.
Granted, as possible movie titles go, it’s the most plausible yet, echoing both The Phantom Menace and (in opposite land) A New Hope. It even has it’s own initials! But… Harry Knowles. We know you remember the prequel era… (Wasn’t it The Creeping Fear then? It was!)
Rumor: 3D printing for Episode VII?
Will Episode VII utilize 3D printing? UPDATE: Whereas the first version of this post linked to a tweet from Harry Knowles, he now has a whole (rambling) entry up on Star Wars and (eventually) things he’s heard about Episode VII. He’s not revealing anything huge (though he hints that they’ve heard a “evocative title”) aside from the 3D printing thing. But it’s Harry Knowles, so take it with giant chunks of salt.
Rumor: Episode VII is The Order of the Jedi? Probably not.
The Order of the Jedi is the title of Episode VII, says Moviepilot. Okay, sure. UPDATE: Now with plot ‘details!’ Some more plausible than others, but mostly not.
Rumors: Is Andy Serkis in the Episode VII cast?
We now have photographic proof that Carrie Fisher is in London, thanks to the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, The List is reporting that several cast members met with J.J. Abrams for a top secret ” bonding session” at a London restaurant. In addition to naming expected alumni Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Peter Mayhew (no Hamill? Daniels?) they also namedropped Adam Driver and… Andy Serkis? The Lord of the Rings actor hasn’t figured into any rumors, but stranger things have happened, and he is Hollywood’s #1 mo-cap guy. (Of course, he could also just be there to offer advice… I doubt we’re going to see a Star Wars film in the post-Gollum age that includes exactly zero motion capture.)
In any case, if yesterday’s table read rumors are true, they can’t expect to keep things secret that much longer…
Disney hosting store event, Star Wars executive breakfast this week
Disney is hosting a Star Wars executive breakfast this coming Thursday, says Making Star Wars. In attendance will be George Lucas and “classic cast members.” Just another Thursday for Disney’s top brass? UPDATE: Lucasfilm denied this event to TFN, but Making Star Wars (and others) maintain it is indeed happening. We’ll see!
Also this week? A Star Wars event at the (a?) Disney Store on Monday and Tuesday in California, according to Jedi News. So something is clearly going on. Whether these are linked to something that will matter to most of us (an announcement?) is yet to be seen, but let’s hope so.
Rumor: Is this our first photo of an Episode VII set?
The National, a newspaper in Abu Dhabi, claims it has the first image of the Star Wars set in the desert there:
The photos, taken on Tuesday morning in the dunes near Qasr Al Sarab resort, reveal a large encampment of tents with four to five workers moving around what appear to be parts of a filmset.
It is one piece of equipment in particular, however, that is the most suggestive: a giant, round, grey disc, which bears a striking resemblance to parts of an escape pod on which C3P0 and R2D2 crash-landed on Tatooine in the original, 1977, Star Wars: A New Hope film.
They go to say that according to ‘sources,’ “crew members have already been hired for the Abu Dhabi leg of the secret production.”
Are you convinced? An Abu Dhabi location shoot has been rumored, but is not confirmed by Lucasfilm or Disney. And honestly it looks like it could easily be part of a water main to me.
In other Episode VII ‘news’ today, a pair of random actors (Ansel Elgort and Beau Mirchoff) say they auditioned for Episode VII. Alrighty then!
UPDATE: More details from The National’s investigation, which involves, I kid you not, the dating app Tinder.
Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Wars “won’t happen, sadly”
Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Wars “won’t happen, sadly,” he told a con audience in Australia. Color me shocked.
Rumor: Episode VII to head to Abu Dhabi?
The Hollywood Reporter is on a roll. Tonight, they say Episode VII will film in Abu Dhabi for four weeks beginning in mid-May – something Jedi News was reporting (along with Cairo) last week.
THR thinks it may be home to the ‘new’ Tatooine – but there’s also plenty of modern architecture in Abu Dhabi that could be put to good use as well.