Tag: rumors

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Rumor: Is Lucasfilm working on ‘Reclamation,’ a new animated series involving Leia Organa and 1313?

UPDATE: In a shocking (not) turn of events, Lucasfilm has denied this. But hey, we don’t mind fan fiction, so the original entry and pics remain below:

Leia Organa SoloA TFN reader spotted this treatment for Star Wars: Reclamation today on the IMDB message boards. The poster claims to be an ex-Lucasfilm employee, but obviously nothing about this is in any way verifiable.

The Reclamation treatment lays out a Star Wars story set about 15 years after Return of the Jedi. It features mostly all-new characters, but the description of Leia Organa is, shall we say, very interesting:

A post-Emperor universe where Han and Leia aren’t even together? Where at least Leia’s ancestry is kept secret? Where there are Jedi who survived the purges but no mention of Luke Skywalker? Although at least one of the other character descriptions is rather curious…

As always, I am deeply skeptical about this whole thing, but it’s certainly food for thought – even if it does turn out to be nothing more than a rejected pitch, an attempt to troll gullible EU fans or just someone’s cleverly-presented fanfic.

Like I’ve said before, it’s time for Expanded Universe fans to get used to the idea that something like this – by which I mean a post-ROTJ that’s completely different from the one in the books and comics, not necessarily this specific setup – might actually be what happens in the sequels. Chances are that, yes, this instance is a big old fake. But the possibility that the sequels will give us a new post-ROTJ universe is very real.

Check out the full treatment below the cut.

Continue reading “Rumor: Is Lucasfilm working on ‘Reclamation,’ a new animated series involving Leia Organa and 1313?”

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Rumor: Obi-Wan and Maul to face-off in spinoff?

SPINOFF RUMORS: Take seriously at your own risk.Cosmic Book News is at it again! Today they’ve set on another spin-off concept, one featuring Obi-Wan during his Tatooine exile with old buddy Darth Maul and a possible appearance by a young Luke Skywalker. (via)

A similar story was published in 2005 as the lead story of Star Wars: Visionaries. But as story concepts go, we’ve heard worse, and Ewan McGregor hasn’t been shy about his willingness to return. But, as always, it’s only a rumor.

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Report: Clone Wars ‘bonus content’ to be two arcs

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TheForce.Net’s Eric Geller says that The Clone Wars’ ‘bonus content’ will be two story arcs from what would have been the show’s sixth season. What they won’t be? Bounty hunters:

Among the story arcs that will not emerge in this post-cancellation era is one that dealt with Boba Fett and the other bounty hunters who have menaced the heroes for several seasons. This story arc, which my source tells me was almost done, would have shown us the fates of Cad Bane and Aurra Sing.

It’s also being heavily implied that Lucasfilm Animation layoffs – or notifications thereof – went down on Friday.

Eric also had two takes on Lucasfilm Animation’s reaction to the fan reaction. (Which has since been… removed?) One was “shocked” by “tepid fan reaction;” The other “recognized the outpouring” of support.

It’s worth noting that these two accounts can be reconciled. I’m sure that everyone at Lucasfilm Animation, both current and former staffers, appreciates what support they’ve seen. The question is how much more support those staffers were expecting to see.

Which makes me wonder what reaction they were watching, because it seemed pretty outraged to me: Yesterday’s #SaveTheCloneWars protest drew over 7,000 tweets in 24 hours.

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Rumor mill: Is LucasArts facing a shutdown?

Unlike the ending of Clone Wars, reports of a possible LucasArts shutdown in the works are anything but surprising. While Kotaku’s report on the future of 1313 was mostly based on sources, the absence of the game – perhaps LucasArt’s hottest upcoming property – from any recent industry events is rather telling.
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This week, another report from GamesIndustry International has been making the rounds. LucasArts told them that the speculation of a shutdown is “one hundred percent not true” and that “everything is moving ahead.”

Ex-employees are less optimistic, echoing much of what you’ll hear from gamers themselves these days:

The studio’s performance in recent years has not impressed former LucasArts employees. One ex-LucasArts employee had this to say: “The ‘business’ has been on life-support since the Star Wars license and subsequent development for their best title went to Bioware/EA. I’m frankly amazed that they’ve stayed in business this long. No stomach for truly original product, and slender means to produce their previous cash cows – Indy and Star Wars.”

Given Disney’s history with their gaming divisions, along with some other hints, you can’t blame anyone for worrying about the future of LucasArts these days.

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Reports: Lucasfilm Animation layoffs forthcoming

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There have been multiple reports that layoffs are on the way for Lucasfilm Animation in the wake of the cancellation of The Clone Wars.

If this does pan out, it’s not particularly surprising: Our own Stooge predicted the end of Lucasfilm Animation last week. Alas, as sad as it is, it only makes sense that Disney would eliminate a department that’s redundant to their own extensive resources. Our pal Bryan at Big Shiny Robot has a level-headed examination of the yet-unconfirmed moves:

But renewed calls to panic in this case aren’t justified. This seems wholly consistent with the plan we were upset about a week ago. What’s being done to The Clone Wars is unfair, both to the fans and the artists who create the show, and it will never hurt to voice your support, but being upset at a cat for eating a mouse (or in this case a giant mouse eating a television show) is to deny the nature of the thing.

That said, the letter-writing campaign that’s being pushed is far from useless: If you enjoyed The Clone Wars then, yes, make your voice heard. It may be too late to turn back the clock for Clone Wars, but it might make a difference for the remaining episodes, or show that there’s enough interest to sustain another show.

But it’s also time to sit down, take a deep breath, and make sure you’re presenting your case in a calm and rational manner. Panic only breeds more panic, and that’s not the kind of statement that’s going to make a good impression on the higher-ups at Disney – or anyone else.

UPDATE: The good news is, Bryan got word from Lucasfilm that the ‘bonus content’ that was promised – and deeply doubted – “will absolutely be made available to fans.”

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Rumor: Episode VII to feature “disciple” of Palpatine

SEQUEL TRILOGY RUMORS: Take seriously at your own risk.Cosmic Book News has a source claiming that Episode VII will feature, in addition to Skywalker and Solo offspring, a Palpatine flunky:

A disciple of Emperor Palpatine aims to rebuild the Sith Armies of the Old Republic and destroy the Jedi where the Skywalker children will be thrust into battle and face their inner demons of their Skywalker lineage.

They also claim the movie will take place 30 years after the original trilogy, no shock to anyone who can do a bit of math.

It’s plausible, of course, but also fairly reminiscent of a lot of the early Expanded Universe plots, which were lousy with Imperial flunkies and random darksiders. (via)

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Rumor: Billy Dee Williams asked to return as Lando for Episode VII?

Lando CalrissianIt seems that that Billy Dee Williams has been asked to return for Episode VII, according to a report by Film Buff, but he hasn’t made a decison yet.

There’s a pretty good chance that Solo and/or Skywalker kids will be a part of the new trilogy: Does this mean we could be seeing a young Calrissian as well? We don’t know if they’ll use anything from the novels (and it’s by no means a sure thing that they will) but Lando does have a son, Chance Calrissian.

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Rumor: Episode VII to focus on Solo kid, grandkid; Lucasfilm wants Zahn for three novels?

SEQUEL TRILOGY RUMORS: Take seriously at your own risk.Nerdvana‘s ‘insider’ tells them that the new film will focus on a child and grandchild of Han and Leia’s – which may or may not give hope to those wedded to the novel continuty. On that note, the source claims “there are three new books we want Timothy Zahn to write.” Novelizations? Intriguing…

And here’s what they have to say about Abram’s contract:

JJ’s contract has a clause for all three movies and an additional three of Lucas/Disney choosing if everyone melds well on the first one. This is typical of these types of contracts; gives everyone an out if needed.

They also say that the Big Three have contracts already (right…) and that George Lucas himself has nixed the Yoda spin-off: He’s “a supporting character and will stay that way.” That last one I actually hope is true.

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Random rumor roulette: Episode VII to focus on OT in tone; Simon Pegg and Alfonso Cuaron likely?

SEQUEL TRILOGY RUMORS: Take seriously at your own risk.Marketsaw‘s spy is backing up the claims that Episode VII will focus on the Skywalker spawn, and also the film’s tone:

The focus is on the original trilogy in regards of reverence and tone. Remember I told you before that the tone was important, well I believe they are really taking that seriously. From everything I know, they’re focusing on that directly. Remember everything has the ability to change drastically, as Star Wars right now apart from the twin trilogies is a huge blank canvas. However, the trilogies ongoing narrative will continue to focus on that particular branch, whereas the stand alone movies, will fill and expand the voids in between in multiple timelines, and have potential to then be franchised themselves in regards to the worlds they open up.

The ‘news’ here, however, is the claim that Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men) may be a very important name in the hat for future Star Wars directing jobs, and to “expect” Simon Pegg in “some capacity.” Dengar?

UPDATE: Pegg tweets:

Oh, and they mention Plagueis as a possible spinoff, because of course.

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Your weekend rumor: Is Knights of the Old Republic in the mix for a spin-off movie?

Darth Malak, I guess.Somewhere on the scale between ‘Ugh, no’ (Boba Fett/Yoda) and ‘Well… okay?’ (Han Solo) there exists AICN reporting a possible Knights of the Old Republic spin-off movie. Somewhere a gamer is screeching like a little girl, but I just roll my eyes. Don’t get too excited, though – “literally a ton of activity going on regarding a whole bunch of ideas,” the report also says.

Apparently there are also rumors going around Bioware about Drew Karpyshyn being involved. I thought he was working on some fantasy novels (and a screenplay that will need to be shopped around, which doesn’t exactly scream ‘part of a major franchise’ to me.) Whatever, rumor mill.

UPDATE: Let the record show…