John Noble has been rumored to be taking a part in Episode VII, But he knows about as much about it as we do, he tells fans at the Grand Slam Sci-Fi Show. “I’d like them too,” he says, but there’s no truth to it
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Report: Harrison Ford will return as Han Solo for Episode VII?
El Mayimbe over at Latino Review is reporting that Harrison Ford will indeed be coming back to Star Wars for Episode VII.
Per usual, we’re not calling this a lock until Lucasfilm confirms it… And despite the track record of them announcing these things on Friday evenings, I’m not holding our breath for that to happen today! In fact, Entertainment Weekly’s Geoff Boucher tweeted:
Harrison Ford deal? My source says not yet.”It will not be for weeks and perhaps months.”
— Geoff Boucher (@geoffboucher) February 15, 2013
Still, Latino Review does have a good track record for these sorts of scoops, and it seems pretty likely, no?
Frank Oz willing to return as Yoda
Though he hasn’t heard anything from Lucasfilm, Frank Oz would be willing to return to voice Yoda, according to Hero Complex. But don’t expect another puppet version:
“I think it depends on the story, but I think at this point you can’t go back to the puppet,” he said. “The reason George [Lucas] did the CGI, which I supported, was that he wanted to tell a story that would have been hampered by the physical limitations of the puppet.”
However, remember that while it’s been confirmed that there are spin-off plans in the works, the Yoda film is still just a rumor.
Roundup: Will Episode VII feature a Lord of the Rings transplant as the big bad?
Actors. An Australian DJ (?!?) is claiming that John Noble will be playing the villain in Episode VII. You probably know Noble as Fringe’s Walter Bishop, or from Lord of the Rings, where he played Denethor, perhaps Middle-Earth’s least stable father figure. Like Walter Bishop, I have my skeptic face on.
Abrams alumni Keri Russell would be down for Star Wars, because once again, who’s going to say they don’t want to be in Star Wars?
And finally, Ewan McGregor doesn’t know anything about the new movies, but it seems like he’s still game. He’ll be talking about his new film, Jack and the Giant Slayer, on Ellen this Friday.
The once and future directors. HuffPo’s Mike Ryan has a great article exploring the Star Wars directors thus far. And at the Star Wars Blog, Bonnie Burton has the relevant quotes from her past interviews with J.J. Abrams.
Solo, solo. Hollywood.com’s Christian Blauvelt talks about casting (and writing) a younger Han Solo with Scoundrels author Timothy Zahn. Since the conversation naturally turns to casting Thrawn, Zahn spoke a bit more about casting his characters back on January’s book tour for Scoundrels.
Video. J.J. Abrams talks about Star Wars, Star Trek and the mystery box in a TED Talk from 2007. (via)
Money matters. George Lucas has filed to cash out his Disney stock – the 37,076,679 shares that were half the purchase price for Lucasfilm. (Note: The move doesn’t mean he has to or even will sell immediately, just that he can.) In any case, it was announced early on that Lucas would donate the company’s purchase price to fund “educational issues.”
Lists. Empire has nine characters who deserve a spin-off. They’re all dudes, naturally, but step over to Alyssa Rosenberg’s blog for five women who should be in Episode VII.
Rumor: Spin-off films focus on Han Solo, Boba Fett
Entertainment Weekly’s ‘sources close to the projects’ claim that the two Star Wars standalone films annouced yesterday will feature a young Han Solo and an original-trilogy era Boba Fett.
The Han film will take place sometime between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, while the Fett film will be set in-between the OT films, they claim.
Han is generally believed to be about 10 at the time of Revenge, and there was, if I recall the concept art book correctly, some early talk of him actually showing up on Kashyyyk in the film. UPDATE: Slashfilm dug it up.
UPDATE #2: Meanwhile, Deadline claims that Lucasfilm is still “kicking around” spin-off ideas, and nothing is set in stone yet.
Rumor: Yoda to star in first standalone Star Wars movie?
Rumor time! While we’ve heard before that Disney was interested in doing Star Wars movies not in the main storyline (looking at you, Zack Snyder’s Seven Samurai-inspired film), but here’s a new rumor to add to the wall: Ain’t It Cool News reports that the first standalone film is going to focus on Yoda.
The first Stand Alone film is going to center upon YODA. At this stage specifics are sparse, but Kathleen Kennedy is putting together a STAR WARS slate… I’m wildly curious for more details on the YODA film – would this be a young or old YODA tale?
As always, it’s a rumor, until we have official confirmation.
Also mentioned in the same post: Star Wars theme land in Disney’s California Adventure.
Episode VII: Abrams says snagging Star Wars is “an incredible thing;” Could release date get pushed back?
J.J. Abrams plays it close. E!Online caught up with the newly minted Episode VII director last night at the Producers Guild Awards, where he shockingly failed to give them any details about the original cast returning. He did say that getting the job was “an incredible thing” and “wildly surreal.”
Release date shenanigans? Comic Book Movie noticed a key line in The Hollywood Reporter’s Abrams story: “Episode VII is set for release in 2015, but sources say Abrams has not committed to that release date, meaning the date could be changed if the development process requires it.” There’s quite a crowd of other blockbuster-calibur films set for 2015, most notably the Avengers sequel, but personally? I rather hope we can go the full symbolism route and shoot for a 2017 release. (Or, maybe I’m just a fandom masochist.)
Bullet dodged? Slashfilm says that in-the-running Matthew Vaughn may have pitched Chloë Moretz (Hugo, Kick-Ass) as lead for Episode VII. I don’t dislike Moretz, but I can’t picture her in Star Wars. (Obligatory reminder: CJ is a fancasting-free zone!)
Speaking of dodgy… The Daily Mail is claiming that “battle scenes” may be filmed at an old quarry outside a shopping center in Kent. The quarry has been used in two episodes of classic Doctor Who, once standing in for the planet of – get this – Solos. But obviously, this one goes straight into the ‘shameless rumormongering’ basket.
J.J. Abrams is still not confirmed for Episode VII
UPDATE: NOW he is! But please remember the lesson of this post for next time!
No, J. J. Abrams still hasn’t been confirmed as the Episode VII director. No matter how many sites are reporting it, we still haven’t heard from any of the people who do have the power to confirm the rumor: Not Lucasfilm, not Disney, and not Abrams’ people. No one has gone on the record yet.
And with good reason. Over at Fandom Apocalypse, Austin lays out the case for why we shouldn’t count Abrams in just yet:
Why hasn’t Disney or Lucasfilm made any official announcement yet, while the rest of the entertainment world is acting like this is a done deal? Because until Abrams puts his signature on that contract, there is no guarantee. The man could be sitting in a conference room with every big wig from Lucasfilm and Disney, plotting out the entire production process, but until he puts his John Hancock on that paper, there won’t be an official confirmation.
Might it have been deliberately leaked that negotiations were in progress? Sure. But the fact remains: It’s not confirmed.
No one is saying this isn’t true, or won’t turn out to be true in time: We’re just saying that it’s not confirmed. It’s not for sure. The big players will only chime in when all the deal is done. If it’s done. But that’s not something we can count on… Yet.
Episode VII roundup: Being smart about the rumors
Practice safe media. Amy Ratcliffe writes about Star Wars rumors (like Monday’s Zack Snyder-fest) and how some movie news sites report them. I am in 100% in agreement with her plee for fans to “use your noodle.”
We report rumors, yes. Do I believe them all? Of course not. Hell, in a previous round, I got so angry at people misusing the term ‘confirmed’ that I wrote a whole post about it. The internet is a crazy place and things spread like wildfire, but please, please please be smart about these things. The rumors aren’t going to be going away any time soon, no matter how hard you wish they would.
Sorry, nerds. Joss Whedon totally wanted to direct Episode VII but, you know, The Avengers 2. And S.H.I.E.L.D. Damn his hard-earned success!
Oh, and… The guy who directed Looper says “it would be very hard to say no to.”. Okay.
“This deal is getting worse all the time.” Harvey Weinstein offered Kathleen Kennedy an Oscar (for Lincoln) if she cast him as a stormtrooper.
Zack Snyder’s rep denies report of Star Wars project
Vulture reports that director director Zack Snyder (300, the forthcoming Man of Steel) is developing a Star Wars project for Lucasfilm that will be “parallel to the next trilogy.”
It will be an as-yet-untitled Jedi epic loosely based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic Seven Samurai, with the ronin and katana being replaced by the Force-wielding knights and their iconic lightsabers.
Within hours, Snyder’s representative denied the rumors to The Hollywood Reporter. “While he is super flattered because he is a huge fan, Zack is not involved in any way with the new Star Wars. He is currently in post on his two films, Man of Steel and 300: Battle of Artemisia.”
Vulture is standing by their report, claiming their source says Snyder had met with Lucasfilm. They say the denial has to do with studio politics regarding the possibility of a Man of Steel sequel.
Meanwhile, Variety’s Jeff Sneider tweeted:
No clue how REAL the Zack Snyder – Star Wars offshoot rumors are but I GUARANTEE he met with Kathy Kennedy to pitch her that Seven Jedi idea
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) January 15, 2013
Alrighty then.
I admit I rather hope the denial stays the status quo… Snyder’s made some decent action flicks, but he’s not someone I’m salivating to see take on Star Wars.
This isn’t the first rumor regarding possible side projects. Still unconfirmed are the reports of a Kasdan/Kinberg project, which was also described as being “separate” from the new episodes.