Rumor: Ian Kenny joins Han Solo standalone. He’s a relative newcomer who’s apparently known for the Irish film Sing Street. Yes, he has red hair, but he’s young enough that I feel confident saying he’s probably not playing Clone Wars veteran Brendol Hux.
Frank Oz isn’t talking about Star Wars
Frank Oz has been “asked not to talk about” reprising Yoda, he told Variety. There were some rumors about Oz and The Last Jedi, but take it as you will.
Rumor: Michael K. Williams to join Han spinoff
Variety reports that Michael K. Williams (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire) is in talks to join Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo spinoff. They had no details on his character or role.
Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke are the confirmed cast members of the movie, which is filming now.
Rumor: The state of the GFFA as The Last Jedi begins
Making Star Wars on what they’ve heard about how we find the galaxy after the events of The Force Awakens, giving some context on the (possible) state of the New Republic and First Order.
So about that “original” original trilogy…
Well, since our “unaltered” original trilogy rumor, there’s been a bit of news… Or not, depending on how plugged in you are on the issue. For those of us who shrug at the rigmarole, there’s a new Rumor Control from Bobby at Full of Sith that lays it all out.
In short, maybe George Lucas will show up at Celebration. Who knows? Not any of us, that’s for sure.
Rumor: Will Lucasfilm announce new editions of the pre-Special Edition original trilogy at Celebration?
After yesterday’s announcement of a 40th Anniversary panel on the first day of Celebration and a “surprise,”, naturally fan speculation ramped into overdrive. With The Last Jedi panel set for the second day of the con, fans focused on two things: A George Lucas appearance, or the announcement of the long-awaited and perennially rumored “unaltered” Original Trilogy. Today, Making Star Wars is saying that they’ve been hearing things that lead them to believe it will indeed be pre-Special Edition OT.
If the rumor does pan out this time, it will at least be something worth building up for hype. (I can’t really see George showing up, even if this turns up to be false – he seemed uncomfortable at Celebration even when he owned the company. That said, I’ve been wrong before.)
Almost all home releases of the original trilogy since the early ’90s have been built on the restored and digitally tweaked Special Edition versions that were released in 1997. Transfers of the 1993 Laserdisc versions of the film appeared as extras on some 2006 DVDs, but many fans have been hoping for better quality ports for years now. I’m not particularly obsessive about it, and I own those DVDS, but as a member of the VHS generation I’d buy better versions in a heartbeat.
But, as always, Star Wars fans love to speculate, and anything to do with this issue is hotly debated, so keep your pants on. For now, anyway.
In the meantime, here’s fuzzy Youtube version of ‘Lapti Nek’ for the younglings who only know ‘Jedi Rocks.’ It’s ’80s-sleaze-a-riffic!
Rumor: Finn’s look (and mission?) in The Last Jedi
Making Star Wars is back today with a description and sketch of Finn’s new look – or one of them – and how it ties into a new mission. It includes another new location, which may be related to yesterday’s rumor.
Rumor: A new planet for The Last Jedi?
In today’s rumor, Making Star Wars reports on a new planet it seems we’ll see in The Last Jedi and who likely resides there. (It might be connected to another recent rumor.)
→ Some areas of the fandom ::coughReylocough:: have noted that the certain StarWars.com Databank entries for have been updated to reference a “mysterious” and “strange” connection between Kylo Ren and Rey. Is it love? Is it their genes? Is it the Force? All three? Take it as you will.
→ It’s official: Jimmy Vee is playing R2-D2 in The Last Jedi, per both his agency, Oh So Small and Lucasfilm themselves, via Mashable. He takes over from Kenny Baker, who died last year.
→ And to round things out, here’s a quick reminder that any rumor sourced from Reddit or 4chan should be considered extremely dubious. (Which is why I don’t bother to report them myself anymore.) That’s one reason why it’s important to note the original source of an item! Also be on watch for the term ‘speculation.’ There’s a lot of fan speculation out there, but that doesn’t make it news.
Rumor: Westworld’s Thandie Newton in talks for Han standalone
Both Variety and The Wrap report that Thandie Newton, most recently of HBO’s Westworld, is in talks for a role in the 2018 Han Solo standalone.
The Han movie, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, began filming recently, and this is the second casting rumor this week. So far only Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clark have been confirmed by Lucasfilm.
Rumor: Pheobe Waller-Bridge in talks for CGI role in Han standalone
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Variety reports that Pheobe Waller-Bridge, creator and star of the Amazon series Fleabag, is in talks for a “CGI-driven” role in the Han Solo standalone.
They describe her characters as “a significant part of the ensemble,” so something more in line with Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO in Rogue One than Lupita Nyong’o’s Maz Kanata in The Force Awakens.
The movie stars Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke. It’s directed Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who recently noted that it had begun filming. It’s due out in 2018.