Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
We’ve been hearing for quite a while now that a return to Ireland’s Skellig Michael was in the cards for very soon now, and now Lucasfilm themselves have confirmed (to Entertainment Weekly) that Star Wars will be shooting on the island this month for Rian Johnson’s Episode VIII.
J.J. Abrams and at least two actors filmed for three days on Skellig Michael in July 2014.
EW also reports that some reshoots for The Force Awakens have already occurred, including some around the time of D23.
In official official news, Lucasfilm has teamed with HP for a fan art competition, Art Awakens. Tumblr has been training for this!
→ With Entertainment Weekly, J.J. Abrams reiterated that we won’t get a new The Force Awakens trailer at D23, or at all until fall. There’ll be no TFA footage at all, “behind the scenes or otherwise,” he said. Of course, that doesn’t mean we won’t get something, like another character reveal or a new poster. (Not to mention things regarding the Parks…) And I’d bet actual money is still that we’ll get something for Rogue One.
→ The Force Awakens scoring sessions are “beyond anything I have experienced musically in my life,” a source tells the John Williams Fan Network.
→ More juice for the theory/hope that Episode VIII will return to film on Skellig Michael at The Star.
→ I won’t be tracking every TFA merchandise leak this month, but here are a few interesting ones: A Micro Machines Millennium Falcon playset, Black Series Finn, Chewbacca and < href="https://twitter.com/Sompeetalay/status/630494610574458880">Kylo Ren and Funko Pop Vinyl figures. My favorite, though, is a lunch bag with some new-to-us Captain Phasma art, which I love because even though she is 100% in armor, the way she’s standing is badass yet makes it absolutely clear that the character is a woman. Men don’t stand like that!
As San Diego Comic-Con approaches, actual The Force Awakens news is thin on the ground. Here’s what we have so far:
→ That promo art from last week has now appeared on a basketball hoop, of all things. (Now 200% tackier and more cluttered!) But it is newsworthy if only because this version contains a few additional figures, most notably Threepio, confirming that his cosmetic change is not limited to Mexican soda cans.
→ In a new interview, Alan Dean Foster talks a bit about novelizing The Force Awakens.
→ Rumor has it that a Star Wars exhibit may be coming to Disneyland in November which probably means at least some of it will be themed to The Force Awakens. On that note, Disney’s also looking to invest a billion dollars at the park for ‘new attractions,’ among other things.
→ Record revenue for Pinewood this year, helped along by Star Wars and others.
→ Spoiler corner: On how Skellig Michael might fit into the rest of the sequel trilogy.
Will we see the Skellig Michael location in Episode VIII? The Irish Times says a production team visited the island recently. At least two actors were present for the Episode VII filming there last July, and if one believes the plot rumors it seems likely that the location could reoccur. (Or there’s always Rogue One, I suppose.)
Meanwhile, Jedi News is saying that The Force Awakens also filmed in Scotland, though not with actors.
→ Also appearing in the latest issue of Interview magazine (Domhnall Gleeson is one of the cover models) is Billie Lourd, who denies that she’s playing Leia’s daughter, not that that was ever rumored, but hey, it’s not like we get a ton of denials these days.
→ A source has told the John Williams Fan Network that Williams has received a trailer for Episode VII from J.J. Abrams, has already written the music for it, and will be scoring on November 15th. Jason at Making Star Wars points out:
My bet has always been we would not see a trailer until Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015, 8 months before Star Wars: Episode VII is released. But Trek friends have let me know that each time Abrams did a film, he did a teaser with stuff not from the film itself and that could mean we are about to see something for Christmas. The one thing I will say, is I have heard we would see the Star Wars “kick off” really begin at about the one year mark before the film and this lines up really well with that.
The earliest teaser for Star Trek Into Darkness I can recall definitely had footage, but I probably wouldn’t have bothered to cover one here that didn’t. (Well, not for Trek, anyway.) I hope there is a December teaser for Episode VII, even if it’s just old footage and a title – but Disney, you’re still not going to get me to see Into the Woods.
→ Taking a beeline to the standalones for a moment – Cinematographer Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, Snow White and the Huntsman) has told Hitfix that he’ll be working on the Gareth Edwards Star Wars film that’s aiming for December 2016.
→ The Irish Examiner has some technical details on the Skellig Michael (aka Sceilig Mhichíl) shot, which was significantly scaled down.
→ Also at MSW, we have the last of the new alphabet fighters and more on Han Solo’s wardrobe.
→ Just when you think we’re free of Benedict Cumberbatch… He admits he’s been to the set. UGH.
Contrary to what Latino Review reported last week, it seems that Episode VII is unlikely to return to Skellig Michael to shoot further scenes, per the Irish Examiner. “No filming has been scheduled for Skellig Michael in the coming months,” they were told by Louise Ryan of the Irish Film Board. (via)
I seem to recall there was some scuttlebut floating about during the first shoot that it was originally scheduled for the fall, and moved up due to Harrison Ford’s injury, so perhaps that’s where the second date comes in.
→ There’s a new rumordump from Dave Gonzales at Latino Review addressing some of the rumors floating around: Mainly Sith, Luke’s location, and what the Skelling Michael location will be. Shrug.
→ Star Wars Episode 7 News thinks they have proof the stormtrooper helmet pics are legit. Of course, none of us have any idea if that kind of thing can be faked, so again, shrug. It’s not like that light pattern is super unusual (or not possible indoors, though I’ll let the light-spectrum geeks debate that one.) I wouldn’t go so far as to call it confirmed, but it’s certainly possible.
→ And finally, let’s recall the innate ridiculousness of rumors with Always Star Wars, who looks back at some things we heard before The Phantom Menace. Ben Kenobi owns the Millennium Falcon!
Was it really necessary for everyone to unload every Star Wars ‘scoop’ they have today? We were bored out of our skulls most of the week, and then it all comes through at once. Can’t we have some pity? It’s Friday! In any case, since we’re already touched on the villains and Han Solo’s clothes, here’s what else came up:
→ Making Star Wars has some description of what Daisy Ridley’s character will be wearing. I’m happy to see this because a) unlike Han, we haven’t the faintest clue and b) to remind us that some women do actually exist in this movie. More lady character-centric rumors that don’t involve fancasting Lupita Nyong’o as various aliens, please.
→ Latino Review’s Dave Gonzales has finished A New Dawn and speculates about how it (and Rebels as a whole) and the new rumors seem to fit into the new tapestry of Star Wars. Possible spoilers for some of the book, naturally.
→ Jedi News claims there will be a Mon Calamari/Mon Cal character ala Admiral Ackbar, “not just in a background role.” And, you guessed it, Making Star Wars has more context, including what the connection may be to Skellig Michael shoot. You know exactly who’ll get pinpointed in this role, don’t you?
→ Episode VIII director Rian Johnson talks about visiting the Episode VII set.
→ Not a rumor, but: John Boyega met Samuel L. Jackson the other day and it was adorable.
→ Today word comes that [redacted] isn’t the only actor filming scenes on Ireland’s Skellig Michael. [Redacted] is there as well, per The Movie Bit – just as some suspected due to the fuzzy paparazzi pics the other day. This is supposedly the third and last day of filming on the island. Making Star Wars has a buddy in the area.
→ Meanwhile, some WWE guy, Sheamus O’Shaunessy, is apparently also hanging out in Ireland and double negativing over Darth Vader. Okay then. (Also, if we must take this seriously, well, I’ll just leave this over here.)
→ Not Episode VII, but close enough: Spin-off screenwriter Gary Whitta is totally down with writing a Star Wars novel.
→ And even more tangentially, sequel actors Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson have nabbed some more high profile gigs.
→ The Irish Coast Guard have set up a two-mile exclusion zone around Skellig Michael, which means only the authorized are getting in. Too bad, so sad, no more set paparazzi.
Meanwhile, the international culture and heritage agency Unesco has asked for a report on the film shooting at the island, which could disrupt the breeding season of rare birds on the island.
→ Harrison Ford spotted walking sans cane in Santa Monica yesterday. You can’t tell him what he can’t do, internet.
→ Karen Gillan is talking about her wig again. This time, we learn that we’ve seen the wig already! At Comic-Con. In 2013. So… It has retractable bangs? I’m so confused.
→ Is Simon Pegg insinuating that he’s in Episode VII… But his face isn’t? Read it how you will. (Maybe he donated a wig?) My call: Protocol droid.