Star Wars Episode VII News: Week 17

Adam Driver as the Episode VII Villain?

     With Episode VII still 1 year, 9 months, and 2 days away (659 days), all anyone has is rumors. Nothing has been confirmed, but there are promising leads. The first one might or might not have an impact on Episode VII. It states that the Sith homeworld, Korriban, has been renamed to Morraban. No idea what that means, but whatever. This comes from The Star Wars Insider, saying that during the last Clone Wars episode, the Sith homeworld's true name will be revealed. I don't know how this change is supposed to be dramatic or something, but I doubt it will affect Episode VII, unless J.J. Abrams decides that for whatever reason, Luke Skywalker has to visit the Sith homeworld, which is unlikely as Abramsprobably wants to look into the future, and not the past, because that is prequel territory. Plus, "Star Wars Insider" sounds like a tabloid of some sort.

     Metro reports that Harrison Ford is going to star in Star Wars AND Indiana Jones. Apparently, he signed a contract for two more Indie films and Episode VII. However, if this is true, then why would Ford continue doing both at the same time? It might mean overlapping shooting schedules. Unless Indiana Jones 5 isn't released in the 2015-2016 area. Ford also didn't wan't anything to do with Solo, so if he signed the contract, it could mean something big.

     Finally, Variety reports that Adam Driver has signed on the Star Wars cast as the lead villain. It reports that "sources tell Variety", and "no deal is done yet", but they are optimistic. Even if this is true, and Driver has been cast, would he make a good villain? If he's going for a villain role, it shouldn't be imitating or be in the style of Darth Vader. Vader is a character that cannot be duplicated. Driver can be his own kind of villain. Each trilogy defines its villains, with the originals having a strong villain, and the prequels having multiple weak villains. What will the seqeuls do?

Star Wars Episode VII News: Week 16

The Millennium Falcon in Episode VII?

     Episode VII rumors have quieted down since last week, but some important ones. To begin the list is the speculation that Jack Reynor, from "Transformers 4", is set for a role in Episode VII. This comes from Ain't It Cool News, which states:

     "Also - here's a rumor to check up on. I'm hearing that Jack Reynor, a young Irish actor that will be in           this new Bay TRANSFORMERS trilogy - but that I've now heard from two different sources has landed       a role in EPISODE VII."

Of course, this would only add his name to a growing number of potential actors who could star in Episode VII. There many rumors about many different actors being in Episode VII. Also, what are the two sources being referred to? Are they from top Lucasfilm executives? Maybe Jack Reynor himself? Or maybe a hobo. You never know. No sources, no legitimacy.

     Den of Geek has reported that they have "a reliable source" that says that Pinewood Studios is employing model makers for seven year contracts, Episode VII, Episode VIII, and Episode IX. Even though this does have a named source, this rumor looks promising. It's probably more or less true, because of course they need model makers. The article went on to say they were building lightsaber hilts and a replica of the Millennium Falcon. Which leads to the next big rumor...

     Lucasfilm has recently put up a "creativity process" kind of page on their site, and included this picture:

     Now, this is a meeting with J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, and various other executives. If you analyze the picture closely, you can see a picture ofAlec Guinness on the wall, with other Star Wars things. But you can clearly see the Millennium Falcon in a new piece of concept art. That's it. There's nothing to say. It will be in Episode VII, and why shouldn't it? There's nothing else to say. It's confirmed.

     Actually, it could say a lot of things. It could just be a ploy to get fans excited. It could mean they want to analyze what the Falcon looks like, to build a model for a similar type ship. It could mean that it's just fancy decoration for the cameras to conceal the fact that Disney made a mistake and the project's falling apart and there's no hope. And what's with Alec Guinness on the board. Do they want to find a lookalike or something? Will Obi Wan be a ghost? Whatever the case, we should be getting more pictures soon. We'll see.

Star Wars Episode VII News: Week 15

Episode VII to Begin Production in May 2014

     Episode VII news rumors appear more and more viable as pre-production nears its conclusion. The first such rumor states that Zac Efron may be in talks with Lucasfilm for a role. It comes from MTV, who interviewed Efron on whether or not he would be in Episode VII. He said,

     "I just went and met with them, you know, so, I don't know. Yeah, it would be cool, it would be fun. But, I don't know... who knows?" Well if that isn't a direct confirmation of his involvement, then I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. But, if he really did meet with Disney, it could be big.

     Another casting rumor that seems a bit more plausible involves Gary Oldman. in a separate interview with Sky Movies, he said, 

     "They've called."

     He then went on to say,"I'm more cynical about it now and believe it when I'm on the plane home. You know, the deal isn't done. But yeah, they've inquired.". As much as I'd love to see Gary Oldman in Episode VII, I have doubts as to whether or not he'll be in it. The tradition for Star Wars films is to cast unknowns. Fresh faces. Somebody moviegoers won't see onscreen and say, "Oh look, it's Brad Pitt in a Star Wars costume" or something. However, Star Wars hasn't casted unknowns when it comes to British actors, as seen by Sir Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing. Even in the prequels, they had Christopher Lee. So maybe they will cast Oldman. Probably not Efron. But J.J. Abrams already changed the release date from May to December, so anything could happen. Moving on.

     The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) is expanding to Central London. This was stated by the president of ILM, Lynwen Brennan, who went on to say the company should move in by March or April. Apparently the new facilities will act as a pipeline between San Fransisco, Pinewood Studios, and Beijing while Episode VII is being edited. Speaking of which, this new report coming in suggests that the film will have plenty of time to edit...

     The potentially biggest piece of news comes from Hitfix. It says that "multiple sources" have confirmed that production for Episode VII will begin in May and end in September, giving Bad Robot and Lucasfilm fifteen months to edit the film. This, however, is not as much time as Revenge of the Sith had to edit, which was around two years. But hey, why compare the prequels to anything? The original Star Wars had only six months to edit, and they did great. Plus, computer technology has advanced since 2005, and it should take less time to do CGI. But they will use it sparingly, because nobody in their right mind would make a Star Wars film entirely in front of a green screen, right?!