New Star Wars Episode VII Rumors

[crazy4wdw]

From the Hollywood Reporter:

'Star Wars' Rumors: Who Is J.J. Abrams Eyeing for 'Episode VII'?

6:14 PM PST 1/11/2014 by Borys Kit

Michael Fassbender, Adam Driver and Hugo Weaving are among the many actors to catch director J.J. Abrams eye -- while sources indicate Luke, Leia and Han will have larger roles in the film than originally thought.

The Star Wars: Episode VII casting speculation game continues -- and The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision has a few names to add to the mix: Michael Fassbender, Girls star Adam Driver and Hugo Weaving.

Never has a project attracted so much ink about meetings, but such is the passionate interest in Star Wars. Last fall, every few weeks there was a breathless reveal of a meeting, with names such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael B. Jordan, Jack O’Connell, Alex Pettyfer, Saoirse Ronan and Sullivan Stapleton coming up. And those are only the names that leaked out.

With all the actors being tossed around -- including a report this week that Breaking Bad's Jesse Plemons was meeting with director J.J. Abrams about a role -- Heat Vision thought it was time to check in on Star Wars in general.

Sources confirm Plemons is on the list to chat with Abrams for Episode VII (and possibly the entire trilogy), with a meeting set to take place this week. But he is only one of a long string of actors on Abrams' meeting list.

As usual, Disney and Lucasfilm are declining to comment, as are the agencies of the respective actors.

The project has changed significantly since Oscar winner Michael Arndt split as writer on Episode VII in the fall, with duties taken up by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

According to multiple insiders, the reason for the parting of ways was not due to a timeframe issue, as has been reported, but rather due to a difference of opinion of which characters to emphasize.

Arndt is said to have focused on the offspring of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), with the original trilogy's heroes taking on supporting roles. Abrams, however, wanted Episode VII to focus on the classic trio of characters, so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a fitting send-off. The new characters, the offspring, will now be in supporting roles, according to these sources, and take center stage in Episode VIII and IX. Some characters have disappeared from the Arndt script and new ones are being added.

Star Wars creator George Lucas, who directed the 1977 original and each of the most recent trilogy, was also involved in the debate, according to insiders. But Lucas, who sold his Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, acquiesced to Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy, who now runs Lucasfilm.

So with Abrams and Kasdan now overhauling the script, that means many of the actors who had auditioned have been nixed for various reasons. For example, one actor who met with Abrams in the fall before the overhaul was Mud breakout star Tye Sheridan. But sources say that at this stage, there is no need for such young actors and thus Sheridan will not be involved. In another case, one part that was initially conceived as a 20-year-old male is now being rewritten to be 40 years old.

Abrams is, according to many sources, casting a wide, wide net and meeting with "everyone." Even those who have copped to a meeting, such as Ronan, say that.

Abrams has continued meeting with actors while the new script is taking shape. According to sources, he met with Fassbender in December. Girls star Driver is being eyed for a role.

While most names come with no identifying character, Weaving does. Weaving, according to two sources, met for a part to play an Imperial commander.

The latest bit to surface this week is that Abrams and Lucasfilm are now searching for a twentysomething female actress who is either of mixed race or black. The rumor is that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a daughter or granddaughter.

Star Wars: Episode VII hits theaters Dec. 18, 2015.

 

[Twin Dad]

I missed this the first time around. It sounds like everything I've heard from fan blogs. Abrams' approach makes sense. I want the new characters introduced gradually and for the original characters to take center stage.

I just saw a new rumor on a fan site that is way too good to be true but I'll post anyways. It also goes with my guess with what they were going to do with the EU and do a lot of cherry picking from what has been written. Its also a good way to start introducing characters who might be in the new trilogy to fans.

http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2014/01/rumor-mara-jade-to-link-rebels-episode.html

There have been a ton of rumors surrounding both Star Wars Episode VII and Star Wars Rebels, and sometimes those rumors intersect. This latest rumor comes to us from StarWars7News.com and is a bit sketchy, so bear with me. They claim that they have heard, both from commenters on their site and sources "close to the production" that Expanded Universe favorite Mara Jade will not only be included in Episode VII, but she will also have a role in Rebels. StarWars7News writes:

"The following was posted in the comments section by an anonymous source under one of the older articles. I find it quite interesting but surely it's just a rumor and all of you should treat it as one...

Direct quote:

It can be said, that Rebels will introduce Mara Jade, into the film canon, sometimes appearing with the Inquisitor and she will be the living mother of Ben Skywalker.

Episode seven takes place, in 30 ABY. Jacen, and Jaina will be to Ben what Han, and Leia were to Luke. Ben is around the same age as his cousins. Chewie will be alive, and this is an all new timeline from 4 ABY forward.

Pablo Hidalgo, and Leland Chee have been consulting with Kathleen, and JJ, on EU elements, and characters from the database.

As of 2015 Books and comics will be part of the same canon, as Movies, TV and Netflix. Rebels has very strong connections to the ST, it will bring EU characters, ideas, and planets into the canon and it introduces two original characters for the ST, one Imperial, and one Jedi."

And they later added:

"UPDATE!

After the article was posted we received some more tips that there's definitely some truth in this. It comes from people close to the production. And here's something more - not only Star Wars: Rebels will have a connection with the new trilogy but also some of the new upcoming Clone Wars bonus content..."

If you've surfed the web any significant amount of time, you're familiar with some of the crazy things posted in comment sections. What adds a little credibility to this rumor is the "people close to the production" they mention. I guess we'll find out how accurate they are sooner or later. Now, allow me to speculate for a moment; considering all we've learned so far, the original post-Return Of The Jedi EU timeline is not going to figure into the upcoming stories. But that doesn't mean they won't try to include Mara Jade in the new story. A lot of the latest Episode VII rumors have referenced Ben Skywalker having large role in the upcoming Sequel trilogy. If Luke has a son, he'll have to have a wife, and Mara Jade would be the logical choice. And including her in Rebels in this way would mean that at least part of her original backstory, as the Emperor's hand, would be left in tact.

Now, of course, all of these rumors and speculation don't amount to anything without a Lucasfilm confirmation, so take all of this with a big grain of Salt.

 

[Kronk N Tink]

I'm calling it: Hugo Weaving as Thrawn

(Or at least one could hope)

 

[Twin Dad]

I'm calling it: Hugo Weaving as Thrawn

(Or at least one could hope)

I'd prefer Jason Issacs but Hugo Weaving would be good too. Plus he has been rumored to be part of the cast. I just don't know how they'd weave him into the story.

 

[mvk]

I really don't care one way or the other about the EU stuff, but my thoughts are as follows (I have never read any EU stuff, but have seen some general topics) -

1. Luke should not be married/have kids. That was one of the rules of the Jedi, and we saw what breaking that rule did to Anakin. It was his concern for not being able to protect Padme that led him to seek council with the dark side. Why have Luke go down that same road (in terms of getting married).

2. The new main characters should be, in my opinion, a male offspring of Han/Leia; a younger (by a year or two) female offspring of Han/Leia; a new Jedi in training under Luke; a male offspring of Lando.

3. I have a fanfic type thing that I'd like to see play out that involves Lando as President, forced to step down by Senator Leia and General Han, and Lando becomes the leader of the villians in Ep7. Lando would turn Han's son (a Jedi) against his father as he leads him to believe his parents are power hungry and want to take over the galaxy themselves. Lando's son is the opposite - sees his dad is corrupt and works with Han/Leia/Luke to take down Lando and the son. Han/Leia's daughter (also trained as a Jedi by Luke, like her brother) is kind of caught in a love triangle with Lando's son and the other Jedi that Luke is training. In the end, Han kills Lando (Han shoots first), his son sees this, and doesn't stop another villian (Boba Fett returned from the Sarlaac? Thawn?) from killing Han (he believes Lando was right about his parents being power hungry once he sees his dad kill Lando). Then the son is in a lightsaber fight with Luke, in which Luke disfigures Han's son's face a bit, but ultimately is killed. Lando, Han, Luke... all dead in the big battle at the end of Ep7... Lando's son, Han's daughter, the new Jedi on the side of good (with Chewbacca, R2D2, C3PO) against Han's son and another villian (Boba Fett? Thrawn?).

4. It might be tough to sell a movie that is about the villian and where the villian doesn't pay for his sins in the end, but a standalone for Boba Fett or Thrawn might work at that point.

 

[Josh Hendy]

After they make VII, VIII and IX (or whatever) can Disney please go back and reset the franchise by remaking episodes I, II and III ?

If you can reset Spiderman and Batman whose version 1.0 'origin' movies were quite decent then you can sure as heck do it with the gawd-awful Star Wars origin movies.

Among a zillion other things, the 2.0 versions of I,II, and III should correct the impression that the galactic republic had a level of technology that was many thousands of parsecs [sic] more advanced than existed 20 years later in the time of Luke Skywalker. I mean, just because you CAN make R2-D2 fly with CGI doesn't mean that you SHOULD.

 

[mvk]

After they make VII, VIII and IX (or whatever) can Disney please go back and reset the franchise by remaking episodes I, II and III ?

If you can reset Spiderman and Batman whose version 1.0 'origin' movies were quite decent then you can sure as heck do it with the gawd-awful Star Wars origin movies.

Among a zillion other things, the 2.0 versions of I,II, and III should correct the impression that the galactic republic had a level of technology that was many thousands of parsecs [sic] more advanced than existed 20 years later in the time of Luke Skywalker. I mean, just because you CAN make R2-D2 fly with CGI doesn't mean that you SHOULD.

There was nothing wrong with the prequels. Maybe a little bit too much CGI, but it's a great story in and of itself, and is wonderful art. The imagery of the prequels is amazing.

There are more than enough plot holes in the original trilogy to not worry about the plot holes in the prequel trilogy. Not sure why you'd want to remake those three movies.

 

[BlackMagicWoman]

I really don't care one way or the other about the EU stuff, but my thoughts are as follows (I have never read any EU stuff, but have seen some general topics) -

1. Luke should not be married/have kids. That was one of the rules of the Jedi, and we saw what breaking that rule did to Anakin. It was his concern for not being able to protect Padme that led him to seek council with the dark side. Why have Luke go down that same road (in terms of getting married).

2. The new main characters should be, in my opinion, a male offspring of Han/Leia; a younger (by a year or two) female offspring of Han/Leia; a new Jedi in training under Luke; a male offspring of Lando.

3. I have a fanfic type thing that I'd like to see play out that involves Lando as President, forced to step down by Senator Leia and General Han, and Lando becomes the leader of the villians in Ep7. Lando would turn Han's son (a Jedi) against his father as he leads him to believe his parents are power hungry and want to take over the galaxy themselves. Lando's son is the opposite - sees his dad is corrupt and works with Han/Leia/Luke to take down Lando and the son. Han/Leia's daughter (also trained as a Jedi by Luke, like her brother) is kind of caught in a love triangle with Lando's son and the other Jedi that Luke is training. In the end, Han kills Lando (Han shoots first), his son sees this, and doesn't stop another villian (Boba Fett returned from the Sarlaac? Thawn?) from killing Han (he believes Lando was right about his parents being power hungry once he sees his dad kill Lando). Then the son is in a lightsaber fight with Luke, in which Luke disfigures Han's son's face a bit, but ultimately is killed. Lando, Han, Luke... all dead in the big battle at the end of Ep7... Lando's son, Han's daughter, the new Jedi on the side of good (with Chewbacca, R2D2, C3PO) against Han's son and another villian (Boba Fett? Thrawn?).

4. It might be tough to sell a movie that is about the villian and where the villian doesn't pay for his sins in the end, but a standalone for Boba Fett or Thrawn might work at that point.

I think it is generally accepted by Star Wars fans that Luke got married. I don't know that Jedi's remaining unmarried is a good thing.

I can see no logical reason to make Lando a villain and then some blood match where nearly everyone is dead and beloved characters have turned against each other. Who wants to watch that?

 

[mvk]

I think it is generally accepted by Star Wars fans that Luke got married. I don't know that Jedi's remaining unmarried is a good thing.

I can see no logical reason to make Lando a villain and then some blood match where nearly everyone is dead and beloved characters have turned against each other. Who wants to watch that?

Is it generally accepted? Just because some people devour the EU, doesn't mean it is generally accepted by all Star Wars fans. From the end of ROTJ, Luke seemed intent on accepting the Jedi way.

Lando had turned on Han once before, I don't think it would be a stretch to see something like that happen. Also, it transitions the story from the Han/Luke/Leia to the new generation of characters.

 

[wiigirl]

I think it is generally accepted by Star Wars fans that Luke got married. I don't know that Jedi's remaining unmarried is a good thing.

I can see no logical reason to make Lando a villain and then some blood match where nearly everyone is dead and beloved characters have turned against each other. Who wants to watch that?

 

[BlackMagicWoman]

Is it generally accepted? Just because some people devour the EU, doesn't mean it is generally accepted by all Star Wars fans. From the end of ROTJ, Luke seemed intent on accepting the Jedi way.

Lando had turned on Han once before, I don't think it would be a stretch to see something like that happen. Also, it transitions the story from the Han/Luke/Leia to the new generation of characters.

I would say yes, considering that I've only read maybe two of the books and I accept it and my friends who have read zero accept it as well.

I think there are better transitions than slaughter and I think if the objective is to make money and re-invigorate a series that killing off the darn near the entire original cast is not the way to do it.

Let's be honest. They are old. That's transition enough.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

There was nothing wrong with the prequels. Maybe a little bit too much CGI, but it's a great story in and of itself, and is wonderful art. The imagery of the prequels is amazing.

There are more than enough plot holes in the original trilogy to not worry about the plot holes in the prequel trilogy. Not sure why you'd want to remake those three movies.

the prequels were horrible...plain and simple.

They had all the opportunity on earth to make good movies...and the gruesome twosome of Lucas and that yes man mccallum (who was nixed as part of the Disney deal...which few people noticed)...failed.

It's not that the original movies were citizen Kane... Far from it. Bad acting and dialogue too...

But the new movies made those movies look like art house cinema. Mark hammill looks like deniro.

Yes...they were terrible...even the "good" one of the three was bad.
Everybody knew the story... You just had to get a little character depth around it. Epic fail.

And as far as visual...they were beaten by the matrix out of the gate. And we're beaten by the superhero franchises and Peter Jackson all the way to the finish line?
Know why? Because they at least used some props and sets in those movies...it wasn't all computer garbage. Star Wars was. And Lucas gushed about how that was a great thing.

No...the dark knight was a great thing...taking the exact opposite approach.

Lucas has banished himself to the wilderness
Because he deserves to be... Made garbage for cheap product...nothing else. If he had hired somebody to write a semi-decent script...the crappy phantom menace sheets and underwear would have sold itself for 30 years without effort...just like the empire strikes back

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I think it is generally accepted by Star Wars fans that Luke got married. I don't know that Jedi's remaining unmarried is a good thing.

There are religions on this planet that disagree with you...
You judge the results there

 

[DisneyDetective]

Big Fastbender fan and also excited what J.J.Abrahms will bring to the Star Wars franchise, especially after what he did to a Star Trek and Super 8.

 

[mvk]

the prequels were horrible...plain and simple.

They had all the opportunity on earth to make good movies...and the gruesome twosome of Lucas and that yes man mccallum (who was nixed as part of the Disney deal...which few people noticed)...failed.

It's not that the original movies were citizen Kane... Far from it. Bad acting and dialogue too...

But the new movies made those movies look like art house cinema. Mark hammill looks like deniro.

Yes...they were terrible...even the "good" one of the three was bad.
Everybody knew the story... You just had to get a little character depth around it. Epic fail.

And as far as visual...they were beaten by the matrix out of the gate. And we're beaten by the superhero franchises and Peter Jackson all the way to the finish line?
Know why? Because they at least used some props and sets in those movies...it wasn't all computer garbage. Star Wars was. And Lucas gushed about how that was a great thing.

No...the dark knight was a great thing...taking the exact opposite approach.

Lucas has banished himself to the wilderness
Because he deserves to be... Made garbage for cheap product...nothing else. If he had hired somebody to write a semi-decent script...the crappy phantom menace sheets and underwear would have sold itself for 30 years without effort...just like the empire strikes back

I think you're way overreacting to what Star Wars is. Those prequels are good space action movies, just like the original three. They got a bit lengthy at times, but they were still good movies.

And I wasn't talking about the effects and the CGI, I was talking about the cinematography. They were great visuals, artistic pictures that have held up very well over the past decade. I think there are just as many scenes in the prequels that are memorable as there are in the original trilogy. The dialogue in both trilogies left a lot to be desired.

I think its way overblown how "bad" the prequels were, but its certainly the popular thing to do, to trash them.

 

[twebber55]

im not here to debate the merits of the prequels ill leave that to you guys but on rotten tomatoes it scored a 40 with top critics and a 61 with the fans

and yet stil made tons of money..shows you the brand is very strong

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I think you're way overreacting to what Star Wars is. Those prequels are good space action movies, just like the original three. They got a bit lengthy at times, but they were still good movies.

And I wasn't talking about the effects and the CGI, I was talking about the cinematography. They were great visuals, artistic pictures that have held up very well over the past decade. I think there are just as many scenes in the prequels that are memorable as there are in the original trilogy. The dialogue in both trilogies left a lot to be desired.

I think its way overblown how "bad" the prequels were, but its certainly the popular thing to do, to trash them.

I think you might be falling for the "excuses" that started coming out of the lucas camp when they realized they couldnt save it...probably sometime between the mindnumbing end of Phantom Menace and when production was winding down on Attack of the Clones...

there had to be many...Ms. Kennedy at Lucasfilm being one, frank marshall, perhaps spieldberg...who saw the cuts and said "oh boy..."

Lucas said "it was meant to be popcorn like the 1930's"...yeah right. if that wre true they wouldn't have invented modern special effects...or wrote the dark chapter that was empire...or even jedi.

The reality is that you don't have to sacrifice dialogue, decent acting, and impactful characters in the name of cutting edge visuals. we have seen that time and again since. they just pooched the stories and made decisions that were about everythin except building the legacy with memorable tales.

Those "stunning visuals" would have much more gravitas now if accompanied by a story. It looks like video games designed by college freshman without any guts.

and portman and macgreggor aren't slouches...they just gave them nothing to work with.

Lucas stopped being a filmaker long ago...and became the CEO of a retail chain...more or less. Not just in star wars...indiana jones too. it seems like he plagarized his movies from the 80's and his true self came out around 2000.

He and paul pressler should run some disney store/star wars chain hybrid...and leave the storytelling to those that can tell stories.

I see it creeping in here as well...as with most threads about what they are/aren't doing right with the parks...

"it makes alot of money...so that means the franchise is strong"

No..no...NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

not correct...you can make money of erosion off a once good idea...money isn't worth what we make it out to be. a "billion dollar" gross is less impressive now than a $250 gross was in the 1980's...the conditions have changed around it that has recentered the success barometer.

buyer beware on star wars....especially when a cheap hollywood suit that is jogging towards retirement buys it...which just might be the case here.

 

[mvk]

I think you might be falling for the "excuses" that started coming out of the lucas camp when they realized they couldnt save it...probably sometime between the mindnumbing end of Phantom Menace and when production was winding down on Attack of the Clones...

there had to be many...Ms. Kennedy at Lucasfilm being one, frank marshall, perhaps spieldberg...who saw the cuts and said "oh boy..."

Lucas said "it was meant to be popcorn like the 1930's"...yeah right. if that wre true they wouldn't have invented modern special effects...or wrote the dark chapter that was empire...or even jedi.

The reality is that you don't have to sacrifice dialogue, decent acting, and impactful characters in the name of cutting edge visuals. we have seen that time and again since. they just pooched the stories and made decisions that were about everythin except building the legacy with memorable tales.

Those "stunning visuals" would have much more gravitas now if accompanied by a story. It looks like video games designed by college freshman without any guts.

and portman and macgreggor aren't slouches...they just gave them nothing to work with.

Lucas stopped being a filmaker long ago...and became the CEO of a retail chain...more or less. Not just in star wars...indiana jones too. it seems like he plagarized his movies from the 80's and his true self came out around 2000.

He and paul pressler should run some disney store/star wars chain hybrid...and leave the storytelling to those that can tell stories.

I see it creeping in here as well...as with most threads about what they are/aren't doing right with the parks...

"it makes alot of money...so that means the franchise is strong"

No..no...NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

not correct...you can make money of erosion off a once good idea...money isn't worth what we make it out to be. a "billion dollar" gross is less impressive now than a $250 gross was in the 1980's...the conditions have changed around it that has recentered the success barometer.

buyer beware on star wars....especially when a cheap hollywood suit that is jogging towards retirement buys it...which just might be the case here.

I'm not falling for excuses of anyone. I enjoy the movies, I know many people that enjoy the movies. I also know many people who blast the movies, but they uphold the original trilogy as some kind of pinnacle of filmmaking and story, which it wasn't. It was a good set of space action movies, as were the first.

I've watched the prequels twice over the past few months on blu ray, the same with the original trilogy. I enjoy them all, some more than others. I think Attack of the Clones might be the best of them all. I really like Revenge of the Sith, it's right there with A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

I thought the stories were good... the dialogue, yeah, not so good, but again, similar to the original trilogy. Those prequels were just a joy to watch visually.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I'm not falling for excuses of anyone. I enjoy the movies, I know many people that enjoy the movies. I also know many people who blast the movies, but they uphold the original trilogy as some kind of pinnacle of filmmaking and story, which it wasn't. It was a good set of space action movies, as were the first.

I've watched the prequels twice over the past few months on blu ray, the same with the original trilogy. I enjoy them all, some more than others. I think Attack of the Clones might be the best of them all. I really like Revenge of the Sith, it's right there with A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

I thought the stories were good... the dialogue, yeah, not so good, but again, similar to the original trilogy. Those prequels were just a joy to watch visually.

Ok...you had me going there...I fell for the punk

Whew...glad that's over

 

[Yellowstonetim]

I see it creeping in here as well...as with most threads about what they are/aren't doing right with the parks...

"it makes alot of money...so that means the franchise is strong"

No..no...NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

not correct...you can make money of erosion off a once good idea...money isn't worth what we make it out to be. a "billion dollar" gross is less impressive now than a $250 gross was in the 1980's...the conditions have changed around it that has recentered the success barometer.

We would probably agree on much: story and character is important and often lacking or poorly written in the prequels. Highbrow movie making they ain't. But, the above is wrong. Making a lot of money is what the business is about. Entertainment. And when people plunk down lots of money it is because they were entertained a great deal. Could they have rivaled Avatar if better? Possibly. But they were still good, entertaining, and extremely successful.

$1 billion still puts you in very rare company and means you have a blockbuster. Even today over $600 million WW and over $300 domestic is very successful.

One truth in movies is you only get 1 shot at goodwill. One bad movie in a franchise results in immediate drop off in the next installment. There was a drop from 1 to 2 from 1 billion to over $600 million. That is a drop from super blockbuster to very successful. (2, the lowest, still earned over $300 million domestic - a hit) AND the third one went back UP to almost $850 million. That is blockbuster status in anyone's book and proof that 2 and 3 were pretty good movies and all three were hits.

And all of this, both movies and theme parks, is about entertainment where people vote with their wallets. Success is easily measured by $. The prequels, like Disney's parks, were/are extremely successful.

Now if Disney does VII and following RIGHT, then look out Avatar. That, of course, is a BIG if.