Rumor: J.J. Abrams leaving Episode VII?

Update: Lucasfilm responds, says “Yeah, no.” Original post below:

I guess it’s been too long since there was a bombshell of an Episode VII rumor, so here we go. Badass Digest suggests that J.J. Abrams wants out of the film.

Why is it that I keep hearing tons of rumors that JJ Abrams is on the verge of dropping out of Star Wars? This has been something I’ve heard for a while now, and from multiple insiders. I know that he didn’t want to shoot the movie in England and was overruled, but that happened a while ago. This weekend at Comic Con I continued to hear these whispers. No director for Trek 3 has been found yet – might Abrams end up coming back after all, leaving Star Wars to someone else?

Bryan Young over at Big Shiny Robot talked about why this doesn’t make much sense and I’m right there with him. I’m going with fan paranoia on this one and I just won’t put stock into this particular rumor until after Celebration Europe at the earliest.

SWEU News From Comic Con!

The intrepid James Floyd from Club Jade is at Comic Con this weekend, and he oh so generously livetweeted both SWEU panels.

From the Dark Horse panel, notable announcements included a new arc of Dark Times, the introduction of a new villain into Dawn of the Jedi, an Ewoks comic set in the arrival of the Empire era, Tom Taylor working on a secret project, and an upcoming Vader and clone story. For more, see Club Jade’s Storify feed from the event.

James also attended the Del Rey panel. Right at the beginning, moderator Leland Chee stated that the SWEU is in transition as a result of the Disney buyout and Episode VII. Therefore they’re unlikely to announce a new title…but we can dream, right?

Kenobi began as a graphic novel, but got so long it became a novel. Jen Heddle praised the novel, and John Jackson Miller compared Obi-Wan to a well-known superhero, saying he has to learn to be Clark Kent as opposed to Superman. Frank Parisi also praised the upcoming Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge by Martha Wells, and Heddle added that there’s a good focus on the Big Three.

J.W. Rinzler, author of The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, said the book took two years to write and extensive digging into the archives. In a really cool feature, the enhanced e-book will have 30 minutes of audio and 30 minutes of video. Some clips were shown during the panel.

Other items of note:

  • There will be a Death Star Tech Manual.
  • Darth Maul: Lockdown will tie into Darth Plagueis. Apparently Sidious and Plagueis have different plans for Maul in this prison version of Oz and Scarface.
  • Star Wars: Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown, coming in August, will tell the story of middle school by a new character writing and doodling.
  • As to the future of the EU, it’s still in flux, but even before, Lucasbooks and Del Rey did their own EU without concern for films and television. Whether it’s used in those mediums is up to the writers and directors.
  • Regarding The Clone Wars, Chee said the possibility of tying up loose ends is a possibility. As to making a definitive timeline of the era, that’s not happening any time soon.

Notable announcements include the cover reveal to Empire and Rebellion: Honor Among Thieves, the Han-centric novel by James S.A. Corey, published March 4, 2014. Heddle compared the novel to Brian Daley’s Han Solo Adventures.

Han Solo Cover

A notable exception: no mention of Christie Golden’s Sword of the Jedi trilogy, scheduled for release next year. Is this good or bad news? We shall see…

Club Jade collected all of James’ tweets on another Storify, which you can find here. Thanks to James for his great reporting!

Hamill discusses SDCC and Episode VII

markhamill39309Yesterday, Mark Hamill sat down with the Hollywood Reporter to discuss all things Star Wars and San Diego Comic Con. As per usual, he was asked about his involvement and interest with the upcoming Episode VII. His response:

Hamill’s hopes are high for the Star Wars: Episode VII reunion: “We want this to happen. How could I not take this ride? They’re making all the right moves, like Michael Arndt as the writer. Little Miss SunshineToy Story 3 — he writes humor and he writes heart. I’m not someone who looks to recapture the glory of when I was in my 20s. I think it’ll probably be about the next generation. We’ll be the link to the past, but the kids will be doing the heavy lifting. And the Wookiee will have a walker.”

It’s pretty clear at this point that Hamill is keen to do more Star Wars. You get the feeling that something’s going to be confirmed on this front sooner rather than later.

Her Universe gets a site redesign, Jaina and Mara shirts available online

Jaina Mara shirts

If you haven’t been over to Her Universe today, you may have missed that the site got an overhaul!

You may also have missed that today, the limited time Jaina and Mara shirts debuting at San Diego Comic Con are also available on the site. The Jaina shirt is currently online and available for purchase, and according to Her Universe, the Mara shirt should also be available shortly. Plus, brand new Doctor Who and The Walking Dead items are now online too including a super awesome looking zombie hoodie. So head over and take a look!

Cosplay Monday: Visas Marr and Darth Nihilus

Welcome back to another edition of Cosplay Monday where we try and brighten the start of your week with some of the awesome costumes we’ve seen around the internet!  This week, we’re featuring another set of costumes from Knights of the Old Republic since today is it’s 10th Birthday.  Check out these cool Visas Marr and Darth Nihilus costumes from Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords by Sakara and her friend.  Not only does the National Space Centre in Leicester make a pretty perfect setting for a KOTOR shoot but the costumes look great!  Awesome job!

kotor1

First Look at Rebels coming during Celebration Europe

default_reg_Header_starFans attending Celebration Europe can already look forward to appearances by Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Kathleen Kennedy, and a special director’s cut of The Clone Wars Darth Maul arc. Now fans have another exciting panel to anticipate: a first look at Star Wars Rebels, the new animated series set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. While the show won’t premiere until Fall 2014, fans at Celebration Europe will get a sneak peek at the production of the show. Color me jealous! 

Celebration Europe is happening July 26-28 in Messe Essen, Germany.

New Ahsoka, Expanded Universe merch debuting at SDCC

Ashoka and Expanded Universe fans are in for a treat courtesy of Her Universe. In an e-mail that went out earlier this morning, fans were notified that new shirts are incoming!

It’s July… so that means only one thing…San Diego Comic Con! Get ready for exclusives, new merchandise, and exciting conversations! Her Universe will be at Comic-Con in full force and we hope to see you there! We’ll have a booth in the Star Wars Pavilion (#2913-F) at SDCC, providing fans with a unique experience. We’ll have all new merchandise for Star Wars, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica. We’ll also be debuting new Star Wars designs every day. 500 Return of the Jedi necklaces will debut on Wednesday, 100 Dave Filoni designed “Ahsoka’s Choice” shirts on Thursday, 100 Jaina Solo shirts on Friday and 100 Mara Jade shirts on Saturday. Each Jaina Solo and Mara Jade shirt will come with a free book courtesy of Del Rey publishing! Lots going on, plus a Her Universe panel! Read about it here. For those NOT going to San Diego Comic Con, do not fear! You can celebrate SDCC from home…all of the merchandise (except the ROTJ necklace), plus more, will go on sale on our website on July 18th. There is Comic-Con love for all!

Best Wishes,

Ashley

And just what do these new shirts look like? Here you go.

New HU releases

 

That’s right. A Jaina shirt based on the Sword of the Jedi promotional art and a Mara Jade shirt using the Choices of One paperback art. Finally, a Mara shirt that doesn’t feature the catsuit!

These new items (except the RotJ necklace) are available on the Her Universe website starting July 18th.