Category Archives: Episode VII

Hamill Discusses Sequel Trilogy, Talking with Lucasfilm

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markhamill39309With the release of Sushi Girl, Entertainment Tonight caught up with Mark Hamill recently to discuss his latest film. Of course, it isn’t an interview with him unless Star Wars and, specifically, Episode VII is brought up. Is Hamill involved?

“They’re talking to us,” he reveals. “George [Lucas] wanted to know whether we’d be interested. He did say that if we didn’t want to do it, they wouldn’t cast another actor in our parts – they would write us out. … I can tell you right away that we haven’t signed any contracts. We’re in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings set that were postponed — on their end, not mine. They’re more busy than I am.”

And does Hamill have any inside information about the story to share with the masses?

“I probably learn more from Entertainment Tonight than I do directly from Lucasfilm – like for instance, when George told us he wanted to do the next trilogy, he didn’t tell us it was going to be done for Disney. He saved that little nugget, and I read it online like anybody else.”

Nope!

Do be sure to read the whole interview with Mark Hamill. There’s some great insight as to what he thinks the new films should be about, tonally and thematically. In a nutshell, he’d like to see things return to where they were in the Original Trilogy. More lighthearted, adventurous  and hopeful.

Via Club Jade

Williams Hopes to Score Sequel Trilogy

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"Movies Rock" A Celebration Of Music In Film - ShowWhen it comes to familiar faces and talent returning to the Star Wars universe, I could take or leave Harrison Ford. There’s really only one person I think is a requirement to return, and that’s composer John Williams. I can’t imagine the universe without his distinctive scoring touches. Thankfully, there may be some hope based on comments Williams made at a recent concert:

We’re about to play Star Wars [audience interrupts with cheers] and each time we play it, I’m reminded of the first time we played it decades ago.  Neither I, nor George, nor anyone else involved thought this would go far or in a few years there would be a sequel and I’d have to revisit the themes…and years later another trilogy.  Now we’re hearing of a new set of movies coming in 2015, 2016…so I need to make sure I’m still ready to go in a few years for what I hope would be continued work with George…

If he’s willing and able, it would be absolutely foolish for Abrams and Kennedy to select someone else to score the films. Here’s hoping Williams returns for one more go at the Star Wars universe.

Via The Bearded Trio

Rumor: Harrison Ford in for Episode VII

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han cookedUsual warning: there’s no grain of salt big enough for Episode VII rumors.

That out of the way, the Latino Review is reporting that Harrison Ford supposedly in agreement to don the Bloodstripes again and reprise his role as Han Solo. Perhaps a change of pace from the distancing Ford has put between himself on the character, but then again, we thought there would be no way he’d ever wear a fedora and answer to the name Indiana Jones again. It isn’t wildly out of the realm of possibility.

For what it’s worth, there were rumblings a little while back that Ford was at least interested in the idea of playing Han again.

Via Club Jade

Kinberg and Kasdan Talk Episode VII, Standalone Films with IGN

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Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi writer Lawrence Kasdan as well as Simon Kinberg sat down with IGN over the weekend to discuss Episode VII and the subject of standalone spinoff films. The first question, of course, was how did Kasdan feel being asked to come back and do more Star Wars:

Kasdan: I was pleased that there would be new ones, that there was a chance to capture some of the spirit of the original trilogy that I’d worked on. I thought there’s an audience out there — my grandchildren, lots of original Star Wars people — and there always will be. It’s only good that we try to do some more great ones.

On what the new trilogy will be like:

GN: What can you tell fans about this new version that you’re working on? There are so many rumors going around.

Kasdan: They’re going to be fun. J.J. (Abrams)’s a great director for the first sequel. Perfect. We’re very happy to have him. The writers I’ve been working with — Michael Arndt, who’s going to write the sequel, and Simon Kinberg, who has, like me, been sort of consulting — they’re great. I’ve never really collaborated a lot, and I’ve never been a room with a bunch of writers thinking, “Well, what should this thing be?” It’s fun. It’s really fun. And J.J.’s a writer. Yeah, lovely guy. I’d met him but didn’t know him. But now I’m totally enamored by him. He’s really funny and so enthusiastic.

Simon Kinberg was also asked about whether the standalone movies would work with established characters or try something different:

IGN: Is there anything you can say in terms of working with established Star Wars characters, or are you coming from a whole new plot and characters for your standalone movie?

Kinberg: This is what I would say: as a fan, I wouldn’t want to know too much. I know that’s impossible because it’s not the ’70s or ’80s anymore, but part of what was so exciting about A New Hope for me was I was entering into a universe I didn’t know. Even in Empire, I was surprised by a twist I never would have seen coming. But it’s different nowadays. I understand the excitement, and I’m happy that people are interested, obviously. But I’d rather people have something left to discover when they go in.

For more, head to IGN to read the full interview.

Disney’s Bob Iger Confirms Standalone Films in the Works

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So here’s what we know now. First and foremost, Star Wars spinoff movies are in the works and that is indeed why Kinberg and Kasdan were brought into the fold. Furthermore, these films are not going to center around characters involved in The Saga.

Episode VII is still slated for 2015 and hasn’t been officially pushed back a year or moved up as the AP erroneously reported a few weeks back. Iger also mentioned “concurrent” releases, which may mean that there will be films released between major episodes.

There are some other details in the interview with CNBC that may interest you, but the confirmation above was the big bit of news.

Update: StarWars.com adds that Kinberg and Kasdan will be working on separate movies.

One of the standalone films will be written by Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and co-writer ofReturn of the Jedi while the other will be penned by Simon Kinberg, writer of Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The movies will be separate from the upcoming Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, on which Kasdan and Kinberg are also consulting, and are expected to be released sometime after Episode VII. Each standalone film will focus on a specific character, and two spinoff films are currently confirmed.

In a call to investors, Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, revealed while the original focus was on the highly-anticipated sequel trilogy, the idea of spinoff films was bandied about early and the additional films are now becoming a reality. “We are in development of a few standalone films,” he said, “that are not part of the Star Wars saga…there are now creative entities working on developing scripts for what would be those standalone films.”

(via)

Tosche Station Radio #43: Heist

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The hosts are joined by Bria and Emily this week  to discuss the latest Episode VII news and have a spoiler-filled discussion of Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Emily talked about why J.J. Abrams will be good for Star Wars. Meanwhile, Bria continued on with the Waru Express with two post-Endor books.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci has kept herself busy by reading through I’ve Got Your Number and starting Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Brian FINALLY finished reading Scoundrels and found the time to read through the latest issues ofAvengers Assemble, Captain Marvel, and Hawkeye. Bria, meanwhile, has been reading all of the Mageworlds novels and working on costuming for Katsucon. Somehow she’s also found time to do work for her geek fashion blog White Hot Room. Emily has also joined the Mageworlds circle and read through the first three books. She also found the time to read Batgirl #16.

Fandom appeared to explode and this week’s Deak’s Dirt attempts to make sense of it. Her Universe released a new set of quote tees just in time for Valentine’s Day. Book of the Sith by Dan Wallace is getting the trade paperback treatment on May 4th.The surprise Star Wars novel? Darth Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber. Over on the film side, the 3D treatments for the remaining Prequel Trilogy have been indefinitely postponed. The big news, however, is that Episode VII finally has a director. Lucasfilm announced late last week that Star Trek andSuper 8 director J.J. Abrams will be taking the lead for the first installment of the Sequel Trilogy. The hosts, Bria, and Emily break down their thoughts on Abrams and what this means for Star Wars.

Camie’s Concerns this week is a roundtable discussion looking at Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels. Did the somewhat radical departure from typical Expanded Universe conventions and tropes work? Listen in to see what everyone thought of Zahn’s latest addition to the world of Star Wars literature.

Finally, the hosts wrap up the show with their Ask Us Anything segment.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Xbox Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Tosche Station Radio Discussing Scoundrels and J.J. Abrams Tonight, Send us your Questions!

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What are you up to tonight at 5PM Pacific? Nothing? Great! You should join us in the Livestream chat for an all-new episode of Tosche Station Radio.

Joining the usual hosting duo today are staff writers Bria and Emily as part of a Scoundrels roundtable discussion. We’ll also be discussing the Prequel Trilogy 3D postponement as wel as the J.J. Abrams news and what it could mean for Episode VII and Star Wars as a whole.

As always, we would love to take your questions! If you have questions specific to the topics we’ll be discussing, send them our way and we’ll work them into our roundtable. Any other questions relating to Star Wars or geek culture you can also submit and we’ll answer them at the end of the show.

THR Profiles Kathleen Kennedy

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The new guard and old guard.

When Lucasfilm was sold to Disney, long-time film industry veteran Kathleen Kennedy was given the reigns of the company and one of the most valuable intellectual properties in Hollywood. Today, The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Kennedy to talk about how she got J.J. Abrams to sign on, how she met her husband, and her relationship with some of the biggest names in the film business.

On getting J.J. Abrams to work on a different Star franchise:

Abrams agreed to meet with Kennedy on Dec. 14 at his Bad Robot offices in Santa Monica. Famously plain-spoken, she summarizes her pitch like this: “Please do Star Wars.” And she had cards to play. Not only was Oscar winnerMichael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3) writing the script, but Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return of the Jedi, was on board to consult. Abrams “was flipping out when he found out that Michael and Larry were on the movie already,” says Kennedy.

Abrams tells THR, “I learned firsthand how incredible and persuasive she is.” Some — but not all — of his reservations were dispelled. “The thing about any pre-existing franchise — I’d sort of done that,” he says. “But when I met with Kathy, it was suddenly very tantalizing.”

For more, read THR’s full profile of Kathleen Kennedy.

A Trekkie on why J.J. Abrams Is Good for Star Wars

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220px-J.J._Abrams_by_David_ShankboneNow that the official confirmation has come down from on high, Bria and I have made an executive decision: Brian and Nanci are never allowed to go on vacation again. We are simply not equipped to deal with breaking news.

That said, this analysis probably would have been my responsibility anyway. Being one of the resident Trekkies on staff, I’m in the position to pick apart how J.J. Abrams performs when given an existing sci-fi franchise, and personally, I feel rather optimistic about this turn of events.

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J.J. Abrams Is Directing Episode VII

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JJ AbramsAfter a day of speculation, we finally have official confirmation that J.J. Abrams will be directing Star Wars: Episode VII.

From the official press release:

After a bevy of emails and phone calls, the formalities have been wrapped up, and at long last everyone can exhale and properly share the word with an excited Internet. Yes, J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII, the first of a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams will be directing and Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay.

“It’s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie,” said Kennedy. “J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture.”

George Lucas went on to say “I’ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller.” He’s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn’t be in better hands.”

“To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor,” J.J. Abrams said. “I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid.”

J.J., his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney | Lucasfilm banner.”