Tag Archives: Episode VII

Mark Your Calendars: December 18, 2015

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Star_Wars_logoIt’s official!

The official site has announced that Episode VII will open on December 18, 2015.

Alan Horn, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, made the announcement today. “We’re very excited to share the official 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII where it will not only anchor the popular holiday filmgoing season but also ensure our extraordinary filmmaking team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture,” he said.

Looks like the rumors about Lucasfilm wanting a 2016 release while Disney wanted a 2015 release may have held some water, but this seems to be a good compromise. Extra time to make a better movie is always a good thing.

(Although, personally, seeing a Star Wars movie in December, without the 20th Century Fox Fanfare, is going to be really really really weird.)

Episode VII will begin filming in Spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios.

Report: Lucasfilm wants to push Episode VII to 2016, Disney holds firm to 2015

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star-wars-episode-vii-logoIf the Hollywood Reporter is to be believed, Lucasfilm asked Disney to push Episode VII back to 2016 in part to accommodate for the departure of screenwriter Michael Arndt. Disney’s response? Stay on target for 2015.

With the Oct. 24 exit of Star Wars: Episode VII writer Michael Arndt, the studio is under the gun to keep the film on course for a 2015 release despite a script that several insiders say isn’t close to ready.

According to those close to the project, producer Kathleen Kennedy and most of the film’s creative team have asked Disney to push the release to 2016, but studio CEO Robert Iger is adamant that Episode VII — perhaps the franchise’s most anticipated installment since 1999’s The Phantom Menace — not budge. That has created enormous pressure on all involved, with director J.J. Abrams stepping in to take over scripting duties with Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote 1980’s Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, considered the best film in the series.

According to the report, while Kennedy is lobbying for a delayed release, director and screenwriter J.J. Abrams is more in-step with Disney CEO Bob Iger on releasing the film next summer.

I know that personally, I’d be more comfortable delaying the film a year to get it as polished as possible. That said, there’s a lot of very skilled and capable people involved with Episode VII, and if any crew is going to be able to hit all the marks to get the film out two summers from now, it’s them.

Of course, remember that this is all unverified. For all we know these insiders feeding information to the Hollywood Reporter may just be latching on to the moved release date idea and rumors because Disney’s got the well-oiled Marvel machine as well. For all we know, at Disney and Lucasfilm are on the same page for a summer 2015 release.

Rumor: Ford has deal for Episode VII in exchange for progress on Indy V?

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Indiana-JonesJedi News has a new rumor over the weekend that suggests there’s a deal in place to get Harrison Ford back for Episode VII. The catch? He wanted progress to be made on a fifth Indiana Jones installment. Additionally, this rumor suggests that Ford needed to see Han Solo’s arc throughout the entire trilogy, not just Episode VII, in order to agree to reprising the role.

Harrison Ford has made no secret that he wants to don the fedora and whip again. From a fan perspective, getting Indy V out of some sort of Episode VII deal would be pretty neat.

Abrams and Kasdan assuming Episode VII screenwriting role. Arndt out?

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Well this is certainly something. Maybe this is cause for alarm, maybe it isn’t. We don’t know much more beyond this little bit of information:

This was confirmed a few minutes later on the official site.

As Episode VII continues pre-production, Lawrence Kasdan and director J.J. Abrams have assumed screenwriting duties for the film. Kasdan, who has been serving as a consultant on the film, is a veteran of several classic Lucasfilm productions, writing the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark and serving as co-screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Acclaimed director and screenwriter Abrams’ credits include Super 8, Mission: Impossible III, Fringe, and Lost.

“I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script,” states Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. “There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a Star Wars story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. J.J. of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production.”

What exactly this means is a mystery right now. Does this mean that Abrams and Kasdan have Michael Arndt’s screenplay in hand and are in the polishing stage, or does it mean that Arndt is out?

So we know a little more than we did before about Episode VII, but as often happens with these things we’ve now got even more questions and concerns.

Star Wars release windows through Episode VII

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Jedi News UK has gotten a hold of a release brochure from the European Brand Licensing Show that appears to detail what Lucasfilm has planned through the 2015 release of Episode VII. Take a look for yourself:

Okay, so what can we take away from this? First and foremost, if nothing on this sheet changes, Episode VII will indeed be hitting theaters in spring/summer 2015, and NOT winter 2015 as many people have suggested would be the case because of the Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Another thing of note is the Darth Vader themed TV specials. What is this? No clue, but color me intrigued.

Finally, there’s the Digital Library Launch slated for autumn/winter 2014. Initially I thought this had something to do with the Expanded Universe, but Dunc suggested something that makes a lot more sense.

Digital distribution of Star Wars film and television assets? Now this I could REALLY get behind. I’ve got everything on a physical medium, but I would kill to get things like the films in a digital format. Digital distribution for Star Wars makes all the sense in the universe, especially in this day and age where so much is consumed through outlets like Netflix. I love my Blu Ray discs, but there’s no denying that being able to stream Star Wars via an Internet source of some sort is far more convenient.

Obviously, there’s a lot of speculation about what these items actually are, so don’t take any of what I’ve written as confirmation or truth. Stay tuned, because the next year and change looks to be a very exciting one for Star Wars fans.

Rebels, Live Action, and Episode VII Rumor Roundup

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rebels logoAnd here we go.

First up, the big Rebels rumor right now is that the series may have a timeline placement. Making Star Wars (via the Bleeding Cool podcast) puts it around 8 years after Revenge of the Sith. Is this true? Who knows, but perhaps clarification is coming out of New York Comic Con next week.

Meanwhile in Episode VII land, Jedi News’ insider claims that Pinewood Studios will be handing the Cinderella stages over to Lucasfilm in November.

Rounding things out, a live-action Star Wars rumbling. According to Blue Sky Disney (via Club Jade), the success of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D has Disney thinking about reviving the long-in production, long-on-the-backburner live action Star Wars television series. The trick? It would have to be retooled to be less dark so it could air on ABC.

UPDATE: Apply your grains of salt, but it’s rumored today that Saoirse Ronan, Ben Kingsley, and Sullivan Stapleton have read for Episode VII parts.

Rumor: Saoirse Ronan read for Episode VII part

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Saoirse RonanAccording to a rumor from Bleeding Cool, Saoirse Ronan has read for a female role in Episode VII. If you want to believe them, it’s a leading role.

I can reconfirm that Saoirse Ronan has had a meeting and read for one of the lead roles – to the best of my knowledge, the lead role – in Star Wars Episode VII.

This was first reported by Latino Review but, for what it’s worth, I’ve also had a rather telling, silent nod from one of my own sources near the casting of this project.

She’s likely to be some way from being cast, as yet, and there are many other actresses who could very easily take the part, including more names that you’d know just as well, but Ronan’s very talented, has a real fanbase and seems to fit the bill perfectly.

The article also says the whole Bennedict Cumberbatch thing still has legs despite claims to the contrary from the actor. It’s the rumor that just won’t die!

As for Ronan, the only thing I’ve seen her in was Hanna, and she was good in that. But of course, this is a rumor. It’s not confirmed. It may not even be reality. So take it all with a gigantic grain of NaCL.

Report: Abrams setting up Episode VII post-production facilities in L.A.

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JJ AbramsAccording to the Hollywood Reporter, J.J. Abrams is setting up an Episode VII post-production shop at the Bad Robot facility in Santa Monica. Among the additions:

A green room, sound studios and other new facilities will be developed within the three-story, 18,000-square-foot Santa Monica building, which already includes editing bays, a workshop for making props, a screening room that can double as a set and Abrams’ personal suite of offices. Star Wars: Episode VII is set to be released in 2015 by Disney.

No comment from either Bad Robot or Disney at this point, but it would make sense and would probably helpful for Abrams, who did joke that shooting in England would be a little difficult for his family.

Rumor: A Christmas Release Date for Episode VII?

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star-wars-episode-vii-logoFile this one under ‘Seriously?!?’ with a skeptical eyebrow raise.  Badass Digest is claiming that Episode VII will have a mid-December release date.  Forgive us if we take this with a mountain of salt grains.  We were told at D23 that Episode VII would have a ‘summer 2015’ release date which fits with the assumption that Lucasfilm will stick with May.  Plus, Celebration VII was announced for April 2015 which is another reason to not take this as likely.

Of course, like with most rumors, there’s a possibility it could happen but this it’s highly doubtful.