STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS v.10 (Dragonlord's Review)

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: December 16, 2015

Dragonlord's Review of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (No Spoilers)

Bottom Line: Despite it being a blatant rehash of A New Hope, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is nonetheless entertaining and a nostalgic blast from the past.

Entertaining and a nostalgic blast from the past to see old characters, references and iconic spaceships from the original Star Wars trilogy but it's not the masterpiece we were all hoping for.

J.J. Abrams was criticized from Trekkies for making Star Trek into Star Wars. But the most ironic thing is that he is making The Force Awakens like his first Star Trek film. The first half of The Force Awakens is a spiritual carbon copy of 2009's Star Trek where the pacing is very rushed and frenetic with lots of people running around, and key characters meeting conveniently for the first time and bonding instantaneously. There's even a space monster chasing our heroes during the middle.

When others copy something from another movie, it can be considered either a homage or a ripoff. But The Force Awakens copying specific plot points from its own library, down to its narrative structure, is just lazy. Almost everything from A New Hope is getting a polished makeover - from a young protagonist in a desert planet being chased by an evil empire led by a mysterious, powerful figure, down to the heroes trying to destroy a planet killer base by exploiting a key structural weakness.

Newcomer Daisy Ridley as Rey was fantastic and arguably the best part about the film. Rey's spunk, beauty and resourcefulness immediately endears her to the audience. Oscar Isaac's dashing Poe Cameron was great but wished he had more screen time. Adam Driver, looking the best he has ever been in his adult life thanks to movie magic (translation: he's ugly in real life), was pretty decent as the film's big bad Kylo Ren but his pivotal scenes with a key character lacked any emotional weight. John Boyega as Finn was okay but he had some embarrassing lines at the beginning and an overacting "Reeeeey!" scene in the middle.

Despite having a cool name and a bad-ass looking costume, Captain Phasma (played by Game of Thrones standout Gwendoline Christie) was a flop in this installment with the character doing absolutely nothing worthwhile. Also disappointed with Supreme Leader Snoke's generic-looking design.

The FX was top-notch and beautifully blended with the practical effects. The CGI on Maz Kanata (played by Lupita Nyong'o) was incredible, felt like it was played by an actor in heavy makeup. If I didn't know Lupita was playing Maz Kanata, I would have sworn it was Linda Hunt. Shame to hide Lupita's beauty behind a CG character.The scenery and landscape were stunning, as well as some striking images like the crashed Star Destroyer.

The first half of the film we got some exciting space escape sequence, a goosebump-inducing Millennium Falon dogfight and some fun, chaotic action involving a monster and bounty hunters (played by The Raid cast). The 3rd act seems uninspired and a blatant rehash of A New Hope. Kinda makes me appreciate some of the action from the panned Star Wars prequel trilogy. Hopefully, the creative team can come up with something more bolder and original for the next two sequels.

Rating: 7/10


Link to previous and related SW threads :

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Thread 4.0

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Thread 5.0

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Thread 6.0

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Thread 7.0

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Thread 8.0

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Thread 9.0

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Official Thread

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: January 21, 2016

AVATAR 2 Won’t Be Ready for Christmas 2017

Avatar 2, the first of three sequels to director James Cameron‘s 2009 3D sci-fi blockbuster, will not be ready in time for its planned Christmas 2017 release via Twentieth Century Fox.

The studio on Thursday declined comment on the delay, which individuals with knowledge of the situation confirmed. There is no new release date set for the movie, or word on the two other sequels, which Fox had planned to release in the same holiday corridor in 2018 and 2019.

It’s the second delay for Avatar 2, which Fox had originally planned to release by Christmas of this year. Cameron intends to shoot all three films in the trilogy at the same time in New Zealand, with Cameron and Jon Landau producing through Lightstorm Entertainment. Soundstage construction and some computer animation work is in the early stages, but a start date for filming has not been set.

Leads Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in 2014 signed on for the trilogy, which is expected to pick up where the original left off, though Cameron has indicated much of it may be set on a moon of the planet Pandora and underwater.

Another tipoff that the plan to release Avatar at Christmas 2017 was in jeopardy came Wednesday, when Disney shifted Star Wars: Episode VIII to Dec. 15, 2017.

The director is known for being a perfectionist and an advocate of developing new technology to advance the craft, both traits that could potentially delay the process. The delay could be caused by the underwater element, which is notoriously tricky and often expensive.

James Cameron’s ‘Avatar 2’ Won’t Be Ready for Christmas 2017 (Exclusive)
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Update: January 19, 2016

STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII Pushed Back to December 2017

Star Wars: Episode VIII, directed by Rian Johnson, is being pushed back seven months, from Memorial Day weekend in 2017 to Dec. 15 of that year.

Instead, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will open on May 26, 2017, Star Wars' old release date. The Pirates movie, one of Disney's biggest franchises and returning Johnny Depp in the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, was set to have opened July 7.

Disney insiders say the decision to push back the release of Episode VIII comes after the blockbuster success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens over the year-end holidays. They say they have now decided to give Episode VIII the same Christmas treatment.

The move gives the studio more time to work on the film. It also balances out Disney's tentpole schedule in 2017. As it stood, the studio was set to release Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (May 5), Star Wars, Pirates and Cars 3 (June 16) all in summer. The studio didn't say whether the changes impact its plans to release an untitled fairy-tale movie on Dec. 22, but don't be surprised if that date changes.

News that Episode VIII will now open Dec. 15 likely won't be well received by Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros., who are set to open Ready Player One on that date. Opening a week later on Dec. 22 are Croods 2 andThe Six-Million Dollar Man.

Within minutes of the Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean announcement, Sony said it was moving up the release of Spider-Man from July 28, 2017, to July 7, 2017, while pushing back Jumanji seven months from Dec. 25, 2016, to July 28, 2017.

Star Wars: Episode VIII, Pirates 5, New Spider-Man, Jumanji Get New Release Dates
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Update: January 7, 2016

Lucasfilm Confirms The Force Awakens Stormtrooper TR-8R's Identity

Everyone's favorite First Order stormtrooper, lovingly dubbed TR-8R by meme-making fans, has an official designation now.

As suspected, TR-8R is in fact FN-2199, Lucasfilm confirmed on StarWars.com. The soldier was part of Finn's training squad, as detailed in Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka, a book released the same day as Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The book contains three novellas, one each giving a little backstory to Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron.

Due to his designation, he's called "Nines" by his pals, and has red hair, as revealed in this Phil Noto art (the guy on the bench on the left). The character is part of an elite riot control squad, hence the electrified Z6 baton. Nines and Finn were paired with Zero and Slip during training. Slip was the stormtrooper killed at the start of the movie who streaked his own blood down Finn's helmet, very much a turning point for the hero.

The backstory explains why the call of "Traitor!" sounded quite so personal. It'll make fans look at Finn's face when he ignites that lightsaber and responds to Nines quite a bit more carefully in future viewings, too.

Lucasfilm also teased that despite the shot from Chewbacca's almost impossibly powerful bowcaster blaster, there could be a rematch between Nines and Finn.

Lucasfilm Confirms Star Wars: The Force Awakens Stormtrooper TR-8R's Identity
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Update: January 6, 2016

THE FORCE AWAKENS Tops AVATAR to Become No. 1 Film of All Time in North America

It's official: J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the No. 1 grossing film of all time in North America, not accounting for inflation.

On Wednesday, the Disney and Lucasfilm blockbuster is overtaking the $760.5 million earned by James Cameron's Avatar. Force Awakens — which grossed an estimated $8 million on Tuesday for a domestic total of $758.2 million — achieved the milestone in only 20 days in release, a remarkable feat.

Released in December 2009, Avatar grossed nearly $750 million in its original, seven-month run, plus another $10 million-plus when it was rereleased in theaters.

However, Force Awakens has a long way to go before eclipsing the $2.78 billion earned worldwide by Avatar. Through Monday, its worldwide tally was $1.54 billion, a staggering number that doesn't include China, where Force Awakens lands on Jan. 9.

Many box office observers suggest the Star Wars reboot will ultimately gross $2.2 billion-$2.4 billion globally, eclipsing Cameron's Titanic ($2.19 billion) to become the No. 2 film of all time, not accounting for inflation.

Only two film have earned $700 million or more in North America; Avatar and Force Awakens.

Box Office: 'Star Wars: Force Awakens' Tops 'Avatar' to Become No. 1 Film of All Time in North America

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: January 5, 2016

Supreme Leader Snoke Is Not Darth Plagueis According to Report

“When we first started working on it, he had some rough notions of how [Supreme Leader] Snoke was gonna look, but it really hadn’t been fully-formed and it almost came out of discussion and performance,” Andy Serkis said.

Although there was much speculation about who Snoke might turn out to be (one popular theory was that he’d turn out to be a Sith Lord known from the prequels as Darth Plagueis) he actually turns out to be … just Snoke.

Andy Serkis said the character was aware of the events from the earlier films but was a new addition to the storyline.

“Supreme Leader Snoke is quite an enigmatic character, and strangely vulnerable at the same time as being quite powerful,” Serkis says. “Obviously he has a huge agenda. He has suffered a lot of damage. As I said, there is a strange vulnerability to him, which belies his true agenda, I suppose.”

It’s also clear from the character’s scarred, cavernous face why prosthetic make-up wasn’t an option. As Serkis explained before anyone outside the film saw Snoke, it could only have been played through motion-capture.

“The scale of him, for instance, is one reason,” Serkis said. LHe is large. He appears tall. And also just the facial design — you couldn’t have gotten there with prosthetics. It’s too extreme. Without giving too much away at this point, he has a very distinctive, idiosyncratic bone structure and facial structure. You could never have done it [in real life.]”

New images of Maz Kanata and Supreme Leader Snoke from The Force Awakens
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Update: January 2, 2016

THE FORCE AWAKENS Sinks TITANIC, Will Surpass AVATAR in a Few Days

Breaking yet another record, Star Wars: The Force Awakens scored the top New Year's Day gross of all time in North America with $34.5 million from 4,134 theaters as it approached the $700 million mark after overtaking both Jurassic World and Titanic, not accounting for inflation.

Avatar was the previous New Year's champ with $25.3 million in 2009 (that was the last time the holiday also fell on a Friday). Force Awakens, finishing Friday with a cume of $686.4 million, is only days away from passing up Avatar ($760.8 million) altogether and becoming the top-grossing film of all time domestically, again not accounting for inflation. It should achieve the milestone sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.

For New Year's weekend, Star Wars is expected to earn a massive $90 million-plus, the best showing in history for the holiday weekend and pushing the movie's North American cume to $742 million through Sunday. On Saturday, the Disney and Lucasfilm blockbuster leapt pastJurassic World ($652.3 million) and Titanic ($658.7 million) to become the No. 2 title of all time domestically.

Box Office: 'Star Wars' Rings in Record New Year's Day, Nears $700M in U.S.
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Update: December 31, 2015

George Lucas Apologizes for "White Slavers" Remark About Disney

Star Wars creator George Lucas issued a statement on Thursday in the wake of controversial remarks he made in an interview with PBS host Charlie Rose comparing new Lucasfilm owner Disney to “white slavers.” Here is Lucas' statement:

“I want to clarify my interview on the Charlie Rose Show. It was for the Kennedy Center Honors and conducted prior to the premiere of the film. I misspoke and used a very inappropriate analogy and for that I apologize.

I have been working with Disney for 40 years and chose them as the custodians of Star Wars because of my great respect for the company and Bob Iger’s leadership. Disney is doing an incredible job of taking care of and expanding the franchise.

I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions in film, television and the parks. Most of all I’m blown away with the record breaking blockbuster success of the new movie and am very proud of JJ and Kathy.”

George Lucas Apologizes for ‘White Slavers’ Remark About Disney
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Update: December 30, 2015

George Lucas Feels He Sold STAR WARS to "White Slavers"

Breaking up is hard to do, and George Lucas is taking his exit from the franchise rather hard. Back in November, he went into detail about his "break up" from Star Wars (though not many relationships end with the $4 billion sale of a major company) and in a much longer holiday-season chat with Charlie Rose, he once again reflects on how everything went down.

As we well know by now, Lucas had his own story ideas for the sequels ready to go, but Disney wasn't so keen on them, and that is pretty much what led Lucas to split from the franchise he started.

"They looked at the stories, and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans'....They decided they didn't want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing....They weren't that keen to have me involved anyway — but if I get in there, I'm just going to cause trouble, because they're not going to do what I want them to do. And I don't have the control to do that anymore, and all I would do is muck everything up," he said. "And so I said, 'Okay, I will go my way, and I'll let them go their way.' "

He goes on to call the Star Wars films his "kids," but concedes that, “I sold them to the white slavers that takes these things, and [laughs]" and thankfully bailed out of that metaphor before it got any worse. But he succinctly details what differed between his approach and Disney's when it came to Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

"They wanted to do a retro movie. I don't like that. Every movie I work very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships, make it new," he said.



"They Wanted To Do A Retro Movie": George Lucas Talks His Break Up From 'Star Wars,' And More In 54-Minute Talk

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: December 27, 2015

THE FORCE AWAKENS Nabs Massive $153.5M Christmas, Crosses $1B Globally

J.J. Abrams's record-shatterng Star Wars: The Force Awakens has blasted past $1 billion globally faster than any film in history, as well as leading the biggest Christmas weekend ever at the North American box office with a stunning $153.5 million for an early domestic haul of $544.6 million.

The Disney and Lucasfilm title crossed $1 billion on Sunday, its 12th day in release. Jurassic World, which had the benefit of opening day-and-date in China, was the previous record-holder (13 days). Force Awakens also snatched the record for biggest second weekend from Jurassic World, which earned $106 million domestically in its sophmore outing.

The Force Awakens rocketed to $49.3 million on Friday, blasting past the $24.6 million opening of Sherlock Holmes on Dec. 25, 2009 to secure the biggest Christmas Day gross of all time.

Overseas, Force Awakens took in $133.3 million for a foreign total of $546 million and worldwide haul of $1.09 billion. At this rate, there's no saying how high the Star Wars reboot will ultimately fly. Domestically, it's now assured of eclipsing Avatar ($760.5 million) to become the top-grossing title of all time, not accounting for inflation. Some even believe it will earn north of $1 billion in North America.

The Force Awakens continued its history-setting ride at the Monday box office, grossing $40.1 million in North America to crush the previous daily record set by Spider-Man 2 in summer 2004 with $27.7 million. The Force Awakens also boasted the biggest Tuesday in history at the domestic box office with $37.3 million, more than the previous record-holder The Amazing Spider-Man made on its opening day on the eve of the July Fourth holiday in 2012 ($35 million).


Box Office: 'Star Wars' Nabs Massive $153.5 Million Christmas, Crosses $1 Billion Globally
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Update: December 23, 2015

J.J. Abrams Regrets Not Directing STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII

In a rare moment of revealing honesty from Star Wars: Episode VII director, J.J. Abrams, he admitted regret towards not staying aboard the Star Wars ship for Episode XIII.

Greg Grunberg, who has been working with Abrams on various projects since Felicity and LOST, where he played Oceanic 815's pilot, says Abrams wishes he was sticking around for the next installment. "He read it and said something he never, ever says," Grunberg told The Washington Post about Abrams' reaction to Episode VIII's script. "He said, 'It's so good, I wish I were making it."

Though the millions of us who have seen Episode VII wish Abrams was sticking around, his seal of approval and admiration for Episode VIII's script should be reassuring. "He may have said something one time on Lost with Damon [Lindelof]," Grunberg continued, "but I never hear him express regret like that."

Abrams is not completely hands-off with the Star Wars franchise. He'll still be around, producing the franchise, as he does with Star Trek. Star Wars: Episode VIII hits theaters May 27, 2017.

Episode VIII will be directed by Rian Johnson of Looper, Brick and The Brothers Bloom. Prior to The Force Awakens' release, Abrams and Johnson would share early cuts of the film to make the franchise's transition into a new director more seamless.


J.J. Abrams Regrets That He's Not Directing Star Wars Episode VIII
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Update: December 21, 2015

THE FORCE AWAKENS Opens to Record $248M for $529M Global Launch

The Force is back, and it's stronger than ever. J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens shattered numerous box-office records over the weekend, grossing $248 million in North America — the biggest opening of all time, not accounting for inflation — for a global launch of $529 million.

The previous best was this summer's Jurassic World with $208.8 million domestically. Overseas, it scored $281 million for a $529 million global launch, besting Jurassic World ($524.9 million), which had the advantage of opening day and date in China. Force Awakens doesn't debut in the world's second-largest moviegoing market until Jan. 9.

Force Awakens' stunning performance sets a new standard for how much the North American box office can expand when the right movie comes along, and puts even more pressure on Hollywood studios to eventize their tentpoles. It's also a critical victory for Disney, which paid George Lucas $4 billion for Lucasfilm in order to get its hands on the Star Wars franchise.

Abrams' movie, buoyed by nostalgia, glowing reviews and an A CinemaScore, obliterated the previous December record set by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which debuted to $84.6 million in 2012. Moreover, overall revenue hit an all-time high, crossing $300 million for the first time ever. Mid-December isn't known for big opening numbers, since many consumers are distracted by pre-Christmas preparations.

At this rate, there's no telling how high Force Awakens will ultimately fly in terms of box-office revenue, since films over the year-end holidays can see huge multiples. James Cameron's Avatar opened to $77 million on the same weekend in 2009 on its way to becoming the top-grossing film of all time with $2.79 in global ticket sales, including $760.5 million domestically. And on the weekend before Christmas in 1996, Cameron's Titanic took in a mere $28.6 million on its way to grossing $2.19 billion worldwide.

Other records broken by Force Awakens include widest December release of all time (4,134 theaters), biggest Thursday-night previews ($57 million), biggest single day and biggest opening day ($120.5 million) and biggest Imax opening. And Force Awakens came close to taking the record for biggest Saturday from Jurassic World ($69.2 million).


'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Opens to Record $248M for $529M Cosmic Global Launch

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: December 21, 2015

J.J. Abrams Explains Shocking Kylo Ren Scene from THE FORCE AWAKENS (Spoilers)

To create someone new that Star Wars fans would hate and fear, J.J. Abrams says they made the hard choice to kill off someone who definitely made that type of mark, someone we love: a particular scoundrel who also proved he was more heroic than anyone might have guessed back when we first met him.

“Star Wars had the greatest villain in cinema history. So, how you bring a new villain into that world is a very tricky thing,” Abrams told the crowd. “We knew we needed to do something f—king bold. The only reason why Kylo Ren has any hope of being a worthy successor is because we lose one of the most beloved characters.”

The act was intended to be proof — to Ren himself, if no one else — that there was no light left in him.

“Long before we had this title, the idea of The Force Awakens was that this would become the evolution of not just a hero, but a villain,” Abrams said. “And not a villain who was the finished, ready-made villain, but someone who was in process.”

“It’s this massive tradeoff,” Abrams said of Han Solo’s death. “How can we possibly do that!? But… if we hadn’t done that, the movie wouldn’t have any guts at all. It felt very dangerous.”

“J.J. rightly asked, ‘What is Han doing in this movie?’" co-writer Michael Arndt said. "If we’re not going to have something important and irreversible happen to him, then he kind of feels like luggage. He feels like this great, sexy piece of luggage you have in your movie. But he’s not really evolving. He’s not really pushing the story forward.”


J.J. Abrams on the most 'dangerous' and shocking act in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'
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Update: December 21, 2015

Every Easter Eggs, Secret Cameos and References for THE FORCE AWAKENS

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: December 21, 2015

Which THE FORCE AWAKENS Character Was Originally Supposed to Die? (Spoilers)

When Oscar Isaac was first approached to play Poe Dameron in the film, his character was supposed to die. Speaking with GQ, Isaac recounted the conversation:

“He’s amazing!” said Abrams. “Sounds good!” thought Isaac, whose first experience in a movie theater had been seeing The Empire Strikes Back. “He opens the whole movie!” said Abrams. “Sounds great!” thought Isaac. “And then,” Abrams went on. “He dies.” “Oh,” thought Isaac.

In Abrams’ mind, it was a chance to “create a role that could live on in all corners of the Star Wars universe—novels and comic books and video games and so on.” Isaac was still hesitant, but he reluctantly agreed, only to have Abrams change his mind about the character’s fate:

“I went back home [to New York], and I thought about it,” he says. “Then I wrote him and said, ‘Okay. I’ll do it!’ I figured it would be a cameo: I’ll come in, do my thing, and maybe it’s actually better not to have to sign myself up for three movies.” By that time, though, things had changed and Abrams soon wrote back: “Never mind. I’ve figured it out. You’re in the whole movie now.”


Which ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Character Was Originally Supposed to Die?

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: December 19, 2015

What Happened After RETURN OF THE JEDI Explained

After watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a lot of fans were perplexed on why the political landscape hasn't changed after Return of the Jedi. In The Force Awakens, the Rebels are still a rag-tag group but now called the Resistance and the Empire, now called the First Order, remains to be the dominant power in the galaxy. JadeOwl has provided answers to those questions:

"After the Battle of Endor, when the Second Death Star was destroyed and the Emperor killed, the Empire went into disarray, but it still was the strongest power in the galaxy. But the Rebellion had the initiative and went on the offensive.

They let everyone know about what happened at Endor and uprisings took place all over the galaxy, while the Empire fractured into multiple squabbling factions, and an ever increasing numbers of Moffs and admirals defecting to the rebellion in exchange for pardons and/or bribes, taking their Star Destroyers to swell the numbers of the Rebel fleet.

The Rebellion proclaimed the New Republic on Chandrilla (Mon Mothma’s homeworld). The new Senate was composed by Senators elected directly by the people instead of the way they were appointed in the Old Republic. As a sign that the corruption of the Old Republic will not return, the capital is not returned to Coruscant after it is liberated, but instead rotates to different planets every few years through election. The Senate and the Republic Fleet are headquartered at whatever world is chosen. (At the time TFA takes place, the seat is at the planet Hosnian Prime)

The war went on for a year until what was left of the Empire got its act together and tried to launch an offensive, believing that if it won a major victory against the New Republic, it would change the momentum of the war. The biggest battle since Endor was fought on the space near Jakku and the Empire suffered a crushing defeat. That’s where all those wrecked Star Destroyers in the surface came from.

A little while after the Battle of Jakku the New Republic and the imperial remnants signed a peace treaty called the Galactic Concordance, which imposed heavy reparations on the imperials and forced them to certain borders.

After the war was over, Mon Mothma drastically reduced the size of the Republic’s fleet to show that is wasn’t like the Empire and didn’t intend to rule through force. The reduced Republic Fleet would serve as a peacekeeping force while the newly available resources would be used to train and equip the planetary security forces of the Republic’s member worlds.

A bunch of imperials retreated into the Unknown Regions to lick their wounds and build up their forces. They hooked up with Snoke and the Knights of Ren and became the First Order, which eventually took over the imperial remnants.

As of approx. 30 years after Endor, the New Republic is the preeminent superpower in the galaxy, and even though nowhere near the size of the Republic Navy of the Clone Wars or the Imperial Navy, the New Republic Defense Force is still the most powerful military force in the Galaxy, so the New Republic doesn’t see the First Order as a threat, so long as they abide by their treaty obligations as per the Galactic Concordance. The best analogy I’ve come across in other boards is that the First Order is Space North Korea on super-steroids crossed with Nazi Germany.

Leia of course thinks this is a load of bull and that an Imperial successor state led by a powerful adept of the Dark Side cannot be trusted, so she forms the Resistance as a private military to covertly fight the First Order and keep it in check, staffing it with old veterans of the Rebellion and young idealists who resigned their commissions from the New Republic Defense Force.

Officially, the New Republic doesn’t support the Resistance, and the general opinion in the Senate is that Leia is a crazy old paranoid reactionary still fighting a war that is long over, but several Senators share her concerns and covertly funnel credits, armaments and ships to the Resistance."

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: December 21, 2015

R2-D2's Closing Scene in THE FORCE AWAKENS Explained (Spoilers)

At a post-screening Q&A for the movie on Saturday, director J.J. Abrams and co-writers Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt explained why they sidelined R2 – and why he finally had his own “awakening.”

When they find R2 beneath that dust cloth, the heroes already have a piece of a holographic map, but they lack the larger section of this uncharted region of space that will allow them to track down Luke. That’s where R2 became a useful storytelling device: he could be the missing framework.

The story group’s thinking went back to the 1977 original movie, when R2-D2 accessed the Empire’s mainframe as the heroes searched for the captured Princess Leia. “We had the idea about R2 plugging into the information base of the Death Star, and that’s how he was able to get the full map and find where the Jedi temples are,” Arndt said.

Abrams says he chose to spell this out indirectly in the movie because he didn’t want the story to get bogged down in “how s–t happened 30 years ago.”

“But the idea was that in that scene where R2 plugged in, he downloaded the archives of the Empire, which was referenced by Kylo Ren,” Abrams said. Thirty-eight years later, in both our own and galactic time, that data becomes useful in The Force Awakens when a new droid approaches the dormant R2.

“BB-8 comes up and says something to him, which is basically, ‘I’ve got this piece of a map, do you happen to have the rest?’” Abrams said. “The idea was, R2 who has been all over the galaxy, is still in his coma, but he hears this. And it triggers something that would ultimately wake him up.”

The director acknowledges that R2’s sudden “awakening” at the end was designed to be an emotional storytelling utility: “While it may seem, you know, completely lucky and an easy way out, at that point in the movie, when you’ve lost a person, desperately, and somebody you hopefully care about is unconscious, you want someone to return.”

So for those let wondering: BB-8’s earlier question rattles around inside R2’s dome for a while. Those old astromechs must just take a while to boot up again. Then as the movie draws to a close, our old friend finally comes back – and leads us to another one.


J.J. Abrams explains R2-D2's closing scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
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Update: December 21, 2015

Writers Reveal Previous Versions of THE FORCE AWAKENS Script (Spoilers)

At a post-screening Q&A for the movie on Saturday, J.J. Abrams and co-writers Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt explained how they grappled with the question of how to present Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker – who, as those who’ve seen The Force Awakens already know, was also held back as a climactic reveal in the final minutes of the movie.

“Early on I tried to write versions of the story where [Rey] is at home, her home is destroyed, and then she goes on the road and meets Luke. And then she goes and kicks the bad guy’s ass,” Arndt said. “It just never worked and I struggled with this. This was back in 2012.”

The trouble was a simple case of upstaging. “It just felt like every time Luke came in and entered the movie, he just took it over,” Arndt said. “Suddenly you didn’t care about your main character anymore because, ‘Oh f–k, Luke Skywalker’s here. I want to see what he’sgoing to do.’”

The good news for Abrams was, he got to make a Star Wars movie. The bad news was, his toybox wouldn’t include a real-life Luke Skywalker action figure. Some of the early MacGuffins of the movie – the thing that drives a movie’s plot – were a search for Darth Vader’s remains, or a quest to the underwater wreckage of the second Death Star to recover a key piece of history about sacred Jedi sites in the galaxy.

Ultimately, the writers decided to make Luke himself the MacGuffin – the thing Rey, Han, Finn and Chewie are trying to find. And they figured that if a horrific past trauma forced Luke to retreat from the world.


Writers Reveal Previous Versions of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Script

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: December 21, 2015

J.J. Abrams Reveals More Secret Cameos for THE FORCE AWAKENS (Spoilers)

When Daisy Ridley‘s Rey first touches Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, there are a series of flashing images, including two well-known images of Skywalker patting R2D2 and Kylo Ren with his acolytes on a planet with torrential rain, Abrams was more revealing about the audio and who they involved in the clips of dialogue that are heard in this sequence. Here’s what Abrams had to say:

“The idea of the voices was, we wanted the audience to feel – but not necessarily be presented right in your face — this idea that familiar, Force-strong voices were connecting with her. At least as well as they could…You do hear a little bit of Yoda. You hear Luke yelling out, ‘Nooo!’ from that moment in Empire. And you hear Obi-Wan at the end say, ‘Rey, these are your first steps.’…"

"Here’s the cool part. We asked Ewan McGregor to come in and do the line. And he was awesome and we were very grateful. He was incredibly sweet and handsome, and all that stuff. Then he rode off on his motorcycle. Literally the coolest voice over actor ever.”

Abrams also opened up about the use of the late Alec Guinness and Frank Oz‘s voices in Rey’s waking dream sequence. Here’s what he had to say about cutting audio to have Guinness say “Rey…” during the scene:

“I said, ‘That’s cool, is that the thing from Ewan McGregor?’…He said ‘No, we took a line from Alec Guinness saying ‘Afraid.’…They cut it, and you hear the performance – he’s saying it the way I would have begged Alec Guinness to have said it. It is so crazy perfect. So when you hear Obi-Wan talk to Rey it is both Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor doing the voice.”

“He [Frank Oz] was incredibly generous and came in to Bad Robot, where we had a recording area, and he was doing Yoda, saying a number of lines we gave to him…This whole experience has been one outrageous moment after another. Just watching Frank Oz, you look at him and talk to him and his voice is very deep. I don’t know why I would have thought he sounded like Miss Piggy!…He was very generous to say, ‘Whatever makes the movie better, I’m happy to help out.”


More Star Wars: The Force Awakens Cameos Revealed by J.J. Abrams
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Update: December 18, 2015

Daniel Craig's STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Cameo Revealed

During an interview last summer, EW asked Daniel Craig about a certain rumor that had been ricocheting across the web (thanks to Simon Pegg’s loose lips) since May: that Craig delivers a cameo as a stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Not only did the star vehemently deny it at that time, he responded to EW's query with barely suppressed rage. “Why would I ever bother doing something like that?” Craig sputtered. “F—ing hell! Pffft. Play an extra in another movie.”

Starting last year, the Spectre production took place across various soundstages in the venerable studio facility, just yards away from where The Force Awakens was being concurrently filmed. So if Craig had wanted to make a cameo, it would have likely been as simple as cozying up to Star Wars director JJ Abrams, slipping out of his Tom Ford suit and donning the white plastic helmet.

According to multiple sources close to The Force Awakens who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly, that is precisely what happened.

Craig does make a cameo in Star Wars VII as a stormtrooper, turning up in one of the movie’s most memorably nostalgic scenes. “He did it for s—ts and grins,” says one of the people with knowledge of the actor’s performance.

For anyone who has not seen The Force Awakens, the below description of Craig’s cameo contains Spoilers. So stop reading now if you don’t want to know what happens.

Spoiler

At one point in the movie, Daisy Ridley’s character Rey has been captured, and makes her maiden attempt at a Jedi mind trick.

“You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open,” Rey tells the stormtrooper played by Craig.

It is, of course, an implicit shout-out to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for” scene in Star Wars IV: A New Hope. And the sequence prompted shouts of joyful recognition in the pre-release screening I attended earlier this week.

“I’ll tighten those restraints, scavenger scum,” Craig’s character responds, although few in the audience can be expected to register that it’s him. We only hear the actor’s clipped British diction and never see his face.

Daniel Craig's Cameo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Revealed - Entertainment Weekly

 

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Update: December 20, 2015

Critics' Reviews for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

Rotten Tomatoes: 94% Approval Rating (274 out of 290 critics like it)

Consensus: Packed with action and populated by both familiar faces and fresh blood, The Force Awakens successfully recalls the series' former glory while injecting it with renewed energy.

Entertainment Weekly - B+
The wait is over. You, or that special someone you love, can stop panting into that brown paper bag and finally relax because there are about to be a lot of very happy Star Wars fans out there. J.J. Abrams’The Force Awakens delivers exactly what you want it to: rollicking adventure wrapped in epic mythology, a perfect amount of fan service that fires your geekiest synapses, and a just-right cliffhanger ending that paves the way for future installments. In a way, Abrams has accomplished exactly what he did with 2009’s Star Trek. He took a worshiped pop-culture franchise with a rabid legion of disciples, treated it with respect, and made it matter again.

Empire Magazine - 4/5
If you were to make a list of the essential ingredients of a Star Wars film, you would find almost all in J.J. Abrams’ wake-up call to this sleeping giant of a franchise. From the biggest — dark versus light side, dogfights, mystical powers — to the smallest — mouse robots, turbo lasers, absurd alien Cantina music — this glories in reminding us what we all loved about this universe. By the end, it’s given us a reason to be excited about Star Wars’ future as well. It packs a planet-sized punch, launching a new generation of characters who – by the end – take a place next to Han, Leia and the rest. Star Wars is back, and this is just the beginning.

Richard Roeper - 4/4
What a beautiful, thrilling, joyous, surprising and heart-thumping adventure this is. “The Force Awakens” pops with memorable battle sequences, gives us chills with encore appearances by stars from the original trilogy and introduces more than a half-dozen terrific Next Generation characters. If the U.S. presidential election were held this weekend, director-producer-co-writer J.J. Abrams might carry the day based on geek support alone.

USA Today - 4/4
While each of the prior Star Wars movies had a definite ending, The Force Awakens finishes with an excellent and emotional cliffhanger that will leave fans, casual and hardcore alike, breathless for Episode VIII. The Force Awakens reveals surprising connections, begins a few bromances, solves mysteries while digging up others, and sets a strong tone for what comes next in Star Wars lore. Best of all? It’ll make you feel like a kid being introduced to something truly special once again.

Arizona Republic - 4.5/5
Go see this movie. Because what Abrams has done is find and return the ingredient crucial to the original three films in the franchise that was sorely lacking in the second round: fun. Abrams shows an expert understanding of what makes the best of these movies so great — even more so than George Lucas himself showed with the unfortunate “The Phantom Menace.” With that film, Lucas lost touch with the magic he created. Abrams finds it and puts it to excellent use. “The Force Awakens” indeed — and it awakened the kid in me.






Sherdog poll as of March 24, 2016

 

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Update: December 2, 2015

2,500 Actors Audition for the Lead in Young Han Solo Movie

It's a hunt that would make Jabba the Hutt proud. Disney and Lucasfilm are scouring the galaxy in what some are calling the widest casting search ever for the actor who will play a young Han Solo in the planned Star Wars spinoff movie.

According to sources, more than 2,500 actors have met on the project or put themselves on tape, with casting director Jeanne McCarthy running point on finding the man to fill the vest made famous by Harrison Ford in the first Star Wars trilogy and The Force Awakens, which opens Dec. 18.

The contenders are being whittled down before Star Wars spinoff directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who worked with McCarthy on the hit Jump Street films, hone in on their Han. The movie isn't due to shoot until January 2017 for a May 25, 2018, release, so they have plenty of time to make a choice.

"This has been the easiest movie to audition for," says an agent with a client who has auditioned. "They are seeing everyone." The strategy is a 180 degree turn from the plan producers took to find the young stars of The Force Awakens. Director J.J. Abrams took great pains to find relative unknowns to play the leads.

The top-secret Solo project, with a script by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan, is slyly working under the code name "Red Cup," a reference to the college party staple manufactured by, yep, the Solo Cup Corp. But with every agency sending clients between the ages of 18 and 32 in to read for the part, names are beginning to surface.

Actors who have read in person or auditioned via videotape range from the well-known (Dave Franco, 30, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 25, and Miles Teller, 28) to the sort-of-known (Jurassic World's Nick Robinson, 20) to relative unknowns (Kickin' It's Leo Howard, 18, and The Purge's Tony Oller, 24) and also vary significantly in age. Though sources say the "sweet spot" seems to be the mid-20s, the ages of the contenders span from Chandler Riggs, the 16-year-old star of The Walking Dead, to Hunter Parrish, 28, and Mr. Robot star Rami Malek, 34.

Casting directors are not just focusing on American actors, either, considering Canadian Hemlock Grove star Landon Liboiron, 23, and English actors Ed Westwick, 28, Tom Felton, 28, and Joshua Sasse, 27, among many, many others.

The casting team is said to be looking for someone who looks at least a bit like a young Ford (now 73, he was 35 when the original Star Wars was released) and can be funny and charming as well as handle the expected action scenes. A few young comedians have been asked to read.

Others who have thrown their hats in the ring include Fury's Logan Lerman, 23, The Fault in Our Stars' Ansel Elgort, 21, and Transformers: Age of Extinction's Jack Reynor, 23, plus TV faces like Teen Wolf's Colton Haynes, 27, and Bates Motel's Max Thieriot, 27.


'Star Wars' Hunts for Han Solo: Disney Sees 2,500 Actors to Fill One Vest (Exclusive)
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Update: November 20, 2015

George Lucas Explains Why He Stepped Away from STAR WARS

One person who is positively grumpy about Star Wars: The Force Awakens is George Lucas. Even though he's $4 billion dollars richer having sold Lucasfilm to Disney, earlier this week he explained that he walked away from the franchise due to the constant outside criticism he received, and the inability to be experimental with the form.

"You go to make a movie, and all you do is get criticized, and people try and make decisions about what you’re going to do before you do it," Lucas said. "It’s not much fun, and you can’t experiment. You can’t do anything. You have to do it a certain way. I don’t like that, and I never did. I started out in experimental films and I want to go back to experimental films, but of course, nobody wants to see experimental films."

Now, in a new chat with CBS This Morning, the director shifts gears a bit, and says that once Disney decided not to use his treatments for the sequels, he decided to step away.

"The issue was ultimately that they looked at the stories and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans,'" Lucas said. "People don't actually realize it's actually a soap opera and it's all about family problems - it's not about spaceships. So they decided they didn't want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided, 'fine.... I'll go my way and I let them go their way.'"


George Lucas Explains Star Wars Is A "Soap Opera" And Not About "Spaceships"

 

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Update: October 7, 2015

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Reportedly Joins STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will soon be upon us, and Star Wars: Episode VIII will be here before you know it. Tonight, we now have the film's first bit of major casting since Benicio del Toro signed on back in July to play a villain role. Collider exclusively reports that Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond the Lights) is joining the cast. While negotiations can always break down and nothing is official until Disney announces it, Collider feels confident in their report.

Mbatha-Raw flew under the radar when it came to Episode VIII casting. Latino-Review did report a few days ago that she was being eyed for the film, and at the beginning of September, it was reported that Gina Rodriguez, Tatiana Maslany and Olivia Cooke were on the shortlist for the female lead and that they were doing chemistry reads with Force Awakens star John Boyega.

Earlier tonight, THR reported that Maslany was signing on for the Boston Marathon Bombing movie, which would likely make her unavailable for Episode VIII. Whether she passed on Star Wars or they passed on her, it looks like they have someone in mind, and it appears to be Mbatha-Raw. However, it's also possible there's more than one female lead and Rodriguez (or some other actress) is still in the running for the other part.

Mbatha-Raw was due for a breakout role in a blockbuster following her acclaimed performances in Beyond the Lights and Belle. Mbatha-Raw will be seen later this year in the NFL drama Concussion and early in 2016 with The Free State of Jones. She's also co-starring in the live-action Beauty and the Beast, which opens in 2017. Star Wars: Episode VIII opens May 26, 2017.


Exclusive: Star Wars: Episode VIII Casts Beyond the Lights Actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw
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Update: September 21, 2015

Rumor: Hayden Christensen to Appear in STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII?

Making Star Wars has heard through the Jedi grapevine that Hayden Christensen, who portrayed young Anakin Skywalker in the prequels, is making an appearance in Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII. They report: "A team in the U.K. are soon heading to the U.S. to begin training Hayden Christensen for a Star Wars: Episode VIII appearance of some sort."

Training?! That doesn't sound like a mere appearance from a ghost of Anakin. So that leaves us with two possibilities: Anakin flashback scene(s) or he is resurrected -- from the dead or as a clone -- by Kylo Ren, who is obsessed with Darth Vader. There is a popular fan theory that is currently circulating that seems very relevent to this latest rumor.

Making Star Wars also has some additional info regarding Darth Vader appearing Star Wars: Rogue One. "The most I have heard at this juncture is that a fully operational Darth Vader chest piece along with the helmet made it to the creature shop for the next film," they report. "The lights on the chest piece work and everything."

However, only one was spotted, indicating Darth Vader's screentime would be very limited -- no action scenes of any sort. Though, this chest piece might just be used a reference for the prop shop to churn out multiple pieces. Filming has already begun and you would figure multiple suits would've been dealt with in pre-production.


Rumor: Hayden Christensen Training for an Appearance in Star Wars: Episode VIII

 

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Update: September 1, 2015

Female Lead Shortlist for STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII Revealed

Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), Golden Globe nominee Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl star Olivia Cooke are considered the top contenders for the new female lead in Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII, multiple individuals familiar with the casting situation told TheWrap.

Insiders insist it's early in the casting process and that Johnson is still auditioning actresses, with several rising stars yet to read for him. Others suggest that Johnson is narrowing down the field and that Rodriguez, Maslany and Cooke will be among a group of girls slated to chemistry-read with The Force Awakens star John Boyega before the end of the month.

Disney will release the sci-fi sequel on May 26, 2017. Ram Bergman is producing the film with Lucasfilm's Kathy Kennedy, and production is expected to start early next year.

Oscar winner Benicio del Toro is nearing a deal to play the villain in Star Wars: Episode VIII, for which plot details remain unknown. However, the Internet has taken it upon itself to speculate that Han Solo's daughter could be introduced in the film.


Star Wars: Episode VIII Shortlist: Gina Rodriguez, Tatiana Maslany & Olivia Cooke
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Update: August 15, 2015

Colin Trevorrow Officially to Direct STAR WARS: EPISODE IX

Disney and Lucasfilm continue to nab the hottest young directors for Star Wars films, bringing on Jurassic World helmer Colin Trevorrow to direct Episode IX. Disney made the announcement at D23 Saturday.

Jurassic World was a massive hit for Universal when it opened earlier this year, breaking opening weekend records for the biggest global take of all time and the biggest domestic opening of all time. It also became the fastest movie in history to hit $1 billion globally. The Chris Pratt-starring film has earned $1.6 billion worldwide to date.

Trevorrow had only directed a short film and the 2012 comedy Safety Not Guaranteed before signing on to the massive Jurassic World. He's already stated that he would not be returning for the next Jurassic film, and is attached to next direct Book of Henry.

Looper director Rian Johnson is attached to write and direct Episode XIII. When he signed on, he was also going to write a treatment for Episode IX, which Trevorrow will direct. Lego Movie helmers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are going a Han Solo stand-alone film and Godzilla director Gareth Edwards is also doing a stand-alone project.


'Star Wars: Episode IX' Sets 'Jurassic World' Director Colin Trevorrow to Helm

 

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Update: August 15, 2015

George Lucas Not Apologizing for Jar Jar Binks; Reveals Character Inspired by Goofy

Director and Star Wars creator George Lucas told fans at the D23 Expo in Anaheim on Friday that Disney's Goofy influenced the making of the love-him-or-hate-him Gungan character Jar Jar Binks from the 1999 prequel Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

"I can't even begin to tell you how much of an influence Disney has had on me," Lucas said. "I will say one secret that nobody knows; not many people realize that Goofy was the inspiration for Jar Jar Binks." After the audience laughed, Lucas added, "I know that you will look at him differently now. It's pretty obvious, actually, but, um, I love Goofy and I love Jar Jar."

"I tried to remember back what it was like when I was young and what I got from Disney," Lucas said, "and I am very happy to be here with two of my daughters. One of them's older and sitting here and trying to get into the movie business just like me, and the other one is two years old and we're re-going through the park. To watch it through her eyes is an amazing experience."


George Lucas Is Not Apologizing for Jar Jar Binks, Reveals Character Based on Goofy

 

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Update: July 20, 2015

Benicio Del Toro in Talks to Play the Villain in STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII [Updated]

Benicio del Toro has the offer to play the villain in Star Wars: Episode VIII, multiple individuals familiar with casting process have told TheWrap. Discussions are still in the very early stages, but Disney and Lucasfilm are high on the Oscar-winning Traffic star.

Del Toro would be a strong fit for the sci-fi sequel, as he's able to conjure menace on a whim. He'd also continue Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams' diverse vision for the Star Wars universe that will be led by John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac going forward.

Rian Johnson is directing Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is expected to start shooting early next year in advance of a May 26, 2017 release date. Ram Bergman is producing the film with Lucasfilm's Kathy Kennedy.

Del Toro is already a member of the Disney family, having played a fun yet small role as The Collector in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, though he has indicated that he may not return for the upcoming sequel due in 2017.

Del Toro won an Oscar for his supporting performance as an honest Mexican cop in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic. He'll soon be seen alongside Emily Blunt in Denis Villeneuve's crime drama Sicario and in an untitled Terrence Malick movie. Del Toro, is also set to star opposite Idris Elba in Harmony Korine's The Trap.

[Update: It's official! Benicio Del Toro has moved from "I think it might happen" to official cast member of Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII. "Star Wars is coming up," he told Spanish news site Rac1, " so we'll see how that turns out. I think we start shooting in March". He then added, rather mysteriously, "I'm like the villain, but we'll see..."]


Benicio Del Toro Eyed to Join Rian Johnson's 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' (Exclusive)

 

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Update: July 7, 2015

Phil Lord and Chris Miller to Direct 3rd STAR WARS Anthology Focusing on Young Han Solo

Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the duo behind The Lego Movie and the hit 21 Jump Street movies, are tackling one of Star Wars anthology movies as their next directing project, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. The filmmaker team, who write, direct and produce, are stepping up to helm a movie that will focus on a young Han Solo, according to sources.

Lawrence Kasdan and Jon Kasdan are writing the script with the project now set for a May 25, 2018 release. The new project is not the same as the one that was to have been directed by Josh Trank. Trank parted ways with the project in May amid a cloud of issues stemming from his Fantastic Four shoot. The project, rumored to be an origin story of the intergalactic bounty hunter Boba Fett, is still searching for a director.

Unclear is how this move will impact Lord and Miller's schedule. The duo became hot property not only with their witty take on the buddy cop genre with Jump Street but especially with 2014's Lego Movie, which juggled a spectrum of geek icons from Batman to Star Wars.

They were to develop a Flash feature for Warners as a directing vehicle but now with the untitled Star Wars spin-off, that is likely off the table. As is a third Jump Street movie. However, they could stay on as writers or producers on those projects.

They were also developing an animated Spider-Man project for Sony, writing a treatment and producing, but since they were not intending to direct it, that could be less impacted. The pair would remain involved in the Lego franchise they helped launch.


'Star Wars' Han Solo Spinoff In the Works With 'Lego Movie' Directors (Exclusive)

 

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Update: June 2, 2015

Lost STAR WARS Short Film Becomes a Feature Film Starring Rutger Hauer

Thirty-five years after it screened alongside Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, fantasy short Black Angel is getting the feature-length treatment. Roger Christian (Nostradamus, Battlefield Earth), who won an Oscar for his set decoration work on the first Star Wars (where he, among other achievements, helped design the first-ever lightsaber), is returning to write and direct the adaptation of his first-ever effort as a director.

"It's my passion project, has been for 35-36 years," Christian tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I guess 'patience is a virtue' is a true saying. It kind of happened - serendipity of the universe - as J.J. [Abrams] was about to start filming [The Force Awakens], so it became this legendary story of a lost piece of Star Wars history."

Originally commissioned by George Lucas who Christian claims "hated" the short that accompanied Star Wars: A New Hope, the 25-minute long Black Angel - about a Crusade-era knight on a quest to defeat an evil force to free a captured maiden - was shot in Scotland on a shoestring budget of just $38,000, much of which the director claims was spent on "two big horses."

But it went on to be seen as a significant influence in fantasy films, such as John Boorman's Excaliber (1981). Adding to the overall mystery, it enjoyed only a brief time in theaters before the negatives were considered lost, only to show up again more than three decades later in 2013 in Universal's U.S. archives, with the film screening again in various film festivals.

The feature length version of Black Angel, which is expected to go into production later this year, will have a marginally bigger budget of "around $15 million," says Christian. The eight-week shoot will take place again in Scotland, plus Hungary, Morocco and Belgium. "They'd be hurling haggises at me if I didn't shoot in Scotland, they kind of own Black Angel."

Christian already has Rutger Hauer and John Rhys-Davies attached to star as High Priest Sirdar and King Aeolus respectively, but he plans to announce younger cast members shortly. The project is currently in the midst of a 45-day crowdfunding campaign to raise $100,000 and the Indiegogo page includes a video with a few additional story details. Apparently the main warrior, Sir Maddox, will be joined by a renegade princess during his attempt to take down the Black Angel and his army of the undead. She'll be played by Laura Weissbecker.

[YT]5L8pHKP-vv4[/YT]


Lost 'Star Wars' Companion Short Becomes a Full-Length Feature
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Update: May 12, 2015

George Lucas' Ideas for STAR WARS: EPISODE VII Revealed

How different would Star Wars: Episode VII be if its original creator, George Lucas, had been in charge instead? As you might remember, Lucas previously told Screen Rant that he was actually quite happy not to be involved in the new trilogy, as he would get to be "blown away" from having "no idea what they’re doing."

There was a time (not so long ago) when Lucas had, in fact, made solid plans for the franchise's continuation. According to Vanity Fair's recent cover story he'd already "sketched out ideas for Episode(s) VII, VIII, and IX," though once Disney got hold of the rights, his suggestions were scrapped in favor of the movie's current incarnation.

Can you guess what George Lucas had in mind for a new era of Star Wars? As it turns out, his ideas were pretty similar to the old era of Star Wars.

Abrams said Lucas’s treatment had centered on very young characters —teenagers —which might have struck Disney executives as veering too close for comfort to The Phantom Menace and its 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker and 13-year-old Queen Amidala. "We’ve made some departures" from Lucas’s ideas, Kennedy conceded.


George Lucas' Ideas for 'Episode 7' Revealed, and They're Exactly What You'd Expect...
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Update: May 4, 2015

2nd STAR WARS Anthology Film Will Be Boba Fett Origin Story

The next Star Wars anthology movie due in 2018 that recently lost director Josh Trank will be a Boba Fett origin story, confirming one of many rumors that have appeared online in the last several months, TheWrap has learned.

Boba Fett is a Mandalorian warrior who was trained by his father-figure Jango Fett and became a notorious bounty hunter throughout the galaxy. His travels led him to work for the Empire, collaborate with Darth Vader and take assignments from figures such as Jabba the Hutt, for whom he once captured Han Solo. The beloved character was primarily played by English actor Jeremy Bulloch in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The first standalone anthology film will be Gareth Edwards‘ Star Wars: Rogue One, which will star Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn and Riz Ahmed. That film follows a group of resistance fighters who unite for a daring mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. With rebel spies the focus of Rogue One, the next anthology film will explore the rich world of bounty hunters in the Star Wars galaxy.


Second Star Wars Standalone Film Reportedly Will Be a Boba Fett Origin Story

 

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Update: May 1, 2015

Disney Drops Josh Trank from Directing 2nd STAR WARS Standalone Film

Josh Trank, director of the found-footage superhero drama Chronicle and upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, was attached to direct the second Star Wars stand-alone film, but has now parted ways with the project, confiming longtime rumors of a disturbance in this particular project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter's sources, reports of the director Josh Trank's unusual conduct during the making of Fox’s upcoming Fantastic Four movie had raised alarm among Lucasfilm executives that were entrusting him with the second Star Wars standalone film.

Trank, 30, had raised eyebrows in April when he didn’t appear as scheduled at a Star Wars celebration in Anaheim. At the time, both Disney and the director cited illness as the cause but multiple knowledgeable sources say the studio had asked the filmmaker not to attend while considering whether to proceed with him on the second spinoff in a planned series of films.

Indeed, producers on Fantastic Four, set for release July 30, are said to have faced great challenges pulling the film together given behavior described by one insider as “erratic” and at times “very isolated.” Trank did not offer clear direction, this person adds, saying, "If you've got someone who can't answer questions or who isn't sure or is in hiding, that's not good."

Among those bumps in making the Fantastic Four movie: Trank has several small dogs who were left in a rented house in New Orleans while the film was shooting there. According to sources, as much as $100,000 worth of damage was done to the property. Production considers any destruction of the property to be Trank's responsibility. Trank was sometimes indecisive and uncommunicative. Producers Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker had to step in to help pull the film together, though sources stress that Trank was still on set and directing the film.

Kinberg, who is producing the second Star Wars standalone project (the first, Rogue One, is being directed by Gareth Edwards for a December 2016 release), is said to have communicated his displeasure with Trank to Kathleen Kennedy and the team at Lucasfilm. As the Star Wars brain trust heard more about Trank's behavior and working style, they became less confident in handing over the film to him.


Inside a 'Star Wars' Firing: 'Fantastic Four' Problems Led to Josh Trank's Ouster
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Update: January 29, 2015

Bob Iger Confirms STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII and IX Set for 2017 and 2019

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18 of this year. The first Star Wars standalone film opens December 16, 2016. After that, we have a good idea of what the next few years have in store for Star Wars but nothing is 100% set in stone. For example, though every single outlet in the world has confirmed Rian Johnson is directing Star Wars Episode VIII, along with the filmmaker himself, the company has yet to acknowledge it. And though we've heard there will be a Star Wars movie every single year, only the two dates above are confirmed.

However, the long-term future of Star Wars was recently mentioned by Disney CEO Bob Iger. In a Disney shareholders report, he talked about seeing footage from The Force Awakens, confirmed the release years for the next two films in this trilogy, and failed to mention the second standalone film. There's more, too. Read the extremely loaded Star Wars sequel trilogy quote below.

"As one of the few people allowed to visit the set during filming….and one of the fewer who's seen most of the footage - I can assure the millions of Star Wars fans who have spent the last decade hoping for a new movie this one will be worth the wait. And it' only the beginning of a new era of exceptional Star Wars storytelling; next year we'll release our first standalone movie based on these characters, followed by Star Wars: Episode VIII in 2017, and we'll finish this trilogy with Episode IX in 2019."


Disney CEO Confirms Release for Star Wars Episode VIII and IX and More Trilogies
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Update: January 13, 2015

George Lucas Wanted to Direct EPISODE VII, Then Sell Lucasfilm Afterwards

In an interview with USA Today, Lucas revealed that he had already begun development on Episodes VII-IX with Lucasfilm before he sold the studio to Disney. His original plan, according to the article, was to create Episode VII, and then sell Star Wars off.

But as timing would have it, Disney stepped in at the right moment, Lucas said, prompting him to ditch the plan and make a clean break from the franchise. Besides, Lucas said in the interview, he was already hesitant to embark on the 10 year commitment that a new Star Wars trilogy would have required. "The time is more important to me than the money," he told the newspaper.

Now he can focus on writing what he calls small "experimental" films and be first in line in December for Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens. "The only thing I really regret about Star Wars is the fact I never got to see it - I never got to be blown out of my seat when the ship came over the screen," Lucas says. "The next one, I'll be able to enjoy it like anybody else."


Geore Lucas Originally Wanted to Make Star Wars Episode 7 Before Selling Lucasfilm

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Update: July 20, 2014

Plot Details for STAR WARS: EPISODE VII Reportedly Revealed

Badass Digest's Devin Faraci: "Imagine the standard Star Wars crawl, and when it ends the camera pans up to the stars. But instead of a spaceship zooming into frame we see... a hand! A severed hand, tumbling through space. A severed hand gripping a light saber. That hand falls onto a desert planet, where it is discovered by characters who will be our heroes. One is Daisy Ridley. The other is John Boyega, who is playing someone trying to change his path in life. They recognize the light saber as a Jedi relic and decide to return it to the proper people.

Their quest takes them off world, and they meet up with Han Solo and Chewbacca, who aren't flying around in the Millenium Falcon anymore but are piloting a Super Star Destroyer. Anyway, Han and Chewie recognize the light saber as Luke's, and they say they haven't seen their friend in thirty years, since the events of Return of the Jedi. So begins a quest to find the missing Jedi Master. Meanwhile, on an ice planet, nefarious forces are building a super weapon, one capable of destroying not planets but entire solar systems"

In many ways this plot of Episode VII is an echo of A New Hope. Instead of R2 coming to Tatooine it's a hand falling from the sky, but the basic sweep of the story is similar, and intentionally so. But things that seem familiar may not be as familiar as you think... don't assume that every ice or desert planet in the galaxy has already been visited."

[Update: Boyega plays a storm trooper. A storm trooper who basically deserts and teams up with Daisy Ridley's character. The desert planet in Episode VII is not Tatooine.]

Plot Details Reportedly for J.J. Abrams' STAR WARS: EPISODE VII Revealed (Exclusive)
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Update: June 20, 2014

Rian Johnson to Write and Direct STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII

The Force must be strong with Rian Johnson. The Looper director is in talks with Lucasfilm to write and direct the next Star Wars film, Episode VIII, according to sources. Contrary to reports that he will be directing the next two Star Wars film, Johnson will direct only Episode VIII, but he is writing a treatment for Episode IX. Ram Bergman will produce Episode VIII.

Johnson has directed three feature films. His directorial debut, Brick, won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. He followed that up with 2008's Brothers Bloom and 2012's time-jumping sci-fi action-drama Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

In a way, Star Wars: Episode VII now sounds more like a transition film since there will be one person involved with the final two episodes. If that's the case, it makes sense to give the final two movies over to a single filmmaker who can both write and direct. The pre-production on Episode VII hit a speed bump when Abrams decided to throw out Michael Arndt's script and write a new one with Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back). Having the writer and director on Episode VIII be the same person might help prevent unexpected rewrites.


Rian Johnson to Direct Star Wars: Episode VIII, Will Write Treatment for Episode IX
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Update: May 22, 2014

Gareth Edwards to Direct First STAR WARS Anthology Film

Press Release: In addition to the episodes of a new Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm and Disney have begun development on multiple stand-alone movies that will offer new stories beyond the core Saga. Gareth Edwards will direct the first stand-alone film, with a screenplay by Gary Whitta. The film is due out December 16, 2016.

Gareth Edwards blazed into the filmmaking forefront with his acclaimed work on Monsters, a film he wrote, directed and served on as cinematographer and visual effects artist. The skill and vision readily apparent in Monsters earned him the high-profile spot directing this year's smash hit Godzilla.

"Ever since I saw Star Wars I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life - join the Rebel Alliance! I could not be more excited & honored to go on this mission with Lucasfilm, said Edwards.

Gary Whittas screenwriting credits include 2010s The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington. He is also well known as a journalist and editor in the video game industry, as well as part of the BAFTA award-winning team on Telltale Games adaptation of The Walking Dead.
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Update: April 25, 2014

New STAR WARS Films Won't Use Previous Expanded Universe

Press Release: For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

Now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of Star Wars, all aspects ofStar Wars storytelling moving forward will be connected. Under Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's direction, the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all Star Wars creative development.

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.

 

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