Disney buys Lucasfilm; Star Wars Episode 7 coming in 2015

[ariich]

I like the idea of making episodes 7-9 as Lucas has always had a basic story for those, so it would be good to complete his vision of the saga. I just hope it's done well.

I don't think you should believe what Lucas says about having nine movies worked out in the least.

I remember reading an interview with Lucas in Rolling Stone when ROTJ came out, and there was a discussion going on about how to make Luke mad enough to fight Vader. And Lucas says, I got it, Leia's really his sister, and Vader will threaten her! Lucas didn't have an overreaching arc for the entire series when he wrote Star Wars-hell, it became "Episode Four-A New Hope" after the fact, when the sequel was green lit (To this day, I call the movie that came out in 1977 Star Wars, because that's what it was called when it came out.) Any overarching storyline came later, and it's clear from how the prequels worked out that he had neither those OR any follow ups written. Lucas claims that Vader was meant to be Luke's father from the start, but earlier drafts of Star Wars had Darth Vader as just a general for the Empire with no connection to Luke at all.

That's why Lucas is always changing the movies. They've never stopped being a moving target where the stories are concerned.

I don't expect him to have all the detail, like he didn't with the prequels either, but I remember being a kid a long time before the prequels came out being told that Lucas had basic stories for trilogies before and after the originals.

[Perpetual Change]

I like the idea of making episodes 7-9 as Lucas has always had a basic story for those, so it would be good to complete his vision of the saga. I just hope it's done well.

I don't think you should believe what Lucas says about having nine movies worked out in the least.

I remember reading an interview with Lucas in Rolling Stone when ROTJ came out, and there was a discussion going on about how to make Luke mad enough to fight Vader. And Lucas says, I got it, Leia's really his sister, and Vader will threaten her! Lucas didn't have an overreaching arc for the entire series when he wrote Star Wars-hell, it became "Episode Four-A New Hope" after the fact, when the sequel was green lit (To this day, I call the movie that came out in 1977 Star Wars, because that's what it was called when it came out.) Any overarching storyline came later, and it's clear from how the prequels worked out that he had neither those OR any follow ups written. Lucas claims that Vader was meant to be Luke's father from the start, but earlier drafts of Star Wars had Darth Vader as just a general for the Empire with no connection to Luke at all.

That's why Lucas is always changing the movies. They've never stopped being a moving target where the stories are concerned.

Great points, all. People are still shocked when I remind them that Episodes V and VI weren't directed by Lucas.

[chrisbDTM]

[yorost]

An over arching story is just a general plot outline. Hell, even Luke and Leia being twins is a somewhat minor detail in the over all scheme.

They KISSED!!!

[Adami]

An over arching story is just a general plot outline. Hell, even Luke and Leia being twins is a somewhat minor detail in the over all scheme.

They KISSED!!!

Yes, it was hot.

[jingle.boy]

Didn't the second G.I. Joe film get postponed because of The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises?

No, it got postponed because test audiences shat all over it.  They'd been marketing the fuck out of it, then all of a sudden pulled the plug to re-shoot for more Channing Tatum and 3D.  It's not like all of a sudden some studio exec JUST realized 5 weeks before it was supposed to show that there was lots of other blockbusters coming out in June/July.

It was headed for a Battleship-like flop.

[yorost]

I thought Battleship sunk.

[jingle.boy]

Lucas claims that Vader was meant to be Luke's father from the start, but earlier drafts of Star Wars had Darth Vader as just a general for the Empire with no connection to Luke at all.

I'd never heard that. 

In Leigh Brackett's original draft of the script, Darth Vader was not Luke's father. The character of Anakin Skywalker actually appeared in the film as a Force ghost to train Luke. Anakin's characterization was later split into the characters of Yoda, and to allow Obi-Wan Kenobi to appear in the film.

I thought Battleship sunk.

Exactly.

[The Dark Master]

I am cautiously optimistic about this right now.  Frankly, I really do not see how Disney could ruin Star Wars any worse then Lucas already has.  The prequels ended up being mostly crap partially due to his desire to tell a fairly complex story that he didn't really know how to write, and partially because all he truly wanted out of them was an excuse to make a shit-ton of new toys.  The fact of the matter is that Star Wars as a franchise, while magical in the beginning, has been primarily about selling toys at least since ROTJ, and possibly even earlier.  The saga has become so cheapened at this point, it almost doesn't matter what they do with it.  As much as I love some parts of the extended universe, (the Thrawn Trilogy and most of the X-Wing novels/comics/games) there was a lot of shit in there too (Young/Junior Jedi Knights, almost everything written by Kevin J Anderson, most of the New Jedi Order, and pretty much everything in the Clone Wars sub-franchise), and at this point it is so bloated and self-contradictory, I wouldn't really be all too sad if it were abandoned.

Considering how well Disney has handled Pixar and Marvel the last few years (and I also really liked Tron: Legacy), I would not be surprised at all if some good comes out of this.  Maybe we will see the original, unaltered trilogy finally get a proper DVD/Blu-Ray release.  Maybe Disney will take some cues from the fans and turn the Thrawn trilogy into the next films.  Of course, it could all become a massive clusterfuck, but honestly, considering the state Lucas has left the Star Wars saga in, I doubt I could possibly be disappointed by comparison with anything Disney does to the franchise.

[DebraKadabra]

Yeah, me neither. I mean, the absolute worst case scenario is that Disney gets JJ Abrams to direct this, and it's three 80-minute high-budget nostalgia trips staring a familiar cast of premier actors.

Oh please God NO.

[WindMaster]

If they carry on the story from ROTJ, then I might actually watch it. In fact, I'll probably see it anyway, but if they pick up from where they left off, it'll probably be pretty good.

[yorost]

https://www.eonline.com/news/358685/star-wars-7-plot-will-be-an-original-story-says-lucasfilm-source

Princess Leia and Han Solo also play heavily into the Thrawn Trilogy, popping out a pair of twins (of course) among other things. As for the name Thrawn, well, that refers to a grand admiral with imperial sympathies who takes over as the leader of the vanquished enemy faction.

So is that the basis for Episode 7 or not? I've heard directly from LucasFilm and other sources close to the picture, and they say: Definitely not.

"It's an original story," a LucasFilm source tells me.

In other words, forget the Star Wars novels. Forget the graphic novels. Forget everything you think you know about what happens to Luke Skywalker. According to my sources, Episode 7 will literally be nothing you've ever seen or read before from the Star Wars universe.

[Super Dude]

Yep, who was the one that prophesied the Expanded Universe's impending death?

[zepp-head]

Well the fact that it won't be EU junk may just be the silver lining of this whole ordeal.

I kinda hope it's in an entirely different setting, even if Artoo is still there.  Because there is no possible way to continue the story of the original saga without lessening the resolution that occurs in Return of the Jedi or unwriting it entirely.  Lucas said himself the story has nowhere to go.  Luke's journey is complete, Vader and the Emperor (and Boba Fett, to hell with the EU) are dead.  I personally don't care if there happen to be Star Destroyers still out there somewhere, or the Empire still controls some worlds out there, everything notable is done. 

To bring the Sith or the Empire back diminishes what has been established.

I hope I can enjoy the new films, but for now I want nothing to do with them.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

I'm thrilled that Disney has made this move. Can't wait to see the new films. Though I would much rather prefer a reboot.

[XJDenton]

They should do an old republic era film.

[DebraKadabra]

https://www.eonline.com/news/358685/star-wars-7-plot-will-be-an-original-story-says-lucasfilm-source

Princess Leia and Han Solo also play heavily into the Thrawn Trilogy, popping out a pair of twins (of course) among other things. As for the name Thrawn, well, that refers to a grand admiral with imperial sympathies who takes over as the leader of the vanquished enemy faction.

So is that the basis for Episode 7 or not? I've heard directly from LucasFilm and other sources close to the picture, and they say: Definitely not.

"It's an original story," a LucasFilm source tells me.

In other words, forget the Star Wars novels. Forget the graphic novels. Forget everything you think you know about what happens to Luke Skywalker. According to my sources, Episode 7 will literally be nothing you've ever seen or read before from the Star Wars universe.

That's actually not really surprising, considering how old the original cast is.  I also hope none of them make cameos in 7/8/9.

[Super Dude]

They should do an old republic era film.

I'm inclined to agree. I'd love to see something after Darth Bane goes into hiding, just to see if they can manage a Star Wars storyline that doesn't have anything to do with the Sith.

[The Dark Master]

If they are going to do new films, they should take place as far away from the existing six as possible.  A direct sequel to IV/V/VI won't work because Mark, Carrie and Harrison are all way to old to play their characters, but at the same time are too closely associated with them to simply be recast and replaced.  If they want to set the new movie after ROTJ, I think it should be set at least 30 years after, if not much more so (50-100+ years).  That way, the new film jumps over most of the post-ROTJ EU and doesn't conflict with the established "canon", and leaves the doors open for all new characters and adventures.  Films taking place before TPM would be a good choice too, as much of that era has not really been explored in depth within the EU and is a complete blank slate as far as stories and characters are concerned.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Leia is a Disney princess now.

[yorost]

If they're calling it Episode VII, shouldn't we assume it's going to be a continuation of the previous VI?  They can recast roles if they need to.

[Adami]

If they're calling it Episode VII, shouldn't we assume it's going to be a continuation of the previous VI?  They can recast roles if they need to.

I agree minus the recasting ideas.

It being episode VII pretty much assures it won't be set any time before ROTJ.

[jammindude]

If they are going to do new films, they should take place as far away from the existing six as possible.  A direct sequel to IV/V/VI won't work because Mark, Carrie and Harrison are all way to old to play their characters, but at the same time are too closely associated with them to simply be recast and replaced.  If they want to set the new movie after ROTJ, I think it should be set at least 30 years after, if not much more so (50-100+ years).  That way, the new film jumps over most of the post-ROTJ EU and doesn't conflict with the established "canon", and leaves the doors open for all new characters and adventures.  Films taking place before TPM would be a good choice too, as much of that era has not really been explored in depth within the EU and is a complete blank slate as far as stories and characters are concerned.

Mark Hamill is too old to play Luke at 30.   But he's not too old to play Luke at 60.

Do you think these characters never age?   Canon has already expressed that they do.   This isn't The Simpsons you know. 

I think it would be PERFECT to have as much of the original cast as possible playing their characters 50 years later.   Maybe not as part of the *action*...but (as someone hinted before) as more of the older guides....ala Obi Wan in the OT. 

[DebraKadabra]

I respectfully disagree - I think they need to distance the new movies as far away from the original trilogy and prequels as possible, regardless if they decide to go to the past or to the future.

[PetFish]

I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do but I hope they treat the new movies as more of a reboot.  The current cinematic "style" was perfect for 1977-83, but not good for 1999-2005, and would be terrible now.

They just don't do things fast enough (ie. force-lifting their lightsaber off of the ground into their hand).  We all know what The Force is and what it can do, so let's see it, watching Yoda struggle to catch garbage thrown at him from Dooku just doesn't work.  With his Force power he should own it.

I'd love to see a Force: Unleashed style, everything is bigger, faster, and badass.  We all know the basics of the Star Wars universe by now so let's see what they can do and how far they can push themselves.

Until it actually gets made and released and I see it with my own eyes, I'm not going to think bad things or good things, that's not fair.  I have high hopes, for sure, but I'll just have to wait and see.

[Super Dude]

I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do but I hope they treat the new movies as more of a reboot.  The current cinematic "style" was perfect for 1977-83, but not good for 1999-2005, and would be terrible now.

They just don't do things fast enough (ie. force-lifting their lightsaber off of the ground into their hand).  We all know what The Force is and what it can do, so let's see it, watching Yoda struggle to catch garbage thrown at him from Dooku just doesn't work.  With his Force power he should own it.

I'd love to see a Force: Unleashed style, everything is bigger, faster, and badass.  We all know the basics of the Star Wars universe by now so let's see what they can do and how far they can push themselves.

Until it actually gets made and released and I see it with my own eyes, I'm not going to think bad things or good things, that's not fair.  I have high hopes, for sure, but I'll just have to wait and see.

I don't understand that. For the 1999 one sure, but I always thought the feel of the 2002 and 2005 release were lightyears removed from the classics. And in fact I thought that was one of their many failings (and that was unfortunately not enough to save TPM).

[Ħ]

I respectfully disagree - I think they need to distance the new movies as far away from the original trilogy and prequels as possible, regardless if they decide to go to the past or to the future.

While I agree with other sentiments that they shouldn't recast or build a story around Luke, Leia, and Han, I think that continuity and "big picture" themes are still necessary. Otherwise, it's just an independent movie that uses Star Wars gimmicks.

It may be too early to predict what the movie is going to be like, but I can totally see Disney keeping R2D2 and C3PO as the comic relief characters.

[PetFish]

Well, Super Dude, maybe I used "cinematic style" wrong but I mentioned it later: the "Star Wars" style is just too damn slow-moving and too kid-friendly.

I know that's what Lucas was going for but kids now handle things way differently than in the 70's and 80's, what with gadgets and multi-tasking everywhere.  Just think about how long it takes for Yoda and Dooku to actually bring out their sabers... too much talking and lame throwing things.  We know the basics of what they can do already so get to the action and show us something new and exciting... like the action in the video games and comic books but in movie form.

The only real example I can think of what I'm talking about is when Sidious is tossing around those huge senate pods at Yoda.  It was effortless and fast and made much more in awe of his power.  That's what I want to see The Force do.

What I *don't* want to see is Yoda having to stop, close his eyes, start spinning one pod, and then throwing a knuckle ball at Sidious... while Sidious for some reason just watches Yoda for the 15s it takes for this to all go down.  Or Obiwan winding up and *HUH* THROWING the tracker onto Slave 1 when he could have much more easily and cool'ly just Force'd it up there with his mind.

Finally, I want to see kick-ass Force-user chicks in action.

[Perpetual Change]

Well, Super Dude, maybe I used "cinematic style" wrong but I mentioned it later: the "Star Wars" style is just too damn slow-moving and too kid-friendly.

I know that's what Lucas was going for but kids now handle things way differently than in the 70's and 80's, what with gadgets and multi-tasking everywhere.  Just think about how long it takes for Yoda and Dooku to actually bring out their sabers... too much talking and lame throwing things.  We know the basics of what they can do already so get to the action and show us something new and exciting... like the action in the video games and comic books but in movie form.

Yeah, most of the next generation have grown up "with gadgets and multi-tasking everywhere", but that doesn't mean we all have ADD. The witty dialogue between and during fights is what made Avengers awesome. And, what people loved about Inception wasn't that there was shooting, but that it made you think. Same goes for the new Batman movies. The final duel in Return of the Jedi would be boring by your standards ("too much talking and lame throwing things"), but I still find it way more intriguing and exciting than the hyper-climactic overload that was Anakin's and Obi-Wan's volcano dance.

I'd continue on, but I just disagree with almost everything you've stated in your post, and thinking about refuting it makes me a sad panda.

[Adami]

One of the things that made the original trilogy great, WAS all the talking.

I mean seriously, the saber fights between Vader and Kenobi, or Vader and Luke were way better than just about any fight from the prequels. Why? Because they had a purpose, they had heart and passion. Tons of crazy action just is shallow by itself. Look at the new Transformers movies. What happened? Who cares, it was just a bunch of noise and eye candy, none of it mattered. But I'll always remember the saber fights in the original trilogy, despite not remembering almost anything about the fights from the prequels.

[Perpetual Change]

That transformer's comparison is great, Adami. Totally on the money.

You know, I can remember a bunch of lines and memorable conversations from episodes 4-6; everything from "Let the Wookie win" to "You're a scruffy-looking nerve-hurter" to "I love you/I know". In addition, I have a vivid recollection of the big duels at the end of each movie.

By contrast, I can remember none of the dialog from the prequels, and few of the fight scenes.

[Adami]

That transformer's comparison is great, Adami. Totally on the money.

You know, I can remember a bunch of lines and memorable conversations from episodes 4-6; everything from "Let the Wookie win" to "You're a scruffy-looking nerve-hurter" to "I love you/I know". In addition, I have a vivid recollection of the big duels at the end of each movie.

By contrast, I can remember none of the dialog from the prequels, and few of the fight scenes.

Well first, "I know" has gone down in history as the greatest response to "I love you". Pretty sure Harrison ad libbed it, didn't he?

Second, I'm sure there's at least 2 lines you know, even if not word for word. "Sand is course and gets everywhere, not like you" Or whatever and the most infamous "NOooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

[ResultsMayVary]

That transformer's comparison is great, Adami. Totally on the money.

You know, I can remember a bunch of lines and memorable conversations from episodes 4-6; everything from "Let the Wookie win" to "You're a scruffy-looking nerve-hurter" to "I love you/I know". In addition, I have a vivid recollection of the big duels at the end of each movie.

By contrast, I can remember none of the dialog from the prequels, and few of the fight scenes.

Well first, "I know" has gone down in history as the greatest response to "I love you". Pretty sure Harrison ad libbed it, didn't he?

Yep.

[Perpetual Change]

I remember more about this game than I do anything from The Phantom Menace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z896Fj6oeM&feature=related

[jingle.boy]

I hope I can enjoy the new films, but for now I want nothing to do with them.

Geez man, it's a fictional world/universe.  Movies are meant to entertain.  You seem way to 'invested' into the integrity of the Star Wars movie plot-lines.  There's any number of ways to continue the story of an entire galaxy at war.

If it is Episode VII, then it should chronologically be some series of events related to, and after ROTJ.  If it's just a 'seventh movie', the idea of an Old Republic era movie puts a smile in my pants.

As for some of the past few posts, I agree that the story and plot of TOS is far superior to the prequels.  However, for the prequels, Lucas freely admitted (I remember seeing him say this in an interview... forget his exact words though) that his style and vision was more as a visual film-maker given where technology was.  He no longer (for these movies) considered himself to be a literary film-maker.  He totally knew he was just putting together eye-candy.  And I for one was ok with that.