Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Second Teaser

Ooh, I am getting pretty excited about this one. I didn't think I was going to be, but I definitely am.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - First Teaser

I don't know about you, but I am intrigued.





One thing I am a bit curious about is John Boyega. If he is a Stormtrooper does that mean the clones were eliminated? Or have civilians gained the chance to join alongside the clones?
Another thing I am curious about is this Sith creature. Is it human? Is it some form of life? Either way, that lightsaber looks pretty creative. 

#TheForceAwakens #StarWars #EpisodeVII

David Fincher turned down Star Wars: Episode VII

J.J. Abrams ultimately landed the job as director of the new Star Wars film, but he apparently wasn't Disney's first choice. Director David Fincher is in the spotlight right now due to the press surrounding Gone Girl, but the director recently revealed that he had been approached to direct Episode VII and also explained why he turned it down.

Fincher revealed that he did meet with producer Kathleen Kennedy but also went into detail about why he turned down the project. Apparently, Fincher didn't feel that he could properly go into the dark aspects of the franchise with just one film and didn't think he could do anything similar to The Empire Strikes Back.

This isn't terribly surprising as just about every director in Hollywood was approached for Episode VII. Not to mention that Fincher doesn't really seem like a good fit for a franchise like this. You win some, you lose some.

Did the plot for Episode VII just leak?

If this is true I must say I am rather disappointed that we found out this early because it sounds pretty awesome. The following paragraphs will contain potential spoilers about Star Wars Episode VII, so proceed with caution if you want to be spoiler free.



You have been warned.





Badass Digest is reporting that the plot, and a lot of script details, for Star Wars Episode VII have leaked. Included in this leak are key plot points, characters, and the overall flow of events. It even details an opening scene. Now, keep in mind that this is all a rumor at this point but also remember that it could very well turn out to be true.

According to this leak, we will see the familiar Star Wars credit roll and it pans to find a floating, severed hand in space with a lightsaber in its grip. It lands on a desert planet and is discovered by the film's heroes to be played by John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Boyega is apparently playing a character trying to change the course of his life (familiar enough). The pair recognize the lightsaber as an old Jedi relic and decide to return it to its rightful place.
The quest leads them to Han Solo and Chewbacca where they recognize the relic as Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and mention they haven't seen Luke since the events of Return of the Jedi which happened 30 years prior. Meanwhile, there is an evil force on a nearby frozen planet is developing a weapon capable of destroying entire solar systems, not just planets.


One thing that this plot reminds me of is A New Hope. It's almost like Luke stumbling across R2-D2 on Tatooine only it's characters stumbling across a severed hand. One thing it does reinforce, if it's true, is that John Boyega is indeed the main character of this new trilogy. It also is curious to think that Han and Leia are married, but they haven't seen Luke in 30 years? Also wondering, does Luke not develop a new Jedi academy? If lightsabers and Jedi tales are still considered relics that is somewhat curious.
I find this plot interesting enough, but I want a little bit more before I make a full judgment. Something about opening a movie with a severed hand is a bit odd.

[Rumor] Oscar Isaac to make up for lack of Han Solo

The Star Wars rumors just keep on trucking along.

The newest thing to hit is that Oscar Isaac's role is going to be expanded to make up for a lack of Harrison Ford in Episode VII. Due to Ford's injury sustained on set, the script has gone through a minor rewrite to expand other characters to make up for his absence. The initial info we got was that Han Solo was a major character and was going to be in the film a lot. But, with Ford's injury keeping him sidelined for at least 8-weeks it is very possible that instead of delaying production they just decided to expand other characters.
What this says to me, if it's true, is that Isaac's character is on Solo's side. If he's taking over some of the responsibilities that would have been on Ford I assume their characters must be pretty similar or it wouldn't work.

Other sources are claiming that Isaac won't take on more responsibilities but that production is just shifting the order of things to save a majority of Ford's scenes until later on. Basically... what was set to be filmed later will be filmed sooner and vice versa.











Source

Star Wars Episode VII could be delayed

Disney has been pretty insistent that Episode VII will make its December 2015 release date despite the injury to Harrison Ford. New rumors circling around the project are contradicting this saying it's very likely the film won't make the release date.

Harrison Ford was released from a London hospital today after receiving surgery for a broken leg sustained on the set. We learned last week that the injury would sideline Ford for a minimum of 8 weeks. Disney immediately came out to make a statement saying the release date was not in jeopardy and that filming was set to resume as normal. ScreenCrush is claiming that a production meeting in England raised concerns and proposed a delay of the film's release to allow Ford proper time to recuperate.
Disney has not commented on this incident again, so take this as a rumor. Either way there is bound to be some scheduling issues with Ford out of the picture for two months. He apparently had a major role in the film, so unless they can do a quick re-write to incorporate the injury or back-off his involvement, I'm sure the usage of body doubles is bound to happen unless they are willing to delay production.

This isn't the first time this has happened, either. As many online are stating, a similar event happened during filming of Iron Man 3 when Robert Downey Jr. broke his ankle on set. Filming shut down for a week and then resumed with the usage of body doubles for wide shots and scenes that didn't involve Downey so he could heal as much as possible.
If they do wind up having to delay the release it would be somewhat funny and ironic because director J.J. Abrams initially had squabbles with Disney over the release date. He claimed a December 2015 release was too quick and they needed to delay to 2016. If they slap a delay on Episode VII I don't think Abrams will necessarily be unhappy. It might be a blessing in disguise.

Rian Johnson to direct Star Wars Episode VIII

Rian Johnson has been confirmed to write the script for Star Wars: Episode VIII and also will write a treatment for Star Wars: Episode IX. Johnson will apparently be directing VIII and potentially IX as well, so I guess that means J.J. Abrams will walk away after Episode VII.

Episode VII will no doubt lay the groundwork for Episodes VIII and IX in terms of catching us up on Luke, Leia, and Han as well as introducing all of our new characters. This is somewhat interesting because a lot of people, including myself, assumed that J.J. Abrams was taking over Star Wars and would be directing the new trilogy in its entirety. However, with Johnson being involved with the last two episodes as a writer and director this could prevent a lot of hurdles that have come into play with VII, so far. The main example is writer Michael Arndt being booted from the film and having the script completely re-written by Lawrence Kasdan and J.J. Abrams. With Johnson writing both VIII and IX, that will boost up continuity and severely decreases the risk of massive re-writes and firings.

If you're unfamiliar with Rian Johnson you can't really be blamed because he only has three directing credits (Looper, The Brother's Bloom, Brick) and a couple television credits (Breaking Bad, Terriers). His writing credits are just as small and the only include the three movies he's directed and a couple short films. I was personally disappointed with Looper, but I think he has the potential to make decent Star Wars movies. It seems that Disney is mainly seeking out directors with a science fiction background, so they're at least trying to stick to the genre.

Harrison Ford out for 8 weeks?

It was confirmed last week that Harrison Ford sustained an ankle injury during on the set of Star Wars Episode VII. He was reported to be receiving care at a local hospital after a set piece fell on him. There is news now that the injury could sideline him for up to 8 weeks.

Rumors stated that it was the door of the Millennium Falcon that landed on Ford at Pinewood Studios in England, but that hasn't been confirmed. He was airlifted to an area hospital where he's been recuperating. Due to the project's ensemble cast filming has resumed as normal, but with this news there is no telling how long they can postpone any scenes with Han Solo. But with the magic of body doubles and and CGI I don't think this is anything to fret over.

JJ Abrams responds to leaked Star Wars images

TMZ was busy the past couple days leaking almost 100 set photos from Star Wars Episode VII including the Millennium Falcon being built. Well, apparently being built. Director JJ Abrams has gone to Twitter to respond to the leaks:

That picture was posted on Bad Robot's Twitter page (here) and shows that he is trying to do his best to keep things a little under the tarp. It seems that the trend these days is to spoil just about everything in a movie before it's even released. This note sent by Abrams is a polite way of saying, stop stealing our shit.

Star Wars Episode VII set photos leak already

Leave it to TMZ. The gossip website that you can't seem to hide anything from has leaked 45 set photos from the production of Star Wars Episode VII. There are too many to post on here and they're all watermarked, so head on over to TMZ to take a look.

I hope you're all prepared to go back to Tatooine and back to some practical effects.

Star Wars spin-off to be directed by Gareth Edwards

The Godzilla train seems to be very prosperous for all involved. Director Gareth Edwards has apparently landed the director's chair for an upcoming Star Wars spin-off. This spin-off is set to hit theaters on December 16, 2016 which is almost exactly one year after Star Wars Episode VII.

In addition to this, a sequel to Godzilla was recently confirmed as well as a rumored third Godzilla film. Apparently Edwards is still attached to those films but there is no telling how quick those will be happening.  Legendary CEO Thomas Tull assured fans that a second Godzilla is still years away.
Due to how secretive the new Star Wars projects are being kept there is no telling which film Edwards is going to direct. However, rumor has it that Disney is planning spin-offs which will feature Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Yoda.

Filming officially starts for Star Wars Episode VII

Enough said =^D

Star Wars Episode VII cast revealed!

It is a few days before the expected May the 4th announcement, but we do have an official rock-solid casting announcement for Star Wars Episode VII as well as a photo.

Our initial casting announcement for the upcoming continuation of the Star Wars saga includes:

Harrison Ford
Carrie Fisher
Mark Hamill
Anthony Daniels
Kenny Baker
Peter Mayhew
John Boyega
Daisy Ridley
Oscar Isaac
Adam Driver
Andy Serkis
Domhnall Gleeson
Max von Sydow


You may recognize the first six names as they are Star Wars veterans. Ford is reprising the role of Han Solo, Fisher is reprising Leia Organa, Hamill returns to Luke Skywalker, Mayhew will don the Chewbacca suit again, Anthony Daniels will come back as C-3PO, and Baker will go "back in the can" as R2-D2. It has been rumored for months that these actors would be reprising these roles, so it is a rather welcome confirmation.
The new faces have yet to have any roles attached to them, but there is a lot of speculation that the leads have gone to John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. It was already previously "confirmed" that Adam Driver would be playing a villain so that is pretty much set. As for Oscar Isaac, it is a toss up as he can easily portray a protagonist or a villain. It is also expected that Andy Serkis will be in a motion capture suit. He has been praised as the best motion capture actor of the modern film age, so it would be a bit silly to utilize him in anything else. All I ask is that he isn't a Gungan. Let's just hope the Gungans are extinct by now.
You might recognize Boyega from Attack the Block (if you saw it) and Imperial Dreams. Isaac recently starred in Inside Llewyn Davis and is also known for Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch.  Adam Driver is known from the HBO series Girls as well as Inside Llewyn Davis. Andy Serkis, of course, is known for The Lord of the Rings saga as well as the new Planet of the Apes films.

Now, keep in mind that this is just the initial announcement. I am positive we will slowly be receiving more casting news and other information about characters in the following weeks. J.J. Abrams mentioned in the announcement that filming starts in a few weeks.

Just for fun, here are some names that did not show up in this announcement. I am not completely ruling anyone out just yet.

Benedict Cumberbatch
Zac Efron
Jesse Plemons
Lupita Nyong'o
Hugo Weaving
Miles Teller
Gary Oldman
Saoirse Ronan
Alex Pettyfer
Michael Fassbender

Honestly, the list goes on. Practically every actor on the planet read for this movie. The interesting thing for me is the fact that we have no kids yet. Each announced actor so far is over the age of 21. Either way, we will find out soon. Star Wars Episode VII is set for theaters on December 18, 2015.

Star Wars Episode VII budget revealed; casting almost complete

Disney Chairman Alan Horn has been giving some information regarding Star Wars Episode VII. Some are still speculating a full announcement regarding casting and whatnot will happen on May 4th (aka, May the Fourth be with You). Either way, it is coming soon as principal photography starts in May. However, for now we have some news on the budget, filming, and casting.

Horn revealed that the budget Disney has granted the film will range between $175 and $200 million. This includes Episodes VII, VIII, and IX as well as any potential spin-off movies. This shows that Disney is being a bit more cautious with their money after the flops of John Carter ($250 million) and The Lone Ranger ($215 million). This also puts the Star Wars franchise on track with the Marvel films in terms of budget and will give J.J. Abrams his biggest budget yet as Star Trek Into Darkness only topped at $190 million.
He also gave some info regarding the casting which is still not 100% completed but is evidently close. The only thing that worries me in terms of casting is how much preparation is needed for any physical scenes. I recall the actors signing contracts for Episode I back in 1997 and the film wasn't released until 1999. Similar things went down for Episodes II and III because the actors had to train for lightsaber battles and fight scenes. If they are casting people just weeks prior to shooting I am nervous about preparation and quality. Either that or the budget is going full CGI.
As for the news that Episode VII had already started filming, he did confirm that second unit filming has already begun. George Lucas is also consulting with Abrams, so let's hope that isn't a sign of another shit storm.

Horn also gave some insight on future releases and stated that the tradition of May release dates might be returning for Episodes VIII and IX. The main reason for the December release of Episode VII is primarily because Disney refused to grant Abrams any extra time. They wanted it out in 2015 and told him to get it done.


Patience. We must have patience.

Chewbacca will be in Episode VII; Peter Mayhew cast

Casting is slowly leeching out for Star Wars Episode VII. We got word today that Peter Mayhew will be reprising the role of Chewbacca, Han Solo's wookiee pal, in Episode VII. There are no other details on what importance he will play but we do know that he will be in it.

Chewbacca was in the original trilogy and made a cameo appearance in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith when Yoda visited his home planet of Kashyyyk. Rumors that original trilogy cast members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill will return are still running rampant. It is possible that they could appear in cameo roles along with Chewbacca. I'm personally not banking on him having a major role in this new movie. Unless Wookiees don't ever age or something.

Many are predicting a full casting announcement will be coming on May 4th due to the fact that it is Star Wars Day (aka, May the Fourth be with You), so we shall wait and see.

Star Wars Episode VII has begun filming

Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn dropped a small bomb the other day by revealing that Star Wars Episode VII has already begun shooting. He also noted casting is nearly complete and stated that was the most difficult part so far.

Check out the video below.

Lupita Nyong'o for Star Wars?

Even more casting rumors ahead.

Reports claim that Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o has met with J.J. Abrams for an undisclosed role in Star Wars Episode VII. Nyong'o just won an Oscar for her role in 12 Years a Slave at the beginning of the month and recently starred in Non-Stop. Rumor has it the role is a "non-Caucasian descendent of Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Previously we learned of a short-list of male actors up for the coveted lead role, so it is possible that there is a female lead we don't know much about yet.

Star Wars Episode VII casting shortlist narrowed down

We still don't have any official casting news for Star Wars Episode VII, other than Adam Driver apparently being cast as the villain, but rumor has it the shortlist for the highly coveted male lead has been narrowed down to five actors. This list includes Jesse Plemons, John Boyega, and Ed Speleers. Some lists also include theater actors Matthew James Thomas and Ray Fisher.

You might not recognize any of these guys except for Jesse Plemons who gained a rather cult following due to his role as Todd on Breaking Bad. I recognize all of them except for the theater guys simply because I've seen both Attack the Block and Eragon. Boyega hasn't been in anything too mainstream since Attack the Block while Speleers has been a series regular on the award winning series Downton Abbey since 2012. Either way, we should hear official news on Episode VII soon as production is set to begin in May and go through September.  It is currently set for theatrical release on December 18, 2015.

Star Wars filming dates set for 2014

We still don't have official casting news, but we learned today that Star Wars Episode VII will be shooting from May through September in London. This shoot gives the production enough time to finish principal photography in enough time for the December 2015 release along with allowing time for reshoots, post-production, and special effects.

Seeing that it's already February, I would expect some solid casting news in the next month or so. They might hold us off until April but either way it has to be coming soon enough.

[Rumor] Jesse Plemons sought for Episode VII

It's getting closer and closer to filming for Star Wars: Episode VII and with that we are bound to get some more casting and plot rumors. The latest is that Jesse Plemons, most recently known as Todd in Breaking Bad, is being eyed for a male lead as the offspring of Luke Skywalker.

I want to make it clear that he has not been cast yet. The reports are that he has been called back for another audition and/or screen test with J.J. Abrams. This does not mean he will be cast and it doesn't mean he won't be. This is all pretty much blowing smoke at this point, but I figured it was worth mentioning for the sheer fact that he would be a pretty believable as a Skywalker. Depending on the picture Plemons does resemble Mark Hamill a bit. However, I think if this role is supposed to be a teenage role and will potentially last three movies that he is a bit old. He will be 26 this year and I'm not trying to say he looks old for his age, but he definitely doesn't have a baby face. It won't be believable that he is a young teenager.

I bet we will get more info on Episode VII in the next couple of months regardless. They can't keep people waiting forever.


What do you think about Jesse Plemons potentially being cast in Star Wars? Is he a good fit or a bad fit?