Star Wars: Episode VII

And wouldn't they have to have to technically get the rights from those authors to use any of their ideas? I don't see Disney doing that.

Just give us the original planed stories.

 

I will bet dollars to doughnut holes that Han dies in this film. Harrison has been very vocal that he wanted Han to die in Return of the Jedi, sacrificing himself for the others. Kasdan also wanted someone to die early in the film.

He will indeed be 73, so there are no guarantees he would be around for sequels. I think he has returned to finish Han's story arc like he always wanted to. I have no insider information and have not read any blogs. This is just my guess.

 

Totally agree, I said to my wife when they announced they were going to film the next part, that Han was going to be polished off. The stories are about Jedis, he's a secondary character in that respect. The added emotional resonance will provide some sort of momentum into the next film.

 

I’ve seen bits and pieces of this from behind the scenes footage of Star Wars. Do you have any links to a compilation of this stuff? I’ve always been interested in hearing what Chewie has to say.

Edit: Just saw your post about the documentary. I will seek it out.

 

I'll bet Lando is the new Darth Vader. Why? Don't know. He went mad or something and now wants everyone to think he's Darth Vader so he has street cred or something. They have to figure out how to bring Vader back as there are millions of dollars in merchandising at stake.

Years ago I also proclaimed Mon Mothma to be Padme in hiding and look where that got me.

Maybe she was cloned from Padme.

 

As a kid, I would have HATED it if Han died in ROTJ. I always hated it when a character I liked died. Now that I’m older, I kind of wish he had died. It would have been an interesting thing for the story. Reading some of the early drafts for that movie is very interesting! There is a fight on a Mustafar-like lava planet. Maybe it wouldn’t have gone down as well in the film, but it sounds like a cool alternate.

Speaking of alternate Star Wars, I want to get the Dark Horse comics that have been released that are based entirely on the first draft of Star Wars. They seem like they would be an interesting read.

 

These may well be entertaining blockbusters, but I expect a lot of froth with very little substance. The thing that energized us all about Star Wars and Empire was that both those films created something new in terms of a cinematic experience, and Empire in particular gave us characters and ideas we could invest in emotionally. If we get the latter from these films, that will be satisfying enough. I'm slightly encouraged that Lawrence Kasdan has had some input, but I wish Gary Kurtz had some hand in producing.

 

I think it may be younger fans that want that. I doubt many who saw the originals as kids/teens when they came out even read the Expanded Universe books. I certainlyhad no desire to.

 

I dont know if Hans will die off; but I do think the older characters, the big three, will either make or break this first sequel. What I dont want to happen is for the old characters to stick around for all three movies. Let them be the mentors through this first one. Give us some of what we want from the old days until the new characters and younger characters get established as part of our SW psychie. Then kill Hans off. Or better yet--a cliff hanger. There needs to be a surprise on the level of "I am your father..". A "Who Killed Hans????" (Ala "Who killed JR???") type thing.

If they can pull it off without it looking silly; I think the action that the original three could have would be cool. Make Leia so badass that she just raises her hand like Darth and peoples throats are crushed. A couple of quick no look swipes with a lightsaber as she walks down a hallway. Dont have her flipping around doing stunts with some double. Leave a little mystery as to what exactly she can do. Just a thought on the action stuff.

Really though, ultimately, it will be up to the new characters and young actors to pull this off for three films. Whether the three that click are the evil ones or good or a mix of both it doesnt matter; but there must be a connection on a emotional human level. Even Luke and Vader had something we saw as a father/son tragedy in New Hope/Empire/ROTJ.

They can either make the old characters really cool, darker yet funny or they can totally make them cringe worthy. Scarey to wait and wonder which way this film will teeter to.

I liked the first Star Trek remake Abrams did. So Im a fan of that. I think he gave the one thing that the movie did need: Character interaction on a real level. So I was able to over look some of the other aspects that I didnt care for. Im hopeful he will do the same with this film. But leave some of his signature film style out of Star Wars.

Whatever this turns out to be, I think it will be unlike any of the other films. And if its great, then for gosh sakes go back and redo the prequels one day. Re dos would be a cash cow if they did.

 

George insisted they remain kid movies. and we as kids loved them (and every kid will forever). As adults, we all like Empire best for obvious reasons. Originally, the Ewoks were to be a Wookie army (which would have been much better), and killing Han would have made a very emotionally powerful movie.

As is, George Lucas created the greatest film trilogy, fun for kids and adults alike.

 

"Yippiee kai-yea!"

 

I doubt Han dies. Disney already announced that they are going to do more books, cartoons and whatnot. If they killed Han then he couldn't be in those. The prospect of more money would win out over good story.

 

Interesting. That makes sense.

Maybe they'll just leave Han frozen in carbonite this time.

 

Which was essentially George Lucas's reasoning for making Jedi so overly kid-friendly. Star Wars = cash cow. Kurtz, Kasdan and Kershner made Empire a dark character drama, overriding Lucas's intentions, but he was determined to control Jedi completely. Hence the departure of Kurtz and the hiring of a director Lucas could boss around for Jedi.

The point all this crass commercial mentality misses is that this franchise is so big they could take risks dramatically and make more interesting choices, rather than play it safe. I'm extremely concerned that Hamill and Fisher have been so long off-camera that what little acting ability they had is completely gone. And the last couple of films I've seen Ford in, he looked practically asleep.

 

I think both Hamill and Fisher will be just fine. Hamill has been doing so much voice over work in the past twenty years I'm sure he's kept his acting skills intact. As for Fisher, she's probably going to be better now than she was in 1977. After all she's written several good books and is so much more worldly than she was when she first took the role. I think she would do a better job now with all the experiences she's had in her personal life - much more to draw from.

I'm thinking age may make the original cast more interesting to watch, at least I'm hoping so. At least it will make this film worth seeing anyway!

 

Watching Hamill perform his voice work in behind the scenes videos is a treat. He’s a great actor.

 

Sure they can. They've already announced one of the spinoff movies (i.e. not a part of the upcoming trilogy) is a Han Solo solo film. The other is Boba Fett if memory serves.

Even if Han dies in this trilogy, I think the Han spinoff movie is supposed to be an origin story. They can go back and have as many adventures with him as they wanted to, with a younger actor.

 

I think the two spin-off movies mentioned were a 'young' Han Solo film (with Boba Fett) and a Yoda film.

 

So it'll be animated?

 

I'm assuming they're all going to be live action films...

 

It must be impossible to resist putting Han, Luke and Leia in this film. But I think it's got the potential to be distracting to the point of disaster!

As a viewer who grew up with all three movies (born in 1971) there's no way to get around the fact that there will be an adjustment factor to seeing Luke Skywalker as a man in his 60's. It's an iconic character, and one who was always at most a 30 year old man. Handled without care, that could be very distracting! Now times that by three and that's a significant challenge for the film makers to overcome.

 

In the hands of the right writers and director, it could work well, and it's entirely appropriate. Each trilogy is separated by a generation. Obi-Wan is twenty-something up and coming Jedi, and Luke and Leia are just born. A generation later, Obi-Wan is the wise old Jedi. Luke and Leia are young adults, and Luke is starting down the path to becoming a Jedi. A generation later, Luke is the wise old Jedi bestowing his knowledge of the force on a new generation of Jedi.

 

It's laughable that "fans" think Disney is going to let books get in the way of the biggest box office monster of all time. Star Wars is a film franchise, meaning the films are the thing. Not comics, cartoons, books, board games, video games, fan fiction or wishful thinking.

 

If they make parts X-XII 30 years from now, Harrison Ford will only be 103 or thereabouts. So there is no need to kill him off now...