Well, now things seem to be coming out more and more. I just came across this article HERE which says what I'd heard from a few of you, that apparently the changes that are happening behind the scenes were actually to make sure that Han, Leia and Luke are the focal point of the new movie and not their offspring. Of course whether or not this is true is anyone's guess, but it seems like it's making the rounds on a lot of sites which leads me to believe it may actually have some basis in reality. It also mentioned specifically that originally it was to focus on Luke's son and Han and Leia's daughter. I'm still curious to know whether in this case we're talking about Ben and Jaina or two completely new characters. I suppose it shouldn't matter, but I'm still curious. Eventually I expect we'll get the whole story there, even if it isn't until after the movie comes out.
I actually find it interesting if what the article says is true, that it was Abrams who really wanted to give the old characters a proper send off and wasn't ready to let go of the original characters before passing things along. He must be a bigger fan than I had thought. I figured that he'd want to move on and make it more his own. It also says that Lucas was the one who was against this idea. But apparently he is no longer the final word, or he is at least not immune to having his mind changed. Considering his more recent track record, this could also be a very good thing.
Personally, I don't know what to think. Part of me thinks this is the greatest news ever (if true), but then again I'm so used to being disappointed lately I can see just being annoyed with it all. In some ways, this is stupid, because knowing myself, I know I am a very, very forgiving fan when it comes to things I've been a fan of for most of my life. I mean, I kind of liked the fourth Indiana Jones movie. I know in a lot of ways it's dumb and the alien thing was stupid and hey, look, everyone got old! But for things I've loved for so long I can usually just enjoy the fact that they are giving me more of something I've always loved even if it's nowhere near perfect and kind of corny in a lot of ways. Seriously, if you told me there was going to be another Star Wars movie when I was 5 or 10 or 15 or 22... I would've flipped out (in a good way) and been ridiculously excited. They've made me jaded!
Again, this news is not 100% confirmed but given how things have played out thus far, it does at least seem plausible. I'll try and be optimistic. Because, frankly, if it is going to be about them and we get to see old Han, Leia and Luke kicking ass (Han and Leia in between being happily married for 30+ years) I can mostly only picture myself watching it while trying to suppress a smile as I bask in the awesomeness of seeing my favorite movie characters on screen again.
Oh, and as for the other casting news, that's all fine with me so far. They haven't mentioned anyone that I would really not want to see, so I'm ok with all of that. I'm sure there's a chance they'll talk about casting someone that would make me seethe with anger, but fortunately that hasn't happened yet.
My family, though large, is not a representative sample. But all three generations prefer the OT movies over the prequels. This bit of gossip makes me smile.
ReplyDeleteIf this is true, this is f***ing awesome. Seriously, I would LOVE It. I don't care how old they are, Han, Luke and Leia ARE "Star Wars" to me. So, yeah, this makes me happy. *keeps fingers crossed*.
ReplyDeleteThis is all so interesting! I love that Abrams really wants to use the Big Three. Oh, and I can't recall if you posted much about the recent deal for the Indy franchise, but that seems like pretty obvious evidence that Disney is willing to invest hugely (and I mean hugely) in having all three of the Big Three on board, if you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of how you would have felt at 5, 15, 20 years of age, being told this...there is a big note of the surreal for me about all this. Like, seriously? This is all really happening?
All right, I'm going to try and let go of my skepticism and accept the potential awesomeness that this could really be. Although Push has commented to me in the past about how long the opening scrawl is going to have to be if they need to fill in the entire EU. So, just to make it better, it should just say something more like, "After enjoying 30 years of peace..." THAT would make me happy.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it does have a completely surreal quality. Like, really? ROTJ happened over 30 years ago and NOW you're giving us another movie AND it's going to have the same people? I mean, my favorite movies in all of existence and you're going to give me more and you're going to go out of your way to make sure that it doesn't suck like the prequels did? I'm sure I'm not alone in having had dreams of further Star Wars movies. Not often, but every once in a while, just a flash of something, like even just lost footage. (one in particular REALLY awesome bit of "lost footage" that I briefly felt was real, but then realized that there is no way they would've filmed that) Like, this can't really be happening, can it? CAN it?
I do know about the Indy news but again, I just thought that was all rumors. It seemed odd to me, to be honest, that Harrison would really want to bring these characters back so badly. Not that I mind, and in fact, I'm thrilled, I just find it surprising. But maybe he still wants to work and realizes that at this point in his career it's difficult to find decent roles and he doesn't like the idea of being cast as "the old man" in some movie and why not return to the glory days of the movies that made him the star that he is? Not to mention the fact that given his stature and guaranteed success, they will probably pay him whatever he wants. Doesn't sound like such a bad deal.
Maybe it's a sense of gratitude for the movies which launched what's turned out to be Mr. Ford's very major career. It's sort of like bookending the performances he's given over the years.
DeleteI read a similar thing yesterday, but this goes into much more detail. It all sounds very plausible, doesn't it? And yes, if done RIGHT it could be all kinds of awesome. Never ever thought I'd see the characters I've loved for most of my life on screen again, and the thought of what they COULD do with this makes me very excited. When I say what they could do I mean having an old married couple Han and Leia bantering like crazy with a script by Lawrence Kasdan...are you kidding me, how much would THAT rock? I'm still treading carefully before I officially get excited over this, because we may not get that, so I'm not counting my chickens just yet :)
DeleteAnd Zyra, I think Push is spot on with that opening crawl suggestion...After 30 Years of Peace....yes, I'd agree with that. That's exactly how it needs to start.
The Skywalker Son and Solo daughter thing is very very interesting, and it does immediately make you think of Ben and Jaina, but I doubt this is still happening if the character descriptions and ages on the casting call lists are anything to go by. The kids on there are too young, at least for Jaina.
Jaina is too young for where the EU stands as it is now, not too young if we backed it up a little. Let's not forget that Han and Leia have actually aged more than Harrison and Carrie since ROTJ.
DeleteI'm rather excited about some totally new, non-EU, kids. Woohoo, maybe they'll finally give Han and Leia an offspring I like. ;-)
DeleteAlive ones, even.
DeleteI have to weigh in here and say that I am so (cautiously) optimistic about this that it isn't even funny. Maybe it's because I didn't live through the letdown of the prequels like most of you did. I mean, yes, I think they are horrific but they came out at a time of my life that is known now as the "Star Wars Void". They came and went (all three of them) through the theater and I knew nothing of them. I watched them later on DVD with no opening day hype and in the company of my children and I was disappointed but not to the same degree. NOW, if these disappoint I will join your club because I'm just totally stoked that they are going to get this right (okay, maybe I don't have too much caution with my optimism). I'll weigh in again and say that I don't care at all if they scrap the whole darn EU altogether. I'll take the devil I don't know because I'm sick and tired of the one I do. And as Zyra quoted me above, I just think it'll be impossible to cover all that has happened in a few paragraphs of an opening scroll. With all that being said, I would be surprised if the Big Three were the focal point of all three new movies. In my mind's eye I figured they would be prominent in the first as they introduced the new characters (their children and grandchildren and new baddies and such) and then tailor off with each successive movie. I would be fine with that really. But hey, that's just me. And when I say tailor off, I mean off into the sunset, not off into death. I'd prefer if these three movies had no deaths of the Big Three and then IF they go into more movies, it would be years later and they would all be dead. That was sad to even type... :-(
ReplyDeleteI'm just marveling at how young everyone looks in the backdrop photo Zyra chose.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it's been a long time since I looked that young as well :)
Hmm, I'm going to go the other way on this and say that now I'm worried. I guess I figured that if the big three were supporting roles, they wouldn't have a chance to destroy my preconceived notions of how everyone turns out (still madly in love, but lots of snark and banter, Luke is all zen-like, etc). Just fun. But if the big three are the main part of Ep VII, then I'm worried that it will just 'not be the same' and it will make me sad. I sure hope I'm wrong and that it turns out like everyone is thinking and that it is awesome and I'm just grinning ear to ear the whole time. But I don't know.. I mean I liked Indy in Crystal Skull, but he just wasn't the same. Maybe its just all in the script and we should be praying to the script gods to grant their blessing on LK right about now.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a comparatively "minor" thing, but I hope fanfic doesn't suffer creatively as a result of being boxed in by these new films. I mean, before the prequels came out, everyone had their own ideas about how Vader came about and the twins were born; afterwards, not so much. I would hate if the same thing happened with H/L fic, the movies left their future entirely open and some of the best fic came out of that.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, these movies will probably generate a whole new interest in SW fic and maybe even inspire a few long-dormant fic writers to get back to work ;)
But wait a minute..Just imagine for a minute that this turns out just as you'd want. That Ep VII is an amazing movie focusing on the Big Three in an awesome way: the best possible scenario. I think my head just exploded. I mean, this _could_ really rock, right?
ReplyDeleteOh right. That's the sound of my expectations getting waaay too high.
No no no! Keep that optimism! I'm totally with you! I was super excited when I heard this news! Like, jumping in my seat excited.
DeleteI hope they don't kill off Han at the end though.
Shoot…see what I did? I got negative….b-b-but I really am excited! I think it could be great!! (the movies, not Han's death. That would be sad. Although, done right, it could be quite poignant, too…..)
One of my fears is that Harrison gets his wish and they do kill Han off. I'd rather they do something 'Last Crusade-ish' and have them all fly off into a nebula in the Falcon. Going back to my happy place now.
DeleteI've not personally verified this, but there's gossip that Mr. Ford wanted to make sure he was in all three sequels. Of course, what passes for news in Ellay is really idle gossip.
ReplyDeleteI'm keeping my optimism. This could be very cool :)
Hi there - long-time lurker, first-time poster. It seems like a good idea at the moment. XD
DeleteThe full text, if you will, of the rumor about Ford is that Disney insisted on having him in all three SW sequels, and he agreed on the condition that work would start on Indy 5. The IJ franchise sort of got stuck in the door during the LFL sale, as Paramount still held distribution rights and (I believe) other areas of ownership. The fact that Frank Marshall is now tweeting from the Indy office on the Disney lot would appear to be a sign that the Mouse was as serious as a proverbial heart attack about making sure Ford came along for the ride.
^^^ And doesn't that look unnecessarily mysterious. Sorry about that; I'm trying to post under my AIM name. I'm KT, but you can call me K.
DeleteI do recall reading how Harrison struck a deal with them that had to do with Indy AND Han. And something about how he was happy with Han's story arc throughout all three movies. I actually found that surprising. And I'll also admit that I might be the minority here, but I actually think Han's on screen death could be a good thing. I would've hated it if he was cut down in his prime. But to go down heroically as an old man after having lived a long and fulfilling life with his wife and kids? I could probably deal with that if it was done well and with the kind of emotion it deserves. Also, at this point, I mean, we'd be looking at Harrison playing Han Solo when he's what, like 75? While I continue to be impressed by how well he has aged, eventually he really can't keep defying age like that... can he? I suppose Clint is still doing pretty well and he's 12 years older, but still.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this is all just more talk so that I can try not to be annoyed with how little we still know about these movies. That said, thinking about it more, it could be totally awesome to see them all again, and in the right hands (which it finally might be) we could be looking at some pretty cool movies that will make us all smile. I want to see at least some old holos of them when they were young and had kids though :)
I could say something here about how you internet babies have no idea - NO IDEA - what it was like when the first 3 movies came out and you had to wait 3 years for news, but I'm sure someone already has. XD I'll settle for saying that I can be perfectly happy not knowing squat about them if they turn out as well as Empire, or even ROTJ.
Delete(I would add also that I've never seen internet spoilers make anyone happy. They just give some people something to hate in advance, and give some people license to hate what they actually get even when they thought they wanted it. Oh, and they give some people something to think they can influence if they scream long and loud enough at IMDb, because "everyone knows industry people read these posts." Not worth it!
Holos like that would be really cool. I could go for that. But can you imagine older Leia? Either she'll be super chill or ragging on Han worse than she did in Empire. :)
DeleteOh, you're right, I have no idea what that was like. I only saw ROTJ in the theater, when I was VERY young (probably one of the first movies I saw in the theater at all) and given how old I was at the time it couldn't have been that long before that I got to see ANH and ESB for the first time.
DeleteWhen Episode I was coming out I remember I actually went to a lot of trouble to avoid seeing/knowing too much going in because I wanted to be surprised. I wanted to be seeing those things for the first time. Sadly, that didn't help! I may try a similar strategy for the new ones (although it might save me some embarrassment as I could likely uncontrollably giggle or something at seeing Han and Leia on screen together for the first time in over 30 years) but I still think that either way I at least need to know WHO this movie is going to be about, how much they'll be in it and what I should expect there. The visuals I can maybe do without until I see them, and I may scream when I see the Falcon.
I see older Leia as she is written in the books from their reconciliation in NJO and onward. She still rags on him some, but it is also apparent that she still loves him as much as ever, respects him and appreciates him.
DeleteI'd go along with that too. I think the banter will still be there between them but it will have evolved from pure snark into something more lighthearted and loving.
ReplyDeleteAnd old Holos of them? I like the sound of that. Here's hoping we get the one of their wedding night. Or maybe that's way too much to ask for ;)
I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for movie shooting news. I think the word is that Episode 7 shooting has been pushed to May, which would mean I don't have to worry about the fact that Harrison has just been cast in a movie that will start shooting in March. I'd been wondering if we'd see any more movie news from him anytime soon since he was in a lot over the last year and then suddenly things got quiet.
ReplyDeleteYep, May is looking pretty likely. Last summer they all said January for shooting, but I think they were put off by the threat of a crap British winter in London, so then they changed to "spring". Now I'm hearing May. Honestly at the rate this is going we'll be lucky to get anything filmed this year!!! And the script apparently still isn't finished.
DeleteHmmm. Well now you people have me rethinking my whole image of what I thought SW 7 is going to be like. When it was announced, I (wait for it) had a bad feeling about it. My impression was that they were going to hand it off to a new generation to keep it going and going and going. Which is fine, but I thought the big 3 were returning as an homage to say goodbye and pass it off to the next gen. in #'s 8 and 9. Just my own impressions here, but I kinda thought after #7, the only one of the big 3 left would be Luke, and then he would probably end up a force ghost. And maybe H & L would go out in a heroic fashion (nobody is getting the better of Han Solo!) hopefully when they are right next to each other doing their whole "I love you/I know" thing as whatever happens happens. I totally think H & L will be shown to be together after 30+ years of being in love and being happy. No matter how this is done, that would be a cheat for the fans to learn that they're not together, only to reunite this late in the game. It wouldn't be satisfying and it wouldn't make sense. No, unlike Indy and Marion who finally got their happy ending, Han and Leia's happy ending will be that they've been happy together all this time. So with all this new "news", I've been turned on my head here. Up is down, black is white, and now I don't know how to feel. I would prefer to think that Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie & Lando all hop aboard the Millennium Falcon, fly to the Ewok Retirement Village on Endor where they chase each other around in hover carts (Hoverounds, anyone?), play holochess, and eat dinner at 4 pm. And the story has to include their kids somehow, or someone's kids, cuz everybody is a bit long in the tooth to be running around with lightsabers and such - I myself am no longer that 10 year old fangirl, with my mouth hanging open at the sight of my first Imperial Star Destroyer, wondering if my hair was long enough so I could put it up like Princess Leia's. So, hmmm, you've all given me some good food for thought here. I will check in again to see if anyone has heard anything new.
ReplyDelete