Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[Fa Xing]

I just discovered femtroopers. Dayum. Why the heck have I been wasting my time with Star Wars Legos?



Star Wars is bigger than any of us.

You sir, win.

[GeneChing]

Star Wars: 1313...budgeted at more than $5 million per episode... Looks more like Bladerunner than Star Wars...

ABC to look at 'Star Wars' live-action TV series
by James Hibberd


ABC entertainment president Paul Lee says he’s going to take a look at the long-gestating Star Wars live-action TV series now that the Disney deal to acquire Lucasfilm is complete.

“We’d love to do something with Lucasfilm, we’re not sure what yet,” Lee exclusively told EW. “We haven’t even sat down with them. We’re going to look at [the live-action series], we’re going to look at all of them, and see what’s right. We weren’t able to discuss this with them until [the acquisition] closed and it just closed. It’s definitely going to be part of the conversation.”

Even many working in Hollywood don’t realize a live-action Star Wars TV series has been sitting on the shelf the past few years. The project was commissioned by longtime Lucasfilm producer Rick McCallum, who enlisted writers such as Battlestar Galactica‘s Ron Moore and swore them to NDA secrecy on the plot details (more on the show’s storyline below). Fifty scripts were written. McCallum once called the scripts the most “provocative, bold and daring material that we’ve ever done.”

And then … nothing.

The scripts gathered dust, the scope of the production and the extent of the show’s necessary visual effects deemed too expensive for a broadcast or cable network. The president of one premium cable outlet told me last summer the project just didn’t make any financial sense. The closest comparison was HBO’s lavish Game of Thrones. But that deal gave HBO control of a major chunk of the Thrones empire, including DVD and international distribution which significantly offset the show’s high production cost. The Star Wars show was budgeted at more than $5 million per episode and Lucasfilm wanted to retain ownership.

But now Disney has purchased Lucasfilm for $4 billion and Disney owns more than a couple TV networks. The financials for a big-budget TV show are more compelling if the license fee and other income sources stay in the family. Already one Star Wars-related project is in the works for kids network Disney XD. Cartoon Network’s popular and innovative animated title The Clone Wars will likely shift to XD after its current deal expires. Could the live-action show finally see the light of day too? It’s a tricky question because a new Star Wars film is planned for 2015. Cautious brand managers are sometimes reluctant to have a live-action TV show on the air when producing live-action films — such as Warner Bros. putting the kibosh on any Batman TV projects while making Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.

Lee said he wasn’t sure if the project was still viable. “It’s going to be very much up to the Lucasfilm brands how they want to play it,” he said. “We got to a point here with Marvel, a very special point, where we’re in the Marvel universe, and very relevantly so, but we’re not doing The Avengers. But S.H.I.E.L.D. is part of The Avengers. So maybe something oblique is the way to [approach the Star Wars universe] rather than going straight head-on at it.”

Sources say the live-action series centers on the story of rival families struggling over the control of the seedy underside of the Star Wars universe and the people who live within the subterranean level and air shafts of the metropolis planet Coruscant (the Empire’s urban-sprawl-covered home planet). A bounty hunter may be the main character. Set between the original Star Wars film trilogy and the prequels, the time period allows for all sorts of potential appearances from classic figures from the Star Wars universe.

Extensive art work including character designs, costume designs, and set designs were all developed by a top team of concept artists and designers who worked for more than a year on the third floor design studio at George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch’s main house on the project. The team was closely supervised by McCallum and Lucas.

If all this sounds vaguely familiar, it might be because this roughly matches the description of the upcoming Star Wars videogame 1313. In fact, sources say story materials and the designs for the TV project were used to help make the game. So if you want to see what the TV show was supposed to look like, check out art from 1313 (one example above). This creative strip-mining could arguably help the TV show’s chances — it’s not like Hollywood has been shy about doing crossovers between videogames and films before.

Can you imagine that ultra-hypothetical ABC Sunday-night lineup? Once Upon a Time, Star Wars: 1313 and S.H.I.E.L.D?

[GeneChing]

OMG! SEVEN SAMURAI is my fav chanbara flick eva!

Today at 1:45 PM
Zack Snyder Is Developing a Star Wars Film Outside the New Trilogy
By Claude Brodesser-Akner

Back in November, the Los Angeles Times reported that Man of Steel and 300 director Zack Snyder said he had no interest in directing the hotly anticipated seventh Star Wars film. But Vulture has learned that while this may be specifically true — he won’t be doing Episode VII — it was a bit of misdirection: He is in fact developing a Star Wars project for Lucasfilm that is set within the series’ galaxy, though parallel to the next trilogy. It will be an as-yet-untitled Jedi epic loosely based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic Seven Samurai, with the ronin and katana being replaced by the Force-wielding knights and their iconic lightsabers. (Go ahead, say it — you know you want to: “ … an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.” Felt good, didn’t it?)

It’s not clear just where Snyder’s untitled Jedi film would fall within the Star Wars chronology, but one insider expects it will not be considered part of the “numbered” episodes, but rather a stand-alone film set sometime post–Episode VI events, meaning the next phase of the franchise development is much broader than previously thought. For those unfamiliar, Kurosawa’s influential Seven Samurai (The Magnificent Seven was the American remake) tells the tale of a small agrarian town in sixteenth-century Japan that’s routinely pillaged by bandits. Fed up with the annual shakedown, its farmers retain the services of seven masterless samurai to defend their harvest. One of the film's stars, Toshiro Mifune, was initially offered the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi (as Kotaku recounts here). George Lucas has cited the classic as one of his favorites, telling the Telegraph in 2005 that “it’s a brilliant, brilliant film, and every time I see it I can't believe the magic mixture of a great story and great acting and humour and action and suspense — wonderful cinema. The art of moving pictures is on every frame of this movie.”

In late October of last year, when Disney CEO Bob Iger first announced the acquisition of Lucasfilm, he’d stated that after Episode VII, “our long term plan is to release a new Star Wars feature film every two to three years.” Our sources also say that Snyder’s would start production after Disney starts on its planned 2015 release of Star Wars: Episode VII, and while no director has yet been set for Episode VII, clearly things are taking shape at Lucasfilm. (A spokesperson for Lucasfilm declined comment.)

In the meantime, we are left to ponder the obvious geek questions: Do Snyder’s Jedi carry just a single lightsaber or a long one and a short one, like samurai do? Oh God, why do you torture us so!?

Too bad this reporter didn't know Kurosawa well enough to make the Throne of Blood connection.

[sanjuro_ronin]

That would actually be pretty cool.

[GeneChing]

Been there, done that. And it wasn't cool. It was absolutely craptastic!!

Battle Beyond the Stars trailer

Weirdest role for Robert Vaughn ever, reprising his Magnificent Seven character in space.

[GeneChing]

How Star Wars Might’ve Had a Different Darth Vader
Brian Ashcraft
Jan 14, 2013 6:20 AM
The Japanese influence in Star Wars is no accident. George Lucas' hero is acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, and he was inspired by the Japanese director's films, such as The Hidden Fortress.

According to a famous bit of Star Wars trivia, Lucas even wanted actor Toshiro Mifune, who starred in many Kurosawa films, to act in Star Wars. The trivia, which has been repeated for years now, says that Lucas tried to get Mifune to play Obi-Wan Kenobi—something that Lucas confirmed. The choice makes sense. But what if Lucas wanted Mifune to play another character?

This weekend on world history quiz show Sekai Fushigi Hakken! (世界ふしぎ発見！), Toshiro Mifune's daughter, Mika Mifune, recounted how her famous father was first asked to play Obi-Wan Kenobi—an offer he turned down.

Then, Mika continued, Mifune was offered the role of Darth Vader. The villain's helmet was apparently designed with Mifune in mind, and if Mifune had taken the role, his face supposedly would have been visible. The inference is that Lucas really wanted the famed Japanese actor in his movie. But Mifune thought the sci-fi flick was going to be a kid's movie, hence him passing on the project.

Mifune as Obi-Wan Kenobi is a little easier to wrap one's head around. At that time, he was an international superstar and a hero of Lucas'. Vader has become inseparable from the suit and the voice of James Earl Jones, making it harder to see the character any other way.

Mifune daughter wasn't born until 1982, so her account isn't exactly first person—and it's something I don't ever recall hearing. If this bit of trivia is true and if Mifune had played Darth Vader, the character could have certainly developed differently during Lucas' writing process. For example, the Sith Lord might've had a badass beard.

Darth Toshiro. Can't....grok....that....

[GeneChing]

I love Star Wars. Except for the fact the Chewie didn't get a medal at the end of Ep 4. No wonder why he roars at the end. That's wookie for "Where's my ****ing medal?"

Below is from StarWars.com in regard to the POTUS's recent vetoing the Death Star Seriously. Y'all were following that one too, right?

Planet Earth Abandons Death Star Project In Face Of Superior Galactic Imperial Power
Galactic Empire Public Relations | January 15, 2013


IMPERIAL CENTER, CORUSCANT – The overwhelming military superiority of the Galactic Empire has been confirmed once again by the recent announcement by the President of the United States that his nation would not attempt to build a Death Star, despite the bellicose demands of the people of his tiny, aggressive planet. “It is doubtless that such a technological terror in the hands of so primitive a world would be used to upset the peace and sanctity of the citizens of the Galactic Empire,“ said Governor Wilhuff Tarkin of the Outer Rim Territories. “Such destructive power can only be wielded to protect and defend by so enlightened a leader as Emperor Palpatine.”

Representatives on behalf of the nation-state leader from the unimaginatively named planet refused to acknowledge the obvious cowardice of their choice, preferring instead to attribute the decision to fiscal responsibility. “The costs of construction they cited were ridiculously overestimated, though I suppose we must keep in mind that this miniscule planet does not have our massive means of production,” added Admiral Conan Motti of the Imperial Starfleet.

Emissaries of the Emperor also caution any seditious elements within the Galactic Senate not to believe Earth’s exaggerated claims of there being a weakness in the Death Star design. “Any attacks made upon such a station — should one ever be built — would be a useless gesture,” added Motti.

[GeneChing]

After what J.J. did with Star Trek, I'm all in.

J.J. Abrams Set to Direct Next 'Star Wars' Film (Exclusive)
Published: January 24, 2013 @ 1:33 pm
By Lucas Shaw

J.J. Abrams will direct the next "Star Wars" film for Disney, taking stewardship of one of Hollywood's most iconic and lucrative film franchises, an individual with knowledge of the production told TheWrap.

Ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm last year and announced it would make new "Star Wars" films, fans, members of the media and industry executives have speculated about which director would take the job. Abrams' name always came up, but he told Entertainment Weekly in November that he wasn't going to take the job.

He did say "Star Wars" was the first movie that "blew my mind" in terms of special effects.

Lucasfilm Chief Kathleen Kennedy has been courting Abrams, one of the most successful directors and producers in Hollywood -- and a man beloved by fanboys. He runs one of the industry's top production companies, Bad Robot, and created or co-created television franchises like "Lost," "Fringe" and "Alias." He has also directed film spectacles "Mission: Impossible III," "Star Trek" and "Super 8."

The lure of the Jedi was too strong, and it will no doubt complicate his relationship with Paramount, where Bad Robot is a top supplier. Abrams has been feverishly working on "Star Trek Into Darkness," his second Star Trek film since he rebooted the franchise in 2009. "Into Darkness," still in post-production, opens May 18.

Though he has several producing jobs in front of him, Abrams had been uncommitted as a director. He will have to jump right into "Star Wars," which Disney has slated for a 2015 release. "Little Miss Sunshine" screenwriter Michael Arndt is penning the script.

Reached by TheWrap, Lynne Hale, spokeswoman for Lucasfilm, declined to comment immediately. Neither CAA, which represents Abrams, nor Bad Robot immediately responded to requests for comment.

[GeneChing]

What's the first stand alone STAR WARS film to be made?
Published at: Feb. 4, 2013, 9:40 p.m. CST Share On Facebook Twitter

Hey folks, Harry here... There's a whole bunch of movement happening at the Magic Kingdom these days... Mayimbe was talking about Marvel's HULK Plans and how they may affect the 3rd AVENGERS film... We're focused upon the sequel trilogy we've been waiting for most of our entire lives. But the wild success of THE AVENGERS and the anticipated gargantuan STAR WARS with JJ Abrams directing.. it has reformatted alot of Disney's plan. IMAGINEERING had been working up ideas for a grand expansion at DISNEYLAND that was to bring Frank L Baum's OZ into a fully realized extension of the park, and while I'd love to go there... The word I'm hearing now is they've dropped that in lieu of a STAR WARS extension in California Adventure Park. OZ could happen, but only if Raimi's film is a stunning success. But you're not hear for the themepark buzz... or maybe you do care desperately like I do. But really, what's Disney going to be doing with these STAND ALONE films...

Well, to start with they're going to focus on established characters and do solo films, no, not necessarily Han Solo films, but well, **** it... The first Stand Alone film is going to center upon YODA. At this stage specifics are sparse, but Kathleen Kennedy is putting together a STAR WARS slate... I'm wildly curious for more details on the YODA film - would this be a young or old YODA tale?

Knowing that Lucasfilm is doing a series of stand alone character features... I wonder if Joe Johnston has pitched Kennedy his stand alone BOBA FETT film he was talking about after the release of Captain America. Hmmmmm... Now, let's chase after YODA details... Where's FRANK OZ? Giggle. Gotta love chasing STAR WARS stories! Oh - and I've also heard tale of a JABBA story that Lucas has floated to some of his buddies. But word is YODA is first.

I'd be totally into this if it starred the muppet Yoda and not the CGI yoda. The muppet Yoda was a much better actor. Seriously.

[GeneChing]

Disney Confirms Stand-Alone Star Wars Films
Source: CNBC
February 5, 2013

Walt Disney Pictures CEO Bob Iger has confirmed rumors that the studio is looking at a series of Star Wars films that will see release independent of the new trilogy and that will focus on specific characters from the overall Star Wars universe.

"There has been speculation about some stand-alone films that are in development," Iger tells CNBC. "I can confirm to you today that, in fact, we are working on a few stand-alone films. Larry Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are both working on films derived from great 'Star Wars' characters that are not part of the overall saga. We still plan to make Episodes 7, 8, and 9, roughly over a six-year period of time, starting in 2015. There are going to be a few other films released in that time, too."

Iger goes on to say that Kasdan and Kingberg are serving in a consulting capacity on J.J. Abram's Star Wars: Episode VII with Michael Arndt supplying the screenplay. Both writers are simultaneously working on new, as of yet unknown, Star Wars films.

The news arrives on the heels of yesterday's rumor that claimed the first such film would follow the adventures of Yoda. While that rumor has not been confirmed, Iger's comments suggest some truth to the reports.

You can watch Iger's announcement in the player below, courtesy of CNBC:

follow the link for the announcement above.

[doug maverick]

you beat me too it..lol..i would love to see this seven samurai style star wars film everyone keeps talking about.

[GeneChing]

Rumor is now trending to a young Han and Boba Fett. I've always thought Boba had the most anticlimactic demise ever, so I've never really got into that character.

Feb 6 2013 12:57 PM ET
'Star Wars' spin-offs: A young Han Solo movie, and a Boba Fett film -- EXCLUSIVE
by Anthony Breznican

Star Wars fans, admit it: you like scoundrels. And you’re about to get more of them in your life.

Yesterday, The Walt Disney Co. unveiled plans to make a number of spin-off movies set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away — in addition to the post-Return of the Jedi trilogy that had already been announced.

Entertainment Weekly has learned details on two of the spin-off projects: A young Han Solo saga, focusing on the wisecracking smuggler’s origin story, and a bounty hunter adventure with Boba Fett at the center of a rogue’s gallery of galactic scum.

Several sources close to the projects confirmed this was the direction the development was taking, although each cautioned it’s still very early in the process and, well, the deal could always be altered futher. Lucasfilm and Disney declined to comment on the information.

The Han Solo story would take place in the time period between Revenge of the Sith and the first Star Wars (now known as A New Hope), so although it’s possible Harrison Ford could appear as a framing device, the movie would require a new actor for the lead — one presumably much younger than even the 35-year-old Ford when he appeared in the 1977 original.

The Boba Fett film would take place either between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, or between Empire and Jedi, where the bounty hunter was last seen plunging unceremoniously into a sarlacc pit. Exactly who would play him isn’t much of a complication – in the original trilogy, he never took off his helmet. And in the prequels, we learned he was the son of the original stormtrooper clone, played by Temuera Morrison, who’s still the right age for the part if his services were required.

In addition to bringing back two fan-favorite characters as the leads of their own films, the Han Solo and Boba Fett projects would also allow Darth Vader, in full-on black death-metal gear, to return as a villain, since placing the spin-offs within the original trilogy would mean he is still alive and hissing. That timeline would also open the door for a return from visit with everyone’s favorite degenerate slug-like gangster, Jabba the Hutt.

Walt Disney Co. chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced the existence of spin-off plans yesterday as part of the company’s quarterly earnings report. He said the screenwriters working of the stand-alone films are Simon Kinberg (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Sherlock Holmes) and Lawrence Kasdan (screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and the filmmaker behind The Big Chill.)

The pair are also involved in the drafting of the new trilogy, with Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3) penning the first of the series, which J. J. Abrams has agreed to direct. That film is scheduled to hit theaters in 2015.

There is no indication who might direct the Boba Fett and Han Solo films if they end up coming to fruition. Joe Johnston, director of Captain America and The Rocketeer, originally designed the armor for Boba Fett and told Screenrant he would like to make a film based around the character. Recently, Robert Rodriguez told MTV he would jump at the chance to make a Han Solo film if it were offered to him — although that seemed more like casual interest than a serious proposal.

The recent novel Scoundrels, by sci-fi author Timothy Zahn, focused on the exploits of Solo in the period between A New Hope and Empire as he set up an Ocean’s 11-type heist of a gangster’s fortune. But sources said it was not the basis for any film currently in the works.

As for other spin-offs, Ain’t It Cool reported Monday that a Yoda-centric film may be in the works, and earlier last month Vulture reported Zack Snyder may create a Seven Samurai-inspired Star Wars spin-off, although the filmmaker later said that was untrue.

Lucasfilm has ramped up its development in recent months under the new leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, who stepped in as co-chair of the company as Star Wars creator George Lucas stepped back and sold the company to the Walt Disney Co.

Kennedy, who has her eighth nomination for the Best Picture Oscar this year as producer of Lincoln, has a long track record of making films that strike a nerve with the original Star Wars generation, among them E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and everything from Gremlins to The Goonies and the Back to the Future movies.

The question now: If these films do happen, who would you cast as a young Han Solo – or should they cast someone as relatively unknown as Ford once was?

[Kevin73]

That's the thing about the Star Wars universe. There is SOO much material that can be drawn from besides just the main trilogy story line.

You could set it WAY back to the Jedi/Sith wars
You could do stand alone characters that are featured in the movies
You could create your own characters that surround events in the movies and books

[GeneChing]

just for the pic along...

Star Wars Solo Movies - Yoda, Han Solo, and Boba Fett

The week got off to a lively start with Ain't It Cool News starting a rumor that Disney was working on a movie featuring Yoda. Then, in a surprise move, Disney confirmed that they were, in fact, working on stand-alone "Star Wars" movies featuring characters from the previous films. In fact, they additionally confirmed that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinsberg were working on them. Entertainment Weekly then added fuel to the rumor fire by stating that Disney was developing films based on Boba Fett and Han Solo.

My take? There's probably some truth to all of the Han Solo, Boba Fett, and Yoda rumors. At this early stage, they're probably all being discussed. It will be interesting to see which one ends up being the frontrunner. But the question remains - can any of these characters carry a movie themselves? Over the next few weeks I'll be exploring that question. First up, let's talk about the Yoda rumor.

The problem with doing a movie based on any of the existing characters is the same problem that you had with the prequels - you already know how it will end before it begins. Any movie starring Yoda (or young Han Solo or Boba Fett) is not going to end with them dying. There's not a lot of suspense there since you know the character will not be in serious jeopardy. So how do you deal with that? The same way you deal with Batman or James Bond or Iron Man who also won't die during their films. You go back to their origin, you throw them in situations that take them outside of their comfort zone, and you give them a great cast of supporting characters.

For a Yoda film, you would want to take him back to his early years. Show him when he's young and not wrinkly. Show him before he's mastered his power. Show Yoda as young and stupid and not the calm, wise, confident Grand Master that he is in the films. Show a bit of his mischievous side that we saw in "The Empire Strikes Back." Have a "Yoda Begins" type of story. Now the interesting thing about this is the fact that while Lucasfilm has allowed the books and comics to cover the origins of pretty much every other character in the films, they have NOT allowed Yoda's origin to be explored in depth. If you look at StarWars.com, Yoda's species is labeled as "unknown." If you look on the Star Wars Wiki page, there's almost nothing about his origin (at least nothing that can't be overwritten by a film). It's very unusual to have a character's background to be so thoroughly cordoned off in the Expanded Universe that it lends credibility to the idea that Lucas was saving it for something later on. But that hasn't stopped fans from offering their own takes on what young Yoda was like.



Back in 1999, Aaron McGruder (creator of the comic Boondocks) submitted to TheForce.Net his own take on what a young Yoda might look like. It's interesting to see a young, strong, elf-like Yoda rather than the elderly version we are so familiar with. Josh Diffey back in 2003 at TFN created a comic entitled Padawan Yoda. While the art isn't quite as polished as you might like, the fan comic does demonstrate that it is possible to do a young Yoda story.

But if fan art and fan fiction isn't enough to convince you that a Yoda story can work, then check out "Yoda - Dark Rendezvous" by Sean Stewart. I reviewed this novel set in the Clone Wars era for TFN Books a long time ago on a website far, far away. Here was my synopsis:

Six months before Revenge of the Sith, the Clone Wars continue to rage. As Dooku reflects on the carnage he has caused across the galaxy, he begins to have regrets about turning to the Dark Side. Old age and fear of Darth Sidious begin to catch up with him. Amid these doubts, he secretly contacts his old master Yoda for a rendezvous. Is there still a glimmer of light in Dooku or is this another trap?

Yoda receives the message and decides to accept Dooku’s invitation. But in order to keep their meeting private, he must have a good cover story for leaving the Jedi Temple. He recruits Jedi Masters Jai Maruk and Maks Leem to help sneak him out. Along with them are Padawans Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy, or Scout, and Whie. Scout is a young Padawan who isn’t as strong in the Force as her fellow students. However, perseverance, courage, and determination have kept her within the Temple. Whie is just the opposite. He’s strong in the Force, honorable, and highly skilled. But he also suffers from dreams and visions of the future. His latest vision shows him and Scout in the clutches of Asajj Ventress on the brink of death. Will their mission with Yoda end in disaster?

This book was really excellent and is a prime example of my point that you need a strong supporting cast behind your established Star Wars character. You need characters like Scout and Whie who play off of Yoda well and who, more importantly, are expendable. They are the characters in the story who are in jeopardy and who the audience becomes emotionally invested in. They are like Agent Coulson in "The Avengers" or Rachel Dawes in "The Dark Knight" or Vesper Lynd in "Casino Royal." Their actions and possibly their deaths drive the lead characters to grow or change. I think with these ingredients, you have a workable Yoda movie.

So that's what I'd love to see - a young Yoda movie that brings new characters to the table and is made by Pixar. Make it happen, Disney!

[sanjuro_ronin]

This pic is way cool !