While the long-in-development live-action Star Wars: Underworld television series remains in a state of flux, we can now confidently say that the franchise will be returning in live-action regardless. The shocking news yesterday that Disney acquired LucasFilm came with the bonus surprise announcement that Star Wars Episode VII has a tentative release date for 2015.
Not only is Disney planning to continue Star Wars immediately, but they aim to continue the story that began back in 1977. For fans speculating what (and who) they could see on screen for years to come based on the Expanded Universe novels and video games, what we’ve learned today may alter some expectations.
Dale Pollock, author of the 1984 George Lucas biography, Skywalking: The Life And Films Of George Lucas, spoke with The Wrap after yesterday’s major announcement and revealed his thoughts on the original dozen stories Lucas wrote treatments for. When writing the biography, he was able to read all of the stories but signed non-disclosure agreements on their contents.
“It was originally a 12-part saga. The three most exciting stories were 7, 8 and 9. They had propulsive action, really interesting new worlds, new characters. I remember thinking, ‘I want to see these 3 movies.’”
The plan for episodes 7-9 was to follow Luke Skywalker in his ’30s and ’40s with someone else taking over the role from Mark Hamill who Pollock claims didn’t impress Lucas. For longtime fans disappointed with the current status of the Star Wars brand and film franchise, Pollack calls the prequel trilogy “dreadful” but has very positive things to say about the ideas behind the potential next two trilogies, stories he confidently believes Disney will use, claiming they represent one of the reasons Disney made the acquisition.
Sources of E! Online however, provide a different story, claiming that Disney will instead opt for an entirely original story for Star Wars Episode 7 and the following installments. They acknowledge that there are treatments in place and the despite the nine beloved Star Wars Expanded Universe novels written by author Timothy Zahn (most notably, the Thrawn trilogy which begins with Heir to the Empire) which technically qualify as canon according to the publishing department at Lucas Licensing in the ’90s, none of that will serve as the basis for the films going forward.
Admiral Thrawn (from the Tie Fighter PC game)
E!’s Leslie Gornstein reports that she’s heard directly from LucasFilm and other sources “close to the picture” that Star Wars Episode 7 will tell a story never before seen in the extended fiction. That of course, also applies to episodes 8 and 9 which were confirmed by Disney chairman Robert Iger on a conference call earlier today.
It’s no surprise that with the acquisition, Disney will plan out a full trilogy (at least) ahead of time, thus allowing them to get talent and a director locked for long-term deals from the outset, much like we’ve seen successfully implemented by Disney’s other recent $4 billion acquisition in Marvel Entertainment. With the acquisitions of LucasFilm and Marvel Studios, Disney currently has The Avengers 2, Ant-Man and Star Wars 7 all slated for 2015.
The press release about the announcement yesterday contained an official statement from George Lucas, who states that he aims to “pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.” We’ll have to wait and see if that means we’re getting new stories to go along with it, or adaptations of elements from the Expanded Universe.
Check out our fun list of top 10 pros and cons of the Disney-LucasFilm deal. I wonder if the Gotye music video parody up top had any influence on Mr. Lucas.
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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.
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There is already an Episode 7– where Luke goes onto therapy. hahaha.
This is so dumb. I don’t know why any one cares at all about this. Star Trek is stupid. Picard is so bald it hurts my eyes and Kirk is a crazy old man now. More like go where real men won’t go ( into moms basement with the collectible card game ). The prime directive is to stay a virgin until death. The only thing that would make this good is Torres and Seven of Nine in a woman’s space prison.
Later Nerds!
Oh wow, please tell me you were wearing sunglasses and riding a skateboard while typing that, cos you are sooooooooooooo f*****g cool!
I was also making it rain in the club while I did the Dougie with my Italian super model girlfriend.
What up now!
If you’re super cool then go hang out at the mall and be super cool already! Your aura of d-bagness is interfering with my hefty schedule of fan fic reading and collectible card playing.
…..Seriously?! Thank you for your useless comments related to a completely different franchise/ show!
Nerds both rule and run the World….thanks for demonstrating why!
Finally some see’s the joke. Goodness took almost half a day.
Confusing star wars and star trek is hardly a joke it’s a cliche. “I love trolls there aren’t enough of them on the interent” said no ever.
Now who is dumb? This is Star Wars…
This is star wars not star trek
Disney will soon learn, if you mess up Star Wars and make it, well…Redundant. You risk the wrath of at least a billion fans.
Well Lucas himself made episodes 1-3.
For the record I hope you are right. But there are 2 “hipster tween” fans of this generation looking for the next entertaining trilogy for every one die hard star wars fan. They will cater to the majority simply because of the promise of money.
they will make star wars cooler than it ever was with new up and coming actors,and bringing back harrison ford,mark hamill,and carrie fisher for scenes and narratives and tons of directors who are great like joss whedon but they must bring back hamill to tie up the loose ends of luke’s story and life
Although I’m excited to hear that Star Wars Episodes VII, VIII, and IX will finally become a reality, I must admit that of all the movies I’ve seen (which is a LOT: from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to The Lion King trilogy), Star Wars Episode VII is a very, very, VERY scary film for anyone to make.
First of all, it has to be a story worth telling, and it has to be a film that fans will want to watch, and by the way I LOVED Star Wars Episodes I and II, even though so many so-called fans love to bash those two films unmercifully (parental discretion advised for Episode III), and YES, I am a Jar Jar Binks fan. Secondly, it has to look, feel, and smell like Star Wars: It has to have the opening foreword scroll in outer space, and John Williams’ original music has to be maintained as well, and we ALWAYS have to have our #1 signature catchphrase (you guessed it): “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”.
To put it shortly, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: Star Wars Episode VII could make… or break… the Star Wars Saga. Nevertheless, I am actually more positive than I’m letting on, and I just wanted to share my thoughts. Either way, Disney has some big shoes to fill.
What about Episode III? That one was the BEST Star Wars movie ever.
Whilst I’m glad you thoroughly enjoyed Episodes I-III, I just can’t watch any of them anymore – and I used to defend them – I really enjoyed them in the cinema but a decade on, I simply can’t watch more than five minutes of them… they’re just so deathly dull, and for all the teeming visual imagery onscreen, so utterly lifeless, sorry but it’s just how I see them.
And you made a very good point that Episodes VII-IX have to have a story worth telling, actually I think they have a better chance of having a story worth telling than the aforementioned prequels; of which I firmly contest were totally unnecessary, what exactly did you learn in three films and nearly seven hours of screen-time that you absolutely needed to know in order to understand and appreciate the original Trilogy, what vital points of information were imparted in I-III for you to both comprehend and follow the narrative of the original Trilogy, did it REALLY take seven hours to show audiences how Anakin ended up in the iron lung Vader costume, and how on earth can you call Anakin a “tragic” figure when he becomes not only the hatchet-man for a genocidal, planet-destroying despot, but a cold-blooded child killer to boot… only in the moral relativistic worldview of a San Francisco rich white liberal can Anakin somehow become a tragic figure!
He was a Jedi who turned bad, knowingly did terrible things in the cause of a warped political ideology, and was subsequently terribly wounded leading to his necessary iron lung costume in order to survive, but left two offspring who had to be hid to protect them… you needed seven hours to tell THIS story, Obi Wan could have relayed it in three lines of dialogue back in ‘Return of the Jedi’, and he would have saved us three films and years of disappointment into the bargain! And besides, it would have been better had Lucas left what the back-story might have looked like to our own imaginations, remember that…?
The new trilogy however has no boxes to tick, no dots to join, it’s wide open virgin territory ripe for exploration in any direction it’s writers feel best; I’m hoping for a kind of Wild West or old Japanese Samurai era-style epic in space, the building of a new democracy and the rise of a new Jedi Order against the backdrop of a lawless galaxy following the implosion of the Empire; imagine Sergio Leone or Akira Kurosawa in space, if it’s anything like that, and they get someone like Neil Blomkamp or Brad Bird to direct, 2015 can’t come quick enough…
Anyone else thinking about the yuhzan vong and force unleashed?
great now we are going to have Mitch Musso and Miley Cyrus playing Jedis
New Jedi Order ! Vong are by far the most devistating thing to happen in SW universe. Mark, Harrison and Carrie could return. Their ages actually fit the time line close enough for edit.
I wonder what this will mean for the series of books that die hard SW fans like myself have been reading for the last 20yrs. Not all, but some have been great and make the original stories look like a side show…I guess we will see. Either way I cant wait!
While I agree that the New Jedi Order would be an awesome to be made, but the focus wasn’t so much on our beloved main Cast Han, Leia, Chewie(besides who wants to see him die in the first movie)it would more or less be showing the torch being passed somewhat to their children. Not saying that would exactly be bad, cause the Prequel trilogies didn’t have our lovely orignal cast except Palpatine of course
. But off my rant lol, I too am warily looking forward to this new Trilogy, possibly two Trilogies. I only hope they take some inspiration from the Expanded Universe, even though apparently they are deciding not use any of the Story Lines from the Expanded Universe.
Ridiculous, in the end the books are just books and are therefore throwaway canon. The biggest mistake they could make is to follow any of the fairly weak storylines that are the EU. I would like to see either;
1. A continuation that continues the current MOVIE continuity with the roles recast with younger actors or 2. A true reboot of the franchise.
I love the originals and they will always be there to watch regardless of a reboot. And truly they can do whatever they want and fans, including the hardcore fanboys will go and see it at the theater and buy the DVDs.
I hate to say it but we will see a reboot of the franchise in our lifetime! There is no shame in Hollywood so once they milk this cash cow and get as much as they can outta it, expect to hear that a reboot is in the works within 5 years from the last episode of this series being released!
No Mara Jade Skywalker, No Vong nothing, everything you’ve read in the books won’t happen. They’ve announced it already
Honestly, this kills almost all of my enthusiasm for any future films. The the books from the EU, even the ones that still come out to the day, are extremely enjoyable. I found the stories even more enjoyable than the films. I still hope the films turn out okay, but for me it’s sad. I’ve been wanting live-action adaptations for years.
Good
I wonder what the enemies will be probably more sith lords
My friends told me about a sequel to return of the jedi it has been 7 years since the revenge of the sith was released
Younglings – beware of Jedi mind tricks. Mark Hamill did an interview with Fantastic Film back in 1983 and said Lucas had plans for episodes 7 to 9 (they’d discussed it while making ROTJ). It was in the pre-interweb days so I don’t think you’ll find a copy online – buy it on ebay and read it on paper. I think Lucas just got jaded with his creation when he wsa making eps 1 to 3 so he started saying he’d never had plans to make 7 to 9. Now he’s found a way to make billions, have some creative input but not be directly responsible (either creatively or financially) so he wins any way it goes.
In any case, I think episode 1 to 3 had some good parts but were no match for the original trilogy so I’m hoping someone else can do better with 7 to 9.
I relinquish all rights, past/present/future, for the use of these ideas by anyone:
1. R2D2 and C3PO must be in all 3, with R2′s self-sacrificing ‘death’ at the end of episode 9 as the only character in all 9 movies and the only one who recalls all the events (his memory wasn’t wiped like threepio’s at the end of Ep3).
2. The Millenium Falcon (MF) must also be in 7 to 9 perhaps getting destroyed near end of Ep9 (should have been destroyed with Lando in ROTJ, Ford was right, somebody on the good side should have died). MF is a ‘character’ in the series just like the Thunderbird vehicles were in Thunderbirds (one of the reasons that movie failed was that they mucked around with the vehicle designs – do not do that Disney, the MF does not need to be improved).
3. Setting it roughly 30 years later sounds right, enough time for people to have changed but short enough for the original main human/wookie characters to have short cameos (with Luke, and possibly Leia, returning after death for ghostly cameos like Obiwan and Yoda in episodes 5 and 6).
4. The main theme/conflict needs to be droid freedom. If eps 1 to 3 had elements of the rise of nazism and eps 4 to 6 had elements of the French/American/English/velvet revolutions then eps 7 to 9 need to have elements of the battles to free slaves and end racial discrimination. Episode 4 and the novelisation of it touch on the ethical treatment of droids when they’re not allowed into the cantina – Luke’s thinking of arguing for droid rights but decides not to. That is a clear metaphor for the treatment of people of colour in the South. Whereas Obiwan shows in Eps 1 to 3 that he has no time for droid rights – like some American heroes of the revolution that owned slaves. Droids are intelligent beings showing courage, honour and loyalty but they are owned, memory wiped and destroyed at the whim of their flesh owners. It is time for a change that will split friends and families. How fitting if R2D2 achieves freedom for all droids with the help of one or more Skywalker family members in debt for his long years of service to the family.
5. Remember the start of each movie “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”. It’s not set in our galaxy. Possible plot line is that things look so bad in ep9 that some group decides to set off in an inter-galactic seedship to reach our galaxy (could be a group who don’t want the force in their lives – can they kill off the midi-chlorians? alternatively could Disney reboot the series without midi-chlorians?).
6. No ewoks, Gungans or other cutesy/furry ball-like creatures of any kind. Go back to the roots of Lucas’s imagination, Errol Flynn’s robin hood, Scaramouche, Gene Kelly’s Three Mustketeers – those movies had action, drama, humour, intelligence but no fur-ball wide-eyed puppets – you don’t need them to make a good film that kids will like.
7. The series desperately needs some evil females – in the whole 6 episodes so far there hasn’t been one evil female – again, look at the movies above, especially the Three Musketeers and see what was added by Lana Turner’s character. Even Angela Lansbury’s character in The Court Jester was a bit evil in a humouress way but Lucas seemed incapable of having females with any nuances in Star Wars.
Last note is that earlier this year in Bali I think I met the guy Lucas based Boss Nass on. I was on a whitewater rafting tour company day trip and the older guy dealing with the foreigh tourists looked and talked like Boss Nass. Then he said he used to work at the Jakarta Hyatt and I realised that the Gungan sacred place is very similar to Bali/Indonesia and Boss Nass looks quite unlike the other Gungans. My guess is that Lucas went on a trip at some point to Indonesia, stayed at the Jakarta Hyatt and met this guy and decided to base Boss Nass’s mannerisms and style of talking on him.
Hey Theb Nyip,
Well, first off I do like seeing that you are obviously a very well spoken, mindful, educated and opinionated soul. It’s nice to run into someone from time to time that can articulate their thoughts and manipulate them onto a page whether it be on the web or in a book of some sort. Refreshing. Unfortunately, some of your bullet points from above forced me to ask how you could possibly be serious with #5? C’mon Nyip!!! I think you are somehow hoping for a Star Trek plot to be rebooted in a Star Wars episode! Star Wars travels to earth and saves the whales, lol. I think we will be happy with the creator’s input and artistic integrity along with how deeply he cares for these movies and the characters in them to let the story go astray or deviate far from his original vision. As long as we don’t find out Speilberg is going to handle ep 8 & 9 I think we will be happy with the outcome. I’ll never forgive them for killing the Indiana Jones Series with the last movie they pawned off on us as anything more than the huge disappointment that it was!
Wow, who does this guy think he is, I’m a nerd and I’ve got a fully awesome hot chick, g-d bless Mr Lucus for bringing out episode 7, I’ll die a happy fella if I get to see all 3 new episodes their intending to bing out! Awesome
…please make THE FORCE UNLEASHED story into a movie Disney!!!
Have no idea what the new trilogy will be about, but darn excited anyway! Keep it real though; physical sets, aliens created using prosthetics and animatronics, actual locations, and a minimum of CGI effects… that and Alfonso Cuaron (who’s gonna be the master after ‘Gravity’ is released next year) directing, and we’re onto a winner…
… oh, and the OT’s theatrical versions beutifully restored and given both a limited theatrical release, then on DVD and Blu-Ray, then I can die a happy, happy nerd…
I could not agree more. Physical sets, costumes, make up, prosthetics and even animatronics are in my opinion still superior to CGI, because they are actually physically there, and real. It does make a difference, and limiting the scope of a shot is not always a bad thing if it returns focus to the acting, etc.
I love the current post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe (i.e. the books/comics/etc) as much as anyone, but I can easily generate enthusiasm for a different path, because there is so much potential for it to be good. Yes, there is pressure, but again, so much potential. It is not an incomprehensible mystery what made the early films great.
One thing that I do have to say is that there should not be a compulsion to include every single character, recycle jokes, or beat us over the head with storytelling parallels with previous films. There is no need for Yoda to be involved, for example. (One of the things about the prequels that bothered me was the inclusion of R2-D2 and C-3PO, which did not seem like a naturally occuring part of the story; ditto for Boba Fett, etc.)
Without any doubt in my mind Mark Hamill & Carrie Fisher MUST came back in some capacity weather it be an extended cameo or the like also the droids R2 & C3PO must come back as George Lucas stated once that they are the only characters to feacher in all 9 episodes – if these things don’t happen then Geoge Lucas will end up being a big fat lier & the Sequels will fail on an epic scale .
I don’t about this original story thing. the admiral trilogy was quite good
Ideo above was really funny lol
the next starwars movie should be about the rise of a new Skywalker!Starwars 1-3 Anikan Skwalker/Starwars 4-6 Luke Skywalker/”Starwars 7-9 Cade Skywalker”
These people are being fools, why make a completely new script that might well turn out bad when you can just use the thrawn trilogy and other Zahn books as templates
The Thrawn Trilogy is NOT canon. Lucas has gone on record many times as saying that the only things canon are those seen in the movies and the Clone Wars cartoon; the rest is different interpretations, and it is authorized but is not considered to be canon. People need to get off the Thrawn bandwagon; the guy would have never been an Imperial officer to begin with because the Emperor detested non-humans. Secondly the books read like Trek fiction…too technical, too sci-fi, and not enough of the fun that makes Star Wars unique. I’m thankful that Disney and Lucas are not adapting those dreadful novels but are rather making all new stories for us to enjoy.
You’re stupid. Those books were some of the best pieces of Star Wars lore ever written.
Hey all! I dunno wtf is up with some of the people that post here but some of you really need to just chill out and prob getting laid would be a plus for many of you because then you would most likely realize its not the end of the world if they don’t go off the EU novels that so many of you seem to hold so dear!!! Listen, I’m excited about new Star Wars movies coming out just like many of you are now and were back in the late 90′s when we found out George Lucas was making the prequels.
Yes the 1st one wasn’t what I had hoped for, especially since my hopes were so high at that point I don’t think anything could have met the expectations I had already set forth in my head!!! And Jar-Jar definitely was annoying the sh_t outta me a quarter of the way through the movie but there were definitely some aspects of the Phantom Menace that made me feel like I was watching a new Star Wars movie. I thought the second installment was a little better and then Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” I loved.
I guess what I’m saying is have some faith and try not to be too critical of the casting decisions or too disappointed if they don’t use the storyline you were hoping for, try to just be happy that as fans of a movie trilogy made 40 years ago, that I don’t know about you, but I know I watched all 3 movies in succession and my only thought after Episode 6 was, “what do you mean that’s it? I watched all the movies? I wish there were more, that was awesome!!!”
Well, so many years later and that’s just what we are getting, more! George Lucas won’t let his legacy get butchered no matter who “owns” its rights. I feel like we are all just happy and maybe a little scared because we loved those characters in the original trilogy so much, we don’t want to let any jagoff production company to put out trash and have the Star Wars name on it just to make a buck while diluting the brilliance of Lucas’ vision back in the 70′s. But it’s Disney and I think they see the big picture! So sit back, relax, and somewhere in a Disney soundstage far, far, away… TO BE CONTINUED!!!
wy do you do to the starwars your sun of a bich star war original this de batles whith the jedi and siths he dusant the movie
What on earth did you just even say….
wy do you do to the star war original this de batles whith the jedi and siths he dusant the movie the real history
Whatever story they choose, one thing we know we can bank on is that they’re going to destroy this franchise even more with computer generated characters, video game looking landscapes, poor acting by personality lacking pretty boys/gals and a lousy, fast paced storyline that is completely void of character development and feeling. If they only had the balls to use real actors in costume and make-up along with some real life models/props. They’ll never capture that raw, shot on location, battered look of the original couple films again. It’s just too big a business. They’re not doing it for the love of film making. They could put out a film about a digital Sasquatch, throw the Star Wars logo on it and it’ll still rake in trillions. Sad.
Disney and George, if you are reading this, please hire me to act in star wars film. I am an Asian Chinese, a malaysian
I look good in Clone Trooper armor.
If this next film ends up anything like the last Indiana Jones movie, there won’t be an episode 8 or 9.