Episode VII and Spinoff Movie News Summary
Disney has their biannual convention called “D23 Expo” coming August 9 – 11 in Anaheim, CA. While it is commonly believed that Star Wars: Episode VII will be officially rolled out there, nothing has been announced by Disney yet. But The Hollywood Reporter has sources that confirm it will happen:
“Insiders say, perhaps hope, that some Star Wars actors may make appearances during the D23 Expo, this confirming their participation in the J.J. Abrams-directed sequel trilogy which is expected to hit theaters in 2015. (Filming is expected to begin in early 2014 in the U.K.) A Disney spokesperson dispelled the rumors as wishful thinking at this point.”
Officially, Disney has only announced the following at D23:
Star Wars at D23 Expo!
For the first time at the D23 Expo, Star Wars fans can have access to experiences created for them by Lucasfilm and Disney. Darth Vader: The Evolution of a Villain, located in the DCP pavilion, showcases the development of the iconic villain from early concepts to striking realization. Crash Course in the Force: Star Wars Saga 101, presented by Lucasfilm’s resident authority Pablo Hidalgo in Stage 23, will give Star Wars newbies and experts alike a thorough grounding in all matters of the Force and the Star Wars legacy.
StarWars.com also confirmed that there will be no “Episode VII” news at San Diego Comic Con next week:
With Comic-Con International starting next week, anticipation for Episode VII has many curious as to where Star Wars will have an official presence during this summer’s convention season.
The biggest Star Wars convention presence this summer is, without a doubt, Star Wars Celebration Europe (July 26-28, 2013) in Essen, Germany. This official convention will include appearances from cast and crew from the six Star Wars films, and for the first time, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, as well as other behind-the-scenes talents who will help shape the future of Star Wars.
In addition, Lucasfilm and Star Wars will continue to be a fixture at San Diego Comic-Con International (July 17-21), with a massive floor presence on the convention floor, and Friday is once again “Star Wars Day,” with panels about books, comics and collectibles. Despite speculation to the contrary, however, there will be no Episode VII content.
The D23 Expo in Anaheim (August 9-11) will, for the first time, include Star Wars as part of its programming. A floor exhibit will track the evolution of the classic character Darth Vader, and a Star Wars 101 Panel, “A Crash Course in the Force” hosted by Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo, will introduce Disney fans to the history of the saga.
Stay tuned for more updates as they arrive!
In the meantime, Carrie Fisher continues to have fun with fans about the plot of “Episode VII.” Yahoo! Movies UK report on Fisher’s comments about the storyline from the Sydney Supernova:
“Han Solo and I have been unhappily married for many years,” she explained. “And so we speak through the wookiees and use a translator.”
Of course, C-3PO is fluent in over six million forms of communication. But even then, I’m not sure he’d get through to a woman in the midst of a relationship crisis
“I regularly say to R2 ‘Tell that son of a bitch to ***!’ And we have children, but one of them looks a lot like Chewbacca, and we use Yoda, who’s regenerated on a planet somewhere, for marital therapy. I urge Chewie to get waxed for sure!” …
“There’s also a lot of shopping,” she explains. “Because there’s cool things to buy and giant planets that are shopping malls. Alderaan means shopping mall by the way. And then I start sleeping with robots, how about that?”
Sounds like it would make a billion dollars!
Speaking of making a billion dollars, Variety reports that Disney’s stock prices are counting on “Episode VII” making a boatload of cash, especially in light of the under-performing “The Lone Ranger”:
Credit Suisse’s Michael Senno expects Disney to generate around $733 million in profits from the seventh “Star Wars,” out in summer 2015. Film is expected to generate around $1.2 billion in global theatrical receipts, and more from consumer products and other revenue, Senno said. As a result, Senno set a new target price of $74 for Disney’s stock to eventually reach, helping boost shares on Monday.
“The “Star Wars” franchise should drive strong profit growth and mitigate risk at the studio with fewer risky high budget films,” Senno said.
Visit the link for more.
Star Wars Television
Star Wars Celebration Europe will feature a special unveiling of “Star Wars Rebels.”
This July in Essen, Star Wars Celebration Europe will offer a first look into the production of Star Wars Rebels, an exciting, all-new animated television series. Slated for a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel in 2014, it will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world. Star Wars Rebels is described as an action-filled series set between the events of Episodes III and IV an era spanning almost two decades of Star Wars stories that have not yet been explored on screen.
Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights, as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape. Details about the show are a closely-guarded secret at this point, but fans at Celebration Europe can catch a first glimpse into production.
Dont miss Star Wars Rebels at Celebration Europe.
“I couldn’t be more excited to explore new corners of the Star Wars universe, says Kathleen Kennedy, president, Lucasfilm. I think Star Wars Rebels will capture the look, feel and fun that both kids and their parents love about Star Wars.”
Visit the link for more info. Celebration Europe takes place July 26 – 28 in Germany.
Around The Web
Neatorama – The X-Wing in its natural environment.
Neatorama – A collection of custom Star Wars Mickey Mouse ears.
George Lucas was awarded the National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal at the White House by President Obama on July 10th. (Chewbacca, again, didn’t get a medal.) Obama said:
American philosopher Will Durant once wrote, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” And that’s an extraordinary skill to tell the untold stories of history; to reveal the sculpture that’s waiting there in a block of stone; to transform written music into song; to make it look like those planes in space are actually flying like they are. (Laughter.) I’m just saying, I remember when I first saw Star Wars. (Laughter.) There’s a whole generation that thinks special effects always look like they do today. (Laughter.) But it used to be you’d see, like, the string (laughter) on the little model spaceships. Anyway, I’m being led astray. (Laughter.)
You can see photos and read more about the ceremony at the following sites:
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post
The Wrap
The Course of the Force charity relay race to SDCC continues, this time with a new video:
Documented in a galaxy not so far away and shot on the Samsung Galaxy S 4, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) hits up Karaoke Night at everyone’s favorite hive of Star Wars scum and villainy, the Cantina on Tatooine! Lando performs a stirring rendition of WEST COAST, with a few appearances from some friends from this galaxy…Jason Schwartzman, Patton Oswalt, Carrie Keagan, Chris Hardwick and Mike Phirman!
LA Times Hero Complex – George Lucas credits “Star Trek” in paving the way for “Star Wars” in a new documentary:
The film comes to DVD on Tuesday, and among the bonus materials included in the release is an interview with “Star Wars” creator George Lucas talking about the important role “Star Trek” played in paving the way for his own space opera.
“‘Star Trek’ softened up the entertainment arena so that ‘Star Wars’ could come along and stand on its shoulders,” Lucas said in an interview Hero Complex readers can check out a clip from the conversation above.
Visit the link for a clip from the documentary.
Topless Robot – The Imperial March, surf-rock style, complete with Lord Vader hangin’ 10 by geek band “42 Ford Prefect.”
Video Games
Finaland – Star Wars? In my Kingdom Hearts? It’s more likely than you think. At the Japan Expo, Tetsuya Nomura suggested that Star Wars might be added to the popular game:
Finaland & FFDream: With the acquisition of Marvel and Lucas Arts by Disney, could you imagine adding some kind of stuff from these licenses in the game ?
Tetsuya Nomura: (laughs) Of course it would be great if we could add those licenses as well. But there are lots of rules and restrictions by disney so we can’t actually put everything people want, so it’s a quite difficult decision but we’re gonna prepare some surprises for you so, just wait for the informations.
Finaland & FFDream: Because you know that Kitase-san (Yoshinori Kitase) is a big fan of Star Wars ! So you have to do that !
Tetsuya Nomura: (laughs) We’re not going to decide it whether Kitase-san likes Star Wars or not but we’ve been talking about Star Wars itself since it became Disney’s content recently. When I eared the news I was like “Wow ! Wow !”. Yeah obviously it’s gonna be great if we could add it, but like I said there are a lot of restrictions and rules by Disney so we don’t know what’s gonna happen but yeah, we’ll see.
