Monthly Archives: July 2016
Here’s Finn Meeting Young Han Solo
Disney has released a bunch of brand new photos of its star-studded Future Filmmakers panel at Star Wars Celebration.
The panel served as a proper introduction to Aiden Ehrenreich, who will play Han Solo in the upcoming untitled Han Solo Star Wars Story. It also featured President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy, Senior Vice President of Development Kiri Hart, directors Rian Johnson (Star Wars: Episode VIII), Chris Miller and Phillip Lord (Han Solo Star Wars story), and surprise guests John Boyega (Finn), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa). Check out the photos in the slideshow below.
During the future filmmaker panel, it was revealed Episode VIII will kick off exactly where Episode VII ended. During this year's Star Wars Celebration, we also learned of the 6 movies Rian Johnson drew inspiration from before production of Star Wars Episode VIII.
Star Wars Episode 8 Starts Off Exactly Where Episode 7 Ends
If, for some reason, you haven't seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you're probably going to want to skip this article, as it deals with the events at the very end of episode 7.
If you don't want spoilers for The Force Awakens, please read one of the many other fine Star Wars related articles coming out of the now-concluded Star Wars Celebration 2016 in London. Otherwise, the story continues below the video.
Director Rian Johnson revealed the next chapter in the Star Wars film saga will begin right where Episode 7 left off, something never before seen in a Star Wars film.
If you don't remember, Episode 7 ends with Rey finally locating the legendary Luke Skywalker, with Rey offering Luke's own lightsaber to the self-exiled Jedi master.
The 6 Movies Influencing Star Wars: Episode 8
Star Wars: Episode 8 director Rian Johnson has revealed a list of films he encouraged his cast and crew to watch before shooting began on the movie.
They're films about war, leadership, survival, fragile alliances, muddled perspectives, and the notion of redemption through betrayal. Mmmm...
Below is a little more about each film and how they might be shaping the next installment in the core Star Wars saga.
Synopsis
Brigadier General Frank Savage (Gregory Peck) takes control of the 918th squadron, a demoralised US air force unit tasked with daylight bombing of German targets. These daytime raids had much higher rates of success, but were also much more dangerous for the men undertaking the missions.
Ghostbusters Can’t Topple Pets at the Box Office
The reboot of Ghostbusters debuted in second place at this weekend's box office, grossing an estimated $46 million domestically.
As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Ghostbusters' opening weekend is "a lukewarm start considering the movie's sizeable budget."
The Paul Feig-directed reboot will need to have solid staying power at home and to perform strongly overseas if it's going to generate sequels for Sony Pictures.
Last weekend's champ, The Secret Life of Pets, remained No. 1 with an estimated $50.6 million. Its total domestic cume currently stands at $203.2 million.
Alden Ehrenreich Is Officially Young Han Solo
The young Han Solo will be played by Alden Ehrenreich.
While it was reported back in May, Disney and Lucasfilm had not officially announced that the Hail, Caesar! and Blue Jasmine star had taken the role.
Ehrenreich onstage at Star Wars Celebration.
During the Future Filmmaker panel at Star Wars Celebration, it was revealed that the audition process for the iconic role took 6 months, with every finalist screentested in the Millennium Falcon, while Ehrenreich also tested with his soon-to-be smuggler other half, Chewbacca.
New Male-Led Ghostbusters ‘Never Real,’ Says Producer
Despite reports last year that Sony was moving forward with a male-led Ghostbusters film from Captain America directors Joe and Anthony Russo, producer Ivan Reitman has come forward to say he was "never involved" in such a project, claiming it was "never real."
In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Reitman said that while "there was a writer hired by the studio who did 30 pages," what they crafted "wasn’t very good."
The Dark Knight Writer Making Darth Vader VR Movie
The Dark Knight writer David Goyer is working with ILMxLAB to create a new virtual reality movie focused on Darth Vader, Lucasfilm announced this weekend at Star Wars Celebration.
According to the announcement (via The Verge), the VR project will tell a brand-new interactive story centered around the iconic Star Wars character, allowing viewers to be a part of a "persistent" world that has a day/night cycle.
"You are the visitor in this story that is happening in and around you, and to a certain extent you might even have some effect on," Goyer said of the experience, noting that you'll be able to open, push and pick up things, as well as walk around and even touch other characters.
Future Rebels Episodes Will Intersect More with A New Hope
Future episodes of Star Wars Rebels could feature more characters from and greater continuity with A New Hope and possibly even some sort of tie-in with Rogue One.
When asked about the appearance of Wedge Antilles, a X-Wing pilot who first appeared in A New Hope, executive producer Dave Filoni said: "You're going to start to see those characters appearing in the story and start to intersect with those
characters," said executive producer Dave Filoni.
When asked about Rogue One characters, Filoni was less committal but didn't rule it out entirely. "There's always a chance. There's a great phase in Star Wars. There's always hope. I think the great thing in Lucasfilm is you're seeing the kind of continuity we've been talking about. At Lucasfilm, we all know each other. I'll see John Knoll
Rebels Will Treat Thrawn as a Vader-Level Threat
Yesterday it was confirmed that Grand Admiral Thrawn would be returning to official Star Wars canon in the next season of Star Wars Rebels.
Today at Star Wars Celebration, the show's producers - Dave Filoni and Kiri Hart - discussed how they're going to make the villain work and drew similarities to how the show previously tackled Darth Vader.
"You are cautious on a weekly series to put them into a 'Oh, he lost again!' You can't play him that way. He's way too smart," said Filoni.
In that regard, using Thrawn is comparable to using Darth Vader in a serialised format: "If Vader is around all the time, he's just gonna take our guys out." Rebels dealt with this problem by using Ahsoka, a character who could confront Vader and potentially hurt him.
Han’s Funeral Takes Place Between Force Awakens and Episode 8
Carrie Fisher may have confirmed that the funeral for Han Solo takes place between The Force Awakens and Episode 8.
Speaking at Star Wars Celebration in London, Fisher misheard a question posed to her by fellow Star Wars actor Warwick Davies, and when asked, “What do you know of the period between the end of Return of the Jedi and the beginning of The Force Awakens?”, she answered sadly, “Han’s Funeral.”
She quickly corrected herself, saying, “The old one, oh,” before continuing, “Han and I have a very volatile relationship obviously, which leads to space divorce. No, I don’t think we are divorced, we’re just estranged.”
Previous reports suggest Solo’s funeral may have taken place in the film, but Fisher’s answer to the question suggests otherwise. However, it seems strange not to give such a pivotal character a proper send-off, so take it with a pinch of salt.