I rarely write about rumors here, mostly because the majority don't have a chance of being even remotely true, and the few that are probably true are only half true.
Jedi News's source of rumors has now said that Harrison Ford is finally onboard with Episode VII, something that has been in the speculation box for nearly a year now. However, the interesting part is that Ford signed not only for Star Wars, but also wanted a commitment to Indy 5. So if all parties get arranged, then we might see Indy 5 after all by 2016. It's also worth noting that he wanted to see the synopsis of his character on more than just Episode VII, and that he signed on for a multi film deal.
Of course, we can't be sure that everything this new rumor says is true, but it's the one that has the best chance of being true. I assume that Mark, Carrie, Anthony Daniels and maybe even Kenny Baker have already signed in early on, but with Harrison it was harder to convince him, and Indy seems to have been the giveaway since Ford is more fond of the archaeologist than the space smuggler. Peter Mayhew apparently replaced his knees in order to be capable of walking again, and be back as Chewbacca.
I have been anxiously waiting for Indy 5 to hit the theaters since 2008's Crystal Skull, so here goes to hoping that we get Harrison back into both franchises.
Star Wars fans where expecting some form of news on October 30th due to the anniversary of the Disney acquisition. However, something rather strange and unexpected popped up earlier, and it was a different kind of news from the one the fans wanted to hear.
For some unknown reason, Michael Arndt is no longer working on the script of Episode VII. Director JJ Abrams, and old time screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan have taken over. We also got the good news that Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood and Roger Guyett, who had all previously worked in Star Wars, will be returning (no word on John Knoll or Dennis Muren).
Obviously, this kind of news helps bring in the surface new rumors, and a rash response from the side of the fans. One such rumor claimed that Arndt's story and characters were thrown out the way and that the story was started from zero once again.
There is no way that rumor has any chance of being even remotely true. For starters, we know from an interview made to Jett Lucas that George has been "constantly talking to JJ". I simply don't see JJ and Kasdan throwing the script and starting over with George under some form of supervision. Not only that, but it's also been repeatedly confirmed that Episode VII will be released in the Summer of 2015, regardless of what the rumors say. A rewrite of the script so close to shooting would only delay things further.
Jedi News gave in a similar theory that I have, which is basically that Arndt was hired to finish the script up to a certain point, and later somebody else would take over. This is supported with Kathy Kennedy's announcement that "Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point".
Having Lawrence Kasdan as a major screenwriter is good in the sense that the guy has a good picture of what Star Wars is, having worked with George previously and known the plans of the prequels decades before they were made. As far as JJ goes, I'm confident he will deliver.
Of course, we won't know for sure what exactly goes on behind the scenes for some time. We should, nevertheless, remain optimistic that things will turn out great.
Most of you probably know already the info that was released about Star Wars Rebels in the New York Comic Con. However, I still would like to analyze and say my own opinion on the matter.
For starters, we got to see the first look on one of the main villains of Rebels, and that will be the Inquisitor, a dark Jedi tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down the remaining Jedi Knights.
He striked to me at first as looking too much like the Son from the Mortis Trilogy, but I later got over it to realize that the two would be very different characters.
It's also important to note a couple of things: Pablo Hidalgo is known to have said at some point that there would be Inquisitor(s) not just an Inquisitor. Perhaps this guy will be the main focus of the show, but then it brings into question the grand-scheme of things-when will these guys be killed off? And by whom, if so few Jedi are left? It's certainly interesting to see what approach they will take, to see, if the Inquisitors are killed before A New Hope or after.
Dave Filoni goes on to talk more about it on the video, about how it's going to be Empire-centric with it's villains. It's important to note that many Clone Wars veterans, including Joel Aron and Killian Plunkett, will be involved in the making of the show. New, as well as old vehicles and ships will make appearances in the show. Rebels will take place 14 years after Revenge of the Sith and 5 years before A New Hope.
Another interesting bit we got to know was that George Lucas's ideas for the time period would be incorporated into the show, but he would no longer be directly involved. Dave Filoni has taken the helm as the storyteller, which is a great thing, because he has now been assigned the rank of ''Master'' after 8 years of working with George in Clone Wars, and George can now go happily into retirement with Mellody and their daughter, Everest.
One of George's ideas for the time period, would be that the Stormtroopers would be made up of ''brainwashed'' civilians, mainly because the clones were too individualistic for the Empire. Due to accelerated aging, the Jango Fett clones are no longer serving as soldiers, and are instead training the Stormtroopers, or are retired and abandoned by a galaxy that never really cared for them. All of these implications put into question the execution of Order 66, which will be further explained in the upcoming bonus content, to be released in 2014.
Another interesting concept is the fact that much of the show will take place in Lothal, a planet that wasn't involved in the Clone Wars and is instead now being occupied by the Empire. With the promise of economic prosperity, the Empire soon becomes a military and crushing force on the planet, recruiting Stormtroopers and building TIE fighters. It's fairly possible that this show could go on to be a critique of Imperialism and Industrialization, and may touch on environmentalism, something that wasn't really explored in the Clone Wars.
The Jedi did come to be mentioned by Hidalgo, saying that with the Inquisitors goals, ''The fact that there is one in the series...the Empire has reason to believe there are Jedi somewhere.'' Hidalgo recognized that ''There is a presence for the Jedi in the show but we are being very cognizant of the fact that Order 66 signifies something.'' They also want to keep in mind the importance of Luke Skywalker being the only Jedi a few years after this show is set.
That does bring to question one thing...Ahsoka. Will Ahsoka still be a Jedi, or not in this show, or will she appear? That remains to be answered, along as to which famous film characters will make an appearance.
So far this is probably the best thing to have come out of the Disney acquisition.
Before I can jump in into this pretty big and fishy topic, in which I'm pretty sure plenty will disagree, let me just say one thing before I start: I am naturally an optimist. I like to think that intelligent, not mindless optimism, is the only realistic strategy through life. If Luke hadn't been optimistic when he went inside the Death Star, he would have fallen to the dark side and become the new apprentice of the Emperor. Worse, Vader wouldn't have been redeemed, and the galaxy wouldn't have been saved. So at the end of the day, when it comes to a moral that Star Wars teaches us, of which their are several, is that we have to persist and get back up after bad things happen. If we don't, then it will only make our lives miserable.
That is a lesson that many fans have either forgotten about, or are simply ignoring, when it comes to the future of Star Wars under Disney. Some are saying that Disney will ignore the prequels when it comes to Episode VII, others are doubtful that the Clone Wars Bonus Content will be released, others have been getting upset over rather neutral comments from JJ Abrams, etc, etc, etc.
And you know what? I can't take this pessimism. I'm sorry. By thinking negatively not only are you being unhappy, several around you will be faced with that same unhappiness.
Sure, I'm not saying that this has been an ''easy'' year for fans anyway. I understand that many still feel sad over the cancellation of Clone Wars and 1313, and so forth. But friends, their are plenty of reasons to wake up the next day and feel good about your life and about Star Wars. As some say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one I think explains it better than anything I may argue in the future:
If this doesn't give you any faith in the future of Star Wars, Fine. Go ahead and be cynical and say that you aren't pessimists, but realists and that I am a delusionary dreamer. But at the end of the day, what does that give you?
In the end, the fans will only be optimistic about Episode VII if their is anything to be hopeful about. With George having meetings with JJ and Kathy, their are reasons to remain hopeful.
When Star Wars was first introduced to audiences in 1977, it became a worldwide phenomenon. Many have argued looking back that it's success is largely due to the fact that it came at the right time. The United States had recently come defeated out of the Vietnam War, and was facing a scandal out of its previous president. The country was in a state of despair. Episode IV gave the public a sense of hope, and most importantly, it gave a group of heroes with a strong sense of morality: the Jedi.
The Jedi ever since first being introduced, have been the central core to the saga, even if their appearance in Episodes IV-VI wasn't as prominent as in I-III. And part of the reason why they remain so iconic and important to the franchise, has to do with the image they represent: that of the moral hero.
Part of the appeal of characters like James Bond, Boba Fett, Jack Sparrow and Han Solo has to do with the fact that they reflect a broken aspect of ourselves. When Bond was first introduced in the Ian Fleming novels, he was a guy who could sleep with a woman and later murder her and have no remorse over it (I'm talking about the character of the novels). In some ways, Bond was no better than the bad guy he was fighting against. And this is of course, part of why the audience like the character.
Bond...James Bond
We live in a society in which several young kids are being raised by the television and the Internet, due to the fact that their parents are too busy working a full time job. Most of these times, these kids grow up to idolize the celebrities that were popular at the time. And it's a real shame, because as Joseph Campbell described it very well in The Power of Myth, ''One of the many distinctions between the celebrity and the hero, is that one lives only for self while the other acts to redeem society.'' This isn't to say that Han Solo is a celebrity per say, but that he is more of a selfish character...at least in most of A New Hope.
However, every now and then a hero becomes noticed by the popular culture, and makes us all realize and see the good within us as humans. Gandhi did that in the 40's. Martin Luther King did so in the 60's, and more recently Pope Francis has been receiving high level of appraisal and respect outside of the Catholic Church. In today's popular films, few characters embody the ideal moral hero better than the Jedi.
That isn't to say that the Jedi are perfect, by any means. But in several ways, they serve as great role models to both young boys and girls alike, in a time in which the world's traditional morals are more desperately needed than ever.
And I'm pretty sure that more than one Star Wars fan has previously or still, wishes to have been mentored by the likes of Obi-Wan, Yoda and Qui-Gon, because ultimately, many of us wish to become wiser and see the best that is within our own potential. In several ways, I find that to be the reason for Obi-Wan's popularity, and one of the reasons why he is my favorite character: We get to see him mature from a young man into a wise old master. Few other film characters get that type of development, and it's one of the things I hope we can get from an old Luke Skywalker in Episode VII.
So, at the end of the day, even if scoundrels like Han Solo and Boba Fett are popular among the fans, their is a reason why the Jedi are the central part of Star Wars.
Paul F McDonald's famous blog titled The Star Wars Heresies is a very interesting take on exploring the philosophy, religion and mythology of Star Wars, and is one of the best strongholds over Episodes I, II and III. He is the primary reason I have taken an interest in reading Joseph Campbell. Now several of you can take their first step into a larger world, by purchasing his newly released book.
A common ''myth'' that the hateboys have fabricated over the years is about how George Lucas was responsible for absolutely everything in the prequels and how he somehow did nothing in the originals. This is obviously one of the biggest lies manufactured by the Hateboy Nation, and goes to show the level of insanity and immature behavior these haters have. However, it should be clear that not all of them support the same views when it comes to GL and the prequels. One of them being the notorious Mike Ryan from the Huffington Post.
In his post titled Star Wars Episode VII: In Defense of George Lucas, Ryan starts off with the ''myth'' that it's somehow contrarian to defend GL these days. He further explains below:
First, let's back up a second. When I say this is "odd," I mean that if we did a smash cut (or, since we're talking about Star Wars, a screen wipe) from 1983 to today, this sort of attitude would seem preposterous. Of course, 30 years have passed, which is quite enough time for a director to erode his relationship with a fanbase -- and, yes, that's exactly what Lucas accomplished with the prequels.
Let's settle down a couple of things here. George Lucas has not eroded his relationship with the fanbase. If I recall correctly from Celebration VI in Orlando, and the various public appearances he's had over the years, George has been very warmly received by the crowds how have seen him. Sure, Lucas's relationship with the hateboys is one that eroded a looong time ago, but that is more related with the lack of decency these people tend to have than anything else. Not to mention the fact that with Episodes I, II, III and the Clone Wars, Star Wars has gained a new generation of fans, most of which have a high degree of respect and admiration of GL. Oh, and did I mention the complaints of people who where clearly worried when George wasn't going to be very involved in the upcoming Episode VII? People who asked if it would be Star Wars without George Lucas? Exactly.
Now if you keep reading his article, you notice that Ryan has at least some level of respect for Lucas. He clearly sees him as a ''big ideas man'' responsible for the story that came to happen in Empire and Jedi. His view that George is a great storyteller however, crashes if you remember well something Ryan wrote back in June titled Jedi Are Boring. He ended this article with this outrageous statement:
The original Star Wars movies worked because we related with Han, Luke and Leia. It's impossible to relate with a Jedi. Also, who would even want to relate to a Jedi? They're boring.
So on one hand Mike Ryan says that George is a good storyteller but on the other he pretty much says that the most important characters of the Star Wars saga are boring? Of course, both ideas are completely contradictory to each other. What this illustrates the most is the truth of why the hateboys hate the prequels and in turn, aren't really fans of Star Wars:
The truth is plain and simply, the hateboys had a very different view in mind about what Episodes I, II and III would look like. However, once the films were released and they didn't live up to those expectations, ideas, dreams or whatever, they were disappointed. So in the course of the years, they have ransacked every argument in the book, while not realizing that the real problem is themselves, not a filmmaker who has become one of the most financially successful and most influential in the past 30 years.
So, in The True Defense of the Maker and Master himself, George Lucas, we can say that he has created a very popular space opera that has spanned 6 films, countless books,comics and games, and a very popular TV Show. Not only is he highly influential as a filmmaker and a storyteller, but also he is widely admired by the fans. At least, by the ones who truly love Star Wars.
P.S.: Oh, and by the way, at the end of Mike Ryan's Defense of George Lucas article, I checked to see the comments section, which typically attracts hateboys like how a shark is attracted to blood. However, to my very delightful surprise, Bryan Young stood up for the prequel supporters, and posted this comment:
Thanks Bryan for the support!! We need more of this type of defense in hateboy territory!!
