After the insane
announcement this afternoon, the Official Star Wars site and other sites such as theforce.net posted a ton of new info about what's going on.
Most importantly:
It's not just one new Star Wars movie, we're going to get episodes 7, 8 and 9. This was revealed in a Disney shareholder meeting (source
here). 8 will come about 2-3 years after 7 is released in 2015, and 9 a further 2-3 years after that. There will also be more Star Wars on TV (I wonder if Underworld will happen now...)
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The Future of Star WarsLucas sits down with new Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy to discuss the sale.
Main points:
+ Lucas wanted to retire
+ He liked Disney because it's a huge corporation and could both protect the franchise and give it new opportunities
+ There are already story treatments for movies 7, 8, and 9
+ Lucas will be consulting on new movies (Kathleen Kennedy says he will be her "Yoda")
+ They are already meeting with and talking to writers about the new movie
+ This video is the first in a new series discussing the future of Star Wars and more videos are forthcoming
SourceMeet Kathleen Kennedy"George Lucas has anointed Kathleen Kennedy both as the filmmaker to take Star Wars into its bold new future as well as the person to run Lucasfilm. She is a longtime friend and collaborator with Lucas, and one of the most successful and respected producers and executives in the film industry today.
Kennedy has produced or executive produced over 60 films, which have collectively garnered 120 Academy Award® nominations, 25 wins, and have grossed over $11 billion worldwide. Among her credits are three of the highest grossing films in motion picture history: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and The Sixth Sense, as well as such blockbuster entertainment as the Indiana Jones trilogy, the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Gremlins, The Goonies, Poltergeist, War of the Worlds, Twister, and A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
Her diverse filmography also includes acclaimed dramas like this year's Lincoln, as well as War Horse, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Munich, Seabiscuit, Schindler's List, and The Color Purple, and animated motion pictures like The Adventures of Tintin, Persepolis, An American Tail, and The Land Before Time.
Kennedy has produced the films of such directors as Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Robert Zemeckis, M. Night Shyamalan, Frank Oz, Peter Bogdanovich, and Richard Donner.
Prior to joining Lucasfilm, Kennedy headed The Kennedy/Marshall Company, which she founded in 1992 with director/producer Frank Marshall, and in 1982 she co-founded the phenomenally successful Amblin Entertainment with Marshall and Steven Spielberg. Nominated for six Academy Awards® as a producer, Kennedy is also currently vice president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), as well as sitting on their Board of Trustees.
"I'm excited to have the chance to work with such an extraordinary group of talented people," said Kennedy upon becoming co-chair of Lucasfilm Ltd. earlier this year. "As George moves towards retirement I am honored that he trusts me with taking care of the beloved film franchises. I feel fortunate to have George there to advise me as we set out to make the next Star Wars films -- it is nice to have Yoda by your side."
Following the announcement that the first new Star Wars project under her auspices will be the long-awaited Episode VII, it can be revealed that Kennedy and her team at Lucasfilm is already in early development of this new era of Star Wars movies. "We're in the midst of the really fun part of the process," she says. "We're sitting down with a couple of writers and starting to discuss ideas and starting to talk about what those stories might be."
SourceOfficial Blog Posts:
Pablo Hidalgo (fan, author and LFL employee): "At this point, I don’t know many specifics, but boy can I speculate. It’s what Star Wars fans do best, after all. I’m just thrilled they’re happening, and that Star Wars is returning to the big screen where it belongs." More
here.
Steve Sansweet (Author, huge SW collector, LFL fan ambassador): "When George started talking about retirement several years ago, many of us were concerned. We felt strongly that it would take more Star Wars movies to ensure the survival of the brand; Expanded Universe fiction, merchandise, and even great TV series weren’t enough. In my mind, at least, the best possible endgame for Lucasfilm would be an acquisition by Disney. These are two companies that have family entertainment in their DNA; they complement each other in so many ways. In fact, when Star Wars premiered in 1977, more than a few reviewers said it was the kind of film that Disney should be making...
Besides Star Wars on the big screen, new television shows and a more active online presence are also great possibilities. Perhaps someday the fan dream of a full-blown Star Wars Land will become a reality. Or even smaller dreams, like Star Wars Weekends at all Disney parks, not just Walt Disney World." More
here.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the insanity of all this. I'm psyched that it seems like this new movie will indeed be live-action, post-Jedi. I wonder if they'll throw out the current EU or try and incorporate it? And tbh, one of the main problems with the prequels, imo, was the writing and directing. It makes me so excited to think about someone else besides George writing and directing a new Star Wars movie, hopefully injecting the life into it that Irvin Kershner did with ESB. So many of the younger filmmakers today in their 30s and 40s were hugely influenced by Star Wars, so I would love to see a filmmaker who is a real fan and loves the source material get the chance to make the movie.
In short, I'm cautiously excited
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More updates from the conference call:
(You can hear the recorded call
here):
The deal includes Indiana Jones, ILM, and Skywalker Sound. However, the deal was primarily based on Star Wars. No new Indiana Jones movies planned atm, and ILM will be left alone to continue as is for any film studio that wants to use it.
Currently, Lucasfilm is very heavily based on toys and North America. Disney wants to broaden the merchandise and go international.
Fox retains rights to distribute the six older films for now (same as how Universal still has theme park rights to Marvel) and Paramount still has distribution rights to Indiana Jones.
In addition to movies, Disney wants to expand Star Wars on TV, theme parks, merchandise, games (not console games, however), etc.
Sources:
starwars.comtheforce.net
