With still no sign of anything official coming from JJ Abrams, Disney or Lucasfilm, there's been literally hundreds of rumours circulating the web about the upcoming Star Wars film. Pretty much everyone in Hollywood has read the script, almost everyone has auditioned and yet, we're still no closer to knowing anything for definite. So, we've condensed all the news on Star Wars and put it all here. Have a read...
CASTING
This really has got to be one of the most extensive casting searches that's ever been mounted by a film production. We have never seen so many people attached, auditioned and "reading" for a film. The latest rumour? 12 Years A Slave and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o has been linked with a quote-unquote major role in the film. Whatever that means. Adam Driver - seen below - has, likewise, been linked with a major role for the film and has reportedly signed a deal. Of all the casting news, his appears to be the most confirmed. Nothing's been officially announced, of course. However, Lena Dunham has tweeted about and Kathleen Kennedy - who is now the head of Lucasfilm - reportedly tweeted something about it. Again, it's all unofficial and very, very annoying. Attack The Block's John Boyega, Downton Abbey's Ed Speleers have also just recently been linked with the film.
Why the wait and secrecy, you ask? Our guess is that they're holding fire and waiting to announce everything - as in, the name, the cast, the plot, EVERYTHING - on May 4th. Why that date? That's Star Wars Day. May the Fourth be with you? Yeah, it's a terrible pun. But this would make sense. After all, the film is due to commence filming in the next couple of months as -- segway to...
THE SCRIPT
The script for Star Wars: Episode 7 has been finished and locked in. Or so we think. Again, the truly infuriating thing about all of this is that nothing's been made official. An errant tweet here, an off-hand comment in an interview there - nothing's been ruled in or out. We do know that Michael Arndt, the guy who wrote Toy Story 3, was initially tapped to write the script. He then dropped out because, according to official and unofficial sources, the script he turned in wasn't to Abrams' liking.
Again, based on rumours, Arndt's script didn't feature any of the original cast - namely Harrison Ford / Han Solo, Carrie Fisher / Princess Leia and Mark Hamill / Luke Skywalker. Abrams wanted them in and had met with them to discuss the possibility of returning. Lawrence Kasdan - who wrote The Empire Strikes Back, our favourite Star Wars film - has completed his script with the help of Abrams. Their version of the script features the original cast more heavily which is what Lucasfilm and Disney wanted. We haven't heard any reaction about the script from those who have read it.
WHAT WE DO KNOW...
A good bit more than the last time we wrote about this. We know that John Williams has been confirmed to do the music. We know that JJ Abrams is using film, not digital. We know he's building sets and using greenscreen / CGI sparingly. We know the original cast are going to be a big part of the new film. We know that they are STILL casting for it. It seems, as well, that very few of the roles have been written specifically for people. Put it this way - if they had somebody specific in mind, they would have gone out of their way to cast whomever for it. The fact that almost everyone in Hollywood's been linked with the film means they're throwing the net as wide and as far as possible.
For the hard-core Star Wars nerds, here's the real scoop. We know for certain that they're not following the Expanded Universe storyline. For those unaware, the last film in the chronology - Return of the Jedi - ended with everyone happy in the forest and dancing with the Ewoks. The story, however, didn't end there. In 1991, the first official follow-up to the film series was announced as a novel. Heir To The Empire was written by veteran sci-fi author Timothy Zahn and was set eight years after the events of the original film series. It was a critical and commercial smash and launched what's known as the Expanded Universe. This is all moot now as Abrams has confirmed he's not following the storyline set out by the Expanded Universe.
A logo - seen below - has leaked online. We're doubtful this is real. For one, it's ugly as hell. Two, there's nothing in the slightest to suggest it's actually real. Three, it's ugly as hell. So no. We're saying poo-doo to that one.
In short, we still know feck all. Excitement levels may be beginning to wane and frankly, it's reaching parody levels at this stage with regards to the casting. Still, it's Star Wars. When they do finally announce everything, it's going to be huge. The Internet's going to collapse in on itself. We can't wait.
