Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens

[BaneTheBrawler]

actually vaguely conceivable. he was raised by the temple but supposedly visited his family (On Stewjon) now and then when he was little, and maybe again once or twice as an adult. also, fun fact: Owen Lars was originally supposed to be Obi-Wan's brother, not Anakin's. Which would make the whole hiding him there thing make way more sense. That's how it is in the official original novels, apparently.

god, the more i learn about the story as it originally was when when the movies first came out the more i despise what Lucas later did to it.

[6souls]

Tatooine is being filmed in Abu Dhabi

Many moons ago, the first rumors about a possible start date on production for Star Wars: Episode VII cropped up on the web, indicating that J.J. Abrams’ latest space opera enterprise might get underway early this year. More recently, it’s become clear that principal shooting is on the books for May (though Disney chairman Alan Horn alleges that filming has actually already started). With all of the fits and starts in Episode VII‘s journey from backlots to the big screen, it’s been a bit difficult to pin the film’s progress down.

One thing’s for certain, though: the movie will take audiences back to Tatooine, one of the most famous (or most oft-visited) locations in the Star Wars cinematic canon. In part, this appears to be a reaction to Abrams’ frustration at being consigned to filming in London-based studios (which they’re still going to do, of course), but there’s an old custom at stake here, too, as every single Star Wars film (save for The Empire Strikes Back) has, at one point or another and to varying extents, relied on Tunisia to supply the canvas for the iconic desert planet.

But despite taking return jaunts to Tatooine’s harsh, unforgiving landscape, Episode VII actually won’t be returning to Africa’s northernmost country after all. According to THR, production will actually touch down in Abu Dhabi instead, replicating Tatooine’s climate and culture using the United Arab Emirates as a backdrop. Shooting in Abu Dhabi will reportedly take four weeks to complete.

Why the break in tradition? Turns out that Tunisia has become a slightly perilous place to visit in recent years, a signifier of the sustained political upheaval the country has been weathering since the 2011 Tunisian Revolution. How much danger that would mean for a major film production isn’t totally clear, but even though transitions of power have started to come full circle with the appointment of a new technocratic government, it seems like Abrams and co. would rather be safe than sorry.

There’s actually precedent for turning to the UAE as a location; following the tragic loss of Paul Walker Fast & Furious 7 made the same move after re-starting production this month, taking the cast and crew to not only Abu Dhabi but also Dubai. If James Wan can do it, then Abrams can, too, and beyond the obvious geographical elements, there may be other reasons for a movie to shoot in the Emirates (apart from reasons of security, of course).

Regardless, the change makes sense, and if nothing else, it’s good to know at least one concrete detail about Star Wars: Episode VII in light of the secrecy and uncertainty surrounding it – even if this is just another example of Abrams and Disney turning to well-tread ground. With veteran cast members coming back for another go-round in the Star Wars universe, the film is starting to take shape as something very familiar, though naturally that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-epis...ine-abu-dhabi/
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hea...i-shoot-694924

[Titanss]

Quick question is Thrawn a sith?

[6souls]

Quick question is Thrawn a sith?

No, he's a Grand Admiral for the Empire.

[Titanss]

So like the guy in 4 who Leia said I knew I'd find you holding Vader's leash

[Titanss]

What I skimmed over he runs the entire empire no idea why a sith wouldn't wax that ass and take his place, as they always want more power

[6souls]

So like the guy in 4 who Leia said I knew I'd find you holding Vader's leash

Yeah, similar.

Grand Admiral Thrawn is described as a tall, solidly built humanoid with blue skin and glowing red eyes. Because of the Empire's policy of discrimination against non-humans, he is the only non-human to reach the Imperial Navy's highest rank – that of Grand Admiral. Thrawn's promotion is long kept secret by Emperor Palpatine, and at the beginning of the Thrawn series the New Republic appears to be entirely unaware of his identity, or even his existence. He is also the last Grand Admiral promoted by the Emperor; he earns the rank because of his instrumental role in stopping Grand Admiral Zaarin's attempted coup, receiving the late Zaarin's rank and position as a reward. As a Grand Admiral, he wears the white uniform befitting his rank. This is distinguished from the standard charcoal grey or olive colored uniforms that Imperial officers wore, as shown in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Zahn describes Thrawn's command style as considerably different from that of Darth Vader and other typical Imperial commanders; instead of punishing failure and dissent, Thrawn promotes creativity among his crew and accepts ideas from subordinates. He is a tactical genius who has made extensive study of military intelligence and art, and is willing to retreat instead of making a stand in a losing battle.

He is a brilliant military strategist and commands the remnants of the Imperial Fleet in a series of stunning victories against the New Republic. His study of his enemies' artwork gives him insight into their thought processes and cultures, allowing him to create highly effective tailor-made strategies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Admiral_Thrawn

[Titanss]

Seems they need him, and his skills.

[Titanss]

I like how they got Fassenberger as thrawn in the fan pics

[BaneTheBrawler]

the guy holding vader's leash is a Grand Moff. They're basically regional dictators under the emperor. They're the political leadership, appointed directly by the Emperor.

Thrawn is a Grand Admiral, which is the same thing only military instead of political. He's in charge of an obscure, secluded region. He's kinda special because he was so good, but generally the Grand Admirals were under the command of their region's Grand Moffs. Pretty sure either Thrawn was an exception or his GM died when the empire fell. the GAs could take over if the GM died or whatever, and most did. there's a whole period where they all fall into warlordism.

also, at that point, the Sith are supposedly following the Rule of Two (master and apprentice, no more no less). though as it turns out there are a lot more of them. But generally not operating on the same scale Palpatine and Vader were. and they weren't always affiliated with the Empire. so, not really a lot of Sith around in a position to take over at that point.

[Vagrant]

In Thrawn's case there was no Grand Moff really. There was but he was the guy that discovered Thrawn and was actually loyal to Thrawn as opposed to the other way around plus the territory he was assigned was basically Thrawn's home territory anyway. No Imperial had any real knowledge of the sector and little hope of real power so he essentially became Thrawn's second in command and political teacher. Forget his name at the moment but he was present in the Hand of Thrawn duology. The duty assigned them in the area anyway was primarily militaristic anyway as they were supposed to be a front line against the Yuuzhan Vong if they were to return earlier than they actually did.

If Vader really wanted to he could have killed Tarkin at any point but then he would have had to deal with the repercussions from the Emperor who wouldn't have been happy as he found Tarkin quite useful. With the grand moffs they can basically be looked at as a smaller version of a senate. Each is responsible for their assigned territory to do with as they please provided they adhere to the rulings set forth by the Emperor. They can also be brought in to form a committee when the occasion calls for it(see A New Hope scene on the death star when Vader force chokes one of them who talks back to him). There are also regular Moffs(not so Grand) that are below the Grands and handle smaller territories within the Grand's own larger territory.

[BaneTheBrawler]

the guy vader chokes was not a moff. tarkin was the only moff in that room.

[6souls]

The EU will influence, but only the films are considered canon

Screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg has his finger in several pies right now; in addition to being the primary screenwriter for this May’s X-Men: Days of Future Past and co-writer on next year’s Fantastic Four comic book movie franchise reboot, Kinberg is also writing one of Disney and Lucasfilm’s upcoming Star Wars film spinoffs – features that highlight characters who’re “not part of the overall saga” according to Disney CEO Bob Iger – as well as serving as an executive producer on the animated Star Wars Rebels TV series, which premieres in the second half of 2014 on the Disney XD channel.

It was during the 2014 WonderCon that Kinberg fielded reporters’ questions about the next X-Men installment, as well as Chronicle director Josh Trank’s F4 movie reboot. He also spoke about the upcoming Star Wars films and TV shows and their relationship to the franchise’s “Expanded Universe” material.

The Star Wars Expanded Universe, for those unfamiliar, is composed of the stories that either take place long before any of the live-action Star Wars movies, over the decades after the events in the chronological last film installment (Return of the Jedi), or in between previous cinematic installments, so as to fill in the cracks in the overarching narrative. While the EU encompasses multiple platforms (books, video games, etc.) and is considered canon by many fans, the long-standing rumor is that the next wave of films will feature original narrative material that doesn’t necessarily adhere to EU continuity.

Kinberg confirmed to <redacted> that, with J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII and the developing spinoff films, the approach behind them is based on “honoring the original movies and yet wanting to take a step forward too and tell a new story too.” However, when asked if that meant the EU is off-limits altogether, Kinberg said:

It’s certainly not off limits, it’s certainly inspiring. I’m working on an animated show for them as well [in] ‘Star Wars Rebels’ that will take inspiration from everywhere, but I know for the movies the canon is the canon and the canon is the six films that exist.

We’ve already gotten hints that the Star Wars EU is having an influence on the Episode VII storyline; after Iger confirmed that Abrams’ film picks up in real-time after Return of the Jedi (some thirty years later), our Kofi Outlaw broke down many of the casting/plot rumors for the movie which suggest that there’ll be resemblances between the Expanded Universe continuity and Episode VII. However, based on Kinberg’s comments, it’s more about taking inspiration, rather than directly adapting characters and/or events from the EU to the big screen.

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-epis...nded-universe/

Details on how they plan to continue the series

As you might’ve heard, production has started – or is about to begin – on several big splashy franchise installments arriving in 2015. Terminator: Genesis officially began filming yesterday; principal photography for the Fantastic Four reboot starts in two weeks; and cameras will be rolling on Jurassic World (a.k.a. Jurassic Park 4) by the start of June this year. Meanwhile, Star Wars: Episode VII won’t arrive until right before the start of winter next year (unlike the aforementioned summer releases), but it has already commenced with second unit shooting.

Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn, by way of Variety‘s Brent Lang, has confirmed that filming on Episode VII is underway in Abu Dhabi, though it feels like old news now that photos taken form the set have already leaked. Horn again said that casting for Abrams’ film is not yet done; it’s odd news coming so close to the start of filming, but we expect the situation to change very soon.

Horn, via an additional report by Variety, also revealed that he shall meet up with director J.J. Abrams to give the Episode VII script one final glance-over and discuss production design later this week in London, where the bulk of shooting for the seventh Star Wars live-action movie is slated to take place. Finally, the chairman described the budget for Abrams’ film as “in the neighborhood of $175 million to $200 million,” which is pretty standard for these kind of effects-heavy tentpoles nowadays.

Arguably, the most interesting “update” that Horn had to offer (via Lang) is that the Star Wars movies coming after Episode VII might arrive in May, rather than stick with the film’s December release date approach. Previous installments in the space adventure series were released in May, as was the original plan for Episode VII; Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt’s original script draft for the project was reportedly heavily revised by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back), which is the unofficial reason why pre-production on Episode VII took longer than expected.

Back in 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the Mouse and Lucasfilm – now presided over by legendary blockbuster producer Kathleen Kennedy – intend to release (on average) a new Star Wars movie every year, beginning with Episode VII. That includes future “Episode” installments, in addition to solo films/spinoffs that highlight characters who are “not part of the overall saga,” with the tentative schedule including Episode VII in 2015, a spinoff in 2016, Episode VIII in 2017, and so forth. However, some – if not all – of those post-Episode VII films could wind up being summer releases; it “depends on screenplay readiness,” reports Lang.

On the one hand, releasing future Star Wars movies in May might seem like a no-brainer; they’re the sort of pop blockbusters that are good for kicking off a Summer Movie Season properly – not to mention, they’ve long thrived at the box office during that month. However, things have changed in recent years, as May is now a playground for big Marvel superhero/comic book adaptations (see: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past this year, Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, etc.). Furthermore, the month is pretty much booked up through until 2017 – and even then, May is already partially filled up, with stuff like an unannounced Marvel film and the LEGO Movie sequel.

Disney/Lucasfilm could release future Star Wars movies in June/July instead (the box office slow down makes August less likely), but those months have also become pretty full over the next few years. Still, there’s no reason the franchise can’t make December its new home and clean up at the box office, much like Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films have for over a decade now. We’ll just have to wait and see how Disney plays this game, basically.

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-epis...release-dates/
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/st...bi-1201160927/
https://twitter.com/BrentALang?origi...w_p=tweetembed

[Abandon]

dear lord, this is going to suck

[Vagrant]

Official press release on the EU going forward along with the announcement of the upcoming books in the EU novel relaunch coinciding with the press release info. No real episode 7 info here but guess this is best place for the info for those interested.

For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created "Star Wars," George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six "Star Wars" episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars". These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

Now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of Star Wars, all aspects of "Star Wars" storytelling moving forward will be connected. Under Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's direction, the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all Star Wars creative development.

"We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon," said Kennedy. "We're set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before."

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, "Star Wars" Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-"Return of the Jedi" Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new "Star Wars" entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in "Star Wars Rebels". The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.

On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be "Star Wars Rebels". In print, the first new books to come from this creative collaboration include novels from Del Rey Books. First to be announced, John Jackson Miller is writing a novel that precedes the events of Star Wars Rebels and offers insight into a key character's backstory, with input directly from executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Greg Weisman.

And this is just the beginning of a creatively aligned program of "Star Wars" storytelling created by the collaboration of incredibly talented people united by their love of that galaxy far, far away....

The first novel to benefit from this deeper collaboration is Star Wars: A New Dawn, by bestselling author John Jackson Miller. Set prior to the events of the forthcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels, this novel tells the story of how two of the lead characters of the series, Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla, came to cross paths. To tell this important backstory, Miller benefited from contact with series executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg and Greg Weisman, who together ensured this tale will be part of the Star Wars canon of storytelling going forward. It is scheduled for hardcover and eBook release on September 2, 2014.

"We're extremely proud of the hundreds of amazing Star Wars books we've published at Del Rey," said Scott Shannon, SVP, publisher, Del Rey and Digital Content, "And now we're excited to finally be able to call our upcoming novels true canon -- a single, cohesive Star Wars storyline -- all while keeping the amazing backlist of Star Wars Legends content in print."

Following Star Wars: A New Dawn, the all-new Star Wars fiction line will continue with the following 2014/2015 titles:


STAR WARS: TARKIN
James Luceno
11/4/14

STAR WARS: HEIR TO THE JEDI
Kevin Hearne
January 2015

STAR WARS: LORDS OF THE SITH
Paul Kemp
March 2015

In years past, the storylines that would appear in print and on screen were developed separately, resulting in an "Expanded Universe" that differed in ways large and small from the filmmaker's "canon." These rich stories provide a treasure trove of characters to fall in love with -- and deep worlds to explore and will live on in both physical and digital editions, newly-branded as Star Wars Legends.

The last two books listed there sound like something that will be post-ROTJ(but perhaps pre-Episode 7) while Tarkin and A New Dawn are pre-ROTJ.

EDIT: Heir to the Jedi has been officially stated as taking place between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back as a completely Luke Skywalker POV novel. And Lords of the Sith is Palpatine and Vader so nothing filling in that big 30 year gap yet.

[Palin]

RIP Thrawn

[Titanss]

dear lord, this is going to suck

Disagree. JJ will make this fucking sick

[6souls]

Big announcement is coming on Star Wars Day, May 4th (be with you).

[Sho]

Star Wars is dead to me now.

[Qalbert]

would be deader is Lucas was still running things