Games

Despite repeatedly saying that he would not direct Star Wars Episode VII: Absolutely Nothing to Do With Thrawn, Sorry , it was surprisingly announced yesterday that J.J. Abrams would, in fact, be directing the movie . "Okay, George. So the main bad guy is a billowing cloud of black smoke and Luke has to defeat him by running around the corner and sticking a plug in the ground." "Fine, but only if Jar-Jar's kids are in it. One of them can be a Jedi with dual-wielding lightsabres which he comically uses to smash up the scenery whenever the pace slackens." "Deal." Abrams had previously ruled himself out of contention, citing both his commitment to the new Star Trek movies for Paramount (Abrams's second Star Trek movie, Into Darkness , is out this year) and his overwhelming fandom of the Star Wars franchise preventing him from approaching a new film with the necessary detachment. Clearly these issues have been overcome, with Abrams agreeing to prod...

It has been revealed that Lawrence Kasdan, the scriptwriter of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , will pen either the second or third film in the new Star Wars trilogy. Michael Arndt has already penned an outline for the whole trilogy and will be writing the script for Episode VII . The remaining film will be penned by Simon Kinberg. Kasdan's involvement has excited fans, since The Empire Strikes Back remains widely regarded as the highpoint of the original trilogy and the entire Star Wars franchise to date. Return of the Jedi is less universally well-regarded, though the problems with the movie (such as the replacement of the planned Wookie army with Ewoks) are more often blamed on changes introduced by George Lucas himself. Kasdan's work since Jedi is less well-regarded, with his biggest hit being The Bodyguard . However, Kasdan's involvement does add some credibility for the fans hoping for a return to the form of the original trilogy. Kinberg's t...

Brad Bird, the favourite choice as director of Star Wars Episode VII , has ruled himself out of the running. He will be too busy filming 1952 , an SF epic written by Damon Lindelof, to work on the film. He is also still working on bringing his San Francisco earthquake disaster movie, 1906 , to the screen. A number of other directors have also ruled themselves out, including Zack Snyder (so no slow-mo lightsabre fights then), Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams . Joss Whedon hasn't explicitly turned it down, but he is busy developing the new S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series, after which he will start work on The Avengers II for release in May 2015. This will prevent him from working on Episode VII , which has been also slated for a 2015 release (with May 2015, the 38th anniversary of the original Star Wars , a likely date). This reduces the pool of possible directors to just a few credible figures. Joe Johnston , who most recently helmed Captain America , is a possibility due to his old-sch...

According to Hollywood sources , screenwriter Michael Arndt has written a 50-page story treatment for Star Wars: Episode VII and is a front-runner to write the full script. Arndt has previously written Little Miss Sunshine (which he won an Oscar) and Toy Story 3 (for which he was nominated for an Oscar). He has also written the scripts for the in-production The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Oblivion , a major SF movie starring Tom Cruise. He is also working on an as-yet-untitled Pixar movie for 2015. Arndt is a logical choice for the role as he has lectured extensively on Hollywood scriptwriting, often citing the 22-second climax of the original Star Wars (between Han Solo destroying one of the TIE Fighters during the trench run and the Death Star blowing up) as the perfect emotional end to a film. Apparently the treatment is currently doing the rounds of directors, with copies sent to Brad Bird, Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. Spielberg and Abrams are far too busy with other ...

George Lucas has sold Lucasfilm and its properties, including Star Wars , to the Walt Disney Corporation for a whopping $4 billion . Lucas has issued a statement saying he belives it is time to sell the franchise to a new generation of young film-makers. So long and thanks for all the Sith.  "For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. “It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trai...

James S.A. Corey - the gestalt entity formed by the unholy union of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck - will be penning a Star Wars novel. Probably not the cover art for the book. Del Rey will be releasing a new series called Rebel , which focuses on the classic heroes of the Rebellion. The series will comprise books on Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, but AbraFranck will be tackling Han Solo. It sounds like the book will be published in late 2013.

Ralph McQuarrie, the concept artist who designed much of the look of the original Star Wars movies, has passed away at the age of 82. McQuarrie played a key role on the original Star Wars film, designing R2-D2, C3-PO and Darth Vader. He also created the final look of Chewbacca ( drawing inspiration from a John Shoenherr painting for, of all things, a George R.R. Martin short story). He had a cameo appearance in The Empire Strikes Back . Many years later, he was asked to work on the prequel trilogy but declined. McQuarrie also worked on Raiders of the Lost Ark , Stark Trek IV: The Voyage Home , *batteries not included , E.T. , Jurassic Park , Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Cocoon , winning an Oscar for the latter. He also played a key role as a concept artist on the original 1978 TV series of Battlestar Galactica and did some work for the aborted Star Trek: Phase II TV project before it was abandoned. George Lucas had this to say about his colleague: "I am deeply sadde...