Star Wars Episode VII Director Revealed

[Covenant]

No, not a joke or speculation thread, it's official this time.  J.J. Abrams has been selected by Disney to direct episode 7.  Proceed with your lens flare jokes 

[TiLT]

No, not a joke or speculation thread, it's official this time.

You do realize that the link you posted is speculation and rumors, right? There's nothing official about this yet.

[Covenant]

No, not a joke or speculation thread, it's official this time.

You do realize that the link you posted is speculation and rumors, right? There's nothing official about this yet.

Well damnit you're right!  Everyone is talking like it's a done deal but there's no actual confirmation from the powers that be. This isw what I get for posting first thing in the morning. 

[pr0ner]

I'd be shocked if this isn't confirmed very soon

[TiLT]

I'd be shocked if this isn't confirmed very soon

I agree. As far as rumors go, this one is pretty solid.

[ATB]

Cov!?

[ravenvii]

This is where they explain why stormtroopers always miss.

They're blinded by lens flare!

(not mine, read this somewhere on the interwebs)

[Rumpy]

Yeah, this one seems pretty solid and major news outlets are picking it up. Orci's also tweeted and confirmed it.

Although I'll say this. I don't know if I can really trust Abram's words anymore. He's said so many things over the course of the last two years, some of which have been contradicted, by himself even, that his nose must be getting quite a bit longer. So, whenever he says anything, I never know if he's telling the truth or if he's pulling our legs.

[leo8877]

Official now

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/ams-officially-confirmed-director-star-wars-episode-vii-article-1.1248419

[metallicorphan]

This is where they explain why stormtroopers always miss.

They're blinded by lens flare!

(not mine, read this somewhere on the interwebs)

I really enjoyed the last Star Trek,so i am happy its him...i think i have liked most things i have seen by this guy actually

[hepcat]

I was pulling for Uwe.   

[Turtle]

I think it's a good sign that the major criticism of his latest work is lens flares.

[CeeKay]

I was pulling for Uwe.   

I was hoping Brett Ratner myself.

[Bullwinkle]

I have to say I was sadwhen Brad Bird seemed out of the race, but this'll work.

[kronovan]

I was thinking it would be Joseph Kosinski who'd get the job, but I'm very happy to here it's Abrams. He has 1 quality that I think is very important for any Star Wars film at this point - a director that can also write. Hopefully this will see an end to some of the terrible, wooden dialog that plagued Eps 1 - 3.

[Eel Snave]

Right, plus Abrams knows that you have to, I don't know, move characters around when filming dialogue, use real locations instead of pure greenscreening, make things exciting, stuff like that. An Abrams Star Wars could be fantastic.

[Bullwinkle]

Apparently, Abrams has agreed to direct but has not agreed to the release date.  Speculation is mounting that the movie may come out later than anticipated.  Personally, I have no problem with that.  It should be the mantra for all of these:  Take the time, do it right (baby).

Also, Star Wars Into Darkness  This shouldn't work as well as it does.  It's a nothing idea, but it still gave me goosebumps and somehow tapped into the kid thrill I was feeling around 1980.

[CeeKay]

but I want it noooooowwww.....

[metallicorphan]

Bad Robot Twitter feed posted this picture..it advertises J.J well(Super 8 and Star Wars  )

[Soulchilde]

I'm wondering if they'll follow the novels with 7-9?   I hope not as some of those novels were just bad.  Anyway, before anyone ask I am talking about Luke's fall to the darkside


I hope I don't need to spoiler tag


Anyway,  

[wonderpug]

I'm wondering if they'll follow the novels with 7-9?

I think the only likelihood would be that they'd have some tips of the hat for fans, like having Thrawn on the bridge of a ship for a brief shot or something.

[metallicorphan]

(I'll stick this here)

Just incase people are a little lost without a little George Lucas hate of late..General Zod pips in about working with George

Terence Stamp found it boring working with George Lucas

Stamp said, "We didn't get on at all. I didn't feel he was a director of actors, he was more interested in stuff and effects."

So why did Stamp want to do the movie in the first place? Well, he wanted to meet Natalie Portman, but when he turned up for his first scene with the young actress, she was nowhere in sight. Stamp asked Lucas as to her whereabouts, the director replied, "That's Natalie", pointing to a piece of paper on the wall.

Stamp summarised the experience quite pithily: "It was just boring."

[metallicorphan]

I'm wondering if they'll follow the novels with 7-9?   I hope not as some of those novels were just bad.  Anyway, before anyone ask I am talking about Luke's fall to the darkside


I hope I don't need to spoiler tag


Anyway,  

I didn't know about that,but that's okay..I would be a little annoyed however that it happened,as it would totally undermine ROTJ,in Jedi all through the film(at least when i first saw it),you never knew what Luke was gonna do,was he gonna get suckered in to the dark side by the Emperor while trying to find some Father/Son time with Vader?,why was he now wearing black all the time and not white from the first film...and then he gets the living shit fried out of him by not giving in,and now you tell me he did sway to the dark side

well i don't like!! 

[metallicorphan]

[EngineNo9]

I just picture a giant Sarlacc pit opening up in the sand below him...

[CeeKay]

man, I feel kinda bad for Kirk.....

[CeeKay]

some cool fan art for the new movie:






(they left out 'it')

[TK-421]

(they left out 'it')

I also think they could toss the "The" at the beginning of that.  It works better (for me anyway) as; "Evil never ends. It evolves."

Or some such.

[Caine]

would kill for a Thrawn trilogy, will settle for a Young Jedi trilogy.  Dark Empire is probably the best bet though.  good source material in the comics to base scenes on. 

[Rumpy]

Would be even better if they could combine both. Have Luke train new Jedi, and have Talon Karrde and Mara Jade as new characters to the movies.

[Bullwinkle]

We may see a character or two from the EU tossed in, but I would be surprised if they were in major roles.  They're going to establish their own reality.

It has been clear since day one (the first Zahn trilogy) that none of the books are canon.  In fact, I think it's the reason Lucas allowed the books at all.

We've seen in the Clone Wars that the writers are fans of the EU, and they'll try to work stuff in when they can, but even then it's their take on it, and it isn't connected directly.

The writers of the films are not going to be as enamored of the EU (do you really think Kasdan has been sitting around reading these things?), so I wouldn't count on any of the books being used as source material.  They may get a whisper in the ear to drop Winter or Mara Jade in, but we're not going to see a rewrite of any pre-existing material.

[TiLT]

The writers of the films are not going to be as enamored of the EU (do you really think Kasdan has been sitting around reading these things?), so I wouldn't count on any of the books being used as source material.  They may get a whisper in the ear to drop Winter or Mara Jade in, but we're not going to see a rewrite of any pre-existing material.

He doesn't have to have sat around reading the books or other source materials. Lucasfilm has what they call the Holocron, a large "bible" of Star Wars canon, divided into the following layers, in descending order of importance: (higher layers override lower layers)

• G-canon - The movies, novelizations, audio plays, and anything George Lucas has said.
• T-canon - The TV shows (ie. The Clone Wars and the live action series)
• C-canon - The Expanded Universe. An exception is made for RPGs and games, where game mechanics, character stats, and so on are considered N-canon.
• S-canon - Secondary canon. Considered non-canon except for the parts that don't directly overlap existing story and lore. Star Wars Galaxies, for example.
• N-canon - Non-canon. Example: Soulcalibur IV.

With the exception of N-canon, these are all considered canon and all of them are fully documented in the Holocron. However, the upper layers do override the lower ones, and George Lucas has made it clear with the prequels that he's willing to replace previous canon from lower layers if he feels it is necessary. This happened with Boba Fett for example, as his C-canon backstory is now essentially rendered N-canon thanks to the prequels. Even so, Lucas always seemed to enjoy putting in small references to the C-canon in the movies, such as Dash Rendar's Outrider ship appearing in the A New Hope special edition.

There's this quote from Lucas though, from an interview in Total Film magazine back in 2008:

LUCAS: "I've left pretty explicit instructions for there not to be any more features. There will definitely be no Episodes VII–IX. That's because there isn't any story. I mean, I never thought of anything. And now there have been novels about the events after Episode VI, which isn't at all what I would have done with it. The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story. Once Vader dies, he doesn't come back to life, the Emperor doesn't get cloned and Luke doesn't get married..."

In other words, it doesn't sound like Lucas likes what the Expanded Universe did with the setting after the events of Return of the Jedi. Since the three new episodes are based on a story treatment by Lucas himself, we shouldn't be surprised if they go in a wildly different direction from the EU stories, though there may be references here and there. Expect what we know of the New Republic EU to be (officially) null and void after 2015 or so.

[Bullwinkle]

So, what I said.   

The writers aren't going to sit around reading the Big Bible of Lucas Lore, either.  They are going to take the movies and George's notes as a starting point and write.  They'll turn in a draft and someone at Lucas will say, "Hey, since you've given Leia an assistant, why don't you have a look at this character here" or "You know, this generic character who gets sent off never to be seen again could be so-and-so" and the rewriting would start.  I don't envy them this.

[Rumpy]

Fair enough, but at the same time, the characters of Talon Karrde and Mara Jade are some of the more popular EU characters that would make sense to have in the movies if they do have any, since it's those novels that kickstarted the EU. So, even if they don't appear as major characters, it would be nice to have them do a cameo to acknowledge the impact they've had. Thanks for laying that out, Tilt. I knew I had heard about that before, but was having trouble finding reference to it

[kronovan]

I'm personally more interested in a movie that draws on sources found in the C-Canon. I think the settings and themes in the G and T canons have been visited and rehashed to death. I'd like them to go forward with something like the Thrawn Trilogy or  go far backward to a time and place set in the Old Republic.

And while on the subject of the canon hierarchy, IMO the 1st thing  Disney should do is make sure Lucas Arts chucks it.

[Rumpy]

Don't you mean LucasFilm? LucasArts is their game company division

[CeeKay]

they could make a game where you go back in time and alter events to fit a proper timeline.

[kronovan]

Don't you mean LucasFilm? LucasArts is their game company division

Yep I meant Lucas Films, but Lucas Arts chucking it as well would probably improve things too.

they could make a game where you go back in time and alter events to fit a proper timeline.

I love it and want to play it! If you were able to delete out that crappy episode that occurred about 1000 BY, involving a bunch of goofy and annoying kids with names like Bug, that would be very cool.

[TiLT]

I think the settings and themes in the G and T canons have been visited and rehashed to death.

That's not how the canon layers work. When the new movies come out, no matter what topic or theme they cover, they'll be part of the G canon. The canon layers don't restrict the content that can be placed in them. It's merely a way for the license holders to organize and prioritize the enormous amounts of lore that exists for Star Wars.

[kronovan]

I think the settings and themes in the G and T canons have been visited and rehashed to death.

That's not how the canon layers work. When the new movies come out, no matter what topic or theme they cover, they'll be part of the G canon. The canon layers don't restrict the content that can be placed in them. It's merely a way for the license holders to organize and prioritize the enormous amounts of lore that exists for Star Wars.

Maybe someone should have explained that to George Lucas.