One of the main questions regarding 'Star Wars: Episode 7' is, "Will J.J. Abrams be able to follow in George Lucas' footsteps?" Many, including 'Star Trek Into Darkness' star Simon Pegg, believes yes, as he's already reinvigorated the 'Star Trek' universe. But what exactly will he bring to the next chapter? As Pegg said, "All the things that we loved about the first three."
J.J. Abrams gave his first extensive interview on 'Star Wars: Episode 7' to Playboy and spoke at length about the challenges of being in control of 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek' - two of the biggest sci-fi franchises in history. He talks about how he'll be collaborating with George Lucas, his feeling on the prequels and how you shouldn't assume he won't direct 'Star Trek 3.'
It's the kind of thing that sounds like an April Fool's Day prank, but for 'Star Wars' fans it will be an exploration of one of the greatest "What if?" scenarios of all time. Dark Horse Comics has announced that it is adapting George Lucas' original 'Star Wars' treatment into a comic miniseries. Sure, 'Star Wars' comics are nothing new, but Lucas' original ideas were so radically and wildly different than the finished films that this should prove fascinating and utterly unique.
Are they in or aren't they? That's the biggest question revolving around 'Star Wars: Episode 7' at the moment: is the original cast actually returning? We've heard "confirmations" from various sources, but there's still a large question mark hovering over the matter.
Today we might be a little closer to a definitive answer on the 'Star Wars: Episode 7' cast, coming straight from George Lucas himself.
What do you do when you've sold off your epic science fiction franchise that's been your life's work for billions of dollars? You could sit around and twiddle your thumbs, but it looks like 'Star Wars' creator George Lucas is taking all of his newfound free time and excess cash to pursue one of his passions: art. And how does the creator of the biggest movie series of all time pursue art? By opening his own art museum in San Francisco, of course.
Even during the best of times, George Lucas has never been known as an "actor's director." Watch some behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the original 'Star Wars' trilogy and you'll see the actors straining for a reaction or direction from the man. Spielberg he is not.
If you want verbal proof of Lucas' indifference (for lack of a better word) to the acting craft, 'Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace' star Terence Stamp ("Chancellor Valorum") is here to lay it out for you in no uncertain terms. George Lucas is boring.
As we bid farewell to 2012, we're surely remembering the highlights of the outgoing year. In the geek-world, there was probably no bigger moment than when it was announced that George Lucas was selling Lucasfilm to Disney, ushering in a whole new era of 'Star Wars' films. Since that announcement, we've been privy to a series of conversations between Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy, the new Lucasfilm head honcho, and today we have the final video, which you can see after the break.
While we wait patiently (ever so patiently...) for a director to finally be named to helm 'Star Wars: Episode 7', we must look elsewhere to feed our 'Star Wars' hunger.
George Lucas will certainly do nicely! Ever since the news broke that the man would be on board in an advisory role during the development of 'Episode 7' (and beyond), most of us have been wondering just how connected he will be. To hear Lucas tell it, he's just sort of going to be hanging around, waiting for people to ask him something.
Famed author, critic and professor Camille Paglia has unexpectedly called George Lucas the world's "greatest living artist" saying the finale of 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith' as having more "inherent artistic value, emotional power, and global impact" than any other work of art in the last 30 years. Uh...WHUT?
We're going to have to talk about this.
It's not really 'Star Wars: Episode VII' news, but this interview with George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy may help shed some light on why Lucas retired and how Kennedy stepped in to replace him.
