WookieeLeaks: ‘Star Wars Rebels’ Footage, ‘Episode 7′ Rumors and Mark Hamill’s “Contractually Obligated” Beard

ScreenCrush’s WookieLeaks is a weekly roundup of everything 'Star Wars'! From 'Episode 7,' to the upcoming spinoffs and the TV shows, if it pertains to that long ago, far away galaxy, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, a deluge of 'Star Wars: Episode 7' details are revealed, 'Star Wars Rebels' shows off a ton of new footage, and 'Star Wars' and Disney get mashed up in some really crazy cosplay.

The First 'Episode 7' Plot Details Revealed (Maybe)

Director J.J. Abrams' infamous "mystery box" was torn open this week as the first completely unofficial-and-unconfirmed plot details about 'Star Wars: Episode 7' made their way onto the internet. Although we won't know if any of this is true until Disney or Lucasfilm releases an official synopsis, we have a good feeling that there's a lot of truth here. The leak comes to us via Badass Digest and that's not a publication know for making things up.

So, without further ado, here's how they describe the plot:

Imagine the standard Star Wars crawl, and when it ends the camera pans up to the stars. But instead of a spaceship zooming into frame we see... a hand! A severed hand, tumbling through space. A severed hand gripping a light saber.

That hand falls onto a desert planet, where it is discovered by characters who will be our heroes. One is Daisy Ridley. The other is John Boyega, who is playing someone trying to change his path in life (again, I'm keeping it vague here). They recognize the light saber as a Jedi relic and decide to return it to the proper people.

Their quest takes them off world, and they meet up with Han Solo and Chewbacca, who aren't flying around in the Millenium Falcon anymore but are piloting... well, that could be a spoiler. I'll leave it. Anyway, Han and Chewie recognize the light saber as Luke's, and they say they haven't seen their friend in thirty years, since the events of Return of the Jedi.

So begins a quest to find the missing Jedi Master. Meanwhile, on an ice planet, nefarious forces are building a super weapon, one capable of destroying not planets but entire solar systems...

That's the broadest of broad outlines, but it's an excellent tease. Sure, the internet has torn into this news like an angry, basement-dwelling lion tearing into a wildebeest, but there's nothing here that sounds bad to us. We like the idea of a big mystery spurring heroes into a quest across the galaxy. We like the idea that they're going to meet up with the old cast on their journey. After the overly complicated and muddled politics of the prequel trilogy, a pure adventure sounds just about perfect.

The First 'Episode 7' Character Details Revealed (Maybe)

And while we're on the subject of Badass Digest dropping huge scoop bombs, here's another one! The site published an additional article where it revealed the identity of John Boyega's new lead character and it gels with everything we've been hearing. If you're spoilerphobic, feel free to skip the rest of this section.

John Boyega will be playing a Stormtrooper. More specifically, he'll be playing a Stormtrooper who abandons his post and ends up on the side of the good guys, joining Daisy Ridley's character on her search for Luke Skywalker.

This raises a number of fascinating questions, but most importantly, it confirms something major: the Empire may have had its head cut off at the end of 'Return of the Jedi,' but the body is still very much alive. From the sound of things, that big jubilant celebration with the Ewoks may have been a little premature -- there's still a war going on.

And finally, let's dive into our final Badass Digest scoop of the week. This one has to do with Gwendoline Christie's character ... who will apparently have a strong connection to Boyega. Once again, beware of spoilers!

Here are the details in a nutshell: the site believes that Christie's character was originally written as a man and was the role Benedict Cumberbatch and Hugo Weaving turned down. Then the role swapped genders and Christie, who is an absolute badass on 'Game of Thrones,' landed the gig. And now, the specifics! She will be supposedly playing an Imperial Officer, the commanding officer of Boyega's character, and she'll spend the film attempting to hunt him down for desertion.

Oh, and she's supposedly armed with a lightsaber.

We don't know about you guys, but this has to be true. Anything else wouldn't be nearly as cool.

An Old X-Wing and a New Beard

First of all, J.J. Abrams released another video to promote LucasFilm's wonderful 'Star Wars: Force For Change' UNICEF charity and you should watch it because nothing bad can come out of supporting a cause like this. But you should also watch it because it features a rebel pilot, an awesomely beaten up X-Wing and a familiar droid.

Seeing a 'Star Wars' spaceship that beaten up gives us chills. This universe is always at its best when its acknowledges wear and tear, something that the overly shiny prequels failed to capture.

If you want to see old, grizzled Mark Hamill in action, the BBC interviewed him and he had nothing but nice things to say about the experience so far (and yes, he does joke about his "contractually obligated" beard). You can watch it for yourself right over here.

And while filming itself is currently on a two-week hiatus so the production can regroup from Harrison Ford's ankle injury, things really haven't slowed down at all. The latest buzz suggests that the production will shoot scenes on Ireland's Skellig Michael. Meanwhile, new set pics suggest that a desert planet is being recreated over at Pinewood Studios...

'Star Wars Rebels' Reveals All Kinds of New Footage

First of all, our own Kevin Fitzpatrick attended the Comic-Con panel for 'Star Wars Rebels' and he has all of the relevant details for you to look over. Enjoy!

Because of Comic-Con (and because its premiere date is fast approaching), this was a big week for 'Star Wars Rebels' news in general. Prior to the panel, we were treated to a new trailer, which gives us our best look at the series yet. Although the bulk of the cast was newly created for the show, it's great to see old standbys like Obi-Wan pop up to tie everything together:

And if that wasn't enough, a second new trailer arrived hot on the heels of the Comic-Con panel. This one has a lot less story, but it seems to tease events and sequences far beyond the pilot:

But wait! There's more! There's also this clip, which shows off an action scene infused with all kinds of silly comedy:

But 'Star Wars Rebels' isn't the only animated 'Star Wars' project airing on Disney XD soon. There's also 'Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars,' which represents Disney taking advantage of its many properties and smooshing them together to see what happens. The big news this week is that the one and only Simon Pegg will guest star on the special as C-3PO. Here's a clip of him in action:

Fun and Random Stuff

Look, I know we literally just wrote a paragraph about how Disney likes to mash up 'Star Wars' with its various other properties, but it's not like they're doing it alone. Heck, the fans are one-upping them on this front:

Yes, that is a Mandalorian Snow White. And yes, you can find more right over here.

While some fans are already making their Disney/'Star Wars' cosplay, others are a little more nervous about the whole thing. After all, they've been burnt by this series before. So leave it to Robot Chicken to sum up all of these anxieties through song:

But hey, even if 'Star Wars: Episode 7' stinks, at least the new Star Wars: Battlefront will arrive around the same time.

Meanwhile, Sideshow Collectibles announced some new toys today and if you have plenty of cash to burn, you may want to invest in the TIE Fighter Pilot, the Scout Trooper and the Obi-Wan Kenobi. After all, how else are you going to prove that you're a bigger 'Star Wars' fan than us?