Its Monday and that means weekly re-cap time. This week we have news that covers both the sequel trilogy to the first of the anthology Films. Or are they supposed to be called “A Star Wars Story” now? Anyway let’s jump right into the re-cap and start with The Force Awakens news.
Episode VII
Empire Magazine
Mazlow01: Not much new in the world of leaks or rumor for Episode VII this week however Empire Magazine did release the two covers coming out this Thursday. They have also implied new information will be inside. But let’s talk about those covers.
The First Order One features Kylo, Phasma and Hux inside a First Order Hanger and curiously Storm Troopers from the Original trilogy NOT the First Order troopers. The Resistance cover features Rey with Finn and Poe on Jakku and curiously the Millennium Falcon with a ROUND dish.
When I first saw the cover art I thought someone at Empire photoshopped the wrong elements into the picture however Jason at Making Star Wars asked and got this response:
“Didn’t think that one would get past you! All I can say about that is that the image was provided in its current form by Lucasfilm, after having been approved by the filmmakers.”
So if Lucasfilm approved it as did JJ and KK what is going on? Is this a hint or did they make a mistake? I think it is a mistake, I think JJ and KK approved the idea and someone at Lucasfilm made a mistake. What else could it be?
davestrrr: I actually doubt it was a mistake. There are too many people that these images would have gone through for it to be a mistake. My guess is they are trying to subtly convince fans of the OT that this is the Star Wars that they know. These visual cues help to assure people that this is the Star Wars that they remember and love, so in that sense, I think this is a deliberate marketing strategy.
Other than that, the images look great. I like the first one because we get another look at the First Order hangar with TIE Fighters and such flying about. Very cool.
Description of Max Von Sydow Character
http://www.starwars7news.com/2015/08/star-wars7-news-presents-the-resistance-broadcast-podcast.html
Mazlow01:: The fine fellows over at SW7N released a description of Max Von Sydow’s (MVS) character. Not who he is but what he will look like. MVS will have a beard and wear robes similar to the outfit in the concept part. The general idea of him looking like a good guy or at least not bad and most likely being in one of the two scenes where villages are being attacked.
davestrrr: This is a little interesting. To me the beard and robes could have also described Alec Guiness as Obi Wan, so to me it almost suggests that Von Sydow will potentially be a Jedi-mentor type character. Others have reported that he is a mentor to Rey, and this suggests he could even look like Obi Wan from the OT. Could Von Sydow play an aging Jedi? The robes may or may not point to this, and would be interesting if so. For example, maybe the timing would almost work out for him to play Kanan as some have suggested? Might be cool.
Rogue One
http://www.starwars7news.com/2015/08/our-first-look-at-a-set-from-rogue-one.html
Set photos
Mazlow01:: We got few set photos from rogue one that see to show the Yavin base and classic ships such as the Y-wing and X-wing. No real surprises there but still it is cool to see confirmation of the idea these guys are in fact rebels and have something to do with stealing the Death Star Plans.
Tarkin?
Mazlow01: There is also a story in The Daily Mail claiming Lucasfilm is digitally recreating Peter Cushing for Rogue One. However based on the article and the source I doubt it to be true. I was tempted to exclude this as I think Reddit would be a more reliable source at this point.
davestrrr: This is certainly a gutsy move if true. This is the kind of thing that if done right, could be great, but if done wrong, could bother some people. It could stick out like a sore thumb if the effect isn’t perfect. I could think they could use low lighting to “cover up” any imperfections in the digital recreation, making it believable, but when these kinds of things look fake, and it takes people out of the moment, then it won’t work.
Episode VIII
Mazlow01: And finally we got two new pieces of info about Episode VIII. First is the rumor that they are looking to cast a new young strong female. The rumor has this a being a new lead character which reminds of the addition of Billy Dee Williams in ESB. Could this new woman be a rival to Rey in some way or perhaps a challenge to Poe or Finn, or even a potential love interest for one of them. My gut wants to stay away from love interest and instead go with a pilot to challenge Poe as the “best pilot in the galaxy”. That is of course assuming that this is actually a real character to begin with.
davestrrr: I don’t know what to say about this. I don’t think we even know who or what character Crystal Clarke is playing. Another female character could be anything from minor to major.
Mazlow01: The second is regarding the pick-up shots that continue to be rumored about Skellig Michael. The initial rumor was for a few days to get some extra shots for episode VII now there are rumors that there may be up to 6 weeks of shooting. This would be for Episode VIII and no doubt be with Luke and Rey however I find this to be unlikely as I doubt they would start shooting this year and we have heard nothing about a script being done or approved.
davestrrr: Cool stuff. One would think that these scenes would pick up at the beginning of VIII where TFA left off. Luke is shaping out to be the Yoda of the ST, and these scenes could be analogous to when Luke went to train with Yoda in ESB. Might we see Rey or Finn training with Luke on the planet represented by Skellig Michael in Episode VIII? Seems like a safe bet. Of course it would be pretty impossible to have Rey running around with Luke strapped to her back (LOL), but we may see some cool Force moments like picking up spaceships and rocks with the Force. These types of scenes from ESB with Luke and Yoda are some of my favorite from the OT, so I hope that the ST has similar parallel scenes.