Lucasfilm has always been at the forefront of movie technology. Without their innovations, so many other movies wouldn’t be possible. Each of the Star Wars movies has arguably ushered in a new form of technology and used it to advance the story. This raises the natural question, how will Episode IX use new technology? Let’s discuss.
The patent that I’ve heard about with the most potential to be used in Episode IX is this one, which enables better CGI faces and lip syncing. The possibilities are endless I would say. Here are some ideas of how this could be used in the next film.
New CGI Aliens
This one I just want to get out of the way. The obvious use is a new strange alien character voiced someone, such as Dominic Monaghan’s unknown character or maybe Lupita Nyong’o as Maz.
The TFA Leia scene
A Leia scene that uses this new tech to insert some new dialogue could actually be potentially controversial, given the passing of Carrie Fisher. Lucasfilm has stated that they would not use CGI to reproduce Leia’s image. However, that interview also stated that she just wouldn’t be in Episode IX at all, and we know that has changed. JJ has stated that they found a way to use some unused footage from The Force Awakens to bring Leia back for IX. I’m all for providing the “more satisfying conclusion” that Carrie deserves. Given that things have changed, the question is will they use this new lip-syncing technology to augment Carrie’s performance from TFA to give more relevant dialogue that would apply to some new Episode IX scene.
Young Luke Flashback
I think this one could be a great addition. We’re talking young Luke, as in Luke immediately after RotJ in a flashback scene. Imagine the spectacle that it would be see Luke at that age, and the feeling of being “transported” back to the early 80s and see a young Luke. This kind of a scene would satisfy the TLJ-haters, and give everyone a trip down memory lane.
As is probably well known at this point, Mark Hamill did some motion capture work for The Last Jedi. What if he could it again as his young self for TLJ? We also know that as far as we can tell, Mark Hamill has shaved his beard. Why would he do this? Either his Force-ghost doesn’t have a beard, and I would bet money that his Force-ghost will be in TLJ, or he’s doing a flashback scene.
Let’s face it. The young Leia scene for Rogue One was a gift, but not perfect. If you’re like me, you noticed something off, something that felt like it came from the uncanny valley, and didn’t seem like young Leia. This new tech could in theory solve those issues, and be like the real thing. I will also say that some of the scenes in Rogue One left me feeling like they pushed things too far. For example, a lot of the Tarkin scenes wouldn’t have looked so off-kilter if they just used a lower lighting. They should use extreme caution of they try to reproduce a young Luke. The tech has to be dialed in the the max. Easier said than done.
Of all the scenes they could do, imagine the Battle of Jakku. The actual battle took place not too long after the Battle of Endor. Tons of story-telling opportunities would be possible by showing this battle, like explaining Rey’s origins, or showing Poe’s parents, who were at the battle. We also know that the rumor has it that Episode IX will do some filming in Jordan, according to Making Star Wars, so some live shots of the desert could be part of an amazing battle scene on Jakku. One more point, returning to Jakku for Episode IX could also work as a mirror the beginning of RotJ returning to Tatooine.
What do you think? Leave your comments about what you think would be the use of this new CGI tech.
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