Star Wars Sequel Episodes 7, 8, 9 may be coming after all

[mouse7]

EP3: Mayew Also Signed for Sequel Trilogy?
Wed, Jan 14, 04 05:10:30 PM EST


Rob tells us that the December 2003 issue of the British movie mag HOTDOG has just hit the stands here in the U.S. and found several cool Star Wars related things. In particular, on page 12, here's this possibly amazing passage:

"No wonder Peter "Chewbacca" Mayhew is smiling. Not only has he been rescued from obscurity and given the chance to reprise his role as our Wookiee comrade for Episode III, but his contract also stipulates that he'd be required to appear in Episodes 7, 8, and 9.
Yes folks, seems there are actual whispers at Lucasfilm that the 'sequel' trilogy might be in the works..."

http://www.theforce.net/episode3/index.shtml#23010

[Dookus]

1. ugh...

After the last two "prequels", I have no expectation that any other episodes won't suck just as much.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

2. I may be alone

but I kinda like the prequels. I think people held them up to impossible standards. I'll take them over the Matrix trilogy, which is guilty ten-fold of the flaws the prequels get accused of, anyday



I wouldn't mind a sequel trilogy, as long as we get another Han Solo type everyman character to contrast with all of the jedi types

[brainwashed_youth]

4. i feel the same way

[moof]

8. you are not alone

and at risk of the rath of dookus, as soon as the moof hut acquires a DVD player, all the Star Wars movies will be on the first shelf.

It would be great to let the LOTRs director direct any of the remeining Star wars efforts.

Also this in advance to any that disagree, go right ahead,

moof loves any chance to pretend it's still a free country.

[stinkeefresh]

10. I LOVE the prequels

I am in my thirties, not a super-nerd (although I have geek tendencies) and truly cannot even understand what people's objections are.

Fine. The acting is weak. But so what when there is such an extraordinary amount of story going on. (and to be honest, I blame the actors. Ford and Fisher weren't great because they had a great director or great dialogue- they were great because they brought their own creativity to the table by the bucket-load.)

Sure its not the "hero's journey" that eps. 4-6 are, but does no one care for a good political allegory anymore?

I mean, where else in mainstream media is there such a good examination of the manner in which facsism rises?

[teevee99]

16. i liked them too

not every movie has to be an academy award nominee. some are just entertaining.

[beawr]

3. It might be good

if Lucas has nothing to do with it

[elfwitch]

5. AMEN

You were reading my mind?

[geniph]

6. They might be good if Lucas' kid

isn't involved in character development! Never let a three-year-old make script decisions on a non-kids movie!

[Homer12]

7. My mind, too.

[brainshrub]

58. My mind three (nt)

[tridim]

9. Agreed, that's the key

George Lucas has jumped the shark big time. I have no problem with him running ILM, but if they decide to do the sequels, please get a new writer and director.

[Melodybe]

11. If they filmed the Timothy Zahn books I couldn't complain

but the actors are a bit old. Which leads me to ask, "Why god why have you let Lucas forsake us?"

[stinkeefresh]

12. new director fine. dialogue polisher fine. but new writer?

Never. The stories are still perfect, even if you don't care for the execution.

[lazarus]

17. stories are crap

an 8 year old can build an android. Fine. So he builds a protocol droid?

The Jedi council allows slavery to exist? And they can interfere with lives to the extent of stealing children from families, but won't free their mothers from slavery?

And Vader doesn't remember his own Aunt and Uncle live on Tatooine? He doesn't remember the droids? What, he had a brain wipe when went totally evil?

And this whole mitichloride thing, what's up with that? It's a mystical force, no, wait, it's just a bunch of critters, because we want to be quasi-religious without being religious.

And an entire planet is going to elect a 16 year old girl queen. An elected queen.

That's the problem with prequels, you run into too many continuity errors.

And my #1 biggest all time problem with Star Wars and George Lucas.

WHY THE BLOODY HELL DIDN'T THE WOOKIE GET A MEDAL?

[DS1]

32. well said, the environment the stories take place in are

great and offer so much potential, but what takes place in them is shite

[stinkeefresh]

43. easily refuted-

why can't he build a protocol droid? maybe he had a good translation circuit and wanted to put it to good use. he get's his parts form a scrap heap- he builds whatever he has the parts for.

The Jedi council is not in charge. They advise the Senators. The Senate is massive and they can't wipe out everything they want every where they want. Complete control of the galaxy by a representative gov't, now that would have been unrealistic. And they didn't steal the kid.

Who says Vader doesn't remember those things? Knowing he was from Tatooine wouldn't have meant he should look for the jettisoned droids there. And how would remembering the droids manifest itself? Would Vader run up and hug C3PO? No- he would behave like he doesn't know them. (plus a lot of droids look the same)

if you don't like the metacloriwhatevers, fine. but its not a story flaw. its totally consistent.

Got a problem with a 16 year old elected Queen? Ageist? Xenaphobic? They have different traditions. they're a different culture. they're a different species, technically! for all we know, Naboo folks are athier absolute wisest at 16.

But you're right- the wookie should have got a medal.

[lazarus]

51. But why would he?

Why would an 8 year old build a protocol droid?

But you admit the wookie got a medal, therefore I win. :evilgrin:

:hi:

[stinkeefresh]

54. I admit the wookie should have gotten a medal

but that's in the first movie! I'm sure I won't be the only guy defending "A New Hope"

the kid built a protocol droid. he just did. he's not exactly a normal kid with normal interests.

[tridim]

20. I like the books,

I just haven't liked the screenplays since The Empire Strikes Back. Focusing on the Ewoks was the first big mistake.

[DrWeird]

13. Let Genndy Tartakovsky direct.

He was the best thing to happen to Star Wars since 1980.

[lazarus]

14. The coolest conspiracy theory ever

18 months after "Jedi" was released, Mark Hamill was on Letterman, and said he'd been doing something with Lucas in Africa. None of the cast did anything for 18 months after Jedi.

Some have theorised that Lucas scooped them all up and secretly filmed all three sequels, and is just waiting for the special effects to catch up to release them.

Mind you, it's all silliness, but it's funny.

Oh, and a buddy of mine swears he saw a clip of Mark Hamill with a salt-and-pepper beard, wearing Obi wan Kenobi robes, at the appropriate time for all this to occur. But he's a known liar and exaggerator, so don't believe a word of it. :->

[stinkeefresh]

15. that is the coolest!

was Ford really out of commission for that long in the mid-eighties? Seems like he must have shot an Indiana Jones in there somewhere...

[lazarus]

18. I dunno

If he was, though, then the conspiracy gathers steam, and gains new life.

Bwahahahahahahahhahahaha!

<Monty Burns>

Excellent!

</Monty Burns>

[geniph]

26. The first (fourth?) Star Wars came out in 1977

in between that and the release of Empire Strikes Back in 1980, Harrison Ford appeared in seven movies, however most of the roles were fairly small. Between Empire and Return of the Jedi in 1983, he made only two movies, but they were Raiders of the Lost Ark and Blade Runner.

[lazarus]

28. what did he do immediately following Jedi, though?

[tridim]

21. Don't know about that, but I did see Mark Hamill

wearing eye liner and a coked up Carrie Fisher on the infamous Star Wars Christmas special.

[Bolo Boffin]

19. Everything I liked about the prequels was ripped off...

...from Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov and Aldous Huxley. The storyline is a flimsy excuse to put the visions of these men on film together, while scoring off the merchandising.

[stinkeefresh]

24. yup. and everything about eps 4 - 6 were stolen from

the mythology of the world.

And nothing compares to how much the Matrix stole form William Gibson.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

29. yeah

"And nothing compares to how much the Matrix stole form William Gibson"

--and how much it lifted from Grant Morrison's Invisibles

[Cat Atomic]

27. What'd he steal from Huxley?

I agree with you on Frank Herbert, big time. Star Wars is dripping in Dune rip-offs. I'm surprised Lucas didn't put sandworms on Tatooine. :P

[Bolo Boffin]

34. Clones

If you were going to film Brave New World, the clone factories of Kamino would be the perfect visualization of the opening chapter.

And he did bastardize the sandworms. Remember the Sarlacc in Episode 6? That was the Star Wars sandworm, just like the Sand People were the Fremen. Even Jabba's appearance was an allusion to Leto II, God Emperor of Dune.

And Coruscant was Asimov's Trantor. The Star Wars milieu is basically the conflict between the worlds of Asimov and Herbert. To George's credit, both of these worlds have been realized to the max. Hopefully, he's used some of the megabucks to pay back the debt he owes the estate of these two men.

[LanternWaste]

22. Won't this *ever* end????? I just want the DVD's....

The *only* reason I want this to be over and done with is so that I can get my hands on the extended DVD release of the first three movies.

I've heard that Lucas won't release the special editions on DVD until the enire saga is complete (info from a friend who follows this stuff, if I'm wrong, good)

Yes, I actually hated the last two films while beng of the mind that the first three were truly wonderful pieces of cinema.

So I'll wait, and wait and wait some more untill I can get my grubbies on the DVD's.

[stinkeefresh]

23. a few reasons why Eps 1 & 2 are so damn good

off the top of my head-

1) Anakin could have won a pod race at any time. He CHOSE to wait until winning would buy him his freedom, not just make his owner a few bucks. Almost everything that happens on Tatooine is steered subtlely by Anakin. Qui Gon THINKS he's in control- but look carefully. Anakin is putting on an appearance of an innocent boy, but he's actually in control.

2) Palpatine is so Anakin's father. I mean, we're guessing, but don't you think?

3) The good guys always think they win, but are just moving further down the road to the rise of the Empire. So cool. Maybe Yoda has an inkling at the end of #2... (which is why in Empire he tells Luke that he shouldn't go try to save his friends because "if you go help them you might but destroy evrything they have worked for- you will." I used to think that was a divination of the future. But it can't be, because Yoda is clearly wrong in this prediction. No this is Yoda's advice, based on his own past experience- namely HIS actions to save his friends at the end of ep #2, which contribute mightily to the end of democracy in the galaxy.)

You just have to think like a kid. You know, like you did when you saw the first one. Kids don't give a crap about acting or dialogue... they want a fantasy they can immerse themselves in and discuss ad nauseum with their friends. On this, Star Wars has never ceased to deliver.

See 'em again.

[lazarus]

30. Wait

If Anakin's in charge of everything on Tatooine, what's up with his mom's being a slave?

[stinkeefresh]

44. he's not in charge of everything-

he has very little power except his own mind. But much like the 10 yr old in the fantastic movie "Fresh" he uses what he has to manipulate the adults to get what he wants. He tries to get his mom out too, but doesn't succeed.

[Cat Atomic]

25. Let someone else write them and I'll be jazzed.

Lucas sucks when he doesn't have to collaborate.

[stinkeefresh]

57. let someone else write them and they'll suck worse

just my opinion. I agree needs a dialogue polisher, but I think the stories interconnect flawlessly.

The people getting hired writing action/adventure movies these days are not exactly brilliant.

[abelenkpe]

31. if they are done

they'll be made in India.

HOnestly, the prequels are crap. The only good film out of the whole bunch was the original Star Wars. (Not the re-edited crap Lucas re-released a while ago, the true original.) Lucas is a horrible story teller, a mumbling fool who talks to himself and should just stick to running ILM and figuring out innovative ways to ship American jobs overseas.

[Kamika]

33. no! for the LOVE of God NO!

NO more CGI Star wars PLEASE!!


I can just imagine episode 7-9 pure 100% CGI with scripts that sucks so much half the audience will boo it.

While Lucas stands there smiling "Cool huh guys!! Its all CGI!!!"

Anyway I read Lucas said there wont be any 7-9 so I got hope

[F-5]

35. It was bad enough they came out with 1, 2, and 3...

but 7, 8, and 9??? Talk about beating a dead horse. Some people need to realize that it's time to put those movies to rest.

[Bossy Monkey]

36. Can you say "death star"? n/t

[solinvictus]

37. They'll just suck

Just like "Phantom Menace" & "Attack of the Clones".

[elperromagico]

38. Why not just shit into a can of film?

"Oh look, another George Lucas masterpiece!"

[Enraged_Ape]

40. LOL!

I shouldn't laugh. If a can of excrement had George Lucas's name on it, people would shell out $10 for it. And they have, at least twice.

[elperromagico]

41. I sense a pattern here with Lucas.

The lack of quality in a George Lucas film is directly proportional to the size of his budget. Look at his two best films, American Graffiti and Star Wars. Both were made on very small budgets; both are great films. But the more money you give the man, the shittier his films become. It's as though he forgets to tell a good story and focuses instead on showing off all the tricks his ILM geeks have conceived.

He seems bound and determined, consciously or not, to shit all over the Star Wars legacy. It started when he reissued the first film with new special effects he didn't have access to the first time around. That's just wrong. If saxophones had existed in Mozart's time, he might have written parts for saxes, but that doesn't mean we ought to add a fucking horn section to Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

For Christ's sake, George, leave Star Wars alone. You've done enough damage. Come up with a new idea, and try making it on a small budget. Maybe then your movies won't blow.

[Enraged_Ape]

42. You're right about the budget:quality inverse proportion

THX-1138 was pretty creative and interesting in its day, and it looks like it probably cost $50 to make.

I'll never understand why Lucas took it upon himself to spend time and money revising the first film (which is indeed, a classic) SO THAT GREEDO SHOT FIRST. And that new, phony-looking footage with Jabba? Solo REPEATS THE SAME DIALOGUE he has in the Greedo scene! And the music cues don't match the...aw, to hell with it. Bite me, Lucas.

[Deja Q]

48. That Solo scene was one of the memorable bits of the 1977 flick...

Re-conceptualizing Greedo to fire first, along with the FBI dudes in ET having guns replaced by walkie-talkies has made me lose a lot of respect for Lucas.

I don't even want to know how they fiddled around with the Indiana Jones movies...

[absolutezero]

39. only if its based on the NJO books

lucas hates them...and the story arcs are incredible

[stinkeefresh]

45. have you all died inside? is that it?

sigh.

I feel bad for you guys. I get the same elation that I did when I was a kid. I'll quote what my brother says when people tell him they didn't like Phantom Menace-

"yeah. it went over a lot of people's heads."

[Deja Q]

46. No no no no no! And where are the books?

Episode 4 (1977, the 'original') worked only because it had great effects. The plot is as "B-level" as they come (ugh) and I can see why they took out all the scenes, which were reinserted into the "Special Edition".

On the other hand, episode 5 (1980) actually goes somewhere with the characters, who are now more than just cardboard cutouts. The plot is still very basic, but the characters easily make up for it. Acting abilities were an improvement too.

Episode 6 (1983) - apart from overusing the kid-friendly Ewoks, this one was good; and the Emperor/Vader/Luke scenes were possibly the best done of the entire trilogy.

Episode 1 (1999) - no real focus and the effects were too cheezy, too many, and too busy. Jar Jar is a racist sterotypic slur against the Jamaicans, but at least Ep 1 gave the seeds to a wonderful MadTV spoof. Some of the visials try to capitalise on ep 6 as well.

Episode 2 (2002) - well, now they're trying to show the initial basis for Anikin becoming Vader and show a 3d hologram plan of a completed Death Star. Trouble is, the movie is padded, uses more too-busy too-many special effects to be believed, and acting is atrocious. Natalie Portman, a reasonable actress, seems to sour next to Hayden Christensen, who hasn't a bloody clue how to act... I dig Mace Windu, but he isn't enough...

Episode 3 (2005) - check out imdb.com's forum, there are some leaks about the movie that make sense (and they'd better not reveal the Anikin/Darth name change in this movie and Padme must not die...) The movie's got potential, but Lucas has screwed up eps 1 and 2... and Hayden Christensen reprises his role, sigh... Indeed, if Lucas had this originally as a 9 part story, how come all 9 parts haven't come out in novel form?

What CAN they do in episodes 7-9? Make the ewoks become an evil species?!

[Beetwasher]

47. I'm Wondering When 7-9 Would Take Place

So much of the time post-Jedi has been covered in books it's hard to imagine when the events in 7-9 would happen. Unless they happen like 30 years after jedi...Which I guess is possible...

[Deja Q]

50. Are the books canon?

Star Trek books are not canon. That's a shame because they're potentially more interesting than the official TV stories and movies.

Dr Who books ARE canon, but that hasn't stopped anybody there from writing something bad.

I suspect the Star Wars books will NOT be canon because Lucas wants his story, that he must surely make up as he goes along, to be the only official version.

[Beetwasher]

52. Yes, for the most part I believe they are

The authors get lots of leeway but there are several things that they can't touch. For instance in the New Jedi Order series they were told they can't kill off certain characters, which makes me think it's because Lucas has plans for them later...Lucas tries maintain a certain level of continuity, and for the most part they have done so...Though there are some exceptions...

[stinkeefresh]

55. i always thought they weren't... so I didn't read them

But then, I am a true believer in mr. Lucas. Eps 1+2 are beyond my wildest dreams. I never thought he'd do something as cool as making the prequels so damn poitical.

[Beetwasher]

56. The Dark Horse Comics Are Too

They all have to be checked and approved for continuity of content...

[Deja Q]

61. Nothing tops the original Planet of the Apes movie series in terms of

melding a kiddie movie with political elements.

Except PotA was 1968-1974 and G-rated. Isn't SW eps 1 &2 PG-13? Can't top that.

[Kamika]

59. Actually they are canon

Lucas even has employees reading them, and making sure stuff is written accoringly to the basic idea..

I think it's like this.. unless a movie contradicts them , they're canon

[stinkeefresh]

53. love your handle, HypnoToad. Futurama is the best.

BUT

Ep 1 may seem like it has no focus, but that's because the story is told from the good guy's POV. While they are struggling with the "phantom menace" of an invasion of Naboo, behind the scenes something VERY focused is happening.

Palpatine (the emperor) is solidifying power.

This is a VERY IMPORTANT allegory for politics here on earth. This is how despots gain power. The fact that most audiences are as distracted by the charade as the main characters (even though we have the advantage of knowing the title of the film) shows how important a warning it is.

[jus_the_facts]

49. What do the AP's critics think about this......

...won't belive it unless their unbiased..untainted critique says it's so! :evilgrin:

[Cush]

60. this would cool

The main problems with the Prequels: We already know what happens! Kind of takes the fun of it