Star Wars sequel trilogy
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The Star Wars sequel trilogy is the upcoming third film trilogy in the American space opera franchise Star Wars, created by George Lucas. It is being produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. The trilogy will consist of episodes VII through IX and will follow after Return of the Jedi(1983) in the saga's chronology. Lucas originally planned a sequel trilogy in the mid-1970s,[1] but had abandoned these plans by the late 1990s. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm and announced production of a sequel trilogy.
The first installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, began pre-production on October 30, 2012 and is scheduled for release on December 18, 2015. The film was directed by J. J. Abrams who co-wrote the screenplay with Lawrence Kasdan. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher along with other main characters from the original trilogy will return to reprise their roles and will co-star alongside John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac.[2]
Episode VIII is planned to be released on May 26, 2017,[3][4] with filmmaker Rian Johnson writing and directing it. Johnson is also to write a story treatment for Episode IX,[5] which will be directed by Colin Trevorrow.[6]
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[hide]Initial development[edit]
Mark Hamill has stated that Lucas told him in 1976, while filming the first film in Tunisia, that three Star Wars trilogies were planned. Lucas suggested Hamill could have a cameo role in Episode IX, which might be filmed in 2011.[1][7] A Time magazine story in March 1978, quoting Lucas, also contained the assertion there would be 10 further Star Wars films after The Empire Strikes Back.[8] Gary Kurtz was also aware of proposed story elements for Episode VII to IX before 1980.[9][10]
In 1980, at the time of the release of The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas said there were seven further Star Wars films he wanted to make. He said he had "twelve-page outlines" for those films.[11] In an interview with Jim Steranko in Prevue magazine published in late 1980, Lucas described how the expansive scope of Star Wars had started with an overlong screenplay:
He then added that he had:
In this interview, Lucas also stated that he had "titles and ten-page story outlines for each of" the nine episodes.[12] In an interview with Gary Kurtz in the same magazine, Kurtz said:
In an interview with Starlog magazine published in September 1981, Lucas confirmed that he had the nine film series plotted, cautioning:
Cancellation and Disney acquisition[edit]
From 1997 to mid-2012, Lucas frequently stated that he had no plans to make the sequel trilogy, and said he would not allow others to do so either.[15][16][17][18][19] He gave various explanations for the apparent abandonment of plans to film the sequel trilogy.
In August 1999, at a press conference in New York City to discuss The Phantom Menace, Lucas described the "nine year commitment" required to make a Star Wars trilogy.[20] In 2002, he said: "Basically what I said as a joke was, 'Maybe when Harrison and Carrie are in their 70s, we'll come back and do another version.' The thing I didn't realize then, and that I do realize now very clearly, is that not only would they be in their 70s, but I would be in my 70s too."[21] In 2007, Lucas described making the films at that age as "an idea that seemed amusing at the time, but doesn't seem realistic now", and suggested that 'off-the-cuff' comments he had made in earlier years had been misconstrued as absolute statements.[22]
At a 1997 "Special Edition" press conference, Lucas said: "Everyone said, 'Well, are you going to do sequels to the first three?' But that was an afterthought; I don't have scripts on those stories. The only notion on that was, wouldn't it be fun to get all the actors to come back when they're 60 or 70 years old and make three more about them as old people."[15]In a 1997 issue of Star Wars Insider, he said: "The whole story has six episodes.... If I ever went beyond that, it would be something that was made up. I really don't have any notion other than, 'Gee, it would be interesting to do Luke Skywalker later on.' It wouldn't be part of the main story, but a sequel to this thing."[16]
In an interview published in the February 1999 issue of Vanity Fair, Lucas said: "When you see it in six parts, you'll understand. It really ends at part six. I never had a story for the sequels, for the later ones."[23][24] In 2008, after all six films had been released, Lucas said: "The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke saves the galaxy and redeems his father, that's where that story ends."[25]
In 1999, when asked about the possibility of someone else making Star Wars films, Lucas said, "Probably not, it's my thing."[23][24] In a 2008 interview in Total Film, Lucas ruled out anybody else making Star Wars films. Asked if he was happy for new Star Wars films to be made after his death, he said: "I've left pretty explicit instructions for there not to be any more features. There will definitely be no Episodes VII–IX. That's because there isn't any story. I mean, I never thought of anything. And now there have been novels about the events after Episode VI, which isn't at all what I would have done with it. The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story. Once Vader dies, he doesn't come back to life, the Emperor doesn't get cloned and Luke doesn't get married..."[26]
However, speaking after Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm, Lucas (sitting alongside new Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy), said: "I always said I wasn't going to do any more, and that's true, because I'm not going to do any more. But that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to turn it over to Kathy to do more."[27]
Sequel trilogy[edit]
Lucas had story treatments for episodes VII, VIII and IX which he turned over to Disney chairman Bob Iger around the time Lucasfilm was sold to Disney in 2012.[28] However, during an interview with Cinemablend in January 2014 to promote the upcoming release of the Lucasfilm animated movie Strange Magic, Lucas revealed that ultimately, Disney chose not to use the story treatments which he had written and turned over with the acquisition, and that the company chose to create brand new stories for the upcoming movies instead: "The ones that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn't really want to do those. So they made up their own. So it's not the ones that I originally wrote [on screen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens]"[29] No information about these has been released; however, during the previous 35 years Lucas had given many hints about the content of the sequel trilogy, including the following (sometimes contradictory) possibilities:
- Episode VII would begin roughly 20 (or perhaps 30–40) years after the end of Return of the Jedi (according to Lucas in 1980 and 1982).[12][30]
- R2-D2 and C-3PO would be the only characters who might continue through all nine films (Lucas in 1980, 1981 and 1983).[12][31][32]
- The trilogy would deal with the rebuilding of the Republic (Lucas in 1980).[33]
- "It's like a saga, the story of a group of people, a family" (Lucas in 1980).[12]
- The focus would be on Luke Skywalker's journey to becoming the premier Jedi knight, with Luke's sister (who was not Leia) appearing in Episode VIII, and the first appearance of the Emperor, and Luke's ultimate confrontation with him, in Episode IX (a storyline as planned pre-1980, according to A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back producerGary Kurtz).[9][10][34]
- Luke would have a romantic relationship with a female love interest (Lucas in 1988).[35]
- The main theme of the trilogy would be moral and philosophical problems, such as the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong, justice, confrontation, and passing on what you have learned (Lucas in 1983 and 1989).[36][37]
- The key actors, Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Ford as Han Solo, and Fisher as Princess Leia, would appear, in their 60s or 70s (Lucas in 1983).[15][36]
- In Episode IX, Hamill would cameo, "like Obi-Wan handing the lightsaber down to the next new hope" (according to Hamill, in 2004).[1]
- "The other one — what happens to Luke afterward — is much more ethereal. I have a tiny notebook full of notes on that. If I’m really ambitious, I could proceed to figure out what would have happened to Luke" (Lucas in 1980).[38]
Interviewed in 2012 after the announcement of the new trilogy, Lucas biographer Dale Pollock said that he had, in the 1980s, read the outlines to 12 Star Wars episodes planned by Lucas, but had been required to sign a confidentiality agreement.[39] Pollock said:
- "The three most exciting stories were 7, 8 and 9. They had propulsive action, really interesting new worlds, new characters. I remember thinking, 'I want to see these 3 movies.'"
- The next series film would "involve Luke Skywalker in his 30s and 40s."
- Disney would probably use Lucas's outlines as the basis for the sequel trilogy. "That’s in part what Disney bought."[39]
Author Timothy Zahn, whose Star Wars novel series, the Thrawn Trilogy, is set in the Star Wars expanded universe, was also interviewed in 2012.[40] Zahn confirmed the sequel trilogy would not be based on the Thrawn novels, but said he had been briefed years before on Lucas's plans for the sequels (Zahn had discussions with Lucas before the first Thrawn novel was published in 1991). Zahn said:
As announced by Lucasfilm, the new trilogy also meant the end of most of the existing Star Wars expanded universe, so as to give "maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience." Much of the old content would continue to be available under the "Star Wars: Legends" brand.[41]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens[edit]
The first in the trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is to take place approximately 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi and will include new characters as well as characters from the original trilogy, including Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia along with C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca. [42] The Force Awakens, like the subsequent two films, is based on an original screenplay and not on a storyline from the expanded universe.[43]
The original cast will join newcomers John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, and Oscar Isaac. It is directed by J. J. Abrams who co-wrote the screenplay along with Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of the screenplays for Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. George Lucas, who produced a script to Disney that the studio, was set to provide Abrams with advice as a creative consultant; however, he had no involvement in the film, with his representative saying Lucas "ideally would love not to see any footage until he walks into the theater next December. He has never been able to be surprised by a Star Wars film before and he said he was looking forward to it."[44][45][28][46] The film began pre-production on October 30, 2012. Production began in April 2014;[47] it is to be released in December 2015.[48]
Episode VIII[edit]
On June 20, 2014, Rian Johnson was announced to write and direct Episode VIII and write Episode IX.[5][49] Kathleen Kennedy, Ram Bergman, Lawrence Kasdan, Simon Kinbergwill serve as producers. Steve Yedlin will serve as cinematographer.[50] Johnson confirmed in August 2014 that he would direct Episode VIII.[51] It is scheduled for release on May 26, 2017.[52]
In July 2015, it was reported that Benicio del Toro was being considered for a villain for Episode VIII,[53][54] and del Toro later confirmed that he was cast.[55] In March 2015, Oscar Isaac confirmed he would reprise his Force Awakens role of Poe Dameron in Episode VIII.[56][57][58] Gugu Mbatha-Raw has been cast as the female lead beating out Tatiana Maslany, Gina Rodriguez and Olivia Cooke who were on the shortlist for two separate parts.[59][60][61] In addition, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill will reprise their roles.[50]
Like The Force Awakens, filming for Episode VIII will take place at Pinewood Studios near London.[62][63] Principal filming is scheduled to begin in 2016.[62] In September 2015, some pre-production filming took place on the island of Skellig Michael, Ireland to take advantage of better weather conditions.[64]
Episode IX[edit]
In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of Episode IX.[6]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars: The Force Awakens | December 18, 2015 | J. J. Abrams | Lawrence Kasdan, J. J. Abrams, Michael Arndt | Kathleen Kennedy, J. J. Abrams, Bryan Burk | Post-production |
| Episode VIII | May 26, 2017 | Rian Johnson | Kathleen Kennedy, Ram Bergman | Pre-production[65] | |
| Episode IX | 2019[66] | Colin Trevorrow | Rian Johnson (story) | In development | |
Anthology films[edit]
In February 2013, Disney CEO, Bob Iger confirmed in an interview with CNBC that Disney-Lucasfilm were working on a "few stand-alone" films. He said Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg were both working on films derived from Star Wars characters.[67] At the annual CinemaCon convention in April 2013, Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn indicated that the first two of these films were planned to be released in 2016 and 2018, between the new trilogy films.[48][68] Kasdan said in 2013 he was focusing neither on his previous scripts nor the extended Star Wars universe in his approach to writing a new Star Wars film. "I'm trying to start fresh," he said. "There are certain pleasures that we think the saga can bring to people that they’ve been missing, and we’re hoping to bring them that, and at the same time, have them feel that it’s all new."[69] On May 7, 2014, Iger further confirmed at least three standalone films would be released within the next 10 years. Iger said the plan was to release new core films every two years from 2015 with a standalone in-between.[70] By June 2014, Josh Trank was hired to direct one of the standalone films to be released after episodes VIII and IX.[71] However, on May 1, 2015, /Film reported that Trank is no longer part of the Anthology project.[72]
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)[edit]
Main article: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
In May 2014, Gareth Edwards was hired to direct one of the standalone films, initially titled Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One. Its script is written by Gary Whitta and is scheduled to be released on December 16, 2016.[73] By January 9, 2015, Whitta had finished the draft for the film and left for another project.[74][75] By January 20, 2015, Tatiana Maslany,Rooney Mara, and Felicity Jones were testing for Edwards' standalone film.[76] Days later, Chris Weitz had been hired to take over writing of the standalone.[77] By February 2015, Jones was set star in the standalone film,[78] titled Rogue One, with Edwards directing.[79] By March, Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn had been cast in a role.[80]
Lucasfilm announced on April 19, 2015, that filming would begin in mid-2015 and the plot will revolve around a group of rebels on a mission to steal the Death Star plans; director Edwards stated, "it comes down to a group of individuals who don't have magical powers that have to somehow bring hope to the galaxy." Additionally, Kathleen Kennedy and Kiri Hart confirmed that the standalone films will be labeled as "anthology films". Edwards stated that the style of the film will be similar to that of a war film, saying, "It's the reality of war. Good guys are bad. Bad guys are good. It's complicated, layered; a very rich scenario in which to set a movie."[81][82] Sam Claflin and Riz Ahmed were in talks for roles as of April 2015.[83] On May 13, 2015, Variety reported that Diego Luna was cast in a role.[84] On July 7, 2015, Birth.Movies.Death reported that Darth Vader will appear in Rogue One, but not as an antagonist.
At Disney's annual D23 Expo in August 2015, it was announced that the first film's title was amended to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,[85] suggesting a new official format for titles of the standalone films. The series is still officially referred to as the Anthology Series.
Untitled Han Solo Anthology film (2018)[edit]
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Han Solo spin-off is in the works with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing.[86][87]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | December 16, 2016 | Gareth Edwards | Chris Weitz | Kathleen Kennedy, Tony To, John Swartz | Filming |
| Untitled Han Solo Anthology film | May 25, 2018 | Phil Lord and Christopher Miller[88] | Lawrence Kasdan, Jon Kasdan | Kathleen Kennedy | In development |
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