Lucasfilm Announces FANTASTIC FOUR's Josh Trank Will Direct A Standalone STAR WARS Movie

Lucasfilm is going full-force with their future Star Wars plans. Episode VII is currently filming and it was revealed Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Monsters) would be directing an unnamed spin-off (likely Boba Fett) for a Decemeber, 2016 release. They have named another director for second unnamed standalone film. Chronicle and Fantastic Four director Josh Trank has been hired for the nameless Star Wars project. I'm assuming it will have a December release date in 2018.

The studio fails to name the project or even give any details, but it's rumored it could be their Han Solo movie. It's said to focus on the early smuggling days of Solo, a prequel of sorts. Another possibly is a Red Five movie, which could focus on the group of legendary X-Wing pilots (including Luke Skywalker) who took-on the Empire. We also heard about the studio considering a Yoda movie, the least interesting of the bunch (unless it's combined with Zack Snyder's Seven Samurai pitch).

SOURCE: LUCASFILM

Mark Hamill Confirms Talks To Reprise Luke Skywalker In EPISODE VII, Says Luke Could Have An Obi-Wan Role

While there has been talk of the original three actors reprising their roles of Luke, Han and Leia we really haven't heard much in the way of confirmation. The only real quote was from Ford who said he'd be up for it. Harrison is usually extremely cagey about his involvement with Star Wars which seemed like a good chance he was willing to come back. However, nothing really concrete has been made official.

In a new interview with ET (via CBM) Mark Hamill has revealed that he and the others are indeed in talks with LucasFilm. Adding that contracts haven't been signed and they haven't met with production people yet. It's possible if anyone decides to exclude themselves they'll be written out rather than being replaced. Hamill also gave his theories on the plot and his possible role in the new trilogy. Along with a hope for more "old school" feel to the production and not relying to heavily on CGI effects. Rick Baker has mentioned being willing to return to the franchise and considering his Oscar winning makeup effects LucasFilm/Abrams would be crazy not to consider him. There is also the use of puppets thanks in part to the Henson Company which already has ties with Disney because of the Muppet franchise.

“They’re talking to us,” he reveals. “George [Lucas] wanted to know whether we’d be interested. He did say that if we didn’t want to do it, they wouldn’t cast another actor in our parts – they would write us out. … I can tell you right away that we haven’t signed any contracts. We’re in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm."

“I’m assuming that these movies would be about our offspring — like my character would be sort of in the Obi-Wan range [as] an influential character". 

“I hope they find the right balance of CGI with practical effects", says Hamill. "I love props, I love models, miniatures, matte paintings — I’m sort of old school. I think if you go too far in the direction of CGI it winds up looking like just a giant a video game, and that’s unfortunate. … If they listen to me at all, it’ll be, ‘Lighten up and go retro with the way it looks.”

EPISODE VII Will Focus On Skywalker Kids, Plus Mark Hamill And Carrie Fisher Set To Return?

Showbiz411 is adding to the recent news that Harrison Ford will be returning as Han Solo. They also mention that Mark Hamill (Luke) and Carrie Fisher (Leia) will back as well. Not surprising but will likely help support the site's next update. Reaffirming rumblings that the new trilogy would focus on the Skywalker kids. Sounds like that female Skywalker is becoming a reality.

"I was told some time ago that Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill would be reprising their roles in Episode VII. Obviously this new movie won’t pick up where “Return of the Jedi” ended. It’s some time in the future. Han, Princess Leia (with a presumably better hairstyle), and Luke Skywalker will be a lot older. Their children will be the new main characters. RsD2 and C-3PO will be unchanged, I would guess. since they are not human. But suffice to say, the three main actors are definitely coming back. The bigger question is, which young actors will play their kids?"

Having the kids involved means that they'll be taking cues from the books at least for the characters that will be included. Mara Jade will likely be involved in the new films. It's also possible over the entire new trilogy we could end up seeing Solo twins Jaina and Jacen as the new heroes. Seeing both Luke and Jacen going to the dark side within the three films. Jacen becoming Darth Caedus and taking on Tahiri Veila as his Sith apprentice. Ben Skywalker and Anakin Solo could also factor into the films.

Guillermo Del Toro Was Approached For STAR WARS, Plus Female Protagonist Rumor Resurfaces

Guillermo Del Toro seems to have a lot of projects thrown at him. He took over the Blade franchise from Stephen Norrington, took on The Hobbit before exiting over production delays and made Pacific Rim instead. He was also in the mix for Dawn of The Planet of The Apes before Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) was hired. He revealed to ThePlaylist that he was indeed asked about being interested in directing Star Wars but had to turn it down over other projects. Del toro mentions that as fan he would have loved to see Brad Bird tackle it. Only thing is that Bird is busy with his own original sci-fi project 1952 that has George Clooney mentioned as being interested in the lead.

“We got one phone call to my agent saying, ‘Is Guillermo interested?’ ” he revealed saying, “And basically I have so much stuff already of my own, and I’m pursuing stuff that I’m generating already…” that he turned it down. “It was just a phone call, it didn’t go past that, it was very nice to be asked, but believe it or not, I’m busy enough.”

“As a geek, I would have loved to see Brad Bird take it.”

In the early days of the announcement of LucasFilm being bought by Disney and a new trilogy was mentioned. During that time a bunch of possible details were rolling out from different sources. One key rumor being that new trilogy would focus on a new female Skywalker. Giving the impression that Mara Jade (Luke's eventual wife) or Jaina Skywalker Solo could be possible canon candidates. Recently, Lucas mentioned that the books could end up being used for the films so it's possible these characters could find their way into the new films. However, a reputable source has given new life to that speculation with a recent tweet from SlashFilm's Peter.

Who said the lead character in Star Wars Episode VII is going to be a male star? :)

Lucas Envisioned Four STAR WARS Trilogies And David Fincher Won't Direct?

It's been reported that Disney's acquisition of LucasFilm and Star Wars would include two new original Star Wars trilogies and other spin-offs. Michael Arndt had outlined a new trilogy and was hired to write the script for Episode VII. New information further confirms that Lucas apparently had originally outlined twelve films which means four trilogies. Empire (via ThePlaylist) mentions this and Lucas was aiming to give Hamill a sort of Obi Wan Kenobi role in Episode VII to pass the torch to another chosen-one. This lines up with the recent plot rumor that Skywalker would be setting up a new Jedi Knight Academy on Yavin 4. It remains to be seen how much of Lucas' notes will be included in the next six films.

Included is a brief update on David Fincher's involvement. ThePlaylist confirms the studio reached out to Fincher early in the process. David got early breaks working on Return of Jedi and Temple of Doom for LucasFilm. Plus, LucasFilm head Kathleen Kennedy produced Fincher's Benjamin Button. However, they state that Fincher is unlikely to make the "plunge". He's already working on 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea for Disney with Brad Pitt loosely linked to star in the lead. It's expected we'll be hearing the name of the director sometime in January.

RUMOR: Skywalker To Build Jedi Academy On Yavin 4 In EPISODE VII?

A rumor coming Reuters is revealing a possible key plot point to Star Wars Episode VII. They say that Luke Skywalker will be putting together a new Jedi Knight Academy on Yavin IV. The planet was seen in the original trilogy as the planet of the Rebellion base. There have been rumblings that Luke's cameo would include him training the new protagonist, rumored to be a female Skywalker. While this very well could be true the film is still being written by Michael Arndt. It's possible the news outlet is relying on the books for their synopsis of the new film, rather than an actual source from the production.

"Yavin 4 and the rebel base return to the Star Wars plot in the forthcoming Episode VII, announced in October by the Walt Disney Co, in which Skywalker comes back to the planet to build a Jedi Knight academy. However, fans said that Disney will likely film those scenes in a studio rather than return to Tikal."

In other Star Wars news LucasFilm head Kathleen Kennedy has stated to ABC they could be announcing something big in January. They assume this means LucasFilm will finally announce the new director. Directors such as Matthew Vaughn, Jon Favreau and David Fincher have been mentioned for the job.

“I have no immediate update, but hopefully in January I’ll have something that I can say,”

Mark Hamill Confirmed For THE SECRET SERVICE

Mark Millar has confirmed via Twitter that Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) will play himself in The Secret Service. The film is an adaptation of Millar and Dave Gibbon's (Watchmen) comic which is setup at 20th Century Fox. Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake, X-Men First Class) is rumored to have left X-Men: Days of Future Past to direct Service instead.