We Would Have Seen 'Star Wars 7' Earlier if George Lucas Stuck Around

Long before Disney took hold of Lucasfilm and the Star Wars behemoth there were already rumors that a new trilogy was being developed by George Lucas. It would have followed a similar pattern as when the prequel trilogy was on the verge of being announced, preceded by the re-release of the original movies. That was back around 2010-2011, but then the Disney deal was struck in 2012 and everything changed. Lucas was out out of the picture, having earned a hefty $4B in the deal, but in a conversation with USA Today he revealed a new trilogy was indeed in the works which he would have written and directed for a much earlier release than we're getting in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Lucas admitted that his Star Wars: Episode VII would have been released in May of this year, followed by a selling off of the companywhen its value was soaring. But then Disney entered the picture and Lucas thought different of the idea...

Lucas: “It’s better for me to get out at the beginning of a new thing and I can just remove myself….The time is more important to me than the money."

Surely the money played into his decision in some way whether he admits it or not. But Lucas has found a way to deal with the loss of the sci-fi epic he created, and that's by experiencing the new films as a fan, something he's never had a chance to do.

Lucas: “The only thing I really regret about Star Wars is the fact I never got to see it — I never got to be blown out of my seat when the ship came over the screen. The next one, I’ll be able to enjoy it like anybody else.”

 Meanwhile, Lucas is still keeping busy. His next film is the animated fairy tale, Strange Magic, which opens on January 23rd. Lucas can purchase himself a ticket to Star Wars: The Force Awakens on December 18th 2015.

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George Lucas hasn't Bothered to Watch 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trailer

Fans have a kind of love/hate relationship with George Lucas. We love him for creating the Star Wars universe that we love so dearly and have watched grow over the decades, and at the same time he's hated for practically ruining it. He's in an interesting position now that Disney and J.J. Abrams have taken it over with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At one point it seemed like Lucas would be a component in the film's creation, but clearly that has not been the case. In fact, Page Six is saying Lucas hasn't even bothered to watch the teaser trailer.

According to the gossip rag of questionable integrity (so judge all of this accordingly), when asked if he had seen the trailer yet Lucas responded with,  “I don’t know anything about it. I haven’t seen it yet." Okay, surely he's not too busy to watch an 88-second piece of footage, right? He added “Because it’s not in the movie theater. I like going to the movies and watching the whole thing there. I plan to see it when it’s released.”

That's not so bad, really. There are plenty of folks who don't dig watching this stuff until it's on the big screen. But the overall impression is that Lucas doesn't really care all that much, perhaps figuring it to be a good idea to steer clear and let Abrams do his thing without judgment. Probably a wise move.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18th 2015. Lucas' next film is the animated fairy tale, Strange Magic, which opens January 23rd 2015. 

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'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Fan Posters and Spoof "George Lucas Special Edition" Trailer

There will never be a time when making fun of George Lucas won't be funny, and with the Internet still high off the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer he's getting ripped anew. While we loved seeing the trailer redone in Lego style, what's even better is this "George Lucas Special Edition" version from YouTube user timtimfed which highlights Lucas' penchant for cramming each scene with needless CGI clutter.

Also, it was a given that we'd see some amazing fan-made artwork using some of the teaser's visuals, and here are four posters that Lucasfilm would be wise to use themselves. Of course the new lightsaber is a popular centerpiece image, but Phil Noto's poster featuring young stars John Boyega and Daisy Ridley is really good. He's been doing great work with Marvel, DC, and other publishers for a long time but this makes me want to see him on some Star Wars projects. [via FirstShowing]

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Trailer for George Lucas' Animated Film 'Strange Magic'

So you heard George Lucas and Lucasfilm were making a movie called Strange Magic and thought "Jedi Knights!! Whoo whoo!!!!". Well, no. It turned out to not be anything associated with Star Wars, but instead was an animated movie about fairies. Does that mean it can't still be worth a look? Well, check out the new trailer and decide.

Directed by Gary Rydstrom based on a story Lucas wrote, the film is inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream and takes place in a world of goblins, faeries, elves, and other woodland creatures who apparently love them some trendy pop songs. The voice cast consists of Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, Sam Palladio, Meredeth Anne Bull, Alfred Molina, Elijah Kelley, and Peter Stormare, which is impressive but can't help that this film looks like it should have come out in 2001.

Strange Magic casts its spell on January 23rd 2015.

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George Lucas' Animated 'Strange Magic' Announced for 2015

We may not have George Lucas to kick around anymore when it comes to Star Wars, but clearly he's not getting out of the film biz entirely. Today we learned that Touchstone Pictures will release Lucasfilm's animated movie, Strange Magic, on January 23rd 2015, which is based on a story cooked up by Lucas himself.

Strange Magic is described as a "madcap fairy tale musical inspired by “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with popular songs from the past six decades used to help tell the tale of a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and their hilarious misadventures sparked by the battle over a powerful potion." Lucas will exec-produce and developed the story but won't be at the helm, with those duties going to Gary Rydstrom, who did great work on Pixar's Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation.  Rydstrom also co-wrote the screenplay with Irene Mecchi (Brave) and David Berenbaum (Elf).  Providing voicework is an extensive cast including Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, Sam Palladio, Meredith Anne Bull, Alfred Molina, Peter Stormare, Elijah Kelley, and Bob Einstein. Composing the score and serving as music director will be Marius de Vries, known for his work on Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge.

Rumors had been going around the last few days that Disney and Lucasfilm were developing a Frozen sequel and that Strange Magic, which they established a domain name for, would be the working title. Instead what they get is a George Lucas-produced animated musical, so there are probably a few disappointed Disney fans out there right now.

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Rumored 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Titles Revealed

Yes, it's another day and another Star Wars: Episode VII rumor, but at least this one isn't about who else is going in for a screen test. Back when Disney acquired Lucasfilm and the Star Wars rights it was made clear that included in the package were George Lucas' notes and treatments for a new trilogy. Not really a secret, even though some sites are now trying to make it sound like "exclusive" news that Lucas had been working on this for awhile. And if Lucas had gotten into the treatment stage, then it stands to reason he came up with a few titles.

According to Latino Review, the rumored titles for Episode VII are Return of the Sith and Rise of the Jedi. Both make a lot more sense than The Phantom Menace, and in general they fit the style of the other titles in the franchise. Neither is particularly inspiring, though, and they're vague enough to fit no matter what the plot turns out to be. We can pretty much assume the Jedi will rise and that the Sith will return at some point.

As always, take this with a grain of salt but assuming it's true, which is your favorite?

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George Lucas says Hamill, Fisher, and Ford "pretty much" signed for next 'Star Wars'

It looks to be a given that Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford will be a part of Star Wars: Episode VII in some capacity. Just how much remains to be seen, even with the story possibly involving their characters' kids. All three have expressed a desire to return, and according to some its already a done deal, but George Lucas chimed in during a piece in Bloomberg that suggests he had them signed long ago.

Lucas: "We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison—or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation. So I called them to say, 'Look, this is what's going on.'"

After that, he seemed to realize he might have made a boo-boo by spilling the beans.

Lucas: "Maybe I'm not supposed to say that. I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them. I won't say whether the negotiations were successful or not."
I bet they were. We already knew he had spoken to Hamill and Fisher about it the summer before the Disney deal, so this basically just closes the loop on that. There probably hasn't been any formal signing yet, just handshake agreements and what not.

When a deal is finally struck, it'll likely play out just as Lucas suggests, with balloons and champagne and Star Wars video blogs, etc. etc.

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'Safety Not Guaranteed' director Colin Trevorrow reportedly eyed for 'Star Wars: Episode VII'

When you've got a gig as huge as directing Star Wars: Episode VII, obviously people are going to look at big names for it. Yesterday's rumor putting Matthew Vaughn as the frontrunner would seem to support that, but it's still just a rumor. Disney and George Lucas, who is definitely going to have some input on the decision, may go in a different direction altogether. Like choosing the director of a well-regarded indie flick for the job.

The latest scuttlebutt has Safety Not Guaranteed director Colin Trevorrow in the mix to lead the next Star Wars trilogy. If you didn't see the film, it was one of my favorites of the year, and deftly combines elements of romance, comedy, and science fiction. All things any good Star Wars movie(sorry Phantom Menace fans) must have. Lucas was reportedly impressed with the film enough to meet with Trevorrow months ago about the Star Wars job. Safety Not Guaranteed just hit DVD and Blu-Ray today, so why not rent it and see what all the fuss is about?

This would obviously be a big break for Trevorrow, and an inspired choice for Disney. But would they be willing to put their faith in a relative unknown with only one feature film to his credit? It would certainly be exciting if this is the avenue they take.[Celebuzz]

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'Star Wars: Episode VII' set for 2015 as Disney buys LucasFilm

Yeah, you read that headline right. Star Wars: Episode Seven has been set for 2015. News doesn't get much bigger than this, so let's just start at the beginning. You might recall that a few months ago George Lucas stepped down from the day-to-day operations over at LucasFilm, with Kathleen Kennedy taking over as co-chair. Well now we're learning that Disney has purchased LucasFilm for a whopping $4.05B, with Kennedy becoming the studio President, answering only to Disney chief Alan Horn.

Their first order of business is setting a brand new Star Wars trilogy set to begin in 2015, with a new film releasing every other year after that. How does Lucas fit into this after saying he just wanted to "make experimental movies" for the rest of his career? He'll stay on board as a creative consultant, but clearly he seems to be giving up the keys once and for all.

"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products."


This will be Disney's show, and as we've seen them do after purchasing Marvel, they will flood the market with Star Wars product to get the most bang for their dollar. This move is likely going to split the Star Wars fan base even further, as the prospect of new movies is an exciting and terrifying one considering the lackluster prequels. But also, Disney's propensity for family-friendly entertainment will only annoy those who hated it when Lucas made a similar decision with his sci-fi classic.

So there you have it. I've been saying it for a long time that we'd get another trilogy, and here it is. So now that it's here, what do you want to see out of Star Wars next?

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'Star Wars' Episodes II & III get back-to-back 2013 3D re-releases

Turns out the 3D re-release of Star Wars Episode I-The Phantom Menace did well enough for LucasFilm to bump up the release of the next two installments. The Phantom Menace hit theaters earlier this year and hauled in close to $44M, adding to its overall total of $1.02B worldwide. Not bad for a film originally released in 1999 and has been on DVD/Blu-Ray in a thousand different ways. Now it's been revealed at Star Wars Celebration VI and confirmed via the LucasFilm Facebook page that Episodes II & III, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, will be re-released into theaters 3D on September 20, 2013 and October 11, 2013 respectively.

I'm kinda proud of myself for not paying to see The Phantom Menace again because honestly there isn't enough technology in the world that'll make that bird fly. The next two movies are a totally different beast, though, and they may be worth plunking down a few bucks to see what Lucas can do, especially since they were shot digitally unlike The Phantom Menace. I think this move makes it all the more certain that the original trilogy will be in theaters before too long. Why? Because Lucas doesn't just want some of our money. He wants it all. And because we're nerds we're going to keep giving it to him. Me included.

While I was in St. Maarten for my honeymoon a few weeks ago I had the chance to talk to Nick Manley, one of the great make-up and visual effects gurus ever and the guy who helped create Yoda. He and I are on the same page in thinking Lucas is re-releasing these movies in order to set us up for an all-new trilogy. I know he's debunked that idea in the past, but there's simply too much money for him not to. Hopefully we can get Nick on here to talk about his career and his thoughts on the future of the Star Wars franchise.

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Punch Drunk DVDs

3. Hesher Those with any doubts about the remarkable range and screen presence of Joseph Gordon-Levitt need only check him out in the oddly toned, aggressive comedy Hesher. He plays a tatted up, long haired, grungy anarchist who invades the home and personal space of a father and son struggling to cope with the mom's recent death. While often very bleak, the film finds blasts of raw humor usually provided by Hesher's grating personality. Natalie Portman gives a weird supporting performance as a supermarket check-out girl who falls for Hesher's attitude.

2. Thor

Hey, even more Natalie Portman for ya. To say she's made some odd choices post-Black Swan is an understatement, and we can argue about her reasoning behind movies like Hesher and Your Highness all day. But there's no doubt she hooked up with Thor because it's the type of summer blockbuster she's never really been a part of, and getting in good with the Marvel cinematic universe is a recipe for a long and profitable career. The star of the show is obviously Chris Hemsworth, carrying the thunder god's arrogance and privelidged charm like a badge of honor. I've long said that Thor would be the hardest Marvel character to pull off right, because of the dense family dynamics he comes burdened with, as well as making an immortal god relatable to audiences. Plus he has to fit in the same world as Iron Man and The Hulk? Seems far out, but director Kenneth Branagh managed to strike the right balance for one of the summer's best popcorn flicks.

1. Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Blu-Ray)
Was there really any doubt? Although with George Lucas' incessant tinkering with his unquestioned classic epic, part of me feels like this long awaited box set should be booted out of the top spot if not relegated to a black hole far off the charts. But this is Star Wars. The greatest piece of science fiction ever created. At this point it's so much bigger than anything Lucas could ever do to it that it remains a must buy. And since the price recently dipped down to $79.99 it becomes absolutely essential.

Other Notable Releases
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Citizen Kane(Amazon Exclusive 70th Anniversary + The Magnificent Ambersons)
O Brother Where Art Thou?, directed by The Coen Brothers(Blu-Ray)
Love Wedding Marriage, starring Mandy Moore and Kellan Lutz
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Manos the Hands of Fate

The Tempest, staring Helen Mirren and Russell Brand

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, starring Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter
Bill Cunningham New York, with Bill Cunningham and Ana Wintour
Incendies, starring Lubna Azabal
Meek's Cutoff, starring Michelle Williams and Bruce Greenwood
True Legend, starring Michelle Yeoh and David Carradine

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Pre-Order Star Wars: the Complete Saga on Blu-Ray for $89.99

Chances are you're just like me and have stuffed George Lucas's pockets with cash too many times already. And chances are you'll do it again anyway, because we all want to watch Star Wars on crystal clear Blu-Ray. You can now pre-order Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray for the low price of only $89.99. That's $50 less than what you'll pay in stores. And of course with Amazon's Pre-Order Price Guarantee, if the price should drop between now and the September 16th release date, you'll be charged the lowest amount. Order yours today!
Special Features

Disc One – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace

• Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires
• Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Disc Two – Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones

• Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow
• Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Disc Three- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

• Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett
• Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Disc Four- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope

• Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
• Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Disc Five- Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

• Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
• Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Disc Six- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi

• Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
• Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Disc Seven – NEW! Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III

• Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more

Disc Eight – NEW! Star Wars Archives: Episodes IV-VI

• Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more

Disc Nine – The Star Wars Documentaries

• NEW! Star Warriors (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) – Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures...these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.
• NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) – George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.
• NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) – The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more — and don’t miss “Weird Al” Yankovic’s one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!
• The Making of Star Wars (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) – Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
• The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!
• Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Go behind the scenes — and into the costumes — as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams.
• Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) – See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.
• Star Wars Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) – Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today.

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Release date for 3D version of The Phantom Menace set

We've known for a few weeks now that 3D converted editions of George Lucas's Star Wars saga would be released starting some time in 2012. Now LucasArts has set a release date for Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, so you can pay good money to watch people sit around and discuss Imperial trade routes. >sigh<

Peep the press release...

" Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that the 3D theatrical launch of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace now has an official release date — February 10, 2012! Set against the thrilling and exotic backdrop of a “galaxy far, far away,” Star Wars is perfectly suited to the immersive 3D theatrical experience, and Episode I delivers some of the Saga’s most stunning and spectacular sequences — from the Naboo invasion to the Tatooine Podraces to the climactic lightsaber battle between Darth Maul and the Jedi. Supervised by Industrial Light & Magic, the meticulous conversion is being done with utmost respect for the source material, and with a keen eye for both technological considerations and artistic intentions."

3D aint gonna make Jake Lloyd suddenly able to act, but the pod racing scene could be pretty vicious. I trust Industrial Lights and Magic to make the conversion as tight as humanly possible. And if they don't? Well I'll feel really bad about paying for 5 more movies....but pay I will. It's an addiction.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Harrison Ford wants to kill off Indiana Jones? I say "Go for it"!

Been a minute since there was any good Indiana Jones info worth reporting on. Most of what we've heard so far hasn't amounted to much of anything. There's not really any movement on the film as it stands right now. No writer, no casting, no plot, no nothin'. The last thing I remember was Harrison Ford saying he, George Lucas, and Spielberg had agreed on a "germ of an idea". That was way back in March. Shia Labeouf did say that he thought a script was being worked on, but it came off as so flimsy I didn't even bother with it. Now comes this little nugget from the gossip site, ShowbizSpy, that if true(unlikely, but whatever) could mean that Ford is ready to put Indy and his globe trotting adventures behind him.

The site reports that Ford told both Spielberg and Lucas that he wants to kill off Indiana Jones in the next flick, passing the torch presumably to his son. Labeouf played his son, Mutt Williams, in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. The site goes on to say...

“George especially is resisting the notion but Steven is considering it. Funnily enough Harrison wanted the same for Han Solo in the final Star Wars but George put an end to it. This time he doesn’t have all the say though.”

Rumors and gossip are ShowbizSpy's stock 'n trade, so we'll likely not know if this is true for quite awhile. Like I said earlier, there hasn't been much public movement on another Indiana Jones flick in awhile. I hope it's true, though, because as much as I love Indy I'm ready for it to move on, and I'm not convinced they'd really continue the franchise without Harrison Ford attached.

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Lucas planning new Star Wars trilogy in 2017?

I thought about writing up this story yesterday, but wanted to wait for the inevitable response from Lucasfilm, and it's exactly what I expected. What're they responding to exactly? IESB's rumor, from one of their vaunted inside sources at Lucasfilm, that George Lucas is currently planning and plotting a new Star Wars trilogy, to be released soon after the six original films are re-released in 3D starting in 2012. That would put the timeframe somewhere around 2017 or early 2018.

The new trilogy would reportedly take place years in the future and have nothing at all to do with the Skywalker clan.

One thing about IESB, I know they've broken plenty of Star Wars news in the past, but those reveals were NOTHING like this. A Star Wars live-action TV show that we may or may not be getting? Big deal. The Star Wars cartoon? Big whoop. My honest opinion is that this is IESB reaching  for a story. If you read their article, they seem intent on hammering us over the head with their past accomplishments to lend credibility to the story. There isn't much actual substance to the rumor, which is why they feel the need to do that.

Now let's entertain the idea for a second that this is true. While Lucas has long since stated that he has absolutely no desire to dive back into the Star Wars world, he's certainly kept that universe expanding over the years. And if this is really going to be a story that takes place in the future, he won't actually be dabbling into the same universe he's spent 30+ years writing about. No need to appease us continuity obsessed Star Wars fans.

Also, the pattern is a familar one. When the prequels were announced it came right around the same time that Lucas was enhancing the original trilogy for re-release into theaters. So it stands to reason that he could be doing the same thing here with the 3D conversions.

So as I mentioned earlier, Lucasfilm has shot back with the expected response....

“This is, of course, completely false,” Lucasfilm spokesman Josh Kushins wrote to Wired. “George Lucas has plenty of projects to keep him busy right now — including plenty of Star Wars projects — but there are no new Star Wars feature films planned.”

At this point, there's no reason to believe anybody. I have to admit that the idea of a new trilogy, totally separate from what we've all grown so accustomed to, sounds awesome to me. One of the things holding Star Wars back is that there have been so many stories, on the big and small screen, video games, and in novels, that it's impossible to make it all fit. I know, I've tried to piece 'em all together in my brain and nearly gave myself an aneurysm.

For now take this with a grain of salt. But what do you think? Do we need more Star Wars? Did you like the prequels? Or are you satisfied with the other Star Wars projects Lucas has been serving up over the last couple years? 

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Spielberg, Lucas, Ford Agree on Indiana Jones 5 Plot

This all sounds like a bunch of running in place. Back in September, Harrison Ford stated that he, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg had agreed on the form for yet another adventure starring Indiana Jones.  In a recent interview with the BBC, Harrison Ford basically confirmed the same thing yet again.

"Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas] and I are sort of agreed on a germ of an idea and we're seeing what comes of it."

"The process works like this," he said. "We come to some basic agreement and then George goes away for a long time and works on it.

"Then Steven and I get it in some form, some embryonic form.

"Then if we like it we start working with George on it and at some point down the line it's ready and we do it."

Ok, so it's a germ of an idea. Does that mean we can wash this idea away with a little Purell™? Stop this thing from happening?

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull was a mammoth hit, raking in over $780M worldwide. So as long as Harrison Ford isn't strapped to a wheelchair, eating his dinner through a straw and rockin' a pair of Depends, it's going to happen. Just don't look for it anytime soon. My biggest worry is that they will officially hand the Indy torch over to Shia Labeouf in some way. The more movies they make, the more likely it is that will happen.

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Ford Ready to Whip Out Indiana Jones 5!

Most of us were disappointed with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, right? Raise your hands. Good. Despite that, it felt good seeing the hat and whip again, even if a Shia Labeouf was only a few feet away. Well, now the crew is getting back together again after much speculation, most of which perpetuated from Steven Spielberg himself. Now we get confirmation from Harrison Ford from an interview with Le Figaro in France:

"The story for the new Indiana Jones is in the process of taking form. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I'll be very happy to put the costume on again."

"If the script is good". That didnt' stop you from doing the last film, did it? It doesn't matter, the fact that this is happening has me both psyched and dismayed. If we parse Ford's statement a little bit, it reads as if George Lucas is handling scripting chores himself. That could be a double edged sword. We've seen his handling of certain other legendary franchises and the often childish direction most of those have taken. But then again, this is Indiana Jones. And even at it's worst, it's always going to be fun and thrilling. I'll be keeping my eye on this one.

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