The Star Wars News Roundup

Just a reminder, the purpose of this roundup is to put the highlights of all things Star Wars from the last week in one location. If you read this each week, you should be able to converse fluently with any Star Wars fan on everything from the latest Star Wars: Episode VII developments to the latest toys. And maybe you’ll even share with them something that they might have missed.

Let’s get to it!

Episode VII Movie News Summary

This big news of the week waserrr.that there was no “Episode VII” news at the Disney D23 Expo. Fans were expecting a SDCC type of surprise announcement, but it didn’t happen. Disney didn’t even bother to announce the casting of Hamill, Fisher, or Ford. Everyone was left pretty disappointed.

So what do we read into this? Well, either they have made progress on “Episode VII” and they want to maintain secrecy (which wouldn’t be a surprise with J.J. Abrams) or they still have nothing significant to announce despite the fact that they need to start shooting soon to meet Disney’s aggressive 2015 release date.

Lucasfilm used to have the mindset of “It’s Star Wars, why do I need to advertise it?” After all, we’re all going to see it no matter what. Despite the fact that this is reality, it’s still disappointing that Disney didn’t make an effort to assure fans that the series is in good hands. You would think that they would want to protect their investment by keeping the good will of fans.

Despite the lack of official news, unofficial news continued to hit online throughout the week.

First, Jedi News UK posted the rumor that Ian McDiarmid would be returning in “Episode VII”:

The specifics of the role are unclear, but it seems likely that McDiarmid will be returning to his signature role of Palpatine. Whether as the original or a clone of, we are yet to discern.

Latino Review expanded on the rumor:

Palpatine comes back as a Force Ghost..like Obi Wan. (Sith Lords learned similar techniques, which in some cases allowed them to physically interact with their environment.)

Latino Review dropped another spy report this weekend claiming that Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi will also appear:

The interesting part of the conversation I had with my source was that McGregor also wants a solo standalone film! Whether he gets one or not is still up in the air.

It’s entirely possible that Palpatine and Kenobi could appear in some long lost hologram found in “Episode VII,” thus setting in motion the events of the film. But the Force Ghost thing is possible, too. We will see!

One of the highlights of the week was Harrison Ford’s appearance on Conan O’Brian’s show promoting “Paranoia.” Conan offers him a bribe to give some Star Wars: Episode VII news. See what he reveals in the video link:

Meanwhile, more actors continue to say how they’d love to be in the new Star Wars film. Flicks and the City spoke with Darth Maul actor Ray Park at a convention in London. See the video for the interview:

Then on the press junket for Elysium, Matt Damon spoke about Star Wars with MTV:

With a new “Star Wars” movie on the way, MTV News’ Josh Horowitz had to ask Damon about his thoughts on returning to a galaxy far, far away.

“I’m happy that [director] J.J. [Abrams] is doing it,” answered Damon. “I remember when they made the second batch [starting in 1999], and I was so kind of nervous about it. Ultimately I think that the first three… they exist and nothing can affect them, so why not? If you can get a J.J. Abrams to… if you can get buy-in from him, then that’s the best shot of [getting the film on the right path].”

Damon wouldn’t reveal if he’s pursuing a role in the film, but at this point every A-list Hollywood star has been rumored to be involved. Starring in the film wouldn’t be a stretch for Damon, who recently revealed to MTV that he’s a lifelong sci-fi fan.

“‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Alien,’ and ‘Star Wars,'” said Damon, listing some of his favorite sci-fi films from his youth. “So yeah, I’m a big fan.”

Finally, Star Wars 7 posts a rumor that J.J. Abrams may have a bigger role in steering the Star Wars multimedia empire than previously thought:

I heard from sources close to Abrams that his involvement with Star Wars will be huge. For now he may only be directing Episode 7 but also he will supervise and consult all other side projects from the franchise – games, spin-off movies, TV series etc. And while Kathleen Kennedy will be the managing core of the franchise, Abrams will be the creative core through which everything will pass.

Time will tell how accurate this report is.

Star Wars Television

Club Jade points out that while there may not have been any “Episode VII” news at D23, there was a little television news from Pablo Hidalgo:

Pablo hinted that the Jedi legacy “casts a long shadow” and “you will feel that presence” on Rebels, and that (as the rumors claim) the Orange Harvest bounty may make it to Disneyland first.

He also said that there’s more Clone Wars bonus footage than we think, and “they’re close to pushing it out,” and “thinking out of the box” about distribution. We may not have seen the last of Detours, either.

Visit the link for more info.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke to the creators of ‘Phineas and Ferb’ about their upcoming “Star Wars” episode:

THR: You’re also doing a Star Wars crossover episode next year.

Povenmire: We are. The fact that they allowed us to do a Marvel crossover really emboldened us and as soon as we found out there was a merger with Lucasfilm, I literally drew on a Post-It a picture of Doofenshmirtz as Darth Vader and I took a picture of it and texted it to the head of the TV animation studio and said, “I smell crossover!” He wrote back and said, “I’m having lunch with the head of the channel right now. That was the first thing we started talking about.” It happened very quickly apparently. Their pitch to [Disney chairman/CEO] Bob Iger was the picture [I drew]. I wasn’t in this meeting but what we were told was Bob Iger said, “Oh yeah, we gotta get right on that.” That was as much as it took.

The link has more of the interview.

Do you want Disney to produce DVDs and Blu-rays of the “Droids” and “Ewoks” cartoons? Sign the petition at Change.org!

Around The Web

The Huffington Post – Everest Hobson Lucas Born To George Lucas And Mellody Hobson

The Force is strong with this one!

The Huffington Post can announce exclusively that on Friday, August 9, “Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, Ariel Investments president Mellody Hobson, welcomed a daughter into the world.

Everest Hobson Lucas is the first biological child for both parents, but she’s far from an only child. The newborn, who was delivered via surrogate, is a little sister to Lucas’ adopted children, Amanda, 32; Katie, 25; and Jett, 20.

The Hollywood Reporter – George Lucas’ Wife Mellody Hobson Reveals Inspiration For Daughter’s Name

George Lucas’ wife Mellody Hobson has revealed the origins of her brand-new baby daughter’s name, telling Charlie Rose on Wednesday’s CBS This Morning, “Everest is based on the son of a very close friend, who was a friend of yours too, Charlie.”

A cappella singer Peter Hollens and violinist Lindsey Stirling perform the Star Wars theme!