This is the center for all your news about the galaxy far, far away. Here's everything we know about Star Wars: Episode VII.
Once upon a time, Star Wars fans thought they had seen the last of the franchise in theaters. But on October 30, 2012 Disney and Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars would live on in the form of a new trilogy.
J. J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII, with The Empire Strikes Back co-writer Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg acting as consultants. Initial press releases reported that the script would be written by Michael Arndt, scriptwriter of Toy Story 3, but in October of 2013 it was announced that Kasdan and Abrams would be taking over scriptwriting duties.
The cast of Star Wars: Episode VII is as follows: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film. It's likely that some of the cast members announced will play the offspring of characters like Han, Luke, and Leia.
The plot will focus on a trio of new characters, possibly including the teenage characters described in the open casting call in December of 2012, along with “some very familiar faces.” The film will take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi and the story will not mesh with that of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The new Star Wars timeline will only contain the six previous films as well as The Clone Warsand Rebelsanimated series, although future novels, comics and video games, will all be part of Lucasfilm's new Star Wars canon. Recent rumors suggest that Han Solo will play a "gigantic" part in the film.
The film has been in aggressive pre-production since January. Some filming is already underway, likely in locations such as Abu Dhabi, Morocco, and elsewhere. Sets and props have been under construction at London's Pinewood Studios for several months. Unsurprisingly, John Williams will be returning to provide the music, as will sound designer Ben Burtt and supervising sound editor Matthew Wood. Fight coordinator Nick Gillard said on Twitter that he would not be working on the new films.
The film’s release is set for December 18, 2015, although there is some speculation that this might change. If released in December, it will be the first live action Star Wars film not to be released in May.
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