Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[Clark Kent]

Commercial forces will almost surely dictate that Vader is back in some form in the Disney sequels. I don't expect it to be "our" Anakin Skywalker, but a clone version still played by Hayden Christensen. There are so many clones of familiar characters running around the Expanded Universe that it's hard to keep track of them. Expect to see Boba Fett also return as a clone. These characters are too popular to stay dead and it's why Darth Maul was brought back to life for the Clone Wars animated series.

That is just the way Hollywood operates. I want to see clone Vader slice and dice Darth Maul.

[Walts Ghost]

Frank Marshall Says STAR WARS Director Search Down to a Couple of Candidates; Joe Johnston Comments on Helming EPISODE VII

It’s time for your daily dose of Star Wars: Episode VII rumblings. With the official confirmation that Toy Story 3 scribe Michael Arndt will be handling script duties on the Return of the Jedi sequel, all eyes are now on which filmmaker LucasFilm will choose to direct the highly anticipated follow-up. Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, and Zack Snyder have all taken themselves out of the running (though they were all unlikely candidates to begin with), and we recently heard from J.J. Abrams, Jon Favreau, Guillermo del Toro, and Colin Tervorrow about the prospect of helming the follow-up.

Now producer Frank Marshall, husband of new LucasFilm President/Star Wars overseer Kathleen Kennedy, has spoken briefly about the project, revealing that the director search is now down to “a couple of candiates.” Moreover, Captain America director Joe Johnston has also chimed in with his thoughts on possibly taking over the franchise. Hit the jump for much more.

Speaking with MTV News, Marshall revealed that he’s got the inside scoop on what’s going on with the director search, but he’s unable to reveal anything:

Marshall did say, however, that the search has been whittled down to “a couple of candidates, but I don’t know how soon that will be revealed.”

Recently a snippet from an interview with Kennedy and George Lucas was released in which they talked specifically about the director search for Episode VII. In that video, Kennedy revealed that they were looking at a number of people, including directors that she’s worked with in the past. Many then brought up the prospect of Joe Johnston possibly stepping in, as he previously took over the Jurassic Park franchise with Jurassic Park III (produced by Kennedy) and has a great eye for adventure as evidenced by films like The Rocketeer and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Moreover, he worked on the original Star Wars trilogy as part of the effects unit.

Spurned by a recent editorial by Movies.com editor Erik Davis in which Johnston was heralded as a great choice to helm Episode VII, Huffington Post reached out to the director for his thoughts on directing “it”:

That’s not an outright “no,” so fans of Johnston can take heart in knowing that the filmmaker hasn’t specifically ruled the prospect out. Hopefully LucasFilm makes an announcement regarding the Episode VII director soon, though, before every single director in town is asked to give his or her thoughts on possibly helming the franchise.

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[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Riddler The Slag

I am not terribly opposed to the idea of resurrecting Palpatine as he was and remains the best written and most clever character in the SW Universe.

Not that I want him to return either, but I think more of a case could be made for having Palpatine return than Vader. We see him get tossed down that shaft in the Death Star in ROTJ. We don't really see what happens after that. They could probably come up with some kind of passable B.S. argument as to how he survived. But you can't bring back Vader (at least not Anakin Skywalker as Vader either in resurrected or clone form) without totally crapping all over the ending of ROTJ and the overall point of both the OT and the (formerly) "Complete" Saga.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Beast

I can totally see some new Sith Lord taking Vader's mantle though. But it won't be Anakin. Not 30+ Years after RotJ.

Hey, we agree on something! (It's the only way I could see the return of Vader working). Let's celebrate this moment! It's not likely to happen again!

[tigertron]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Not that I want him to return either, but I think more of a case could be made for having Palpatine return than Vader. We see him get tossed down that shaft in the Death Star in ROTJ. We don't really see what happens after that. They could probably come up with some kind of passable B.S. argument as to how he survived. But you can't bring back Vader (at least not Anakin Skywalker as Vader either in resurrected or clone form) without totally crapping all over the ending of ROTJ and the overall point of both the OT and the (formerly) "Complete" Saga.

Agreed. I wouldn't mind seeing Palpatine return, just because he is a superb villain, but there is no way in hell Vader could return. Anakin isn't about to get bored of being a force ghost and decide to somehow come back to life.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by tigertron

Agreed. I wouldn't mind seeing Palpatine return, just because he is a superb villain, but there is no way in hell Vader could return. Anakin isn't about to get bored of being a force ghost and decide to somehow come back to life.

Hey! There's the twist! "Darth Vader" returns, but Luke and co. know it can't be Anakin because he died and Luke saw him as a ghost, and it has to be someone else. Then they pull off his mask to discover it's old-man Palpatine, up to his old tricks again. When they figure him out, he could say, "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling Jedi!"

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Beast

Obviously a little out of date. But it clearly refrences the "No Resurrections" policy that Lucasfilm has.

It also clearly references his 'no Episode VII, not even over my dead body' policy.

Now, I don't know if you've heard...

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

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Nice to see that they've got things sorted out as soon as possible. Maybe even Frank Marshall is a candidate and that's why he won't say anything? Although, to be fair, both Arachnophobia and Alive are brilliant films (but I know that he isn't suited to this).

Johnston would be nice but that, to me, doesn't seem like a response that would be given by someone who knew he was in the running to direct it -- you think it'd be more enthusiastic.

I'm still hedging my bets on some name being announced that we all go "whoooo?" to. Lucas and Kennedy both seemed pretty adamant that this was going to be new film-maker territory.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by octagon

It also clearly references his 'no Episode VII, not even over my dead body' policy.

Yeah, Lucas "flip flops" a lot. I think he should have gone into a career in politics... he would have been well suited for it.

And this is the kind of thing that drives me nuts about him. It's not the fact that he changes his mind on things... that's fine. People change their minds on things all of the time, and things change over the course of the creative process. But it went from him (back when making the OT) talking about the possibilities of a prequel AND sequel trilogy (and at one point I believe an overall 12 movie saga), to him pretty much admittedly denying any plans for a sequel trilogy and saying it will never happen, to it now definitely happening with his blessing and based on his outline.

And let's not get started on how the 1997 Special Editions of the OT were billed as his "definitive vision" of the films (a billing that I'm sure he approved of at the time), only for him to do several more revisions to them years later.

If he changes his mind, fine. But at least state it that way. But instead he takes whatever his feelings on the matter are at the moment and acts like that's been the plan all along, despite documented statements that he has made to the contrary. I'm waiting for him to explain how he always wanted Vader to yell "Noooo" at the end of ROTJ, but the technology to do so didn't exist in 1983.

Originally Posted by octagon

Now, I don't know if you've heard...

Bird is the word?

[Indyjones]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

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I'm pulling for Joe Johnston. With his history and knowledge of SW, from being one of the main conceptual artists on the OT, his experience from sitting in the editing booth with Lucas on the OT, I think he's the perfect choice to helm VII. If anyone is able to capture the Lucas-esque look and feel of the ST, it would be him.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

I'm pulling for Joe Johnston. With his history and knowledge of SW, from being one of the main conceptual artists on the OT, his experience from sitting in the editing booth with Lucas on the OT, I think he's the perfect choice to helm VII. If anyone is able to capture the Lucas-esque look and feel of the ST, it would be him.

But is that what Disney are going for? Is that even what we want? I love all of the Star Wars films but the prequels are terribly written and directed, and two of the original trilogy aren't even directed by Lucas. We've had this discussion over and over again here so I don't want to dwell on it too much, but I'm just unsure if following the same formula is the right way to go.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Hey! There's the twist! "Darth Vader" returns, but Luke and co. know it can't be Anakin because he died and Luke saw him as a ghost, and it has to be someone else. Then they pull off his mask to discover it's old-man Palpatine, up to his old tricks again. When they figure him out, he could say, "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling Jedi!"

LOL!! The funny thing is that isn't nearly as half-assed as the writers could be if they wanted to bring him back. Also, Palpatine has to have a CG face for no reason. Heck, maybe Jar-Jar comes back as Vader. "It's-a me, Luke!" If you read Lucas's contract handing over the rights to the franchise there is a little footnote requiring Jar-Jar to show up in the sequels... or Jar-Jar Jr. I can see the JJJ sequences in my head...

[Ernest Rister]

Frank Marshall would be an outstanding choice. Alive is one of my favorite films of the 90's.

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by octagon

It also clearly references his 'no Episode VII, not even over my dead body' policy.

Now, I don't know if you've heard...

Georges Lucas was seduced by the idea of making Anakin Skywalker the central figure of his masterwork. He ceased to be the creator of the original trilogy and became the professional retcon figure who said he never thought about making more than 6 episodes and that Leia was talking about a "Force induced feeling" when she said she remembered her mother in ROTJ. When that happened, the good storyteller who was Lucas was destroyed, and he became a kid show producer while eventually allowing for episodes 7-9 to be done by someone else after selling his company to Disney, but -not- him.
So what he told then was true, from a certain point of view.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by octagon

It also clearly references his 'no Episode VII, not even over my dead body' policy.

Now, I don't know if you've heard...

Yeah, hence the "Obviously a little out of date", but regardless... the "No Resurrections" rule isn't likely to change.

Lucasfilm has kept tight reigns on the EU to ensure that it doesn't happen with major characters. That's not likely to change.

It's not like Disney is known for bringing back dead characters in sequels. Ask Bambi's Mom, Simba's Dad, etc.

[MCT]

It's not like Disney is known for bringing back dead characters in sequels. Ask Bambi's Mom, Simba's Dad, etc.

how can they answer if theyre de-----

ooooh

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Beast

Yeah, hence the "Obviously a little out of date", but regardless... the "No Resurrections" rule isn't likely to change.

Lucasfilm has kept tight reigns on the EU to ensure that it doesn't happen with major characters. That's not likely to change.

It's not like Disney is known for bringing back dead characters in sequels. Ask Bambi's Mom, Simba's Dad, etc.

Oh, I think Vader's return is very unlikely but that conclusion has little to do with The Employee's previous pronouncements on the subject.

I'm not saying his inclinations are completely irrelevant but they don't have quite same burning bush quality they once did.

[segagamer12]

I still think they are going to have to bring Vader in at some point, he is one of the staples of the friggin' saga, and they paid a hell of a lot of money they know they need to get a return on their investment. Even after all the excitement and hype of the prequels died down, Vader remained one of the more iconic figures on the series. Maybe they will just stick him into that live action TV series, if it ever happens. Either way I am willing to bet anything they are going to find some way to use him.



To beast, sorry I didn't read your post right away, things are moving too fast again. I agree with you I do NOT want Mara Jade at all, I just kept hearing her name thrown in and so that was my suggestion if they included her as a way to turn Luke. At least that would make for a good way to keep Luke and Vader in the saga and not have to even worry about who is behind the mask ever.

[legendarymatt92]

Originally Posted by segagamer12

I still think they are going to have to bring Vader in at some point, he is one of the staples of the friggin' saga, and they paid a hell of a lot of money they know they need to get a return on their investment. Even after all the excitement and hype of the prequels died down, Vader remained one of the more iconic figures on the series. Maybe they will just stick him into that live action TV series, if it ever happens. Either way I am willing to bet anything they are going to find some way to use him.

People don't just go to see Star Wars because of Vader - yes, he is one of cinema's most iconic villains, but that doesn't mean the entire franchise rests on him. He doesn't need to come back at all -- they'll introduce another brilliant antagonist and that'll be that.

Disney know they'll get a return on their investment whatever crap they churn out when they put the Star Wars logo on it.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

People don't just go to see Star Wars because of Vader - yes, he is one of cinema's most iconic villains, but that doesn't mean the entire franchise rests on him. He doesn't need to come back at all -- they'll introduce another brilliant antagonist and that'll be that.

Disney know they'll get a return on their investment whatever crap they churn out when they put the Star Wars logo on it.

Vader wasn't in Episode I or II, and he's barely in III, why does he have to be in VII, VIII, or IX?

Guys, this story is bunkus. Stop obssessing over it.