Plans For New “Star Wars” Trilogy, Mark Hamill Speaks On Episode VII
After the bombshell of Lucasfilm Ltd being sold to Disney a few days ago, more news is coming out from various sources on Disney’s proposed plans for the Star Wars series. Current plans are for a new film to hit the big screen in 2015, then a new film to be released every two or three years thereafter.
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Star Wars fans across the globe presumed that the new trilogy of films, Episodes VII, VIII and IX, would follow the hugely popular Thrawn Trilogy from Timothy Zahn. Lucasfilm themselves have said previously that they consider this series to be canon and to continue the Star Wars story after Return of the Jedi.
It now seems as if the Thrawn Trilogy is not the way that Disney will take the franchise. The Thrawn Trilogy involves Luke Skywalker trying to establish the Jedi Order once more, whilst being chased by an assassin/love interest by the name of Mara Jade (you can guess how things turn out when she ends up becoming Mara Jade Skywalker). There’s also the birth of twins for Han and Leia, Chewbacca being crushed by a moon, Han becoming a depressed alcoholic and various other twists and turns along the way as the Thrawn Trilogy and other books become more expansive.
E! Online is reporting, according to a Lucasfilm source, that the new trilogy of films will be a completely original story. Lucas stated in the initial press release that Disney would give the perfect opportunity to branch out into “film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment and consumer products.”
The Hollywood Reporter is going with an angle that the new batch of films will follow the example of The Avengers; using several individual character driven films and then tying them into a multi-character spectacle.
One person that could profit very well from the situation if Disney decides to go down the Thrawn Trilogy route is Mark Hamill, aka the original trilogy’s Luke Skywalker. Entertainment Weekly managed to catch up with Hamill, who found out about a new trilogy way back in August, and this is what he had to say:
George (Lucas) asked Carrie (Fisher aka Princess Leia) and I to have lunch with him and we did. I thought he was going to talk about either his retirement or the Star Wars TV series that I’ve heard about – which I don’t think we were going to be involved in anyway, because that takes place between the prequels and the ones we were in – or the 3D releases. So when he said, ‘We decided we’re going to Episodes VII, VIII and IX,’ I was just gobsmacked.
After his August meeting with Lucas, Hamill was aware of the plans for a new batch of movies, although he didn’t know anything about a possible deal with Disney until the news broke earlier this week. Hamill also went on to say that he is unsure on what direction the films will go and whether he will be involved in any way, shape or form. He also confirmed the Kathleen Kennedy will be handling the new films, with Lucas acting as a creative consultant of sorts.
