STAR WARS EPISODES 7, 8 AND 9 IN 2015!

The Star Wars world has been abuzz for the past 24 hours with the news that Disney has acquired Lucasfilm. And in addition, Star Wars episodes 7, 8 and 9 will be a reality in movie theaters come 2015.

I was just home from work when Dan called me with this breaking news. I was flabbergasted to say the least. I always thought that Lucasfilm would be that independent film company (granted, a multi-billion dollar independent film company) that would stay hold to the ideas that they are the only ones who know how to make Star Wars great and epic. It has been known for a while that George Lucas was planning on retiring in the coming years and his successor Kathleen Kennedy would be someone he trusts who can keep his vision of the Star Wars universe alive.

It does appear that Kennedy will be the person who will be heading up the production of these new Star Wars movies. And if there is anyone who can fill the shoes of George Lucas, I think Kathleen Kennedy is the person to do it. Her work on Raiders of the Lost Ark proves that she knows the recipe to make a good movie. And if she can do that with Indiana Jones, I am certain she will be able to step up to challenge with these new Star Wars movies.

I still am unsure how I feel about Disney taking the reigns at Lucasfilm. Granted, if any company knows how to make movies the right way, it is Disney. They have had a connection with Lucasfilm since the days they acquired Pixar and brought us movies like Wall-E, Toy Story and Cars. And from a merchandising perspective, there are many crossovers between Disney and Star Wars as well.

But the questions remains, what will be the story-line of Star Wars Episode 7? And how does this play into the exisiting Star Wars Expanded Universe stories and timeline? With Disney taking design control of all aspects of these new movies, how will that affect the final product we will see in the movie theaters in 2015?

As a host of a podcast and blog that is dedicated to the discussion of the issues, ideas and the imagination of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, it would be a little tough to imagine that characters and story-lines from the classic Timothy Zahn novels not finding there way onto the silver screen. I began thinking of what it would be like to see those Zahn novels coming together in a movie. Who would play Mara Jade? What would Grand Admiral Thrawn look like?  How would the story of Han and Leia play out? Would they in fact be married? Would the love story develop between Luke and Mara?  Or will these movies be acting as a major reboot of the Star Wars timeline as Star Wars Expanded Universe fans understand it?

This coming January we are going to see the first issue of the new "Star Wars" comic book from Dark Horse. The hype behind this comic book series is that it is set in the original trilogy era (probably between Episodes 4 and 5) and it will have all the characters we are familiar with in an era that we know well. Could this comic book series be a primer for events that are going to eventually play out in the new movies? And what about the upcoming book called Crucible that shows Luke, Leia and Han on the cover with more white and grey hair that I had ever envisioned? It obviously takes place after the events of the Fate of the Jedi series but will anything in this book have any impact on the new movies?

We have quite a long time before we have any concrete answers to these questions. We still are following the events in The Clone Wars animated series, many story-lines in books and comics are still in motion and we are not certain what other breaking news might appear in our inbox's in the coming weeks.

But I am very optimistic about this news. I am thrilled that new Star Wars will be on the big screen in the coming years. I am even more excited that my kids will be at an age that they can enjoy these movies and go with me to the theaters to see these movies. And a new movie will obviously trigger the usual merchandising campaigns that will offer fans those collectibles that make this new Star Wars experience even more enjoyable.  If anything, this announcement has solidified that idea in my mind that the ideas, moral lessons, adventures and fun that stems from that galaxy far, far away is in fact going to last forever!

Dan and I will chat more about this breaking news on the next podcast.  Let us know your thoughts! Email us at: jundlandwastespodcast@gmail.com

Keep safe on the Jundland Wastes! And let us know if you spot Mickey Mouse hanging out with Jawas or Tusken Raiders! :)

All the best,
Mark
Co-host - TJW Podcast