Slashdot Mirror
Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Rumors
Stop reading if you're spoiler paranoid. ChazeFroy writes "The actor who played Chewbacca in the original Star Wars trilogy, Peter Mayhew, will be in Episode III. Of course, this has been previously reported and comes as no surprise. However, TheForce is reporting that Mayhew's contract contains a stipulation that he must also appear in Episodes 7, 8, and 9. This was first reported in the British movie magazine Hot Dog, whose December issue with this news just hit US newstands."
IMNAAA (not an acting agent), but isn't this just the sort of thing that gets tossed into lower-paid actor's contracts when a studio is simply hedging its bets? I like the 'bacca as well as the next dude, but he is probably paid less than, say Harrison Ford, on average. It seems likely to me that it wouldn't cost the studio much (if anything) to obligate him in this regard.
Now, if the face-time Ep. 6 folks (Ford, Fisher, Hamilton, et al.) start getting signed into contracts like this then we would be talking.
I'm with seeing Thrawn & Co. up on the big screen, but only if George Lucas steps his monkey ass down as writer and director and let's someone talented handle it. He can be Executive Producer and just sit in the back eating corn chips and cackling.
El riesgo vive siempre!
All the main actors have not aged well
Funny you should say that. I remember, years ago (around the time of Episode V), George Lucas was asked if the main actors would be back for episodes VII, VIII, and IX; his reply was "sure, if they can be made to look old enough." The implication was that he wanted to set the final trilogy a few decades after the end of Episode VI.
On the other hand, his more recent comment was that he "Never really had a story" for the final trilogy.
On the gripping hand, it's clear that not having a story never really stops him. I refuse to believe that he planned all along for young Skywalker to build C-3PO, for example. I refuse to believe that during filming of Episode IV that he had already planned that Darth Vader would have grown up on Tattooine. I strongly suspect that the whole Luke/Leia being brother/sister was invented after he already had finished Episode IV. He just makes stuff up and sticks it on.
Star Wars is great not because of George Lucas, who got the ball rolling, but because of the contributions of so many people. The sets, costumes, and effects represent man-years of work by many people. At this point you could take Star Wars out of George Lucas's hands and make new movies. (Sadly, they might be better movies for that; George Lucas's recent track record isn't great.)
I predict we'll see Episodes VII, VIII, and IX someday, no matter what George Lucas says now. And we'll probably see other movies as well. (I'd like to see some "Jedi Academy" movies.)
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
...but how do the prequels rape the fond memories of your childhood? I mean, sure episode 1 sucks - but episode 4 and 5 are still hella good.
Unless you mean the prequels made you realize how lame the series already was by episode 6. How hokey episode 4 was, and how the pinnacle of the series was directed and largely rewritten by people other than Lucas. That could understandably rob you of fond memories. Of course, just watching them again older and wiser would probably have done that.
I could also understand the anger if you were referring to the Greedo-shooting-first destruction of the original series called the 'Special Editions'. But you're not.
my pet theory is that the special editions, and episodes 1, and 2 are precisely the kinds of movies Lucas wanted to make from the beginning.
episode iv represented his first shot, and doubtlessly had piles of constructive criticism and rewrites. then it was proven a cash cow, and the sequel was given to a different director and featured much more rewriting. (largely hailed as the pinnacle of starwars). Then Lucas got control back, and turned out Jedi.
After more time and money, he skull-f#cked the original trilogy with the special editions. then came episode 1 and the truth was unavoidable. episode 2 was salt on a gaping wound.
Without actual creative criticism, Lucas just doesn't churn out the movies we always thought he wanted to make.
It's like the Wachowskis. They probably rewrote the first Matrix a dozen times and were making huge changes even to the shooting script. But who's going to slow down the process of making sequels to a cash cow by saying 'Whoa, guys - you've got some pacing issues that need to be fixed here, and some lame ass dialogue'?
No-one in Hollywood.
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"