Slashdot Mirror
Might Episodes VII - IX Still Be Made?
LE UI Guy writes "According to the HoustonChronicle.com, with all the hype surrounding the recent release of ROTS, speculation abounds that someone may still take a stab at creating episodes VII - IX. Gary Kurtz, producer of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, gives some insight into where the storyline may, or may not, go. On a related note, Roger Ebert, is also giving a thumbs up to a continuation of the storyline as well. Where does the line start?"
WTF?
There's way too much money to be made to just not continue the series with so much hype still alive.
It's been more than 25 years since the first three episodes came out. So much has changed then that if movies taking place after episode 6 were to to be made now episodes 4,5,and 6 would just be smack in the middle of a bunch of episodes made with cg and crummy love scenes. Episode III was welll worth the wait, but I think it's time to put the series to rest.
You've obviously never played any of the Jedi Knight games. They take place after the end of 6, and they focus on the rebuilding of the galaxy after the war. Also, just because the emperor and Vader are dead doen't mean that all of the Sith are. That, and the Empire's huge infrastructure is still around. Another leader could rise and rejuvenate the movement. Sorry--that was a little too nerdy. But If they want to, they'll find a plot.
In the beginning the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry and is widely considered as a bad move.
Certainly, the plan all along was to have a 9-parter. He said so himself, shortly after the original Star Wars movie came out. (Those in the UK at the time might remember the interview with George Lucas that was broadcast on Ask Aspel, at about that time.)
He has said that others have done "plenty" in the post-ROJ era, but that could mean anything. He could mean that some published (or UNpublished) existing work by himself or someone else would form the basis for 7-9 - ie: nothing new has to be written, as it already is.
The fact that episode III grossed so much in the first day might cut either way. On the one hand, it proves Star Wars is still worth a LOT of money. On the other hand, it gives Mr Lucas a chance to bow out of Star Wars on the kind of high note that very very few directors ever get to have. Star Wars is worth a lot, but so is a good image, and right now Mr Lucas has one of the best images out there.
Probably the deciding factor will be the advancement of computer-generated graphics. George Lucas has clearly proven that he likes high-tech toys, with I-III, and even IV-VI had some impressive effects for the day and the budget. (IV was the shoestring of shoestrings, by all accounts, but still pulled off some pretty good special effects which stood the test of time.)
If, within the next few years, we see some really good rendering engines - cone-tracer + radiosity (or better) at speeds fast enough for live-action - then maybe Mr Lucas would do the last 3 parts just to play with the new gizmos. I could believe it.
On the other hand, if we see a stagnation, with no real improvements in quality but maybe just a bit more quantity, then the technology won't coax him out. That would be my bet. He's had his fun with what's out there, he'll want something that is NEW for the last 3, if he's to think it worth it on those grounds.
Of course, I'm probably completely wrong, but it's always fun to speculate about such things.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Natalie Portman can keep her scrawniness to herself. She isn't woman enough to wear that outfit.
Hopefully, George Lucas will not destroy his own creation by cheapening it.
One of the principal problems with "Star Trek" is that there have been too many television shows and too many movies. After a while, the plots start to eerily repeat themselves. The novelty is gone, and "Star Trek" now just looks like another washed-up television show. If you saw last week's final episode of "Enterprise", you will understand what I mean.
Someone must slap some sense into George Lucas. He should immediately pull the plug on the new television shows. The rare gem (i.e. 6 movies with the "Star Wars" theme) is treasured. The commonplace grains (i.e. weekly episodes of "Star Wars") of sand is just banal crap. If Lucas wants to produce any more "Star Wars" film, then he should focus only on the movies.
"Right, you are. Young Slashdotter. A law, we need. At most 10 'Star Wars' movies per century, we should make!" Yoda concurs.
Guys, please... WAKE UP.
This is about MONEY... Lots and lots of money.
Star Wars is a 20 Billion Dollar industry, all told, between movies, DVD, toys, merchandising tie-ins, commercials for those tie-ins, etc., etc., -- Nobody connected with it wants the gravy train to end. It's buying them a new car, a new house and a new yacht, and a new trophy wife.
And when Lucas' kids inherit the franchise, and poor old George is dead, they will milk that cow until it dies. They will want a new Masteratti and mansion every year. People who are connected to the family will want to milk that cow to keep their incomes and lifestyles.
Trust me. There will be a new Star Wars movie every Summer, every year, until people stop going to them and they no longer generate profit.
Think about how long the Broccoli's have milked the James Bond franchise. The movies get worse and worse, but as long as people hand over money to see the latest crap-fest, they will keep making new crap-fests to take your money.
I guarantee we'll be chatting about Star Wars Episode 20 in a decade or so...
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
Honestly, what's with all the bitching and whining? I just saw Sith and it was fucking good. Yes, there are a few plot holes and the dialogue can seem clunky.
It's a children's movie! Chill out, people.
Can we look at the bright side for just a moment? The acting is better, the special effects are better, the story is better and the movie is almost pure action. Where's the problem?
Lucas was holding out on us. The first two prequels were just warm-ups. This is the real deal.
Besides, there's something that everybody is missing. I've been reading these SW articles for months now, and nobody has pointed out one of the best things about this movie. Sure, go to see SW for the lightsabers, for the explosions and all the cool CGI and aliens. But what makes it all worthwhile, cohesive and convincing to me, is the work of one man:
John Williams.
His music is brilliant and evocative. The music tells the story here - this is a space opera, after all. It sounds like slashdotters have spent too much time listening to Lucas' dialogue and not to the real voice of the film - the score. I beseech you - let the music tell the story. Williams has completed his masterwork in this movie, just as Lucas has. Together they form an incredible story/symphony that should not be missed. Everything is explained in the music. To those of us who know the motifs it is obvious from the first scene of Episode I who Darth Sidious truly is.
If you haven't seen this movie, don't listen to the braying, ungrateful trolls on slashdot. See it for yourself - and hear it for yourself as well.
Electric Monkey Pants
I guarantee you another trilogy will appear. If there is any money to be made Lucas will make it.
... then Lucas will start work on another series.
But the trilogy will not be announced for a while. First Lucas will have to make sure he sells all the movie tickets to Sith he can, then he must make sure he sells all the DVD disks he can. Then he will do a revision in the movies and issue YET ANOTHER DVD collection and sell all of that.
Then he will combine the original series with the prequels and sell that. Then he might do another revision. During that time there will also be a TV series.
And after everyone has gotten sick of the original trilogy and the prequels, and anyone with the remotest chance of buying the DVD set has bought it
Now start your spending!
Have you read Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy of sequels?
If you got Zahn and a decent screenwriter to write the movie adaptations, and gave their work to a decent director, such as Irvin Kershner who did a good job at the helm of The Empire Strikes Back, then you'd have movie dynamite.
The Thrawn trilogy books have it all. Dynamite story, dynamite action, dynamite drama, dynamite twists - the lot. If anything, perhaps there's too much good material there for it to be trimmed down to three two-hour movies, so maybe they'd be better suited to a TV mini-series but to suggest that there isn't any film or TV potential left in the Star Wars is criminal.
Heck, even a bounty hunters film that used material from KW Jeter's Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy would be cool if handled with the appropriate care.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
I disagree. Writing a good story and putting together good visual effects are what Lucas is great at. What he can't do is write decent dialogue, or direct properly. That's why Empire Strikes Back was so good. He didn't write the dialogue, or direct. The story, however, was his.
The thing is, TPM culd have been really good.
:)
We had a cool chase sequence at the beginning, a pod race, and a really cool battle at the end. Even the story wasn't too bad. It's just there are so many ways it could have been improved, that any fanboy could come up with.
Start with action rather than a rather dull background about Trade routes and blockades. ANH got this right. with two ships shooting at each other.
Make Anakin less annoying. Or make everyone else a bit irritated by him.
Introduce R2D2 and C3PO right at the start. Lucas created these characters but doesn't seem to remember why. They serve the traditional purpose of a narrator. If any exposition is needed, they're the ones to do it. Hence we have Luke explaining to Artoo that he's going to Dagobah, a Threpio saying "Imperial stormtroopers? Here?".
Jar Jar could at least have been made vaguely useful. How about if it turned out he was a competent general rather than a clown. The big land battle could have been cool rather than "funny". Ewoks were cute, funny and a bit stupid, but then they showed they were pretty handy in a battle against imperial stormtroopers.
So you see, Lucas should have just hired me as a script editor
When Lucas first talked about making 9 episodes, he clearly stated that his vision was for three independent stories. He stated that the only characters that would be common between each set of three were to be the two droids. His original vision, based on his own statements, certainly was not to make a story about a young Obi-wan and Luke's dad and Yoda. The three episodes that got made were not his original stated vision at all. He blew away his original vision of three episodes that would stand alone in favor of making three espsodes that already had strongly eastablished marketing concepts behind them.
So yes, more episodes will be made. But the original vision for VII, VIII and IX will likely never been seen, any more than the original vision for I, II and III will ever been seen. They were destroyed by the dark force.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
The art was pretty good, and the writing was reasonably competent from a pulp sci-fi point of view. It just wasn't very exciting. Perhaps the novel was better. (Was it?)
In any case, I suspect this sort of book would be used as a base-line for future films. There seems to be a pretty reliable story canon being followed around the Ranch.
Like I said, I don't know about the novel, but the comic was just plain dull. Lots and lots of frantic energy spent on getting the plot from here-to-there while allowing very little time to develop and love the actual characters.
Luke and Leia swinging across a Death Star chasm and their brief interaction was development in my eyes as a seven-year old. The girl gave the hero a peck on the cheek. There was heart in that scene; the creators knew where to focus; on the people rather than the need to get to the other side. It's all in the journey.
Remember Luke in New Hope standing on Tatooine under a double sun-set with the strains of John William's orchestrations in the back ground? Those complaining of Luke's whining try too hard to make clever geek-jokes out of their observations, either that or they simply never had to grow up bored and lonely in the 'burbs. Luke was 18, and his story was clear and touching to me. Perhaps geeks are just squeamish and shy about being touched.
Heck, even in the Phantom Edit, (Yes, the EDIT, the good cut of that film), little Anikin leaving his mother was another scene with power. (Amazing that such a thing was created from thin air simply by removing junk footage!)
The only scene which I really liked in the comic, "Heir to the Empire," was after Leia and Han were nearly killed by assassins and made their escape thanks to Luke's intervention. Han commented to Leia, "By the way, isn't it time you had your own lightsaber?"
Luke, who was teaching his sister the ways of the Force nodded and replied, "I can make you one any time you want," but he was filled with worry, remembering how Obi Wan had screwed up with Anakin by teaching before he was ready to teach.
Just a short scene, but it utterly fascinated me for numerous reasons. (--Han was the guy who laughed saying he'd rather have a trusty blaster at his side rather than some archaic weapon.) The scene was less than one page among 150, but it grabbed me. The rest was just dull.
There are good writers out there, and maybe Zahn is one of them, but you certainly can't tell from the comics. If they make films out of his stories, then I won't be particularly excited about it.
-FL