Star Wars Twitter Buzz: Simon Pegg on the Episode 7 Set. Rian Johnson Confirmed for Episode 8. Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Carrie Fisher’s Daughter Part of the Cast?
Check out these really curious tweets from today. Two surprising hints and one confirmation…
First stop – Anthony Daniels is chatting with Simon Pegg on the set! Just a few days ago there were some reports that Simon Pegg was spotted on the Abu Dhabi set. We all assumed that he was just visiting the set as he is good friends with Abrams. Now the actor is on the UK set too. Another guest visit? I’m really not sure anymore. You decide.
Chatted with Simon Pegg on set. He apologised for once having filmed a SPOOF of R2 and 3PO in the desert in Ep IV. Silly boy! Also a genius.
— Anthony Daniels (@ADaniels3PO) June 23, 2014
Next is a curious tweet from Carrie Fisher’s assistant Abe Gurko. He expressed his love to “his Star Wars Episode VII girls” and surpisingly included the names of Carrie Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd and the Oxford newcomer actress Maisie Richardson-Sellers rumored to appear in Episode VII months ago.
Maybe Fisher’s daughter will have a cameo in the movie and Sellers is one of the rumored cast members intentionally kept a secret? I still believe that the girl on the image above is Maisie reading the script.
Loving my #StarWarsEpisodeVII girls: @carrieffisher, @ridley_daisy, #BillieLourd, #MaisieRichardsonSellers — Abe Gurko (@imeanwhat) June 23, 2014
And finally LA Times got a confirmation from Rian Johnson’s spokeperson that he is indeed writing and directing Episode VIII and writing a treatment for Episode IX. His partner Ram Bergman is producing.
Rian Johnson boarding ‘Star Wars’ franchise as writer and director http://t.co/bk8HN7vTJo
— LA Times Movie News (@latimesmovies) June 20, 2014
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
A Star Wars film filled with distracting cameos? Better not be!!!!!!
Bear in mind that having a cameo in a Star Wars movie is often limited to a short appearance amongst a crowd (probably hidden with makeup of some kind) over a minor role that has an actual impact on the plot. I suspect that Carrie Fisher’s daughter and John Boyega’s father will make the former kind of appearance.
The most important plot-related cameo in Star Wars would have to have been in Episode III, which featured George Lucas’s son as a Jedi that fights off a couple of Clone Troopers before being shot in front of Bail Organa. That’s one of dozens of cameos in a franchise as varied as Star Wars, and it’s the only one that I can think of that actually affected the story.
As for cameos, George Lucas himself appeared in Episode III — as a blueskinned alien glimpsed at the opera. You would definitely need to know where to look to even notice him. If this is the standard for Star Wars cameos, they are certainly tolerable.
The cameo I would definitely want to see is David Prowse. He deserves to finally get to show his face in one of these movies, however briefly.
I thought the blue alien in the Opera scene was George’s daughter.
An IMDB casting rumor states that Simon Fisher-Becker may appear in the movie. He was in both the Harry Potter and Doctor Who franchises, so he could be a possible choice for a character.
Don’t forget the scene in the cantina in Ep2 where Ahmed Best, Anthony Daniels, and George Lucas’ daughter all appeared.
David Prowse is banned from attending any official Star Wars related events. It was because he kept asking G.L. for money. I don’t know how the new owners feel about him but I doubt that we will see him.
i thought the problem started when he had an interview with a very small local (to him) newspaper and gave away the “im your dad” bit from empire despite the no press before release policy . … i could be wrong , it could be both , or it could ineed be something else.
the@ndychrist
@ Anonymous 13:44 PM
He actually said Vader would be Luke’s father two years before Empire was released (before filming even began). Though he said it would be in “Star Wars III” (what became EP6). So he was actually trying to spoil things even more. Given that they tried to keep the reveal a secret from him during the filming, it seems likely that he was guessing and somehow guessed right. Or maybe he somehow overheard Lucas spilling the beans to someone else.
Here is a link to an article about it.
http://www.slashfilm.com/david-prowse-ruin-the-empire-strikes-back-years-release/
Because it would cost more then he could afford to go to court he choose to speak out. Instead of shameing Lucasfilm into paying some of the profits as specified in his contract they banned him from conventions.
That is hardly asking George for Money.
Wow! I’d never heard that before about Prowse spilling the beans two years before Empire! His description is close enough to what really happens that it’s hard to believe it was a guess. I’m thinking someone in the know must have told him with a “don’t tell anybody but…” sort of admonition. And then maybe Prowse just really didn’t realize that it was that big a deal. Weird though!
George appeared briefly in Ep.3. His character, Chairman Papanoida of Pantora, was fleshed out in The Clone Wars when Greedo kidnapped his daughters. Their was also an earlier story arc that featured his predesessor and Senator Chuchi which introduced us to Pantora. I had actually forgotten that George had this cameo of an unknown blue-skinned alien in the film and I thought it was neat that they used him in TCW. There is a difference in a cameo and an actual role in a film, and as has been stated by Pomojema, most SW cameos are more like easter eggs. Many are never even noticed by most viewers. I think it’s a novel idea to have some of these guest appearances. I don’t think it would hurt the overall film.
You gotta love that in Star Wars, the most obscure background filling character ends up with a name, a toy, a full backstory, and possible later appearances in books, comics, and television shows! Where else does this happen?
Prepare to be deleted, Genius.
Yeah, I’m not interested in any winking at the camera garbage.
What happened to the dislike button?
It will do more damage than good.
No more powwah? I have to hate with kindness? 🙁
Hate…leads to suffering.
Think of it as “I can’t downvote you, but I don’t have to upvote you.”
Good decision Viral Hide!
VERY interesting tweets indeed 🙂 & now i am already thinking of episodes 8 & 9 ,cameos by Simon Pegg & Fischers daughter could be cool easter eggs (anyone remember that Hamill’s son Nathatn made a cameo in ep.1 ?)
ps. loving the new comment system
I don’t mind them putting their relatives in the film in small roles, like Jackson did with Lord of the Rings, but I don’t think they should put any famous actors in, it’s just distracting and not right for Star Wars.
George creatively guided the two previous trilogies . Who’s creatively guiding this new trilogy.
George. They’re going to be based on his outlines, which Disney bought.
Yeah, I read that, but who’s the actual creative guide through the whole trilogy? I thought it might have been JJ!? Maybe he will, just not in a directing capacity.
JJ decided to rewrite what George and his writer had come up with. So I guess its a team of people with JJ and other producers.
I fear that with a committee approach the films might not fit well together.
George Lucas still is, but as a creative consultant instead of a writer, producer, or a director. Lawrence Kasdan and Kathleen Kennedy seem to have a more active role in making sure everything goes swimmingly for the Sequel Trilogy as a whole, along with the first few spin-offs. Don’t worry, the franchise is in capable hands.
Why would they let this guy write the next one? Looper looks like a garbage movie, is it well-written? Haven’t seen it.
looper is suprisingly brilliant. action-driven, cool effects, great cast and deals with a cool sci-fi time-travel plot in a simplified, engaging way. watch it and find out.
rian is a cool choice. considering the episodes of Breaking Bad he made, i would say that with a big budget (looper was made on only $30mil…) star wars is in very safe hands.
How is ‘Looper’ a brilliant film? The whole concept of sending a variety of criminals to the past only to be executed by a ‘looper’ is blatantly stupid to begin with! And you want to know what is more stupid than sending a variety of criminals to the past only to be executed by a ‘looper’? Sending the future self of a ‘looper’ to be annihilated by his past self! The execution and direction of this film was fantastic, but the plot was beyond idiotic.
“Blatantly stupid to begin with” is very much your opinion. I thought it was creative and original (for a change) instead of rehashing the same stories / concepts.
I’ve got to agree that the premise made no logical sense whatsoever and the whole idea of having people do things in the past which cause people in the present to “morph” before their horrified eyes is beyond ridiculous! Back to the Future was pushing it when they used a similar device with the photo of Marty’s family but at least THAT was a comedy and wasn’t meant to be taken all that seriously! Looper has no such excuse. It’s just poor writing.
Please viral hide. Will the bandwith problem be adressed?
This website must generate several megabytes of traffic per call. I cant be the only one!
Several people are browsing this site using mobile phones, so finding the reason of what generates the additional load would be vital for longevity. Client and host side!
Loading the frontpage and a newspost takes about 20s whereas it was about 5s before the migration. It seems as the process is loading amounts of information into memory, making my mobile browser crash! Always, unless i abort the ongoing feed of traffic!
my web browser closes 60% of the time I go onto this webite.
There are huge issues with mobile devices. I don’t have a problem on my laptop, but it crashes on my tablet, and I’ve heard others complain about bringing it up on the phone.
Time for an app?
We’re working on it. In the next few days we’ll resolve all issues. Thanks for the feedback.
I still think that a second female lead has to be announced. Either a villain or someone who turns to the dark side.
I direct your attention to this: http://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2013/06/star-wars-episode-7-character-details.html
Two twenty-something female leads were part of the original audition process, even before Lupita and Gwendoline were signed on. Given how unknown Daisy was as an actress when they hired her, it would not be surprising to see Maisie in the other female role they were looking for.
Exactly! ‘Two young female leads’. I doubt very much that JJ (and Disney/Lucasfilm) would have cast both female roles with completely unknown and virtually untried actresses. Especially when you look at the male actors cast – all are up-and-comers, very talented and experienced.
It was actually George Lucas’s intention with the original movie to have a cast comprised entirely of unknowns. That changed with Harrison Ford.
That was the late 70’s. Perceptions and expectations are quite different nowadays.
Ford was still pretty unknown except to American Graffiti fans. Carrie Fisher had done Shampoo and Mark Hamill had television credits but they were all relatively unknown. If the studio had been demanding big names, it’s fun to wonder who, in 1976, they might have cast. Perhaps Robert Redford as Han Solo? Or Clint Eastwood? Jessica Lange as Princess Leia? Maybe Lucas’s own Ron Howard as Luke Skywalker? Who do you think?
alan – probably Burt Reynolds as Han Solo.
I still think that a second female lead has yet to be announced. Either a villain or someone who turns to the dark side.
Another female lead, and Episode VII will start looking like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLn3y4GMCBA
I saw Galaxina when it came out and had completely blocked it from my memory! What an awful film! I don’t think it actually can claim to be a parody so I think we just have to take the opening crawl and whatnot as pure rip-off. But Dorothy Stratten sure was pretty. How tragic that things went as they did.
for fucks sake you dont need another female lead pc bullshit the original trilogy had leia one women per trilogy
lol, another fanboy whining about more women being involved with VII.
Not as hilarious as PC zombies clamoring for lightsaber twirling cosplay girls.
Good point. There’s no point demanding more female characters if they’re all going to be hotness. When female characters who look like golem start getting cast we’ll know that equality is finally here.
My point exactly about Brad Pitt and George Clooney. These guys are way too hot and good-looking to be taken seriously as ‘actors’ – right!
It’s cool if you prefer men to women but some of us want to see better role models for girls and we’d like to see a more inclusive Star Wars in the 21st century.
There’s nothing wrong with seeing women in Star Wars. There always has been women in Star Wars, from Princess Leia to Mon Mothma.
But there should also be a bit of realism, to aid in the suspension of disbelief. That’s what made Star Wars such a big hit in the 70s, the fact that it was a semi-realistic and perhaps even gritty for the time take on the 30s and 40s sci-fi serials that George Lucas grew up watching.
Brad Pitt and George Clooney have a ruggedness about them, real or perceived, that makes them believable in action type of scenarios.
That’s what should also be expected in women who play characters that see battle; a bit of ruggedness. When we look at history, there are definitely women who have fought in just about every war that’s ever happened, although they’re a small minority. But I can guarantee you, they will tend to look a bit more like the females who currently fight in the Marines, as oppsoed to the girls who dress up in costume at Comic-Con. Women in battle aren’t going to be using Avon products, getting chemical peels or Botox injections, spending time at a tanning booth, or weigh 75 pounds. They’re going to be a bit more rugged and sturdy just by virtue of the rigors of engaging in combat.
Having what amounts to cosplay girls engaging in combat blows suspension of disbelief out of the water, because it’s just not realistic.
But ultimately it’s important to understand, that inclusivity has nothing to do with good storytelling. It’s art by comittee, which is always bad. Remember, it’s Star Wars, not Star Inclusivity.
Very well said Anon, I agree 100%
If you think women can’t be convincing as warriors and be feminine (sexy as well) at the same time, then check out Katheryn Winnick who plays Lagertha in the excellent ‘Vikings’ tv series. There are many other similiar performances by quality actresses also.
Sexiness is in the eye of the beholder. But no one is suggesting that warriors can’t be sexy and/or feminine. Only that they can’t be soft.
Let’s oput this in a male perspective first, and take for instance the character of Han Solo. Let’s say that the part was cast instead with Elijah Wood. Now, both Harrison ford and Elijah Wood are good actors, for different reasons. But which actor would be more believable as a cut throat smuggler in a frontier Wild West type of setting? Whose portryal would convince you more that the character was a survivor in an unfriendly world? The reality is, that Elijah Wood , would simply be too soft for the role of Han Solo. Which was probably the reason he was cast as Frodo, as opposed to Aragorn.
Now, let’s look at this from a female perspective. When we look at the great female action roles in film and television, we think of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in Alien, or Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator, or Gena Davis in Thelma and Louise, and indeed even Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia. All these actresses have a degree of ruggedness about them, some more, some less, which makes their roles believable, because they don’t appear to have come straight from the spa before shooting a scene. And one could argue that they’re sexy too.
I haven’t seen ‘Vikings’ so I can’t comment on that specific. What I can comment on however, is the Pirates of the Carribean movies, particularly parts 2 and 3. Keira Knightly looked positively absurd sword fighting pirates that outweighed her by 300 pounds. It’s eye-rolling comical stuff. Contrast this with Gena Davis’ role in Cuthroat Island. While the film wasn’t well recieved at the time, her role was far more realistic because of her ruggedness.
Think of Xena: Warrior Princess. Lucy Lawless had the ability to back that character up, even though the show was tongue in cheek, because she had a phsycial stature that was believable as a warrior.
A woman, or anyone for that matter, who engages in battle will be battle hardened. They’re not going to be baring their midrift, or applying Oil of Olay, or striking catwalk poses.
So when we see that they’re potentially casting women that appear to be visually similar in type to the cosplay girls of Comic-Con, it means that Episode VII is in danger of coming across as Galaxina or Barbarella.
A couple of things: firstly, you obviously haven’t seen Elijah Wood in ‘Maniac’.
Secondly, depends on what you mean by ‘soft’, doesn’t it.
Do you mean soft as in ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’, or soft as in ‘caring and considerate’?
You wouldn’t be much of a warrior if you couldn’t hurt a fly, but I think you can be a great warrior and still have feelings.
Oh yeah! I fully recommend ‘Vikings’.
You’re right. I haven’t seen Elijah Wood in ‘Maniac.’ Obviously. Though I did take the time to review the trailer.
I’m not sure that an urban serial killer is immediately comparable to a frontier survivalist. Serial killers tend to be notoriously soft. They’re oftentimes cowardly mama’s boys.
What I mean by soft, is someone who couldn’t withstand the hardships of battle. Cosplay girls can barely withstand a broken fingernail, much less going for days, weeks, or months without creature comforts.
Let’s put this another way. Why do you suppose Harrison Ford was cast as Han Solo, and Mark Hamill was cast as Luke Skywalker? Why wasn’t Harrison Ford cast as Luke Skywalker, and Mark Hamill cast as Han Solo?
Hum?
Too old the former and too short the latter.
Jedi News reporting that Harrison will be out 6 months. Sounds about right.
SUMMER 2016 Star Wars domination!
I Sincerely hope this rumor is 100% False. 6 months would fuck the movie entirely
Well, it would maybe mess up the release date. But maybe not, they’ve got buffer time still. Much more than 6 months would be pretty bad.
I’d much rather it affect the release date than the script, anyway. If they wanted to go with Arndt’s Solo-light version (as some websites seem to be hoping), maybe they should just wait or give up instead.
It hasn’t been confirmed. Several people are saying It’s a possibility and a possible delay in filming. Read that an emergency meeting was called at Pinewood to address the situation and to see what their options are. Hope there isn’t a delay.
It would be a major disruption, but the man BROKE his leg. At 71 years old, I don’t see him back in 8 weeks. He is gonna need rehab.
That said, I am not worried. He is the lead everyone wants and they will find a way to get him back. It is just a very shocking development for all of us who have been waiting forever to see EP 7.
See, now I have visions of an aged Han Solo, in a wheelchair (pushed by Chewie, naturally), singing that Amy Winehouse song. “They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said no, no, no….” 😀
I was pleased with the idea of JJ directing at least the next 3 SW films, hmmmm! this change of events is disturbing, considering the next star trek is under a new helm. Not everything is what it seems, perhaps JJ is the Sith we have been searching for, with Simion Pegg being his secret apprentice hahaha The Ancient Fear or Spaceballs’
Samuel L. Jackson MUST be resurrected for EP 7. He is the greatest actor of our time, even better than Owen Wilson, Ice-T, and the cast of Friends.
Ummm…Huh? I mean…???
Sarcasm. Sometimes confusing, usually hilarious.
He was absolutely fantastic in SW. The way he was sitting in the council looking bored, the way he occassionally strolled, his surprise facial expressions on Geonosis, his slow seemingly untrained lightsaber wielding, and immortal lines of dialogue such as “This party’s over”. No way they dare make VII without him. He was also very convincing when he grappled with Palpatine Plasticface. Best character ever.
I wish the bluray will come with tones of extras, one of them being a documentary about how they dealt with the secrecy of this film.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like Disney is exploiting Star Wars. I think the franchise is feeling more and more distant, the more I hear about all these “breakout” producer/directors being involved. Disney, the sequel trilogy is important, wtf.
It’s not just you … They start with cancelling an award winning show, then firing an award winning software house, then rebooting the EU.
This was all to clear the way for a brand new star wars that would be fresh and exciting, then they tell everyone it is going to be made using old technology with the same locations and characters.
Now it seems that they don’t even have a new creative vision to go forward with instead they are going to get a bunch of fan movie directors to make each their own homage to the original movie.
At least the prequels expanded on what had been done before rather then just replicating it.
Nox,
So you’d rather see ANOTHER CGI-drenched piece of modern sci-fi shit rather than newly developed practical effects that have never been used before in Star Wars? What makes you think the technology they’re using is “old”? Has it not crossed your mind that puppeteering, animatronics, makeup/prosthetics and scale model scenery technology hasn’t been expanded upon over the passed 40 or so years? Are you expecting the new movie to look like the Dark Crystal or something?
What point would there be to even call the next installment “Episode VII” if characters from the last movie didn’t make an appearence? Not only for continuity purposes, but for closure and familiarity so the general audience isn’t wondering, “I wonder what happened to Luke, Leia, Chewie, 3PO and R2. Is this even Star Wars anymore?”
“No creative vision to move forward with”? How can you even say that? There haven’t been a shred of plot details revealed yet. No one knows what will take place in this next trilogy. You’re getting too far ahead of yourself. Can’t you just wait to see the movies before lashing out with BS statements like this?
Also, The Clone Wars had to be cancelled. What more did you want out of it? There’s only so much they could do before it’s completely overkilled. Why’re you even complaining anyway? You have Rebels to look forward to…
Has been expanded upon*
Uh huh
oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
You think it’s bad now……………
as long as any cameos dont involve big “hey kids , look who it is” close ups and gurning , id quite like to have to pause a dvd and have a look at a crowd scene or find out prowse or say robert dinero was actually under that bed sheet (like doctor (who)s 5,6 and 7 in the 50th anniversary special ….. see that then watch the “5 ish doctors re boot”)
Perhaps that was Tom Cruise walking behind JJ in that creature outfit…what with him being a wee fella and all
Sorry, but where’s the official confirmation in regards to Rian Johnson? That same article says a spokesperson for Disney declined to comment on Johnson’s hiring. It’s obvious Johnson will now be a part of Star Wars, but until Lucasfilm/Disney announces his role in the future films, it still isn’t officially confirmed, yet.
Could Pegg be reprising his voice role as Dengar in a live action capacity?
Its the Star Wars and friends super fun happy hour! Featuring special guests Simon Pegg, Tom Cruise…
Could be a cameo like Steve Colbert´s in the Hobbit 2…
C’mon now, guys. JJ knows not to throw in pointless cameos. He’s not going to give Pegg and Cruise a part in the movie simply because they’re all friends. That just does not make sense; those two actors have nothing to do with the franchise anyway. I’m sure JJ and crew have the bigger picture in mind and know perfectly well that this is not the movie to toy around with.
I personally think that we should have George Wendt to properly start rounding out the rest of the Cheers Star Wars connection:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt28gOnYz94
Speaking of Cheers, I would’ve loved it if Shelley Long could’ve been revealed to be Nellith, Luke’s secret sister in VI.
Of course, this would’ve involved reworking the script, but at least it removes those incestuous kisses! 😀
And…. I think Pegg is going to be playing a robot:(It’s a Disney production- and Anthony Daniels is sort of spilling the beans 2 us)
Phineas and Ferb (TV Series)
C-3PO / Candace’s Commanding Officer / Pierre
– Star Wars (2014) … C-3PO / Candace’s Commanding Officer (voice)
– Imperfect Storm (2014) … Pierre (voice)
I wouldn’t use the name Looper and the word brilliant in the same sentence.
Simon Pegg is ABSOLUTE garbage. Abrams shouldn’t do anybody favors here but he clearly does.
What do you not like about Simon Pegg ?
What’s not to like about Simon Pegg? He’s a brilliant writeer, director, actor and overall comedian. We just simply do not need a big-name celebrity like him in Star Wars, despite how big a fan he is.
There’s a fair chance you won’t even recognize him in the movie. Who knows what famous faces will cameo in future installments, unaware to the general public.
I don’t know exactly what to think about Rian Johnson being given the director AND writer spots for Episode 8. I’ve not seen Looper, but opinions about it seem to be all over the map. And though Mad Men is still on my “gotta get around to diving into this” list, I know what a massively impressive reputation the program has, and it sounds as though Johnson directed a couple of the more memorable episodes.
So I don’t really have enough of an informed opinion about his directing chops to really know whether or not it’s good news that he’s directing Episode 8.
What does concern me, though, is that he’s also writing it. I hope that he’s actually co-writing it with Lawrence Kasdan, rather than just writing the thing on his own. It is very rare that a good director is also a good screenwriter to begin with, and even if that happens to be the case there needs to be some sort of continuity throughout the trilogy, not just of story but also of overall tone. Kasdan or somebody from the creative side of Episode 7 needs to be directly involved in Episodes 8 and 9, IMHO.
But I’m interested to see Johnson’s other directing efforts so I can get a sense of how good a storyteller he is.
I’m ok with Pegg as long as he wears a mask and changes his voice.
Agreed, he’s far too recognizable. He has a fantastic amount of personality and talent, but he just doesn’t belong in Star Wars. It’d be like putting Kevin Smith in a Batman movie, or something.
No please no more neon lights in Star wars, please
It was originally reported JJ had the option for a 2nd and 3rd film when he was hired for E7.
For JJ to decide now that he won’t direct either E8 or E9, he must already know the process of making SW isn’t completely satisfying enough to do more films or he has other shit he’d rather work on.
Of course, it doesn’t necessarily mean JJ’s SW would be good enough for fans to want to keep him as director of further films. I guess getting a variety of interpretations could be good for the SW franchise.
I doubt there are any projects JJ would hold as a higher priority over Star Wars, being as big of a fan as he is. I think it’s more realistic that the stress of writing and directing the next installment of a world renown, highly anticipated franchise like SW is heavily weighing on him and he’d rather not have the other two films hanging over his head.
I like the idea of JJ having the option to do VIII and IX but saying, “No, I better not. As director, my place is with VII and VII only.”
Yeah good decision, youtube did the same to the down vote for the same reason. Too many children playing with it to troll people.
It makes absolutely no sense that they still have the option to downvote something in the first place if you can’t use it at all. But that’s the least of YouTube’s problems.