Just what the frack do we know about Ep. VII? Not a frell of a lot.

SWVII??????

A mega-busy and mostly great summer is almost at an end.  The last couple of weeks have been pretty heavy handed for me, but the ever so slight hints of my favorite season are popping up here and there and my inspirational imagination meter is starting to recharge. Once it's fully recharged I can deliver some wicked geek frenzy damage.  I need to escape reality for a while.

I found myself pondering what might be in store for us with the next Star Wars movie.  I woke up this morning and found myself popping Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones into my DVD player and as the film unfolded I couldn't help but wonder what the Disney and Lucasfilm folks are cooking up behind those huge, metal, chained up locked doors for the next chapter in the grand science fantasy opus.

It's surprising how very little we know so far for a film that is supposed to be released within two years.  Especially while we currently exist within this time frame of Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

As I recall while they were making the prequels we were inundated with hundreds of facts as well as rumors as to what secrets George and the gang were trying to hide from us.  I guess Disney has a far better defense plan laid out than even Lucasfilm had in its heyday.

Here's what little I know so far, rumors and facts alike.

• No official title has has been given outside of "Star Wars, Episode VII".  I suggest "Blue Harvest 2: The Return of Blue Harvest".  Or how about "Revenge of the Blue Harvest"?  Blue Harvest Vs. Sharknado"?
• Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford have all been asked to reprise their rolls as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo.  While Fisher and Hamill have both hinted that they will be involved, Ford is keeping a bit mum on if he'll be in the sequels.  Is he still holding out on Disney?  We'd all love to see Solo back in the Falcon.
• Rumors of others being cast include Jonathan Rhys Meyers (from The Tudors), Dominic Monaghan (from Lord of the Rings and Lost), Zac Efron (from Disney's High School Musical), Ryan Gosling (from Drive) and Florence Welch (from the band Florence and the Machine).

Rumors or truth here's my take on this possible castings.  Myers would make a great villain!  His Henry the Eighth in The Tudors was both despicable and dangerous with a hint of humanity about him.  

Who doesn't love Monaghan?  The guy drips with geek coolness!  I'd love to see him in a Star Wars role.

Ryan Gosling I've never really paid much attention to unfortunately.  Outside of the movie Drive, where he played a stoic and angry character, he's never come within my radar of appreciation.  Sure.  Fine.  Let's cast him and see what he can do.

I've never been a big fan of casting pretty boys just for the sole sake of getting the little girls all hot and bothered.  That's why I'm pretty uneasy with casting Zac Efron in a major role.  I find it ironic that the Twitterverse has had a major meltdown last week when Ben Afflek was cast as the new Batman, yet the rumor of placing Efron into a major Star Wars role doesn't make any waves at all.  Afflek will make a fine and formidable Batman.  But, I'm not sure having a teen heartthrob in a Star Wars role will be a great decision. Outside of a marketing move that might sell more tickets at the expense of quality, I don't see it as a good idea.

Florence Welch certainly has a good set of pipes on her as well as a strong, classic beauty.  Her look could either serve as an adventurous Jedi or foreboding Dark Force user.  I know she has yet to show her acting chops on film as of yet.  It will be interesting to see if her casting is true and what roll she may play.

Let's continue with what we may or may not know, shall we?

• Obviously we know that the next three sequels will take place thirty to forty years after the battle of Endor which occurred at the end of Return of the Jedi and may focus on the Skywalker and Solo children.  The offspring of the heroes of the original trilogy have become major characters in the literature of the expanded universe.  It is unclear if they plan to fully acknowledge the characters and happenings in these books.  After all (spoiler alert!) the Star Wars universe was nearly destroyed by the alien forces of the Yuuzahn Vong and I'm doubting that storyline will be put into play for the sequels.
• The script is being written by academy award winner Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) from an outline scripted by Star Wars creator George Lucas and will be produced by Disney's Kathleen Kennedy.  Good move.  Keep the original soul of the series by using Lucas as a advisor and have a writer that really gets character development.
• Supposedly, Emperor Palpintine, Obi-wan Kenobi and possibly Anikin Skywalker may return as Force Ghosts.  At this point there's a 50 / 50 chance of that happening.  For some reason I see them going with all new characters and won't try and drudge up too much of the past.  I could see maybe a Force Ghost or two popping up within the sequels.  But, I don't think they will be bringing back every Tom, Dick or Harry of anybody in the past movies who had a connection to the force and is now demised.
• John Williams will be back to write the score. This is probably the only actual fact that has been confirmed so far and a very welcome one at that!

That's about it.  Disney is keeping a pretty tight lip on anything else that may be going on.  Now here's a few things I'd like to see in the next Star Wars movie.

• First and foremost, I want there to be a cool as heck, creepy and wicked Sith Lord or at least Dark Force user to be one of the main villains.  Someone brand spanking new.  Someone who is so scary he or she would make little children cry.  Darth Maul was pretty darn close, but he ended up being just a henchman that had about a total of 15 minutes screen time.  LET'S BRING THE EVIL!!!!
• If they're not going to use too much of Han Solo, I'd like there to be another, new character who has that same kind of swashbuckling, rouge-like, dry humored personality.  This kind of character was all but ignored in the prequels and would be more than welcomed in the sequels.
• Speaking of humor, a lot of it was dry, sarcastic and actually funny in the original trilogy.  The prequels' humor was geared strictly to little children in a sad and pathetic slapstick kind of way.  Lets get back to the quotes and cracks that were geared to not just children, but adults as well.
• Keep some of the mainstays of the Star Wars films.  I want to see the opening crawl in yellow font against the stars.  I want there to be multiple planets they visit, each with their own geography and weather system.  I want there to be that feeling of pulp.  I want to feel like I've come home when I see the next few films.
• I don't want them to rely on 95% of green screen and CGI.  I want to see some actual sets built on actual sound stages and locale shooting fercrisakes!

As the time for the release of the new Star Wars sequels grow closer and closer I'm sure more and more info will leak out, but I'm starting to get impatient.  I'm starting to get that jones I got back when they were making the prequels and the slightest on set photo of anything, even a plant arrangement on the set, would throw me into a mad tizzy of happiness and joy.

In the meantime, maybe the people from Disney should take this guy's Star Wars story into consideration during the scriptwriting process.  The greatest filibuster ever depicted on TV!  So I'll end this with Patton Oswalt's mad, wonderful genius!

Of course things here in this blog will slowly start to get creepy, spooky and downright macabre as the Halloween season approaches.  So keep tuned and I may just be inspired enough to post more.

Until next time, stay vertical!

Zangz.