The Star Wars News Roundup

Just a reminder, the purpose of this roundup is to put the highlights of all things Star Wars from the last week in one location. If you read this each week, you should be able to converse fluently with any Star Wars fan on everything from the latest Star Wars: Episode VII developments to the latest toys. And maybe you’ll even share with them something that they might have missed.

Let’s get to it!

Episode VII Movie News Summary

There was not much new in the Star Wars sequel realm this week. However, with D23 hitting this weekend, you can bet there will be a flurry of new “Episode VII” news. The major Star Wars-related presentations start at 10:30 am PST on Saturday. Stay tuned as CS has live coverage of the event! For now, check out photos of something called “Orange Harvest” by clicking here.

Over at IGN, they asked “Star Trek” alumni, J.J. Abrams collaborator, and “Star Wars” fan Karl Urban if he’d be interested starring in the sequels:

During the course of our conversation we asked the actor if, given the close nature of his relationship with Abrams, he’d lobbied to be a part of Star Wars: Episode VII and he replied immediately, “No, absolutely not.”

Somewhat taken aback by the total clarity of his denial, we asked if he was a fan of the Star Wars franchise. “Oh my God, yes,” Urban replied immediately. “I grew up watching it. That was the Holy Grail for me. I was a fan of Star Trek growing up. Star Wars was it. Star Wars was like…I remember waiting for two/three years for that next installment, for Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I’ve seen every single Star Wars film, even the animated, The Clone Wars, and all that sort of stuff. I just love that universe, but that being said, I have no desire to be part of it. I don’t see the worlds of Star Trek and Star Wars joining. I’ve made a commitment to Star Trek and I’m going to keep it. It wouldn’t feel right to me. Being in Star Trek, to suddenly be in Star Wars wouldn’t feel right to me.”

When we pointed out that Star Trek and Star Wars have been joined to some degree now that Abrams is set to helm Star Wars: Episode VII, Urban replied, “J.J. is behind the camera. There’s a difference when you’re putting a face and a personality in front of the camera, and I wouldn’t want to do that do an audience. I, as an audience member, wouldn’t want to see an actor from Star Trek in Star Wars. I just wouldn’t. When I go into a Star Wars movie I want to be completely enveloped. I don’t want to be taken out of the picture by going, ‘Oh my God, there’s Scotty, what’s he doing in Star Wars?'”

Can’t argue with that!

When Disney bought Lucasfilm, everyone wondered if we were going to see some Star Wars-animated films. Entertainment Weekly asked John Lasseter about just that subject:

In addition to Marvel, Lucasfilm is now a Disney company. Pixar started out as the graphics division for George Lucas? empire ? now you?re together again.

Yeah, how about that. Very exciting!

I heard [Oscar-winning sound designer] Gary Rydstrom was directing an animated film for Lucasfilm, so I wondered if that project might fall under you?

No, nope. That stays under the leadership of Lucasfilm.

Do you see any potential Star Wars or Lucasfilm-related projects for Disney?s animation branches?

Not really, other than Pixar has always used Skywalker Sound for all of our productions. They?re the best so we?ll always continue using them and we?re very good friends. And we always have been with [special effects house Industrial Light and Magic] as well. But other than being friends we have never needed to do anything with them. But we?re also massive Star Wars fans so we?re all very excited, as is everybody around the world, for new Star Wars films.

Nerdist created yet another animated version of Patton Oswalt’s Star Wars Filibuster from “Parks & Recreation,” but this one is still worth checking out.

Finally, some more poster fan art has appeared. Check it out!

Star Wars Television

IGN Television spoke with ABC President Paul Lee and got an interesting update on a live action Star Wars television show:

At the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, I asked Disney president Paul Lee about the possibility of Star Wars on ABC. While Lee wouldn’t give any specifics, he did say, “I certainly have a glint in my eye. They have a lot on their plate when you look at the features that they’re planning on rolling out for the next few years, but we’ve started conversations with them.”

Disney of course also own Marvel, on top of all the Disney-specific characters, and Lee added, “It would be nice to use other strong Disney IP besides Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and besides S.H.I.E.L.D. I would love to go there. I’m a particularly fan of Lucasfilm. It’s an amazing world.”

Meanwhile, over at StarWars.com, it was confirmed that the Star Wars Saga will be re-released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 8:

Coming this fall, the power of the Force comes home when the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies are released in the US in Blu-ray/DVD combo packs on October 8, 2013.

The prequel trilogy (including Blu-ray and DVD versions of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) and original trilogy (including Blu-ray and DVD versions of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) collections will feature brand new cover artwork created exclusively for this release.

Internationally, DVD-only trilogies will be available.

Visit the link for more images.

Around The Web

TheMarySue.com – poster artist gives Star Wars the film noir treatment

CNN – ‘Chewbacca bat,’ stinky beetles and other bizarre species found in national park

Wired – Modeling Angry Birds Star Wars Blasters

StarWars.com – John “Dak” Morton – Becoming Boba: Coming to Terms with an Alter Ego

Books and Comics

Bleeding Cool coninues a great series of articles featuring the upcoming comic series “The Star Wars” from Dark Horse:

BLEEDING COOL: Like with the character designs, you had some art to base your tech designs on. How close do you feel you got to the original concepts and how much freedom did you have to make changes?

MAYHEW: For the first two weeks, I immersed myself in the early concept designs and got in the “zone”. I was very familiar with the concept art from STAR WARS, but hadn’t looked at it in like a decade! I would not allow myself to watch EpIV: A NEW HOPE, or look at any post-STAR WARS designs. I tried to imagine that young George Lucas came to me in 1974 and that my influence and instinct would be informed by movies like ZARDOZ, PLANET OF THE APES, and 2001, and the comic art of CODY STARBUCK, IRON WOLF, FLASH GORDON, and METAL HURLANT, and sci-fi paperback and concept art by guys like John Berkey, Chris Foss, and Roger Dean.

I had several big volumes on my bookshelf that featured STAR WARS concept art. At the same time, our scripter, Jonathan Rinzler, was flooding me all sorts of info, images and anecdotes he had straight from George or the Lucasfilm archives on the origins of characters, vehicles, and settings.

Wherever I could I represented the art that existed specifically pertaining to this “rough draft” of the script. For example, Ralph McQuarrie’s “proto-Jedi” costume drawings represent the differences our characters would have from regular STAR WARS. I actually consider those drawings to be some of the greatest super-hero costume designs ever made. They are so functional yet dramatic, and classical yet progressive. Really Jack Kirby-level character designs in my opinion.

But, I had a ton of freedom to do whatever I wanted. It just all felt natural. I was showing stuff they liked, I was working hard to find out what they wanted to see, and making sure I was putting up stuff I would want to see if I was a fan.

Visit the link for the full article!

USA Today debuted an actual trailer for the comic series.