Ever since Thursday’s announcement of Episode VII’s title, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the Internet has sprouted articles left and right. Twitter went nuts, and frankly, it was hilarious. But while everybody tried to catch the viral wave, there’s been a lot of misinformation — and jokes — flying around.
We here at TheBlot Magazine felt it was our duty to set you straight. Here’s the most up-to-date confirmed details.
1. The Funniest Tweets About the Title
After Lucasfilm announced the new title on Nov. 6 and the web went wild, tweets with the hashtag #rejectedstarwarstitles came down like a hurricane. We gathered the best of the best from the onslaught of ribbing tweets:
2. Actors Reprising Their Roles
Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) (source: StarWars.com).
3. New Cast Members
Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver (source: StarWars.com and CNN.com).
4. Quirkiest Fact
Actor Denis Lawson (Ewan McGregor’s uncle) is the 66-year-old who played X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles in all three films of the original trilogy. In 2001, he provided the voiceover for the character’s appearance in a Nintendo computer game. When Disney invited him to be in the new “Star Wars” trilogy, he said no because it would’ve “bored him.” (source: The Courier).
5. The Film Has Been Shot
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has just finished shooting at London’s Pinewood Studios. Ivan Dunleavy, CEO at Pinewood, has just confirmed that Episode VIII is now booked to shoot. The announcement was made by R2-D2 at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry (source: Variety.com). In more Pinewood news, actor Daniel Radcliffe told Conan O’Brien that he “gate crashed” the “Star Wars” set. Radcliffe said, “I know almost the entire crew from Potter has transferred to ‘Star Wars’ and are now getting ready for like another 10 years or however long it’s going to be — but it was amazing. I’m actually a very recent ‘Star Wars’ fan. I actually only watched the original films for the first time this year … I did admit to J.J. Abrams and told him I had only recently seen the movies, and he looked at me like I had grown another head. But Harrison Ford saved me by saying one of his daughters might not have seen them … which made me feel a lot better in that moment.”
6. Release Dates
Episode VII: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will be released Dec. 18, 2015. Episode VIII will be released in 2017. The title has not yet been announced.
7. For Rabid Star Wars Fans
If you need to brush up on all things “Star Wars,” or if you’re already drooling for “The Force Awakens,” feel free to schlep to the “Star Wars Identities” exhibition. It opened Nov. 9 and runs through April 16, 2015. Its website says you can explore “rare treasures” from the Lucasfilm archives, including 200 original costumes, props, models and pieces of artwork. The collection spans all six of the “Star Wars” movies. The only drawback is it’s all the way in Paris, France, but, hey, who doesn’t want an excuse to visit the City of Light? You’re allowed to take photos inside. For you “Star Wars” nuts, leave your helmets, replica lightsabers and other “Star Wars” props at home.
RECAP
This is a quick run down. Depending on the extent of your obsession, you may already know some of this. George Lucas began work on the story of Episode VII in 2011. That increased the value of his company, Lucasfilm Ltd. The company was then sold to the Walt Disney Company on October 30, 2012. On the same day, Lucasfilm and Disney announced the new triology, which begins with Episode VII. Lucas retired, but is still a creative consultant, and Lucasfilm producer Kathleen Kennedy moved into the executive producer spot. Disney also announced that it bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion.
Check out Episode VII’s first Millennium Falcon footage:
Dorri Olds is a contributing journalist for TheBlot Magazine.
