A long time ago in galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars Celebration has unveiled some tantalising pieces of information about two upcoming films and here’s what we learned about Star Wars: Episode VIII and the new Han Solo spin-off film.
Star Wars: Episode VIII
1) The new movie will instantly pick-up where the last film finished, with Rey and Luke finally meeting on Skellig Michael.
2) Rian Johnson, the director of Episode VIII, spent 6 weeks working on the script and his visual style was influenced by films like 12 O’Clock High and Bridge On the River Kwai.
3) There’s going to be some very familiar faces making cameos. The directors of the upcoming Han Solo film, Chris Miller and Phil Lord, will be popping up alongside Rogue One director Gareth Edwards.
Rian Johnson will also be making a cameo in Rogue One.
#RogueOne director Gareth Edwards in costume for #EpisodeVIII. -Future Filmmaker Panel #SWCE https://t.co/IJlrZoc8hs pic.twitter.com/JvKlZUTlIo
— Star Wars (@starwars) July 17, 2016
4) He’s sticking with what J.J Abrams championed on The Force Awakens by limiting the use of green screen.He says that there’s an “outrageous amount of practicals sets” in the film and that the majority of the interior effects will be practical.
5) Star Wars seems like it’s in safe hands because Johnson’s first memory of going to the cinema was when his dad put him in the car and said “we’re going to see the most amazing thing you’ll ever see”. He’s a big Star Wars geek!
6) The head of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, is a huge fan of Johnson’s work. After seeing him at work, she remarked that Rian “moves the camera as well as Steven Spielberg.”
7) On directing characters like Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca, “it’s an incredible experience on different levels. You come into the project with feelings of deep nostalgia but your responsibility is to get beyond that and tell a story.”
8) On working with the new stars (John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac) “they had that big explosion of fame in the first one but it served this film in a good way. The first film set up these characters and out of necessity , it’s where we zoom in on them and see if we can push them, go deeper and challenge them.”
The Han Solo film.
1) We now know who’s going to be playing the scruffy little nerf herder.
Alden Ehrenreich – "literally the first person to walk through the door" is officially Han Solo #SWCE #StarWars pic.twitter.com/dri5uYPBeX
— Paul Moore (@ElChiefMoore) July 17, 2016
2) Director Chris Miller and Phil Lord have just moved to London two days ago and they’re still working on the script with Larry and Jon Kasdan.
3) On the character of Han Solo, they say that “we relate to him because he won’t do what he’s told. He’s sarcastic yet unreasonably optimistic. This dichotomy between a seemingly cynical guy that has the biggest heart in the galaxy is what appealed to us. Let’s face it, he’s the guy who everyone wanted to play on the playground because he’s a maverick, he’ss a scoundrel, he’s clever but he’s not smart”.
4) On the casting process to find the perfect Han Solo, they say “this was the hardest challenge of all-time because we needed someone who can capture all the essences of Han. We looked at 3,000 people from all across the world. The person needed to capture that mix of charisma and maverick swagger – turns out it was a total waste of money! The person who got the part was the very first person to audition!
5) John Boyega is already a fan of the next Han Solo. “You’ve got the charm thing down,” Boyega says. “Look at him, he’s smiling just like Han Solo.”
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