Michael Arndt's scrapped Star Wars story was about Luke and Han's kids

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-rumors-who-is-669997

Charlie Jane Anders

1/12/14 11:00am

When Michael Arndt was replaced as the writer of Star Wars: Episode VII last fall, we were told it had to do with timing concerns. But according to a new report in the Hollywood Reporter, the real reason was a disagreement over who the film should be about: Luke, Leia and Han, or the next generation.

Minor spoilers ahead...

The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog quotes unnamed sources as saying that Toy Story 3 writer Arndt (and original Star Wars creator George Lucas) wanted Episode VII to be about the children of Luke, Leia and Han Solo, but director J.J. Abrams disagreed:

Arndt is said to have focused on the offspring of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), with the original trilogy heroes taking on supporting roles. Abrams, however, wanted Episode VII to focus on the classic trio of characters, so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a fitting send-off. The new characters, the offspring, will now be in supporting roles, according to these sources, and take center stage in Episode VIII and IX. Some characters have disappeared from the Arndt script and new ones are being drafted.

Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan (who also co-wrote Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) have been retooling the script so radically, a lot of the roles that people had been trying out for are no longer valid. For example, Tye Sheridan (Mud) had been a frontrunner for one role — but now there's no need for such young actors. Also, one role that had been envisioned as a 20-year-old male is now a 40-year-old.

But apparently it's true that Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad) is meeting with J.J. Abrams about a major role. Also, he's met with Adam Driver (Girls) and Michael Fassbender (Prometheus) about roles. Hugo Weaving (The Matrix) is in line to play an Imperial Commander in the film, which seems like perfect casting.

And there's one more piece of casting rumor: Heat Vision says Abrams is rumored to be searching for a "20-something female actress" who is either mixed-race or black. "The rumor is that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a daughter or granddaughter."

In any case, it's way, way too early to make any judgments about a film that hasn't started shooting yet — but off-hand, a film focusing on a new generation of Star Wars heroes sounds like a somewhat better idea than Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher taking center stage one last time. [Heat Vision]

Top image: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed concept art.

‘Star Wars’ 7, 8 and 9 Are ‘The Most Exciting,’ Says George Lucas Biographer (Exclusive)

Republished for academic purposes from:
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/star-wars-7-8-and-9-are-most-exciting-says-george-lucas-biographer-exclusive-63006/

Upcoming “Star Wars” films are “the most exciting” in the series, says a biographer of George Lucas, who has read the outlines

The stories for “Star Wars” episodes seven, eight and nine, which George Lucas has outlined

and the Walt Disney Company will produce and release, are “the most exciting” in the series, the filmmaker’s biographer told TheWrap on Wednesday.While researching his book, Dale Pollock, author of the unauthorized Lucas biography, “Skywalking: The Life And Films Of George Lucas,” was allowed to read the outlines to the 12 stories written by the filmmaker but was required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Also read: Star Wars: Episode 7' Coming in 2015 as Lucas Hands Off to 'New Generation of Filmmakers'
“It was originally a 12-part saga,” Pollock told TheWrap. “The three most exciting stories were 7, 8 and 9. They had propulsive action, really interesting new worlds, new characters. I remember thinking, ‘I want to see these 3 movies.’”
Disney bought Lucasfilm on Tuesday for $4.05 billion and announced a plan to release at least three new “Star Wars” films, starting in 2015.
Pollock researched the book in the 1980s and interviewed Lucas some 80 times. Nonetheless, Lucas was not a fan, and the two no longer have a relationship.  The book was first published in 1983 and re-released in 1999. Pollock is a professor of cinema studies at the University of North Carolina's School of Filmmaking.
Also read: A Lucasfilm History: 30+ Years of 'Star Wars,' Indy and THX
For his part, Pollock deems the three “Star Wars” prequels – which made hundreds of millions at the box office but were disdained by many fans of the original – “dreadful. I think they’re horrible. For me, the first one is the worst. Maybe the second prequel is better one. I didn’t like the third one at all.”
He added: “When he did the three prequels, he was in a Lucas vacuum. No one saw the scripts [in advance], they were dreadful screenplays. I thought they seemed dry. They were medieval in terms of court intrigue. And it was a weird way to start out the story.”
The next in the series, he said, involve Luke Skywalker in his 30s and 40s, but Lucas was unlikely to turn to Mark Hamill, who played Luke in the original but whose performance left the director dissatisfied.
“They will need an older Luke Skywalker,” Pollock said.
Also read: Will the Force Be With Disney’s $4B 'Star Wars' Gamble?
The author said there is little doubt that Disney will use Lucas’s outlines for the next three movies. “Writers will absolutely take his outline. That’s in part what Disney bought,” he said.