PatD

I only wish JJ had that same faithful attitude to Star Trek as well. But, who cares? It's just a stupid tv show after all, and not a series of major groundbreaking motion pictures...

joe_b

A better look at the new X-Wing fighters:





2D cutouts of three additional X-Wings are positioned in front of the other bunkers. Either a space battle is about to go down or this could be some kind of flight academy (considering there is a leaked video showing extras jogging in formation during a take).



John Boyega was part of this shoot. You can hear someone give him his cue over a loudspeaker (as well as someone named Denise) in the leaked video, but no clear pictures of the main actors have surfaced.

Here are some people in costume -- probably just extras, though.

crazyronin

FTFY.

As long as Damon Lindelof's grubby little dickskinners are parsecs away from this project, I'll give it a wait and see.

joe_b

A guy on Facebook posted a few shots of what may or may not be the new cast members filming at Greenham Common:

All of this seems pretty tame compared to the photos/videos leaked during location shooting on other big movies (like Batman vs. Superman), yet the guy who shot these claims to have already been contacted by team Star Wars and asked to remove them or face copyright infringement. I'm surprised to hear they're taking such a harsh stance. Kathleen Kennedy had said the production would need to embrace location photos leaking out because they were almost impossible to avoid and fans were important to the process.

Well, speaking as a Star Wars fan: following the production of the prequels and speculating on the latest spy photos and spoiler reports ended up being far more entertaining then the films themselves. Too bad this production seems ready to role out their legal team when we get even a minor taste of that for the new movie. Screw J.J. and his "mystery box".

Preterite

stvn1974

I want Han to die in Chewie's arms. You hear him growl something and then Han says "I know" and then he dies.

Shannon Nutt

That's actually kind of sweet. Although I still don't think Han is going to die. Luke maybe, but not Han.

RocShemp

I would love if they pull a Scream 4 and

PatD

Exactly. He made two Star Wars movies with pointy ears pasted on. He sucks.

Abob Teff

Then Chewie reveals he and Leia had an affair ... Then Chewbacca eats him.

taffer

E Unit

As long as he uses this voice.

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mcnabb

I am starting to wonder if the Big 3 all survive the ST. From what they are saying, they will only have major roles in Episode 7, so they can't just kill the 3 of them in the same movie. And it will be predictable if each one of them dies in Episode 7,8, and then 9.

My bet is that Luke has the biggest role of the Big 3 throughout the ST (like Obiwan mentor in the OT) and Han & Leia play minor roles in Episodes 8 & 9, and they are all there in the ending Celebration in the last shot of the Trilogy.

Rob V

This is SW, not Aliens... there's no reason to kill off our childhood heroes!

mcnabb

If Luke, Leia and Han survive Episode 9, then they can be in Episodes 10, 11, 12!

BrewCrew

As long is Mark Hamill is alive he can be in every Star Wars movie as he can just be a force ghost if he is killed off. Heck, maybe even Carrie Fisher could be a force ghost.

taffer

There was tons of fan hate when they killed Chewbacca in the EU. I doubt they are going to kill any more major characters after that happened.

Timber

If Anakin can be a force ghost anybody can be a force ghost.

TGM

I think you're being a bit optimistically delusional.

There is no way Han Solo survives Episode VII. Ford wanted him dead 35 years ago, and given Ford's age now, I can't see him wanting to be a part future installments.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see any of the big 4 (including Chewie) bite it, but I just can't see Han Solo surviving, and I suspect an act of self-sacrifice with him and probably Chewie to save Leia and some of the new cast.

DaveyJoe

Disney is not making this movie for the nerds who read the EU.

taffer

You can write a character out without killing him.


If you like Star Wars period, you're a nerd.

Another thing is that the movies are more "kid-friendly" and so less likely to kill off the main protagonists. Some of the stuff that has happened in the EU novels is pretty fricking brutal and would probably be R-rated if done in the movies. The New Jedi Order series in particular had some gruesome death scenes. It really put the "war" in Star Wars.

DaveyJoe

Absolutely not. Star Wars is one of the most beloved and successful mainstream adventure franchises in film history. Just because it's science fiction does not mean everybody who enjoys it is a nerd. If you like the Star Wars movies: you're the average filmgoer. If you like Star Wars so much that you read the spin-off novels then went to the internet to raise hell after they killed off the Wookie: you're a nerd.

taffer

Many people whine and moan about Star Wars. "Lucas raped my childhood" and such. Even to this day there are people that can't let go of Greedo shooting first. Are all of these people nerds too, or just the ones who read the books? If the book readers are nerds, wouldn't that make everyone who reads a book a nerd? If you read Stephen King, are you a nerd? If you own a Kindle Paperwhite, are you a nerd?

DaveyJoe

I don't think my point is that hard to understand. There are fans of various degrees, and the more obsessive you are about a title like Star Wars, the more likely you are to be a nerd. Reading is great, I read, not all people that read are nerds, however if you read second-rate novels because they're based on one of your favorite movies, you might be a nerd.

Movie studios cater to the casual audience who will bring their families to see these event movies. Whether it's comic books or Star Wars, studios don't need to impress the hardcore fans because the fanboys have proven time after time that they will line up to see that movie no matter how bad the early buzz is.

Sean O'Hara

Yes, and they're a small percentage of the people who've watched Star Wars movies.

Stephen King is a mainstream writer and the majority of his fans aren't nerds. The ones who can list how every one of his books connects to the Dark Tower, on the other hand, are.

Now, with an author like Greg Egan, where you need a fairly advanced knowledge of physics just to comprehend his plots, anyone who reads his books is a nerd, no doubt about it.