With less than one month left until the premiere of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, I think it’s time we get into the 5 (yes, 5) movies we’ll be viewing from 2015 to 2019. Because…well…it’s important! It’s no secret that we are a Star Wars family, so we have had many discussions about to expect from Episode VII and beyond. Let’s break it down below.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan.
There has been so many theories out there about the storyline, from Luke Skywalker joining the Dark Side, to Rey being the granddaughter of Han and Leia. My favorite theory? Rey and Kilo Ren are twins. It won’t be a true Star Wars saga without twins. What are your theories?
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS releases on December 18, 2015 and there have been record-breaking trailer views and fantastic fan response.
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ROGUE ONE will be the first of the standalone Star Wars stories to hit the big screen, which has commenced principal photography. Gareth Edwards(“Godzilla,” “Monsters”) is directing ROGUE ONE, which tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star.
The filmmakers have assembled a stellar cast, including Felicity Jones, nominated for an Academy Award® for her leading role in “The Theory of Everything”; Diego Luna, who was featured in 2008’s Oscar®-winning “Milk” and the critically acclaimed “Killing Them Softly”; Ben Mendelsohn, recently nominated for an Emmy® for his leading role in “Bloodline” and co-starring in the upcoming “Mississippi Grind”; Donnie Yen, Hong Kong action star and martial artist who starred in “Ip Man” and “Blade II”; Jiang Wen, who co-wrote, produced , directed and starred in the award-winning “Let the Bullets Fly” and “Devils on the Doorstep”; Forest Whitaker, recently featured in the critically-acclaimed Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” and winner of an Academy Award® for his leading role in 2006’s “The Last King of Scotland; Mads Mikkelsen, who starred in “The Hunt” and was the memorable villain from 2006’s “Casino Royale”; Alan Tudyk, who plays a performance-capture character in ROGUE ONE, stars in the soon-to-be-released “Con Man” series and “Trumbo,” which releases this November; and Riz Ahmed, who was recently featured in “Nightcrawler” and starred in the BAFTA-winning film “Four Lions.”
The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and is slated for a December 16, 2016 release.
STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII
Touching on STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII, Rian Johnson will be directing the film slated for release on May 26, 2017. I have to say, Episode VIII is the feature that I might be most excited about. I love The Empire Strikes Back and Attack Of The Clones, so I anticipate Episode VIII will hold a large piece of my heart. The latest rumor is that Anakin himself, Hayden Christensen, will grace his presence to this installment. Regardless of that rumor, I’m still excited about it. Ha!
STAND ALONE HAN SOLO FILM
The “Untitled Han Solo” stand-alone film, slated for release on May 25, 2018 will be directed by Christopher Miller & Phil Lord, with Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon Kasdan writing the screenplay. Word on the intergalactic streets is that this feature will be a prequel, which confuses and excited this Star Wars fan. Who will play Han? Is there a time machine we can use to go back and grab young Harrison Ford to take the role? Otherwise, using a newer, younger star is going to be kind of weird. We’ll see!
STAR WARS: EPISODE IX
Colin Trevorrow (“Jurassic World”) has signed on to direct STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, which is scheduled for release in 2019. Things are currently very quiet when it comes to Episode IX, as it should be. I predict we’ll start to see some lively discussion about the storyline once The Force Awakens is released. But, I do have theories (of course I do). I predict a big battle, a smaller battle within the Skywalker/Solo family, and then a dance number at the end with cute characters and maybe a baby or two. Too much?