Jimmy Fallon had Billy Dee on tonight for a farewell dance with Chewbacca since he had to retire from Dancing with the Stars.

They danced to an instrumental version of Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You".

Then Mace Windu was on, and started his segment with a poem about "Boy Meets World"

Wow. I just realized we are going to see a Star Wars movie that doesn't start with the 20th Century Fox Fanfare. That's gonna be weird.

Yeah, it'll start with fairy castles and gay day parades.

https://movies.yahoo.com/news/disney-chief-reveals--star-wars--vii--casting-almost-complete--says-film-is-already-shooting-183405597.html

Not that this is any big surprise, but Peter Mayhew is returning as Chewbacca, according to The Hollywood Reporter...

http://badassdigest.com/2014/04/07/chewbacca-will-be-coming-back-for-star-wars-episode-vii

With filming set to begin in FIVE WEEKS, R2-D2 is still the only 100%, officially-confirmed character set for Episode VII, while Chewbacca and whatever villain character Adam Driver is playing are the only other strongly-reported additions so far. Hamill, Fisher, and C-3PO are no-brainers as well, but beyond that, no one has any idea if Ford is even in it, or who else.

Disney Chairman Alan Horn did confirm last week that the majority of the cast is in place, save for a couple more roles, but still. A movie of this size and "importance" having not announced its cast five weeks before filming is unheard of...

WOW.

The article Devin references in the link above...

David Prowse said in interviews that a) Lucas didn't tell him he had to wear a helmet, and thus his face wouldn't be seen; b) Lucas didn't tell him they weren't using his voice and c) Lucas/Kershner didn't tell anyone but Mark Hamill the day of that they were changing the line to "I am your father."

quote:

---

Not that this is any big surprise, but Peter Mayhew is returning as Chewbacca, according to The Hollywood Reporter

---

You sure about that? He isnt looking good.

Muck - I don't quite get the point you're trying to make.

He not only knew at least two years in advance that Vader was Luke's father, it was spoiled in a newspaper.

[This message has been edited by Tctts (edited 4/7/2014 4:59p).]

Amazing. In today's world, that would have been all over the internet in 5 minutes.

quote:

---

You sure about that? He isnt looking good.

---

All I know is The Hollywood Reporter is one of the most trusted sources in the industry. If they say it's happening, it's likely happening.

Ok. That picture was taken 4 days ago. He might be recovered enough to stand.

Are we sure that news paper image is real?

How long do wookies live? Do they get gray hair?

I still can't believe that they are starting to film in a month and we still don't know who is in the movie, for the most part.

What does Abrams gain by being so secretive on the casting when it will all get out when they start filming?

The Abrams secrecy and misdirection(latest Star Trek movie) has gotten old.

Does it really matter if you know right now who the actors are? Once the release is made the internet (including this thread) will be one big Star Wars orgy, which is what Abrams wants.

The point I'm trying to make is Prowse was pissed that Lucas didn't tell him what was going on the day they filmed it.

What point are you trying to make?

I wish they weren't bringing back any of the actors from the previous movies, the characters are fine, but I guess I'm in the minority on that one. I guess killing off the characters whose actors have returned in the first five minutes would be one way to solve that problem.

Is that newspaper article doctored? Or did they actually spoil the twist before the movie wad released?

Not doctored.

Wow. You'd think that little nugget would've made the rounds around the world. Surprised that isn't public knowledge.

Any story that George Lucas tells is the truth, from a certain point of view.

Cool thing about Mayhew, he genuinely enjoys the fact that he was Chewy. He's a Star Wars nerd just like the rest of us and loves interacting with fans. He makes it out to conventions a lot, still, and I will finally get to meet him next month.

So, not only are we returning to Tatooine, but it looks like they're rebuilding Luke's home as well...

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-7-tatooine/

quote:

---

He makes it out to conventions a lot, still, and I will finally get to meet him next month.

---

He actually just cancelled a role he was supposed to film next month because of Episode VII. Considering they start filming in less than five weeks, he may not be able to make it.

Good news about Tattoine. Maybe in 20 years Lucas will add a bunch of animals and black people.

[This message has been edited by Unthought known (edited 4/9/2014 12:24p).]

Funny story. For years I watched Star Wars full screen. For years, when Luke is looking for the Sand People, and he says, there is one, i looked and looked and looked and never saw one. I thought it was another lucas error.

That is until I got the wide screen DVD.

An unknown Oxford actress could land one of the three lead roles (still rumored to be a descendant of Obi-Wan)...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-episode-vii-speculation-693268

Since you follow this stuff so closely, what is Abrams history with this kind speculative article? Was he this secretive about the first star trek? Did people get casting rumors close prior to shooting?

That article feels like someone hearing a rumor and hoping it's meaningful. Btw, where did the rumor about an Obi-Wan descendent come from?

Is it really a good idea to spend screen time explaining when Obi-Wan got some interracial strange?

I seem to remember Abrams having the actors on Star Trek all wear these odd suits over their costumes when moving between studios/sets so nobody could see what the costumes looked like.

The amount of secrecy and lack of leakage to date makes me wonder if studios are behind all "leaked info on other films just to increase the hype.

quote:

---

Since you follow this stuff so closely, what is Abrams history with this kind speculative article? Was he this secretive about the first star trek? Did people get casting rumors close prior to shooting?

That article feels like someone hearing a rumor and hoping it's meaningful. Btw, where did the rumor about an Obi-Wan descendent come from?

Is it really a good idea to spend screen time explaining when Obi-Wan got some interracial strange?

---

I don't quite remember exactly how the Trek casting went down, but I do remember it being announced pretty late in the game, fairly close to shooting. Abrams is notorious for being indecisive. He takes forever to write/prep/cast, but he shoots insanely fast, so I guess it's a decent trade-off.

A good friend of mine worked for Kurtzman/Orci all during pre-production of Trek, and now writes the spin-off comics with Orci, and he would clue me in on a lot of the story, etc., during development, so I'm honestly a little fuzzy on what was public knowledge or not before that cast/plot was announced.

As for this being a rumor, it definitely is, but again, The Hollywood Reporter is one of the most trusted resources out there. If they go with a story, there's definitely truth to it. Not saying this girl will be cast, but she's absolutely being considered.

And I think the Obi-Wan descendant rumor started with Latino Review a few months back, but I'm not sure. They also have a great track record, but with this movie, who knows. There's gotta be some truth to it, though, or all these sites wouldn't keep running with it.

Aaaand here we go... the first "official" (though not officially official) set photo from Episode VII...

Filming is still a month away, but but Screen Crush has the first spy shots from the sets being constructed in Abu Dhabi, which look to feature the foot of a classic Star Wars vehicle turned on its side.

http://screencrush.com/star-wars-episode-7-set-photos/

In other words... AT-ATs on TATOOINE.

As much as I want new ships and new vehicles (which we'll no doubt get), something about seeing even just a piece of a classic SW vehicle resurrected is insanely cool. Maybe it's just the reality hitting that this movie is actually happening, but either way, this is going to be a fun year and half...






[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 4/16/2014 5:07p).]

or it could be a circular door.

Or it could be Hoth after the effects of global warming have forever changed that planet.

What you thought that Ion cannon was powered by sunshine and rainbows? Takes a sht ton of fossil fool to incapacitate an imperial star destroyer!