the big ticket question is "when"
there is far too much money at stake, and hollywood is well aware of it.
so aware of it, that if Lucas refuses to make 7,8,9 and/or 10,11, 12 while he is alive, you can bet soon after he dies there will be a multitude of studios ensuing legal litigation and the likewise in dire attempt to acquire rights to the franchise to embark on making more films.
my bet that Fox wont let go of its cash cow, but Fox will make more films just as soon as they can.
Lucas is the only one preventing more films from being made, once he (and his rights) are out of the way, star wars is back in full force.
Let's be realistic here. Lucas is what, 60? Let's say he lives for another 15-20 years. It'll be another 70 years past that for "public domain." Most of the folks here are at least 20. So, what, are you expecting that you'll actually be alive and not too senile to appreciate a new Star Wars movie when it "enters the public domain"?
I'm not especially holding out hope to see a brand new Star Wars movie when I'm 100...
But, if you mean Lucas is going to turn around one of these days and make a new Star Wars movie, changing his mind for the millionth time, oh sure, it could happen. It's not like Lucas can't go back on his word as he has done numerous times before. Sure, it's possible that when he dies his estate will go "just kidding" and make a bunch of new films in the series. Maybe tomorrow he'll go "ha, why not" and turn over the reigns to someone else to make new Star Wars movies and make another billion dollars without doing any work.
But my point in all this is that fanboys will keep DREAMING that new live action movies are going to hit theaters. They start rumors every year about it. They ask "When is Lucas going to make 7, 8 and 9?" or "Episode 0" and so forth. That's why hoaxers like SuperShadow get so much mileage, because thousands of fanboys want desperately for there to be new Star Wars movies.
I'm sorry, but a CG "Clone Wars" mini-series premiering as a theatrical film does not count.
Did you guys realize that "Caravan of Courage" (known as "The Ewok Adventure" in the states) premiered in theaters in the UK? Yet today nobody considers it part of the "Star Wars movies," but rather part of the Expanded Universe. The same is true of this clone wars "movie."
And it's just one movie, designed to promote this computer generated cartoon which is just a spinoff from the previous tv cartoon, itself a spinoff of the EU material surrounding Episodes II and III. There will be toys and game promotions, but is it the same as saying "another Star Wars Movie" like I-VI? Heck no.
So again I say, this is just another fanboy wet dream. No announcements, no official word, nothing about "new Star Wars movies" just the premiere episode of a TV series/mini-series of animated adventures based on the clone wars, debuting in theaters.
It's "Toy Story: Star Wars Edition."
Just as a note on the CG thing, my take on the whole Clone Troopers thing is that they should have done like what they did with the Wookiees in Episode III. Create a handful of costumes, and just "copy" those guys with a computer so it looks like there are huge armies of troopers. They'd look more alive and you wouldn't have the cost of a "cast of thousands" or something.
Clearly Lucas just did this to show off, like so many other things in the Prequels (leading me to believe that the main reason he made the prequels was not to "finish the Star Wars saga... as always intended... the way I wanted it" but to sell a TECH DEMO to hollywood... a big advertisement for his special effects companies, and an even more natural tie in for the video games.
I point out to all the CGI supporters (who whine "there's no way he could have done this without CG! It would have cost too much and looked like crap!"), that he could have done all the Wookiees in CG. Instead he had the costumes made and copied a few guys to look like a big army. That's the best way to go for now, because as good as the troopers in Episode III look, they still don't look and interact as well as guys in costumes can. Plus, as others have pointed out, ON-SET, it's simply easier to get better performances out of actors when they have real live people (or even on-set animatronic/puppets) to interact with than just off-screen cues, microphone stands and sticky tape in a blue/green room.
I'm not going to hold my breath for a "real" new Star Wars movie anytime soon. If it happens, great. If not, no sleep lost. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't happen except Lucas. But if Lucas sticks to his current plan, we'll see nothing for a long, long (in human terms) time. Maybe your children or grand children will see one... they've got a better chance than we do.
But judging by Lucas' own tendency to screw up his own stuff, and Hollywood to do so, what makes you think new Star Wars movies will actually be GOOD and not more of the same crap (or worse) than what we've gotten in the last 11 years? I guess I'm just not one of those fans who desperately demands more franchise material, and doesn't care about quality (like some Trek fans I won't mention).
I'd rather the franchise be given a rest. But if they are going to continue, what would I like to see?
- How about a complete reboot of the EU? Hire a team of competent writers (not like the Yahoos who are currently involved, and please, no drooling fanboy/girls) to get together, create a writers' bible based solidly on the movies and original concepts for the movies, and go from there. Don't feel obliged to bring up any of the stuff from the current EU (and in fact, discourage usage from it). Start over from scratch. Nothing sacred except the movies.
- How about releasing the original theatrical versions on DVD in good quality audio/video? With vintage extras? Give them the same treatment that the Prequels got on DVD. Release them on High Def too, but do something... not like the crappy 2004 treatment or the half-a$$ed 2006 "bonus discs."
- Show these restored originals in theaters and acknowledge them. Don't pretend only the 2004 crappy editions exist. If you want to put them into 3-D fine, but use the theatrical originals, cleaned up for preservation but otherwise unaltered.
This post has been edited by KurganX: 24 February 2008 - 04:22 PM