Check this (http://www.theforce.net/episode3/index.shtml#24624) out!

Although it is definitely not definitive, Lucas' ILM company has been issued Non-Disclosure Agreements barring employees from talking to the outside world about Star Wars Episodes 7,8 & 9. How cool would that be? George, at this point, milk the franchise for all it's worth!!!

If they do it, I hope it's based on the Timothy Zahn trilogy that came out in the 90s...

Actually, my understanding was always that there was to be three trilogies. (So that would be 9 in total for anyone who is mathematically challenged :p )

IIRC, the last trilogy was to be set in a time after the first trilogy.

The Zahn trilogy is the best Star Wars stories ever in my opinion. Would be sweet if they got on to the big screen. Thrawn manages to be if not cooler then atleast as cool as Vader and he aint even a jedi/sith.

I've heard rumors about this too. Actually, since Episode I came out, this has been floated around. Part of the beauty being that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill will all be the perfect age to fit the stories where the next chapter picks up (ie 20+ years later) by the time the prequels are finished up. I haven't read the Zahn books, so I don't know if this is correct or not.

Another thing I've also heard is that after Episode III, George Lucas wants to be done with Star Wars - for good. He may allow Episodes VII, VIII and IX, but someone else will direct. He may produce, but that's about it.

@ jaocquin and/or Bel

What are the names of the books in the Zahn trilogy you mention, so I can go check them out?

It was always supposed to be a 9 movie cycle. But last I heard, George Lucas said he would never live long enough to see episodes 7-9 made and he wasn't going to let anyone else do it, therefore suggesting that is was a no-go.

IIRC, the books names are:

The Last Command
Dark Force Rising
Heir to the Empire

Actually, when I first heard that Episode I was being made, I also heard that Lucas originally wrote 12 installments but had recently decided to only film 9.

George Lucas said he would never live long enough to see episodes 7-9 made and he wasn't going to let anyone else do it, therefore suggesting that is was a no-go.Someone should let Jackson have a go hmm?

Hmmm? I remember Lucas making a contract forbiding anybody including himself to make the last 3 episodes since he was very unhappy with the way the new episodes turned out.

Maybe I was dreaming :lol:

Oh, bloody hell...

*kisses the extended universe as it is goodbye*

If they film anything else but the Zahn trilogy, (or, death forbid, the DarkEmpire... *shudder*) then the entire extended universe as it is can be kissed goodbye.

There's no way they could be set post-NJO, since, well... how could they even try to explain the Yuuzhan Vong situation to anyone not familar with the books?

*shakes her head again*

I think I go to mope in a corner.

Well, it would be strange to bring out the films with the original story (yes, I also heard there were originally 9 movies, but they only made the middle three since they had to chose three and those made the best trilogy) since alot of the fans (including me) have read the books and all the books make one big storyline, and it would be rather upsetting two have two conflicting storylines.

After Lucas' writing the past few years (ie Episodes I and II), I think it would be a superb idea to base the last three films on the Timothy Zahn trilogy. Now *there* was a good Star Wars trilogy.

Am I the only one who would be *so* sad if George Lucas would like, die, in a drive-by accident or the like?

Now, someone who lives near Hollywood, anywhere in California would be great, I offer you my two cents that would normally sponsor my post. ;)

George Lucas is a legend. Some of you guys have far too high expectations. Star Wars rules. :tie:

hrm. im not much of a fan (or not a fan at all ;) ), but the image of luke jumping into the sarlaac pit, grabbing the plank and then somersaulting back onto the ship, just in time to catch the lightsaber thrown by r2d2 will forever be the COOLEST star wars scene EVER. Bar none. Technological progress notwithstanding ;)

Lucasfilm's Jim Ward confirmed that a "Star Wars" TV series is on the way (http://comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=6318)

I can already see some of you crying of anguish :lol:


Edit, corrected link, why is it that when you use double http:\\'s you end on MS? Surely they don't own that(we hope)

[ September 14, 2004, 13:46: Message edited by: Morgoth ]

Thank god the link doesn't work, therefore I can still be in my happy dreamland imagening it wont happen.

Please... just... no...

*hides int he corner with her ratty, well-read copies of loads and loads of SW boks*

If I'm not mistaken Wouldn't it be more plausable to base episodes 7, 8 and 9 (if it ever happens) on the "Dark Empire" trilogy? I mean it would seem more logical due to the fact it would make for a more linear carry on from episode 6. As it is this trilogy which charts the actual end of Palpatine once and for all.

Personally I think that the Timothy Zahn trilogy is Star Wars at its finest and could make a great set of films if done properly. They would have to recast all the characters as the original actors are all a little too long in the tooth now.

Tis true, there is a much, much bigger chance of there being a Star Wars television series than Episodes 7, 8, and 9. I have mixed feelings on that. I'm not a big TV person, and I don't know how well Star Wars will mesh with TV. At least Star Wars is based on serials, so it could work if done right. This action by Lucas reminds me of the Young Indy series. I've seen a few, and they're not that bad, but they are different than the Indy films. They're more educational, philosophical, less action. It's Indy in a different light. So I would expect a SW television series to shed some new light on the SW universe, for better or worse.

OK my thoughts on the possibility of 7, 8, and 9. Folks, the chances are slim. It's not impossible, just not very likely either. The strongest prediction on the matter (I think) is Lucas would not do them himself. Either he will aprove someone else (very close) or sometime later down the road someone with the right connections will weasel their way past copyright and whatnot and for better or worse, make more SW films (unlikely, but who knows). And both of those situations are stretches of the imagination.

Now, that being said, a lot of things have to fall into place for 7, 8, and 9 to even be worth making. It really depends on how well Revenge of the Sith brings closure to the series. Sure there are certain plot points that will have to be addressed and I'm not talking about those. But will RotS, efficiently finalize and bring adequate closure to all the many themes swirling around in the saga right now? When all is said and done, will episodes 1-6 say everything there is to say? Or could 7-9 be validated by the need to show ***how Luke would re-organize and re-define the role of the Jedi in the galaxy***?

Because that is really the only reason why Episodes 7-9 would be needed. ***Anything else would be frivolous*** and seem like a total tack on to the existing saga. Even Zahn's trilogy (which is well written, but sorry folks, not Episodes 7-9 material, no matter what) doesn't address this topic adequately because the Jedi Academy hadn't even been set up at that time. The Jedi Academy trilogy doesn't even give the portrayal that would be needed on a Episodes 7, 8, and 9 scale. And the NJO series is way too big for its britches. I'm sorry, but the books and SW lore is fun to read. But it's just lore. Treat it more like tales around the glowlamp rather than canon. But movies should always, always have precedence. Because unlike most other works, the stories originated for the movies first, than the books. So, the movies should get precedence, not the Expanded Universe, no matter how well or bad it is written.

That being said, even if there was Episodes 7, 8, and 9 don't expect Luke to be married to Mara Jade, nor Han and Leia to have twins and a son named Anakin, nor Chewie to be dead. All interesting theories on what would happen, but very unlikely. Perhaps, the best thing to do would be to leave Episodes 7-9 undone and open-ended and let people's imaginations do the rest. How do you think it all goes down? I challenge you to come up with an alternative than what a few EU writers have. I am for fun.

I know for a fact that Georie-Boy would never ever make 7,8, and 9 in a miliion years.

As I mentioned in a post concerning Episode 3, Lucas's main fault as an artist is that he is too attached to the stories. He wrote 9 stories of this I have no doubt the movies that were made from those 9 stories are not the same stories he wrote.

I believe that Lucas, as all Hollywood writers are want to do, bowwed under studio pressure on major plotpoints, characters, etc. Along with realisations that parts of his original stories would not translate on screen for whatever reason, Lucas was FORCED to change his stories in making them movies. AS one movie, EIV:ANH, came out Lucas saw what parts of the story worked in movie context and what didn't, his stories again changed as Lucas recieved feedback on what worked and what didn't.

While Lucas did this, his quaint religious piece became an ubercult-classic the likes of which will never be matched. Lucas had created a work of art on the scale of the Mona Lisa, and realised it. Lucas wanted something like his first sci-fi movie (blanking the title, THX-1330?, close? no? whatever) that was enjoyed by other people but was still his. When something becomes so incredibly popular as Star Wars did it becomes Public Domain, wether you or the law agree or not, Mr. Lucas, it is still a fact. Star Wars does not belong to you but to the millions upon millions who love it and live it. Lucas decided after the disastrously successful release of EVI:ROJ, to try to bury the other six stories which he had written, fully intending to film and release. He did not want anyone to horn in on his story again, only he could enjoy it.

Picture this: Bright sunny day in Lucas's enormous Skywalker Ranch, George and friends use the most expensive of home filming equipment to film true-to-the-story versions of Star Wars. That is true to his original story which he has cheated us out of. One of his bloated Lucasfilm execs says, "Boy you could make ****loads of money with a new Star Wars movie." And George stops for a minute, he had thought about it, but didn't want to "pervert" his story anymore, but this time George devises a way of keeping the story all to himself while still "appeasing" the masses by giving them the stories they want.

What they(as in us humble movie-lovers) want: The three promised sequels and prequels to the saga.

What Geore'll give-em: Three movies filling in the backstory of Darth Vader. BUT NOT THE STORIES HE WROTE ALONG WITH THE OTHER SIX.

I'm sure he had planned on doing the sequels for money too, but I think he knows that I'm on to him, so he decided to stop before I took action. Which is good, because I would have. The TV series is more of the same money-grubbin, it helps him to seperate his original Star Wars from the Star Wars he gave us.

Are You Ok?

Lucas speaks! Interview with the AP:

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - George Lucas never figured on a 30-year career as a space pilot. Once "Star Wars" shot into hyperspace, though, he found it hard to come back down to Earth.


Making its DVD debut Tuesday, Lucas' original sci-fi trilogy — "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" — began as an experimental foray into old-time studio moviemaking for Lucas, whose first two films had been far removed from usual Hollywood sensibilities.


Lucas' sci-fi satire "THX 1138" had been a commercial dud, but the energetic "American Graffiti" with its driving soundtrack and multi-character point of view scored with audiences, giving the director clout to try something bigger that had been on his mind.


"I'd already started this other idea, which was to do a kind of a classic action adventure film using sets," Lucas said over lunch at his 2,600-acre Skywalker Ranch. "I'd never worked on a set, I'd never worked at a studio. Never made a traditional movie. So I said, `I'm going to do this once, just to see what it's like, what it's like to actually design everything, work on a soundstage, do an old-fashioned 1930s movie.


"And I'll do it in that mode from the 1930s Saturday matinee serials, using kind of 1930s and '40s sensibilities, and I'll base it on sort of mythological motifs and icons. I'll just put it together in a modern form, and I'll have fun. That's how I got into that. I did it because it was an interesting move into an area that I thought I'd never go into."


Three decades later, Lucas is preparing to launch the last of his six "Star Wars" films. Next summer brings "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," completing the prequel trilogy that tells the story of young Anakin Skywalker's metamorphosis into the villainous Darth Vader of the original three films.


Fans have eagerly awaited the first three "Star Wars" films on DVD, a release Lucas initially intended to delay until he finished "Episode III."


Some will be miffed that the original theatrical versions are not included in the "Star Wars" boxed set, which features only the special-edition versions Lucas issued in the late 1990s, with added effects and footage, including a scene between Harrison Ford (news)'s Han Solo and crime lord Jabba the Hutt in the first "Star Wars."


AP: Why did you change your mind and decide to put the original three movies out on DVD now?


Lucas: Just because the market has shifted so dramatically. A lot of people are getting very worried about piracy. That has really eaten dramatically into the sales. It really just came down to, there may not be a market when I wanted to bring it out, which was like, three years from now. So rather than just sit by and watch the whole thing fall apart, better to bring it out early and get it over with.


AP: Why did you rework the original trilogy into the special-edition versions in the late 1990s?


Lucas: To me, the special edition ones are the films I wanted to make. Anybody that makes films knows the film is never finished. It's abandoned or it's ripped out of your hands, and it's thrown into the marketplace, never finished. It's a very rare experience where you find a filmmaker who says, "That's exactly what I wanted. I got everything I needed. I made it just perfect. I'm going to put it out there." And even most artists, most painters, even composers would want to come back and redo their work now. They've got a new perspective on it, they've got more resources, they have better technology, and they can fix or finish the things that were never done. ... I wanted to actually finish the film the way it was meant to be when I was originally doing it. At the beginning, people went, "Don't you like it?" I said, "Well, the film only came out to be 25 or 30 percent of what I wanted it to be." They said, "What are you talking about?" So finally, I stopped saying that, but if you read any interviews for about an eight- or nine-year period there, it was all about how disappointed I was and how unhappy I was and what a dismal experience it was. You know, it's too bad you need to get kind of half a job done and never get to finish it. So this was my chance to finish it.


AP: Why not release both the originals and special editions on DVD?


Lucas: The special edition, that's the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it's on VHS, if anybody wants it. ... I'm not going to spend the, we're talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn't really exist anymore. It's like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be. I'm the one who has to take responsibility for it. I'm the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they're going to throw rocks at me, they're going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.


AP: Do you pay much attention to fan reactions to your choices?


Lucas: Not really. The movies are what the movies are. ... The thing about science-fiction fans and "Star Wars" fans is they're very independent-thinking people. They all think outside the box, but they all have very strong ideas about what should happen, and they think it should be their way. Which is fine, except I'm making the movies, so I should have it my way.


AP: After "Episode III," will you ever revisit "Star Wars"?

Lucas: Ultimately, I'm going to probably move it into television and let other people take it. I'm sort of preserving the feature film part for what has happened and never go there again, but I can go off into various offshoots and things. You know, I've got offshoot novels, I've got offshoot comics. So it's very easy to say, "Well, OK, that's that genre, and I'll find a really talented person to take it and create it." Just like the comic books and the novels are somebody else's way of doing it. I don't mind that. Some of it might turn out to be pretty good. If I get the right people involved, it could be interesting.

*/waits for the Senate to murmur

So much for that, hmph.

Thrawn manages to be if not cooler then atleast as cool as Vader and he aint even a jedi/sith.Daala has some oomph, too.