Star Wars fans waiting patiently for news on the production of Star Wars VII probably felt an unexpected disturbance in the Force yesterday. The film, which has yet to announce its main cast, has already begun shooting.
The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn last week at Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television in Los Angeles for their ongoing Hollywood Masters series. In the interview posted, Horn talks about the importance of the Star Wars screenplay, “This is episode seven, so it takes off where six left off and where six left off is 35 years ago by the time this is released, in December of 2015 in a theater near you. It’s all about the screenplay. It has to be screenplay, screenplay, screenplay.”
An early draft of Star Wars VII was written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Michael Arndt, who won the statue for Best Original Screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine in 2007. Arndt also wrote last year’s #1 film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Disney’s Toy Story 3. The current screenplay was penned by Lawrence Kasdan and JJ Abrams, who is directing the film.
Last month, some plot details for Star Wars VII began circulating around the buzz for the film, already brewing nearly two years before release. Former Star Wars stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher are all rumored to have small roles in the film, but nothing has yet been confirmed. Other casting rumors have included Lupita Nyong’o in a lead role and Adam Driver of HBO’s Girls as a villain.
Horn goes on to clarify that while they’re still filling out the last few roles in the Star Wars cast, the screenplay is about where it needs to be now and very casually says, “Yeah we’re actually shooting some of it now.” It’s been rumored that filming will be taking place in the United Kingdom. Horn said they have most of their cast, but it’s not completely done yet. He confirmed that the trilogy of films will not be shot back to back.
At the end of the interview, when THR’s Stephen Galloway tried to press for some Star Wars casting news, Horn blurted out a rather impressive Yoda impersonation, “Patience, you must have.”
What do you think about this news that Star Wars VII is already shooting and what news are hoping will come out next regarding the continuation of everyone’s favorite space adventure?