http://www.eonline.com/news/358685/star ... ilm-source
Well, we know that, whatever the plot of Episode 7, George Lucas won't have a heavy hand in the day-to-day creation of it. He's apparently written the treatments for the films, but he won't produce or direct—an excellent opportunity for another visionary to jettison Jar Jar Binks out of an airlock permanently.
As for the plot, Star Wars superfans have a theory on what they'll be seeing next. But I have a surprise for them: They're wrong. If you're a fan, you're definitely gonna want to read on.
First of all, you should know that there is an official canon concerning the Star Wars universe. Those stories cover the years after rebel victory (i.e., after Return of the Jedi). It's written in a series of books called the Thrawn Trilogy, by author Timothy Zahn. Die-hard Star Wars fans know the trilogy well, and they say that a big-screen adaptation of the first book, Heir to the Empire, would make the most logical Episode 7.
"Of all the speculation out there about the content of this new trilogy, that's the single most concrete idea," says Eric Geller of the fan site TheForce.net. "It's almost inevitable that the story will take place in the same time frame as those books."
So what happens in "those books?"
Well, Luke Skywalker meets a real would-be assassin lady named Mara Jade, who was trained to avenge the Emperor by crushing Luke's pretty blond head. Instead, Jade falls for Luke and, a subsequent graphic novel, the two marry. Skywalker also has to deal with the fact that he's the only Jedi left, at least, for now, and he goes about trying to fix that.
Princess Leia and Han Solo also play heavily into the Thrawn Trilogy, popping out a pair of twins (of course) among other things. As for the name Thrawn, well, that refers to a grand admiral with imperial sympathies who takes over as the leader of the vanquished enemy faction.
So is that the basis for Episode 7 or not? I've heard directly from LucasFilm and other sources close to the picture, and they say: Definitely not.
"It's an original story," a LucasFilm source tells me.
In other words, forget the Star Wars novels. Forget the graphic novels. Forget everything you think you know about what happens to Luke Skywalker. According to my sources, Episode 7 will literally be nothing you've ever seen or read before from the Star Wars universe.
), and the technical credits are superb across the board. It's far from great, but it's lightly amusing and not worthy of the scorn it has achieved over the last 25 years. I think people bagged on it mainly because it was ludicrously expensive and people wanted to see George Lucas fall flat on his face (yes, even back then!). See also John Carter, where people reviewed the out-of-control budget more than the actual movie, which is pretty fun and will weather the years better than most will give it credit for.
