Your weekend edition of The Week in Star Wars has loads of alternative versions of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, details on Leia in The Last Jedi, Han Solo plot and casting news and more…
Let’s kick things off with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as there have been a number of news items released this week surrounding the film’s possible other endings. It was well documented last year that the film went through several re-writes and changes which included the ending, but could we have seen? Warning, there are spoilers in store. Screenwriter Gary Whitta revealed in on interview that the original ending would have seen the Death Star arriving at Scarif to destroy the facility, but Jyn and Cassian would have escaped the beach beforehand, transmitting the plans off-world. “A rebel ship came down and got them off the surface,” he said. “The transfer of the plans happened later. They jumped away and later [Leia’s] ship came in from Alderaan to help them. The ship-to-ship data transfer happened off Scarif.” You can read more from that interview here. Meanwhile ILM’s Chief Creative Officer John Knoll revealed two other alternative endings, which you can read about here…
…In more spoilers, Whitta also revealed that Jyn and Cassian weren’t the only ones to escape Scarif in his draft, as Director Krennic also survived. However, he didn’t last long. “[Krennic] survived the blast and they pulled him up and brought him to the Star Destroyer to report to Vader,” Whitta explained. “He’s all beat up, his cape’s all torn up and stuff, and he thinks he has survived…. Vader kills him for his failure.” Read more about that here…
…More changes from the original draft were revealed this week, with director Gareth Edwards revealing that Jyn Erso’s mother, Lyra, was in fact a Jedi in hiding. “The prologue, at one point a long time ago, was going to be the Empire coming to kill the Jedi,” Edwards said. “And Jyn’s mom was going to be a Jedi. We were witnessing one of those kills and Krennic would be the person sent to do it.” You can read more about that here…
…Before we move onto the other Star Wars spin-off, we can once again address the possible Obi-Wan Kenobi solo movie. You might recall from previous editions of The Week in Star Wars that Ewan McGregor has been asked over and over again about whether he would be happy to return to the franchise, and yet people are still asking the question. So, what’s he got to say this week? “Listen, I have been asked about it a lot, to the point where it looks a bit like I’m sort of touting for work,” he said. “I’ve been very open to say I’d be happy to do it, if they want to do it.” I guess this means the rumours mill can start up again…
…On to confirmed spin-offs, and some plot details landed online from Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (not the confirmed title). Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed, “It picks up Han Solo when he was 18 years old and takes him through when he was 24. There were a few things that happened [that were] significant in Han Solo’s life, like acquiring a certain vehicle and meeting a certain Wookiee, that will happen in this film. But you’ll also discover how he got his name.” Read more about that here…
…The film also added Sing Street star Ian Kenny to its cast…
…Let’s look ahead to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which hits cinemas this December, and Disney announced they would not be changing anything from the movie following the death of Carrie Fisher. “She appears throughout VIII,” Iger confirmed. “And what I can say about that is, we’re not changing VIII to deal with her passing. So her performance, which we’re really pleased with, remains as it was in VIII.” This is in-line with the recent news about scenes being shown, but doesn’t explain why we weren’t shown the trailer at the Disney 2017 Slate in January…
…Another bit of news from Star Wars: The Last Jedi is that the film will see fans return to three classic planets from the franchise, including Tatooine, Endor, and Mustafar…
…And if that wasn’t enough Star Wars to look forward to, Bob Iger revealed that Disney and Lucasfilm are planning another FIFTEEN YEARS of movies after Star Wars: Episode IX. “We are just starting to talk about what happens to Star Wars after IX,” said Iger. “We have a creative team thinking about what could be another decade and a half of Star Wars stories.” Someone who doesn’t think this is a good thing is resident-grump Anghus Houvouras with his op-ed Star Wars: Why Too Much of a Good Thing is Ruining the Franchise…
…With Star Wars Celebration just around the corner, Funko revealed their exclusive Pop! Vinyl figures which you can see here and here…
…LEGO announced its Star Wars Ultimate Collector’s Series Snowspeeder set. It will be available to purchase from April 29th for LEGO VIP members and on May 4th for the general public, priced at $199.99/£169.99; take a look at the official promotional images here…
…And finally, just a few bits on Star Wars Rebels. You can see a promo and images from the season finale here and its Rebel Recon here, and you can read Chris Cooper’s review of Episode 19 here…
…If you’re looking to have a little geek gaming fun be sure to head over to Insta Casino, where you can enjoy various slots such as Game of Thrones, Jurassic Park, Tomb Raider, Judge Dredd, Terminator 2 and more!
That’s all for this week – may the Force be with you.
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth, the co-host of The Flickering Myth Podcast and the author of Lights, Camera, GAME OVER!: How Video Game Movies Get Made (which you can pre-order from Amazon UK and Amazon US). You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen.
