This was inevitable, I guess: Someone has reported that George Lucas is planning to develop a new batch of Star Wars films once he's done reissuing the six existing movies in 3-D and on Blu-ray. Also inevitable: A denial from Lucasfilm followed this evening. Who's lying?
The report emerged last night on the film site IESB, which prefaced the news with a litany of scoops it apparently broke. So you know when they say they've got geek-Watergate on their hands, you'd better not doubt them. Or something. Anyway, you know the song; it goes like this:
IESB has been told fans can expect the new trilogy after the entire saga is released in 3D which is expected to be complete around 2015 or 2016.
Uncle George's modus operandi has not changed, the plan is that he will self finance the new trilogy after he rakes in an expected $500 - $750 million dollars with the re-release of the entire Star Wars Saga in 3D and on Blu-Ray.
The ideal plan, according to our spy at Skywalker Ranch, is to be able to release a new Star Wars film within 24 months after the release of the last re-re-release (is that right?) of Return of the Jedi 3D.
Too early for story details but one thing that our source is certain about, they will not be prequels but instead sequels. It's not for certain if they will be the long awaited Episodes 7, 8 and 9 but could instead be Episodes 10, 11 and 12 or possibly even further out in the Star Wars timeline. And by giving space in the timeline, possibly even as far as 100 years or 1,000 years in the Star Wars universe future, Lucas avoids having to make these stories "fit in" with what the previous stories have told.
Got it. Confronted with the details, a rep for Lucasfilm shrugged it all off via an e-mail to Wired:
"This is, of course, completely false. [...] George Lucas has plenty of projects to keep him busy right now -- including plenty of Star Wars projects -- but there are no new Star Wars feature films planned."
Of course. It's easy to hate on all this, of course, but first things first: This all presupposes that by 2018 our civilization hasn't been depleted down to Skywalker Ranch, Sarah Palin's house and a few roving clans of bedbug-infested, club-wielding scavengers, which is a pretty big "if." The market for new Star Wars movies is a problem I would seriously love to have in 10 years, you know? Good luck, George!
· IESB Exclusive: The Line Starts Here...Again! New Star Wars Movies Planned [IESB]
· Update: Lucasfilm Denies New Star Wars Trilogy Is in the Works [Wired]