As for details about the new show, they’re slightly limited, but we’ve been given a good idea on what to expect overall. The series will take place in an era between Episode III and Episode IV, and Dave Filoni is hopping on board as executive producer, who is the same person behind the The Clone Wars series, and it seems he’ll be bringing a lot of the original Clone Wars staff on board as well.

The show will also be based on concept art from the late Ralph McQuarrie, who designed the original Star Wars trilogy, the original Battlestar Galactica television series, and the ET movie. A one-hour pilot episode is already in production and is set to air in the fall of 2014 on the Disney Channel, with further episodes airing on Disney XD.

There’s no word on which characters will make an appearance, and what the plot will be exactly, but we can probably expect appearances of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, possibly showcasing the years that come after their separation at birth, but before their reunion on the Death Star, although we could also see more storylines appear throughout the show.

Of course, we still have over a year and a half until this show premieres, so we’ll most likely get more details in the future, but we’re interested in seeing what the art style will end up being, and if any popular names will show up to do the voice acting for the show. Plus, this is Disney’s second movie/TV project, and we would be surprised if we didn’t hear about more in the near future.

VIA: io9

In 2010, Raza briefly reappeared in the public eye when it was revealed that after the incident he ended up depressed, eventually dropping out of high school and ending up in a children’s psychiatric ward, according to Vice. His family sued the families of the three students who posted the video online without Raza’s permission, seeking a quarter of a million dollars for the bullying he suffered as a result of it. Eventually the matter was settled, terms unspecified. While it took time to heal, he eventually overcame his unwanted fame and the overwhelming negativity that came with it, moving on to greater things.

Eight years after the incident, Raza held the title of president of the Patrimoine Trois-Rivieres conservation society, and revealed that he was seeking a law degree from McGill University, having since graduated. Although such information was provided, Raza still remained silent about what those years were like, leaving us to guess what he experienced in the unspoken phrases between such admissions of depression and stints in a psychiatric ward.

Now, a full decade later, that silence has finally been broken, with Raza talking about what he experienced and felt during those years in an interview with Canadian magazine Macleans. Why the change? According to Raza, he felt compelled to take a public stand against cyberbullying, not only because he understands it in a way most of us (thankfully) never will, but also because of the growing instances of Internet bullying that have, in some cases, resulted in suicide.

“No matter how hard I tried to ignore people telling me to commit suicide, I couldn’t help but feel worthless, like my life wasn’t worth living,” said Raza. He talked about such instances as fellow students climbing on top of tables to mock him. “In the common room, students climbed onto tabletops to insult me.” The friends he had before the incident, which he says had been very little, stopped associating with him after the video surfaced. He was finally forced to change schools before dropping out altogether.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, however, and when asked what advice he has for those who are suffering cyberbullying, Raza said: “You’ll survive. You’ll get through it. And you’re not alone. You are surrounded by people who love you.”

SOURCE: Macleans

Image via Motherboard

Of course, the domains could be a mix between possible move titles and video game titles, but they give subtle clues as to what the title will be about. Some of the more notable domain names that were registered include Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Wolf Pack, Star Wars Alliance, and our personal favorite: Wookiee Hunters.

Other domain names include Wolf Pack Adventures, Order 67, Bothan Spies, Gungan Frontier 2, Gungan Frontier 3, and Gungan Frontier 4. Of course, further details on these titles is far from unknown, but it at least tells us that Disney and EA are set to kick it into high gear with new Star Wars installments over these next few years.

Disney acquired Lucasfilm and LucasArts back in October, essentially getting full control over everything Star Wars. However, it came at a cost for the Mickey Mouse company, who paid just north of $4 billion for it all. It looks like that investment will come to good use, though, as Disney looks to milk the franchise for everything its worth.

[via Fusible]

Electronic Arts says that DICE and Visceral Games will produce new Star Wars titles in the future, as they join BioWare, who is continuing to develop games for the franchise. As for what to expect in upcoming games from EA, the company’s Labels President, Frank Gibeau, says that the new games will be “entirely original with all new stories and gameplay,” with some elements being borrowed from past films.

However, the agreement between EA and Disney doesn’t give the game publisher all the rights to the Star Wars game franchise, as Disney will still retain the rights for “mobile, social, tablet and online game.” Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but we’re guessing it was for quite a large sum of money, especially for something so popular like Star Wars.

However, this gets us thinking as to how these upcoming Star Wars games will be published. Electronic Arts doesn’t have a very good track record, and they were recently voted the “worst company in America” for the second straight year, which has us worried about the Star Wars franchise. It’s possible that EA could turn things around by the time they release a new Star Wars game, but we’ll ultimately have to wait and see.

We’ve known for some time that there are going to be multiple Star Wars film in the future, including standalone films, but today’s news is certainly a new development. We’ve even been teased with Star Wars Episode VIII, which isn’t announced yet, but there will surely be a move to come after Episode VII.

The Disney films of the movies and the standalone films are said to alternative summers, meaning that Episode VIII would come out in 2017, with Episode IX releasing in 2019. The years in between would be the standalone films that will focus on individual characters in the Star Wars universe, such as Yoda, Han Solo, and Boba Fett.

Star Trek director JJ Abrams is on board to direct Star Wars Episode VII, with the script being written by Michael Arndt, who penned movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3, and Brave. He also wrote the screenplay for The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. Several actors from the original Star Wars trilogy are also reported to be returning for this latest movie.

[via Coming Soon]

The normal price for the expansion is $19.99. However, subscribing players can get the upgrade for $9.99. The expansion pack brings new playable missions, new features, and a new planet to explore. That new planet is called Makeb.

The expansion pack also raises the game’s level cap to 55 and gives access to new higher-level group content as part of the recently released Game Update 2.0. That higher-level group content is called Scum and Villainy. The expansion pack will have players exploring a new storyline on the planet of Makeb. Players will continue their individual faction storylines as they battle the Hutt Cartel.

The Hutts are attempting to take over the planet and its resources in the expansion pack. Players will be able to earn new gear and abilities and access Elder Game content. Players can also acquire new technology such as Macrobinoculars and Seeker Droids. The Old Republic started out strong with an impressive number of subscribers only to see subscriber numbers dwindle rapidly. The game eventually went free to play with some limits and still supports paid players with unlimited access.

[via SWOTR]

In a recent video previewing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson slipped in a quick look at what appears to be the cover of the script to Star Wars: Episode VIII. Of course, the video was posted on April 1 (a.k.a. April Fools’ Day), so this could just be Jackson’s own April Fools joke on all of the people who were carefully watching the video.

The reveal occurs at the 4:51 mark in the video, and it happens in a split second. You really can only notice it if you actually pause the video and attempt to see what it is. However, since it was on April Fools’ Day, is it just a funny little prank that Jackson pulled? Or was it a genuine slip-up on his part?

Of course, Peter Jackson isn’t involved in any Star Wars films, but it’s possible that he could be working on Episode VIII, or it’s possible that Disney and JJ Abrams share their work with Jackson, because he’s such an influential movie icon these days. Any input and advice from Jackson always goes a long way.

[via GeekTyrant]

Yesterday we reported that Disney was closing down the LucasArts game development studio. LucasArts and partner developers have delivered some of the coolest video games for Star Wars fans over the years such as Jedi Academy and Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. Those classic video games were worked on with LucasArts and a company called Raven Software.

Raven Software has announced as of today that it is releasing the source code for the vintage third-person Star Wars action games Jedi Academy and Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. Raven says that was saddened to hear about the closing of LucasArts this week and that it had enjoyed working with LucasArts over the years.

Raven for says that as a gift for the loyalty of the fan base for the Jedi games and in memory of LucasArts it is offering up the source code for both games for people to “enjoy and play with.” Both of these games are built on the Quake 3 engine with Jedi Outcast launching in 2002 and Jedi Academy launching in 2003. If you miss those games, you can check out a video showing some of the Jedi Academy multiple player game play below.

[via Eurogamer]

LucasArts created a collection of games over the past couple of decades including such mega-hits as X-Wing vs TIE Fighter and Dark Forces and some relatively lesser-known titles that will effectively fizzle. According to a statement provided by Game Informer, layoffs are imminent, if not already in-effect.

“After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles.” – Disney

Reports today suggest that every single one of LucasArts remaining 150 employees have been laid off this month. This is the last wave, it would seem, of a series of layoffs that span back several years. According to Ars Technica, LucasArts employees numbered closer to 500 back in the mid-2000s. This also isn’t the beginning of LucasFilm’s LucasArts licensing out the rights to games without in-house development.

• Star Wars: The Old Republic – Bioware
• Star Wars: Battlefront – Pandemic
• Lego Star Wars – Travellers Tales

Though it’s always difficult to report news of layoffs in any of the industries we report on, this information can be seen as a positive force for those interested in the further adventures of the characters inside the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and several other LucasArts title universe. Though we’ve not heard specifically about anything beyond Star Wars titles at the moment, we’re certainly all for developers from all over the wide world of gaming taking their crack at A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away!

This update brings you to Cloud City, that being the gas-mining operation run by your best buddy Lando Calrissian – also a new fine feathered friend here in this new set of levels. Here you’ll not exactly be following the Star Wars plotline with lots of escape missions and tricks. Instead you’ll be running at those Imperial pigs full force – blasters blazing! And don’t forget Chewie to hammer away at their towers with full-on bulk.

These levels have you floating in the clouds through 20 regular levels and the full set of Boba Fett levels if you dare! You’ll be able to get to the Boba Fett levels by finding each of the five hidden rocket packs, by grabbing a promotion code (we’ll see soon where those come from), or with a bit of cash via an in-app purchase. And don’t forget to stay on target with the rest of the empire-hunting loftiness this expansions provides!

This update also brings on a connection to the Angry Birds cartoon series, if you’re so inclined to have a click. You’ll be able to update your iOS and Android apps starting today – immediately – right now! We checked! Both app updates are free, and as noted above, there is some in-game purchase bits and pieces available if you like to skip levels. Grab on with both hands and begin the battle once again!

And you can connect to Twitter now through the app as well – but don’t you dare brag about your accomplishments to us! We’re almost done already!

If you’re an ultra-nerd like some of the writers here at SlashGear, you know good and well that the Star Wars Collectable Card Game’s release schedule appears to have been a real simple directions list for Rovio in releasing bits and pieces to the Star Wars Angry Birds game. With the first release we saw several levels inside the original Star Wars movie’s environments. Next we saw one expansion inside that first movie, then another starting with The Empire Strikes Back.

Hoth came first in this set along with a tease for Dagobah, the planet where Yoda resides and Luke Skywalker does his Jedi Training. You were able to access that level with a bit of cash or some extremely powerful Jedi skill in all-three-star winnings of the rest of the levels throughout the game. Now we see Cloud City coming up next. And if we continue to follow this lineup, we can expect not only some fantastically heaven-like environments, but bounty hunters too!

They’ve got to get here some time, and what better place to arrive than at the home of everyone’s favorite scoundrel, Lando Calsquawkington! Have a peek at the teaser video above and let us know if you’ve beaten Hoth and Dagobah so you’re prepared for this next push!

According to screenshots taken from a survey that was given to season pass holders and other frequent goers of various Disney parks, the company is asking folks what they would think about a possible “Star Wars themed land at the Disneyland Resort.” Needless to say, Disney may be looking at adding a little bit of Star Wars to its parks, which would be pretty amazing.

Of course, Disney World has been home to the Star Tours amusement ride for some time now, which is a “3D, motion-simulated space flight that launches you into the world of Star Wars.” (Get a feel for it here.) However, it looks like Disney is wanting to expand on that to dedicate an entire section of one of its parks to Star Wars.

Another question in the survey asks people how familiar they are with the Star Wars series, including the characters, settings, and stories, in order to get a feel for how many of their loyal guests know about Star Wars. However, it seems like a pretty obvious question to us, and we bet that as long as Disney built such a park, people will come.

It was previously tipped that Harrison Ford would be reprising his role as Han Solo. Carrie Fisher has now confirmed that she will be returning to reprise her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode 7. We still don’t officially no what the next film will be about, but there have been rumors swirling that the movie would focus on the children of Han and Leia.

With both Ford and Fisher now attached to the film, these rumors are looking more and more factual every day. Fisher confirmed her involvement in the project during an interview with Palm Beach Illustrated. She was asked during the interview if she would be returning as Luke Skywalker’s sister, and she simply stated “yes.”

The only outstanding character from the original trilogy that was heavily involved in the storyline is Luke Skywalker himself. So far, Mark Hamill hasn’t confirmed that he will be returning for the film. Considering that Hamill has had nothing major to his credit since the last Star Wars film, he would be rather crazy to refuse to participate if asked.

[via Aceshowbiz]

The details are not known at the moment on what Harrison Ford will be doing as Han Solo at this point. The amount of movies he will be in is not known. What is known is that Harrison Ford has signed a contract to reprise his role as Han Solo in an upcoming Star Wars film – so says El Mayimbe. This writer has made it clear that he only knows that Ford has signed on to do a film or films in the future, all that’s left is for the studio – Disney or Lucasfilm – to do a formal announcement.

Sound like an awesome deal to you? It’s now possible that they’ll either be doing flash-forwards to when Han Solo was the age Ford is now, or that they’ll have the first (or subsequent) films set in an amount of time relative to our actual timeline. There’s also been rumors of break-away films with character-centric storylines, Han Solo being one of the possibilities too. How about some Tron: Legacy action with The Dude’s face being retro-ized with many virtual markers for a much younger Han?

The possibilities are endless in this extremely advanced virtual effects-driven universe of ours. And we know good and well that the Star Wars franchise is no stranger with the VFX universe – a universe right here and now, up close and personal!

Also note: Our own Philip Berne called it three years ago in a column called How Lucas ruined Star Wars and how to save it.

And as far as this leak goes from Latino Review: If you’ll have a look back at the post Marvel Reporting from the writer named Da7e on their website, you’ll see that they’ve literally been contacted by Marvel Comics in an attempt to bribe them out of their inside sources in the film industry. And this isn’t the first time they’ve had a major scoop either. The scoop we’re having a look at here was so important that writer El Mayimbe went to Fox News Latino to let it be known. Have a peek at this video to see him make it public:

Be sure to stick with SlashGear in our Star Wars tag hub for all the information leading up to, during, over, and past the release of Star Wars VII. We’ll be pumped up and jumping in every single day with the biggest tips, leaks, and final news releases all the way!

I may be in the minority here, but of all the characters in the Star Wars franchise Yoda was far from my favorite. Lucasfilms has now confirmed which Star Wars characters will be the subject the spinoff films. I’d wager that the two characters chosen are among to the most popular in the entire franchise – Boba Fett and Han Solo.

According to reports, the Han Solo film could be set between and the Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope or between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. If the film will covers a young Han Solo I sincerely hope we will get to see the card game where Han wins the Millennium Falcon. With Harrison Ford no longer looking like a young Han Solo, I have to wonder how they’ll pull this off.

The other character that will be the subject of one of the standalone films is Boba Fett. Even though Boba was technically a bad guy in the original trilogy and the new films, he is an interesting character nonetheless. It’s unclear what time frame this film will cover. There are no casting details for either film at this time.

[via Digital Trends]

This is similar to what the X-Men franchise did with the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie. The tip on the standalone films comes from Disney CEO Bob Iger. He said that Disney was working on a “few stand-alone films.” He didn’t offer any specifics, but rumors suggest that the first standalone film would focus on Yoda.

Work on the standalone movie is said to be progressing alongside the new Star Wars trilogy. The first installment of that new trilogy will be directed by JJ Abrams, and is due out in 2015. The standalone films are reportedly expected between 2015 and 2021 and are being written by Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg.

The first Star Wars film we can expect from Disney will be written by Michael Ardnt, who wrote Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine. Iger noted that Disney plans to make Star Wars 7, 8, and 9 over a roughly 6-year. He said there would be a few other films released during that period. Star Wars fans may or may not know that Kasdan worked on the scripts for the original trilogy including The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

[via BBC]

Most notably in this update is the infamous asteroid field that was featured in the movie, where the gang had to navigate their way through the whole mess. In the game, you make your way through the asteroid field while trying to take down the enemies as well, which now include the “mynock pigs,” which are essentially pigs with bat wings that can float in mid-air instead of simply sitting atop rocks and other surfaces.

The video doesn’t show us a lot of the new update, so if you really want to find out what you’ll be getting yourself into, we suggest firing up the game and checking out the new levels. However, we ended up checking it out for ourselves and we have to see we really like what we see. The mynock pigs are especially cute, and navigating the asteroid field is definitely a new experience that we find both challenging and exciting.

The update is available for iOS and Android versions as we speak, and it should be hitting Windows Phone and BlackBerry here shortly. The update will also be available for the Kindle Fire version, as well as on OS X and Windows. The game is free on Android devices, while it costs $0.99 on iOS, and $4.99 on the desktop.

Rovio teased us about the possible update via Twitter, with a cute little graphic of the Millenium Falcon making its way through a cave. Rovio uses the hashtag #EscapefromHoth, indicating that we’ll see some pretty exciting stuff in the update that will deal with the icy planet and escaping from its tundra-like bitterness.

Other than that, we’re not given any more details, but of course, anyone familiar with The Empire Strikes Back will know that the cave is the one that Star Wars gang hide in while trying to escape from the Imperial Fleet. We’re not sure how this will tie in with Angry Birds, but we’re excited nonetheless.

Whether we might see new birds, new powers, or more features coming to the game, it’s almost guaranteed that we’ll be seeing some new levels, but either way, we’re interested in seeing what we’ll be getting ourselves into. If you still haven’t checked out the game, it’s available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

While fans are sure to be a tad disappointed at the news that we won’t get to see episodes II and III in 3D for an indefinite period of time, there is a ray of light – this move allows Lucasfilm to focus 100-percent of its attention on the new movie, something that will (hopefully) be more satisfying in the long run. The company will announce when it has an update on its plans to release 3D versions of the two movies.

Last week, we reported that Abrams’ role as director had been confirmed on the official Star Wars website, with him being referred to as the perfect director for the job. No one knows if he’ll direct Star Wars movies after Episode VII, but it seems like a strong possibility, with George Lucas and others heaping praise on his past work and expressing enthusiasm about his involvement with the series.

Back on November 16, we reported that Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy has announced plans for 2-3 Star Wars movie releases per year following Episode VII. This followed Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm for over $4 billion. Disney has stated that it will be focusing on social and mobile Star Wars titles, more so than on console games.

[via Star Wars]

Abrams’ role as director was confirmed in a post on the official Star Wars website earlier this evening, with Kathleen Kennedy saying he’s the “perfect director” for a new era of Star Wars. The announcement also confirmed that Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt will be penning the screenplay. Star Wars Episode VII, as many of you already know, will be the first in a new series of Star Wars movies that will be made under Disney‘s leadership, after Lucasfilm was sold to the company last year.

Abrams seems to have the blessings of many big names in the movie industry, including Dennis Muren from Industrial Light and Magic and the man who started it all, George Lucas. The creator of Star Wars says he’s “consistently been impressed” with the work that Abrams puts out, going onto say that the Star Wars legacy “couldn’t be in better hands.” Indeed, it seems that Disney and Lucasfilm could have done much worse when it came time to choose a director for the first Star Wars movie in a decade.

There’s no word on whether or not Abrams will direct more movies past Episode VII, but provided the movie performs well when it’s released in 2015, it isn’t hard to imagine Disney asking Abrams to return for more Star Wars films. More details will undoubtedly be revealed as we continue on through 2013, and we’re sure that plenty of fans have many burning questions about the direction Abrams is planning to take the series. What do you think of the choice of J.J. Abrams to direct the next Star Wars flick?

There’s always a problem, though, and this time that problem comes in the form of an Entertainment Weekly interview with Abrams from late last year. In it, he claimed that he wasn’t going to be directing the next Star Wars movie, seemingly settling the case. He’s also got something of a conflict of interest with his Star Trek films, the latest of which will be releasing in May. If he does sign on to direct Star Wars VII, that could potentially cause some issues with the Star Trek series should Paramount decide it wants a third film.

In any case, The Wrap says that LucasFilm’s Kathleen Kennedy has been spending time trying to sway J.J. Abrams to the project, and if these rumors are to be believed, then it sounds like she’s convinced him. Deadline has run a report supporting The Wrap’s claim, supposedly speaking to an anonymous source close to the project who claims that “It’s done deal with J.J.”

Again, keep in mind that with no confirmation from Disney or LucasFilm, it’s impossible to tell whether these rumors are legitimate or false. It goes without saying that you should take a claim as big as this with more than a few grains of salt, so it probably isn’t the best idea to get your hopes up for an Abrams-led Star Wars movie just. We’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for new details, so stay here with SlashGear for more.

For instance, since this is on Facebook, you’ll be able to compare your scores to those of your friends, determining once and for all who is the best at knocking down shoddily-made structures put together by those evil-yet-adorable pigs. It doesn’t all have to be about competition however, as players can send in-game gifts to friends who are playing Angry Birds Star Wars as well. Rovio will be giving Facebook players five new levels each and every week, which should do a lot to keep people playing.

Not enough new stuff for you? No problem, because there will also be weekly tournaments you and your friends can participate in for the chance to win in-game goodies. Add to all of that three new power ups and one new ability, and those playing on Facebook have a quite a few extras to look forward to.

Of course, it also helps that Angry Birds Star Wars is perhaps the best Angry Birds release yet, which is saying quite a lot considering how addictive past installments have been. Facebook players are told that more bonuses are coming down the road, so it looks like Rovio has some future goodies in store. We’ll have to wait and see what those are, but for now, we’re sure that fans will be happy enough with the knowledge that Angry Birds Star Wars is now available on Facebook.

The expansion will have the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire facing off against the Hutt Cartel through a selection of story-driven missions on the planet Makeb. Of course, new weapons, abilities, and armor will be added with Rise of the Hutt Cartel, but don’t expect a huge level cap increase. The level cap is going up to 55 with this release, so you’ll have five extra levels to rise through once this expansion lands.

If you’re not a subscriber, Rise of the Hutt Cartel will cost $19.99, though paying for it will net you preferred player status. Those who are subscribed will only have to shell out $9.99, and the expansion is available for pre-order now on the game’s official site. Those who pre-order before January 7 will receive five days early access to Rise of the Hutt Cartel.

There’s more information on the expansion in BioWare‘s handy little Rise of the Hutt Cartel pre-order FAQ. As stated above, there’s no solid release date yet, but with a release window of spring 2013, it won’t be too much longer before Rise of the Hutt Cartel is here. Are you planning on picking it up, or have you left Star Wars: The Old Republic behind for greener pastures?

The petition barely made its requirements, though, receiving a total of 27,184 signatures. The petition calls on the US government to “secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016.” The petition hit 25,000 signatures today, just a day before it would reach its 30-day expiration date.

However, while the White House will be addressing the petition, don’t expect a positive response at all. It would cost around $852 quadrillion (that’s 15 zeroes) to build a Death Star, and it would take about 800,000 years to produce the steel and other materials needed to assemble it, but you can’t deny that plenty of jobs would be created.

In the end, the petition doesn’t have a lot of traction at all, and we’re 99.9% sure that the White House will throw it out, along with other petitions such as six US states wanting to secede, impeaching the president, and deporting “everyone who signed a petition to withdraw their state from the United States of America.”

[via CNET]

As confirmed by StarWars.com and therefor Lucasfilm itself, film writer Michael Arndt will be writing the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode VII. Both Kennedy and Lucas have “begun story conferences” with Arndt, and from what we’ve heard from these heads of Lucasfilm, they’ve got some “blank spots” to fill.

Lucas: I just said that I would back her [Kathleen Kennedy] up and I would be there if – you know, especially with the script, in making sure the script, sort of… there’s a lot of blank spots in the story treatment that hopefully we can fill.

Kennedy: This is not like a series of books like Harry Potter where you’ve already got a template of what the stories might be. These are original stories and original ideas that come out of a world that, essentially, is inside George’s head. The beauty of the collaboration that can continue is that as we work our way through these scripts, if we stop and we say “hmmm, I wonder if this character can do that,” or “does this make sense within the rules of Star Wars.” He’s the keeper of the flame when it comes to that.

Lucas: It’s the same as the first three films. That’s all my job is, is to be the keeper of the flame.

After this one singular confirmation, everyone and their mother has been tipped as on or off of the project here well before they’d actually be called up to join in on the party. The two most important people up for the job thus far have been Steven Spielberg and Conan O’Brien, neither of whom have actually been asked or intend to audition for such a role. Conan has begun a collection of audition tapes – not his own – that parody what it might be like if prominent directors keep with their own genre and move into the Star Wars universe. One example is Wes Anderson, as seen here:

Meanwhile Access Hollywood has point-blank asked Steven Spielberg if he’d be up for directing a Star Wars movie.

“Would you direct one of the Star Wars movies?” – AH

“No. No because it’s not my genre. It’s my best friend George’s genre.” – Spielberg

Then there’s the inevitable questions asked of Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford about the next films. If you take a peek at what Fisher says, you’ll get a terrible lump in your stomach because the only word comes from celebrity tabloids invading her privacy while she’s walking her dog – shame on them – to the point where her answers really don’t confirm anything. So we’ll be waiting on that one, even though TheForce.net did re-report it.

UPDATE: Leslie Gornstein of E! Online has been contacted by a representative of Carrie Fisher who notes: “She hasn’t confirmed anything. Everything you’ve seen has been tongue-in-cheek.” Extremely likely considering miss Fisher’s sense of humor. And the fact that the other “confirmation” she made at a book signing where a fan asked if she’ll be in Star Wars 7, saying “Yes… I thought it was already common knowledge!”

Harrison Ford, on the other hand, has been reported by Entertainment Weekly as being open to the idea of joining the films – or just the first one – and is “upbeat” about it, too.

“Harrison is open to the idea of doing the movie and he’s upbeat about it, all three of them are.” – EW Source

The writer Geoff Boucher reports this information as coming from a “highly placed source” and we’re inclined to believe it as legitimate. On the other hand, he recalls being a moderator for a 30th anniversary screening of The Empire Strikes Back (in the year 2010) where Ford spoke shortly of the franchise’s “ascension in popular culture”:

“I don’t know that I understood it very well. I’m not sure I understand it yet…I was very happy to be involved. I was pleased to be a part of an ensemble.” – Harrison Ford

Boucher also spoke with Mark Hamill about the possibility of Han, Luke, and Leia returning to the series. Hamill noted that Lucas actually “summoned” he and Fisher to a lunch in August (2012) and they “learned about the idea” back then. Whether or not this means that they considered the idea of coming back to the films in-person is not entirely clear. Hamill was frank about the perspective of the fans, on the other hand:

“I can see both sides of it. Because in a way, there was a beginning, a middle, and an end and we all lived happily ever after and that’s the way it should be — and it’s great that people have fond memories, if they do have fond memories. But on the other hand, there’s this ravenous desire on the part of the true believers to have more and more and more material.” – Mark Hamill

Stay tuned to SlashGear as we continue to keep our nose to the grindstone and eyes on the Star Wars universe for more information about the 2015 launch of Star Wars: Episode VII as it appears. At the same time, please feel free to continue to send us all the information you’ve got on the subject, be it a secret tip or an official news blast you’ve seen from your favorite odd source!

[Images via World Famous Design Junkies]

Speaking this week with Entertainment Weekly in their cover story surrounding The Future of Star Wars, Kennedy made dreams come true and shattered many mind-grapes at the same time with a 2-3 movie releases a year announcement. The comment was apparently made first inside Lucasfilm not long after Kennedy was announced to be taking over for Lucas once the $4 billion Disney deal was complete.

This has gigantic implications for the Star Wars universe, especially considering what Disney has done with Marvel Comics since they acquired that massive environment several years ago. Since Disney got to work with Marvel, they made it possible for a knock-out combination of films to be released, including Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and The Avengers.

The future of the Star Wars industry has been commented on by everyone from Robert Rodriguez to Jon Favreau, who captured it all very nicely with a simple: “I want so bad for it to be good.” With the Marvel universe expanding at a rather rapid rate in the film industry, chances are that Disney isn’t going to let an opportunity such as the one they’ve got here and now with Star Wars get away from them. Now we’ve just to hope they go with the Thrawn Trilogy like a good, sensible film production group would.

Hulu has launched its new Hulu Kids service for paying subscribers, while the Samsung Galaxy Express and the MiFi Liberate are headed for AT&T. The creators of Expendable Rearmed have been working with NVIDIA to bring the classic Dreamcast game to Android, and we heard that Foxconn may be thinking about expanding into the US. Google began teasing its Niantic Project earlier today, and speaking of Google, it launched Free Zone today as well, a new program that will attempt to give feature phone owners access to basic Google services.

Hitachi has revealed its lineup of HDTVs and Smart TVs for fall 2012, and scientists have spotted a “Super Earth” in the habitable zone of a star that’s 42 light years away. The HTC One S has popped up at T-Mobile with a price tag of zero dollars, and AT&T is willing to shave $100 off the price of a new tablet so long as you’re willing to sign a two-year data agreement. Flomio has taken to Kickstarter to raise funding for its FloJack NFC reader for iOS, and Mimo has introduced a new touch screen monitor that’s compatible with OS X.

We learned when Star Wars: The Old Republic will be going free-to-play, and GameFly is offering BioShock as a free download for a limited time, so if you haven’t played it yet, have at it. AT&T has backtracked somewhat on its FaceTime restrictions, and the Humble Bundle for Android 4 has launched with six games that are all worth checking out. Finally tonight, Chris Burns gives us his review of Evernote 5 for iOS, so be sure to have a look at that. That’s all for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

Those who don’t pay anything will have a full list of restrictions to deal with, and recently Damion Schubert added one more limitation to that already long list. If you’re playing for free, you’ll still be able to level your character all the way to 50, but expect it to take a little longer than if you were a monthly subscriber. That’s because Schubert says free players will earn experience at a slower rate as they play the game, though experience boosters will be available to purchase with Cartel Coins.

On the other side of the coin, those who continue to pay a monthly subscription fee after the switch will actually earn experience faster. Schubert says paying players will earn experience as if they were using these aforementioned experience boosters. He also said that paying players will be given “two more quick slot bars, a new purchasable Cargo Hold tab, and a monthly grant of Complimentary Cartel Coins,” so there are some clear benefits to remaining a paying subscriber once the free-to-play option goes live.

Finally, he pointed out that everyone who has ever paid a subscription fee will automatically become a “preferred status” player, which means that you won’t face the same limitations of free players. Free players can get preferred status by spending a total of $4.99 in the store, though Schubert reassures that free players can get to level 50 and experience what the main story has to offer without ever paying a cent. Will you be checking out Star Wars: The Old Republic when it goes free-to-play next week?

[via Eurogamer]

We’ve seen a little bit of gameplay from the upcoming title, but this trailer gives us approximately one full minute of nothing but Angry Birds Star Wars gameplay. We see characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and even Chewbacca, as well as lightsabers and lasers galore. There’s definitely no shortage of Star Wars in this Angry Birds installment.

We also get to hear a little more of the game’s soundtrack, which includes a mashup of the classic Star Wars theme song with Angry Birds’ traditional upbeat goofy music. It’s definitely the most content-rich trailer we’ve seen yet from Rovio, and we’re frankly pretty excited for the release of the game this Thursday.

The Angry Birds series has come a long way since its original title, and while the gameplay and graphics have ultimately stayed the same throughout, the folks at Rovio have no problem coming up with different themes to keep the series going. Plus, they finally started to introduce new elements into the games, like Angry Birds Space for example, where the use of non-gravity and orbital pull play a huge part in the game’s physics.

Today we found out when the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini will be launching in the UK, and Kim Dotcom’s new website was overloaded shortly after “launch,” though at the moment the only thing you see when visiting Mega is a splash page. Apple has released iOS 6.0.1, and it was confirmed today that the iPad mini uses a 5-watt power adapter. Disney said that it will likely focus on Star Wars mobile and social games moving forward, while Sony’s Q2 2012 financial results are better than Q1′s despite the fact that the company still lost money in the quarter.

The Motorola Electrify M was announced for US Cellular earlier today, and Sony is apparently shipping out new PS4 developer kits that are based on AMD’s A10 Accelerated Processing Units. Time has named Google Glass the best invention of the year, while Amazon launched its Cloud Drive photos app for Android earlier today. Google Drive has gained support for direct sharing to Google Plus profiles, and Google Play carrier billing has popped up at Verizon Wireless. Our old friend OUYA made a new appearance today sporting Jelly Bean, scientists are currently trying to figure out a mystery surrounding Voyager 1, and leaked Grand Theft Auto V pre-order bonuses give away some of the game’s new locations.

Finally tonight, we have a couple original articles for you to have a look at. Chris Burns compares the photo quality of the Samsung Galaxy S III to that of the Nokia Lumia 920, while I go hands-on with the new Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 and give my first impressions of the intriguing new convertible notebook. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

As far as movies go, we already know that Episode VII will arrive sometime in 2015, and we’re actually pretty excited about it. However, what does Disney have on the schedule as far as Star Wars video games go? LucasArts was in the middle of developing Star Wars 1313, and so far, Disney has no plans of canceling it. They say that all systems are still a go.

However, Disney CEO Robert Iger addressed the company’s future plans for game development with regards to the LucasArts acquisition. Iger says that Disney is “likely to focus more on social and mobile than [they] are on console.” However, this doesn’t mean they’re completely giving up on console gaming. Iger says Disney will “most likely” license out Star Wars to other game developers to make console games.

The official reason for which Disney decided to focus more on mobile and social gaming isn’t known, but we think it’s a fairly obvious one. The mobile gaming market is huge and extremely popular, so no doubt will Disney profit by developing a series of Star Wars-themed mobile and social games in the future.

[via Polygon]

It was none other than Robert Rodriguez who made the comment about how quickly the film needed to be made. The excitement that many current big-names in directing and writing are feeling is a direct result of them having been draw into the industry originally by the first trilogy of Star Wars films. Rodriguez is certainly of age to remember the explosive nature of the first time Star Wars came into our universe.

“What an amazing world and legacy George Lucas has created — and it needs to continue in capable hands. I do think Disney is the best studio for the job and the fact that they brought in Kathleen Kennedy? I can’t imagine a better scenario. And 2015 can’t get here fast enough.” – Rodriguez

Kathleen Kennedy was up until now second in command at LucasFilm, and she’ll be in charge of operations now once the company is owned by Disney. Director J.J. Abrams had similar feelings about the situation, having once noted that it was difficult to pull Star Trek out into a major motion picture now in the present while Star Wars was still big, saying now that he’s pumped: “Part of me? Thrilled. Part of me? Terrified. Most of me? Thrillified.”

Disney also acquired Marvel Comics back in 2008, and since its acquisition made several films possible: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and The Avengers. Director of Iron Man Jon Favreau spoke up about the situation as well, noting that “The idea of another trilogy that further shrouds the Force in mystery as its secrets are lost to time – that’s extremely compelling. “I want so bad for it to be good. Can you imagine?”

We’ll be waiting too – and SlashGear will be running with no lack of insight on the goings-on inside LucasFilm and Disney as the next three years pass before Star Wars Episode 7 – prepare yourselves, readers!

NOTE: The image at the head of this post is a section of the cover art for Heir to the Empire, one of many possible next-episode storylines that will be followed by the ongoing Star Wars saga. Read it today!

[via Entertainment Weekly]

Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer told us that 4 million Windows users have upgraded to Windows 8 since it launched last week, and today the company release the Windows Phone 8 SDK for eager developers. Twitter outed its Windows 8 app a few months ahead of launch, while Microsoft confirmed that apps like PayPal and Dropbox will be hitting the new operating system shortly. Microsoft also responded to complaints about Office 2013 on Surface, so if you’ve got one of the company’s new slates, you might want to hold off on using Office until these problems are fixed.

The fourth generation iPad has been benchmarked, showing a 1.4GHz A6X processor and 1GB of RAM, and one analyst was spotted predicting massive sales for the iPad line up. Apple delayed the roll out of its new iTunes overhaul today, while Google said it will be pushing developers to make extraordinary app experiences for Android tablets. Hurricane Sandy knocked out a number of big sites like Gawker and The Huffington Post over the weekend, and Modern Warfare 4 was outed by one excited voice actor.

Shortly after announcing that Disney had purchased LucasFilm, George Lucas talked about the deal and the future of Star Wars in a new interview, and today the Pentagon clarified that it will still be using BlackBerry phones in addition to iPhone and Android handsets. Grand Theft Auto V has been confirmed for a Spring 2013 release, and we received quarterly reports from both MetroPCS and ASUS today, the latter of which did particularly well in its third quarter.

Before we go, we want to remind you that our reviews for the iPad Mini and the fourth generation iPad went live not too long ago, so check those out if you’re interesting in buying one! That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

So, what now? What’s in store for the Star Wars franchise now that it’s part of Disney‘s portfolio? There are undoubtedly a ton of questions bouncing around in the heads of Star Wars fans after today, but luckily, we’re getting some explanation from the man himself, George Lucas. He and Kathleen Kennedy, who has been named the new president of LucasFilm, have taken some time to talk about the future of the franchise in a brand new YouTube video, which you can check out below.

Concerning the buyout, Lucas says, “There’s lots and lots of opportunities at Disney we wouldn’t have at any other studio.” Kennedy agreed with that notion, pointing to Disney’s success with Marvel and Pixar and adding, “In many ways, it’s the best company possible to take Star Wars into the future.” Lucas is turning over the Star Wars universe to Kennedy, saying that he’s already got treatments of the seventh, eighth, and ninth movies ready to be turned into films.

It sounds like there’s more beyond another trilogy in the pipeline too, as Lucas says there are even more movie ideas in the LucasFilm vault. Kennedy seems eager to get right to work on these new Star Wars movies, saying that LucasFilm is in the beginning stages of developing Episode VII. We have to say that we’re pretty excited to see what Disney can do with the Star Wars franchise – are you?

The next Star Wars movie has no real details surrounding it at the moment other than the fact that it will, indeed, be housed in the same Star Wars galaxy (of course), and that it’ll almost certainly be made with real-world actors. By 2015 though, there’s no knowing what that could entail – having seen the advancements in movies like Tron: Legacy, we wouldn’t rule out Mark Hamill and Carrie Fischer coming back for another jaunt. As the official release on the subject goes, the episode will expand the universe “well into the future.”

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

With the visual effects in films advancing at an exponential rate, by the time 2015 rolls around, we’ll have a new Star Wars film that’s advanced beyond our wildest imagination. George Lucas will continue to help with the process, but from there the sky is the limit. New directors can be brought in, and as Lucas has made clear:

“It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.” – Lucas

The next generation is coming, Star Wars fans! This is good news unless you’re one of those in love with the original trilogy – classic forever. If you haven’t let go of the idea that everything outside that first set of three is sacrilege, now would be a good time.

The deal is a stock and cash transaction, with Lucasfilm founder George Lucas receiving around half of the $4.05 billion in cash, plus approximately 40 million stock shares. Lucas says that “it’s now time for [him] to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.” Lucas always believed that the Star Wars name would live on well past his death, so Lucas “thought it was important to set up the transition during [his] lifetime.”

The deal also includes Industrial Light & Magic, Skywalker Sound, and LucasArts, meaning that all the Star Wars video games are also now owned by Disney. Kathleen Kennedy, Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will take over as President of the new Lucasfilm division and will report to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. George Lucas himself will stay on as creative consultant for the new Star Wars films, with Kennedy serving as executive producer.

It’s obviously unknown what the transaction will mean for the future of Lucasfilm and its many movies that it produced, but going from being completely owned by just one person (George Lucas) to now being owned by a huge corporation will surely spark some changes in the company, and possibly even some changes to upcoming films.

We’ll call out a warning for spoilers right now if you’re not wanting to see any gameplay until the game’s release. Otherwise, continue on if you’re curious. The video is about a minute long, and it first features a cute scene with Angry Birds versions of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. We then get to see approximately 15 seconds of gameplay.

One of the levels takes place on Tatooine, which is Luke Skywalker’s home planet. The video demonstrates using the Luke Skywalker Angry Bird, and shows that it comes packing with a lightsaber to destroy anything in its path. Another level takes place on the ice planet Hoth, where AT-ATs make an appearance, and yes, you can destroy them in this game.

The Princess Leia Angry Bird is fairly interesting because it looks like you can shoot lasers out of its eyes to destroy structures and blocks. It almost looks too easy, but I’m sure Rovio will give gamers plenty of a challenge. Angry Birds Star Wars is set to arrive on November 8 on iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows.

This new 23-second video features everyone’s favorite Star Wars female character commenting on how Luke is a little short to be a stormtrooper. The movie clip then cuts to Luke Skywalker in a stormtrooper mask, but instead of Luke, it’s an Angry Bird wearing the mask in Rovio’s version, and yes, he is a little short in this.

Once again, Rovio doesn’t offer any details about actual gameplay, which is what a teaser is in a way, but at least give us at least something to work with, Rovio — we’re gamers who happen to be starving for a Star Wars-themed title in which we fling birds with slingshots at pigs. That sounds like a fantastic combination.

If you missed the first teaser that went live a couple days ago, it featured the Millennium Falcon, with a short Star Wars clip that had Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Won Kenobi talking about the quick speed of Han’s ship. That teaser didn’t give us a lot of details either, but hopefully as launch day creeps closer, we’ll have more information.

In fact, the only thing that free players will have full access to is story content, meaning that they’ll be able to level their character from 1-50 and experience class stories in their entirety. Aside from that, though, you’re going to have use Cartel Coins or subscribe in order to get the full Star Wars: The Old Republic experience. For instance, free players will only be able to participate in three Warzones, Flashpoints, and Space Missions each per week, and they’ll be locked out of Operations entirely. In order to do more than what’s allowed, players will need to purchase weekly passes.

Character creation will also be limited for free players, as will the number of inventory slots. Free players won’t have access to the cargo hold until they shell out the Cartel Coins needed to unlock it, and even then, the space in the cargo hold with be limited until players pay more Cartel Coins to expand it. Fast travel cooldown will be longer for free players, and they’ll only have one available Crew Skill slot, with the option to buy more slots with Cartel Coins.

While all of that is sure to make players at least mildly upset, BioWare has put in place one restriction that might make their anger boil over: free players won’t be able to equip most purple items. Sadly, if you want to equip some of the best items in the game, it looks like you’ll have to pony up for a subscription or purchase a license from the Cartel Shop. Whereas once we thought that going free-to-play would be a great idea for Star Wars: The Old Republic, after seeing all of these restrictions BioWare and Electronic Arts are placing on free players, we’re not so sure that’s the case anymore. What do you think?

The teaser features a short snippet from A New Hope where Han Solo explains to Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi that his Millennium Falcon “made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs.” Then, we see an Angry Birds version of the Millenium Falcon which looks to be having a little trouble getting up to light speed, but with the help of a familiar slingshot, the ship eventually gets there.

Obviously, George Lucas failed to realize that a parsec is actually a unit of distance and not time (equal to 3.26 light years or approximately 19.2 trillion miles). We’re not sure if Rovio noticed Lucas’ mistake, but they seemed to just run with it anyway. Sadly, the teaser trailer is all the info we have so far.

However, it could mean the Millennium Falcon will play a critical role in the gameplay, and the slingshot on the back of the ship may suggest that we could soon find ourselves launching angry birds off of the ship’s deck, but we’ll mostly just have to wait until the game’s release on November 8 to find out.

[via Android Community]