A New Star Wars VII Set Photo, Gareth Edwards Talks About His Spinoff, & Simon Pegg In Or Out?

No, that’s not the Star Wars: Episode VII set photo, that’s a still from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s CollegeHumor skit. But it’s appropriate as today’s Star Wars roundup features R2-D2, Pegg, plus new Star Wars spinoff director Gareth Edwards talking about his new gig, and more. 

Edwards, your most recent Godzilla director, has been tasked with helming one of the Star Wars spinoffs. Which one? We still have no idea. That doesn’t mean he won’t talk about it.

The Hollywood Reporter writes about Edwards’ talk with film students at the Beijing Film Academy. “I am very, very lucky, living in a dream job at the moment. I’m not allowed to talk about it, it’s all very secretive, but it’s a dream come true,” he said, “Star Wars is the reason I got into filmmaking, so to be given this opportunity is like a dream. Now the pressure is on.”

He also said of his quick rise to stardom, “If I was in the audience at film school, looking at me now, I would hate me. I never could have predicted it this way.”

On the factual side of Star Wars news, UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne tweeted, “On set of Episode VII tonight, can announce another #StarWars film will be made in UK. A #LongTermEconomicPlan in a galaxy far far away.” He then posted proof of himself on set.

Worthy of note, another image which looks like it contains part of the Millenium Falcon. You may recall J.J. Abrams having a little fun with fans recently to that end.

Now to the ridiculous rumor side of Star Wars news. IGN Middle East says a source told them Abrams’ buddy Pegg was filming on set in Abu Dhabi. That’s all they know but they also make sure to point out the actor previously said, “I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to be in it, to be honest. I think J.J. should cast new faces with no stunt casting.” I still would not be surprised to see his face turn up somewhere in the film. Also in the rumor mill today, Abrams, Harrison Ford, and new addition to the cast, Oscar Isaac, were seen…wait for it…hanging out together in London which has led certain sources to claim Isaac must be playing Han Solo’s son.

Two more rumors, these from Latino Review. They say John Boyega’s character is not a Jedi, at least at the start of the film and are claiming there will be a female villain, probably a Sith. Currently there are four women in the cast, Daisy Ridley, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, and Carrie Fisher. Yes, my mind is already creating scenarios in which Leia has become a Sith Lord.

Lastly today, remember Star Wars: Underworld? The planned live-action TV series? Collider writes, “Story details for Star Wars: Underworld have always been under wraps, but one of the writers that worked on the series, Stephen Scaia, recently revealed a few aspects while promoting a Kickstarter for an Indiana Jones spinoff story. In the video (via /Film), Scaia reveals that some of the stories of Star Wars: Underworld involved ‘how Han met Chewie,’ how ‘Lando lost the Millennium Falcon,’ and there was even a Boba Fett action scene.”

(via /Film, io9)

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Jill Pantozzi

Jill Pantozzi is a pop-culture journalist and host who writes about all things nerdy and beyond! She’s Editor in Chief of the geek girl culture site The Mary Sue (Abrams Media Network), and hosts her own blog “Has Boobs, Reads Comics” (TheNerdyBird.com). She co-hosts the Crazy Sexy Geeks podcast along with superhero historian Alan Kistler, contributed to a book of essays titled “Chicks Read Comics,” (Mad Norwegian Press) and had her first comic book story in the IDW anthology, “Womanthology.” In 2012, she was featured on National Geographic’s "Comic Store Heroes," a documentary on the lives of comic book fans and the following year she was one of many Batman fans profiled in the documentary, "Legends of the Knight."

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