In October 2012 the studio spent a $4.05 billion deal to buy Lucasfilm, and with the deal came the announcement that they would be starting production on a whole new trilogy of Star Wars films that would keep the epic story going for years and years to come. Naturally, fanboys started to foam at the mouth with anticipation. What would the new movies be about? Would they bring back classic characters or merely focus on new ones? Would there be new stories set outside of the trilogy?
Thanks to all of these questions, we here have been sorting through all of the rumors trying to sort out exactly what we know about the upcoming Star Wars Episode: The Force Awakens, and we’ve constructed a handy guide to help sort out all of the facts and fictions.
The Title
We spent years solely referring to the new chapter in the Star Wars saga as simply Star Wars: Episode VII, but those days are over. History will forever remember the new movie as Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. This name has received a bit of flak from fans, as some are confused by the idea of The Force going to sleep, but it’s also not super hard to interpret the meaning, as the film is basically the reawakening of the franchise.
The Production
It lasted for almost half a year, but production on Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is over. Principal photography on the movie began on May 16, 2014, and ended in the first week of November. While some places shooting was done in places like the Abu Dhabi desert and the Irish island Skellig Michael, most of filming was done at Pinewood Studios in England.
Timelines
It has been confirmed that the Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens plot will be set 30 years after the Battle of Endor and the events portrayed in Return of the Jedi. This makes complete sense, given that the film will revolve around Luke, Leia and Han from George Lucas’ original trilogy to a certain extent.
The Director
Though he initially declined the job, J.J. Abrams is not only going to be the director of Star Wars: Episode VII, but also one of the co-writers. The filmmaker has had plenty of experience working in science-fiction, directing both the last two Star Trek movies as well as the Spielberg-esque Super 8, and has long said that he is a life-long Star Wars fan.
The Screenplay
Oscar winning screenwriter Michael Arndt was one of the first people to be hired to work on Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, signing to pen the script for the film only about a week after the film was first announced in 2012. But his involvement ended months before the start of production, and the script was put the hands of J.J. Abrams and Empire Strikes Back screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan.