Amidst all of the rumors swirling around LucasFilm's next Star Wars movie, one thing that's for certain is that nothing is for certain right now. The reason we keep hearing so many different potential ideas for the franchise is that nothing is concrete, and concepts are being pulled from everywhere with many given at least some consideration. Samurai spinoffs, young Han Solo...it seems the producers are willing to look at anything and everything right now.
And so the latest rumor is a big one, but could just be another idea bounced at the LucasFilm wall. AICN says that a film based on the mega-popular Knights of the Old Republic video games could be in development. They would be working with writer Drew Karpyshyn, who wrote the scripts for both games, Jade Empire, as well as Mass Effects 1 &2. He's also written a number of Star Wars novels, mostly surrounding Darth Bane and the Sith order. Last year he left Bioware to pursue screenwriting, and the buzz around their office is that he's working on an 'Old Republic' film.
The 'Old Republic' games are considered by many to be the crown jewels of the Star Wars console games, so many would be excited at the prospect of seeing it on the big screen. It's set 4000 years before the Galactic Empire is even formed, so there would be very little connection to the Star Wars most fans recognize. There are still plenty of Jedi and Dark Lords of the Sith, which is what many fans are most eager to see.
I don't think this is as far-fetched an idea as some. While I believe Kathleen Kennedy and the folks at LucasFilm will stick to a familiar focus on Star Wars: Episode VII, the spinoffs and one-shot films are a different story. This would give them a chance to open up the universe, while also allowing some freedom to play around with the history a little bit.
We'll see what happens, but keep this rumor under your hat for now.
