The biggest news of the year(really, name something bigger!!) came yesterday when we learned that Disney had bought LucasFilm for a staggering $4.05B and are kicking off a brand new Star Wars trilogy. Instantly the Internet folded in on itself and collapsed as fans contemplated the possibilities and began asking the pertinent questions. Primarily, people wanted to know what form the trilogy would take. Could they possibly reboot George Lucas' beloved universe? A popular theory has been that they would adapt one of the established canonical novelizations, such as the 'Admiral Thrawn' series of books.
Turns out it won't be either, as a LucasFilm source tells E! Online that "It's an original story". Although a treatment is apparently ready to go, we don't know any specifics and likely won't for awhile. The Wrap, however, spoke to Dale Pollock, author of the unauthorized biography Skywalking: The Life And Films Of George Lucas. He interviewed Lucas numerous times and reportedly has seen his original 12-story outline. He says the next trilogy would include an older Luke Skywalker, aged into his 30s or 40s. He doubts that Mark Hamill, now 61 years of age, would be reprising the role. It was interesting listening to Hamill this morning on The Stephanie Miller Show playing cagey about the possibility of coming back, so maybe he knows more than he's able to reveal.
That's just Pollock's opinion, though, and Disney isn't beholden to anything right now. Lucas is only on board in a "creative consultant" capacity, which sounds more honorary than anything else. Disney may decide to go in a completely different direction than Lucas intended, and considering their vast multimedia empire that may include all sorts of spinoffs and tie-ins. THR says there's even discussions about a connected Avengers-style universe which would include solo features and other offshoots.
The first order of business will be finding a director, and that will probably go a long way in telling us Disney's future plans.
