Trying to squeeze info out of current and/or former Lucasfilm employees on the new “Star Wars” trilogy is ostensibly harder than a set-dresser on the day of the big Slave Leia shoot on ‘Blue Harvest’. But try we internet mongers do.
What we know about Michael Arndt’s treatment for the new ”Star Wars trilogy” – taking place after the events of “Return of the Jedi” – is that it’ll feature, to some extent, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Harrison Ford. (But trying to get a confirmation out of someone on whether or not Lumpy the Wookie has a role? Impossible.)
I know a couple of former Lucasfilm employees, both of whom know very little when it comes to the nitty gritty’s of the ‘Star Wars’ trilogy – in fact, seems nobody but the top brass are really privvy to the goods within that libretto. But I had a quick back-and-forward over email with one of them overnight who, despite having left the company a couple of months back, had heard ‘rumours’ of the project’s existence before the big announcement a couple of weeks ago.
Not surprisingly, he had nothing on the plot, main heroes or villains, director, or – sigh – Lumpy cameos. “No idea. just Luke, Leia, Han, Lando”.
Snooze. Thanks anyway.
Yeah, we knew that right?
So anyway….wait…
Did you do a second-take on the sentence about ten minutes later, too?
Yep. Same. Wait. Lando?
Our former SF-based friend knows not the extent of any of those characters’ involvement in the new films, so no idea how much ‘Lando Calrissian’ has to do, but very cool that the big guy is indeed in the treatment.
I suppose its not really earth-shattering news that Lando will appear – he did after all help old friend Han Solo take down the Empire in prequel “Return of the Jedi”, so assumingly they’re still mates and colleagues. And he was there celebrating in the Ewok village at the end of the film.
No doubt Lando’s portrayer Billy Dee Williams will react as favourably to the news (though I doubt he’s even onboard yet; they probably won’t be making deals until Arndt finishes the script-just in case there’s some chopping and changing along the way), as we fans of the coolest cat in Cloud City will, that Lando plays some sort of role (hopefully more than a cameo) in the new films.
Just pray nobody at Lucasfilm has commissioned ‘a mock-up of Tommy Lee Jones as Lando’.. or there could be blood. And I may be spilling it.
Meanwhile, Lumpy the Wookie waits by the phone.
You can keep up with the latest movie news on the move with mobile phones these days. Make sure yours is capable!
