If you get your news from Palm Beach Illustrated, then you got the jump on a lot of folks. You were among the first to read about Carrie Fisher chatting about her role in the next installment of the “Star Wars” saga. Read it here. Now, you’ve got every conceivable news outlet, from the old big time news establishment to the comic book news machines covering it as breaking geek news. Newsarama breathlessly reported it as a confirmation that Fisher was reprising her role. (The original Newsarama reporting did jump the gun and required updating later) Read that here. Okay, wait for it, insert sound of needle scratching record. Turns out that Fisher was only joking around. It was a joke, folks! Not major geek news triggering volcanic eruptions on the planet Zolan. The Inquisitr, true to its name, took a more skeptical view, and unearthed more down-to-earth news. Read it here.
Was Carrie Fisher pulling a prank? No, she was not. She was chatting with a tiny publication in Palm Beach, Florida. That’s all.
Is there any truth to the idea that we will see the original Star Wars trio in the upcoming J.J. Abrams epic? Well, there’s been endless speculation about it. Such as this Screen Rant feature here.
And then there’s the master himself, George Lucas. He was simply chatting too and the reporting on that was a well tempered approach by Deadline Hollywood. Read that here. The idea that Ford, Fisher, and Hamil will be in the next “Star Wars” takes on more and more credibility. However, Lucas even states that he may have said too much and that no deals have been reached.
And what about Billy Dee Williams? Read First Showing’s observations here.
In conclusion, it does seem like a slam dunk to cast the original dream team trio. J.J. Abrams is a sucker for that and so are audiences. How big will their parts be? Well, hopefully not monumental. Did you really want to see Leonard Nimoy carry that last “Star Trek” flick? Nope. There will be a balance. As Mark Hamil observed, the characters will likely take on Obi-wan Kenobi mentor type roles. Will that be good enough for Harrison Ford? Oh, let’s just not go there.
Speaking of Obi-wan Kenobi, why isn’t anyone speculating over whether or not Alec Guinness will play Obi-wan Kenobi again? The character is dead but his spirit lives on. The actor is dead but we’ve got the most powerful corporation in entertainment history backing up this puppy. Anything is possible. Anything! We’re talking an endless stream of money. So, most likely, expect the mighty trio back. That part should be a lock. And expect J.J. Abrams to do the right thing.
And for the real scoop on what Disney got for its $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm, and a better understanding of why the mighty trio story is not pure speculation, read today’s Bloomberg Businessweek feature here.
