Things have been surprisingly quiet on the Star Wars front over the last couple of weeks, perhaps because Batman v Superman has been sucking up all the oxygen in the Internet's nerd room for a while, or maybe it's just because we're in a lull between the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the start of the Rogue One hype machine. (Remember, that first trailer is rumored to be less than two months away now.) Whatever the reason, here's a roundup of the news from a galaxy far, far away that's made it to our shores in the last couple of weeks.
Source: Multiple Internet reports
Probability of Accuracy: True? The work of very active publicity agents? We can but guess at this point. If only we could tell otherwise! Would that it were so simple!
The Real Deal: According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm has narrowed the shortlist of actors to play a young Han Solo to just three names: *Transformers: Age of Extinction'*s Jack Reynor, *Kingsman'*s Taron Egerton, and our personal favorite, *Hail, Caesar!'*s Alden Ehrenreich. Sources told THR that "there could be a few other names on the list," although that is entirely uncertain at this point. However, Miles Teller has confirmed, via the Happy Sad Confused podcast, that he has auditioned for the role. Does this mean he could be one of the other names, or that it was an unsuccessful audition? It's too early to tell, although Harrison Ford had some words of advice for those vying for the position during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show: "Don't do it! It seems like everything is going swimmingly and you put in 25-30 years and then they just let you go!" he joked.
Source: Straight from the actor's mouth (well, fingers, and through the medium of Tumblr)
Probability of Accuracy: Spot-on, presumably.
The Real Deal: Ford's Ellen appearance was just one stop on his promotional tour for the home release of The Force Awakens. He also turned up answering questions on *Entertainment Weekly'*s Tumblr, during which he shared his feelings about Han's tragic end in the new movie. (We're past the point where that has to be spoiled, right?) "I think it’s a fitting use of the character," he wrote. "I’ve been arguing for Han Solo to die for about 30 years, not because I was tired of him or because he’s boring, but his sacrifice for the other characters would lend gravitas and emotional weight." Elsewhere, he agreed that John Boyega was probably his new best friend, and said that if the cast of The Force Awakens was stranded on an island, he would be the leader of the group. Kind of. "We'd end up having to listen to Carrie [Fisher] because if Mama's not happy, nobody's happy," he wrote. Hey, Lucasfilm: We have this great idea for a new reality show, but it might wreck your shooting schedule for Episode VIII...
Source: Entertainment Weekly, trailing the upcoming home release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Probability of Accuracy: Unless either EW or Lucasfilm are lying to us, very likely indeed.
The Real Deal: An Entertainment Weekly gallery of images from behind-the-scenes material and deleted scenes from the Force Awakens Blu-ray confirmed a scene that was hinted at in the Blu-ray's trailer: Kylo Ren finding the crashed Millennium Falcon on Starkiller Base. And, what's more, the piece suggests that the discovery "stirs bittersweet memories" for Kylo. Is there going to be new backstory for us to discover? Start your squeeing now, Tumblr.
Source: The Internet, the courts of the laws
Probability of Accuracy: As strange as it seems, entirely true.
The Real Deal: Star Wars: Episode VIII has only just started production, but it already has its first lawsuit. (Awwww, man, they grow up so fast.) Director Rian Johnson is being sued by agent Brian Dreyfuss over potential breach of contract, claiming that he's owed 10 percent of Johnson's fee for Star Wars: Episode VIII, which was apparently the result of meetings Dreyfuss set up between the director and Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy. Congratulations, nuisance lawsuits: It feels like you've leveled up this time.
Source: StarWars.com
Probability of Accuracy: It's as official as it can get.
The Real Deal: OK, who's ready for some Star Wars VR?! Trials of Tatooine is a "virtual reality experiment" developed by Lucasfilm and ILMxLAB, which places the user directly into a galaxy far, far away as a Padawan learner looking to become a Jedi in the era between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. "Wielding a lightsaber is a dream I think every Star Wars fan has had since seeing the very first film," ILMxLAB's Rob Bredow told StarWars.com. Yes, it really is. So now can we all get to play with Trials, please?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koBt4Kfb4Zw
