OFFICIAL
PREQUEL NEWS/ ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Apr-Aug 3rd 1997)
BACK to
current official Prequel news.
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Below are
some pics(from www.starwars.com ) leaked from the closed doors
of Leavesden Studios in London where Prequel production
has commenced!
 George
Lucas & R2-D2
 Now
where have we seen these guys?!
A 'Creature's' hand.
3/8/97
Official Episode 1 Cast List in Star
Wars Insider courtesy of Christopher Kong.
...."AS
A TOKEN OF MY GOOD WILL I PRESENT TO YOU A GIFT..."
I RECENTLY GOT MY ISSUE OF STAR WARS INSIDER AND I WOULD
LIKE TO TELL YOU WHO IS OFFICIALLY IN THE PREQUELS,
BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE COOLEST PAGE ON THE WEB"....
CLICK
HERE! to reach the
list.
In addition to the cast list, other information was
provided.
Jabba The Hutt makes a small appearance in the episode,
we will see a CG Yoda and shooting begins this
summer(could be during the time you are reading this!).
A total of 7 full sets have currently been constructed,
with 15 in pre-production.
18/7/97
It's YODA!
This pic is
from the newest issue of Star Wars Insider. It is a clay
model of the version of Yoda (at 850 years old) that will
be in the prequels. The model will be the basis for both
a CG Yoda, and also a full-size puppet that will again be
controlled by Frank Oz!
30/6/97
Ewan McGregor OFFICIALLY Signed to be Obi Wan Kenobi!
As quoted from
Lucasfilm themselves!....
...."We are happy to announce that Ewan McGregor
has signed on for the Episode I cast in the role of
Obi-Wan Kenobi".....
5/7/97
Prequel scoop from Luca Bonacina....More official Prequel
locations revealed!
This is not a
rumor, it's official, and it cames from the first italian
newspaper. One of the shot location (already at work!!!!)
is the "Reggia di Caserta", the great Noble
Palace located at Caserta near Naples in Italy. I don't
know anything about what they are filming and what the
"Reggia" represents in the new movies.
Ciao from Italy,
Luca Bonacina
EPISODE
ONE SET REVEALED ON ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT!
[11th June '97]
HOT OFF THE PRESS! This comes exclusively from the US
show ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT which aired a feature about
the prequels last night. First off George Lucas finally
confirmed that Natalie Portman (young Queen), Liam Neeson
(Jedi Master), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Jake Lloyd
(Anakin Skywalker), and Adrian Dunbar (unknown role) will
be in the prequels. These pictures come from the
"Desert Set" as they call it which MAY
represent young Anakin's home on Tatooine. 
A total of 57 sets is planned to be built at Leavesdon,
and about 10-20 have been completed already.
MORE
PREQUEL NEWS REVEALED IN RICK McCALLUM INTERVIEW!
[9th June '97] ..."We're close to being able to
announce Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and
Jake Lloyd as the leads. We're also talking to Pernilla
August, for the role of Anakin's mother, Ian McDiarmid,
who played the Emperor in the original Star Wars series,
Adrian Dunbar, Terence Stamp, and Oliver Ford
Davies."...
MORE
OFFICIAL CASTING NEWS FROM WWW.STARWARS.COM !
[9th June '97] Jake Lloyd is on the Star Wars
Official Page as Anakin Skywalker, and Natalie Portman is
on there as the queen, meaning their roles in the
prequels HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED!
OFFICIAL
CASTING SCOOP SENT BY XENE!
[9th June'97] Confirmed
for the (Episode One) Prequel Cast
JAKE LLOYD-- ANAKIN SKYWALKER
NATALIE PORTMAN-- THE QUEEN [Anakin's FUTURE
wife?!]
EWAN McGREGOR-- OBI WAN KENOBI 
LIAM NEESON--"...a venerable Jedi
Knight..." 
Liam Neeson will be involved --speculation is that he
will play a Jedi Master who is slain in the course of the
film, NOT Bail Organa as recent speculation stated.
Another actor, Adrian Dunbar, is also signed on; what
this role will be is unknown. Again, despite this
(Entertainment Tonight) being a legitimate insider show,
all this may have been planted by Lucasfilm to get people
away from what's really going on, so who knows? I think
that the casting is the real thing, though ABC news had a
brief spot with Ewan MacGregor in which he said he
certainly was in the Prequel, and looking forward to
begin shooting [he did not con firm that he would be
playing General Kenobi]. More news as it becomes
available.....
ANOTHER
McCALLUM INTERVIEW!
[9th June '97] A European interview with Producer
Rick McCallum and it's quite a long interview discussing
the Special Editions and, of course, the Prequels.
Despite the fact that much of the information in the
article is old news, there is SOME new interesting info!
check it out HERE. Go to the "Cellblock".
LUCAS'
PREQUEL LETTER TO STAR WARS FANS!
[22nd May '97] With only months until filming begins,
The Official Starwars Website has began its prequel coverage
specificly on episode one.
There's nothing really new in terms of information, some
cast have have mentioned (see below) and there seems to
be a lot of discussion on the artwork for Coursuant,
including that famous pre-production sketch.
HOWEVER!, George Lucas has put up a letter to all Star
Wars fans regarding the development of the prequels and
how the offical Star Wars site will cover prequel
information. You can see that letter HERE!
LUCASFILM
RELEASE OFFICIAL CASTING DETAILS!
SOURCE:
Jedinet
[7th May '97] Well,
our friends at the official Lucasfilm website
(www.starwars.com) have finally spoken out with some
prequel tidbits. Here is the extent of the
"news".......Lucasfilm IS officially in
"talks" with Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, and
Natalie Portman for roles in 'Episode I'. As of two days
ago NOTHING had been officially signed, though it appears
it's only a matter of time now. TrueFan was recently the
victim of some misinformation and indicated that Ewan was
not under serious consideration. He quickly came back to
correct that Ewan is INDEED in talks with Lucasfilm and
that "official" casting news should come out by
the 2nd week in May Check out the Official Star Wars
Website (www.starwars.com), as they claim they're gonna keep
us all up-to-date with production on the prequels.
STAR
WARS PREQUELS- THE NOVELS!
Lucasfilm is releasing the book version of the new films
6 months to a year BEFORE the film is released. Now this
is a MAJOR way to spoil things, I'd advise everyone to
wait until the film releases to receive full effect of
the stories, but for those who are desperate.......
SHOOTING
PROGRESS
Pre-production has been underway for months. Principal
Photography is set to begin on September 8 1997 at
Leavesdon Studios near London, England. It is scheduled
to last about one year, with on-location shoots and
2nd/3rd shoots as well(Locations include..London, England
Morrocco, Tunisia, Portugal & Central Asia). The
Prequels will be filmed on stage 'B' at Leavesden
Studios, England. The studios were previously a Rolls
Royce factory and was then initially converted for the
James Bond film, Goldeneye. Leavesden is just down the
road from Pinewood Studios, where the original Star Wars
was filmed. Lucasfilm has sole use of the studios for all
of 1997 and part of 1998. While they're preparing the
second and third prequels, which will shoot
simultaneously back-to-back, they will problably lease
the studio out to other people and then move back in at
the end of 1999.
PREQUEL
PRE-PRODUCTION SKETCH
 This
painting, by Doug Chiang, represents the first scene in
Episode One! After the opening titles, the camera pans
down through space to the surface of Coruscant. The ship
loading passengers takes off as the camera pulls away and
follows it into space. What happens next is unclear,
insiders would only say that it will suddenly become
"tremendously exciting!" This is somehow
connected to the first glimpse of Coruscant we see at the
end of ROTJ-SE...[see below]
So What
ARE These Prequels Then?...
In 1977, after the huge initial success of the first
Star Wars movie, the public wanted to know more about
this fantastic universe. Lucas reported to the media that
the film everyone knew as Star Wars was the first part of
a trilogy of films, which in turn were the middle part of
a larger tapestry. The first trilogy took place before
the events of Chapter Four, with the third trilogy arc
taking place after the events of Chapter Six. And nothing
else was much said about what else were in these two
mysterious trilogies, save one item: the two droids
(Artoo-Detoo and See-Threepio) were in all nine shows.
After the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, Lucas
said that the next trilogy would focus upon the first
three chapters, but he never alluded as to when they
would commence work on them. Marvel Comics continued a
comic book series chronicling the events after the third
film until fan interest waned and the series was canceled
in 1987. A fan script (written by John L. Flynn, titled
"Fall of the Republic" generated much confusion
among the convention circuit. Some thought it was the
script for the new film, but yet nothing had been
officially mentioned in the media. In any matter, it had
no inside information as to the plot, possible characters
or storyline for the new movie, and should be considered
as 'fan fiction'.
GEORGE
LUCAS' COMMENTS
" It's a story about Ben Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker
and how we got to the point where Obi-Wan Kenobi was
waiting in the middle of the desert for something to
happen. It's also about how Darth Vader got to be who he
is, and how the Emperor came to power. It starts out with
the Emperor not in power, then it keeps progressing.
It'll be one twelve- hour movie when it's all finished.
" " In the first film, [the main characters]
are very young, although Obi-Wan is thirtyish. In
Episodes Two and Three, Anakin is around twenty. Anakin
is about the same age as Luke in Episode Four, and Obi-
Wan is about forty then. The second two films take place
almost continuously, a couple of years in between. At the
end of the third film, Anakin is twenty-two, so A New
Hope is about twenty years later when Obi-Wan is in his
sixties. " --Interview
" In the first film, [the main characters] are very
young, although Obi-Wan is thirtyish. In Episodes Two and
Three, Anakin is around twenty. Anakin is about the same
age as Luke in Episode Four, and Obi- Wan is about forty
then. The second two films take place almost
continuously, a couple of years in between. At the end of
the third film, Anakin is twenty-two, so A New Hope is
about twenty years later when Obi-Wan is in his sixties.
" --Interview
" The fascination with doing the new movies is, you
know, I've been interested in doing a lot of other things
since I finished - I kind of burned out after doing the
first trilogy - but there's always been this lure about
going back because the story as a whole, all 12 hours of
it, is actually more interesting than what is out there
now. When you actually get the whole story and see it in
context, then you understand what Vader's side of the
story is, what we have not heard yet. It makes it a much
more interesting drama - it's a man struggling with
temptation and he loses.
The big chance that I am taking is that I am working on
something that I started 20 years ago and whether it will
fit into the modern world marketing wise I am not sure.
The first one I'm doing is very much like the first one I
did before, it's kind of upbeat and fun. The first one
always gets to introduce the characters and does not have
all that much else to do, so it's easy. In the second one
things start to go wrong and get complicated, and the
third one is the dark one - it will probably fit in
really well with 21st century! " -- RADIO ONE
INTERVIEW (England), Sunday 2 March 1997.
RICK
McCALLUM'S COMMENTS (Producer of
Prequels & Special Editions)
" The first three really deal with the fall of
Anakin - you will just see the saga of a young boy, his
relationship with mother, how he grows up, who he
marries, the children he has. He makes a pivotal choice
in his life: a road that takes him to the dark side and
he pays the consequences of that. We see his children
grow up and see him finally redeemed. "
CHARACTERS
TO APPEAR
The OFFICAL character list as known (which is obviously
likely to grow) is as follows:
Anakin Skywalker [Episodes 1-3]
Darth Vader [Episode 3]
The Queen (Later to be Anakin's Wife)
Obi Wan Kenobi
Yoda
R2-D2 (Artoo-Deeto in earlier form)
C-3PO (see-threepio in earlier form)
Boba Fett
Palpatine (Who becomes the Emperor) Other
Jedi Knights
Luke Skywalker, Leia Skywalker (As
Babies)[Episode 3]
Week of
March 3, 1996... Casting calls are underway for
two lead roles to be played by young actors. Taken from
the audition requirements:
ANAKIN SKYWALKER (DARTH VADER): Caucasian, 8-9.
Anakin is a handsome young boy with extraordinary charm.
He has a vulnerability and earnestness that makes him
totally disarming. His amazing aptitude for things
mechanical together with his quick wit and physical
fitness make him a natural pilot at an early age,
maturing into a fighter pilot of exceptional talent.
Anakin's resourceful imagination and inventive mind
already set him apart from others. OBI WAN KENOBI is
later to recognize his innate gifts, becoming his friend
and mentorm teaching him the attributes of a Jedi Knight.
Anakin is a role model of the highest order, someone
every boy would like to be...LEAD.
THE QUEEN: Eurasian/Latina girl 13-14. An
enchanting young girl, already showing signs of
blossoming into a sensual, exotic, darkhaired beauty. By
contrast she has, however, the reserve, political acumen,
poise and bearing of a queen and ruler, together with a
natural wisdom and sensitivity that cannot be taught. A
strong, spirited and highly intelligent girl, she is
quick to learn the principles of justice and honor. She
is a great leader and it is apparent to all...LEAD. This
information, to a lesser format, has been reported by the
media this past week. These may be the two roles producer
Rick McCallum spoke about last year. No additional
information, such as the name of 'The Queen' is known at
this time.
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