It had to happen eventually. Every other week we bring you a big ol' roundup of every possible bit of Star Wars news we can find, and nearly every week it's a struggle to get that rather large collection of news whittled down into a concise post. This week, not so much. Things are actually fairly quiet on the galactic front. And really, it makes sense that things might slow down right around now. Lucasfilm is presumably busy finishing up Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and getting Star Wars: Episode VIII into post-production, so there's just not a lot going on. (Though, Lucasfilm, if you want to give VIII an actual title, you can go ahead and announce that anytime.) As a result, welcome to what might be the most understated Cantina Talk of all. In weeks to come, we'll look back on this as a beautiful end-of-summer lull, just you wait.
Source: Director Rian Johnson himself
Probability of Accuracy: Surely 100 percent.
The Real Deal: After teasing fans with images posted across different social media accounts during the filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII, Rian Johnson continued his love of visual updates a week ago with this post on Instagram:
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Yup, looks like the movie has started an assembly cut at the very least, if not the first working edit of the movie proper. Of course, considering the amount of post-production a movie like this requires, we have no idea if this means that it's ahead of schedule, behind schedule, or what the hell is even going on. Which is to say, well played, Mr. Johnson. Now remember to take periodic breaks and get some sun every now and then.
Source: Rogue One director Gareth Edwards
Probability of Accuracy: How accurate can an objective reading of an abstract concept really be, anyway?
The Real Deal: Sure, maybe some people are a little confused about what Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is actually about, but more than that people would like to know what the phrase "Rogue One" actually means. Thankfully, Empire thought to ask director Gareth Edwards. It is, he said, a military call-sign—you guys remember "Rogue Squadron" from The Empire Strikes Back, right?—but that's not all. Rogue One "is the first film that's gone off-piste and is not part of the saga—or the Anakin story—so it’s the 'rogue' one," Edwards said, adding that it's also a reference to Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso, too. "It's kind of describing her as well in a similar way. It has [all] these split, multiple meanings that made it feel like the right choice [for a title]," he said. Well, it's certainly better than the second choice, No, It's Not the Bothans, That's the Other Death Star.
Source: Felicity Jones on the publicity trail
Probability of Accuracy: See our earlier comment about opinions and accuracy, dear readers.
The Real Deal: While we're on the subject of Jyn Erso, Felicity Jones has been talking about what it was like getting that role in the first place, as well as who Erso is and, perhaps most interestingly, her view on gender in the Rebellion as a whole. To wit: "I would say there’s a huge amount of respect for women in the Rebellion. Mon Mothma is ultimately, for Jyn, someone she looks up to… So even as the film opens [Jyn] has a very strong female role model in front of her, and someone she respects." The Rebellion, a matriarchy? Pretty impressive for a series that conveniently forgot to have more than one female character for its first two installments.
Source: Internet rumor-mongering
Probability of Accuracy: About 50/50, as is the way with all Internet rumor-mongering.
The Real Deal: An interesting story broke the other week, as The Wrap reported that the Han Solo movie in pre-production will be adding Lando Calrissian as a character, with a later report adding that Donald Glover is the filmmakers' first choice for the role. As with all such rumors, it's difficult to guess how much reality is behind either one of these reports, but two things are worth pointing out. Firstly, it really would be wonderful to see Lando in the standalone movie, wouldn't it? Just think how utterly awesome it could be to see a young charmer channeling Billy Dee Williams but with an extra edge thanks to the irresponsibility of youth. And secondly, Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote the Han Solo movie, refused to rule out a Lando return in an interview last year. Maybe he knew something the rest of us didn't.
Source: Fan speculation
Probability of Accuracy: There's every single possibility that this theory will prove to be very, very wrong indeed. And yet!
The Real Deal: Instead of wondering about who Rey's parents are, perhaps there's another unknown about her that we should be thinking about. HitFix created a video to ask this question: Is Rey able to use the Force so easily in Star Wars: The Force Awakens because she's tapping into the Dark Side? It offers up reasonable evidence to suggest that this isn't just an utterly random thought, but something supported by The Force Awakens itself. But does that mean Rey is destined to be the next Anakin Skywalker? That's a question that'll likely remain unanswered until Episode VIII, at the very earliest. Hey, Rian Johnson! Hurry up in that editing room, will you?
