What you're sensing isn't a disturbance in the Force—it's an amplification of it. Star Wars Celebration (and, hopefully, the first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi) is less than two weeks away, so right now the internet is lousy with new rumors about the saga. First Order transports, new characters, shrubbery: folks are speculating on just about everything. Let's see if we can catch you up in 14 parsecs or less.
Source: Online reports
Probability of Accuracy: Let's go with 60/40 at this point.
The Real Deal: Remember how everyone loved the AT-ATs in The Empire Strikes Back, and the AT-STs in Return of the Jedi? Apparently, The Last Jedi is going to have the next generation of lumbering walking machines. The fan site Making Star Wars claims that the movie will debut the Heavy Assault Walkers, which the site described thusly: "Imagine pissed-off gorillas with their front arms on the ground looking at you and then transform them into AT-ATs and you have the First Order Heavy Assault Walkers." According to the report, these massive walkers will all show up en masse during a huge action scene. What kind of havoc they're meant to cause remains unknown, though we speculate it would fall under the category of "massive."
Source: Online reports, again
Probability of Accuracy: Given the specificity of the report, it's either entirely true or complete womp rat droppings.
The Real Deal: Another Last Jedi claim from Making Star Wars involves a new hacker character—sorry, a slicer, which is Star Wars lingo for a hacker. (Anyone who read Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy will already know this, of course.) Even better, he'll be played by Justin Theroux, appear in a "pivotal moment" in a space casino, and rocks a costume that's described as "Indiana Jones’ white tuxedo from Temple of Doom but weirder and with a Star Wars twist." What's not so obvious is whether or not he's a good guy or a bad guy, but we're leaning towards good because, come on, he dresses like Indiana Jones.
Source: More online reports
Probability of Accuracy: Consult your local landscaper for confirmation.
The Real Deal: OK, let's make it three-for-three on Making Star Wars rumors. According to the site, a "Force-sensitive tree" will make a cameo—and then be burned—in The Last Jedi. A bit of background: there's a Force-sensitive tree in The Clone Wars at the Jedi Temple, and one in the comic-book prequel to The Force Awakens. Generally, the health of these trees reflects the strength of the Jedi Order. The one at the Jedi Temple, for example, was presumably destroyed when the Jedi were slaughtered, and a new one was planted in Shattered Empire after the end of the Empire. If that's the case, then this one burning is ... not good. The question is: Who set the tree on fire in the first place? Kylo Ren? Jealous Groot? Yew may never know fir sure. Sorry, sorry.
Source: Disney's big boss man
Probability of Accuracy: Given how obvious this seemed, can we just call this a no-brainer?
The Real Deal: Surprising no one, Disney CEO Bob Iger has finally confirmed that discussions are underway to extend Star Wars beyond 2019's Episode IX. "We’re starting talk about what could happen after Episode IX," he told the audience during an interview with Willow Bay, the dean of the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. Fascinatingly, he said that the new discussions were "about what could be another decade-and-a-half" of movies. A decade and a half? At the rate of one main-saga installment every two years, that's at least two trilogies he's talking about, isn't it? Is the Skywalker Saga going to continue, or are we about to get an entirely different set of movies focusing on an entirely different clan?
Source: Once again, Disney CEO Bob Iger
Probability of Accuracy: You'd think it'd be confirmed, but it's so odd, perhaps we should go with "Maybe he misspoke?"
The Real Deal: Something else that Iger talked about in that interview with Bay was the still-untitled Han Solo standalone movie. In addition to letting slip that the movie will span around six years—with Han going from ages 18 to 24, or thereabouts—and will divulge how he ended up with the Millennium Falcon, Iger noted one other surprising detail: The movie will also, apparently, reveal how Han Solo got his name. Yes, that's right. It seems that Han Solo isn't his actual name, which, let's be honest, is a little strange. Is there some really unwelcome retcon on the way where it turns out that Han Solo is actually related to another Star Wars character? (His real name is Han Fett, and he's Boba's little brother!) It remains entirely possible that Iger meant something else entirely—how the Millennium Falcon got its name, perhaps, or how Han got his reputation?—but if not, consider this a very strange twist in the mythology that audiences know and love.
