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# TIME Explains: The New Star Wars Movie, Episode VII

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MXrUHtut.m3u8" -->
## Video: TIME Explains: The New Star Wars Movie, Episode VII

[Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains: The New Star Wars Movie, Episode VII](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MXrUHtut.m3u8) (2:25)

![TIME Explains: The New Star Wars Movie, Episode VII](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/MXrUHtut/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2012-11-16. George Lucas recently announced further Star Wars installments. Who will make them and what will they be about? TIME explains_


---

Jul 27, 2023 3:29 PM UTC

---

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## Transcript

[ MUSIC ] 35 years later a new Star Wars trilogy is in the works. Who's staring in it? What are they about? Is it a good idea? Here's what you need to know. [ MUSIC ] Back on October 30th, Disney doled out more than $ 4 billion in cash and stock to buy Lucasfilm, George Lucas's firm. That owns the rights to Star Wars. In short order, they announced that a new Star Wars film, Episode Seven, would hit theaters in 2015. Followed every two or three years later by another chapter. [ MUSIC ] Quick recap. The original trilogy came out between 1977 and 1983. The story of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader In the defeat of the empire by the rebel alliance.

[ SOUND ] Fast forward 16 years, or is it backwards, and George Lucas released three prequels to the original trilogies. [ SOUND ] Episodes one, two and three, which were released between 1999 and 2005, and told the story of a young Darth Vader, or should I say, Anakin Skywalker. And it ended with the birth of Luke. [ SOUND ] I've heard that you've been hired to come back as Luke Skywalker. In the last Star Wars film 18 years from now. Is that true? In the, in the I tell you like 2004 or something. So what's the sequel going to be about? Well, no one really knows but the trail of clues goes all the way back to the late 70s early 80s.

In 1983, Lucas told Time that key actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher would all appear in the sequels as senior citizens. But the mystery really ended in 1999, when George Lucas told Vanity Fair definitively that the story ends at Chapter Six. Return of the Jedi, and he would not let anyone else make a Star Wars film. The story has changed. There will be another Star Wars film without George Lucas at the helm and that's where things get interesting. [ MUSIC ] Well first, who's going to be in it. Harrison Ford said he's open to being in a sequel. And Carrie Fisher joked about fitting back into Princess Leia's outfit.

Second, who will direct it? Well that's become one of the Internet's greatest rumor mills. We've already heard about JJ Abrams possibly directing, Jon Favreau possibly directing. And both have publicly demurred. But we not it's not going to be George Lucas. Third, who's going to write it? Well that has been officially confirmed as Michael Arndt, the Oscar winning scribe of Toy Story Three. Which means as far as this critic is concerned, that we may be on the verge of a rebirth for the franchise. Or if you will pardon the pun, a new hope.

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