New Ideas for Star Wars Episode IX?

Now that Disney has purchased the Star Wars franchise from creator George Lucas for a whopping $4.05 billion (that is just under what Lucas has earned from the previous six feature films, plus merchandising profits) and Disney has apparently found a writer to start off the next three episodes (the first due out in 2015) the next question is, what will be the plot and who will be the next villain?

New Star Wars Trilogy Finds Its Screenwriter; Still Waiting on Director

The folks at Disney, now the owners of all rights to the Star Wars franchise since the purchase of all Lucasfilm holdings from George Lucas two weeks ago for $4.05 billion, have apparently found their screenwriter who will take the reigns of the SW franchise into the future, for one film at least.

Michael Arndt, who won an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine, has been hired by Disney to write the first instalment of the new trilogy due out in 2015.

Conversely, the brass at Disney are still hunting for their new director that producer Frank Marshall has hinted is close to a conclusion.  Plenty of names have been mentioned such as Star Trek director J.J. Abrams, although he has recently ruled himself out of the running.  As have Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro and Steven Spielberg.

More Star Wars news has it that an interesting, if not confusing rumour has been mentioned about the possibility of Darth Vader being resurrected for the new trilogy, although I have no idea how they'll pull that off seeing that Vader, armour and all, was burned to a cinder at the end of Return of the Jedi (Episode VI). However, this is the universe of clones running amok.

Ford Open to Reprising Solo Role in New Star Wars Film

Maybe it was the fact that he is older, or that recent films in his otherwise lengthy and successful career, such as Cowboys and Aliens, haven't been exactly blockbusters, or maybe it's the fact that there are new owners of the Star Wars franchise since Disney bought out Lucasfilm and all its subsidiaries that might allow Harrison Ford to reprise the role of the ever-popular Han Solo.  Although there are reports that Ford is "open" to the idea, there are also reports that he may want a cause in his contract that mandates a death scene for the Han Solo character, something that he felt was warranted for Return of the Jedi (Episode VI for you younger readers)  Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back along with the deceased Leigh Brackett, agreed with Ford that "someone had to die" in the darker 1980 sequel.  Kasdan thought it should be Solo since "he had no family, and at this point he had no story obligation."  He should die as a result of self-sacrifice."

But George Lucas didn't want to give up the guaranteed merchandising sales that came with the Han Solo action figure, which at the time was the best selling one. 

But I wonder, should this come to fruition-with Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill reportedly also interested-where this is going to go?  I mean, are they going to make it 30 years in the future?  They would have to, wouldn't they?  I mean they can't very well CGI 70 year-old Harrison Ford into a 40 or even 50 year-old Han Solo, right?  Actually, they probably could.  Aren't visual effects awesome?