Ford will return as Han Solo in Ep VII

[Solo]

Supposedly at least.

I swear to god if this involves time travel and resetting the franchise with a new cast and a new timeline I'm going to take back all of the hopeful and optimistic comments about this I've said so far, and burn Disneyland to the ground as retribution.

[sparkart]

I love Mr. Ford as much as the next geek, he's Han, he's Indy, he didn't kill his wife, and he's the President of the United States, BUT...this news doesn't make me happy, at all.

For me, I think it's because Harrison Ford is so big, that his earthly celebrity clashes with the long time ago, far, far away-ness that's supposed to be Star Wars. It's my problem, but I can't get pass seeing Harrison Ford as anybody BUT Harrison Ford, now.

[Flynn]

For me, I think it's because Harrison Ford is so big, that his earthly celebrity clashes with the long time ago, far, far away-ness that's supposed to be Star Wars.

Like Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness?

[bobalego]

...considering I wanted to leave Indy IV the minute I saw the groundhogs, then tried really hard to convince myself to leave when Indy survived the Atomic bomb in a refrigerator...and really wanted to leave while Shia was swinging on the vines...never being able to leave until the credits...I expect that I will do the same in Star Wars VII...Harrison will be horrible, like Star Wars Holiday Special horrible but JJ Abrams will make a good film...something Lucas no longer can do. (With all due respect to the God that is Lucas, who shaped my life as it is.)

[lego the hutt]

I heard that he had agreed a couple weeks ago and I think it is good news. I don't expect any of the OT cast members to have a major role but a cameo would be great. From what I read the timeline on the new movie takes place about 40 years after RotJ so it is actually pretty close to reality as far as the time line and age of the actors goes.

Haven't heard if Mark Hamill has signed on officially yet but apparently he is supposed to be the master and there will be a new apprentice so I'm sure they will throw enough money at him to make him do it.

[sparkart]

For me, I think it's because Harrison Ford is so big, that his earthly celebrity clashes with the long time ago, far, far away-ness that's supposed to be Star Wars.

Like Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness?

When I was a kid, I knew a little of Cushing from Hammer movies and I didn't know Sir Guinness, at all. It was easy for me to buy into their Star Wars characters. My formative years were spend watching Harrison Ford adventuring around the planet Earth and other galaxies.

I still like seeing him in movies, I think he did fine in Cowboys and Aliens, but the last Indy...he look tired, and a little disinterested. I'm disappointed that they feel the need to continue with the Skywalker family story, instead of expanding the galaxy a bit, but it's undoubtably the safest way to go.

[FallenJedi]

I was really hoping that we might go back further and visit the Old Republic universe. That way we don't really have to worry about new Hans, old Hans.

I am very optimistic with respect to JJ Abrams. He did great with the reboot of Star Trek. I think he established a good balance in acknowledging the loyalty of fans to the original series and brought a whole new generation of fans to the franchise. I have more optimism for this series of films, than I did for the prequel trilogy after watching The Phantom Menace.

It is going to be very hard watching Carrie Fisher if she has signed up as well. It will be very tough to resolve the difference between slave Leia and the way Carrie Fisher looks and sounds now. Maybe they will get the effects team from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to give her a "makeover".

[Flynn]

When I was a kid, I knew a little of Cushing from Hammer movies and I didn't know Sir Guinness, at all. It was easy for me to buy into their Star Wars characters.

Okay, but your initial argument was regarding Ford through the eyes of an adult- and most adults at the time of Star Wars would've known Cushing from his extensive horror work (he was a staple of Hammer films) and from Guinness's several acclaimed performances in the past couple decades.

Though really there's nothing really wrong with seeing an actor as an actor anyways. Whether you see him as Han Solo or Harrison Ford, if the character is well-done and the performance strong, what's the issue?

[sparkart]

I'm not trying to argue anything. You can't argue preferences. I just personally prefer to not see Harrison Ford as Han Solo on screen, any more. I don't mean that as a slight against Mr. Ford, he's a great actor. Heck, even Harrison Ford thought Solo shouldn't have survived Episode VI.

I'm watching old episodes of the various Star Trek shows on Netflix, and can't help but think there's a huge potential for Star Wars if they could just get further away from the Skywalker dysfunctional family, and explore other stories and characters.

[Inzane]

Haven't heard if Mark Hamill has signed on officially yet but apparently he is supposed to be the master and there will be a new apprentice so I'm sure they will throw enough money at him to make him do it.

You're kidding, right?

Other than his excellent voice acting ability (for video games and cartoons), he hasn't had an on-screen acting career to speak of for quite some time. For someone in his shoes, he should be begging for the opportunity to rejuvenate his career, not the other way around.

[buriedbybricks]

http://www.movieweb.com/news/mark-hamil ... pisode-vii

We'll see if this pans out.

Put me down for time travel though. Lots of time travel!

[Solo]

Mark Hamill then went onto "sort of" confirm the recent news that this new trilogy, directed by J.J. Abrams, would be based around the Skywalker-Solo children, and that he will take on the Obi Wan role this time out.

Oh wow that's kind of cool, I look forward to that story-

I'm assuming, because I haven't talked to the writers,

Oh, so, that wasn't even remotely a confirmation, because Mark really has no idea because no one has talked to him directly about this project yet, so it's all still a guessing game-

Star Wars: Episode VII comes to theaters in 2015 and stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew.

It's like this guy read the linked source article and said "Well, that's no fun, I think I'll just make some stuff up instead and run with that."

Journalism!

[buriedbybricks]

At this point, the only thing I'm believing is Disney wants to make more money.

I keep waiting for the Abrams confirmation to fall through due to "scheduling conflicts", "creative differences" or "witchcraft".

[WillyWampa]

I wonder if this will lead to another episode of South Park like the one where the boys watched the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and were all left shaken and traumatized by what happened to "their friend Indy" at the hands of Lucas and Speilberg?

[bigj22]

ok , regardless if Mark has not acted in years or anyone else for that matter. It doesnt matter if they are older. From my understanding, it takes place after ROTJ so it only makes sense to include them or at the very least a camio appearance . Lets be real here. We all would like to relate to the characters in the movie. If Al Pacino played Skywalker, then we would all be like wtf. (what the fudge ). I myself hope they have as many originals in the movie. It only adds to it. I grew up watching the movies and most of them are in all 3 / Just my 2 cents.

[Axonflaxon]

It's not going to focus on the OT cast, so their acting abilities shouldn't be of too much concern. I really hope Abrams gets a primary cast that really fits with the mythos and lives up the original acting. That's one thing I thought Lucas did really well with the PT, especially with Liam Neeson, Ewan Mcgregor and Sam Jackson etc

[Rook]

I'd really like to see the original cast (if all still alive) play themselves as their older selves in the correct timeline. With the main focus being the next generation of Jedi and Luke being the Grand Master. They could even wrap up EP VII, VIII, and/or IX with Luke dying. In the process introducing the Solo and Skywalkers kids as the main characters and basically rebooting the franchise for a whole new generation of viewers and story lines. I.E. the Yuuzhan Vong Wars or New Jedi Order era.

[Flynn]

If Luke dies anywhere in the trilogy, it's going to be towards the end of the first movie. 'Cause it's 'poetic' or something.

[Solo]

All aboard the rumor train.

[lowlead]

At this point, the only thing I'm believing is Disney wants to make more money.

I keep waiting for the Abrams confirmation to fall through due to "scheduling conflicts", "creative differences" or "witchcraft".

Ha! Exactly. IMHO, as long as Abrams remains in the driver's seat, it'll probably be a solid film. I really enjoyed what he did with the Trek franchise, so I'll just skip all the speculation and have some faith.

Rest assured, Abrams is fully aware of the treachery involved in a sloppy treatment. The question, of course, is whether or not Disney will give Abrams a long or short leash. I'm hoping they let him off the leash altogether!