There's the Sandtroopers, the Snowtroopers, and the Imperial Scout troopers - all with different uniform details. But for all the variations among the specialized stormtroopers in the "Star Wars" universe, what are their recognizable similarities?
We can all agree that it's their distinctive white battle armor, which they inherited from their time as clone troopers. But with the expansion of the "Star Wars" franchise in the works beginning with "Episode VII," there are talks that the stormtroopers will take on different looks, and among these is a black-colored trooper that's being referred to, at the moment, as a Chrome trooper or Shadow trooper. A leaked image of an upcoming Lego set posted by Making Star Wars shows these purported Chrome or Shadow troopers, as well as black-clad Imperial guards armed with what looks like lightsabers. The future is teasing.
Thinking? Pondering? Here's more.
Numerous aerial drone shots were taken last week of the filming location at RAF Greenham Common, a former Royal Air Force station in Berkshire, England, 80 km west of London. Among the photos taken were those of a blue/white X-wing fighter and a half-built but full-sized Millenium Falcon parked outside the former Air Force station's GAMA (GLCM Alert and Maintenance Area) sites, bunker-like shelters designed and constructed to protect GLCMs (Ground Launched Cruise Missiles) and crews against nuclear and conventional strikes. Apparently, these will now double as underground starfighter hangars for the film.
What's eye-catching though, is the black X-wing fighter with orange or red and chrome markings on set, which is somewhat suggestive of the dark painted X-wing fighters flown by the Stealth Squadron or "Gray Flight", a Rebel starfighter squadron that appeared in Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars series. Check out the photos posted by Latino Review.
C-3PO, everyone's favorite protocol droid, is rumored to be getting a new look in "Episode VII". The question is, would the classic character be computed animated or played by a man in a suit? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, British actor Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO in all "Star Wars" films, talked about what's in store for Threepio in the upcoming film.
When asked which is the best way for portraying C-3PO, Daniels had this to say: "I will tell you that when [director] J.J. Abrams rang me to ask about filming Episode VII, one of the first things he said after he told me how wonderful I was - and that didn't take long - but he then said, "Would you be interested in being in the film just doing the voice?" I said, "No," and he said, "Right!" He knew I'd say that. There's no way I would just do the voice. I also said that it can't be the same suit. I will tell you that the team then got together and built a new suit. They made an entirely new look-a-like with changes that you will never notice [on screen] that made my life a lot easier. I can get it on and off very quickly. [During the prequels], the only time [Threepio has] been CG was when it was very dangerous [to act in the scene in a suit] - and it wasn't very good. In fact, I'm going to say it was awful. One of the difficulties is with a character that you know and love so well is that, as a member of the audience, you go, "Oh no, that's not right. No, he doesn't move like that." With me [in the suit], he's always going to move the same way and have the same reactions, timing, and so on. With CG, you're working with some brilliant person on the keyboard who is trying to pretend to be me."
So there you have it. Daniels will not only voice C-3PO over, he will play him again in a suit as well. Although Andy Serkis' The Imaginarium Studios is comprehensively involved in applying motion capture technology in the production of "Episode VII" (as it will in future "Star Wars" films), director J.J. Abrams used little computer-generated imagery (CGI) and employed more practical, traditional special effects. Rian Johnson, who will direct "Episode VIII", emphasized this, saying of the upcoming film, "I think people are coming back around to [practical effects]. It feels like there is sort of that gravity pulling us back toward it. I think that more and more people are hitting kind of a critical mass in terms of the CG-driven action scene lending itself to a very specific type of action scene, where physics go out the window and it becomes so big so quick," according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
"Star Wars Episode VII" is expected to wrap up filming by late 2014, and is scheduled for release on December 18, 2015.
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