UPDATE: The John Noble part of this story has been debunked. See the bottom of this post for more info.
What's even bigger news than a new Star Wars trilogy? Even more Star Wars movies beyond that! The internet exploded yesterday with speculation and rumor yesterday when Disney CEGO Bob Iger announced that part of the studios deal with LucasFilm would result in a few standalone movies set within the universe created by George Lucas. The executive announced that writers Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg had already been hired to develop scripts for these movies and that plans were in motion. The situation was brought to even greater heights this afternoon when there was a report that Disney was working on both Han Solo and Boba Fett movies.
But it might be time to level off your excitement just a bit, as according to Deadline it may still be a while before any of the stand alone movies actually become a thing. While it's worth mention that even Star Wars Episode VII doesn't have a release date at this point, a source has told the site, "Nobody knows when these movies are even coming out. Right now, people are just kicking around ideas. Which is why you hear it’s Yoda one day and a young Han Solo another. It’s all in early development right now." When Iger made the announcement he did say that the stand alone movies would be released during the six year period that the new trilogy unfolded, but seeing as that release date window is up in the air too I suppose it's easy to see how the stand alone films could be a little less than actualized at this point.
But if that story debunked a growing rumor, then let us add another one to the pool, shall we? An Australian radio host named Jo on Fox FM (via Giant Freakin Robot) claims to "have it on good authority" that John Noble is up to play the villain in Star Wars Episode VII. While no real evidence is given regarding the casting and there are no details or character specifics, the Aussie actor does have connections to director J.J. Abrams, as he starred as Dr. Walter Bishop for five seasons on the Abrams-produced television series Fringe.
UPDATE: Moviehole has looked into the John Noble rumor and concluded it was made up out of thin air. Sorry, Fringe fans.
Does it disappoint you that rumors of Han Solo and Boba Fett movies might not be true? Would you like to see John Noble as the villain in Episode VII? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
