Hasta La Gadget!

It’s time for the mother of all casting calls in the next Star Wars movie: Han Solo – and wouldn’t you know it? It appears that none other than Harrison Ford will be reprising the roll. That is, according to Latino Review – a source that (later in this post) you’ll find has been a surprisingly well-informed source in the past! It’s not every day that we get to report on a new Star Wars movie (even though that may change in a few years time) so it’s all excitement from our end!

The details are not known at the moment on what Harrison Ford will be doing as Han Solo at this point. The amount of movies he will be in is not known. What is known is that Harrison Ford has signed a contract to reprise his role as Han Solo in an upcoming Star Wars film – so says El Mayimbe. This writer has made it clear that he only knows that Ford has signed on to do a film or films in the future, all that’s left is for the studio – Disney or Lucasfilm – to do a formal announcement.

Sound like an awesome deal to you? It’s now possible that they’ll either be doing flash-forwards to when Han Solo was the age Ford is now, or that they’ll have the first (or subsequent) films set in an amount of time relative to our actual timeline. There’s also been rumors of break-away films with character-centric storylines, Han Solo being one of the possibilities too. How about some Tron: Legacy action with The Dude’s face being retro-ized with many virtual markers for a much younger Han?

The possibilities are endless in this extremely advanced virtual effects-driven universe of ours. And we know good and well that the Star Wars franchise is no stranger with the VFX universe – a universe right here and now, up close and personal!

Also note: Our own Philip Berne called it three years ago in a column called How Lucas ruined Star Wars and how to save it.

And as far as this leak goes from Latino Review: If you’ll have a look back at the post Marvel Reporting from the writer named Da7e on their website, you’ll see that they’ve literally been contacted by Marvel Comics in an attempt to bribe them out of their inside sources in the film industry. And this isn’t the first time they’ve had a major scoop either. The scoop we’re having a look at here was so important that writer El Mayimbe went to Fox News Latino to let it be known. Have a peek at this video to see him make it public:

Be sure to stick with SlashGear in our Star Wars tag hub for all the information leading up to, during, over, and past the release of Star Wars VII. We’ll be pumped up and jumping in every single day with the biggest tips, leaks, and final news releases all the way!

Report: Harrison Ford signed for Star Wars VII as Han Solo is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This weekend the documentary TPB AFK has gone live: start to finish a free download, entirely appropriate given the subject matter. This documentary covers none other than the rise and current operation of The Pirate Bay, the world’s most popular online file-sharing service. This documentary has been four years in the making and makes its mark right at the outset as the first film ever to be premiered at a major motion picture festival and offered as a digital download at the same time – and again, it’s totally free.

The film TPB AFK follows the three founders of the “TPB” (aka The Pirate Bay) as they discuss the beginnings of the site through the recent trials they each went through in Sweden. It’s Swedish producer and filmmaker Simon Klose that covers this major era in the history of The Pirate Bay’s history as both an epic series of events for the company and the world. It’s here that long-lasting internet-related bills and laws are being decided – no joke!

The premiere on the web exists right alongside the first viewing many users will have during the Berlin Film Festival in Germany. As will be made clear to you in viewing the documentary, it’s not just a peaches-and-cream team effort from start to finish – it’s as much an exploration of the way these founders went about their business as it is a telling of the story of the site’s goings-on. In the end, according to founder Peter Sunde, it was “Simon’s decision what to include and it’s his view of our story.” And not a bit of objectivism was left in the world.

Click the above thumbnail for a full-sized movie poster that you’ll be able to use for your smartphone or tablet wallpaper right this minute!

Sunde went on to note, according to Torrent Freak, that “I like that he’s independent from us and that he’s promised to release lots of extra material for some of the things that I might have wanted to have included.” So you’ll be wise to expect an “extended cut” in the future if not a B-Roll offering in the near future. By the general rules of our modern web, someone’s bound to release the full collection at some point – it’s just a matter of time.

You’ll be able to download the official TPB AFK film from Simon Klose’s own Pirate Bay account immediately if not soon. At the moment there are three different versions available, each of them the same cut at different quality video sizes. Let us know if you plan on popping in some popcorn and sitting down for a spell tonight!

Weekend watching: TPB AFK “Pirate Bay Documentary” download live! is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday I mentioned that Disney CEO Bob Iger had confirmed that there would be spinoff films in the Star Wars franchise. While the CEO said that the spinoff films were coming, he didn’t say which Star Wars characters the films will focus on. Rumors begin to swirl pointing to the first spinoff film focusing on Jedi master Yoda.

I may be in the minority here, but of all the characters in the Star Wars franchise Yoda was far from my favorite. Lucasfilms has now confirmed which Star Wars characters will be the subject the spinoff films. I’d wager that the two characters chosen are among to the most popular in the entire franchise – Boba Fett and Han Solo.

According to reports, the Han Solo film could be set between and the Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope or between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. If the film will covers a young Han Solo I sincerely hope we will get to see the card game where Han wins the Millennium Falcon. With Harrison Ford no longer looking like a young Han Solo, I have to wonder how they’ll pull this off.

The other character that will be the subject of one of the standalone films is Boba Fett. Even though Boba was technically a bad guy in the original trilogy and the new films, he is an interesting character nonetheless. It’s unclear what time frame this film will cover. There are no casting details for either film at this time.

[via Digital Trends]

Star Wars spinoff films to focus on Boba Fett and Han Solo is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re a fan of the Star Wars franchise, you’re probably very excited that Disney is bringing out more movies in the franchise after purchasing Lucasfilm. I only hope the new films have more in common with the original trilogy then the prequels. Word has surfaced from Disney CEO Bob Iger that in addition to the new trilogy, standalone films focusing on individual characters will be coming as well.

According to rumors, the first of the standalone Star Wars films will focus on Jedi master Yoda. I think this is a great idea allowing us to see more of what went into our favorite movie characters becoming who they are. I would love to see a film that focuses on Boba Fett and one for Han Solo too.

Iger has said that Disney plans to make Star Wars Episodes VII, VIII, and IX over approximately 6 years with the first film due in 2015. The standalone films will come during that same period releasing between 2015 and 2021. I can’t wait for these new movies to come to theaters.

[via BBC]

The movie version of the science fiction classic Ender’s Game has been revealed this week as coming from none other than James Horner, known most recently for his work on the James Cameron film Avatar. This choice will have Horner joining titans such as Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley on the cast and crew while the film gets another dash of top-tier assurance from the film gods. Horner is also known for his soundtrack work on Aliens, Braveheart, and Field of Dreams, just to name a few.

This movie will follow the plot of the original Ender’s Game full novel in a loose sort of way, with those familiar with the project letting it be known that “none” of the scenes will be exactly spot-on with their original source material. It’s more of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sort of situation, it would seem, with each different iteration of the Ender’s Game universe being its own unique vision.

The news about James Horner comes from the publication Film Music Reporter where they’ve also made clear that Horner has completed work (very recently) on his score for the upcoming Romeo & Juliet film by Carlo Carlei. Ender’s Game is set to be an entirely different beast with young children going to take part in war games that will ultimately decide the fate of the human race. Romeo & Juliet is a bit more romantic than all of that.

Horner will likely push the film to a place somewhere in-between Avatar and Aliens with a dash of humanity as this tale makes the case for a genius boy (Ender, played here by Asa Butterfield), being molded into a beast of a wartime leader. The music will more than likely be wholly instrumental as this movie takes place both in space and in the future, mainly inside a training facility where pop music dare not tread.

Stay tuned to SlashGear’s Entertainment tag portal for more information on Ender’s Game as it becomes available through the next few months – we’re looking at a November 1st 2013 release date and the timing seems to be holding fast!

Ender’s Game score set for Avatar greatness is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.