Kathleen Kennedy Gives New STAR WARS: EPISODE VII Details

It might not be the casting information we were all hoping for, but this update from Lucasfilm head, Kathleen Kennedy is going to make a lot of fans feel better about the new Star Wars film.

The big news at Star Wars Celebration, yesterday, was the announcement that John Williams will be scoring the new film. Today, Lucasfilm head, Kathleen Kennedy took the stage and gave a couple of new tidbits about the movie.

– She has been meeting with JJ Abrams on a nearly daily basis (This pretty much squashes the rumors that he’ll be leaving the film.)

– She told the audience that, right now, the main focus is on the characters. There is plenty of work going on with the FX, but they are working hard to develop complex stories and and characters for the new films.

– In regards to the special effects of the film, she told fans probably some of the best news that we’ve heard so far about Star Wars: Episode VII: “It’s a conversation we’re having all the time in the development of ‘Episode VII.’ Looking at all the Star Wars movies and getting a feel for what even some of the early films did, combining real locations and special effects – that’s something we’re looking very seriously at. So we’re going to find some very cool locations that we’re going to use in support of ‘Episode VII.’ And I think we’re probably going to end up using every single tool in the toolbox to create the look of these movies.”

When Warwick Davis asked her exactly what was in her toolbox, she told him: “It’s using model makers; it’s using real droids; it’s taking advantage of artwork that you actually can touch and feel. And we want to do that in combination with CG effects. We figure that’s what will make it real.”

Thankfully, it looks like George Lucas’ dream of completely cgi backgrounds and props is dead… at least for now.

After the panel, Daivs and Kennedy sat down for a brief chat, check it out below.