You, know every time I hear about Star Wars Episode VII, I always have mixed feeling about it. On one side, I feel that it shouldn't happen. The trilogy was the story of Anakin Skywalker and his story is over for obvious reasons.
One the other hand, I'm kind of excited to see what's gonna happen. Especially because every thing circulating on the internet is mostly rumors. Like the most recent one I heard:
J.J. Abrams is pulling writers from Star Trek to write the film. He is also asking Josh Holloway to play a young Han solo. This is actually something I'm kinda against. Not the writers thing. I have mixed feelings about that at most. I don't know what the new Star Wars is going to be about, but I don't want it to be a continuation of those characters.
After tossing around several theories and ideas (Kyle Katarn, Garen Malek/ Starkiller), I came up with what I want to see in the next installment in the Star Wars saga.
Conflict/Setting: Each trilogy in the saga was set in a different conflict. The prequels were set in the Clone Wars, and the originals were set in the Galactic Civil War. I don’t know if Episode VII starts another trilogy or is a standalone movie. But I would set it during the Second Imperial Civil War from the Expanded Universe.
During the Fel Empire (The ruling order in this time), the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Krayt and his One Sith Order executed a coup, and exiled the emperor Roan Fel, fragmenting the Fel Empire into two factions, those loyal to Fel and those loyal to the Dark Lord of the Sith.
Characters and Cast: I found that this period in time has some of the most interesting characters. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these character, I have included descriptions along with reasons why I cast them.
Cade Skywalker: Cade is a direct descendant of both Anakin and Luke Skywalker (in fact Luke is Cade’s great grandfather). Who is the son of Kol Skywalker (who was the son Ben Skywalker who was the son of Luke), and the nephew of Nat Skywalker. When he was younger, he was trained by his father’s former pupil Wolf Sazen. During his childhood, Cade also became close to fellow padawan Azlyn Rae.
At the start of the Second Imperial Civil War, Cade left the Jedi Order when he watched his father murdered on the planet Ossus. Cade swore revenge and became a pirate and a bounty hunter. Cade and his unusual prowess with the Force was eventually discovered by Darth Krayt, who did what he could to obtain him. Cade was tempted by the Dark Side but managed to escape Krayt. Eventually Cade led the mission that led to the Sith Lord’s demise.
Cade is one of my favorite Skywalkers because he’s such a versatile character. Unlike Luke, who stayed in the light or Anakin who fell to the dark, Cade never went to either extreme. In fact, he remains pretty much gray.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: There was a rumor circulating around the internet (and this site) that Meyers was cast in a yet unannounced role. So when I heard that, I asked myself “what role could Meyers best play?” And Cade was the one that came to mind. So really, this cast is based around one rumor.
Other than that, Rhys Meyers is a hugely underrated actor who is great at roles like this.
Kol Skywalker: Kol is Cade’s father and Nat’s brother.. He trained Cade’s master, Wolf Sazen and one of Cade’s best friends, Shado Vao. Eventually, Kol is killed by the One Sith Order on the planet Ossus. An event witnessed by his son.
Given that Kol is killed before the events of the movie, he would appear in flashbacks and as a force ghost to Cade.
Mark Valley: I first saw Valley in the newest season of
Body of Proof. He has the whole tough guy vibe going for him. However, his credits show him to be a very versatile actor. I think he has reached the point in his career where he could play a mentor with amazing skill.
Gunn Yage: Gunn is Cade’s maternal half-sister (his mother’s daughter) and an imperial pilot. It wasn’t until the events of the Second Imperial Civil War, that she encounters and learns of her familial ties to Cade.
Emmy Rossum: At first I was gonna say that Emmy Rossum would be great as an action star. But I forgot she already did. I keep forgetting she was Bulma in
Dragonball: Evolution (and with good reason, that movie is TERRIBLE). However, she shows her capabilities in action.
Morrigan Corde: Morrigan is mother to both Cade and Gunn. She abandoned Kol and Cade in order to continue her imperial career. When Krayt executed the coup of the Fel Empire, Morrigan manipulated the other imperial generals to accept the throne and place a figurehead on the throne, which was foiled when Krayt himself took the throne.
Corde eventually found her way back to her son in an attempt to stop Cade from falling to the Dark Side.
Kim Basinger: This choice was both very difficult to make and a little odd now that I look at it. No denying Basinger is a great actress. But, would she do it? I mean she’s still active and such, but would she do a film like this? I mean, I see her in this role better than anyone else.
However, Emma Thompson was also considered.
Nat Skywalker: Also known as
”Bantha Rawk”, Nat is the son of Ben Skywalker as well the older brother of Kol Skywalker and Cade’s uncle.
Keith Carradine: This choice just seemed to fit to me. As well as being from a family of acting legends, Carradine is an amazing actor like the rest of his family.
Cade’s Companions: Cade’s friends and companions during his days as a pirate and bounty hunter. They were also Cade’s crew on his ship, the
Mynock.
Jariah Syn: Jariah is Cade’s co-pilot on the
Mynock. He is one of Cade’s closest friends and also bears a strong hatred for the Jedi after watching a Jedi kill his father.
Shemar Moore: Moore is a very strong actor, who is known for his tough guy role in
Criminal Minds. And Syn is a very tough guy role. It just matches to me.
Deliah Blue: Deliah Blue is the
Mynock’s mechanic. She maintains a flirtatious and later sexual relationship with Cade, which eventually grew into mutual love.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Because of her status as a scream queen and some her work, Winstead is an often overlooked and underrated actress. But she has great acting abilities to go with her hot looks.
The Jedi Order: The various Jedi throughout the universe.
Wolf Sazen: Wolf is the former apprentice of Kol Skywalker and he later became the master of Kol’s son cade. Wolf believed Cade died on Ossus when Kol was killed. Sazen later reunited with Cade. Wolf believed Cade would be the one to stop Cade. He would part of a mission with Cade that would lead to Darth Krayt’s demise.
Giancarlo Esposito: A really good actor. Not much to say there. He didn’t really have any action credits, but with his acting, that doesn’t concern me.
Shado Vao: Shado was the last apprentice to Kol Skywalker before he was killed on Ossus. He is also one of Cade’s friends. After Kol was killed, Vao went into hiding, completing his training under Wolf Sazen.
Ben Barnes: I’m going to keep saying this about everyone in my cast but Barnes is a good actor. He approaches each role with such class and talent. And he is also a great action actor.
The Empire-in-Exile: After Krayt took over, Roan fell and those loyal to him became the Empire-in-Exile. A major part of the Empire-in-Exile is the Imperial Knights. The imperial knights were a group of force practitioners who rejected the dark side. An interesting point about the imperial knights is that they wield Silver lightsabers.
Azlyn Rae: Growing up and being trained as Jedi, Azlyn Rae developed a close blond with Cade Skywalker. The two met again years later when Cade was a pirate and she was an Imperial Knight. During an assassination attempt on Darth Krayt, Rae was brought to the brink of death by the Dark Lord of the Sith. With the help of his uncle’s help, Cade placed her in a life-sustaining armor. Rae lashed out violently as Cade, accusing him of saving her for selfish reasons. She left and rejoined the Imperial Knights.
Emily Blunt: I always liked Blunt as an actress. She was really good. After watching
Looper, I was more convinced of Blunt because she showed us that she can do action.
Roan Fel: Roan Fel is the current Emperor of the Fel dynasty and the Emperor-in-Exile after Krayt’s ascent to power. He is a former Imperial Knight. During the final battle of war, Fel succumbed to the will of the dark side. He was killed by his former bodyguard.
Sean Bean: Sean Bean is usually cast as a villain, but he so much more than that. With his amazing acting ability, I think Bean would be perfect to tackle this role.
Marasiah Fel: Marasiah is the daughter of Roan and an Imperial Knight like her father was.
Jaimie Alexander: I first saw her in
Thor and I thought she had potential to be great. I was already sold on her action skills. I slowly became more convinced of her acting.
Antares Draco: Antares is the current leader of the Imperial Knights and a bodyguard to Roan Fel. In the final battle of the war, it was Draco who killed Fel after he submitted to the Dark Side.
Thomas Jane: Great actor. Great action star. Nothing much to elaborate on here.
The One Sith Order: In the Expanded Universe (EU), thousands of years before the prequels, the Sith Lord Darth Bane established the Rule of Two in the Sith Code after he noticed the Sith killing themselves off: There can only be two sith lords, a master and an apprentice.
Before the Second Imperial Civil War, Darth Krayt renounced the rule of two and established the rule of one: There is only 1 true Dark Lord of the Sith and he can have many acolytes.
A’Sharad Hett/ Darth Krayt: Darth Krayt would be the main antagonist of Episode VII. He is one of my favorite Sith lords. He was born A’Sharad Hett on Tatooine. He actually lived through the Clone Wars. He was trained by Ki-Adi-Mundi. Here’s a pic for you so you know who that is:
Anyway, he survived Order 66. After learning Darth Vader was once his close friend Anakin, A’Sharad blamed himself for the destruction of the Jedi Order and became a bounty hunter. During a hunt, A’Sharad found his way to the Sith homeworld Korriban, where fell to the Dark Side and became Darth Krayt. Krayt eventually founded the One Sith Order. He was betrayed and killed by one of his advisors, only to be resurrected, before Cade killed him.
Guy Pearce: This guy is such a great actor! Watching him in
Iron Man 3 made me remember why I liked him to much in the first place. He has also shown us he would put on heavy makeup for a role (
Prometheus), which if you see the picture of A’Sharad with his helmet off is kind of a must. And he can still do action really good.
Mads Mikkelson was also considered.
Darth Nihl: Darth Nihl was originally Krayt’s military leader, but was promoted to become of Krayt’s enforcers after the previous one died. Nihl was the one that killed Kol Skywalker. It should be noted that Nihl fights with a lightsaber that has a long handle.
Scott Adkins: This is a choice I’m a little bit unsure of. I chose Adkins mostly for his action prowess, and because Nihl is just like the enforcer type character. But there is more to it than that. I haven’t seem much of him as an actor. I bet if I did, I would rest easier with this choice.
Darth Wyyrlok III: Wyyrlok is Krayt’s most trusted advisor. During the war, Wyyrlok noticed his Krayt’s body decay rapidly. Unable to find a cure, Wyyrlok killed his master and took the corpse to Korriban. Wyyrlok returned and ruled the galaxy in Krayt’s stead. When Darth Krayt was resurrected on Korriban, he led an attack against his treacherous servant and killed him.
Tom Hiddleston: Is it just more or is the role of the usurper perfect for Hiddleston. Originally, I was going to go with benedict Cumberbatch, but I liked Hiddleston more for this role. He has that very noble sort of wise air to him.
After I cast Pearce as Krayt, I also considered Mikkelson for this role as well.
Darth Talon: Alongside Darth Nihl, Darth Talon is Darth Krayt’s other enforcer. Much like Darth Maul and Darth Wyyrlok, Talon covered herself in traditional Sith tattoos. Darth Krayt often entrusted Talon with his most important missions, such as capturing Cade Skywalker. When Cade was captured, Krayt entrusted his Sith training upon Talon, and the two became very close although Talon remained unconvinced that Cade was going to become a Sith. She is fiercely loyal only to her master as shown when she helped take back control of the empire from Wyyrlok.
Jamie Chung: Besides being hot, Jamie Chung is a HUGELY UNDERATED actress. She is really good and if given the chance could pull of evil really good. She is also great as an action star.
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As always, thumbs up and REVIEWS are greatly appreciated.