Rumor: Episode VII Characters Based On EU, Arndt Writing VIII, & More

By: Benjamin Hart

StarWars7News.com has returned with another load of Episode VII rumors. Can these be trusted? Well, let's find out! Following up on their previous report about Mara Jade possibly appearing in both Episode VII and Star Wars Rebels, they claim, via an insider named "JediDigger", that Lucasfilm is basing characters in the Sequel trilogy on their counterparts in the Expanded Universe:

"So according to JediDigger:

Right now they're looking at using the basic descriptions of EU characters with different names. Luke's wife will follow the same template as Shira Brie/Mara Jade. Red hair, Green eyes, attitude etc. The same with the kids of the big three. Fans should not expect to see Kyle Katarn, Corran Horn or Cilghal, but characters who are very much like them. This can not be made clearer, the post ROTJ EU launched in 91 is dead. No story from Outbound flight forward counts. That's why Bob Iger said they would use the 17,000 character for inspiration for new characters... Most of the new characters in the new continuity are based on characters from the old continuity."

So, for example; Han & Leia could have three children that are very similar to Jacen, Jaina and Anakin, but they will have brand new names. This would give writers the creative freedom to introduce characters that are fresh and new while still maintaining characteristics that fans would recognize.

Their source also confirms the rumors that Michael Arndt left due to a change in the story. But they also claim that Arndt is still working for Lucasfilm:

"Also according to JediDigger Arndt was not fired as some other reports suggested. He's moved on to Episode 8. This really could explain why an Oscar winning writer such as Arndt has not been already snatched up by other movie producers and studios. He still doesn't have a next project. And really with so many upcoming Star Wars projects (sequel trilogy, spin-offs, TV series and so on) Disney really wouldn't want to miss on such a great writer as Arndt."

But here's where these rumors lose credibility. At the end of the article, they claim that J.J Abrams has been consulting author Timothy Zahn:

At some point J.J. Abrams had a meeting with the Thrawn trilogy writer Timothy Zahn. Actually there might have been more than one meeting and it was probably just for consultation. 

That would be really interesting... If it were true. It turns out that Timothy Zahn himself commented on Club Jade's report:

"I usually don’t get involved with this stuff, but since my name came up I thought it might be useful for me to state for the record that Abrams and I have *not* met. For whatever that’s worth."


So there you have it. While the other rumors still stand undenied, I think we can take all this into account and file JediDigger's claims under "questionable". It just goes to show, when we say take a rumor with a grain of salt, we're not kidding!

If your tired of all the rumor confusion and want to know what's true and what's not, please visit our Episode VII: Facts & Rumors page, where you'll find a detailed breakdown of all the confirmations and rumors!