Debunking the Jedi Hunters in Star Wars: Episode VII
We’ve been spending the past few days dissecting and deconstructing the so-called Jedi Hunters, who are supposedly the major villains not only of Star Wars: Episode VII, but also of Episodes VIII and IX, as well.
However, according to Eric Geller, the social media director of TheForce.net (as well as the co-host of the site’s ForceCast and a partner of mine in an upcoming, unannounced Star Wars project), the reports from Making Star Wars are completely bogus.
“Nothing in the report is accurate”
“After seeing the [Jedi Hunter] report continue to inspire heated debate into its second day of existence,” Geller writes, he felt obliged to publicly debunk it. “The report on MakingStarWars.net about the villains of Episode VII is completely wrong.”
Beyond saying that the Sith-resurrecting baddy story is “100% inaccurate,” Geller does admit that certain aspects of the rumor are, indeed, true, such as cast members Lupita Nyong’o, David Oyelowo, and Adam Driver (who has been heavily rumored to be a “Sith-like” antagonist since day one) playing the film’s villains.
The end of the road?
Does this leave us wholly back at square one? In a word: no. There is still much regarding stormtroopers and other anti-Jedi forces swirling about in the blogosphere, and for good reason – as has been mentioned several times already, without the forces of the Dark Lords of the Sith present, there is no conceivable way that the Star Wars saga can continue on in film (unlike, say, in a novel, where more introspective, less-action-oriented character work can easily be accomplished).
More from Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
- How many Oscars has Star Wars won?
- Why was the New Republic fleet decommissioned?
- The 5 best things in the Disney era of Star Wars
- Actors who almost played Kylo Ren in Star Wars
- Looking back at 10 years of Star Wars: The films
Furthermore, even if the totality of the report were erroneous, it still has proven to be useful by widening the narrative scope of what just may be possible for screenwriters J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan in a post-Episode VI: Return of the Jedi world – there is much potential surrounding the premise of Jedi Hunters, even if there may be even more difficulty in actually pulling the throughline off.
That, however, is an analysis for a (near) future day.
The still-untitled Star Wars: Episode VII hits theaters on December 18, 2015. It stars returning cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker and newcomers John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Max von Sydow, Adam Driver, and Andy Serkis.