UK Star Wars Fans Hired to Build R2-D2 for New Star Wars
Guess who's back!
J.J. Abrams is bringing us a new dose of Star Wars in 2015. Today it was learned that the next installment of the Star Wars franchise will feature everyone's favorite robot, R2-D2.
CNET's Crave reports that two British fans will be building the R2-D2 that will be used in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII. Lee Towesery and Oliver Steeples are both members of the R2-D2 Builders Club in the UK and were hired to work on the movie after producer Kathleen Kennedy spotted their handiwork at a fan convention.
The two told CNET that they're currently researching and designing drive options for all possible terrains.
"We have a few mocked up ideas which we hope to road test very soon."
Star Wars Episode VII is coming in December of 2015. The movie was announced after Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise from George Lucas at this time last year. In April of this year, Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn confirmed that the company plans to release new Star Wars episodes every other year starting with Episode VII in 2015.
LucasFilm, which was 100 percent owned by LucasFilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas, was sold to Disney as part of a deal worth $4.05 billion last October. Disney said at the time that it would pay roughly half of the consideration in cash and then issue approximately 40 million shares at the closing stage. Lucas said that he felt it was time for the franchise to be passed on to a new generation.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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memadmax Why disney, why?Reply
Should've sold lucasfilm to Paramount or Fox or something...
ANYTHING BUT DISNEY! -
SirTrollsALot Reply12004881 said:Why disney, why?
Should've sold lucasfilm to Paramount or Fox or something...
ANYTHING BUT DISNEY!
MONEY TALKS!!!
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lpedraja2002 @ memadmaxReply
Sell it to Fox? Are you out of your mind? At least Disney has "better" "decent" "quality" standards for most of their films. -
Pummel What's wrong with Disney? They make some awesome movies.Reply
Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron: Legacy, The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, Wall E, The Lone Ranger.
Not to mention that J.J Abrams showed us with Star Trek that he can deliver on his promise.
Oh an technically, Disney owns Marvel, and Marvel has definitely delivered awesome movies (Iron Man, Thor, Avengers, Captain America, X-Men etc.) -
geofry I think it would be cool anyway to see Stormtroopers jacking up Goofie in Disney World.Reply -
dgingeri @PummelReply
I wouldn't say JJ Abrams delivered on anything regarding Star Trek. He broke some of the most basic laws of physics in those films, such as if a ship with artificial gravity were to lose power, people wouldn't be falling toward the front of the ship, they'd be weightless. I would call those two Star Trek movies the most shameful of the bunch. Star Trek is supposed to be among the most grounded of sci-fi, with little "magic" and more science, instead JJ made it into some of the most fanciful. -
velocityg4 I don't see why everyone is so against this. If they are building an R2D2 we can take it as a hopeful sign that it will return to it's roots. Rather than the somehow more advanced super duper flying R2D2 in Episodes I-III.Reply
Hopefully they won't go nuts with the CGI like Lucas. Although looking at Star Trek and every recent big Disney movie I'm not too hopeful.
Of the major studios I am glad that it is Disney. They are one of the few that still push for story and dialogue in their films. Most studios simply rely on CGI, action and explosions with no substance. I watched Cobra recently with Sylvester Stallone and realized that even this cheesy action movie from the 80's had a better script than 90% of the CGI fests have now. They have budgets of $200 million and can't afford a decent writer? -
Spac3nerd Reply12004881 said:Why disney, why?
Should've sold lucasfilm to Paramount or Fox or something...
ANYTHING BUT DISNEY!
Disney didn't give you Jar Jar Binks.