Star Wars Episode II

11 February, 2000

Numerous sites reported yesterday on a Variety article that said that Lucas was going to make an effort to deflect further criticism about racial stereotypes in the next Star Wars movie by adding threee characters of specific minorities. Today LucasFilm shot down the report as completely false. Lynne Hale, Lucasfilm's director of communications, responded on the official website.

"George is still working on the script for Episode II so at the moment Robin Gurland is only casting for Anakin. Thus far, Robin has seen 700 tapes and submissions and met with 300 candidates. She does not have a short list yet and is still exploring many possibilities. I know there have been many reports of actors saying that they have met with George Lucas and have done readings for him, or are the number one choice for Anakin. These are false rumors (but fun to read!).

"Regarding other characters, Robin will not begin to cast other parts until she gets a character breakdown from George. The Variety article was completely false in reporting that we have roles for "a Native American character with a forceful, spiritual nature and an Asian character, possibly trained in martial arts." In addition to the fact that we won't have character descriptions until the script is finished, the descriptions reported would never be appropriate for a Star Wars film."

5 February, 2000

We've mentioned the name Jeff Garner twice now. He fits the description of Anakin from Lucas. He's about the right age, has great martial arts skills, and is unknown. Furthermore he definitely looks the part. Apparently he was discovered by Ray Park at a martial arts competition in Indiana where Garner managed to take Park down once in the process of getting beat. Park was impressed and got the guy's information which lead to a call from LucasFilm. Harry at Ain't It Cool News says he is about 65% certain that this is the guy. His theory is that the Leo rumors are just a smokescreen to keep attention off of Garner.

13 January, 2000

Rumors are starting to fly wildly about casting for the role of Anakin Skywalker. This has been going on for months of course. I'm sure everyone has heard rumors that Leonardo Dicaprio, Joshua Jackson, or Jonathon Jackson had all grabbed the coveted role. However, Lucas has repeatedly stated that Anakin will almost certainly be played by an unknown. Today two new names have been put forth that match that description. From Ain't It Cool News comes the rumor that Jeff Garner is a serious candidate. Garner is a complete unknown who has only done some spot acting. He's from the midwest somewhere, possibly Iowa and has serious martial arts skills. Gossip columnist Liz Smith has put forth the other name, Charlie Hunnam. Hunnam is a bit more well known, having appeared in the movie Queer as Folk. He is apparently bears a striking resemblance to Jake Lloyd.

This is just rumor. Do not take this as fact. Either one could be accurate but at this point it's impossible to say for sure. Theoretically, Lucas is still working on the script.

10 November, 1999

That horrible sound you just heard was all the Jar Jar Binks haters suddenly screaming all at once. Yes that's right, everyone's favorite Gungan is going to be back in Star Wars Episode II. Lucasfilm made this announcement on the official Star Wars website:

While George Lucas is still working on the script for the next film, and the start of general casting is still several months away, several actors are already clearing their schedules to be available for filming in Australia and on location next summer. Among them, we’re happy to confirm, is Ahmed Best as Jar Jar Binks, who will be rejoining Ewan McGregor (playing Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Natalie Portman (as Queen Amidala) for Star Wars: Episode II."

Lucas has previously stated that Episode II will basically be a love story. That means Anakin will probably travel to Naboo to meet Amidala. Which of course provides the opportunity for Jar Jar to appear. Don't get too upset yet, it might be only a small role this time.

24 September, 1999

Location scouting has begun for Episode II. Producer Rick McCallum is in Italy checking out a Franciscan convent near Assisi as a possible Sith temple. He has also been checking out Mt Vesuvius. Could this be for the long rumored battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan? The Caserta Royal Palace that was used in Episode I will be used again. This time shots could include the palace's gardens.

George Lucas held a press conference in France recently. Some interesting details came out of it. The script should be done by the end of the year. Casting will not start until the script is finished. Shooting should begin in June. Yoda will appear in Episodes II & III and will be seen fighting for the first time. We will now see why he is the Master. Boba Fett will also appear in the next two movies (not new, just a confirmation). Jar Jar Binks will also be back for the next two. Lucas jokingly mentioned that the next film would be entitled The Further Adventures of Jar Jar Binks. He did express some concerns about Jar Jar's accent and will make some effort to avoid the problem in the next couple films.

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