In an underreported bit of news, it appears as though Rick McCallum, the producer of the Special Editions, the Prequel Trilogy, and the shepherd of the still-pending Live Action Star Wars TV series has retired from Lucasfilm. This comes from Steve Sansweet via The Forcecast. McCallum has been central to Star Wars over the last two decades and it’s going to be interesting to see how Star Wars transforms without him.
I met McCallum at Star Wars Celebration II and it was an indelible moment of my creative career. “Just keep doing it. It doesn’t matter if anyone sees it or not. Keep writing, keep filming.”
I’ll always hold a soft spot in my heart for both his contributions to Star Wars and to the advice he gave to a young Star Wars fan interested in a career in making films and telling stories.
The next bit of news is another one of those no-brainer “I want to be involved” stories. Derek Jacobi, an incredible actor who was part of some of my favorite movies (Henry V, Dead Again, The Secret of Nimh) as well as an appearance on Doctor Who that I found incredibly memorable as the professor who transforms into The Master, wants to be in Episode VII.
He told the BBC:
‘My ears pricked up when it said that Disney was buying Star Wars.
‘Oh, come in Sir Alec Guinness! Yes, on to the agent immediately.’
He claimed to be jealous of the sci-fi longevity and involvement of actors like Patrick Stewart in X-Men and Star Trek and Ian McKellan in X-Men and Tolkien’s Universe, as well as other classic British actors in various series.
I would like to see it happen, but I’d generally just like to see ANYTHING with Episode VII happen. And soon. I’m dying for real news.