If the upcoming film is set in a not-to-distant, post-Empire era, as all signs currently indicate, logic dictates that there are going to be a few hundred thousand unemployed ex-Stormtroopers wandering around the galaxy. They can't ALL be dead. And they'll be a variety of different ages.
I really hope the film addresses this and has cast accordingly. How cool would to see a bunch of George Henares or Nathaniel Lees as badass older Stormtroopers-turned-bounty hunters or space pirates or something? Not to mention a bunch of Temuera Morrisons.
The prequels also implied that Boba Fett grows up to be Tem, so good sense dictates he play that role too, should the character turn up. But the filmmakers could easily make Boba Fett pretty much anyone they want at this point, and simply explain that the mask changed hands along the way. Still, I'd love to see Tem in the role. This person agrees.
Boba Fett himself is of course getting his own spin-off movie, and a variety of casting options exist for that story too - in my fantasy we'll see Tem bookend and narrate (from the comfort of the Sarlacc Pit) a story about a young Boba's adventures in the galaxy, and he's played by a young Maori or Pacific Island actor. There's a huge wealth of potential options here.
J.J. Abrams' well-enforced proclivity for secrecy means this is all mere speculation of course, so I reached out to Morrison's US agent to formally enquire as to whether or not he was involved in the new film in any capacity.
This was the response I received: "At the moment he is not involved."
2. Force power action
Jedi are basically telekinetic space ninjas, and the films have never fully exploited this in terms of action set-pieces. I'm not complaining about the lightsaber battles, but they're mostly relatively traditional sword fights when you consider what the participants are actually capable of - i.e. moving objects with their mind; flying, more or less.
There have been some great moments along these lines (Yoda vs. Dooku probably being the best), but I'd love to see the Jedi use their powers in a more creative manner. The modern superhero movie landscape demands it. The Star Wars: Clone Wars CGI-animated TV show has done some cool stuff in this arena, as has Blur Studios with their stunning video game cinematics. It's time for live action Star Wars to deliver on this promise.
3. Good Luke Skywalker
Of all the (non-movie) Star Wars spin-offs set after Return of the Jedi, one of the most popular was Dark Empire, a 1995 comic book which centred on the idea of Luke succumbing to the temptation of the dark side. It was a dramatic and popular idea that has inevitably been (speculatively) linked to the new film. It's hard not to imagine the filmmakers having at least considered this notion.
I really hope they don't go down this route though. I think it would be too traumatic for everyone who lived through the prequels. It's the kind of character shift I would usually be all for, but I just don't think the world can handle an evil Luke Skywalker right now.
4. Oscar Isaac wielding a lightsaber
When the principle cast for Star Wars: Episode VII was announced recently , the name that generated the most excitement in me was Oscar Isaac, the chameleon-like (he's basically the Guatemalan Cliff Curtis!) star of Inside Llewyn Davis, Drive and Sucker Punch. All the actors involved are great, but Isaac seems particularly well-suited to this world. His work in the underrated Agora (2009) alone makes a very strong argument for his participation in a Star Wars film. My demand is this: Please let his character be a Jedi. His quiet intensity seems really well suited to such a character.
There's an element of kismet to his casting (sort of, not really); not only did Isaac play Joseph opposite Keisha Castle-Hughes' (the Queen of Naboo in Revenge of the Sith) Mary in 2006's The Nativity Story, his Guatemalan lineage could make for a crowd-pleasing Shortland St in-joke, should Temuera Morrison become involved. Presuming J.J. Abrams is a fan of early Shorty, which he surely is.
5. Cliff Curtis
Like Isaac (and Alec Guinness for that matter), Maori actor Cliff Curtis is a master of anonymously slipping into any role. He's got exactly the kind of grounded yet authoritative presence I'd like to see in the new Star Wars film. If it's too late to get him in that one, then have him and Tem square off in the Boba Fett movie. That would be choice.
* What are your demands of the new Star Wars film? Comment below!
