Speculation Will Chewbacca be in Episode VII ?

You're talking like this is some sort of "reality". It is not. It is fiction. People can believe or disbelieve whatever the hell they want and no "canon system" whatsoever will ever change that. Thoughts are free after all.

As for the likelihood of Chewie appearing in the ST I have only one thing to say:

I really hope Chewie's in it. I'm not really concerned with what some book may have said about his life or death and neither is Abrams/Arndt/Disney or even George Lucas for that matter. It's been established that Episode VII isn't an EU story.

Thank you, I've been trying to say this for weeks now and no one seems to get it.

Of course chewie will be in it. This shouldn't even be a question. Even if the big three didn't return (but we know they will) chewie will still be in it one way or another, same as he was in rots

They'll probably do what Marvel does. Make changes for the films and then don't do anything to the EU. Just move on and don't look back. Let the EU and movies exist seperatly *kinda like alternate universes*. They'll have Chewie and just pretend that the EU doesn't exist.

Watching this argument kind of reminds me of watching gay marriage arguments back in 2005 and 06. I would have this bemused expression on my face... like.... what is this pointless argument? You guys realize that it's inevitable right? Clearly it's going to happen some point in the future. You've just got your fingers in your ears saying nah nah nah. Well now it's 6 years later and we're pretty much halfway there (in public perception, states legalizing, republicans starting to come around, etc).

We all know in our hearts what's going to happen here:

Chewie is going to be in the movie, alive, with no reference to any death in the books. This is going to happen.

They could also label the books and comics that don't fit with the ST as "holonovels" as described in the Shadows of Mindor. Essentially in universe fiction about the characters. That way these stories stay as part of Star Wars, although not as historicallyaccurate.

Real world examples would be movies such as Patton, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, movies based on real people and real events but not 100% historically accurate.

I'm not one for dragging details of the EU into the ST, I think the Vong and Ysalimir should be ignored bar all but the briefest of dialogue references, and I don't want to see EU stories retold on the big screen.

That said though, If the ST deliberately writes off huge chunks of the EU, changing things like the names, age and sex of Vader's grandchildren and ignoring the deaths of Chewie, Mara Jade, Anakin Solo and Jacen/Caedus, then personally, from that point on, I will only consider pre-Disney Star Wars to be relevant.

I said the same when Disney took over Marvel, that if they played around too much then only pre-Disney Marvel would count for me, but in that instance they've handled the whole franchise with total respect in all media.

Let's hope they are clever enough to not alienate fans that have shown a commitment to the franchise (sometimes in spite of their feelings on the PT) because after all, It is appreciation for the OT that makes Lucasfilm worth the $4billion, and that appreciation is often more reflected in how fans of the OT see the EU than how they see the PT.

The PT divided fandom enough, If the EU is over-written in the ST then I foresee a break-off of disgruntled EU fans.

So Chewie ... DEAD!

What about the commitment to the general audience? You think people who go in the cinema hoping to see their beloved childhood heroes again will be happy if one of them turns out to be dead? Off-screen dead? People are going to be disappointed if that happens. Seriously, the resulting shitstorm would probably reach the upper stratosphere.
The Fanrage of some hardcore EU-Fans is probably unimportant in comparison. Someone is always going to be pissed off no matter what.

The characters of Luke. Leia and Han are going to be 45-50 years older than when we last saw them.

Do you really think the audience incapable of comprehending that maybe a few things have happened in that time, that they have not had the easiest time andthey have lost friends and family?

Come on, if we're going to revisit the characters from the OT, let's pay them the respect of allowing them the depth provided by that emotional baggage rather than expecting them to be simply older looking versions of themselves.

I'm not talking about intertwining the plot withthe EU to any great degree.
I just don't want to see a splintered timeline either.

The timing's right for the New Republic era to sit between Episodes VI and VII and for Episodes VII-IX and X-XII to fit in the 35-40 year gap that exists between the upcoming SOTJ novels and the births of Nat and Kol Skywalker in the 80s ABY

Episodes I-VI cover a period of 36 years and half of that is the 18-19 year gap between ROTS and ANH.
So it's entirely feasible to fit another 6 if not more films into the mid 1st century ABY without having to re-write the space between VI and VII.

In consideration of that, I would suggest that those who insist the EU must be over-written and those who insist it must be heavily referenced are all being equally selfish in respect of their own personal preferences.

Anyway, that's more a topic for the EU thread.

However...

Chewbacca? ..... He DEAD!

If there's an important death, show it on-screen and not off-screen.

That way, the audience can experience the loss and grief and anger the protagonists feel immediately after their friends death. It leads to emotional connection = good thing. The audience would better understand where the emotional baggage comes from, what is going on in the heads of the protagonists, how they struggle.

I don't see a good storytelling reason to do such a thing off-screen when doing it on-screen is much more effective. And lets face it, storytelling reasons are more important than pleasing some fragment of the fanbase.

So yes, I hope in the 30 years after ROTJ the protagonists lived in peace. The events in the movies should be the most important events of their lives.

- Shadows of Mindor.

My favorite line in the whole book!

Well in that case we should have seen Anakin slaughtering younglings on-screen because those deaths and their part in Anakin's fall to the dark side are a far more important part of the saga as a whole than losing Chewbacca.

Don't you think Chewie not being in the film would be enough to help an audience familiar with him to empathise with Han losing his best friend?
And wouldn't his initial presence followed by an on-screen death not work as well for a younger audience that don't have the same affinity with the character?

Yes they are, and without a good enough story telling reason other than the fact you obviously want the EU over-written without being 100% certain what with, you just want it gone, then you are seeking to please "some fragment of the fanbase", namely yourself, whereas what I am suggesting is an approach that respects the tastes of all sides of fandom and doesn't seek to agitate one "fragment" on behalf of another

More like 40 years and, erm ...... good luck with that

If Chewie will be in Ep.7, it means they will publish new Books/Comics/Toys/Video Games contradicts with EU. So basically they will say;

"Hey! Forget what you read,they were not real, we TOOK your money and we FOOLED you! But, hey look, there are new Books/Comics/Toys/Video Games, all are Canon now! Don't worry, we won't change Continuity again. Please believe us and buy new Books/Comics/Toys/Video Games."

Yeah, yeah, i will buy Books/Comics/Toys/Video Games for sure. Bring Chewie from Dead, no problem!

Isn't that what they did when they filmed the PT? The return of the jedi novel had Vader & Palpatine with no clue who yoda was.

I'll be happy either way to be honest.

If his deceased status remains, along with that of Mara, Anakin and Jacen then the new trilogy becomes an extension of the existing saga.

If not, I am relieved of the burden of incorporating these new stories into what I know and can draw a line between pre- and post-Disney Star Wars and go about my business.

One thing I won't do is stick around to complain about it, I'll just write the new films off as "the alternate universe" and pay them no mind.

We were shown in the hologramm. GL didn't show it more closely because of rating reasons. Those are important too, I never said they weren't.
Anyway, there were many other scenes were it was made abundantly clear that Anakin had gone over the edge (like the choking scene). Therefore the youngling slaughter was somewhat redundant.

I think an off-screen death wouldn't have the same emotional and dramatic impact as would have an on-screen death. The reason for this is show, don't tell.
If you are interested: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShowDontTell

Hm, I'm not sure what you are saying here.

What is a good enough storytelling reason in your eyes? Isn't any storytelling reason already "good enough"?

I don't think it is even possible to respect the tastes of all sides of fandom. Disney needs to think about the general audience too, all kinds of different target groups, etc.

Btw. I am willing to compromise. Put Jade in? Okay, as long as she is well written, even if I don't like her.

Maybe 30, maybe 40. We don't know yet.

So you envision Hamill, Fisher and Ford at 63, 59 and 72 (their approximate ages by the time of VII's filming) respectively playing their characters aged 48, 48 and 59?

Oh, nice catch!

Been an age since I read ROTJ, but you're right...

Oh dear, now the whole 6 (soon to be 9) saga arc is positively ruined!!!!

Sorry to ruin the saga for you.

Considering how old Guinness and Shaw were, no, not at all, especially considering the benefits Make-up and CGI can offer.

Maybe they won't even give us an exact amount of time. Star Wars doesn't exactly use dates. That stuff always comes from outside sources. I highly doubt the movie will actually speak on the matter at all.

I don't quite understand that response for the following reasons...

Obi-Wan Kenobi was only 5 years older than his character at the time of filming ANH, not 15 so that point would support my argument for 40 years after ROTJ, not your argument for 30 years after.
You then follow consideration of that with "...no, not at all..." which, with proper reading of my comment, implies that you DON'T believe that Episode VII will feature the big three at the ages they will be in 30ABY.
Finally you ask me to consider the benefits of make-up and cgi which WOULD be an argument FOR the actors being able to play younger characters but the sentence initially started out saying the opposite of this.

So I'm completely baffled by what you mean here to be honest.

It also had Owen as Ben's brother and mother Skywalker surviving into Leia's toddler years.

Let's not forget the original Star Wars novel that said there were multiple Dark Lords of the Sith.

While we're at it, it even contradicted dialogue such as Yoda training Obi-Wan, Anakin as a great starfighter pilot when Ben 1st met him, etc.

Very true, hell, the only flick that indicates how much time has passed between films is AOTC where Anakin sez "It's been ten year since I've seen her, Master". Barring a direct reference to whenever the ST takes place (opening crawl, offhanded line of dialogue that it's been X-amount of years since the Death Star was blown up) I'm sure the ST will be slotted into the official timeline where it most fits at the end of post ROTJ EU / pre Legacy stuff. And if there is a direct reference, the timeline will simply shift.