The Internet has been abuzz with speculation about a Reuters article that supposedly included leaked information about Star Wars: Episode VII, but as it turns out, the article misstated things a bit. This Reuters piece, written by Michael McDonald, connected the hype surrounding the Mayan apocalypse to the Star Wars universe through the Mayan temples in Guatemala that were used as the Rebel base on Yavin 4. The original story included the following paragraph:
"Yavin 4 and the rebel base return to the Star Wars plot in the forthcoming Episode VII, announced in October by the Walt Disney Co, in which Skywalker comes back to the planet to build a Jedi Knight academy. However, fans said that Disney will likely film those scenes in a studio rather than return to Tikal."
This paragraph understandably caused a lot of excitement and confusion. I assumed right away that McDonald had either misunderstood the role of the Expanded Universe novels about Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy on Yavin 4 or misinterpreted what some fans told him when he asked about the Guatemalan temples. As it turns out, I was right on both counts. I reached out to McDonald by email, and here's what he had to say:
"This was a mistake. I misunderstood what fan clubs had told me and shown me in book plots and that storyline has not been announced by Disney. Perhaps I should have written something along the lines of 'Yavin 4 appears in several Star Wars book plots and while Guatemala fans said they hope film crews return to Tikal, the company has not announced plans for the new episode.'"
The article now features a correction about this part of the story. So there you have it: There's nothing to see here, certainly not Episode VII story details. Move along, move along.
Rebelscum Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Patch Posted By Philip on November 25, 2014: Thanks to everybody that ordered patches. I sent a check for $1,600.00 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation on Monday. While it's not as much as I hoped for, it's still very much appreciated. They will remain for sale in the store for anybody that still wishes to purchase them. Details after the jump.