Despite JJ Abrams' death like grip on everything and anything Episode VII, it looks like things are starting to leak out. First there was the good folks at IndieRevolver who released an image of what the Episode VII Stormtrooper helmets will look like. Here is what those will look like:
Now it has been confirmed on multiple sites and by multiple sources that what you see above is indeed the helmets to be worn by the Stormtroopers in Episode VII. As far as I am concerned, I think they are just great. They a nice upgrade on the helmets seen in the OT. I definitely approve and cannot wait to see them in action come December.
However, the reveal of these helmets does confirm that the Empire will still be in existence, in some form, in Episode VII. This raises interesting questions about a great deal of things, all related to the ending of ROTJ. It would seem that killing the Emperor and Vader was not enough to topple the Empire. I am curious how it continued and in what form. And just what roles the Inquisitors, who will be introduced in the Star Wars: Rebels cartoon, will play in the continued presence of the Empire.
The next thing leaked several days later and was again from IndieRevolver. It was some concept art of everyone's favorite scoundrel, Han Solo. Here are those for your viewing pleasure:
The first one definitely looks like a natural upgrade and update on Han's costume from the OT. I like it quite and bit and love that it is not a dramatic departure from what we have seen Han in previously. The second one looks alot like the look Han had in Empire when he was on Hoth. However if you look closely it appears there are imperial bars on his chest. Which raises the question as to who Han is aligned with in Episode VII.
To that end, Devin over at Badassdigest ran a story that claimed that Han and Chewie were not in possession of the Falcon at the beginning of Episode VII and further that it is Oscar Issacs' character who is. Han and Chewie, on the other hand, are commanding a super star destroyer. Yes you read that right. Han is in charge of an imperial ship. If true, it certainly helps explain the reason Han has imperial bars on his jacket in the above concept art. However, it also raises so many more questions regarding how and why Han is working with the Empire.
I would normally discount information like this as it really doesn't jive with what we know about Han as a character and where we left him at the end of ROTJ. However, the above photo clearly shows imperial bars on his jacket. So I am not so quick to discount this information from Devin just yet. However, I just don't know why Han would be working with the Empire and what caused him to change sides. I mean it does provide him with a nice redemptive arc in Episode VII if he were to start out working with the Empire and then help Daisy Ridley's character find Luke and then help them destroy the super weapon. But the thing with that is we already have a character who is going to start out working for the Empire and change sides, and that is the character played by John Boyega. So it would seem alittle redundant to have two characters change sides in this one film. But it is not altogether beyond the realm of possibility.
The last bit of info again comes from Devin at Badassdigest and has to do with the below photo.
Devin writes that the above mechanical hand holding the note belongs to the main villain of Episode VII.
Here is what he had to say about it:
There's a main Inquistor villain (I don't know his name) Want to know what he looks like?
He wears a black robe. His eyes are deep red. And half of his face is metal. He's a cyborg. That was his hand in the picture JJ Abrams shared with the note about A Force For Change.
So it would seem, according to Devin's sources, that the main villain of Episode VII is an Inquistor and he is half human/half machine. This sounds interesting and certainly fits into the mold of the previous two trilogies by having a villain who is a mix of man and machine. I would be very interested to see a piece of concept art or an actual picture of this villain as the description seems very cool.
Now some of this information could be totally false (here's looking at you Han commanding an imperial ship) and we will certainly find that out for sure soon enough. I will say that we do now know for sure the Empire is still in existence 30 years after the events of ROTJ. We know Han will be wearing outfits most likely similar to what he was seen in the previous trilogy. And we know someone in the film will have a mechanical hand. The rest is up for conjecture and debate of course.
For me, this recent release of news from Episode VII is kind of exciting. But having learned my lesson with the prequel trilogy, I am still approaching this new film with cautious optimism. Let's hope more information comes out about the film in the weeks ahead. This is fun!
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