A question that has always boggled me. Lets take star wars for example... What if.. (1 Viewer)

[todd stone]

What if ewan mcgregor for some ungodly reason had a tragic death in real life. What would george lucas do to replace him? Wouldnt it tottally ruin the series by having a replacement that is obviously not the same looking character etc...?
I always thought this for movies that were bound to have sequels etc...
What is all your thoughts on this?

 

[Daryl Furkalo]

IIRC, Mark Hamill was in a car accident after Star Wars and before ESB came out, so GL had to add the wompa attack at the start.
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[Inspector Hammer!]

Forget Ewin McGregor, he's young, i'm more concerned about James Earl Jones! I think it would be a safe bet to record all of Vaders lines NOW, I mean we can't take any chances right?
It's either, record his voice now, and be on the safe side, or don't a we'll be stuck with a different voice for Vader in Episode III if, god forbid, something happens to him, and we CERTAINTLY don't want that!
But, I suppose that if Vaders voice were different in EP III, the fans would be a little more flexable, I mean if the sound of Vaders voice was just a result of the vocal system inside his helmet, it's reasonable to assume that it MAY not have sounded that way when Anakin was given his first, immperfect helmet.
From what I understand, Vaders first helmet was nothing more than a resperator, and didn't look at all like the fearsome black, high tech death face we all love, that was created later as techology got better, and from what I understand, was Anakins own design, to help instill fear, and intimidation in anyone he met.
This excuse of course will not fly for Anthony Danials since it was established in EP I that C3PO sounded that way right from the get go, so it might be a safe bet to do his lines now as well.
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God bless the USA and the men and woman of our military and their families!
[Edited last by John Williamson on October 27, 2001 at 05:24 AM]

 

[Ike]

Had she have died a little later, you would have found out-The Matrix sequels were supposed to co-star Alliyah, but she died in a plane crash. I think they'll just re-cast and re-shoot, now though.

 

[Chad R]

Wouldn't the more frightening senario be if George Lucas died? I'm sure many people would say that another director could take over, but what if he hasn't told anyone how it all winds up? Or if he only told McCallum and they died in a plane crash together.
Or, less scary, john Williams passing on?
I hope none of this happens, and to cleanse my kharma, wish all of the above a long and healthy life!

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I remember when the guy from the 007 films, Q, died after the release of The World Is Not Enough. Luckily, he passed the torch on to John Cleese in the film. It's not lucky that he died though, his character rocked.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I remember when the guy from the 007 films, Q, died after the release of The World Is Not Enough. Luckily, he passed the torch on to John Cleese in the film. It's not lucky that he died though, his character rocked.

Rumor had it that he was supposed to come back in the next Bond film, however his tragic death obviously dashed those plans. It is indeed lucky they (temporarily?) wrote him out when they did.
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[DanR]

It is interesting that this was brought up.
I don't think it would be the end of the world if someone were to pass on:
They could synthesize James Earl Jones' voice, and make it sound very close to the real thing.
If someone like Portman or McGregor were to pass away, George could easily set Episode III a few years later, and recast someone who looks reasonably close to these actors, making it believable that it was the "aging" process.
If George were to pass away, I think someone like Spielberg or Coppola would step in and finish off George's "life work" (i.e. Episode III). Sure, it would be a little different, but Goerge has the outline of the stories done, and I'm sure his closest friends know what happens. Remember, Episodes 5 & 6 were not directed by Lucas anyway.
I would venture to say that many star wars fans actually wish Rick McCallum would be removed from the producer job since he has the reputation of being a "yes man", killing the collaborative creative process as a result.
Finally, and I don't want to post spiolers so I'll keep it vague, I will just relay that I have read that Lucas filmed a few "contingency scenes" (for Episode III) with a certain character in Episode II in case the actor who portrays this character were to pass on before Episode III goes before the cameras. This is an unconfirmed rumor, so treat it as such.
In the grand scheme of things, while it may sound harsh, nobody is irreplaceable. Hollywood can be quite creative, so this would probably not be that big of a deal.
Regards,
Dan

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I heard that Lucas shot scenes for Episode I, II, III, and probably even IV, V, and VI while shooting Episode II. Some scenes are just background shots that will have CG added later, but they are for the 'new' DVDs of the films. He also wanted to be able to shoot some stuff for the Episode I DVD and for Episode III so that he wouldn't have to shoot it later.
Actually, James Earl Jones doesn't come into the series until Episode IV. His voice isn't used in Episode II, and I don't think its used in Episode III. Why?
Spoiler:
At the end of Episode III, Obi-Wan and Darth Anakin battle over a volcano. Obi-Wan wins and Anakin gets thrown in. He is saved, and between Ep III and IV, he is put together with robot parts and renamed Darth Vader, explaining his appearance in Episodes IV-VI.
At least, that is what I have heard.
Didn't Lucas write books of Episodes I-VI, and possibly VII-IX? If he died, someone could just write a script for Episode III based on the book.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Man that's gonna suck if it's true, I am looking forward to seeing Anakin get transformed into Vader!
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[Jeremy Illingworth]

I thinks it is highly unlikely that anybody will die. Celebreties don't die that often and the odds are even greater that a celebrety working on an unfinished series will die. On tv you can always do like on the Sopranos. It Ewen died during the shoot Obi Wan could just go into the caves for long term meditation.
jeremy

 

[Morgan Jolley]

It Ewen died during the shoot Obi Wan could just go into the caves for long term meditation.

Actually, no. The story is all preset and all thats left to do is film it. Obi-Wan is a huge character in Episodes I-VI, so they can't just pull him out of one.
We don't see Vader as Vader until Episode IV because he is introduced as a new character in Episode IV. When we find out who he is, its a big thing and is supposed to explain a lot of questions. Of course, we already know who he is, but we really aren't supposed to know. If you didn't know anything about Star Wars and watched Episode I, II, III, IV, V, and VI in order without asking anyone about the story or anything, then you wouldn't know that Anakin is Vader.
Does Anakin ever get a name like Obi-Anakin?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

According to James Earl Jones, he asked Lucas if he could expect any work from him, and he said "When Vader shows up, will he sound like me?" and he said "He'll sound like you"
I'm guessing Vader's birth will be the last shot of Ep 3, some kind of "Yes, my master" type thing

 

[Kevin Leonard]

Usually in the world of entertainment, death does not stop something in its tracks. Look at the music industry: even though its vital members are dead, we still have gotten "new" songs by groups like The Beatles and The Doors.
I'm sure with voice manipulation, stand-ins, CGI and possibly unused shots from previous installments, you can bring a dead actor in the Star Wars trilogy back to life in a believable way. Look at Brandon Lee and The Crow.
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[Brad_W]

I wouldn't worry about Ewen McGreggor. He's young and could be replaced. I would worry more about John Williams. NO ONE could ever duplicate or create a score that is Star Wars like he does. I mean, look at the guy. He's sooooo old! And what about Frank Oz? I guess even I could pass as the voice for Yoda, but he's so great at it. At least with Ewen, Lucas could age him a bit more for the next one and then replace him.
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[Dave Barth]

For a counterargument, look at the second episode of the Sopranos third season. The actress - Nancy Marchand - who played Tony's mother died, so they had to write her out. But it was really necessary she and Tony talk before that happened, so they CGI'd her head onto a body double and used lines from earlier episodes. IT WAS TERRIBLE.
I'm sure Lucas with more money and time could do it better, but it's just creepy. I'm not for it if there's anyway not to.

 

[MikeSerrano]

I thinks it is highly unlikely that anybody will die. Celebreties don't die that often...

It must be a clause in the standard contract...

I would venture a guess that celebrities die at a rate similar to the rest of the populous.
-Mike

 

[Dean DeMass]

Spoilers ahead
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About the "birth" of Vader. According to Lucas' backstory, after Anakin goes into the volcano, Palpatine pulls him out and tells him if he gives into the Dark Side of the Force, he can be healed. Anakin then gives in and becomes Palpatine's right hand man. However, to live, he needs the suit. After that, they go on to hunt down and exterminate the Jedi. From what I understand, Lucas is going to show the extermination of the Jedi, if he does, he will need to have Vader in more shots than just the end. The fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin happens before Anakin totally gives in to the Dark Side of the Force. If Lucas' changes this, I will be bummed out.
IMHO, the end of the new trilogy should be a shot of an infant Luke and Leia with Obi-Wan and Yoda.
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End Spoilers.
-Dean-
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[Carlo_M]

Now you guys know how fans of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series felt a couple of years back when he was struck by a van.
The Dark Tower is a series of books that he has been workig on since the mid/late 70's, releasing one book every five years or so. It's not his most popular work, but it just might have the most loyal (rabid) fan base of all of his work. He has said that it will be about 7 novels long (with 4 already released). So we figured at his current pace that it was to be finished around 2010. Well the accident not only caused concern for his life (obviously) but also for this great undertaking that was barely half finished!
I think King also got the message that life is fleeting, because he has now said that he will devote the next few years to finishing the series sooner rather than later.

 

[Nick Sievers]

About the Ewan thing, just remember Ed Wood did a magnificant job at replacing Bela Lugosi in Plan 9 From Outer Space. If it can be done then, im sure its possible today.
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