Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Snow Planet Details.

Vader_on_Hoth_by_Livio271-300x1391

Last week we received some more details regarding the ice planet from The Force Awakens. Those with very, very good memories regarding the movie’s development cycle might remember that Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland was apparently one of the first places where footage was shot, even before official production of the movie itself began.

 

Others might recall how an old 007 agent mentioned that a set featuring “mountains and snow” would be in the movie. It’s obviously not too much of a stretch of the imagination to say that these two bits of information go hand-in-hand.

 

 

POTENTIAL SPOILERS

 

 

Second Unit

A few months ago an IMDb user also covered bits of information in this article, that has since been removed, which I’d like to bring up before I dig into our own source. (Thanks to MagnarTheGreat for the quotes.)

On the ice planet set:

 

There is a ship crashed into the ice planet set, but I couldn’t get close enough to see any detail. It wasn’t finished, but the “snow” surface was. Seems weird to think it’s not Hoth, having seen it, and knowing they’re shooting in Iceland for exteriors. It’s definitely not the same ship as the rocket-type ship on the outdoor Tatooine set. I don’t know if that one is supposed to be in use or just junk like many ships we see in Mos Eisley etc.

 

On an Imperial set:

 

Right, that Imperial set. I’m only going on what sets in the other movies have looked like. It just looks Imperial, if you know what I mean. It’s black/dark grey, chrome, with low key lighting. It didn’t have the traditional Imperial lighting vertical strip design, though. It just doesn’t look like anything else, though. It definitely looked more like a base than a ship, unless it’s something like a hangar area in a very big ship. Didn’t look like a bridge. It was about three storeys high and there was no green or blue screen anywhere, which is a good sign!

 

It wasn’t labelled, other than a sign saying “AVCO HOT SET”, AVCO being the code name for the movie.

 

The Villain

However, we now have confirmation that the snow planet is decidedly not Hoth. From our source:

I can confirm that shooting indeed took place on Iceland it was however very brief and took only a couple of days. They hired help from a local production company on Iceland.

 

This however will not be Hoth but a new planet. It will depict solitude almost exilelike situations/confinement, can’t go further as to say more than that. I know it is very brief but I can say it is really cool.

 

They were filming near Eyjafjallajökull. No actors that I’m aware of where with the production at that time and they will use another location (country) to give sense of the same place on this new planet like the ones they did on Iceland.

 

I think it will have a varied climate almost like Middle-earth is depicted in [Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings] trilogies in other words the high mountains and glaciers are just a part of this planet and the weather/conditions may look different in other places of the planet.

 

Skellig Michael

The most interesting thing about this report is that this planet will depict a “solitude almost exile-like situations/confinement” and that they will use another location (country) to give sense of the same place.

 

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear exile is of course Luke with his hermit look and the Skellig Michael Island where Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley filmed some scenes for the movie. However, I prefer the other possibility.

 

First let’s have a look at the location where our source confirmed that they were filming – Eyjafjallajökull. Beside the fact that there are very few people on Earth who can correctly pronounce that name, Eyjafjallajökull is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, that covers the caldera of a volcano. The volcano has erupted recently in 2010.

 

Volcano

Eyjafjallajokull

iceland-eyjafjallajokull

Isn’t that the perfect location for the Sith character from the movie? A desolate volcano planet sounds perfect as a setting for the movie’s villain. And the brief glimpse of Kylo Ren in the snowy setting from the trailer really adds to the speculation.

 

So what if Kylo Ren finds out that an ancient Sith is located on that snowy, volcanic planet. He tries to get there and crash lands on the surface. He continues to search this ancient Sith (presumably Andy Serkis’s character) and awakens him . . .

 

 

We would be remiss if we din’t also mention that, aside from planet Hoth, there are two other icy/snowy planets already in the Star Wars canon — Ilum and Orto Plutonia. Both Ilum and Orto Plutonia were planets featured in The Clone Wars animated series. Ilum as you may or may not know is the planet in which Jedi younglings go to hunt for crystals in order to construct their lightsabers. And Orto Plutonia is the planet in which the Talz, large, fury white aliens with multiple eyes, hail from. If either of these planets feature terrain similar to what we saw in the teaser trailer remains to be seen, but there are three possible candidates for the planet. Or maybe not. So tell us what you think in the comments section or in The Cantina.

 

+ posts

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

85 thoughts on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Snow Planet Details.

  • December 30, 2014 at 7:33 pm
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    What about Rhen Var? That’s an ice planet too.

    • December 30, 2014 at 8:43 pm
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      a snow planet that looks just like Hoth… but it’s not Hoth.
      a desert planet that looks just like Tatooine… but it’s not Tatooine.

      Good one, Lucasfilm.

      • December 30, 2014 at 11:59 pm
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        Except it doesn’t look just like Hoth, nor does desert planet look just like Tatooine.

        • December 31, 2014 at 7:55 pm
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          Actualy the desert planet does look like tatooine…because it actually IS tatooine……

          • January 3, 2015 at 3:32 am
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            Oh have you seen the film?

    • December 31, 2014 at 2:44 am
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      And Rhen Var was mentioned in Tarkin (novel)! As having a small Imperial outpost there.

  • December 30, 2014 at 7:39 pm
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    the planet is most definitely Alderaan

    • December 30, 2014 at 8:04 pm
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      Alderaan was destroyed in EP IV…

      • December 30, 2014 at 8:44 pm
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        JJ will bring it back. If he had the nerve to destroy planet Vulcan in star trek, surely he can stretch realty again and bring back Alderaan.

        • December 30, 2014 at 10:17 pm
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          That’s why we have no rumours about Leia. She has been hanging around the Alderaan system for several decades with a giant container of super glue.

          • January 4, 2015 at 7:52 pm
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            Ok.. That was a really funny comment. I love the humor. 🙂

      • December 30, 2014 at 10:03 pm
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        It got better….

      • December 31, 2014 at 3:36 pm
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        You don’t miss a thing, do you?

    • December 30, 2014 at 11:35 pm
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      No duh it got destroyed. Read my name oh smart one

      • December 31, 2014 at 5:37 pm
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        Either way man I swear it looks just like alderaan so does the scene with x wings flying over the lake. Maybe those scenes are flashbacks to before alderaan was destroyed. Or at least the kylo ren one Idk I’m just throwing theories out there haha

  • December 30, 2014 at 7:45 pm
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    Whats the name on the ice planet that Ki-Adi-Mundi was fighting on in the ROTS?

    • December 30, 2014 at 7:58 pm
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      mygeeto i think

    • December 30, 2014 at 7:59 pm
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      It was Mygetto, it was a playable “map” in Battlefront 2 i believe.

    • December 31, 2014 at 1:41 am
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      I know it’s no longer classed as canon but in the novel Darth Plagueis grew up on Mygeeto.

      • January 1, 2015 at 1:31 am
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        How is it not cannon? It still shows him die on that planet in RotS

  • December 30, 2014 at 7:46 pm
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    That volcano, and the idea of it being a sith hideaway, well, some concept art of a sith? sat in a cave surrounded by lava on a throne is on the net. and based on palpatine and vader mcquarrie painting that was never used in the OT.

  • December 30, 2014 at 8:11 pm
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    Rhen Car was like described above. But, check this out. This fits perfectly…Ziost:Ziost (pronounced /ziɒst/)[3], sometimes referred to as the “Gateway to the Empire” in the days of the Old Republic, was a world made up entirely of an ancient dark forest. However, the trees withered away and the planet became very similar, in landscape, to Korriban. Much of the planet was covered in ice. Not only was it a focal point of the dark side, but it was also the adopted homeworld and Imperial capital of the Sith species, who left their original homeworld, Korriban, as a graveyard world after the death of their leader Adas.

    Eventually it became a major Sith buffer world during the days of Vitiate’s Sith Empire before being forgotten entirely. Abrams is consumed with the past and flashbacks in every movie. Some ancient Sith is found on this world. Harry Potter, LOTR, the sagas all have an evil return from the past, to keep that connection. We will definitely see a past Sith Lord, maybe Plaguis, maybe Revan, who knows.

    • December 30, 2014 at 8:45 pm
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      ^if anything you are referring to is derived from the Expanded Universe, you might as well delete your entire comment. THE EXPANDED UNIVERSE IF BEING DISSED BY DISNEY, REMEMBER?

      • December 31, 2014 at 6:35 pm
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        no, Eaten and Integrated.
        kind of Wreck-It Ralph cy-bug style

  • December 30, 2014 at 8:12 pm
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    Not Rhen Car…Rhen Var. ..Darth Tyrannus had a base there.

    • December 30, 2014 at 9:43 pm
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      Beep beep brum brum

  • December 30, 2014 at 8:16 pm
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    So the X-Wing planet and the Kylo Ren planet could be the same one? Interesting.

  • December 30, 2014 at 8:17 pm
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    This doesn’t give us much. Got all excited for nothing.

  • December 30, 2014 at 8:38 pm
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    Could it be that McQuarrie Darth Vader palace that never made ROTJ?

  • December 30, 2014 at 8:43 pm
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    I agree that it is going to be an ancient sith lord. But I have to think that they are going to come up with a new baddie so they don’t have to worry about tying into anything. While I definitely think there will be some similarities like the shot I saw of Kilo that looked like Revan. I do think there aren’t gonna be to many ties to the old EU besides resemblances. I like this though as the new movies seem like they will be very creative,and breath new air into the old great fire that is Star Wars. I think this planet might be a new one but I do agree that if there is lava near that location that it will probably be a sith lords lair.

    • December 30, 2014 at 8:47 pm
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      I am feeling depressed. The entire Star Wars galaxy is starting to look and feel more and more like Middle Earth with each passing news leak. Next we’re going to find out that John B and Daisy Rids must travel trough the dead marshes to reach Luke’s dark lord castle.

      give me a break.

      • December 30, 2014 at 9:02 pm
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        This is the most esoteric complaint I’ve heard yet, I really don’t know what you mean? Is any film that uses Greenland-like terrain automatically an LOTR ripoff? From the looks of the trailer, I like what they’re doing with it so far. If you didn’t like the X-wing shot then you have no soul!

        • December 31, 2014 at 1:00 am
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          Star Wars did barrow from Tolkien in every movie. Tolkien’s works like Frank Baum and Frank Herbert were huge inspirational material for Star Wars. Even Roddenberry was source material for Star Wars. Every thing is a hack / rip off. I hope Star Wars barrows and steals from great stories, its what made it.
          Without Tolkien, Star Wars would have been Trek Wars. I hope C3po doesn’t say, “Oh My!” In the new movie or Judy Garland fans might get mad.

      • December 30, 2014 at 9:31 pm
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        Right, because LOTR invented mountains and snow…

        • December 31, 2014 at 1:11 am
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          I wish the ewoks drank beer in ROTJ.

          • December 31, 2014 at 5:04 am
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            Who says they didnt? They’d have to be drunk imho.

          • December 31, 2014 at 3:40 pm
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            If I were a teddy bear in space I would be a raging alcoholic.

          • December 31, 2014 at 10:41 pm
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            They didn’t, but they ate a lot of porridge!

      • December 31, 2014 at 1:16 am
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        The dead marshes of Dagobah!
        Kinda like Luke in Empire?
        But those marshes weren’t so dead, I guess that makes it okay?

      • January 1, 2015 at 2:25 am
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        lol, nonsense. The Kylo Ren sequence shown in the teaser looks NOTHING like LotR. If anything, it looks like the guy’s walking in the Haunted Forest beyond the Wall from GoT.

  • December 30, 2014 at 9:10 pm
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    I’ve heard a romour it could be endor in winter ?? Possibly kylo ren is searching for the grave of darth vadar ????

    • December 31, 2014 at 3:19 am
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      Endor…in Nuclear winter…after the Death Star 2 was destroyed.

  • December 30, 2014 at 9:32 pm
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    I have a feeling that jj will use three planets that were usd in different ot movies. So tatooine, hoth and endor fo example.or maybe just two, point being to merge two ot planets..but its also something i want to see, so its not really objective.could also be endor and yavin. I really hope endor though, maybe with deathstar debris orbiting and yes i wouldnt mind bringing some ewoks back , that would be so ingenious. But then n a mor serious mannr offcourse. I am 40 btw, and i dont hate ewoks

  • December 30, 2014 at 10:18 pm
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    As far as snow planet go its part forest. The Sith homeworld or base where Serkis resides with Ren. Morriband is not a snow planet. This could also be a different planet from where Luke is being held hostage since he can’t use his powers because activates a superweapon on the planet itself. My assumption is the Imperials led by Serkis (Ren, Christie, Gleason) are holding look him captive there.

  • December 30, 2014 at 10:29 pm
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    It just screams LOTR even if that conclusion is naive. Past films even if based on fantasy are real and influence each other. Especially gigantic names like LOTR is.
    Im like expecting Sauron somewhere on that hill and location agents are an enclosed unit that must be influenced by past choices, especially made by huge names, say LOTR. From my point of view the decision was made under that influence. Because LOTR is real and famous and at this point you stand below its unintentional influence. If theres absolutely no reference to be made, there is now.
    No big name like JJ can go unnoticed by sucess of recent names as big LOTR. I feel like JJ still lives in a shadow and

    • December 30, 2014 at 10:32 pm
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      (stupid text box)… Done nothing really great on his own name. Im sure he is prone to repeat the sucess of LOTR, recent example of epic success. So yes, you will not be ablr to remove the influence i feel by watching this location and its choice

      • December 31, 2014 at 1:23 am
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        Star Wars is like a marriage of LOTR and Star Trek. I hope there are a lot of tribbles, Orcs, and Rancors.
        Every time I see LOTR, it just screams King Arthur and Munchkinland!

        • December 31, 2014 at 10:44 pm
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          Probably more like ‘Game Of Rings Wars’.

  • December 30, 2014 at 10:52 pm
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    mygeeto had alot of minerials to make durasteel, I heard the sets had part metallic black/grey rock faces as part of the interior evil base sets

  • December 30, 2014 at 11:00 pm
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    You know what? You guys make laugh. You all try to predict what is going to happen in episode 7. I’m a huge Star Wars fan… huge! I try to find out every little scrap of information I can find about this new film but I don’t jump to conclusions. You know what… I can’t be bothered. I’m going to sit back and read all of your drivel and then when episode 7 comes out I will enjoy a brand new Star Wars film that George Lucas had very little input

    • December 31, 2014 at 1:06 am
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      In the new Bill and Ted’s Even more Excellent Adventure…there will be Time Travel, whoops!
      What was I thinking! Any way you can rent it and find out what drivel the writters came up with.

  • December 30, 2014 at 11:07 pm
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    My money is on Ilum – for the crystals. I have a decades old treatment for episode III and it was all about those crystals actually. If used correctly, they could destroy a planet. Or now, maybe in tune with the Episode 7 rumors, destroy a star system.

    • December 31, 2014 at 6:42 pm
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      I have a treatment on Ep III as well, but that ones about Anakin turning evil (in a believable way), so…
      The crystals, hmm, maybe, but that is going into serious Science-Midi-Chlorian territory, which is kind of what the entire crew’s trying to avoid, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

  • December 30, 2014 at 11:10 pm
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    In terms of script and visual speaking, i think we are not conscious enough that TFA will blow our big fan minds…

    I can’t wait

    Ups, i miss read the article again…;)

  • December 30, 2014 at 11:28 pm
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    I have my own bit of speculation:

    If Kylo Ren is indeed a Sith fanboy on the hunt for Sith artifacts, perhaps he comes across a Sith holocron that gives him the location of Andy Serkis’ “tomb” or resting place, which happens to be the planet Ilum. Knowing that Ilum is a place rich with organic kyber crystals, he perhaps thinks to himself he could kill two birds with one stone: obtain a proper kyber crystal to fix the “unstable” nature of his lightsaber, and awaken this Sith overlord from his slumber.

    • December 31, 2014 at 12:10 am
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      Or that Sith overlord has already awoken and they have a little surprise power struggle when they first meet(the shot from the teaser) and the fanboy gets put in his place as the apprentice(though he thought he was more powerful)

  • December 30, 2014 at 11:57 pm
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    Has anyone mentioned that the bad guy with the hilted light saber could be female,

    • December 31, 2014 at 3:45 pm
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      except that “kylo ren ignites HIS lightsaber” as shown on the released trading card

    • December 31, 2014 at 4:39 pm
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      It was talked about at length until the name was revealed and the trading card read “Kylo Ren ignites HIS lightsaber.”

    • December 31, 2014 at 10:51 pm
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      That was all the Gwendoline Christie fans, but from early on the rumour of Driver being a Vader type villain was strong. Still, it looks like she’ll be playing an Imperial baddie – nearly as good.

  • December 31, 2014 at 12:24 am
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    I’ve never heard anyone talking about it, and I think I’m the only one who has seen it. Outside the windows in Poe Dameron’s X-wing in the teaser trailer, there are visible mountains and it seems to suggest that it takes place in a snowy/icy environment. Am I right?

    • December 31, 2014 at 1:21 am
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      It looks like it’s from the same sequence when we see the X wings flying over the lake, I don’t see snowy mountains but who’s to say there couldn’t be snowy mountains nearby? I think it’s the same planet, probably the same one we see Driver on as well… unless if He’s on Nuclear winter Endor or something.

      • December 31, 2014 at 4:40 pm
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        Did I miss something? Is there a new teaser trailer with Adam Driver in it?!

  • December 31, 2014 at 12:28 am
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    I can confirm that Kylo Ren is actually being played by Mario Lopez. You heard it here first.

  • December 31, 2014 at 2:00 am
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    We’ve already seen a select few occasions where old EU had made it into new canon – i.e. Darth Bane, a strictly EU character, appeared in Clone Wars. (This is to say nothing of the fact that the name Coruscant, swoop bikes, and Aayla Secura all hail from the EU as well.)

    It’s possible, but not likely, that they could also rope in Rhen Var – doesn’t that place have ancient Sith temples in the EU?

    …or maybe I just want it to be Rhen Var because I named a song of mine after it.

    • December 31, 2014 at 1:40 pm
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      Darth Bane was created by Lucas, for the backstory of the sith in the Phantom Menace novel.

  • December 31, 2014 at 2:05 am
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    I realy like the first picture. The contast between the volcano and the snow and ice is brilliant. Havent seen that inn a starwars movie before.

  • December 31, 2014 at 5:12 am
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    Couple quick points. First, a planet can have more than one or two temperatures/environments. Second, I remember the official speculation about episode one. We were told that qui gon was a “Han Solo-like character.” That makes me take all rumors with a grain of salt.

  • December 31, 2014 at 11:17 am
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    Dear Pomojema,

    You postulate as follows: “He continues to search for this ancient Sith (presumably Andy Serkis’s character) and awakens him . . .”

    How could Andy Serkis be awakened by Kylo Ren and also be the voice in the trailer saying “there has been an awakening”, makes no sense to me…

    • December 31, 2014 at 10:58 pm
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      Maybe Serkis’s character is asking a hypothetical question, trying to find out if whoever he’s asking knows that it’s Serkis who has been awakened?

  • December 31, 2014 at 12:44 pm
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    1) Ice
    2) Lava
    3) Plant life
    4) Remote and exile-ish
    5) Looking for a Sith Lord

    =

    BELSAVIS

    Here is the link

    http://swtor.wikia.com/wiki/Belsavis

    Belsavis is an ancient Republic outter rim planet used as a prison for ancient criminals and Sith Lords captured by the Jedi. Kylo Ren is going there to free an ancient Sith Lord.

  • December 31, 2014 at 2:28 pm
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    I was thinking the same about pomojema’s story. And belsavis? Nice fit..although i hope jj wil never go for eu..and i am confident that the actual waking is not the awakening of a person..not a sith not a jedi. The words have you felt it..the dark and the light….it implicates something broader, whatever is awakening is infecting or embodies both sides of the force. As if the force itself takes a stance against the living..i am exited about what it will be.

  • December 31, 2014 at 2:53 pm
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    I do recall in the original Clone Wars game Rhen Var held a citadel of an ancient sith lord. Maybe wrong as its been a long time since I played that game.

  • December 31, 2014 at 5:37 pm
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    I just took a tinkle it twas hard because my prostate is the size of a cantaloupe.
    Other than that why not just wait and see what this movie is actually going to be about. JJ doesn’t let much slip and I doubt he will let enough go for us to figure out the plot

    • December 31, 2014 at 6:46 pm
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      He’ll let it go in one year.

  • December 31, 2014 at 6:50 pm
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    Why can’t it be a different part of a planet we know like Tatooine or the Ewok planet etc. Can’t a planet have a cold part and a hot part. Ie. EARTH has desert of Saudi Arabia or Egypt and the cold Arctic or Siberia

  • December 31, 2014 at 6:55 pm
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    Nothing that earth-shaking about this report, it’s really a review of stuff we already know that WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE FIGURED OUT BY NOW.
    I like the idea of a planet being all ice AND forest at the same time. And no, Ice and Trees is not LOTR.
    PS
    Mustafar = Mordor
    Hoth = Mountaintops
    Endor = Fangorn Forest
    Tattooine = Far Harad (referenced in the book)
    Death Star Throne Room = Isengard Throne Room
    Naboo = Gondor, specifically the Pellenor region

    So… Basically your pissed that Star Wars is filmed on a part of planet earth that is Equidistant from both California and New Zealand, do I have that right?

  • December 31, 2014 at 8:05 pm
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    …its friggin Yavin…geeez

  • December 31, 2014 at 8:52 pm
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    Winter on endor.

  • December 31, 2014 at 9:57 pm
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    I know it’s not canon anymore, but maybe Telos? They had the ice caps

  • January 1, 2015 at 9:06 pm
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    Guys, Disney says that EU is virtually dead to them. But yet must of what we have heard, has already been done, IN THE EU. Yes they are c g hanging names and timing, but they are not abandoning EU at all. They are doing just enough to avoid any legalities. They are creating original ideas, founded in existing SW EU. Kylo Ren/ Adam Driver WILL be discovers to be Han & Leias son. Watch. And stop hating on the EU dbags. Its childish and annoying.

  • January 1, 2015 at 9:09 pm
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    And whoever is equating anything in SW to anything in LOtR, your an idiot. Every adventure movie ever has mountains, castles, rivers. OMG.

  • January 2, 2015 at 4:26 pm
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    Yeah

  • January 5, 2015 at 2:55 am
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    There’s an interesting fictional theory floating out there, some saying Mustafar is the same ice planet over 50 years later.

    Lucas said the planet was dying. I don’t see how this can happen in such a short amount of time but we have Plagueis taking a sanctuary on Mustafar before his death in the old canon based on the novel. It doesn’t exactly sound outlandish. Mustafar also had a control station but it being a superweapon with the planet dying at the same time sounds offbase.

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