Secret Star Wars Production Shooting in Hollywood - for Star Tours

Boba Fett Star Wars Yesterday was the third day of a secret LucasFilm film shoot in West Hollywood. If you were allowed to enter the “LODESTAR” production stage, you would’ve seen Boba Fett, Admiral Ackbar, a Tusken Raider, and even some Jawas. C3PO himself Anthony Daniels will be filming later this week. So what is LucasFilm shooting? George Lucas isn’t making a another Star Wars movie (not yet anyways) or additional scenes for some super duper special edition. And No, the Star Wars live-action television series has yet to begin production. So what is it?

LucasFilm is shooting new footage for the Disney’s Star Tours ride. Sorry guys, had to do the big tease. It was too good not to…

The ride really hasn’t been updated since it opened in 1987. It’s not the total podracer reboot that was rumored a few years back, thank God. I’m hearing that its essentially the same ride but updated. It sounds to me like they might be shooting the footage in 3D, but I’m not sure.

Our source reveals that the revamp will incorporate prequel characters (like Naboo citizens and Geonosians) along with many aliens from the original trilogy (Aqualish. Bith, Rodians, etc). In the action sequence, the Star Tours vehicle is now going to be chased by Boba Fett. C3PO and R2-D2 are still the hosts, and Anthony Daniels will be recording his parts this week.

Admiral Ackbar holographically communicates with the Star Tours vehicle. Right now they’re shooting mostly green screen footage, as it is the middle part of the production timeline. I was a huge fan of this ride as a kid, but when I revisited it a few years back, it did feel dated. Not in a “Back to the Future… The Ride” way. The experience of entering the Star Wars universe was still there, it was the technology that felt dated, especially compared to some of the rides that have been opened in the last decade. If the revamp incorporates 3D as I suspect (there is a convergence tech on set) and features new action sequences (ie Boba Fett), it would add new life to the aging theme park attraction.

/Film

Ah, glad to hear the great Bubba Fett is being added to this ride. It is just what the ride needed. Less Peewee Herman, and more Bubba Fett chasing you.

R.I.P. Star Tours. I loved you dearly, you will be missed. We've found a nice spot for you in the church yard right next to the pre-Jack Sparrow ridden Pirates of the Carribean ride.

FML... I have to get there NOW.  Before it gets totally ruined.  That ride is my CHILDHOOD man.  First BTTF, now this.  Jeez, it's a wonder Lucas hasn't killed EVERYTHING star wars yet.

Pardon the caps, I'm just rather passionate about this.

bkev said:

That ride is my CHILDHOOD man. 

Dude, they're raping your childhood!

the experience of Star Tours can never be relived.  Despite the OOT being in low quality, the experience of it being seen can be reproduced.  That is the problem.

I hope lucas is not directing the footage of this secret production, or rick mcallum.

I'm not really interested because you know Boba's going to sound like Jango Fett and not the pre 2004 real boba fett voice by Paul Wingreen. 

Plus Fett was a small character in the original films and now in the current EU is almost becoming even a bigger character than Luke Skywalker.  Which is laughable.  He was one of the baddies cronies in Empire.  He was Vaders bitch.  Now hes the greatest thing since sliced bread.  All the more btter for Lucash to sell action figures.

I was a bit annoyed when he was in star wars special edition to pander to the fanboys, as he had no place there.   And i bet you he was not the real fett under the suit Jeremy Bulloch.  Just some extra.  The same probably on star tours.

Just like on Empire Strikes back special edition it was not Dave Prowse in the suit for the new footage.  Don't even get me started on how he was not in episode III and they put Hayden in the suit,lol.

Yeah, Punky Muffin lost me.

You guys have never seen the bad animated clone wars movie?

Punky Muffin is what Jabba calls stinky the hutt,lol.

skyjedi2005 said:

You guys have never seen the bad animated clone wars movie?

Punky Muffin is what Jabba calls stinky the hutt,lol.

Ah, thankyou for explaining.

Nope. Never felt the need to subject myself to the clone wars movie.

skyjedi2005 said:

I'm not really interested because you know Boba's going to sound like Jango Fett and not the pre 2004 real boba fett voice by Paul Wingreen.

Wow, I hadn't even thought of that!

This whole thing kind of sucks. My two favorite Disney Land rides when I was a kid were Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Tours. For some reason I failed to realize that nothing lasts forever, and I always kind of thought I'd someday get a chance to take my children on those rides. A few years back they decided they needed to liter the Pirates of the Caribbean ride with likenesses of Johnny Depp, and not just a cameo appearance (which would have been fine), but literally making the whole thing sort of revolve around him, including him in every single scene (if that is the right word) of the ride.

Now the old Star Tours will be completely gone too, replaced with a completely different video. Oh well. My kids never need to go to Disney Land anyway, Disney is evil.

C3PX said:

Disney is evil.

 

Amen to that.

SilverWook said:

And C3PX, they made changes to POTC long before the movies came along. Notice the women being chased by pirates are holding food now? Because it wasn't PC for them to be chasing after wenches anymore! They're after the food now! One of the other pirate's racy lament about a certain woman in red is gone too.

Adding three Jack Sparrow figures to scenes in the ride is hardly ruining it. And nobody misses the buttless pirates added in the 80's(?) in what was originally an empty spot at the end of the ride anyway.

At least these rides are still around! Some of my faves are gone forever. Journey Through Inner Space, (the first DL ride I remember going on in 1971, replaced by Star Tours) and the People Mover that once passed over the ST area, where a Stormtrooper took aim at you from the shadows. They put in a freaking pizza joint where the Moon/Mars rocket ride once was. And don't get me started on Captain Eo! :P

At least they brought the subs back, albeit with a Finding Nemo theme.

I know all about the previous changes, but changing the pirate dialogue and making the winches carry food were pretty subtle. There were many more changes than that even. It has changed a lot over the years. Like I said, it isn't like Jack is in just one scene, he is all over the place in his bright red bandana. You even hear him talk. He has now become the focal point of the whole ride. The ride was big enouhgh before to spawn a movie, why do they feel the need to recon it with movie characters to increase its popularity? 

I remember the people mover and the Stormtrooper in the shadows. Wow, I remember hearing they shut down the sub, didn't know they brought it back with the Nemo theme. The days of Disneyland having rides that are not based off of movies is quickly fading away looks like.

TheBoost said:

And had you riden the submarine ride before it closed? It looked like crap. It was a 40 year old animatronic ride, and technology had left it behind a long, long time ago. It needed some kind of facelift bad.

Well, last time I was on it, it was only a twenty year old animatronic ride...