Fang Zei said:

It's a foregone conclusion Paramount will put one out in 2016 for the big Five-Oh. With Ep7 likely hitting in May of 2015, Abrams could conceivably come back to direct Trek 3 in time for a November/December 2016 release.

Oh, and Chewie's dead. Mayhew got his chance to come back in ROTS.

Like I've said again and again regarding all the post-Jedi continuity: it's one thing to ignore, but it's another thing to pretend it never happened.

The EU doesn't matter where the films are concerned. George has always had the last word on that. Why should the films have to be burdened with baggage the casual fan knows next to nothing about? Having to explain to the audience why Chewie's not around would be awkward and sound forced, like when a beloved character vanishes from a tv show never to return.

Thirty years of relative peace and prosperity in the galaxy, with dark clouds forming on the horizon is the best way to begin again. Otherwise, the opening crawl is going to be half an hour long. ;)

If Mayhew can teach a protege' to take over the role if needed, I could live with that.