Star Wars fans anxiously await second trilogy of prequels

After years of rumors and speculation, George Lucas is finally going ahead with his long-promised production of the Star Wars saga: the sequels.

Or, in this case, the prequels.

As any die-hard Star Wars fan will tell you, the three films which make up the trilogy -- Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) -- are actually parts four, five and six of the Star Wars saga.

The next three films, which Lucas hopes to release starting in 1999, will chronicle the events preceding the current trilogy.

The films will be produced independently, financed with money from the Star Wars: Special Edition re-releases and the trilogy's merchandising.

In addition, fans can expect several new digital special effects, supplied by Lucas' personal effects company, Industrial Light & Magic.

Aside from production details, Lucas has released little information about what fans can look forward to in the new trilogy. Jeanne Cole, a spokesperson for Lucasfilm, said that it will involve the rise of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Knight who became Darth Vader.

"I would want to find out what happened to Luke's father," said Erin Bauer (junior-finance). "That would probably be the most interesting."

Because of the secrecy surrounding the project, it has become the subject of much speculation on the part of Hollywood insiders and fans. Such gossip is popular on the Internet, where a new Star Wars rumor seems to appear every day.

One of the most hotly debated topics is who will star in the films. Although Lucas has kept mum on the casting, various actors, including Hamlet's Kenneth Branagh, Sense and Sensibility's Kate Winslet and Trainspotting's Ewan McGregor, have been attached to the new trilogy, mostly by wishful fans.

Cole denied that any casting decisions have been made, though some students have some casting decisions of their own.

"(Robert) DeNiro as Vader," Matt Funderburk (senior-microbiology) said. "He's an intense actor, and Vader's an intense character."

But Lucas would be better off casting unfamiliar actors, Nat Finger (junior-telecommunications) said.

"If they had a cast of known actors, it wouldn't be as real," he added.

Some of the other rumors, which range in subject from story ideas to new characters, have been a bit more outlandish. One of the current notions circulating is that Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the films, will have footage from his earlier movies digitally recreated to portray his character as a young Jedi.

"There are a lot of creative minds at work," Cole said, in regards to many of the rumors being circulated.

Lucas himself is scheduled to direct the first part this fall at Leavesden Studios, England. It will be his first film since the original Star Wars.

If all goes according to plan, the saga that began a "long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," could conceivably last well into the 21st century.