Looks like the fine folks over at Making Star Wars went on a tear today, dropping some huge pieces of news for everyone to dissect and stew over. These veer more from speculation and more toward legit pieces of news and might be spoilery. So, you’ve been warned….

 

First of all, Max Von Sydow’s role has not been as hotly speculated as some of the others but he seems to have an important role to the plot.

“He’s a beaten man. He’s old enough to have lived through the Clone Wars, seen the Intergalactic Civil War unfold and then the aftermath of the fall of Emperor Palptaine. He’s no longer a man, he’s a cyborg. His eye is obscured by a ocular viewing device, most likely from a past injury which mean the could no longer use the eye with any ease. One leg is entirely cybernetic now, almost like a Super Battledroid but with metallic claws where his toes would be. He sits at a bar drinking, wary, and old. If you have an oddity, a rare weapon, you might want to bring it to him for evaluation.”

The appearance is spot on from what we’ve heard and seen about the character thus far. It will be interesting to see how Von Sydow will portray this character.

 

Pirates Cove is a location I’ve seen listed on a few pieces of production and concept art previously. Again, it seems that the folks from Making Star Wars hit the description on the head.

“X-wings are docked in the temple just as you would imagine from back during the battle on the first Death Star. However, netting hangs down from the top of the hanger, loosely in places. The location is foggy and not clear as if a morning fog or mist has just came in and rain was recently on the ground. The trees are very much a different sort of thing than what you would see on the Greenham Common planet’s base, which is a giant field with trees off to the horizon. One is a jungle the others is wooded. This is a temple with a lush and dense amount of tall trees just outside it. The Massassi Temple from Star Wars: Episode IV was examined closely to capture the same feel and essence of the initial rebel base.”

 

Finally, there is a description of Daisy Ridley’s home from Making Star Wars:

“On a desert planet, there’s a canyon, sandy and brown. In front of the canyon is a downed AT-AT walker, laying on its side. A young girl sits atop of the mechanical beast’s head. She gazes outward towards the end of the canyon where her hopes and dreams may one day be realized, not unlike Luke Skywalker yearning for more from his mundane life.  For now, this is her home, the wreckage of years of intergalactic warfare. The legs of the AT-AT are partially obscured by sand at the “ankles” but pop out at the feet. This walker has been there for some time and nature has began to take the machine into the earth. The AT-AT lays on its left side, its head leveled by the dirt from which its head smashed into during a battle some time ago. The right side of the body of the AT-AT faces upwards, battle scared, shot by many laser blasts which no doubt brought the machine down. Battle wreckage is littered all around the fallen beast. This is the dwelling of the new hero from Star Wars: Episode VII.

The underbelly has large pieces of cloth draped over it to protect the dwelling from the environment. A small ship is hidden inside the belly, like a garage. In the distance you can see TIE-Fighters which have been downed into the sane. AT-ST head sits, its body below the dirt. You can see another AT-AT body in the distance, its coverings eroded away with time.”

This would line up with the first Abu Dhabi shots that were leaked at the beginning of shooting. Again, this matches what we’ve heard thus far. I love the approach JJ and company are taking with things like this, making everything a natural progression to a galaxy that’s decayed for the past thirty years.

What do you guys think of all these new pieces.