Break out the midi-chlorian test kits! And also the jokes about “the Force being strong with this one.”
George Lucas and new wife Mellody Hobson have welcomed their first child together into the world, a baby girl named Everest, who was delivered August 9 via surrogate. It’s the first biological child for both, Lucas having previously adopted several children in the 1980s, all of whom made cameos in the Star Wars prequel films.
That begs the question: can we expect to see Everest in Star Wars: Episode IX in around 2020? It could be a cameo like her siblings, or maybe she’ll be the Jaden to George’s Will. Either way, the name Everest is instantly mythic, conjuring up a vision of life just begging to follow the outline of “The Hero’s Journey” as outlined by one of the key influences on Lucas’ life: Joseph Campbell. I mean, like Luke Skywalker, Lucas’ daughter has one major inheritance waiting for her. Here’s how we see Everest’s life unfolding, according to the Monomyth:
1. The Call to Adventure — Everest will grow up in Marin County comfort, taking solace in her father’s collection of plaid shirts, Norman Rockwell paintings, and a few zillion dollars. George has achieved true independence, financially and cinematically at the Skywalker Ranch, where he can finally make “small, experimental films” away from the bright lights of Hollywood. However, Everest may be drawn to those bright lights…
2. The Refusal of the Call — But, tempted though she may be by Hollywood, Everest may at first prefer Northern California security to SoCal adventure.
3. The Seizing of the Sword — Her father gives her a prop lightsaber with his blessing to appear in at least a cameo in Star Wars Episode IX, maybe as a youngling in Luke Skywalker’s Yavin IV Jedi Academy.
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold — She sets forth with Hollywood as her goal. But as her father predicted, she finds Hollywood, like Alderaan before it, destroyed by ballooning production budgets and unrealistically high ticket prices. Also, it turns out Star Wars Episode IX is shooting in England, not L.A., which George knew but insisted that Everest discover for herself.
5. Belly of the Whale — She finds herself stuck in Hollywood at the mercy of Bacchanales hosted by older, world-weary Suri Cruise and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt and nearly loses herself. She also discovers for the first time the decades-long backlash against her father, including the curious insistence that “he is more machine now than man.”
6. The Road of Trials — J.J. Abrams, in disguise in a suit of stormtrooper armor, rescues her from Hollywood Babylon and takes her to England to work on Episode IX. But the road is frought with lens flares, unnecessarily shaky camerawork, and a Death Star inexplicably painted red. Because J.J. Abrams cannot tell a coherent story without a giant red ball as a MacGuffin. (Yes, the fact that there was no giant red ball in Star Trek Into Darkness means that I am saying that film lacked a coherent story.)
7. The Meeting With the Goddess — Um, Carrie Fisher, reprising her role as Princess Leia? She’ll be a great mentor!
8. Woman as Temptress — Um, Carrie Fisher, reprising her role as Wishful Drinking Princess Leia? She’ll be a bad influence.
9. Atonement with the Father — Everest realizes that her Star Wars journey was all about trying to understand her father better and appreciate his gifts. But really, she wants a bigger role in Episode IX.
10. Apotheosis — Everest achieves said goal with larger role, but the “daughter of a famous director who’s turned to acting” backlash she suffers, a la Sofia Coppola, humbles her. So does the Razzie nomination. This is her uncertain Empire Strikes Back moment, except that Episode IX is considered to be a far cry from The Empire Strikes Back.
11. The Ultimate Boon — Her acting career now in a place of uncertainty, Everest does find success, but not in the way she had expected: by following in the footsteps of Clint Eastwood’s daughters as the star of a hilarious new reality show starring she and her parents called The Ranch.
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt | Follow @Hollywood_com
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