The talking filibuster proved effective again when Patton Oswalt successfully filibustered a Pawnee, In., city council meeting by sketching together a rough treatment for Star Wars Episode VII, due to be released in summer 2015.
Oswalt comes up with a story for an interesting crossover film, combining a Galaxy, Post-Fall of the Empire with the Marvel Universe. He achieves this feat through the use of Thanos, the villain revealed at the end of last year's Marvel property The Avengers, who has the ability to traverse dimensions via a 'time ribbon' that also allows Iron Man to stand side-by-side with Luke Skywalker.
I whole-heartedly endorse the full use of the top-tier Marvel roster. For a blockbuster of Star Wars’s magnitude to succeed, Spider-Man must be allowed to match wits with Mara Jade. Oswalt goes so far as to suggest the use of Greek gods who make cameos in the Marvel universe, but I believe a fraternization between Jedis and residents of Olympos Mons may be too much for even the most ardent fan.
During Oswalt’s filibuster, councilwoman Leslie Knope advocates a stronger presence of female roles in this imaginary film. I for one suggest the use of She-Hulk, who can besiege an Imperial outpost in the same way the Hulk rampaged in New York City during the climax of The Avengers. Hulk smashing Manhattan was the best part of the film.
Oswalt’s filibuster begins to fall apart when he proposes a tryst between Leia Solo and Lando Calrissian. That may be an interesting angle, but it will need a healthy amount of screen time to develop fully. A love triangle between Han, Leia, and Lando is well-trod ground, explored to some extent in Episodes V and VI.
Then again, with Disney’s announcement today that it plans to release a new Star Wars movie every year until Tatooine’s twin suns crash into each other, we may end up seeing Oswalt’s plot points on the big screen after all.