LOS ANGELES — Axel Braun told XBIZ on Friday he would begin principal photography on “The Empire Strikes Back XXX,” the sequel to his award-winning “Star Wars XXX” in November.
Braun said all the lead characters from his 2012 epic “Star Wars XXX,” which won the 2013 XBIZ Award for Parody Release of the Year – Comedy, would be reprising their roles in “Empire,” and he intends to hold a casting call for the new roles in August.
The original “Empire Strikes Back” — the second of the six main “Star Wars” movies and the highest grossing film of 1980 — is widely considered a cinematic classic.
“I think it's not only a great sequel, but also the best film of the series,” Braun said. “It's right up there with ‘The Godfather Part II.’”
Braun continued, “I've been wanting to do it for a while, but it's such a huge undertaking that I needed to find the right time to give it the proper attention. With next year's release of ‘Episode VII,’ it seemed inevitable.”
Pre-production already is underway, according to Braun, who has begun work determining the various costumes and props and has a team of visual effects artists building the models. The 2014 XBIZ Director of the Year said he is planning for his porn version to be released through Wicked Pictures in September 2015.
“It's going to be a 16-day shoot with plenty of locations. We are actually considering going to Alaska to film the Hoth scenes,” Braun revealed.
He said that the character in “Empire” that will be the hardest to cast is “Lando Carlissian.”
“Filling Billy Dee Williams' shoes won't be an easy task,” Braun noted.
In addition to Parody Release of the Year, “Star Wars XXX” also won 2013 XBIZ Awards for Best Actress – Parody (Allie Haze as Princess Leia) and Best Actor - Parody (Seth Gamble as Luke Skywalker), Best Scene – Parody Release (Brandy Aniston, Eve Laurence and Dick Chibbles), Best Director – Parody (Braun) and Best Special Effects. The Axel Braun Productions film, which was co-produced by Vivid Entertainment and distributed by Pulse Distribution, still sells to this day, according to Braun, who suggested that shooting “Empire” could be the toughest test of his career.
“Managing a huge cast and such a long shooting schedule will be extremely challenging, but the Force is with me,” he said.
Haze said she was eager to start shooting.
“I’ve been waiting for this a long time," she said. "Hopefully it won’t take this long to get to 'Return Of The Jedi'…I wanna wear that gold bikini!”
Lexington Steele will also return as Darth Vader, and Braun’s own contract girl Riley Steele will have "a pivotal, yet top-secret role."
