SHOT DOWN

We checked with Lucasfilm about those rumors that George Lucas would take the fourth “Star Wars” film to Universal to heal wounds created by “Howard the Duck.” Lucasfilm not only denied them but tried to distance itself from the fowl floperoo.

“There’s not a feather of truth to that rumor,” said a spokeswoman. “There isn’t even a fourth ‘Star Wars’ films in the making. I mean, we’re not even in the writing stages.”

Besides, Lucasfilm didn’t have “that much” to do with “Howard”: “George really just lent his name to it for Willard Huyck (co-writer/director) and Gloria Katz (co-writer). Lucasfilm did the special effects. Other than that, it wasn’t really our film.”

A Universal rep seemed surprised by the buzz--”News to me--though he certainly owes us one, doesn’t he?” But a spokesman for 20th Century Fox--distributor of the initial “Star Wars” trilogy-- had heard the speculation, but doubted its validity. We tried to find out if Fox has first refusal on future “Star Wars” sagas, but all we got was: “Fox respectfully declines comment on the matter.”

Meanwhile, we got the status of three Lucasfilm projects: “Willow,” which Ron Howard will direct, is still in pre-production; a script is being written for the third Indy Jones pic, and “Tucker,” the Francis Coppola project about the Tucker automobile, is in the “conceptual” stage.