Star Wars Ep. 7 Cast Official!

[RedTeamGo!]

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=40895

Star Wars: Episode VII Casting Announced
It's finally here

29 April 2014 | Written by Ali Plumb | Source: Star Wars


"The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

"Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

"Director J.J. Abrams says, "We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."


Thoughts? Rumor is that Adam Driver is going to be a villain. Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca are all back - There are rumors that Han is going to have a "huge role."

[sonny]

Max Von Sydow has me intrigued.

[RedTeamGo!]

7047

[Caveat Emperor]

Max von Sydow as Grand Admiral Thrawn. Make it happen, JJ.

[RedTeamGo!]

Way too old for Thrawn.

I think someone like Javier Bardem would be perfect for Thrawn.

[Caveat Emperor]

Way too old for Thrawn.

I think someone like Javier Bardem would be perfect for Thrawn.

Eh -- not in relation to the rest of the cast. I'd buy him completely as a dude who has been biding his time for the last 20-30 years, organizing the Imperial forces, and re-emerging onto the scene to re-claim the old Empire.

A younger Thrawn wouldn't make sense on the timeline that's now in place due to all the mains being old.

[RedTeamGo!]

That is an interesting point, I was thinking in terms of The Thrawn Trilogy which is set like 5 years after ROTJ. They would indeed have to make him older, but isn't Von Sydow like 85? I think someone closer to 70 would work better, perhaps Ben Kinsly or F Murray Abraham?

I think a perfect actor to play Thrawn Trilogy era Thrawn that just came to me is Kevin Spacey.

[KronoRed]

Can't wait to see all this excitement get flushed when we learn Ford and or Fisher will be killed off in the first 10 mins and the EU will be completely ignored ;)

[RedTeamGo!]

Can't wait to see all this excitement get flushed when we learn Ford and or Fisher will be killed off in the first 10 mins and the EU will be completely ignored ;)

I hope Ford is killed early, there are rumors out of Abrams camp that Ford is going to play a "huge role" though.

I am slightly disapointed they are not just going with a completely new cast.

They said awhile ago the EU is going to be mostly ignored.

Thrawn is absolutely not going to be in any movies, neither is Mara Jade. Talking about who would play Thawn is still fun though.

[Caveat Emperor]

Can't wait to see all this excitement get flushed when we learn Ford and or Fisher will be killed off in the first 10 mins and the EU will be completely ignored ;)

Most of the EU *should* be ignored -- other than the Timothy Zahn books, it's mostly D-level sci-fi that reads like sanctioned fan fiction. Conveniently, the only two EU characters most SW fans even care about (Mara Jade and Thrawn) come from those books.

And, really, the movies *should* push Ford, Fisher and Hamill to the background as quickly as possible. There will be nostalgia for 5-10 minutes, but there's nothing that kills nostalgia quite like realizing your "heroes" got old and aren't frozen in time the way you remember them from back in the day. I'll give JJ the benefit of the doubt on this one because he really did use Leonard Nimoy effectively in "Star Trek," so I suspect he understands that you can't force the new cast to live in the shadow of the old people.

[westofyou]

7049

[Joseph]

Disney has already said that all of the EU is going to be ignored. So anyone hoping for Thrawn or any of that sort of thing....forget it. I'm the biggest Star Wars nerd I know and it bums me out too, but forget everything you know other than the films. Disney is redoing it all.

[Kingspoint]

Disney has already said that all of the EU is going to be ignored. So anyone hoping for Thrawn or any of that sort of thing....forget it. I'm the biggest Star Wars nerd I know and it bums me out too, but forget everything you know other than the films. Disney is redoing it all.

Sounds like "The Hobbit". Lost respect for Peter Jackson after that debacle.

[RedTeamGo!]

Sounds like "The Hobbit". Lost respect for Peter Jackson after that debacle.

I don't see the comparison. The Star Wars EU is "expanded universe" and has never been canon. Peter Jackson just flat out changed the story of The Hobbit.

[Sabo Fan]

Talking about who would play Thawn is still fun though.

Benedict Cumberbatch.

[Raisor]

Benedict Cumberbatch.

Not blue enough.

Tobias Funke is the obvious choice. He needs the work and he can blue himself.

[RedTeamGo!]

Not blue enough.

Tobias Funke is the obvious choice. He needs the work and he can blue himself.

7060

I found his audition reel

[Sabo Fan]

Not blue enough.

Tobias Funke is the obvious choice. He needs the work and he can blue himself.

I'd watch that movie.

[Kingspoint]

I don't see the comparison. The Star Wars EU is "expanded universe" and has never been canon. Peter Jackson just flat out changed the story of The Hobbit.
I didn't know that about Star Wars. I thought someone was mentioning that Disney was changing episodes 7-9 from the book story as if there was only one 7-9 version. I know Jackson's excuse was that he tried to incorporate some history from other ME chapters, but that didn't fly. He flat out changed the story so he could add more violence, a real amateurish job just to gouge money from the public.

[RedTeamGo!]

I didn't know that about Star Wars. I thought someone was mentioning that Disney was changing episodes 7-9 from the book story as if there was only one 7-9 version.

Yea, not sure where this was heard but it's not true. There are no episodes 7-9 books. The only thing that could be seen as eps 7-9 in the EU is the Thrawn Trilogy (which is incredible and you should read it). I believe George had an extremely rough outline for eps 1-3 and 7-9 in a notebook while he was writing eps 4-6. I do not believe they are going to follow the outline at all. This is all new material.

As far as I know the only things that are canon in the Star Wars universe is the Star Wars films and the animated TV show "The Clone Wars."

[Kingspoint]

Yea, not sure where this was heard but it's not true. There are no episodes 7-9 books. The only thing that could be seen as eps 7-9 in the EU is the Thrawn Trilogy (which is incredible and you should read it). I believe George had an extremely rough outline for eps 1-3 and 7-9 in a notebook while he was writing eps 4-6. I do not believe they are going to follow the outline at all. This is all new material.

As far as I know the only things that are canon in the Star Wars universe is the Star Wars films and the animated TV show "The Clone Wars."

Thanks. I've been at the book stores many times wanting to get into the Star Wars readings, but never made the plunge.

Where would you suggest I begin?

[RedTeamGo!]

Thanks. I've been at the book stores many times wanting to get into the Star Wars readings, but never made the plunge.

Where would you suggest I begin?

There is absolutely no question where you should start:

The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn (in order):

Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command

Enjoy.

[Raisor]

There is absolutely no question where you should start:

The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn (in order):

Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command

Enjoy.

This is accurate.

[RedTeamGo!]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/star-wars-adds-lupita-nyong-game-thrones-star-article-1.1814102

Official Anouncement: ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ adds Lupita Nyong’o, ‘Game of Thrones’ star Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth)

[CrackerJack]

Love Gwendoline, the whole GOT's cast is awesome really

[Kingspoint]

Thought I would have seen a post about Harrison Ford hurting his ankle today in filming and going to the hospital.

[redsfandan]

Thought I would have seen a post about Harrison Ford hurting his ankle today in filming and going to the hospital.

I thought I would've seen a mention of the new director. Maybe I should head to a Star Wars fan site . . . nah.

[RedTeamGo!]

The new director is for a spin off, not the trilogy

[Raisor]

The new director is for a spin off, not the trilogy

Rian Johnson, director of Looper, just signed to direct episode IIX and write the first draft of the story for IX

[RedTeamGo!]

I thought he was referring to Gareth Edwards being chosen to direct a spin off.

[redsfandan]

I thought he was referring to Gareth Edwards being chosen to direct a spin off.

Sorry, didn't know about the director for a spin off. Was only thinking of Rian Johnson being chosen to direct episode VIII. Hopefully he gives it a better ending than Looper.

[RedTeamGo!]

I believe rian Johnson was chosen for both episodes 8 and 9.

I loved the ending to Looper, and really the whole movie.

[Degenerate39]

I thought J.J. was doing the trilogy?

[RedTeamGo!]

No he just signed on for the first one.

[KronoRed]

Another non exciting name.

[Razor Shines]

Another non exciting name.

Completely un-snarky question: Who would be an exciting name to you? I'm genuinely interested. I happen to like Johnson, I thought Looper was great and I think he can do some cool things with Star Wars.

[KronoRed]

No idea, I see about 2 movies a year so I know NO names :D

I didn't say it because I have a better name, to be honest I didn't even recognize him till I looked it up, I didn't like Looper..so eh on him.

[RedTeamGo!]

I thought Looper was the best sci fi film i have seen in years

[NebraskaRed]

http://io9.com/if-the-rumors-are-true-star-wars-episode-vii-is-weird-1608208842

Spoilers (if true), so be warned. And if this is true, I'm all for it.

[RedTeamGo!]

Weird indeed.

[RedTeamGo!]

Best Star Wars news I have heard/read in literally decades:


"Oscar Isaac, one of the stars of JJ Abrams's forthcoming Star Wars Episode VII, may have inadvertently revealed plot secrets about the new film.
In an interview with the US website Entertainment Weekly, Isaac said: "There’s nothing cynical about the way we’re doing this. Even in the way he [Abrams] is shooting it—he’s shooting on film and actually building the sets, so you’ve got hundreds of Stormtroopers or whatever, and hundreds of extras and all the ships. You actually see it. It’s all real. Everyone can interact with the world."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/star-wars/11119012/Star-Wars-Episode-VII-hundreds-of-Stormtroopers-on-set.html

I am officially EXTREMELY excited.

December 18, 2015 cannot come soon enough!!!

[19braves77]

I cant believe the tidbits already released. It is very hard for me not to read them. I like the amount of villains and the basic plot of the movie so far.

[Caveat Emperor]

I have to admit -- the shots of seeing half-constructed sets of the Millennium Falcon and random X-Wings sitting outside hanger sets has upped my excitement level for this considerably.

[sonny]

There is some pretty rad concept art that just leaked. I won't link to it to not cause anyone to stumble, but it's out there and it looks fantastic.

[NebraskaRed]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOVFvcNfvE

I'm in. Opening day.

[Joseph]

It has the right feel for the most part. I'm gonna need to see more before I feel completely excited. Right now the Sith saber almost feels like it was a fan created kind of thing. I know it will grow on me because I'm the biggest star wars dork I know. Books, movies, action figures. My four year old nephew wants to be like me enough that he went as Darth Vader for Halloween this year and loves to play 'shooter guys' [his name for stormtroopers] anytime he comes to visit uncle Joe.

Anyway, trailer gets a thumbs up with cautious optimism from me.

[Raisor]

I geeked out for the Falcon.

[RedTeamGo!]

I have been trying to clean the stain off my pants for the past hour.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Oh man how is this still a year away

[Caveat Emperor]

I don't know -- I've read rumors about who the dude in the black is, and I know that I'm going to hate it.

...but then again, those X-Wings cruising low in formation is just awesome.

[KronoRed]

Dumbest lightsaber ever.

[Caveat Emperor]

Seriously -- you'd just chop off the hand guards at the bases.

[Razor Shines]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpfWrh1scZU

Lego version of the trailer.

[RedTeamGo!]

Seriously -- you'd just chop off the hand guards at the bases.

There are some theories that the lightsaber was not made correctly and is unstable and that part of the saber is not meant to be a guard, but a vent. If you pause the video at the right moment you will notice the saber has lines of energy coming off of it sporadically.

[Caveat Emperor]

...not going to lie, I'm still grinning like an idiot 5 minutes after watching this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=108&v=ngElkyQ6Rhs

[RedTeamGo!]

Oh my. I just cannot wait.

My child is due on December 9th, a few weeks before this movie and I am not anticipating this movie as much as the kid, but it is not that far off.

[klw]

Chewie we're home!

[Razor Shines]

Oh my. I just cannot wait.

My child is due on December 9th, a few weeks before this movie and I am not anticipating this movie as much as the kid, but it is not that far off.

That's cool. My 6 year old loves Star Wars and we just watched the trailer together and at the end he yelled "Han Solo, yes!"

[redsfanmia]

That for sure has the right feel and look.

[RedEye]

I think that trailer might be better than the three prequels combined.

[Razor Shines]

I was just watching it again on YouTube and I noticed that it has over 10,000,000 views and that's not surprising. I also noticed that it has 1,614 down votes. Now, 1614 out of over 10,000,000 is an extremely small percentage but it's still far too high. I'd like to start a GoFundMe to track down those 1614 people and have them locked away, they'll never be productive members of society.

[Spazzrico]

Chewie we're home!

I'm not gonna lie. I was instantly teary. It was like my childhood came back to say hello.

[ac084c]

That's cool. My 6 year old loves Star Wars and we just watched the trailer together and at the end he yelled "Han Solo, yes!"

I started my 5 year old on the movies a few months ago and we just got through the first 6. He is totally excited about this. Showed him the trailer yesterday.

[ac084c]

Anyone else that follow the EU see the sith lord from this teaser and instantly think of Darth Revan?

[Caveat Emperor]

I'm not gonna lie. I was instantly teary. It was like my childhood came back to say hello.

Yeah -- I'm going to be an emotional wreck if anything bad happens to Han, Leia or Luke.

[Sabo Fan]

Anyone else that follow the EU see the sith lord from this teaser and instantly think of Darth Revan?

Was never a big EU follower, but this guy considers Knights of the Old Republic to be one of the best 5 video games ever and Revan is who I instantly thought of. There's a theory out there that this Kylo Ren fella collects Sith artifacts, hence Vader's helmet. If that's true then there is at least a chance (and realistically we're talking similar numbers to the odds of Kevin Gregg throwing a scoreless inning) that it's actually Revan's mask. Like I said, the likelihood of that is almost nil, but interesting nonetheless.

Loved the trailer. Practical effects, an appreciation for what came before, but also showing that not everything has to remain the same stylistically.

The rumors about Luke's role in all of this sort of concern me. If he's been sitting around for 30 years not training new Jedi then I will be an unhappy camper.

But I'll probably get over it.

[foxfire123]

I am SO excited about this! I saw the original 3 multiple times in the theater, and this has a much more traditional feel than all three of the prequels put together.

[RedEye]

https://youtu.be/PYHdQUyOunA

[sonny]

I'm not gonna lie. I was instantly teary. It was like my childhood came back to say hello.

Me too.

Also, and perhaps unintentionally, the "we're home" kinda served as a "This won't be like the prequels". At least to me.

[KronoRed]

Yeah -- I'm going to be an emotional wreck if anything bad happens to Han, Leia or Luke.

Same here, part of why I'm not getting too excited for this movie, they will be killed off and we'll get the young 20 somethings saving the universe story.

[marcshoe]

I was just watching it again on YouTube and I noticed that it has over 10,000,000 views and that's not surprising. I also noticed that it has 1,614 down votes. Now, 1614 out of over 10,000,000 is an extremely small percentage but it's still far too high. I'd like to start a GoFundMe to track down those 1614 people and have them locked away, they'll never be productive members of society.

They were all Zack Snyder.

[improbus]

I was just watching it again on YouTube and I noticed that it has over 10,000,000 views and that's not surprising. I also noticed that it has 1,614 down votes. Now, 1614 out of over 10,000,000 is an extremely small percentage but it's still far too high. I'd like to start a GoFundMe to track down those 1614 people and have them locked away, they'll never be productive members of society.
Call me blasphemous then, but I wasn't thrilled to see Old Han.

I wouldn't have voted it down because most of it looks awesome. But, I really have no interest in continuing a storyline that was wrapped up fairly nicely in ROJ. Start over somewhere else. The galaxy is huge. The laser swords will still be cool. The spaceships will still make that "pew, pew, pew" sound. The force is neat.

If they made a movie that made no real direct reference to the old movies, but was awesome, we would still love it.

[RedTeamGo!]

Call me blasphemous then, but I wasn't thrilled to see Old Han.

I wouldn't have voted it down because most of it looks awesome. But, I really have no interest in continuing a storyline that was wrapped up fairly nicely in ROJ. Start over somewhere else. The galaxy is huge. The laser swords will still be cool. The spaceships will still make that "pew, pew, pew" sound. The force is neat.

If they made a movie that made no real direct reference to the old movies, but was awesome, we would still love it.

Eh, I think episode 7 will be a handoff to the new cast and storyline.

[improbus]

Eh, I think episode 7 will be a handoff to the new cast and storyline.
That is probably what will happen. I'm sure it will be awesome and I will love it. I'm just really scared of a Star Wars Expendables experience...

[Joseph]

Call me blasphemous then, but I wasn't thrilled to see Old Han.

I wouldn't have voted it down because most of it looks awesome. But, I really have no interest in continuing a storyline that was wrapped up fairly nicely in ROJ. Start over somewhere else. The galaxy is huge. The laser swords will still be cool. The spaceships will still make that "pew, pew, pew" sound. The force is neat.

If they made a movie that made no real direct reference to the old movies, but was awesome, we would still love it.

I'd like to vote this comment down please!

Negative rep! Negative rep!

Seriously though, I think they are headed that direction, they just want a link between the two rather than a line in the sand.

[Joseph]

Was never a big EU follower, but this guy considers Knights of the Old Republic to be one of the best 5 video games ever and Revan is who I instantly thought of. There's a theory out there that this Kylo Ren fella collects Sith artifacts, hence Vader's helmet. If that's true then there is at least a chance (and realistically we're talking similar numbers to the odds of Kevin Gregg throwing a scoreless inning) that it's actually Revan's mask. Like I said, the likelihood of that is almost nil, but interesting nonetheless.

Loved the trailer. Practical effects, an appreciation for what came before, but also showing that not everything has to remain the same stylistically.

The rumors about Luke's role in all of this sort of concern me. If he's been sitting around for 30 years not training new Jedi then I will be an unhappy camper.

But I'll probably get over it.

Could be wrong here, but I've heard/read that basically nothing EU counts in terms of canon for the world that Disney owns. While that pisses me off as a huge EU fan, I'll be even more pissed if they do pick and choose to use some things, but not others.

[ac084c]

Could be wrong here, but I've heard/read that basically nothing EU counts in terms of canon for the world that Disney owns. While that pisses me off as a huge EU fan, I'll be even more pissed if they do pick and choose to use some things, but not others.

Yep, after the new trilogy was announced, it was said that only Episodes I-VI, the Clone Wars animated series, and Star Wars Rebels animated series were considered canon.

[RedTeamGo!]

I'm a huge EU fan as well, but it would basically be impossible for them to consider any of it canon. A lot of it is pretty amateurish anyways...Crystal Star I am looking at you.

[ac084c]

I'm a huge EU fan as well, but it would basically be impossible for them to consider any of it canon. A lot of it is pretty amateurish anyways...Crystal Star I am looking at you.

The Ewok Adventure, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

You may stand up as well.

[RedTeamGo!]

I think it was either make a Thrawn Trilogy or start with a completely new direction and disregard the EU as canon. I think it would have been too difficult to make The Thrawn Trilogy with the ages of the old cast and so they decided to just reboot. I am OK with that. I can picture the Star Wars EU fan butthurtness at not getting the shade of Grand Admiral Thrawn's blue skin correct or how the bothans and shi-ruuk look totally wrong.

I am completely fine with re-reading The Thrawn Trilogy every couple of years and enjoying it for what it is: a really entertaining read.

[Caveat Emperor]

I'm a huge EU fan as well, but it would basically be impossible for them to consider any of it canon. A lot of it is pretty amateurish anyways...Crystal Star I am looking at you.

Once you get beyond Zahn's Thrawn stuff (I'll even give him a pass on the 2 book "Hand of Thrawn" follow up he wrote afterward), the EU is almost uniformly garbage. I read a ton of it in high school because I was a total nerd and loved Star Wars, but looking back even the stuff most people consider to be "good" EU (like the Jedi Academy series) is fraught with bad writing and, worse, unimaginative plotting/world-building.

Launching the EU and starting over from scratch was the right call -- jury is out on whether or not they did a good job replacing it with something good, though.

[RedTeamGo!]

Once you get beyond Zahn's Thrawn stuff (I'll even give him a pass on the 2 book "Hand of Thrawn" follow up he wrote afterward), the EU is almost uniformly garbage. I read a ton of it in high school because I was a total nerd and loved Star Wars, but looking back even the stuff most people consider to be "good" EU (like the Jedi Academy series) is fraught with bad writing and, worse, unimaginative plotting/world-building.

Launching the EU and starting over from scratch was the right call -- jury is out on whether or not they did a good job replacing it with something good, though.

Agreed. I read every star wars book that came out in the 90s and early 2000's and most of it is pretty bad. I did thoroughly enjoy the Rogue Squadron books, and yes I do know they are not technically good books. Enjoy the heck out of them, though.

[Caveat Emperor]

Agreed. I read every star wars book that came out in the 90s and early 2000's and most of it is pretty bad. I did thoroughly enjoy the Rogue Squadron books, and yes I do know they are not technically good books. Enjoy the heck out of them, though.

The Rogue Squadron books weren't bad. At least they were doing something different than the rest of the EU, where it seemed like every book introduced some new Dark Jedi type character or new plot to build a weapon even more devastating than the Death Star.

The mid-late 90s was when I hit the height of my Star Wars reading as well. I remember reading a book that involved Leia fighting a "Hutt Jedi" and I finally said to myself "Enough of this (expletive) is enough." Last SW book I ever read, I think.

[RedTeamGo!]

The Rogue Squadron books weren't bad. At least they were doing something different than the rest of the EU, where it seemed like every book introduced some new Dark Jedi type character or new plot to build a weapon even more devastating than the Death Star.

The mid-late 90s was when I hit the height of my Star Wars reading as well. I remember reading a book that involved Leia fighting a "Hutt Jedi" and I finally said to myself "Enough of this (expletive) is enough." Last SW book I ever read, I think.

Yeah, that is in a Barbara Hambly book, Planet of Twilight, she also wrote Children of the Jedi, which is also terrible. I remember thinking the same way when I read that part. I kept reading the books, though. That was around the time the Rogue Squadron books started coming out.

A lot of the books where the Luke and Leia are the main characters are pretty terrible. The world killing plot device was in every single one of them.

It will be interesting to see if JJ Abrams goes the world-killer route.

[improbus]

I'd like to vote this comment down please!

Negative rep! Negative rep!

Seriously though, I think they are headed that direction, they just want a link between the two rather than a line in the sand.

I want something new. I want to be swept off my feet like the originals did, like the Matrix did, like the Fifth Element did. But it seems like I am in the minority.

[RedTeamGo!]

I want something new. I want to be swept off my feet like the originals did, like the Matrix did, like the Fifth Element did. But it seems like I am in the minority.

I think it's going to be more like that then you think.

[Caveat Emperor]

Yeah, that is in a Barbara Hambly book, Planet of Twilight, she also wrote Children of the Jedi, which is also terrible. I remember thinking the same way when I read that part. I kept reading the books, though. That was around the time the Rogue Squadron books started coming out.

A lot of the books where the Luke and Leia are the main characters are pretty terrible. The world killing plot device was in every single one of them.

It will be interesting to see if JJ Abrams goes the world-killer route.

Some of this is coming back to me now. Children of the Jedi was the one where Luke falls in love with a dead Jedi spirit trapped inside a computer core, right? And she came back to life somehow but couldn't use the force except for the Dark Side (which made absolutely no sense because there aren't two different "Forces" that you tap into based on whether or not you wake up feeling particularly evil). God, those books were just abominations.

To your other point, I really do hope that JJ avoids the Superweapon of Doom plot line -- though, the fact that he went "drill that starts a black hole at the center of your planet" as a plot device for Star Trek doesn't fill me with a tremendous amount of hope.

[RedTeamGo!]

Haha yep that is definitely the plot of that one. I remember reading it and thinking "does this author even like Star Wars?"

[improbus]

I think it's going to be more like that then you think.

I hope so.

[Joseph]

I loved SOME of the EU.

The Vong Series was among my early faves. They killed Chewie for example. That was something I could get behind. Not because I hated Chewie [he's one of my faves actually] but for the fact they were saying that my heroes weren't safe.

Loved the Zahn books.

Shadows of the Empire was great too, for me at least.

I don't really care much about the KOTOR era stuff at all. For me it's all about the war between the Empire and Rebellion, not the flashy Jedi/Sith stuff.

[RedTeamGo!]

Completely agree. I like the military aspect of Star Wars way more than the Jedi stuff.

Wedge has always been my favorite EU character.

[Razor Shines]

June the 4th be with you.

[Razor Shines]

This looks really cool, useless, but cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Y2WfcCb4M

[RedTeamGo!]

That's so cool, my soon to arrive son is going to grow up with the best toys.

[RedTeamGo!]

My dad is a pretty serious toy collector and picked one up. It was $150. He has gotten a lot of the black series figures and moSt of the action figures as well. Most of everything is so sold out by now, though.

[Razor Shines]

That's so cool, my soon to arrive son is going to grow up with the best toys.

I let my 2 year old, 4 year old and 7 year old boys watch that video. They think it's the coolest thing ever. I don't want to pay for one on ebay or craigslist but it seems finding one in the stores is going to be very difficult all the way up until Christmas.

[RedTeamGo!]

New set pics leaked from Star Wars: Rogue One set.

https://www.blastr.com/2015-9-16/first-set-pics-star-wars-rogue-one-reveal-massive-space-ship-crash

This looks awesome. Yet again they are using real sets and people in actual stormtrooper suits. Note the strewn about bodies of stormtroopers.

The next 7 years or so are going to be amazing.

[RedTeamGo!]

There will be a new trailer premiering during halftime of Monday Night Football tonight.

I will post the YouTube video link ASAP.

[ac084c]

There will be a new trailer premiering during halftime of Monday Night Football tonight.

I will post the YouTube video link ASAP.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE

[RedTeamGo!]

Beat me to it, I was too busy have a nerd freakout with my brother on the phone! Haha, this looks incredible.

[reds1869]

Can. Not. Wait.

[RedTeamGo!]

I love how scared Finn looks when the saber battle is about to begin

[kaldaniels]

I'm spoiler-free (are there even spoilers?) but I can't help but notice no visuals of Mark Hamill yet, correct?

[RedTeamGo!]

Yeah, I'm thinking he is a hermit of some sort like obi-won.

There's a crazy Reddit theory that Luke is Kylo but that has been proven wrong.

[kaldaniels]

Yeah, I'm thinking he is a hermit of some sort like obi-won.

There's a crazy Reddit theory that Luke is Kylo but that has been proven wrong.

Ha! When they showed the Vader Mask scene I thought of that...if they could pull that off it would be epic.

[RedEye]

That's three trailers in a row that "get it" in spades. I think this is going to be good.

[RedTeamGo!]

If you watch the trailer again you will notice at the end scene where Kylo is about to fight Finn he has his mask off and has long black hair. Also, Adam Driver had already been named the actor playing Kylo Ren.

- - - Updated - - -


That's three trailers in a row that "get it" in spades. I think this is going to be good.

I love the fact they are not spoiling anything.

[RedEye]

I love the fact they are not spoiling anything.

Totally. But I also love that the tone of these trailers is absolutely pitch perfect. A lot of the problems I had with Episodes I-III weren't anything to do really with what happened, but rather with how it happened and how it looked and felt. They just lacked something of the gravitas of Episodes IV-VI, kind of like Lucas et al. weren't on the same wavelength with the fans of their movies. Jar Jar Binks has become the symbol of that misfire for me, more than anything else. Unlike the comedic elements of the original trilogy, his humor just cut away at the grandeur of conversations and mocked battle scenes in a way that would never have happened in the classic originals.

I'm well aware that a lot of this might have to do with the fact that I was 7 when I saw A New Hope for the first time and that I was 24 when The Phantom Menace came out. But these new trailers are offering evidence that the whole explanation wasn't just in my age difference between the two films. It also has to do with the overall ambiance and attitude expressed in the films themselves.

[19braves77]

Really love how they have Han Solo in the trailer explaining everything that he experienced. In a New Hope, he doesn't believe in the force.

[KronoRed]

Why would nobody know what the force is?

Hmm.

[Caveat Emperor]

Why would nobody know what the force is?

Hmm.

Been 60+ years since the Jedi order existed. Probably wasn't well known that ANYONE used the Force during the OT -- as far as anyone knows, the Emporer was killed on an explosion that destroyed Death Star II.

[Caveat Emperor]

I'm spoiler-free (are there even spoilers?) but I can't help but notice no visuals of Mark Hamill yet, correct?

I think he's dead / a force ghost. Best explanation as to why he hasn't been shown, IMO.

[19braves77]

Got my tickets for a 8:30 showing on the 17th and will probably go see it again in a different format the next night.

[19braves77]

So we are lead to believe that Kylo is a sith relic collector and collects the mask from Endor ?

I still like the early rumors that the movie starts out with a space probe collecting a light saber floating in space.

[RedTeamGo!]

Why would nobody know what the force is?

Hmm.

In A New Hope, which takes place only a few decades after the Clone Wars many do not believe in the force. Han even refers to it as "hokey religion."

[Brutus]

I've been sort of on the fence about this movie, personally. Even for as nostalgic as I was when I heard they were making it, I was rather skeptical.

All that said, despite being reserved, I'll admit I really got pretty excited after seeing the trailer.

[Raisor]

I think he's dead / a force ghost. Best explanation as to why he hasn't been shown, IMO.

They showed a guy with an artificial hand with Artoo.

That was Luke.

[ac084c]

They showed a guy with an artificial hand with Artoo.

That was Luke.

Yep... he's narrating the opening to trailer 2.

[ac084c]

I'm spoiler-free (are there even spoilers?) but I can't help but notice no visuals of Mark Hamill yet, correct?

People are noting that he's not on the official movie poster, too.
http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2952440-poster.jpg

As Raisor said, the only indication of him in this movie is Teaser #2 with his narration and the robot hand touching R2

[RedEye]

Yep... he's narrating the opening to trailer 2.

Interesting use of voiceover narration in both Trailer #2 and #3. Not a mode that is used in any part of the first six movies, I don't think. I would suspect that all of the dialogue used for that in the film is actually regular dialogue that they put over the image track. But you never know...

I want to know who that wicked-sounding woman's voice is that asks Rey "Who are you?" in the opening minute. It can't be Leia... can it?

[ac084c]

Interesting use of voiceover narration in both Trailer #2 and #3. Not a mode that is used in any part of the first six movies, I don't think. I would suspect that all of the dialogue used for that in the film is actually regular dialogue that they put over the image track. But you never know...

I want to know who that wicked-sounding woman's voice is that asks Rey "Who are you?" in the opening minute. It can't be Leia... can it?

I believe it is Lupito Nyong'o's characther Maz Kanata. Sounds like her voice.

[klw]

I am guessing that Kylo is Han and Leah's son and Ren is their daughter. Kylo is taking on his grandfather's legacy. Luke is playing the role of a Yoda like hermit. Total guess however.

[ac084c]

Still no signs of Andy Serkis' character (which I believe is motion capture like Lupito Nyong'o) Supreme Commander Snokes or Domnhal Gleeson's General Hux.

[dougdirt]

9949

[Caveat Emperor]

They showed a guy with an artificial hand with Artoo.

That was Luke.

Could be anyone with an artificial hand -- we're certainly meant to THINK it's Skywalker, but if it isn't a big deal why isn't he:

1.) On the movie poster?

2.) Shown in any of the trailers?

3.) Had any of his action figures released?

It's like they're intentionally holding back, and that would make sense if all the footage of him is blue and shimmery.

[Caveat Emperor]

I am guessing that Kylo is Han and Leah's son and Ren is their daughter. Kylo is taking on his grandfather's legacy. Luke is playing the role of a Yoda like hermit. Total guess however.

The greatest trick the EU ever pulled was making anyone think that a professional thief and smuggler was ready to settle down and be a dad.

[19braves77]

Supreme Commander Snokes is the rumored villain to be force sensitive.

[KronoRed]

In A New Hope, which takes place only a few decades after the Clone Wars many do not believe in the force. Han even refers to it as "hokey religion."

So in the 30 years since Jedi nothing has changed?

That's pretty depressing.

[RedTeamGo!]

So in the 30 years since Jedi nothing has changed?

That's pretty depressing.

You want movies that are extremely happy and optimistic? That sounds really boring.

Think about it, the galaxy is huge and has many planets and trillions of people. You really think the vast majority of these people who have never seen legit evidence the force exists are just going to blindly believe it exists?

Luke, Darth Vader, The Emperor, and Leia were the only force sensitive people in Rotj, and it is known that the empire destroyed all evidence of the Jedi existing after the clone wars and put our propaganda they were just myth. If you were caught talking about the Jedi, you were executed. After Rotj Darth Vader and the Emperor are dead, and they never made it known to the public the empire was controlled by the sith and that they were sith. Remember how surprised Han was in Empire when he shot Darth and he simply stops the blasts with his hand? After Rotj I am guessing Luke when into hermit mode and Leia never learned how to be a Jedi. Doesn't seem so far fetched to me.

Also, do you like Star Wars? You seem pretty negative about the whole thing throughout the thread.

[ac084c]

One of the new canon novels Star Wars: Aftermath apparently explains a lot of the situation post ROTJ and the continued infighting between the Rebellion and the remnants of the Empire.

I haven't read it yet, but plan to before December 18.

[Caveat Emperor]

You want movies that are extremely happy and optimistic? That sounds really boring.

Think about it, the galaxy is huge and has many planets and trillions of people. You really think the vast majority of these people who have never seen legit evidence the force exists are just going to blindly believe it exists?

Luke, Darth Vader, The Emperor, and Leia were the only force sensitive people in Rotj, and it is known that the empire destroyed all evidence of the Jedi existing after the clone wars and put our propaganda they were just myth. If you were caught talking about the Jedi, you were executed. After Rotj Darth Vader and the Emperor are dead, and they never made it known to the public the empire was controlled by the sith and that they were sith. Remember how surprised Han was in Empire when he shot Darth and he simply stops the blasts with his hand? After Rotj I am guessing Luke when into hermit mode and Leia never learned how to be a Jedi. Doesn't seem so far fetched to me.

Also, do you like Star Wars? You seem pretty negative about the whole thing throughout the thread.

It's all plausible, but it's also slightly disappointing to find out that everyone had a miserable life post-ROTJ.

[ac084c]

It's all plausible, but it's also slightly disappointing to find out that everyone had a miserable life post-ROTJ.

That crazy ewok party couldn't go on forever.

[Rojo]

They just lacked something of the gravitas of Episodes IV-VI, kind of like Lucas et al. weren't on the same wavelength with the fans of their movies.

What I loved about the first movies was they actually took themselves seriously. I need to believe -- for a couple of hours -- that what I'm watching is important and meaningful. Leave the playful inside jokes for other movies, don't wink at me.

I remember the last few original cast Star Trek movies went this way. The jokes, the "here we are all together again" moments. Cute. But if I want cute, I'll watch something with Meg Ryan.

[kaldaniels]

Could be anyone with an artificial hand -- we're certainly meant to THINK it's Skywalker, but if it isn't a big deal why isn't he:

1.) On the movie poster?

2.) Shown in any of the trailers?

3.) Had any of his action figures released?

It's like they're intentionally holding back, and that would make sense if all the footage of him is blue and shimmery.

My original statement/question stands...we haven't seen a visual of Mark Hamill yet...and I'm 99 percent sure there is a good reason for that.

[klw]

That crazy ewok party couldn't go on forever.

It can on planet GIF!
http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/10-20-2015/C7SIqv.gif https://media4.giphy.com/media/xXq6j5Bu4KmIM/200.gif

[Caveat Emperor]

What I loved about the first movies was they actually took themselves seriously. I need to believe -- for a couple of hours -- that what I'm watching is important and meaningful. Leave the playful inside jokes for other movies, don't wink at me.

I remember the last few original cast Star Trek movies went this way. The jokes, the "here we are all together again" moments. Cute. But if I want cute, I'll watch something with Meg Ryan.

The original Star Wars was economical in how it was written -- limited number of characters, limited shifts in focus (the camera rarely strays from Luke or Vader), and a real disinterest in espousing backstory. The gravity in the film comes, in large part, because it just drops you into this universe and forces you to glean a lot about the characters from watching them interact with one another.

That's something that completely eluded Lucas when he went to write the prequels.

[RedTeamGo!]

It can on planet GIF!
http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/10-20-2015/C7SIqv.gif https://media4.giphy.com/media/xXq6j5Bu4KmIM/200.gif

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/es.starwars/images/1/18/Wedge_Endor.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20061223133122

[dougdirt]

You want movies that are extremely happy and optimistic? That sounds really boring.

Yes, I do. I watch movies to get away from real life, where life isn't always happy and joyous.



Also, do you like Star Wars? You seem pretty negative about the whole thing throughout the thread.

I've never seen one to the credits. I never plan on it either, unless my future kids want to watch them or my nephews do.

[RedTeamGo!]

I have a cousin that loved Star Wars throughout childhood and adulthood that is being so negative about the new movie. Today he was complaining about the "forced PC characters" of Finn (the young black man) and Rey (the young woman). I also saw some other people complaining on twitter about the "PC black lead."

My question: What is wrong with people?

Why can't the main character of a huge movie be black just because he performed the best during casting call, has experience being a lead in a sci fi movie (Attack The Block), and has the quiet/serious demeanor JJ Abrams wants in the lead?

I just don't get it.

My cousin finished up his stupid rant by saying "I bet there is a gay in it. Mark my words." I just said "Who cares?"

[RedTeamGo!]

Yes, I do. I watch movies to get away from real life, where life isn't always happy and joyous.


You never watch movies where there is something negative going on? Where the characters are in mortal danger? What is your favorite movie?

Obviously, it is good to have optimistic movies, but with a franchise like Star Wars, the characters are obviously going to have to go through some negative situations for it to be good.


I've never seen one to the credits. I never plan on it either, unless my future kids want to watch them or my nephews do.

Ok...congrats?

[Caveat Emperor]

I have a cousin that loved Star Wars throughout childhood and adulthood that is being so negative about the new movie. Today he was complaining about the "forced PC characters" of Finn (the young black man) and Rey (the young woman). I also saw some other people complaining on twitter about the "PC black lead."

My question: What is wrong with people?

Why can't the main character of a huge movie be black just because he performed the best during casting call, has experience being a lead in a sci fi movie (Attack The Block), and has the quiet/serious demeanor JJ Abrams wants in the lead?

I just don't get it.

My cousin finished up his stupid rant by saying "I bet there is a gay in it. Mark my words." I just said "Who cares?"

I literally haven't given a second thought to any of it, and people who do think about such things (the race of a lead in a movie) should be shunned.

[dougdirt]

You never watch movies where there is something negative going on? Where the characters are in mortal danger? What is your favorite movie?
Oh, I watch them. And by the end, if nothing good happens, I'm furious. They don't need to be rosy the entire way, but if the good guys lose, the guy doesn't get the girl, everyone dies, the aliens win.... I'm ready to hurt someone. I'm looking at you, writer of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

[RedTeamGo!]

Oh, I watch them. And by the end, if nothing good happens, I'm furious. They don't need to be rosy the entire way, but if the good guys lose, the guy doesn't get the girl, everyone dies, the aliens win.... I'm ready to hurt someone. I'm looking at you, writer of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Something good happens at the end of the star wars movies, though. Obviously, something good is going to happen at the end of the new star wars movies. Perhaps not in every installment, but definitely by the end of the trilogy.

I am obviously not saying I want the star wars movie to be Apocalypse Now! I am simply saying, I want the story to have some negative stuff going on, if it didn't, there would be no suspense.

Very few movies do not have some sort of positive at the end. I think it can be refreshing when the story has an unhappy ending. Se7en for example, is an excellent movie. The Usual Suspects is my favorite movie, the bad guy gets away.

[ac084c]

I have a cousin that loved Star Wars throughout childhood and adulthood that is being so negative about the new movie. Today he was complaining about the "forced PC characters" of Finn (the young black man) and Rey (the young woman). I also saw some other people complaining on twitter about the "PC black lead."

My question: What is wrong with people?

Why can't the main character of a huge movie be black just because he performed the best during casting call, has experience being a lead in a sci fi movie (Attack The Block), and has the quiet/serious demeanor JJ Abrams wants in the lead?

I just don't get it.

My cousin finished up his stupid rant by saying "I bet there is a gay in it. Mark my words." I just said "Who cares?"

My only comment to that is that I'll be a little disappointed if they try to make Finn some offspring of Lando (or Mace Windu). Like - is the universe so small that the black guy in the new trilogy has to be related to the black guy in the original trilogy?

[RedTeamGo!]

My only comment to that is that I'll be a little disappointed if they try to make Finn some offspring of Lando (or Mace Windu). Like - is the universe so small that the black guy in the new trilogy has to be related to the black guy in the original trilogy?

That isn't going to happen.

[ac084c]

That isn't going to happen.

I hope you're right... i've just seen comments out there about them purposefully not releasing the last names of Finn or Rey for 'reasons'... and that was the first thing I feared.

And if that's my biggest complaint about the movie - it'll still be a pretty darn good movie.

[Caveat Emperor]

That isn't going to happen.

Yeah, and if they're going to make him the son of someone -- well...

http://www.truthrevolt.org/sites/default/files/styles/content_full_width/public/field/image/articles/sana_solo_1.jpg?itok=N6pygToM

[ac084c]

Something good happens at the end of the star wars movies, though. Obviously, something good is going to happen at the end of the new star wars movies. Perhaps not in every installment, but definitely by the end of the trilogy.

I am obviously not saying I want the star wars movie to be Apocalypse Now! I am simply saying, I want the story to have some negative stuff going on, if it didn't, there would be no suspense.

Very few movies do not have some sort of positive at the end. I think it can be refreshing when the story has an unhappy ending. Se7en for example, is an excellent movie. The Usual Suspects is my favorite movie, the bad guy gets away.

Empire is my favorite installment of the trilogy to date... and it certainly doesn't have a happy ending. Unhappy endings are real. I can relate to that. I always hate it when they tie too nice a bow on at the end.

[dougdirt]

Empire is my favorite installment of the trilogy to date... and it certainly doesn't have a happy ending. Unhappy endings are real. I can relate to that. I always hate it when they tie too nice a bow on at the end.

Must be easier when you aren't a Cincinnati sports fan, where your heart is always ripped from your chest.

[ac084c]

Must be easier when you aren't a Cincinnati sports fan, where your heart is always ripped from your chest.

I am a St. Louis Blues fan....

[Caveat Emperor]

Empire is my favorite installment of the trilogy to date... and it certainly doesn't have a happy ending. Unhappy endings are real. I can relate to that. I always hate it when they tie too nice a bow on at the end.

I get that -- but I was 4 or 5 when I saw Return of the Jedi, and ever since I've been a little kid I've had some idea in my mind about what happened after the camera stopped rolling. The good guys won, Luke emerged to train others in the Jedi arts ("pass on what you have learned..."), the scoundral-smuggler turned hero got the princess, etc.

I'm all for realistic endings and no one ever living happily ever after -- but this is treading into some sacred ground from my childhood. I'm not going to be completely rational on this one.

[dougdirt]

I am a St. Louis Blues fan....

Cool. I'm a Cincinnati Bengals fan. I'm a Cincinnati Bearcats fan. I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan.

I'm assuming you're also a Rams fan? That means in your lifetime you've experienced a Super Bowl win and at least two World Series in your lifetime.

I'm 31. I've never experienced my team even playing in a championship. Heck, since I was 12-years-old, none of my teams have even really won a postseason game/series. Instead, I've gotten the #1 ranked team in the country with the #1 player in the country getting his leg rolled up on in the conference tournament, them finishing 31-2 and getting a #2 seed in the tournament and losing. I get Carson Palmer blowing out his knee on the first play of a playoff game in the franchise's history in my memorable lifetime. I got a three game sweep in Milwaukee in 1999 followed by Al freakin Leiter in 1999. Then I got the lost decade, followed up by Roy Halladay no-hitting my team in their first playoff game in 15 years. Then I got the lose-three-in-a-row at home to the Giants.

Sorry, being a Blues fan doesn't really compute for me.

[RedTeamGo!]

I get that -- but I was 4 or 5 when I saw Return of the Jedi, and ever since I've been a little kid I've had some idea in my mind about what happened after the camera stopped rolling. The good guys won, Luke emerged to train others in the Jedi arts ("pass on what you have learned..."), the scoundral-smuggler turned hero got the princess, etc.

I'm all for realistic endings and no one ever living happily ever after -- but this is treading into some sacred ground from my childhood. I'm not going to be completely rational on this one.

Great post.

I respect how invested you are in the movies.

[ac084c]

Cool. I'm a Cincinnati Bengals fan. I'm a Cincinnati Bearcats fan. I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan.

I'm assuming you're also a Rams fan? That means in your lifetime you've experienced a Super Bowl win and at least two World Series in your lifetime.

I'm 31. I've never experienced my team even playing in a championship. Heck, since I was 12-years-old, none of my teams have even really won a postseason game/series. Instead, I've gotten the #1 ranked team in the country with the #1 player in the country getting his leg rolled up on in the conference tournament, them finishing 31-2 and getting a #2 seed in the tournament and losing. I get Carson Palmer blowing out his knee on the first play of a playoff game in the franchise's history in my memorable lifetime. I got a three game sweep in Milwaukee in 1999 followed by Al freakin Leiter in 1999. Then I got the lost decade, followed up by Roy Halladay no-hitting my team in their first playoff game in 15 years. Then I got the lose-three-in-a-row at home to the Giants.

Sorry, being a Blues fan doesn't really compute for me.

I didn't say they were equal... I just said I can understand having my heart ripped out by a sports franchise. My alma mater (Missouri) has also killed some joy since I matriculated and graduated from there. The basketball team that has never made a final four, in spite of some serious serious talent (the last tournament team being a 2 seed that lost to a 15). Football teams that have consistently won their division (in both the Big XII and the SEC) only to get embarassed in the championship game with a #1 ranking and a shot at the BCS Championship on the line. I got one year of the Rams winning the super bowl, a few years of early exits, and the heartbreaking super bowl loss to the Patriots (that many here including former players still believe was cheated away from them) followed by nearly a lost decade of obscurity. And now that team is a consistent 8-8 or 7-9 team whose owner is threatening to leave town. And then we have the Blues... who have never won a Stanley up in spite of having some of the most talented players and coaches... players and coaches who, mind you, all went on to win Cups the moment they were traded or left. This is a team that's nearly always making the playoffs, and just as quickly leaving in the first round.

So yes, I know heartbreak. The Cardinals have kept it from falling to the level you've described.

I still like my movie endings real.

[Caveat Emperor]

On the subject of the actual trailer -- I watched it a dozen times at work today.

There seems to be a ton going on in this flick. I can't help but think it's going to lack the "space" that made the first 2-3 movies so good in favor of the more frantic / kinetic style that most modern big-budget movies go for.

[RedTeamGo!]

On the subject of the actual trailer -- I watched it a dozen times at work today.

There seems to be a ton going on in this flick. I can't help but think it's going to lack the "space" that made the first 2-3 movies so good in favor of the more frantic / kinetic style that most modern big-budget movies go for.

I get that, but I think that may be a result of JJ wanting to limit exposure to the plot. Really we have little idea what this movie is about.

[westofyou]

Cool. I'm a Cincinnati Bengals fan. I'm a Cincinnati Bearcats fan. I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan.

I'm assuming you're also a Rams fan? That means in your lifetime you've experienced a Super Bowl win and at least two World Series in your lifetime.

I'm 31. I've never experienced my team even playing in a championship. Heck, since I was 12-years-old, none of my teams have even really won a postseason game/series. Instead, I've gotten the #1 ranked team in the country with the #1 player in the country getting his leg rolled up on in the conference tournament, them finishing 31-2 and getting a #2 seed in the tournament and losing. I get Carson Palmer blowing out his knee on the first play of a playoff game in the franchise's history in my memorable lifetime. I got a three game sweep in Milwaukee in 1999 followed by Al freakin Leiter in 1999. Then I got the lost decade, followed up by Roy Halladay no-hitting my team in their first playoff game in 15 years. Then I got the lose-three-in-a-row at home to the Giants.

Sorry, being a Blues fan doesn't really compute for me.

Poor Blues....

Go Wings

[schmidty622]

I didn't say they were equal... I just said I can understand having my heart ripped out by a sports franchise. My alma mater (Missouri) has also killed some joy since I matriculated and graduated from there. The basketball team that has never made a final four, in spite of some serious serious talent (the last tournament team being a 2 seed that lost to a 15). Football teams that have consistently won their division (in both the Big XII and the SEC) only to get embarassed in the championship game with a #1 ranking and a shot at the BCS Championship on the line. I got one year of the Rams winning the super bowl, a few years of early exits, and the heartbreaking super bowl loss to the Patriots (that many here including former players still believe was cheated away from them) followed by nearly a lost decade of obscurity. And now that team is a consistent 8-8 or 7-9 team whose owner is threatening to leave town. And then we have the Blues... who have never won a Stanley up in spite of having some of the most talented players and coaches... players and coaches who, mind you, all went on to win Cups the moment they were traded or left. This is a team that's nearly always making the playoffs, and just as quickly leaving in the first round.

So yes, I know heartbreak. The Cardinals have kept it from falling to the level you've described.

I still like my movie endings real.

Maybe you guys can have your 'who has the more depressing sports life' pissing contest in private? Cus like, no one cares.

Also, Dougdirt, calling Star Wars fans nerds? Like investing significant time into analyzing a sports team's minor league franchises isn't one of the most nerdy things anyone could possibly do.

[Rojo]

Me-owwww.

Take that Doug!

[Razor Shines]

I have a cousin that loved Star Wars throughout childhood and adulthood that is being so negative about the new movie. Today he was complaining about the "forced PC characters" of Finn (the young black man) and Rey (the young woman). I also saw some other people complaining on twitter about the "PC black lead."

My question: What is wrong with people?

Why can't the main character of a huge movie be black just because he performed the best during casting call, has experience being a lead in a sci fi movie (Attack The Block), and has the quiet/serious demeanor JJ Abrams wants in the lead?

I just don't get it.

My cousin finished up his stupid rant by saying "I bet there is a gay in it. Mark my words." I just said "Who cares?"

I guess I'm only surprised that you found a real person that actually has a problem with it. I saw the #boycottstarwars trending on twitter and read the through the tweets and it was almost only people decrying the stupid hash tag. I think the only reason that hash tag was trending was that millions of people were tweeting about it trashing the idea. But there was that one website that complained about Fury Road I thought it had to be satire turns out it wasn't, what do I know?

[schmidty622]

My thoughts for the first 20-30 minutes of TFA.

Han and Leia are in a similar role as Owen and Beru at the beginning of the movie. They live on Jakku with Rey, their adopted (perhaps actual) daughter. They live in secret and only cryptically discuss the past. Rey is a scavenger of the graveyard of star ships that crash landed on Jakku during the battle between the Empire and the Rebels. She finds something in the wreckage of one of the Star Destroyers but is unsure what it is. She is intercepted by a group of New Order Imperials while leaving the site and forced/talked into giving her findings over. This is an item that Kylo Ren (the dark jedi/jedi enthusiast) covets. When she returns home we see her looking as the travelers she just met leave the planet to head back to their Star Destroyer.

At the same time, Finn, the Storm Trooper, is having a falling out on the Star Destroyer and eventually escapes in a Tie Fighter. That Tie Fighter is somehow shot down, eventually crash landing on Jakku. He makes his way to the home of Rey, Han, and Leia. Leia identifies Finn as being force adept. Han does not think they should discuss it. At this point the New Order has sent a unit to try and recover or kill the escaped Finn. Seeing this, Han takes pity and is forced to reveal his ownership of the Millennium Falcon to Rey and Finn. A escape scene from Jakku ensues. Once away from danger Han reveals his past as well and has that "It's all true" speech. Leia admits she can't train Finn and instead suggests they seek out her brother, Luke.

Just early thoughts and probably way wrong.

[schmidty622]

Me-owwww.

Take that Doug!

Haha, that probably came off way more catty than I wanted it to. I meant more like, 'yada yada yada, we all have passions. yada yada yada, to others those things might be seen as really nerdy.' Wasn't trying to start some battle.

[ac084c]

Poor Blues....

Go Wings

Where's the 'dislike' button?

[klw]

Haha, that probably came off way more catty than I wanted it to. I meant more like, 'yada yada yada, we all have passions. yada yada yada, to others those things might be seen as really nerdy.' Wasn't trying to start some battle.

I had used the Nerds meme on Doug a couple of weeks ago when he had corrected someone who had referred to the Rule V draft instead of Rule 5 so I think there was so turn about is fair play involved. I would not be shocked if his tongue was in cheek.

[schmidty622]

I had used the Nerds meme on Doug a couple of weeks ago when he had corrected someone who had referred to the Rule V draft instead of Rule 5 so I think there was so turn about is fair play involved. I would not be shocked if his tongue was in cheek.

I wouldn't be shocked either. I'm sure all intentions were and are good! Just think we're all probably past calling people nerds for having interests that may not square with our own. However nerdy those interests may in fact be!

If you're a dork tho? Oh my god! Hell hath no fury...

[RedEye]

My thoughts for the first 20-30 minutes of TFA.

Han and Leia are in a similar role as Owen and Beru at the beginning of the movie. They live on Jakku with Rey, their adopted (perhaps actual) daughter. They live in secret and only cryptically discuss the past. Rey is a scavenger of the graveyard of star ships that crash landed on Jakku during the battle between the Empire and the Rebels. She finds something in the wreckage of one of the Star Destroyers but is unsure what it is. She is intercepted by a group of New Order Imperials while leaving the site and forced/talked into giving her findings over. This is an item that Kylo Ren (the dark jedi/jedi enthusiast) covets. When she returns home we see her looking as the travelers she just met leave the planet to head back to their Star Destroyer.

At the same time, Finn, the Storm Trooper, is having a falling out on the Star Destroyer and eventually escapes in a Tie Fighter. That Tie Fighter is somehow shot down, eventually crash landing on Jakku. He makes his way to the home of Rey, Han, and Leia. Leia identifies Finn as being force adept. Han does not think they should discuss it. At this point the New Order has sent a unit to try and recover or kill the escaped Finn. Seeing this, Han takes pity and is forced to reveal his ownership of the Millennium Falcon to Rey and Finn. A escape scene from Jakku ensues. Once away from danger Han reveals his past as well and has that "It's all true" speech. Leia admits she can't train Finn and instead suggests they seek out her brother, Luke.

Just early thoughts and probably way wrong.

That's pretty darn good. I actually came to similar conclusions, though I didn't envision Rey as Leia/Han's daughter.

BTW, is there any credence to the rumors that both Kylo and Rey are their kids? I mean, it would make sense with the other movies (and the Skywalker genetics) but I kinda don't like the idea.

Related to what CE was writing earlier about the "gravity" of the originals, I think a lot of what was lacking in the prequels for me compared to IV-VI was world building. Lucas et al. did a decent job with the digital creation of the world as a visual place, but they did an awful job of stitching characters into an expansive place.

Part of what I loved about A New Hope, Empire and ROTJ was that there was a sense of randomness. R2 and 3PO were two droids who just happened to be in the right place at the right time when a princess in distress needed to send a message; Han was just a rogue smuggler with a fast ship who needed some dough and happened to be at Mos Eisley when Ben Kenobi and the gang hit the border town; Boba Fett was just a bounty hunter with a cool mask, a jet pack and a ship that looked like a dust buster. I loved that there were seemingly endless characters with mysterious backstories -- or perhaps no knowable expository material -- floating around the galaxy where there are lots of life forms and unaffiliated colonies.

And then came the prequels, and all was ruined: we find out the Anakin actually built 3PO years ago; we find out about Jango Fett; we realize that the Force actually has a biological explanation.

And Jar Jar Binks

So I'm with you CE on your hesitations about these new movies and their creation of "space." And I hope they are good. And I like the way, at least in the trailers, there are new characters who don't seem to have any necessary connection to one another -- a junk collector on Jakku, an AWOL New Order troop, a fringey Sith worshipper-turned-lord. I kind hope Abrams realizes that they can just be this... and that they aren't genetically tied to the Skywalkers or anything.

[schmidty622]

That's pretty darn good. I actually came to similar conclusions, though I didn't envision Rey as Leia/Han's daughter.

BTW, is there any credence to the rumors that both Kylo and Rey are their kids? I mean, it would make sense with the other movies (and the Skywalker genetics) but I kinda don't like the idea.

Related to what CE was writing earlier about the "gravity" of the originals, I think a lot of what was lacking in the prequels for me compared to IV-VI was world building. Lucas et al. did a decent job with the digital creation of the world as a visual place, but they did an awful job of stitching characters into an expansive place. Part of what I loved about A New Hope, Empire and ROTJ was that there was a sense of randomness. R2 and 3PO were two droids who just happened to be in the right place at the right time when a princess in distress needed to send a message; Han was just a rogue smuggler with a fast ship who needed some dough and happened to be at Mos Eisley when Ben Kenobi and the gang hit the border town; Boba Fett was just a bounty hunter with a cool mask, a jet pack and a ship that looked like a dust buster. I loved that there were seemingly endless characters with mysterious backstories -- or perhaps no knowable expository material -- floating around the galaxy where there are lots of life forms and unaffiliated colonies.

And then came the prequels, and all was ruined: we find out the Anakin actually built 3PO years ago; we find out about Jango Fett; we realize that the Force actually has a biological explanation.

And Jar Jar Binks

So I'm with you CE on your hesitations about these new movies and their creation of "space." And I hope they are good. And I like the way, at least in the trailers, there are new characters who don't seem to have any necessary connection to one another -- a junk collector on Jakku, an AWOL New Order troop, a fringey Sith worshipper-turned-lord. I kind hope Abrams realizes that they can just be this... and that they aren't genetically tied to the Skywalkers or anything.

Rey's English accent in the trailer is throwing me. She might not be their actual daughter. The way she says 'those stories about what happened' however, and the way Han answers makes me think there is a relationship there.

I could see one being a child of Luke and one being a child of Leia/Han. We might not get that right away though. I know in the EU Han and Leia had twins but I think the new versions are trying to distance themselves from that. I could see a reveal in 8 or 9 being a Luke connection to whoever the 'big bad' is in this movie.

[RedEye]

Rey's English accent in the trailer is throwing me. She might not be their actual daughter. The way she says 'those stories about what happened' however, and the way Han answers makes me think there is a relationship there.

I could see one being a child of Luke and one being a child of Leia/Han. We might not get that right away though. I know in the EU Han and Leia had twins but I think the new versions are trying to distance themselves from that. I could see a reveal in 8 or 9 being a Luke connection to whoever the 'big bad' is in this movie.

Yeah, I could see that happening, too. What is the EU again?

I'm also curious about the role of Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). Could he be the anti-Finn? The X-wing pilot gone bad? It looks in one brief shot of the third trailer like perhaps he is being influenced (?) by Kylo Ren. I could be dreaming that up though.

[RedTeamGo!]

EU = Expanded Universe

[RedEye]

EU = Expanded Universe

So that's including all non-canon stuff, right?

[schmidty622]

Yeah, I could see that happening, too. What is the EU again?

I'm also curious about the role of Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). Could he be the anti-Finn? The X-wing pilot gone bad? It looks in one brief shot of the third trailer like perhaps he is being influenced (?) by Kylo Ren. I could be dreaming that up though.

EU is Expanded Universe. It's basically all the books/stories that were written between the end of Return of the Jedi and when they sold the franchise to Disney. They have tossed all of that away and are making a new story (which i'm kinda happy with, kinda not).

The idea about Issac's role that is my favorite would go hand in hand with Finn's adventures early in the movie. Issac is captured by the New Order after some sort of military operation. Finn takes pity on him during that operation and is exiled/arrested as a consequence. He is kept and contained near Issac/Poe. They plot together and escape at the same time. Poe getting to hyperspace and Finn getting shot down.

Again, all conjecture and surely wrong. It's just fun to think/read about.

[KronoRed]

You want movies that are extremely happy and optimistic? That sounds really boring.

Think about it, the galaxy is huge and has many planets and trillions of people. You really think the vast majority of these people who have never seen legit evidence the force exists are just going to blindly believe it exists?

Luke, Darth Vader, The Emperor, and Leia were the only force sensitive people in Rotj, and it is known that the empire destroyed all evidence of the Jedi existing after the clone wars and put our propaganda they were just myth. If you were caught talking about the Jedi, you were executed. After Rotj Darth Vader and the Emperor are dead, and they never made it known to the public the empire was controlled by the sith and that they were sith. Remember how surprised Han was in Empire when he shot Darth and he simply stops the blasts with his hand? After Rotj I am guessing Luke when into hermit mode and Leia never learned how to be a Jedi. Doesn't seem so far fetched to me.

Also, do you like Star Wars? You seem pretty negative about the whole thing throughout the thread.
Loved the original trilogy, have found everything since then to be average to a colossal bore.

Don't really need happy and optimistic but how about a story that actually evolves? of course this is all assumption based on what very little we've seen, but so far this just sounds like A New Hope being retold, putting aside the force/jedi/sith, this looks like the exact same universe we left 30 years ago.

I'll see it and hold out hope it will be fun :D

[RedTeamGo!]

Loved the original trilogy, have found everything since then to be average to a colossal bore.

Don't really need happy and optimistic but how about a story that actually evolves? of course this is all assumption based on what very little we've seen, but so far this just sounds like A New Hope being retold, putting aside the force/jedi/sith, this looks like the exact same universe we left 30 years ago.

I'll see it and hold out hope it will be fun :D

I've seen others say it looks like a retelling of ANH, and I don't really know where they are getting it from. Very little has been released of story.

[dougdirt]

Maybe you guys can have your 'who has the more depressing sports life' pissing contest in private? Cus like, no one cares.

Also, Dougdirt, calling Star Wars fans nerds? Like investing significant time into analyzing a sports team's minor league franchises isn't one of the most nerdy things anyone could possibly do.

I care about my depressing sports life. So I will urinate where I want.

Also, Star Wars fans are nerds. That's a fact.

Of course, everyone is a nerd about something. Also a fact. I like photography. I like space (and not Star Wars - go figure). I like math. I'm a total nerd about some things. It's not big deal.

The post was completely in jest, but let's be real: The internet was absolutely, 100% NERDING out over that trailer. I posted the picture. It was funny.

[ac084c]

I've seen others say it looks like a retelling of ANH, and I don't really know where they are getting it from. Very little has been released of story.


They're basing it on what they've seen in the trailers and perceived character symmetry.

Rey is a loner on a sand planet longing to get off that planet... Luke in ANH
Finn is affiliated with the Empire, in distress, trying to get help from the resistance... Leia in ANH (she wasn't really affiliated, though she was an emissary to the Senate).
Poe is an arrogant hotshot pilot... Han in ANH
Kylo Ren is a zealous menacing presence, dressed in black, wearing a mask... Vader in ANH
Luke is an old hermit people are searching for... Obiwan in ANH
BB-8 is a quirky astromech droid holding a secret (rumors)... R2 in ANH

At least from what we've seen, there appears to be a ton of symmetry (though not perfect, obviously).

[RedTeamGo!]

We have no idea if Luke is a hermit, he hasn't been shown once. That is a total guess by folks.

How do we know Poe is arrogant? He hasn't said one line in the trailers.

[Caveat Emperor]

If anything, Poe looks (based on the trailers) to be more of an Rogue Squadron series Wedge Antilles.

[Rojo]

Rey is a scavenger of the graveyard of star ships that crash landed on Jakku during the battle between the Empire and the Rebels. She finds something in the wreckage of one of the Star Destroyers but is unsure what it is.

Vader's mask?

[RedTeamGo!]

Vader's mask?

I am guessing a lightsaber, maybe obi-wons.

[ac084c]

I am guessing a lightsaber, maybe obi-wons.

The theorists guess that it's Luke's (lost in Bespin when Vader cut off his hand).

[ac084c]

We have no idea if Luke is a hermit, he hasn't been shown once. That is a total guess by folks.

How do we know Poe is arrogant? He hasn't said one line in the trailers.

Apparently some pictures have leaked of him bearded and in worn jedi robes (much like Ol' Ben in ANH)... you're right though... total supposition.

Well Oscar Isaac in interviews has said Poe Dameron is the "best friggin' pilot in the galaxy"... so i'd guess it's based on that.

Again, I'm not saying it's going to be the same shot by shot movie... but there is some notable symmetry - or at least enough to infer some.

[Caveat Emperor]

Apparently some pictures have leaked of him bearded and in worn jedi robes (much like Ol' Ben in ANH)... you're right though... total supposition.


http://i.imgur.com/GLKSBvU.jpg

I'm telling you, I've got a bad feeling about this...

[RedTeamGo!]

I think it's a lightsaber because I doubt Finn would have the knowledge to make one based on the fact the characters don't know the force exists.

[schmidty622]

Vader's mask?

I think he was burned in the pyre on Endor. Don't think they would find that on another planet. The object itself might not have any significance. Maybe just a way to move the plot along?

[schmidty622]

I'm guessing Finn gets that Lightsaber from Luke through Leia. There is a scene in an earlier trailer where it is handed to a clearly female hand.

EDIT: Re-watching that second trailer, the line that is said during that hand off of the lightsaber is in fact "My sister has it..."

[schmidty622]

Watching the trailer for about the thousandth time has me asking another question... is the Star Wars score the best movie score of all time? The music just fits so seamlessly.

[Eric from NC]

It is great. As a kid, I listened to the star wars movie soundtrack on vinyl and never got bored with it. One of the best things about the Disney kids show Star Wars Rebels is that they use the original Williams music.

The Indiana Jones music is great as well. I don't have it on disk,but I do enjoy catching the hd version on Saturday once in while on NBC Universal (syfy, usa, bravo). This soundtrack also sounds great in its remastered form.

[RedTeamGo!]

I'm guessing Finn gets that Lightsaber from Luke through Leia. There is a scene in an earlier trailer where it is handed to a clearly female hand.

EDIT: Re-watching that second trailer, the line that is said during that hand off of the lightsaber is in fact "My sister has it..."

I think that is a quote from RotJ, isn't it? When Luke is talking about the force..."I have it...my father has it.......my...sister has it."

[schmidty622]

I think that is a quote from RotJ, isn't it? When Luke is talking about the force..."I have it...my father has it.......my...sister has it."

I genuinely don't remember but does he go on to say "you have that power too" in ROTJ? Also, that wouldn't (in my eyes) change the fact that they have the lightsaber handoff happen when he says "my sister has it".

[Razor Shines]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/22/81a3e18d0f16e41b0d959a102838e053.jpg

I was supposed to buy these earlier this week, surprised I got some near middle back if the theater.

[19braves77]

From everything I read about the trailer, is that "The Seven" pictured in this photo have slayed the Ewoks:

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/5625e62ae4b059071d24e873/1445324332289/?format=750w

[RedEye]

From everything I read about the trailer, is that "The Seven" pictured in this photo have slayed the Ewoks:

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/5625e62ae4b059071d24e873/1445324332289/?format=750w

All of them? Sheesh.

[RFS62]

From everything I read about the trailer, is that "The Seven" pictured in this photo have slayed the Ewoks:

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/5625e62ae4b059071d24e873/1445324332289/?format=750w


All of them? Sheesh.


They had it coming.


Just sayin'

[757690]

From everything I read about the trailer, is that "The Seven" pictured in this photo have slayed the Ewoks:

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/5625e62ae4b059071d24e873/1445324332289/?format=750w

Is it wrong to hope that Jar Jar Binks was fighting with the Ewoks?

[ac084c]

So I read Star Wars: Aftermath in about 3 days last week/this weekend. It was okay. A few familiar faces here and there, but mostly new story, new characters.

There was not a ton of insight into TFA.

[Caveat Emperor]

So I read Star Wars: Aftermath in about 3 days last week/this weekend. It was okay. A few familiar faces here and there, but mostly new story, new characters.

There was not a ton of insight into TFA.

I thought about picking that up on my Kindle, but I heard from several people that the book reads like an 8th grader's fan fiction in terms of writing ability.

[ac084c]

I thought about picking that up on my Kindle, but I heard from several people that the book reads like an 8th grader's fan fiction in terms of writing ability.

I can see that... it was a little distracting at first, but I guess I got used to it.

[Joseph]

Mark Hamill just responded to one of my tweets that wasn't really aimed at him [ie not soliciting]. I'm kinda geeked out.

[RedEye]

Mark Hamill just responded to one of my tweets that wasn't really aimed at him [ie not soliciting]. I'm kinda geeked out.

What did he say? What did you ask?

[RedTeamGo!]

J.J. Abrams helped a dying Star Wars fan see The Force Awakens early
The movie's cast members supported #ForceforDaniel in recent weeks
By Jamieson Cox on November 5, 2015 05:19 pm

http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9677814/star-wars-the-force-awakens-advance-screening-daniel-fleetwood

In the tmz article his wife was quoted as saying Daniel "loved it."

[ac084c]

Disney released an International trailer that has a bit more footage/background dialogue.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdAUiyeJMFQ

This breaks down the new stuff in gif form:
http://io9.com/holy-cow-this-international-star-wars-the-force-awake-1740954520

[19braves77]

I have read that there is something very important inside BB-8......

[Caveat Emperor]

The TIE Fighters flying out of the sun...

[Raisor]

The TIE Fighters flying out of the sun...

Is how you know it's a JJ Abrams film.

[klw]

The TIE Fighters flying out of the sun...

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--DfEBTzmB--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1507041736147986246.gif

[Caveat Emperor]

Is how you know it's a JJ Abrams film.

The attention to detail in all the effects shots has been unreal thus far.

[Raisor]

I just watched the international trailer.


Wow.

[Caveat Emperor]

Good interview with JJ Abrams -- spoiler free, unless you want to really start reading in between the lines and guessing based on what he says about the making of the flick:

http://www.wired.com/2015/11/star-wars-force-awakens-jj-abrams-interview

Also provided my total nerd-moment for the day: I've known since I was a kid that the wings on an X-Wing were referred to as "S-Foils," but until I read the caption on one of those photos, I never put two-and-two together and realized the "S" stood for "Strike."

[klw]

I just watched the international trailer.


Wow.

Now go study the TV spot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU-s_HAEwsg

[19braves77]

From just the trailers, I am guessing Rey buys BB 8 not knowing he is carrying something very important. Finn is responsible for BB 8 getting out of the First Order hands once he realizes what he is carrying. Kyle Ren sends a swat team to recover BB 8 with Princess Leai also sending Poe Dameron to recover what it inside BB 8. This then sets in motion the movie. This might also be explained in the opening scroll part but written better lol

They have done a great job releasing trailers with very little plotlines ruined.

[ac084c]

Apparently with TFA, we're going to get previews for both X-Men: Apocalypse and Captain America: Civil War.

I didn't realize all the people that have been cast for both of those movies (according to IMDB).

X-Men:
Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) will play Apocalypse
Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark in GoT) will play a Young Jean Grey
Olivia Munn will play Psylocke
Alexandra Shipp will play Storm

CA: CW:
Tom Holland will play Peter Parker
Marisa Tomei will play May Parker (rumored)

[Caveat Emperor]

Well, December 2015 is here.

That happened quickly.

[RedTeamGo!]

Olivia Munn will play Psyloche

Oh my.

[RedEye]

Nm

[marcshoe]

Oh well, Jar Jar Binks is not a Sith lord (http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/08/entertainment/star-wars-jar-jar-binks-feat/index.html).

But someday, Jar Jar will get his revenge!

[RedTeamGo!]

9 days.

NINE!!!!!!!

Here is a picture of Wedge Antilles at the Battle of Yavin, just because:

10114

[RedEye]

Oh well, Jar Jar Binks is not a Sith lord (http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/08/entertainment/star-wars-jar-jar-binks-feat/index.html).

But someday, Jar Jar will get his revenge!

Jar Jar singlehandedly ruined Episode I. I think he already got his.

[RedEye]

Just bought my tickets for Saturday the 19th. Very stoked. All signs point to a franchise returning to form.

[Razor Shines]

Nine days? Wow, no way I could wait that long. Although by the time it ends we will be a couple hours into day 9. Also, that third seat is for my seven year old son, ha. That Thursday is his last day of school and he's so excited to see it we're gonna let him go with us to the late show.


http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/22/81a3e18d0f16e41b0d959a102838e053.jpg
.

[Caveat Emperor]

So, what's the proper method of preparation here?

Watch all 6 movies? Watch just the original films and pretend the prequels don't exist?

[RedTeamGo!]

watch just the original films and pretend the prequels don't exist?

ding ding ding

[RedEye]

So, what's the proper method of preparation here?

Watch all 6 movies? Watch just the original films and pretend the prequels don't exist?

I'm taking the latter approach. Which leads me to a question -- does anyone know which version of the DVD has the original release versions? I'd love to show my son those ones, but it is hard to tell on the online descriptions. I've already polled my film/media colleagues and the best they know about is actually just to torrent them because there is no good version. Anyone know differently?

[KronoRed]

The DVD's that came out in 05 06? I think, has the originals on a bonus disc but they look like hell because..Lucas.

I'd torrent them.

[cincinnati chili]

So, what's the proper method of preparation here?

Watch all 6 movies? Watch just the original films and pretend the prequels don't exist?

My five year old owns episodes 4 through 6 and does not know the prequels exist. Seriously. If I can help it, she'll know the real story behind Santa Claus before she ever hears of Jar Jar Binks.

[RFS62]

My five year old owns episodes 4 through 6 and does not know the prequels exist. Seriously. If I can help it, she'll know the real story behind Santa Claus before she ever hears of Jar Jar Binks.


Father of the year.

:beerme:

[Caveat Emperor]

I caved and watched Episode 1 tonight. Hadn't seen it in over a decade.

It hasn't aged well, to put it mildly.

[Raisor]

I just bought tix for Thursday 7:20pm.

- - - Updated - - -


I caved and watched Episode 1 tonight. Hadn't seen it in over a decade.

It hasn't aged well, to put it mildly.

Spinning is a good trick.

[WrongVerb]

After the game yesterday I put in ROTJ while the gf was napping. She woke up in the middle of the movie and started watching and was immediately hooked. She'd never seen it before (shocking, I know!). Now we're making plans to go see Ep. 7 probably a week from today after she's off work. Yay!

[RedTeamGo!]

I just bought tix for Thursday 7:20pm.

- - - Updated - - -



Spinning is a good trick.

I called into a Cleveland sports radio show this morning and won two tickets to the Thursday premier by winning a Star Wars trivia contest!

Geekdom.......confirmed!

[Raisor]

I called into a Cleveland sports radio show this morning and won two tickets to the Thursday premier by winning a Star Wars trivia contest!

Geekdom.......confirmed!

Cool! What was the question?

[RedTeamGo!]

Cool! What was the question?

It was a competition between myself and another caller. First to three correct answers won.

1.) What side of the force do the Jedi use?

2.) Han Solo is the captain of what ship?

3.) What is the name of the man-made lake on Skywalker Ranch? (Huh?)

4.) Who was the crime boss.... (This was answered before question ended)

5.) What is the name of Samuel L Jackson's character?

I got 1, 2, and 5 correct. Neither of us got question 3 (I guessed Mos Eisley Lake) and my competitor buzzed in on question 4 before me.

Other than question 3, very easy questions.

[Raisor]

The Skywalker Ranch question must be for Lucas' place in California. Not really a Star Wars question

[Caveat Emperor]

Spinning is a good trick.

Just about every scene Anakin is in is awful.

I was also struck by a few things I hadn't remembered from the last time I watched -- namely how low stakes the entire movie is, and how bland/awful the character of Anakin Skywalker's mother is. She's the "matriarch" of the Skywalker family, and she's just this timid little peasant.

Thank god George Lucas has nothing to do with these new movies.

[RedTeamGo!]

Just about every scene Anakin is in is awful.

I was also struck by a few things I hadn't remembered from the last time I watched -- namely how low stakes the entire movie is, and how bland/awful the character of Anakin Skywalker's mother is. She's the "matriarch" of the Skywalker family, and she's just this timid little peasant.

Thank god George Lucas has nothing to do with these new movies.

One of my main takeaways from rewatching the prequels last year was how incredibly lame the lightsaber duels are. It's just a bunch of twisting, twirling, and flying. I prefer the lightsaber duels were its up close and personal, tight camera angles and tense back and forth.

The battle between Maul, Qui-Gon, and Obi-won is just a bunch of acrobats twisting and flipping around with no words being spoken.

It's one of those rare movies were the action is so over the top it is boring.

I think JJ gets this.

[Raisor]

One of my main takeaways from rewatching the prequels last year was how incredibly lame the lightsaber duels are. It's just a bunch of twisting, twirling, and flying. I prefer the lightsaber duels were its up close and personal, tight camera angles and tense back and forth.

The battle between Maul, Qui-Gon, and Obi-won is just a bunch of acrobats twisting and flipping around with no words being spoken.

It's one of those rare movies were the action is so over the top it is boring.

I think JJ gets this.


I agree that Episode I is garbage, but I disagree about the light saber fight, which was awesome.

[Caveat Emperor]

One of my main takeaways from rewatching the prequels last year was how incredibly lame the lightsaber duels are. It's just a bunch of twisting, twirling, and flying. I prefer the lightsaber duels were its up close and personal, tight camera angles and tense back and forth.

The battle between Maul, Qui-Gon, and Obi-won is just a bunch of acrobats twisting and flipping around with no words being spoken.

It's one of those rare movies were the action is so over the top it is boring.

I think JJ gets this.

Watching again, I liked the lightsaber fights when they were 1 on 1 -- you could see a lot more going on, and it was easy to follow the fight. The problem with it, as you identify, is that it lacks any real sense of weight or meaning because of the lack of setup or dialogue. When you watch the original trilogy, all the lightsaber fights have a psychology that accompanies them -- the tension is built with words as well as with action. Without that, the fights in E1 feel more like video game spectacles instead of parts of a story.

And really, that's the main problem with E1 -- a lot happens, but you're given very little reason to care absent your pre-existing feelings from previous / future installments in the series.

[RedTeamGo!]

Exactly.

In episodes 4-6 the lightsaber duels are used to advance the story and are pivotal moments in the storyline. Obi-won sacrifices himself to become more powerful then ever and help guide Luke to the destruction of the Death Star. Vader defeats Luke and tell him he is his father. Luke defeats Vader and nearly succumbs to the dark side, Vader then sees the error of his ways and saves Luke by killing the emperor.

In the prequel trilogy the lightsaber duels are mindless action scenes. Darth Maul doesn't really matter at all. Maul should have gotten away and been a villain throughout the trilogy, but really, he had no connection to the story other than being a bad dude.

In the original trilogy it was a family affair, which increased the drama.

[wolfboy]

Anyone catch the 60 Minutes spot last night? The JW music sent chills down my spine. Not gonna lie: I'm frekking pumped.

[Beatlessp]

Anyone catch the 60 Minutes spot last night? The JW music sent chills down my spine. Not gonna lie: I'm frekking pumped.

yeah, i just happened to catch that (left cbs on after the WVU/UL-M game, caught the story while eating dinner....JJ's wife was...an interesting interview, lol. SO glad he kept with JW for the score. Loved the part where JJ was filming JW conducting...because, well, its JW conducting a Star Wars symphony

[Beatlessp]

Exactly.

In episodes 4-6 the lightsaber duels are used to advance the story and are pivotal moments in the storyline. Obi-won sacrifices himself to become more powerful then ever and help guide Luke to the destruction of the Death Star. Vader defeats Luke and tell him he is his father. Luke defeats Vader and nearly succumbs to the dark side, Vader then sees the error of his ways and saves Luke by killing the emperor.

In the prequel trilogy the lightsaber duels are mindless action scenes. Darth Maul doesn't really matter at all. Maul should have gotten away and been a villain throughout the trilogy, but really, he had no connection to the story other than being a bad dude.

In the original trilogy it was a family affair, which increased the drama.

That's one of my biggest issues with the PT, that we all knew who the Sith Lord was, but the apprentice kept changing each movie, no time to care that they were even the bad guy....I would have liked it better i think if Maul had stayed the apprentice until killed and usurped by Anakin/Vader in Ep III (although I've never seen Ray Park have more than a couple of lines of dialog, in, well, anything...so I don't think he could have carried the conspiracy plot like Dooku did) ......but then again my other big problems with the PT are Hayden Christensen, weak stories, and even weaker acting......

[wolfboy]

That's one of my biggest issues with the PT, that we all knew who the Sith Lord was, but the apprentice kept changing each movie, no time to care that they were even the bad guy....I would have liked it better i think if Maul had stayed the apprentice until killed and usurped by Anakin/Vader in Ep III (although I've never seen Ray Park have more than a couple of lines of dialog, in, well, anything...so I don't think he could have carried the conspiracy plot like Dooku did) ......but then again my other big problems with the PT are Hayden Christensen, weak stories, and even weaker acting......

I agree that much of the acting in the prequels was pretty weak. In defense of much of the talent though, the scripts were awful as was the directing. I'm so much more optimistic about this next trio of films.

[19braves77]

My ranking of Star Wars film so when I discuss Force Awakens you know where I am coming from:

1. ESB
2. ANH
3. ROTS
4. ROTJ
5. AOTC
6. TPM

[RedTeamGo!]

3. ROTS
4. ROTJ


I am going to assume this is a typo so we can continue our friendship.

[Caveat Emperor]

I agree that Episode I is garbage, but I disagree about the light saber fight, which was awesome.

I was keeping a running chat with a friend while I was watching last night. Some highlights:

"It’s striking how many completely useless scenes are in this movie as well. Easily 50% of the dialogue is wasted time -- why the hell would a queen on the run for her life stop to congratulate and clean a robot? Totally useless scene. And that’s not even getting into the total waste of time the entire “get attacked by big CGI fish” scene was earlier in the movie."

"38:72 — that’s how long it takes you to find out that Liam Neeson’s character is named “Qui-Gon Jinn.” -- that's just some horrendous scripting."

"It’s interesting — Anakin’s mom is basically a timid, boring peasant. Not who you’d expect her to be, based on the fact that she is the “matriarch” of the Skywalkers. You'd think she would be some strong woman, like Leia ended up being."

"Oh hell — I’d completely forgotten about the two-headed announcer alien at the pod racing. Wow. It’s worse than I remember. He's doing a cheesy impersonation of a bad, small-market TV sportscaster."

" 'I don’t care what planet you’re from, that’s gotta hurt!' has to be in the running for the worst line in the entire Star Wars trilogy."

"It’s a shame the prequels never address who Palpatine really is — how a dude from a who-cares planet became a Sith Lord, why he became a Sith Lord, etc. And that’s kinda shocking, when you think about it. He’s arguably the villain of the entire E1-E6 arc, and we learn absolutely nothing about him throughout the movies."

"The plot arc of this film involves a ton of time and effort to get to Coruscant, all to leave it after 15-20 minutes. So odd."

"The “opening and closing red barriers that serve no purpose other than exactly what the plot needs them to serve” are still annoying, even after all these years."

"The real reason this plot is bad? It’s so low stakes. No “Death Star” or peril to the Galaxy, just a negotiation breakdown somewhere. What if the “evil” Trade Federation wins? They raise tariffs on the planet? They stop importing stuff? It’s a trade dispute. Who cares."

[RedTeamGo!]

why the hell would a queen on the run for her life stop to congratulate and clean a robot?

Yep. It makes absolutely no sense in relation to the story. It is 100% fan service. That was one of the only scenes the first time I saw it as a 15 year old nerd that I actually cringed and thought "Ugh, that was lame."



" 'I don’t care what planet you’re from, that’s gotta hurt!' has to be in the running for the worst line in the entire Star Wars trilogy."


I nominate "YIPPPEEEEEE!!" and/or "Now THIS is podracing!"

[WrongVerb]

For those who haven't seen these yet, Red Letter Media does an outstanding critique of Episodes I, II, and III. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI) There are a bunch of parts, each about 10 minutes long. The narrator's delivery is, well, unique, and they are sprinkled with NSFW language and other things that you should probably watch at home away from small children. Still, the critiques are dead on and it's well worth the watch.

[Caveat Emperor]

I nominate "YIPPPEEEEEE!!" and/or "Now THIS is podracing!"

See, I can forgive "YIPPEEEE!" and "Now THIS is a prodacing!" as bad lines, but lines that at least don't sound out of place in the universe as spoken by a child of the age of Anakin.

But one of the major fumbles Episode 1 made with dialogue were these almost "4th Wall"-breaking colloquialisms. This is one of them (another is when one of the Queen's guard uses the phrase "Kiss it goodbye") -- where it breaks you completely out of the fact that you're watching a movie that, allegedly, takes place billions of light years away and millions of years ago in another place with no relation to our world. You hear this announcer sounding like a weekend sports anchor hamming it up for the 11pm news, dropping in a well-worn sports announcer cliche, and all of a sudden you're pulled out of the narrative completely.

If you watch the original movies, Lucas and his writers take great pains to avoid doing that whenever possible -- altering turns-of-phrase to make them sound more alien and/or more "in universe" (referring to Han as a "scruffy looking nerf-herder", etc.).

[KronoRed]

Episode 1 is one of the worst movies I've ever seen, nothing happens.

[Caveat Emperor]

Episode 1 is one of the worst movies I've ever seen, nothing happens.

Yeah -- you can still make a good movie that way (Indiana Jones has absolutely no impact on the storyline of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", for example) but it's just a lot tougher.

[RedTeamGo!]

See, I can forgive "YIPPEEEE!" and "Now THIS is a prodacing!" as bad lines, but lines that at least don't sound out of place in the universe as spoken by a child of the age of Anakin.

But one of the major fumbles Episode 1 made with dialogue were these almost "4th Wall"-breaking colloquialisms. This is one of them (another is when one of the Queen's guard uses the phrase "Kiss it goodbye") -- where it breaks you completely out of the fact that you're watching a movie that, allegedly, takes place billions of light years away and millions of years ago in another place with no relation to our world. You hear this announcer sounding like a weekend sports anchor hamming it up for the 11pm news, dropping in a well-worn sports announcer cliche, and all of a sudden you're pulled out of the narrative completely.

If you watch the original movies, Lucas and his writers take great pains to avoid doing that whenever possible -- altering turns-of-phrase to make them sound more alien and/or more "in universe" (referring to Han as a "scruffy looking nerf-herder", etc.).

That is a great point.