Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens Megathread (for news related discussions)

[Hanyou]

Lawrence Kasdan? I'm sold.

I haven't been this excited about the future of this series since before the prequels were released. It's clearly in good hands.

 

[Hanyou]

I've given the Star Trek series as a whole many chances and simply couldn't sit through an entire movie. They just don't entertain me at all. I'm all for sci-fi movies that aren't all about kicking alien *** and what-not, but not these sci-fi movies. Part of my distaste to them may be due to the fact that they take themselves so seriously.

About half of the movies, including the first, absolutely ******** V'ger one, are damn near unwatchable. They range from absurdly bad to really, really good. But Star Trek IV doesn't take itself seriously (it's a comedy film, actually), and Star Trek II earns its serious tone.

I'm not a huge Star Trek fan either...I just think they're worth trying. Still, if you've been burned by the series before, I can see why you wouldn't want to watch any future ones.

My comparison however was merely drawing from personal experience. I would never say Abrams movie is THE definitive Star Trek movie, neither would I say it is objectively the best of the bunch. But he managed to turn what was once a lacklustre series in my eyes into something rather entertaining. I'm hoping he can usher the same transformation for the Star Wars series.

The Star Wars series only needs to recapture its original charm. The original films had simple stories with straightforward scripts that focused on character development, not plot development. Not only is this ideal for mass-appeal action movies, it actually leaves room for development of themes. The real strength of the original films was that, while you could watch them as run-of-the-mill action films, you could also watch them as modern retellings of classic stories. Star Wars, like Lord of the Rings, was a modern myth, and its success reflected its quality. Also, the worlds felt very tangible and well-defined, so they worked as good escapist fantasy.

The prequels were too complicated, focused too much on plot and too little on characters, and character motivations were incoherent. There were themes, but they were just themes--they had no substance.

One example of a modern film that does what the Star Wars films did is District 9. It's dark, funny, action-packed, and oddly contemplative at times, all at once. Come to think of it, Neill Blomkamp would be a great director for at least one of the movies. Maybe they could get him on board to help with the screenplays, too.

But yes, my point about JJ Abrams is that if he could make a decent movie out of an all-around awful script with awful characters, I can only imagine what he could do with better resources. I can't wait to see.

 

[Djinn]

Upcoming Star Wars Sequels Will Be a Fresh Start

Meaning no EU material will be considered whatsoever as stated by the new scriptwriter.

RIP STAR WARS Expanded Universe | Badass Digest

Fans hoping that the new Star Wars films will in some way reflect the Expanded Universe canon developed over the decades in books, comics and video games will be disappointed to learn that Lawrence Kasdan, who will be writing a stand-alone Star Wars film, is throwing that all away. The LA Times talked to Kasdan, and they have a quote and a paraphrase from him:

[Kasdan isn't] focusing on his previous scripts or on the extended “Star Wars” universe in his approach to writing the new film.

“I’m trying to start fresh,” he said. “There are certain pleasures that we think the saga can bring to people that they’ve been missing, and we’re hoping to bring them that, and at the same time, have them feel that it’s all new.”

That's good news, since pretty much everything in the Expanded Universe is junk. And it's also good news because the promise of something new might mean Kasdan won't be trodding the same Small Universe grounds that have made the Star Wars films feel absolutely claustrophobic.

Another positive quote from Kasdan, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, indicates that he gets why the Prequels sucked, and he'll be trying to avoid their pitfalls:

“The ones I worked on were a long time ago, and they had a slightly different feeling than the ones that followed,” he said. “The first three, ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Empire’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’ are all sort of more about people than the ones that followed. ‘Empire’ appeals to people, I think, because it’s the second act of a three-act play, and everything sort of goes to hell during the movie. And when you leave, everyone is in trouble, and that is the best part of the story to write. And people responded to it. Irvin Kershner was a completely different kind of director than George, so the movie’s much darker than the first ‘Star Wars.’ It’s more edgy.”

That really sums it up - the Prequels aren't about people. They don't have the kind of characters we loved in the original trilogy. I don't know that Kasdan's recent output proves he can be the guy to deliver those kinds of characters, but knowing, as they say, is half the battle.

Well I actually like this turn of events since I have pretty much always hated just about everything EU when it comes to Star Wars. Most of the books just never quite had the same feel at all and quite a few of them are just not right to me at all. Most of it was mediocre or just plain uninspired. There was the occasional gem in there every once in a while but I think this does allow the writers to cherrypick what works and separate it from the massive bloat that is 30+ years of various books. So I like the idea of starting over again with them. Which itself is not any surprise since the prequels did the exact same thing, ignored all the previously created material to tell a whole new story.

 

[Spirit]

Well, maybe i'll like it this time around.

 

[Hero of Time]

I think this is great news. While there have been a few great stories told outside of the main canon, I think it's the right move to have a somewhat fresh start; new stories can be told without being limited by any material irrelevant to the stories being told, besides what occurred in the previous movies. Also, the Expanded Universe stories can still be told in the films if the producers choose to, but now they're not limited by them if they choose to ignore them.

 

[Hanyou]

I love the Thrawn Trilogy.

Can they just let that stay canon and get rid of the prequels and the Clone Wars cartoon?

 

[A Link In Time]

Thrawn, the resurrected Emperor, the Yuushan Vong-I would choose all of these over the crazy concoctions this third trilogy is rumored to be founded on.

If Darth Vader returns, I may not see any of the three forthcoming episodes. Anakin Skywalker's story is told; don't beat a dead horse.

 

[Hanyou]

Thrawn, the resurrected Emperor, the Yuushan Vong-I would choose all of these over the crazy concoctions this third trilogy is rumored to be founded on.

If Darth Vader returns, I may not see any of the three forthcoming episodes. Anakin Skywalker's story is told; don't beat a dead horse.

Judging by the result, I think we should have spared that horse any beatings in the first place.

I don't know what the rumors are, but yeah, I don't expect them to beat the Thrawn trilogy.

 

[Djinn]

Solo confirmed to appear in Ep VII

Parallel Universe

According to a report posted today (February 15), Harrison Ford is very close to returning as Han Solo in "Star Wars: Episode VII."

Bing: More about Harrison Ford | More about 'Star Wars -- Episode VII'

Ever since Disney bought LucasFilm late last year and announced that a new series of "Star Wars" movies would go into production, rumors have been flying about whether any of the original cast would appear, with reports circulating that Ford, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) had all had at least some discussions about the project with George Lucas.

Now the folks at Latino Review -- who are known for their scoops (they first revealed that Thanos would appear at the end of "The Avengers," for instance) -- have reported that Ford will in fact reprise his iconic role as the Corellian smuggler in "Episode VII."

There are no details on how large his role in the movie will be -- since the script is not yet finished -- but apparently Ford, director J.J. Abrams, screenwriter Michael Arndt and LucasFilm head Kathleen Kennedy have all agreed that Solo will return. The site calls the news "official" and says that Ford's deal is "done."

Of course, nothing is truly official until it comes out of the press offices of Disney and LucasFilm, but the possibility of Ford participating in the movie has been confirmed by EW's Geoff Boucher. He tweeted, however, that Ford's deal is not done and "will not be for weeks and perhaps months."

Should Harrison Ford sign up for "Star Wars -- Episode VII"? How large a role would you like to see Han Solo play in the new generation of "Star Wars" films?

I hope this goes a little better than the Indiana Jones reprisal they attempted a few years ago. Although this makes me wonder just what trouble mid 60's Han Solo is going to be getting into in the new series.

 

[Djinn]

Was thinking about making a new thread but then I noticed we had like 4 Star Wars threads ranging over a few years and that would be a shame to drop. So combine and revive into a new Star Wars ep 7 Megathread instead. Perfect for all opinions, discussion, and news leaks that appear in the coming months before the movie is released.

And every good thread needs spoilers so I've got revealed ep7 concept art
http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2014/10/huge-batch-star-wars-episode-vii-concept-art.html
https://imageshack.com/user/themillenniumfalcon
Complete with

Spoiler

a pirates cove on Tatooine with star destroyer parts? And the cyborgs...just look at all the cyborgs

Also according to http://www.theforce.net/story/front...I_Will_Be_Called_The_Force_Awakens_160763.asp
https://twitter.com/starwars/status/530404275957293056
The title of the film has been released, The Force Awakens. Which is an interesting leak considering no one knew the titles of Ep2 or 3 until about 3-5 months before they came out in theaters. Overall i do not mind the title as much, nothing is as cheesy as Attack of the Clones. Also I am really liking the new trooper helmets.

http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/09...98130?lt_source=external,manual,manual,manual
Stormtroopers actually look like they are wearing proper armor that is designed for protection now.





also
http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2014/10/palpatines-first-name-revealed.html

Sheev, the dark overlord of the galaxy real name is Sheev. Turns out he was an 80's teen movie sidekick with a wacky nickname for a name all along.

 

[Emma]

also
http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2014/10/palpatines-first-name-revealed.html

Sheev, the dark overlord of the galaxy real name is Sheev. Turns out he was an 80's teen movie sidekick with a wacky nickname for a name all along.

It fits with the lore of the expanded universe. In the EU, Palpatine is supposed to have been so embarrassed about his first name that he disowned it and went exclusively by his last name from a very young age. So... I'd say that "Sheev" fits the definition of extremely embarrassing name.

 

[Stitch]

I know there has been a rumor going around about Luke's role in this film
Possible MAJOR SPOILERS

Spoiler

It goes something like: Luke becomes an all powerful Jedi and ends up hiding away from the rest of the galaxy afraid that somebody may be able to influence him to use his powers for bad

and with the reveal of the title it seems like it could be more than just a rumor.

 

[Jedizora]

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trailer Released

[video=youtube;erLk59H86ww]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLk59H86ww&[/video]
It's looking pretty good. Looks like the Sith are coming back, I'm interested in the lightsaber with the cross-guards.

 

[JuicieJ]

Interesting Lightsaber. I wonder why it's like that. XD

It's also good to see the Millennium Falcon back.

 

[Azure Sage]

I don't know how I feel about this. Looks like Stormtroopers are still around, and TIE fighters too. So does that mean the Empire is still around? Even though it was defeated? Well, I guess it's okay if they're, like, the last remnants of the Empire. But I'd still prefer they'd use something else, like a new enemy. Also, that Sith with the cool-looking lightsaber is intriguing.