Star Wars: The Force Awakens [** SPOILERS FROM POST 4472 ONWARD **]

johnny_ultimate

Mr Freeze wrote: »

Watched all the Star Wars films last Xmas when I got the Bluray boxset.

But agree with the above poster about how the original films aren't that great anyways, besides Empire of course.

But still the space battle in Return of the Jedi at the end is unreal to this day, and looks amazing still, where as most of the effects heavy scenes in the prequels look brutal.

If there is one thing to praise the original trilogy for unreservedly, it's for the enduring appeal of traditional effects work.

The opening of a New Hope is a more breathtaking technical marvel than anything the prequel trilogy offered.

Mr Freeze

syklops wrote: »

As a life long Indy fan, the only way forward is nothing. Leave it alone. It is the best trilogy ever, aside from BTTF. No cartoons, no spin offs, no reboot. Leave it alone..

Ya leave it alone.

I won't even purchase that Indy Bluray boxset cause its got some other film in it too, that's not worth mentioning.

OU812

I wonder if they own "A New Hope". AFAIK that was owned outright by Fox & Lucas only held the exploitation rights to it as they funded it outright.

The subsequent films were funded wholly by Lucasfilm & released through Fox.

darren ff

EnterNow wrote: »

I'll not be boarding the 'this is automatically gonna be bad' bandwagon. With control removed from Lucas, & handed to fresh minds etc...I'm optimistic about this trouncing the prequel trilogy

I agree 100% the last three weren't too hot so this should breathe fresh air into the franchise , in my humble opinion all the cool Star Wars stories in recent years have come from novels , stort Stories and comics without the Jedi master Lucas directly involved. Not trying to be too nerdy but with gene Roddenberry passed creative control of Star Trek on to a wider group it improved dramatically.
Now weather I want the mouse in charge is another thing altogether !!

OU812

I'm also confident that episode 7 will enter "Son of" territory.

It's a chance to reboot/sequalise the series, using new younger (cheaper) actors.

We'll get cameos or maybe voiceovers from the three main characters (if we're lucky), then the focus will be on their kids going forward.

Beefy78

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't know why people are so annoyed with this. Disney bought Pixar in 2006 and during this time they have released some of their greatest movies; Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up and Toy Story 3. This is because Pixar are more or less left to their own devices. Who is to say it won't be the same for Lucasfilm? I mean look at how the Star Wars franchise has suffered under the helm of George Lucas. A new set of directors would bring a lot to it - I squee'd over the thought of someone like Whedon, del Toro and others throwing taking the helm.

It would be pretty excellent if for some reason this also meant Lucasarts coming back in to production. But I know it's unlikely.

This completely. I'm sure that Disney will put some of their own people in at Lucasfilm to replace those going out but once there there is nothing to suggest that Disney will be hands-on.

Personally, I think this is great news.

syklops

darren ff wrote: »

I agree 100% the last three weren't too hot so this should breathe fresh air into the franchise , in my humble opinion all the cool Star Wars stories in recent years have come from novels , stort Stories and comics without the Jedi master Lucas directly involved. Not trying to be too nerdy but with gene Roddenberry passed creative control of Star Trek on to a wider group it improved dramatically.
Now weather I want the mouse in charge is another thing altogether !!

The mouse will be writing the cheques, he wont be wielding the light sabre.

FlashD

syklops wrote: »

As a life long Indy fan, the only way forward is nothing. Leave it alone. It is the best trilogy ever, aside from BTTF. No cartoons, no spin offs, no reboot. Leave it alone.

.

What about the TV series?

Same life long fan here, probably a bigger fan than you too! :D

syklops

FlashD wrote: »

What about the TV series?

Same life long fan here, probably a bigger fan than you too! :D

What about it?

Kinski

The main reason I'm pessimistic is that - creatively at least - this franchise has run out of road. The overall "saga" is an unsalvageable mess, thanks to Lucas' bungling efforts on the prequels; any further films which strive to fit into that continuity are hobbled from the off. The really bold thing to do would be a reboot (or an effective reboot set so far in time from the previous storylines that the continuity issue wouldn't be significant).

If they take their inspiration from the recent Batman trilogy (all quite flawed films IMO, but the only contemporary Hollywood franchise I can think of which is at least somewhat artistically-satisfying and a runaway commercial success) then they should find an up-and-coming writer-director who'll mould a new series according to their own vision - names like Source Code helmer Duncan Jones and the prodigiously-talented Brazilian José Padilha (currently being pushed around by the studio on the set of the new Robocop flick) spring to mind. But that involves a good deal of risk, and after forking out $4bn for something, and immediately announcing that you intend to release a new installment every two years...well, it's not much to go on, but it still doesn't really sound like they plan to take a considered approach to the creative side of things.

VinLieger

OU812 wrote: »

I'm also confident that episode 7 will enter "Son of" territory.

It's a chance to reboot/sequalise the series, using new younger (cheaper) actors.

We'll get cameos or maybe voiceovers from the three main characters (if we're lucky), then the focus will be on their kids going forward.

The problem they run into there is ALOT of these stories have already been written into the Expanded Universe and whatever about them ignoring some parts of EU canon theres some pretty major events that have to be addressed like

chewbaccas death, leia and hans son anakin dying, their other son Jacen turning to the dark side and dying

to name a few

Spoilered it cus some people get pissy about these things

FlashD

syklops wrote: »

What about it?

Think about it for a while, you'll work it out!

The key words are 'lifelong fan' and 'above everyone else'.

Nobody cares.

Same with Star Wars, life long fans think they are calling the shots, reality check, your not...

..the money men are!

syklops

FlashD wrote: »

Think about it for a while, you'll work it out!

The key words are 'lifelong fan' and 'above everyone else'.

Nobody cares.

I still have no idea what you are going on about.

kitakyushu

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

I would break my balls laughing if the first Disney Star Wars film opened up with a big song & dance number.

nicklauski wrote: »

It wasn't far off being done already

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-qd198SFwo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiDRgDmXGi4

Not to mention Lucas actually already *did* open an Indy movie with a song and dance number.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrCn6G7cp5I

TBH this is exactly what I want. Not necessarily musical numbers, but sequels that take a chance and thy something totally different and unexpected.

VinLieger

FlashD wrote: »

Same with Star Wars, life long fans think they are calling the shots, reality check, your not...

Emm no we dont but we're allowed get angry and voice our concerns, of course whatever gets made gets made because of some exec and not to do with what we want but we can still discuss it, ive honestly no idea what your trying to say

Sleepy

VinLieger wrote: »

The problem they run into there is ALOT of these stories have already been written into the Expanded Universe and whatever about them ignoring some parts of EU canon theres some pretty major events that have to be addressed like

chewbaccas death, leia and hans son anakin dying, their other son Jacen turning to the dark side and dying

to name a few

Spoilered it cus some people get pissy about these things

What part of the Expanded Universe do these events happen in? Are any of the novels worth reading or are they really just for the uber-fan who's prepared to overlook crap writing etc.?

I remember hearing of a sequel story where

Luke goes over to the dark-side fueled by jealousy of Leia becoming the more powerful Jedi

. Did that happen? Or was it just some fanfic a friend of mine came across?

Tomk1

Sad Professor wrote: »

It's Disney's idea in fairness.

Well according to wiki:

After losing much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars, and had unofficially canceled his sequel trilogy ......... The sequel trilogy was a reportedly planned trilogy of films (Episodes VII, VIII and IX) by Lucasfilm as a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy

So back in the future 1987:

Not a big fan or really a fan of Star Wars as it's not pure science-fiction, no science, just a kind of king Arthur fantasy set in space.
I really enjoyed prequel film part1, ok that goof was for the kids, and Lucus got slated for it, though those films should've been for a newer generation which I say film1 succeeded in doing, but 2 & 3 then tried to appease the older generation fans (a Jedi killing children is not a kids movie) but at least Disney won't care about +40yr old fanboys&girls, Disney with a target audience of <14 who have no real idea about star-wars, hopefully looking forward to some good fun entertainment movies, that will bring the franchise back to life.

Oh err.
Man says he predicted 7th Star Wars movie
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/UnNews:Man_says_he_predicted_7th_Star_Wars_movie

Thwip!

kitakyushu

I'm gonna guess Duncan Jones.

Thwip!

kitakyushu wrote: »

I'm gonna guess Duncan Jones.

I'm guessing Matthew Vaughan, he did just pull out of the X-men first class sequel

pixelburp

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

My childhood was more ruined when I watched the original films a few years ago and realised that they were not in fact the best thing ever. Many of the script issues that held back the newer ones were in place from the beginning. Luckily, A New Hope and Empire... also have a wealth of truly iconic images and characters, even if nostalgia has distorted the strengths and weaknesses of the films out of all proportion.

Well yes there is this too: if I'm honest, I intentionally haven't watched the original trilogy in years now, pretty much for the reasons you talk of - I know in my heart of hearts & in the cold light of day, A New Hope & Jedi are a bit naff, to put it mildly, and will only make me squirm. So I'm happy to keep the films in my memory, where they shall be fun & harmless for all time. I think it's funny how people are talking about a 'dark' Star Wars though, clearly distorting their own memories of the trilogy & overemphasizing the tone of Empire, above the predominantly light & frothy majority of the franchise.

Ridley

Sleepy wrote: »

What part of the Expanded Universe do these events happen in? Are any of the novels worth reading or are they really just for the uber-fan who's prepared to overlook crap writing etc.?

I remember hearing of a sequel story where

Luke goes over to the dark-side fueled by jealousy of Leia becoming the more powerful Jedi

. Did that happen? Or was it just some fanfic a friend of mine came across?

In the spinoffs there are kind of two sequel trilogies.

The novels got the Thrawn trilogy and the comics got Dark Empire. Dark Empire sees Luke Skywalker

basically going to the dark side while trying to defeated a resurrected Emperor.

That Leia bit is wrong though.

Chewbacca and Anakin Solo die in the New Jedi Order series and Jacen Solo becomes a Sith (blech) and dies in the Legacy of the Jedi series.

(Do I really need to redact this?)

From my experience of reading the EU some ideas are horrible

(bringing the Sith back was one)

while some are good stories. Anything by James Luceno is well regarded, as are Matt Stover's novels.

And in my opinion the comics are consistently better. Not in the case of Dark Empire vs Thrawn though.

VinLieger

Ridley wrote: »

In the spinoffs there are kind of two sequel trilogies.

The novels got the Thrawn trilogy and the comics got Dark Empire. Dark Empire sees Luke Skywalker

basically going to the dark side while trying to defeated a resurrected Emperor.

That Leia bit is wrong though.

Chewbacca and Anakin Solo die in the New Jedi Order series and Jacen Solo becomes a Sith (blech) and dies in the Legacy of the Jedi series.

(Do I really need to redact this?)

From my experience of reading the EU some ideas are horrible

(bringing the Sith back was one)

while some are good stories. Anything by James Luceno is well regarded, as are Matt Stover's novels.

And in my opinion the comics are consistently better. Not in the case of Dark Empire vs Thrawn though.

Thrawn is fantastic and deffinitely a highpoint of the books, but i really enjoyed the X-Wing series, specifically allstons books and they might work on the big screen.
The NJO wasnt fantastic but it did change the format in that they were always on the backfoot and the fact the safety shield around the main characters no longer existed.
Never got around to the comics but have heard good things, my main hope and concern is they dont whitewash anything from the EU comics or novels, just to make a new movie easier

Mr Freeze

Ridley wrote: »

That Leia bit is wrong though.

I read Dark Empire I & II, never read Empires End, but what Leia bit are you referring to?

Beefy78

pixelburp wrote: »

Well yes there is this too: if I'm honest, I intentionally haven't watched the original trilogy in years now, pretty much for the reasons you talk of - I know in my heart of hearts & in the cold light of day, A New Hope & Jedi are a bit naff, to put it mildly, and will only make me squirm. So I'm happy to keep the films in my memory, where they shall be fun & harmless for all time. I think it's funny how people are talking about a 'dark' Star Wars though, clearly distorting their own memories of the trilogy & overemphasizing the tone of Empire, above the predominantly light & frothy majority of the franchise.

A New Hope is fine and Jedi has some great stuff in it. I think the OT stands up well today and looks glorious on Blu-Ray.

molloyjh

Right, I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan. Not an obsessive, but I've read a few of the EU books and while I enjoyed some I didn't really enjoy others. Overall I'm optimistic. There are a couple of things that need to be considered though:

1. There's a wealth of stories to be told, not just directly following Episode 6, but long before and after the films are set. If Disney can tap into that rather than flog the bejesus out of a single story line that would def be a move in the right direction.

2. They should watch the trailers for Star Wars Galaxies. It doesn't all need to be live action. That stuff was epic.

3. Either go with the EU stuff or don't. No middle ground. If they aren't going with it they need to ensure that

Chewy isn't killed off the way he was

.

4. No Yuzhann Vong. I'd take a Jar-Jar movie over them. They were truly awful.

Rubber_Soul

Sad Professor wrote: »

This is a terrible deal when you consider Jobs sold Pixar (which Lucas sold to him for pittance) to Disney for 7 billion six years ago. But then Lucas was never the great businessman that he was made out to be.

It doesn't seem that terrible to me tbh.

Aside from the fact that Pixar was sold before the global downturn, it wasn't dependent on one franchise being the cash cow. If they made a bad movie, they could just make a new one that had no link to the previous one. They had a good back catalogue of films that had massive massive potential for sequels/franchise (Toy Story series, Monsters Inc, Nemo, Cars). Massive merchandising potential and a huge home market.

Aside from the Star Wars franchise, Lucasfilm has few major assets. ILM would be the biggest and I'd imagine the gaming side of LucasArts would do relatively well but wouldn't be massive. While I've no doubt Episode 7 will make a fortune at the box office, it's still fairly risky. Unless they are planning a reboot then they will be losing the icon of the series in Vader, and while I've no doubt Hamill and Ford could be tempted back to the series I'm not sure what long term potential there is in following a 70 year old Han Solo around the galaxy. The likely move would be a hand off to a younger generation and that's risky.

While there's obviously massive potential for profits there still I think Pixar is/was the safer bet, hence the higher price.

Theboinkmaster

StarshipPooper wrote: »

and while I've no doubt Hamill and Ford could be tempted back to the series

I'd very much doubt they could tempt Ford back.

Ridley

Mr Freeze wrote: »

I read Dark Empire I & II, never read Empires End, but what Leia bit are you referring to?

Oh I meant Sleepy's hearing that Leia becomes the more powerful Jedi etc.

slave1

Theboinkmaster wrote: »

I'd very much doubt they could tempt Ford back.

Agreed, he out of all of them has been explicit on wanting to leave his SW efforts in the past, no further involvement from Han I think