36 replies to this topic

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

Today Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and announced that a new trilogy would be released, starting with Episode VII in 2015.

I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, to me Star Wars is sacred. The original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) are damn near as perfect as films can get (maybe minus the Ewoks). They are an integral part of my childhood, they have shaped who I am, there is no word to adequately describe how much they mean to me. The thought of Disney mucking around with it is enough to make my blood run cold.

On the other hand...

The new trilogy was atrocious. George Lucas proved that whatever it was that made those first films so great, he had lost the magic. But there is a whole generation of directors out there now who grew up on this stuff like I did, who feel as strongly about it as I do. The J.J. Abramses. The Joss Whedons. The Christopher Nolans. What might they make of Star Wars? It could be glorious.

Let us hope the Force is with Disney.

2015 seems awfully optimistic, however. I mean, they're just announcing this today, October 30, 2012. Nearly 2013. And they still have to go through the entire process of writing, development, casting, location scouting, set building, filming, and post-production. Not to mention hire a director. That's a pretty monumental task for any film, much less for a new entry in the storied Star Wars franchise. I highly doubt they'll be able to do it. At least, not the way it deserves to be done. Another reason to fear the Episode That Disney Wrought. Or Will Have Wrought.

But who knows? This announcement is sure to generate a lot of interest. Maybe there is already a story ready. Which brings me to the next big question: Who will be in it? Will the story take place in the same relative time-frame as the original trilogy? In other words, will we see Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and all the rest again? Of course it would necessarily have to be set 30 years or more in the future to account for the actors' ages, so likely we would be looking at a new generation of younger characters being introduced. The Star Wars cinematic universe has continued into the books, with Han and Leia married, and their children's adventures well documented into adulthood. This is the so-called "Expanded Universe," whose canonicity is widely -- and hotly -- debated. It certainly has been in these forums!

So would a new trilogy follow the EU's continuity? And if not, what happens to the EU? Any argument that it is canon goes out the window the moment something onscreen contradicts it. As I've always asserted: No matter anyone says about canonicity, even Lucas himself, if it didn't happen onscreen it ain't canon.

My guess is that Disney would not want to be tied to the Expanded Universe. They might draw from it, but they would not feel beholden to adhere to its continuity. Ditto a new director. I don't think we're likely to see Timothy Zahn's Thrawn series made into films. At least I hope not; those books SUCKED.

Star Wars changes hands. A new trilogy. This is all a lot to absorb. I'm not ready to say how I feel about it yet.

[PrinceVegeta]

Well that's no fun. They're probably gonna turn it into a little kids series.

Also...

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

Well, to be fair, Disney also owns Marvel, and overall they've done a good job with those films.

[Ellis]

Yeah, I think the best way to go would be to have little or nothing to do with the EU or the characters of the original trilogy, just set it in the Star Wars universe. But considering we were never going to get any more Star Wars films from Lucas, I can only see this as a good thing

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

The press release suggests that Episode VII would be a continuation of the story of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, et al. That suggests that all or at least some of them would be in the film. But they are too old to carry a film now, so they would likely have to be playing supporting roles to some newer, younger central characters. The droids would likely play a central role, though.

[Dan2680]

I would actually like a trilogy based on the old republic... I think that would be awesome.

[Imperial Sparta]

I'd have issues about it if they tried to use different actors for the roles, although I honestly don't see any other option. I don't know how Harrison Ford feels about reprising his role, but I'm pretty sure Mark Hamill has been trying to distance himself from Star Wars as much as possible to gain success in other films, without success however. And as for Carrie Fisher, while I don't have any doubts that she'd want to reprise her role, I'm unsure of how the directors and writers would want to cast her given her past with drugs and alcohol. But despite all of that, I really don't see myself watching these sequels unless all of the main characters from the previous films reprise their roles, especially Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. I've always had issues and difficulty watching sequels when an actor from a previous film doesn't reprise their role, for example, Colonel Rhodes in Iron Man 2. And I really hope to God that Disney doesn't "baby it up." This is Star Wars, not Star Pillow Fights.


Imperial Sparta

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

I'm sure they'd all do it. I could envision a world thirty years on from RotJ in which Leia and Han are married, and she is President of the New Republic, or whatever, and Luke is the head of the Jedi Academy. In fact I think that's more or less what happened in the EU books. The issue, I think, is that they would all be playing characters in their sixties, which does not seem like something you'd want in a big blockbuster. That's why I say they would need to be playing supporting to characters, maybe with Luke as the Obi-Wan figure to a new young Jedi, facing a new menace.

[Justavictim82]

Kill it with fire before it starts

[Redezra]

Please, please for the love of god, don't fuck up my favourite universe.

That said, if they do the Darth Caedus arc, I will love them forever more.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

I'd be surprised if they did any of the pre-Episode I Expanded Universe stuff. Word on the street is that they will be continuing the adventures of Luke, Leia, and the gang, possibly with recasts.

[Redezra]

Caedus is the story of Luke's children and Leia/Solo's children, another galactic civil war, and the best and most believable fall to the dark side in Star Wars (yes, far superior to the Episode III fall of Anakin). The ages of the characters are just about right too. Plus they get their old cast and young cast.

It's a perfect target, and it's a good story.

WANT

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

Oh, well then that might work.

[KiWi]

If they're smart they won't ruin it. With that much money invested, I'm sure they understand the world is watching.

Sadly though, you gotta remember, even if the film itself sucks, it's all about money. So if they can make up quality with volume, other markets, toys, tie-ins etc, heh.

But it's star wars for crying out loud. I doubt it'll lose money unless it just totally bombs. I mean look how much shit people give 1-3, yet they made money.

I just hope it's good.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

It's not hard to imagine what will happen. Even if the new, Disney-produced Episode VII is phenomenal, there will be hard core Star Wars fans who will never accept it. What are looking at, my friends, is nothing less than an approaching Great Schism in the Star Wars community. A holy war is approaching, one that threatens to rock the internet geek community to its very core.

[Haflinger]

Disney is no longer just an animation company that is best known for Mickey Mouse and Goofy and extremely awful live-action TV movies, they are now an enormous studio responsible for movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean films as well as the Narnia films. Their Touchstone divison has made some pretty cool films, I like O Brother Where Art Thou a lot.

That said, I think it's sorta unlikely that they'll put the Coen brothers in charge of a Star Wars film. I have to admit I would want to see that on opening night but I don't think many people would.

Star Wars: Episode VII has no credits on IMDb at all yet. Just a release date. Which is probably not set in stone, I mean they haven't even hired a director yet.

Here's an interesting link on the topic: http://comicbook.com...onymous-source/

So, I mean, it could be good. It could be bad. Disney has certainly made plenty of bad movies already. If they hire Matthew Vaughn though it will at least be OK though, I haven't seen his other films actually but Stardust is one of my ten favourite films of all time.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

The rumors are Brad Bird. Apparently he is attached to some vague science fiction project already in the works. The scuttlebutt is this is a cover for Episode VII, and that it's further along in development than Lucasfilm or Disney have let on. If so they have done an impressive job of keeping it under wraps.

The rumor mill further has it that the development for the supposed Star Wars TV series was all cover for Episode VII.

It's a great time to be a geek.

[Redezra]

Also; I'd like everyone to know I liked the prequel trilogy. There I said it.

[Phate]

Also; I'd like everyone to know I liked the prequel trilogy. There I said it.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

They weren't as bad as a lot of people make them out to be, but they weren't very good, either. I mean, Midi-Chlorians? Jar Jar Binks? There were a lot of really terrible things in those films. And the story was weak. I can't say I despise them, but they are a pale shadow of the originals in terms of characters, plot, and pure fantasy adventure appeal. The original trilogy was larger than life; the prequels were just your standard, run of the mill big-budget blockbusters. They were grandiose without being grand, and while there glimpses of the old magic, for the most part they were very slick, well-produced, but ultimately soulless affairs.