Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

[DollEyes]

  I'm so pumped for Star Wars: The Force Awakens that I'm not only counting the days until its release-December 18th, 2015-, I couldn't wait to start a thread for it. If the first three trailers alone are any indication, I think that it not only looks great, if it's got the right script, I think it'll do great at the box office. On second thought, it won't just be a hit, I think it'll be the biggest hit of the year, even bigger than Jurassic World.

 

  As expected, SW:TFA killed at this year's Comic-Con and here's the hour-long panel to prove it:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fMx670jOnw

 

 

[Joe]

Yes, I'm maybe a little bit completely beyond excited for this. I've seen the promos quite a few times, they're what I watch when I'm feeling down. Just five more months...

 

Okay, JJ said there will be a new trailer in the fall. Disney have their own con in August 14 - 16. Is that autumm in America? It's still winter here. But if the seasons match up, it's a good place for the trailer.

[Dandesun]

August is summer here in the US. And that con is right before my birthday so that will be a lovely present.

[DollEyes]

  Bumping it up with a couple of excerpts about/from the Force Awakens D23 Expo:

 

First is an interview with some of the stars of the film:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uruVZxy11FQ

 

Next is a clip from the conference, featuring director J.J. Abrams &  some of the stars, including Harrison Ford:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN0Rg9lat3w

Edited August 16, 2015 by DollEyes

[Kromm]

Wow.  First to post this MAJOR thing.

 

The movie poster.  Note the huge reveal on it (note: not a spoiler--they definitely want us to know this) about one of the characters (think: what kind of person caries a lightsaber?)

 

Edited August 16, 2015 by Kromm

[VCRTracking]

The poster is actually just for the D23 expo variant not the real teaser poster.

[Kromm]

The poster is actually just for the D23 expo variant not the real teaser poster.

Interesting.

 

That said, it doesn't invalidate what we learned from it. This thing about this character is brand new information.

[JessePinkman]

That poster is super lame (there were better ones made immediately after the teaser trailer honestly) but yay for more Jedi!

[DollEyes]

I like the poster, especially since according to John Boyega, it was drawn by the original artist who's drawn all of the original Star Wars movie posters.

Edited August 17, 2015 by DollEyes

[Kromm]

Yeah, you can tell it's the same artist. I didn't even have to read that to recognize his style.

I don't see what's lame about them, but to each his own I guess.

[VCRTracking]

I like the composition. Daisy Ridley looks especially great. It's just Han looks strange. His pose is weird. He also looks like he's saying "Get off my lawn!".

[Danny Franks]

Like I just said in the other thread, that style of poster is as iconic to Star Wars as the lightsaber that Boyega's character is holding. They might be cheesy for another movie, but for Star Wars, they're perfect.

 

So he's going to be a Jedi, is he? Or at least someone who is Force sensitive, and able to learn to be a Jedi (guess those midichlorians are working overtime. Am I right? Am I right?). This makes me hope that Daisy Ridley's character is not going to be a Jedi, because it's been too long since any significant character in the Star Wars universe wasn't a bloody Jedi or a Sith.

 

It'll be an interesting character journey if he starts off as a Storm Trooper and ends up as a Jedi. That's something we've not seen before (unless it was in one of the countless Star Wars based novels, somewhere).

[absnow54]

This makes me hope that Daisy Ridley's character is not going to be a Jedi, because it's been too long since any significant character in the Star Wars universe wasn't a bloody Jedi or a Sith.

I don't know, given her positioning between a Jedi and a Sith while holding a weapon that mirrors the light sabers surrounding her, I'd be very surprised if she wasn't a prominent player on Team Force.

[Kromm]

This makes me hope that Daisy Ridley's character is not going to be a Jedi, because it's been too long since any significant character in the Star Wars universe wasn't a bloody Jedi or a Sith.

Given that most of the expanded universe content no longer counts, and the prequels were set in a time with lots of Jedi, that really only leaves Leia as someone where that card was suddenly pulled.

 

That said, then we'd have to deal with the idea of the character who SEEMS to be Han and Leia's daughter either not being that, or Han's genetics being so unmagical that they overcame the midichlorians she should have had (I choke just typing that shit about midichlorians, but even without them you'd still have run of the mill genetics to deal with--by all rights being Force sensitive probably should be a dominant trait).

[JessePinkman]

I don't think the poster is cheesy, I just don't find it very visually interesting. It's fine, but some of the fan art that came out after the teaser trailer was far more dynamic looking. It's very well drawn regardless.

[Danny Franks]

Given that most of the expanded universe content no longer counts, and the prequels were set in a time with lots of Jedi, that really only leaves Leia as someone where that card was suddenly pulled.

 

That said, then we'd have to deal with the idea of the character who SEEMS to be Han and Leia's daughter either not being that, or Han's genetics being so unmagical that they overcame the midichlorians she should have had (I choke just typing that shit about midichlorians, but even without them you'd still have run of the mill genetics to deal with--by all rights being Force sensitive probably should be a dominant trait).

 

Or someone who was expected to be Force sensitive not being because genetics are just a crapshoot, and so her life is a lot different than it might have been. And it would give her an arc if she was someone who had dreamed of being a Jedi like Uncle Luke, but just didn't have the ability, and now has to deal with meeting a guy who perhaps never wanted it, yet has found he has it. I doubt they'll go that route, though.

 

And just because they're discounting the extended universe doesn't mean it didn't happen in terms of consumer experience. I still played various games, read various comics and novels that mostly revolved around Jedi or people becoming Jedi. Plus, isn't the plot of that Rebels show about a kid who is suddenly discovered to be a potential Jedi... by another secret Jedi... in a world where all Jedi are supposed to be extinct. Like I say, I think it's become a crutch for the Star Wars universe, and the sooner they try to get away from it, the better.

 

Han Solo was no Jedi, but is still considered the coolest character in Star Wars. I wish filmmakers would remember that.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Danny Franks

[DollEyes]

 The new Entertainment Weekly is the annual Fall Movie Preview, which not only includes SW:TFA, it's got Kylo Ren on the cover:

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/this-weeks-cover-star-wars-force-awakens-exclusive-ew

 

It's also the new Empire magazine Cover Story:

 

http://www.yahoo.com/movies/new-star-wars-the-force-awakens-empire-magazine-127243007577.html

Edited August 23, 2015 by DollEyes

[Bruinsfan]

Han Solo was no Jedi, but is still considered the coolest character in Star Wars. I wish filmmakers would remember that.

It's also worth pointing out that Leia performed all her awesomeness as a leader of the Rebel Alliance without benefit of any Jedi Training, or even knowledge that she could potentially be a Jedi until the third movie.

[VCRTracking]

Most of the spinoffs movies in production about non-Jedi. Jedi have been used a lot because it's a uniquely Star Wars thing. Other sci-fi works can use spaceships and ray guns but not warrior-monks who wield laser swords and levitation and mind powers. Star Wars can't use other sci-fi concepts like time travel however and everything doesn't have to involve a Jedi. It's not like Star Trek where most have to involve Starfleet, or  the Harry Potter universe where the most important people are wizards. In Star Wars there are three types of profession fans want to pretend to be: A Jedi, a fighter pilot or a bounty hunter.

Edited August 24, 2015 by VCRTracking

[Danny Franks]

As far as we know at the moment, they're about non-Jedis. With the way this franchise has operated, I wouldn't be at all surprised of Rogue One turned out to have Felicity Jones be a secret Jedi who has to reveal her powers when her team get into a tough situation.

 

And Han Solo doesn't fit any of those three professions, but if most fans could be any character from the series, I do think it would be him. What's his official title? Scoundrel? Is that a profession or just a way of life?

 

It's also worth pointing out that Leia performed all her awesomeness as a leader of the Rebel Alliance without benefit of any Jedi Training, or even knowledge that she could potentially be a Jedi until the third movie.

 

 

 

Very true. In the original trilogy, nearly all of the most interesting and memorable characters were not Jedi. Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando, Admiral Ackbar, Boba Fett. Luke was probably the least compelling of the three leads, when it comes down to it, and I always found his transition from naive farmboy to the mystical hooded Jedi of ROTJ to be kind of off.

 

In my opinion, Jedi are not the draw of this franchise as much as the entire world and mythos created in it is. Imperials vs Rebels, Star Destroyers, TIE Fighters, X-Wings, soaring music and exotic landscapes. Whether the guy standing in those landscapes has a lightsaber or a blaster has never mattered to me. I don't have anything against Jedi, when they make sense for the story. And for Episode VII they will make sense (though I still hope that more characters won't be Jedi than will be). But for spinoffs taking place before the original trilogy, and for shows like Rebels, Jedi do not make sense. They're all supposed to be dead except Obi-Wan Kenobi. All these Jedi that keep popping up just make Vader and the Emperor look like amateurs.

 

'The Jedi are extinct. We killed them all.'

'Yes, my master.,.. Except for Obi-Wan.'

'Okay, well fine, but he's really old now, so no biggie.'

'And that one who was my apprentice.'

'Okay, her too. But we'll get her one day.'

'And this other guy with a goatee. I don't know who he is but he has a crew of plucky desperados.... And that guy who defected from the Stormtroopers. Actually, I think there were two guys who did that. And....'

'Fine, you made your point. The Jedi are absolutely not extinct. We stink at this.'

Edited August 24, 2015 by Danny Franks

[VCRTracking]

As far as we know at the moment, they're about non-Jedis. With the way this franchise has operated, I wouldn't be at all surprised of Rogue One turned out to have Felicity Jones be a secret Jedi who has to reveal her powers when her team get into a tough situation.

 

 

My only response to that is this Odd Couple clip:

 

 

But for spinoffs taking place before the original trilogy, and for shows like Rebels, Jedi do not make sense. They're all supposed to be dead except Obi-Wan Kenobi. All these Jedi that keep popping up just make Vader and the Emperor look like amateurs.

 

 

Obi-Wan told Luke Vader helped the Empire hunt down the remaining Jedi, which meant they weren't all killed during Order 66 and that some were alive after ROTS. He also tells Luke the Jedi "are all but extinct". He never says they are extinct, obviously because he's alive, as is Yoda, but that leaves for others.

Edited August 24, 2015 by VCRTracking

[VCRTracking]

New footage on Star Wars instagram!

 

https://instagram.com/p/65PhxOs_RH/?taken-by=starwars

[Kromm]

New footage on Star Wars instagram!

 

https://instagram.com/p/65PhxOs_RH/?taken-by=starwars

Neat (although the recent poster they had for that convention had already told us what that new clip did).

 

Still it was neat to see it.

[Danny Franks]

My only response to that is this Odd Couple clip:

 

Yeah, you're right. We shouldn't be making assumptions, based on precedent, rumour or hearsay. In fact, we shouldn't be talking about the film at all until after it comes out, in case we may be incorrect about some minor details. Close the thread!

 

I'll just say, the day that a Star Wars movie without any Jedi presence comes out, is the day that the people involved in this franchise finally realise its strength. And I don't mean a Boba Fett movie, because his popularity is utterly inexplicable anyway.

[VCRTracking]

Yeah, you're right. We shouldn't be making assumptions, based on precedent, rumour or hearsay.

 

 

 But you didn't make an assumption based on anything heard so far on Rogue One.

[Kromm]

The name of THIS film is "The Force Awakens". And it's following, sequencewise, three films that were explicitly about the Jedi having been wiped out. So it makes SENSE this film is going to be specifically about new Jedi coming forward.

 

Honestly, if people can't deal with that, I think they're in for a big disappointment. As lame as the prequels were, the original trilogy always promised to be leading to a Jedi rebirth.  It's always been in the cards (that if actual sequels vs. prequels happened, that it would be inhabited by new Jedi).

 

That doesn't mean non-Jedi shouldn't exist and be important.  Because the Jedi were supposed to be a tiny minority, even in their heyday. But the franchise was always going to driven by the fate of the Jedi.

[DollEyes]

  Loved it! The more new footage I see, the more I want to see. Since the film's subtitle is The Force Awakens, having the Jedi included makes perfect sense to me. They're not the only entities involved in the Star Wars verse by a long shot, but they're important, nonetheless.  As for the prequels, while IA that the first two sucked, through no fault of Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson nor the late, great Christopher Lee,  I liked Revenge Of the Sith , despite Hayden Christiansen and that bullshit about Queen Amidala dying of a broken heart, because while it showed what was presumed to be the destruction of the Jedi, the births of Luke & Leia showed new hope-no pun intended. Getting back to this film, between the title, the first few trailers and Luke, Leia and Han's returns, I would be surprised and disappointed if the Jedi weren't involved.

 

 

We shouldn't be making assumptions based on precedent, rumour, or hearsay. In fact, we shouldn't be talking about the film at all until after it comes out, in case we may be incorrect about some minor details. Close the thread!

 

  I respectfully disagree. Since the Batman Vs. Superman & Suicide Squad  threads-which also have their share of speculation and don't come out until next year-are still open, then IMO this one should stay open.

Edited August 28, 2015 by DollEyes

[stealinghome]

Since the film's subtitle is The Force Awakens, having the Jedi included makes perfect sense to me. They're not the only entities involved in the Star Wars verse by a long shot, but they're important, nonetheless.

Co-signed. I have to come down on the side of the Jedi being emblematic of the franchise; a Star Wars movie without the Jedi just does not compute for me in any way. What does every five-year-old walk away from Star Wars wanting? A lightsaber.

[VCRTracking]

I can see a spinoff movie without Jedi(like with bounty hunters or ordinary Rebels) but the Force and the Jedi have always been the central part of the main movies.

[DollEyes]

  Bumping it up with stories about a couple of stories about TFA-based rumors. First, there's been rumors about about the film having a post end credits scene, ala Marvel movies. I linked to an ign.com story about it, but the link's been taken down.

 

Next, a story about one of the writers teasing about the return of another old-school character:

 

http://www.io9.com/star-wars-sequel-writer-teases-the-return-of-lando-calr-1705560188

Edited September 19, 2015 by DollEyes

[VCRTracking]

Gwendoline Christie on Being Captain Phasma and Brienne of Tarth

[blixie]

Final official trailer to debut during ESPN Monday Night Football, 10/19. It also addresses pre-sale tickets, but I'm confused if those go on sale tomorrow, or it they will go live on Monday.

[benteen]

Excellent.  The Giants are playing so I'll have two reasons to watch on Monday.

[VCRTracking]

New official poster:

 

 

I like it.

Edited October 18, 2015 by VCRTracking

[lion10]

What's with Rey's staff thing?  Why not just use a double bladed lightsaber?

[King of Birds]

Han, Leia, Chewbacca, R2, 3PO, X-wings, Tie fighters, the Falcon, all the new kids on the block ... but no Luke.

 

Hmm.

[Spartan Girl]

AWESOME POSTER!

But I too am curious about the lack of Luke.

[benteen]

I'm hoping the poster will be updated once we see the trailer.   Otherwise, the poster looks GREAT!

[SnoGirl]

I love the parrallel of weapons with Rey and Kylo Ren. Even though there are a ton of males on that poster, I love that Rey is front and center (so to speak).

[JessePinkman]

You can't see her face but the very tall lady from Game of Thrones is also front and center as that chrome plated storm trooper so that's cool too.

[DollEyes]

 The poster's cool, but the glaring absence of Luke Skywalker is anything but. Since Mark Hamill's name is there, his face should have been, too.

[Ronin Jackson]

Maybe there's s reason Luke's appearance is being kept secret. They do seem to be setting him up as a mysterious figure... ala Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back.

[Rick Kitchen]

Butthurt white racists are trying to organize a boycott because ... too many non-white characters.

[JessePinkman]

I don't think it's about too many, it's about a black guy, and a latino guy being the leads (unless there are more non-white people in this movie I don't know about). How dare they! Exist! With melanin! I'm surprised the uproar isn't more about Rey clearly being the central character. And a girl! How dare she, etc.

 

It's crazy how a TV show or a movie can be littered with white people (like Scandal or How to Get Away with Murder or this) yet the conversation is always about the race of the lead character(s). It's like seeing a main character who isn't white is really that hard for people to process and accept. 

[Ronin Jackson]

I do wonder how widespread that attitude among White people is. Studio and television executives certainly believe it's wide spread since they insist largely on whites only casting policies for lead roles (which makes these racists complaints all the more ludicrous). I suspect it's more widespread than most people would admit to, but I also think these days the majority of people just look for entertainment they like... I'd bet only a small minority of Star Wars fans care that one of the new leads is black. I think (and hope) it's a lot less prominent than studio and television execs think it is.

[Michele]

Butthurt white racists are trying to organize a boycott because ... too many non-white characters.

On the real, if the racists won't go see Star Wars...somehow I doubt that it's really going to affect how much money the movie makes at all and hey, there won't be racists jerks in the theater so I think we all win! I'm not super into the franchise in general but I think all the wah-wah complaining by racists make me want to see it, so...

[VCRTracking]

I'm starting to think it's just some internet troll.

[Kromm]

9 craziest rumors about Star Wars The Force Awakens

 

Some of them are crazy, but at least a few aren't, despite the article name.

 

1. Rey and Kylo Ren are linked more closely than you think - not crazy at all. Not saying it's true, but the idea of them being related is hardly ridiculous given the history of this franchise.

 

2.) Kylo Ren is the grandson of Emperor Palpatine - not crazy per se, just dubious they'd do it. The idea of another master/apprentice parallel isn't a bad one (basically that this is a direct inverse of the Luke/Ben Kenobi relationship, with Luke having tried to "save" the descendant of a Sith Lord but failing where Ben succeeded), but it just feels too obvious once we get deep into the idea.

 

3.) Darth Vader (and Hayden Christensen) is back from the dead - depends on HOW they mean this, but yeah its kind of crazy. We DO know that Vadar, or rather Anakin, should perhaps be able to communicate from where he is now, but relying on that as a plot element seems like really weak writing (and having someone who went to that spirit form come back to full life seems even sillier).

 

4.) Han Solo is going to die - Of course, not crazy, even if the WAY he's going to die in that prediction sounds kind of wrong (that Luke fails to save Han, because Han tells Luke not to kill Kylo Ren, but then Ren kills Han). The dynamic this sets up--that mercy is wrong--seems off message of the whole franchise. Now I could see JJ Abrams making a wrong calculation like this... but I hope he hasn't.  I will say that if this DID come to pass, then I'd think perhaps it would be if Ren is some Skywalker or Solo spawn rather than Palpatine spawn. At least that would give Han a MOTIVE for telling Luke to hold back. I get that the idea here is maybe that Han is a key to reminding Luke of the values that make him a Jedi rather than a Sith, but then to have the story betray that with Han's death from that seems like the kind of heavyhandedness of the prequels rather than the messages of the main trilogy, where being compassionate is rewarded, not made to look foolish.

 

5.) Daniel Craig will be playing a Stormtrooper - a big WHO CARES. Silly because even if Craig hadn't vehemently denied it (sounding surprisingly offended), it wouldn't matter much if he HAD.

 

6.) Luke has turned to the Dark Side - again, I could see Abrams doing this, but like the idea of having compassion be the cause of Han's death, it seems like it would be a ridiculous betrayal of some core premises.  TEMPTING the Dark Side wouldn't be. Luke can be angry and in danger of going dark. But having Luke give in, is nonsense. Luke isn't Anakin. The only way the original Trilogy makes even remote sense is if he never can be that way. 

 

7.) Luke's blue lightsaber kick-starts the entire plot - logically there are only about 5 or 6 possible lightsaber colors even possible. It's very possible that people are making FAR too much of Finn having a blue one in that fight we've seen previewed. Is the idea CRAZY it could be the same one? Not in the least. But it could just be a thin theory based on nothing but them re-using a color.

 

8.) Daisy Ridley's Rey is the daughter of Han and Leia - Not only not crazy, but almost a lock IMO. She just looks too much like young Carrie for it to be a casting coincidence.  Now obviously they could also spin her as Luke's daughter instead, and the resemblance would be inferred from their grandmother I guess, but Rey is certainly no random plugged in character. Also, the name "Rey Solo" sounds right (although I suppose if they contrive some split between Leia and Han it could be "Rey Organa" too).

 

9.) Judi Dench will be playing Mon Mothma - I DO count this has half crazy, but also half "who cares".  I don't anticipate Mon Mothma being a big role here. They can really slot anyone into a leadership role and we don't have to know the character. There's no narrative need for it, and even if they did bring the character back, it would be far smarter to use a less known actress who would be available whenever they needed her for such a small role.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Kromm

[Ronin Jackson]

Carrie Fisher looks pretty young and thin in that poster. I know she was asked to lose weight for the return but Leia looks closer to her appearance in the original trilogy than most recent pics of Fisher. If she did get herself looking like that... kudos to her and her trainer.

[absnow54]

Fandango released tickets early (it was originally supposed to be 10PM EST) the site is getting annihilated right now.