STAR WARS General Discussion | Warning: Possible SPOILERS!Movies 

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MildAshers
Star Wars: Episode VII Cast Announced
The Star Wars Team are 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.

Star Wars: Episode VII will be directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams is returning as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.
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I do not like the idea of running the old crew out for this. Leave them alone and make new tracks.
 
Also worth adding that they really do appear to be cutting most ties with the novels, and won't be making use of the storylines and characters from the expanded universe.

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2014/04...the-star-wars-expanded-universe-is-non-canon/

Leonidae@MFT
They have Gollum?!
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And Ming the Merciless/Jesus!

Danoff
I do not like the idea of running the old crew out for this. Leave them alone and make new tracks.
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There is some satisfaction in knowing for certain that we'll get to see the old cast all in one place again, but it does comes off as a means to increase publicity more than anything.

I reckon they wouldn't have bothered setting this trilogy 35 years ABY if they didn't have the original cast in mind with the aim of having them reprise their roles. Without them, the writers could have had more freedom to choose a period in which the movies are set. Possibly even closer to the events of RotJ, but with a completely new cast who most likely aren't playing the roles of sons and daughters of Luke and Han. Although ditching the existing expanded universe canon with the intention of creating new canonical storylines will of course give them a little more freedom within the period they've chosen.


Cast shot:

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I like how they did the cast reading shot in black and white like it came from photo's taken when the original stuff was shot. Gives it an 'already classic' feeling.

It was really silly of all those people who queued for auditions in the rain all those months ago thinking they could end up with lead roles when it was obvious they would go to people who had at least done so substantial TV and movie work. Undiscovered talent becoming stars.... I think not.

Handy ID photo... I wonder if anything can be read into whom is sitting next to whom...

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Peter Mayhew looking at his script.... "OK, so here I say..... Gggrrraaaahhhh" :lol:
 
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Don't know how true this is but supposedly (and I emphasize "supposedly"), Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are never on set together and alone without others due to an apparent grudge that goes all the way back to the original Star Wars filming. Again I'm not sure how true that is, but I recently read about that (as well as saw that Dish Nation) so thought I'd share that. Maybe one of you guys can help me figure out how much truth there is to it.
 
RACECAR
Don't know how true this is but supposedly (and I emphasize "supposedly"), Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are never on set together and alone without others due to an apparent grudge that goes all the way back to the original Star Wars filming. Again I'm not sure how true that is, but I recently read about that (as well as saw that Dish Nation) so thought I'd share that. Maybe one of you guys can help me figure out how much truth there is to it.
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I don't know of a reason why two actors would be on the set alone with each other to begin with. If there is nothing being shot then there is no film-related reason to be there. If something is being filmed then I expect a crew to be there as well.
 
FoolKiller
I don't know of a reason why two actors would be on the set alone with each other to begin with. If there is nothing being shot then there is no film-related reason to be there. If something is being filmed then I expect a crew to be there as well.
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I may have worded that bad. I mean as in, they can't be in the same place together without people in there with them. You have actors/actresses who get along and could just hang out with each other all by themselves. Basically I'm saying that supposedly according to these sources, they don't get along.
 
RACECAR
I may have worded that bad. I mean as in, they can't be in the same place together without people in there with them. You have actors/actresses who get along and could just hang out with each other all by themselves. Basically I'm saying that supposedly according to these sources, they don't get along.
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Eh, sounds like any workplace.
 
I never really got into the books or even most of the video games, but I'm a little disappointed that there's little chance that Galen Marek (main protagonist of The Force Unleashed) will appear in the Rebels TV series now. I can understand how the hardcore fans are annoyed about them de-canonising the KOTOR series since they're set thousands of years before episode I, just about everything in that series would have no effect on the upcoming films.
 
DK
Imagine how pissed off fans of Expanded Universe works are now. :lol:
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I feel a great disturbance in the fanboi-Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear some terrible butthurt is happening.
 
DK
Imagine how pissed off fans of Expanded Universe works are now. :lol:
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You would think that they would prefer new, original stories, rather than retreads of existing materials. Look at the first two Harry Potter films - they pretty much retell the books blow-for-blow, and in doing so, offer nothing new.
 
On the subject or start wars...look what I had send over from my folks. It's my ols StarWars toys (only some of them!)

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As you can see my son is loving them lol
 
That's naturally one of the obstacles you face when directly adapting source material like that - which won't be a problem with sidequels like the ones that have been proposed; they are original stories in a canonical universe, not adaptations of other, existing material.

The real problem they face is in avoiding retcons ans contradictions in the establish film universe. Although would it really be so bad if someone came out and said "midi-chlorians are not the Force; they are simply a symbiotic life form who are attracted to the Force, and we use their presence as a measure of someone's strength"?
 
Villain
I disagree,
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Maybe I burned out on them after the third, but reviews steadily dropped until the final film, which was the highest rated.

and don't know what any of that has to do with Star Wars.
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He was making a comparison to another franchise that began to break away from strict prewritten canon. However, my issues with the films are not related to their strict canonization. I felt the same about the books.

Fact is, depending on who is telling the story will determine the outcome. The Avengers films: Create their own telling of the stories. Great. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Did they even read the book?

We can point out franchises that back either point all day.

Ultimately, I think new stories in the universe (AoS) can expand it even more and, if done properly, can give us great new stories. Ultimately, Star Wars is being produced by the same company that has branched out their largest franchises into all new tales, and done it well.

The important thing that fanboys need to keep in mind is that when Disney branched into new territory they did not ignore the existing tales. They have been referenced in big and small ways. It is highly possible a character name from the novels will pop up in conversation, or be seen on a screen in the background. They can tell new stories without dropping the existing ones in the garbage.
 
The problem they would face by considering the Expanded Universe as canon is that it would be very easy to contradict that canon in a film. Retcons are never good unless they are absolutely necessary (which makes the decision to hire Abrams baffling). For example, in the aftermath of DIE ANOTHER DAY, the producers of the James Bond films had no choice but to reboot the entire franchise.

The beauty of the new STAR WARS trilogy is that the writers literally have an entire universe as their canvas. They can fit just about any story into it somewhere, but they shouldn't have to read and digest hundreds of Exapanded Universe media simply to find a position for it in the canon. Especially considering that the casual cinemagoer is not familiar with that material.

The key is to do what Marvel did with THE AVENGERS, and hire someone who knows the material inside out. Joss Whedon might have started out writing for "Roseanne", but before "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", he did a whole lot of work on the X-Men titles (he even did substantial rewrites of the first film). The problem Disney have is in finding someone who both knows the STAR WARS universe intimately, and is capable of telling interesting stories.
 
prisonermonkeys
The problem they would face by considering the Expanded Universe as canon is that it would be very easy to contradict that canon in a film. Retcons are never good unless they are absolutely necessary (which makes the decision to hire Abrams baffling). For example, in the aftermath of DIE ANOTHER DAY, the producers of the James Bond films had no choice but to reboot the entire franchise.

The beauty of the new STAR WARS trilogy is that the writers literally have an entire universe as their canvas. They can fit just about any story into it somewhere, but they shouldn't have to read and digest hundreds of Exapanded Universe media simply to find a position for it in the canon. Especially considering that the casual cinemagoer is not familiar with that material.

The key is to do what Marvel did with THE AVENGERS, and hire someone who knows the material inside out. Joss Whedon might have started out writing for "Roseanne", but before "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", he did a whole lot of work on the X-Men titles (he even did substantial rewrites of the first film). The problem Disney have is in finding someone who both knows the STAR WARS universe intimately, and is capable of telling interesting stories.
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Wait but why do you say the guy needs to know the universe intimately but at the same time they're free to create their own?

With the way EU's treated now, there's nothing to tie them down. Disney did a good job stomping this fire out before it even really began because as soon as EP. VII was announced everyone assumed it was gonna be classic EU stuff. Now they don't have to use a Jacen and Jaina, or Thrawn, or anything.

I think all the creative heads need to have is a healthy love for Star Wars and know how to tell a good story in film. That's it. Having a good knack for adventure would really help and I was excited when I heard Michael Arndt was doing the first drafts of the script because Toy Story 3 was a way better adventure than, say, Episode 2. But he's not there anymore, although I do trust Kasdan and Abrams.

They just have to be sure to forget about the gimmicks, we don't need to see a bunch of recycled iconography (like the infinite lightsabers in the prequels) just to remind us it's Star Wars. We need that sense of wonder and adventure back. They need to be able to focus on real characters that are varied and that you want to root for and love to see interact and grow with each other.
 
Wardez
Wait but why do you say the guy needs to know the universe intimately but at the same time they're free to create their own?

With the way EU's treated now, there's nothing to tie them down. Disney did a good job stomping this fire out before it even really began because as soon as EP. VII was announced everyone assumed it was gonna be classic EU stuff. Now they don't have to use a Jacen and Jaina, or Thrawn, or anything.

I think all the creative heads need to have is a healthy love for Star Wars and know how to tell a good story in film. That's it. Having a good knack for adventure would really help and I was excited when I heard Michael Arndt was doing the first drafts of the script because Toy Story 3 was a way better adventure than, say, Episode 2. But he's not there anymore, although I do trust Kasdan and Abrams.

They just have to be sure to forget about the gimmicks, we don't need to see a bunch of recycled iconography (like the infinite lightsabers in the prequels) just to remind us it's Star Wars. We need that sense of wonder and adventure back. They need to be able to focus on real characters that are varied and that you want to root for and love to see interact and grow with each other.
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All that and the sorrow and loss and overcoming that SW brings through the original movies and the novels. The only real moment I enjoyed in the prequels was the moment Anakin became Darth Vader and everything he lost to become that, that was good, everything else was fodder and annoying for the most part.

DK
Imagine how pissed off fans of Expanded Universe works are now. :lol:
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What is funny about this is at a time the EU was considered canon and if you read the article or others from recent it seems to be a shift from Disney wanting to stop such a free form of EU by others outside the Disney pool. Which is a bit stupid, but then again we SW fans were promised a comic book some time this year through you know who obviously...cause they're no Disney too.

Point is C-canon material from the EU has been used quite a bit in the animated shows and prequel movies, so it's a bit funny for them to say "well now the slate is clean and we are revising the canon mythos". Now it's branded as legends and their is nothing really stating that "new" material wont be used from their to help expand the reboot canon. That's all it is, them saying that was once canon but this is a reboot and what we deem as canon now. Thus secondary canon and not fan or writer non-canon. I think it's important as a fan of the series and many to be clear on this, because even Lucas group was never clear on the matter fully and even allowed official guides with cinema and EU material to be sold as if all fully canon and one. Yet Lucas had said from times that he saw EU as extra stories between those he told and then other times compared it to a parallel universe, which would come across on the same level as say Marvel earth 616 and Marvel earth silver screen.

So really this doesn't change the idea that Jacen Solo and his cousins will be used but now they -Disney and Lucas- can do it their own way and claim it the true canon, but taken from the Legends lore thus old canon. I think the easiest thing to do would have been to accept those stories as full on canon, and given those people the respect for their due diligence.

Cap'n Jack
I never really got into the books or even most of the video games, but I'm a little disappointed that there's little chance that Galen Marek (main protagonist of The Force Unleashed) will appear in the Rebels TV series now. I can understand how the hardcore fans are annoyed about them de-canonising the KOTOR series since they're set thousands of years before episode I, just about everything in that series would have no effect on the upcoming films.
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See that's what I wonder as well. Things like this make me think perhaps what happened with using Thanos in Avengers was true, and a lawsuit was attempted. I don't know. None of it really makes sense to be honest. However, I would have also enjoyed StarKiller being used
 
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Wardez
Wait but why do you say the guy needs to know the universe intimately but at the same time they're free to create their own?
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No, I mean he needs to know the universe well, and is free to create within that universe.
 

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