As production continues and we get into post, I want to try and start spending a lot of my time here. I'm sure others will try and do so as well.

Rules:

- Discussion of any officially confirmed material is fair game (characters, general plot overview, trailers, promotional materials, etc)
- Any unconfirmed but leaked material is a spoiler

So... Episode VII huh?

That's basically all we have to go on so far.

So can we talk returning actors and their characters? I think it will be sobering for those of us who saw the original trilogy in the theatres to see our childhood heroes all aged and melty, as Carrie puts it.

Now we have a title too! The Force Awakens. Perfect fit for the series, IMHO. Dunno how I feel about even watching the trailers, actually. After being TOTALLY spoiled with II and already knowing the plot of III (just cuz we knew what HAD to happen) I am leaning towards not even watching a trailer. I will need the discipline of a Jedi to accomplish that, I am sure.

The title implies the Force has been dormant, perhaps for the 30 or so years since it was brought into 'balance.' Something has to change or forces a change, so we might see the literal Will of the Force come into play.

It could simply mean that people start actively using it for the first time.

A coming of age for those individuals that were born post emperor, finding their abilities and learning to use them.

I always felt both Jedi and Sith were wrong and out of balance leaning too far light or dark. Perhaps luke realizes this and struggles to find balance between the 2, and not wanting to be used by the Republic and light or Empire and dark. The true force awakens in him, much like the father of Mortis.

For me, it was always the Sith who put the Force out of balance through their unnatural use of it.
I wonder whether the creation of Anakin by the Sith is in fact the thing or one of the things that caused the imbalance? (Ironically, it was the unnatural creation itself that restores the balance).

The role of the Jedi was to destroy the Sith and maintain the balance - which was successfully achieved by Luke and Vader in ROTJ. I think it's plausible that the 'Jedi religion' has been long forgotten come Ep: VII (perhaps it's both forgotten and outlawed in some way) and so the balance has been maintained through their being no users of the Force. It has been sleeping, so to speak.

'The Force Awakens' for me suggests, quite simply, that after 30 years of bugger all happening, something occurs that awakens both 'The Force' itself (causing a new imbalance) as well as the Force 'inside' the new characters (as with Luke in Ep. IV).

How they fit this isn't an Ep. I - IX storyline however remains to be seen. For me, to make these films relevant, they need to change the story from being about the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker to being about the story arc of his entire family and how they all fit into achieving the 'will of the Force'. However, to not just have a tacked on story there also needs to be a new revelation regarding the Skywalker's so the story isn't just a new beginning but the continuation of the original one.

That could in my view link to what I said above. That the Skwalker's are themselves an aberration. An unnatural creation through the Force that are a danger to the Galaxy.

i still feel the jeedai had it the most right balancing between Bogan and Ashla. Light and darkness need eachother

What hasn't been discussed much is what the role of the droids will be in the ST.

I love how R2 and 3P0 are central to the action of the OT and found it very disappointing that integrating them with the story of the PT felt like an afterthought (except when they were shoehorned into that dreadful droid factory sequence in AOTC).

The droids' banter absolutely grounds SW storytelling and adds a "down to earth" quality that helps level-set the sci-fi fantasy. I really hope there's a natural role for them in this story.

I'm with you CoGro. I really like the way C3P0 is portrayed in Rebels, mindlessly going along with the Empire, ie: official government, like a "good citizen" should, while R2, who was not mind-wiped (book burnings, anyone?) would clearly remember the past - and what he saw Anakin do at the Jedi Temple and on Mustafar - is already helping Bail to thwart the Emperor.

R2 is an average Joe who knows the truth in Rebels while 3P0 is the average Joe who drank the Cool Aid and operates in good faith but with imposed ignorance. Even in A New Hope, Goldenrod is still not quite on board with Artooie's mission. Yet after being taken apart in Empire and reassembled he seems to be playing from the same book in ROTJ.

3P0 definitely represents the sort of well-educated but worldly ignorant kind of common person, while R2 is the poorly-elocuting laborer who is nonetheless extremely wise to the scam going on. At least that is how I see them.

So even in the prequels they sort of filled those roles, and I too wonder how those themes might be carried through in the next trilogy. And yea, CoGro, their banter is splendid as both comic relief and exposition. I hope they are used that way.

I agree, apart from C-3PO. Around ANH, he seems a bit more savvy, since he deliberately lies to Luke to keep him from knowing who Leia really is. He commented on her predicament earlier in the film, but pretends to not know who she is when he encounters Luke, a total stranger.

What's always been odd about that scene is that he tells R2 that he should reconsider playing the message for Luke. If he was "protecting the princess" then he probably wouldn't have suggested that. Odd continuity piece.

He might be too trusting of Luke, which pays off, but other than that he kept quiet for the first part. Maybe his impression of Luke rapidly improved over the hours?

I don't know that 3PO was privy to the content of the message or that he knew Leia was anything more than a Ambassador. He was looking for R2 when she was recording it.

I wonder if R2 will still be Lukes Droid. is he off with Luke training Jedi or whatever Luke is doing while 3PO is performing protocol duties in the Government with Leia. Maybe we will see then reunited then kind of handed off to the next generation.

It makes the most sense that the droids are handed off to the next generation. It feels like the only natural way to keep them narratively engaged.

I always thought the series was told through the droids eyes... as if they are sitting around a circle with other little baby droids telling "their" story and we are seeing the results on screen.

They would know very little about what happened in the prequels aside from shenanigans on Geonosis.

One of the great flaws of the PT is that the droids were not integrated into the story like they were in the OT.

I view it as second hand, friend of a friend story telling... all blown out of proportion and such. I agree about the PT though.

The upsetting part is that if you just audit the script, you can probably find ways to get them in there in a more entertaining and seamless way.

- What if 3PO was the interpreter on the Trade Federation starship instead of TC-14? It would make for a very fun twist and instant fan connection. The Jedi run into 3PO as they're trying to escape and have to "kidnap" the droid as they land on Naboo so that he doesn't alert his masters. 3PO becomes the "comedy" side kick instead of Jar Jar and provides a functional role as interpreter as the Jedi encounter alien species. Maybe the Gunguns no longer look like duck rabbits and speak a unique language instead of basic, which again, requires the presence of 3PO.
- 3PO meets R2 on the Naboo cruiser and they're never separated in the film. A big part of the humour of TPM could have been about 3PO trying to be overly nice to R2 to develop a friendship, and as the trilogy progresses they become much more of the bickering married couple we know them as in the OT.

GL was more interested in making "virtual" movies than being clever... unfortunately. the tech side is more interesting to him than the story?

"I can’t speak for the cast and crew, I can just speak for myself, but for me I thought, Don’t you want to wait so you can get the real thing?" Isaac said. "But it creates excitement for it. I don’t think these little leaks necessarily ruined watching the trailer. And also, the [plot theories] that get that formulated based on these things — they couldn’t be more far off-base."
- Oscar Isaac.

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/oscar-isaa ... 06072.html

Here's where I'm at with my ST narrative theory (informed by what we know and can infer from what's been released):

At the time of TFA...

GFFA Politics:

- After ROTJ, the Empire's control over the galaxy collapses but its power-base refuses to surrender outright to the Alliance.

- Between ROTJ and TFA, there has been a power struggle within the ranks of the Imperial Military keeping the threat of a large-scale war in check. However, there has been state of cold war between the emerging "New Republic" and the "Imperial Remnant" due to the size of the Empire's forces and systems that remain loyal to it, and skirmishes have arisen from time to time.


The Force, our leads, the Sith, etc:

- Post ROTJ, Luke attempts to establish a New Jedi Order but fears that he could disrupt the "balance" that was created by Anakin's sacrifice. Believing the galaxy was experiencing its first peace in decades, Luke retreats into isolation where he can study the Force and prevent the galaxy from plunging into further chaos from Jedi-Sith-related conflict. He decides that the dogma of the Jedi Order was just as much responsible for the Clone Wars and galactic conflict as the Sith.

- Leia becomes leader of the New Republic and Han is a general of the Republic Forces. They marry and have a son (Adam Driver) and daughter (Rey). Leia and Luke decide that their children should not be trained in the Force for reasons described.

Why a ST exists...

- While the Republic has put a premium on forging peace and establishing a new galactic democracy, the Empire has been building a weapon (or weapons) or developing some sort of way of striking back against the Republic in an attempt to reclaim control over galactic politics. In the time leading up to TFA, the Empire has just struck a great blow against the New Republic and the time to re-ignite the conflict is at hand.

- I think the kids' story could go a few different ways: either Rey (and her brother) become orphans because Leia wants to protect them from political enemies / Sith sympathizers OR her children forge their own path: Rey is a pacifist and moves to the outer rim and her brother becomes a pilot for the Republic (following Han's footsteps).

- Leia's son falls victim to the dark side sometime before TFA. Having learned of his bloodline (knowing Anakin was once Vader), he believes he is the rightful heir to the Sith Empire. I believe the son is Kylo Ren or is influenced by him, and his motivation (in secret) during the film is to resurrect the SIth.

- The reason the Force Awakens and goes haywire is because multiple "Skywalkers" start using the Force. This is a problem because the Skywalkers come from an unnatural bloodline - they are literally children of the Force - and it throws the Force way out of whack. The dark side Skywalker (Ren) and the light side Skywalker (Rey) coupled with Luke's extreme power, send a ripple throughout the galaxy that awakens Force sensitivity in non-force users and exacerbates Force sensitivity in Force-users. The event turns the cold war into a hot war and sets in motion events of the ST: Finn does something Force-y in opposition to the Empire and gets hunted. He's introduced to Rey, who protects him and ultimately befriends him. They go to Luke, who is forced to re-enter the conflict. Rey embraces her destiny to become the last of the Jedi and confront her fallen brother.

- Ultimately, I think the only way the ST can end is if the Skywalker bloodline is destroyed. The Skywalker bloodline came from an unnatural place (the Force-birth) and the only way to restore balance is for Rey to sacrifice herself and kill her brother. Leia and Luke will die and I presume Han will too (because Harrison wants to go out in a blaze of glory).

That last part is really key for me: the only plot point that has never been addressed, but is ever-present and could be extremely key to the ST being relevant in any way is the matter of Anakin's unnatural birth. The Sith (Plagueis?), caused the Force to create a child and now that entire bloodline is responsible for throwing the entire galaxy out of balance. Therefore, the only way to fully restore balance is to end the Skywalker bloodline. This would give the Skywalker saga a clear beginning, middle and end.

Id watch that...

My prediction of 2015: James Earl Jones will voice Darth Vader in Episode 7.

We are approximately one month away from new SW7 footage being screened at Celebration (speculation) and a month and a half from the trailer debut with Avengers (more speculation).

Non-spoiler rumours/gossip from the set of Episode VII (from Reddit):

- JJ dislikes the prequels and unintentionally ruffled Lucas' feathers in the writer's room, leading to some bitterness from Lucas who stopped coming in as often
- Disney has constantly been on JJ's back in spite of his creative control; there have been some disagreements but JJ has mostly had his way with the production and his/Kasdan's story elements.
- Harrison Ford was intoxicated when he was injured on-set and he could not claim insurance as a result; Kathleen Kennedy had words with him when he returned to set

Would be interesting to see if that was true or not.

That would explain Lucas' blasé attitude to the trailer a few months back. Though he hand picked JJ, George had to realize he needed to pass over the reigns. Juicy if true!

Yes, as it stands now, due to a datacenter meltdown (March 13 2015) we lost two months of posts.



For the past week I have been trying to restore the "extra posts" - which consisted of mostly Freezus posting and Harrison Ford crashing another vintage plane. (Also last week's Standalone and VIII press releases.)

A new Standalone forum is coming in addition to finishing polishing off the forums design which will be ported over to new forums themes.

What's up? Been busy

Dodging the merch images and trailer descriptions.

Way more matured and self-controlled than my 2005/ROTS-era self.

But I will be watching the new trailer when it drops officially.

Same here. I'm surprised I've been able to maintain my distance. I'm looking forward to the trailer.

Flying to LA in just under 24 hours. Looking forward to Celebration and seeing the trailer with all the fans!

Please feed us info!

Have a great time.

Will do.
The Anaheim Convention center has free WiFi, so I will be connected to the 'net.
I'll probably Tweet as well.
The thing that bothers me, is deciding which panel is more important than the other (ie) Battlefront footage or SW Rebels season two opener with Filoni/Hidalgo panel....

Don't miss the panel with Filoni! I sat in on a conversation with him in San Francisco, he's a cool dude who really knows what's up with Star Wars.
Thursday is the big EPVII reveal right? It would be a 6 hour drive for me, plenty of tickets available but I think I'm too lazy to go.

You're right - Filoni is far too important to miss out on.

The big news on the grapevine is that JJ/KK are bringing the trailer with them first thing Thursday morning. Line up begins at 6pm Wednesday.

Are you planning on lining up Wednesday night? I'm thinking about rolling up around 3am or so and seeing what the line looks like just so I don't have to spend the night at the convention center. If it seems like I'm going to get in I'll wait it out otherwise I'll just head back home.

Looks like they'll be live streaming portions of Celebration this year, including the kickoff panel with JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy...



http://www.starwars.com/news/watch-star ... by-verizon

Of Course the Kick Off Panel will be lagging as Quadrinaros Pod Racer

We'll see if it's worldwide and not just US.

I know that Canada gets screwed a lot when things like this get live streamed.

In full retreat! I've seen too much! Not enough spoiler tags on other sites! I didn't even want to run into such visual and narrative information (not here, to be clear)! Arghhhh!

Today John Williams began scoring Episode VII. That's right: new music for a new Star Wars movie has been recorded. I have made a commitment not to listen to any new tracks prior to the movie being released

I'm hoping the soundtrack release, like the novelization, comes out after the film. It will make the hold out much easier.
For Eps II and III I had the scores on repeat and it actually took me out of the story during the times Ben Burtt butchered it up.

As generous as members of this board have been regarding music, movies, etc. over the years, I feel like we are all obligated to purchase (with real money, even) the CD soundtrack for TFA. I could never, in good conscience, bootleg a work of John Williams. The man deserves our support.

TFA is coming to Comic Con. Hall H will probably showcase new footage/another trailer?

One month away.

2 weeks away from D23. TFA will be there and it sounds like we're going to be shown something. No trailer, but something.

I'll be there at the Disney film panel on Saturday. I'm not really sure what to expect, but looking forward to it.

Post-trailer 3, is there any indication yet that the ST is "necessary" canon? Is there an important story left to tell? An outstanding plot thread that needs to be tied? Character motivations that need further explaining?

I'm still not sold.

I'm sure the writing team started with the same concerns:

- We can't invalidate Anakin being the "chosen one" as this would destroy the purpose of the PT
- We can't say that the real big bad was in the shadows the whole time and that Palpatine was just a pawn, because this would a) invalidate Vader's sacrifice and b) destroy the drama of the OT

So then what? Are we honestly just left with "this is a new generation of heroes and villains that will continue the story of the Skywalker family"? We've seen new characters revere classic villains (Ren) and old characters recognize stories of the past (Solo), but does this trilogy have any narrative connection to the 6 movies that came before it? From the marketing thus far, TFA feels more like a soft "reboot" than it does a sequel to ROTJ.

The new EU has shown us that the war wasn't over after ROTJ, but so what? I think we all expected that adventure and conflict would occur post-ROTJ (and the old EU covered this pretty well), but it was easier to dismiss since the movie saga wrapped up in a neat bow with Episode VI.

I don't want I-VI to be retconned, but I'm afraid that's the only way for TFA and the ST to become "necessary" canon. I'll go back to my thought from a year ago regarding what I believe to be the only stone left unturned:



Discuss.