The Star Wars Thread

[Ronnie]

Just watched the pilot episode of Resistance through... means... Anywho, I actually really, really enjoyed it! I thought it was surprisingly good fun. The cel shaded visuals are actually quite stunning at times, there's decent music, great sound effects, fun/interesting characters, and frankly anything with BB-8 in it is instantly a win, smart move on their part to shoehorn him in.

I thought the setting was really cool, something a bit different to anything we've seen before in Star Wars. Humour-wise I laughed out loud a few times, they definitely nailed that part. They strike a good balance between making it something both kids and adults can enjoy.

Oscar Isaac was good but strangely muted, like he was half asleep when delivering his lines. Nice to have another familiar face though.

It's also nice to have a bit of back story for Force Awakens.

I enjoyed seeing the shiny New Republic X-Wings, even if their design was ugly af lol. As for the other ships, at first I really didn't like the racing ones from the trailers but they've definitely grown on me, especially Kaz's ship.

So many litle Star Wars touches everywhere. One final point, forget the Porgs, the Gorgs here are probably the cutest thing I've seen in a while.

Nothing ground-breaking or amazing, but a pleasant watch. I think it's on Disney XD this weekend, are you tuning in @Julius Caesar ?

Edited October 10, 2018 by Ronnie

[Julius]

Jon Favreau has posted two images from the set of The Mandalorian, the second of which shows off the titular character’s rifle in more detail...and it might look familiar to some here.

In case you didn’t see it, this rifle actually originated from the Star Wars Holiday Special, in which it is wielded by Boba Fett:

I was on board before, but now...even more so. This is the sort of callback to Legends/non-canon material which I’m a big fan of.

On 10/10/2018 at 3:31 AM, Ronnie said:

I think it's on Disney XD this weekend, are you tuning in @Julius Caesar ?

I didn’t get a chance to see it actually. I’ll probably end up letting the episodes pile up a little bit before checking it out, a lesson learned from my early Rebels viewings; an episode or so per week just isn’t enough to get me hooked early on, because it’s simply not enough time for me to adjust to the new animation style.

Very glad to hear you enjoyed it though @Ronnie, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on it. 

[Ronnie]

We've seen three photos from it and I'm already loving the look of the Madalorian. That's been a real strong point of Disney Star Wars, the production design is absolutely fantastic

Edited October 17, 2018 by Ronnie

[Julius]

46 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

We've seen three photos from it and I'm already loving the look of the Madalorian. That's been a real strong point of Disney Star Wars, the production design is absolutely fantastic

Absolutely. 

I think that the focus on practical effects/props above all else is probably the greatest focal point of Disney’s Star Wars, which was such a smart move. Without someone like George Lucas to spearhead technological innovation with regards to computer generated effects, they were always going to find it tough to compete with people like James Cameron in that regard, and it just matters less and less with every small step taken towards perfecting CG: the majority of films worked on by ILM look just as stunning as any other film besides, perhaps, Cameron’s Avatar, which I think is both a blessing and a curse. The original trilogy paved the way for ILM and CG to really come into its own and advance at an astronomical rate, and the prequel trilogy ushered in the age of digitally filmed movies and, at the time of their release, was the greatest showcase of what CG could do. 

This is a great middle ground: the CG in the sequel trilogy and spin-off films (for the most part) look as good as they could do, but the practical effects and props will remain timeless, as will shooting on-location. I suppose, in a way, this could future proof these films in a much more comprehensive manner than was the case for the prequels, and most likely the majority of other films which depend on these effects, too.

[Ronnie]

The prequels served as a big warning sign to rely too much on CG at their own peril. Revenge of the Sith in particular was just ridiculous, the amount of CG in that Order 66 sequence in particular was ridiculous.

In terms of the production design on the sequels though I was meaning less their choice to use real things vs CG (but that was also a great move) and more the design of things themselves. They absolutely nailed the aesthetic of the original trilogy and design wise, the tech is just ridiculous cool. I love Han's speeder design in Solo for example or the bombers and Snoke's guards in Last Jedi etc.  and the props like blasters or hallways or clothing. All fantastic. It's a huge part of what makes Star Wars so special to me.

The only thing I wasn't so keen on was the overall grading of Solo, I get that they were going for a flat, washed out look, but they took it way too far IMO.

Edited October 17, 2018 by Ronnie

[Julius]

Always love hearing that George has seen the new films and visited some of the sets, but I believe (?) that this is the first time that a visit of his has been photographed. 

Definitely keeps me excited for The Mandalorian. 

[Julius]

ILM are opening up a new division with a sole focus on television:

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Industrial Light & Magic expanding its offering of best-in-class visual effects and animation services to include the streaming and episodic television market with a new division: ILM TV. The division will be based out of ILM’s new 47,000 square foot London studio and supported by the company’s global locations in San Francisco, Vancouver and Singapore.

The ILM TV team will be lead by Visual Effects Supervisors Hayden Jones and Jonathan Privett alongside Executive Producers, Louise Hussey and Stefan Drury. Previously, the team set up and oversaw DNEG’s television division; winning a BAFTA for Special, Visual and Graphic Effects for their work on BLACK MIRROR.

ILM TV’s first projects will be Lucasfilm’s eagerly anticipated live action series based in the Star Wars universe, THE MANDALORIAN, being developed by Jon Favreau and Superman prequel series KRYPTON, now in its second season, based on DC characters from Warner Horizon Scripted Television for SYFY. 

“It’s not often you get to create a new division at Industrial Light & Magic”, explained Rob Bredow, Executive Creative Director and Head of ILM, “We are seeing a real convergence in our creative approach used on films and in our immersive entertainment division ILMxLAB, and now we’re proud to be able to offer these ILM innovations in a way that’s suitable for streaming and television work to creatives around the world.”

ILM’s legacy in television dates back to the studio’s revolutionary and Emmy award-winning work for THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES, which brought feature film quality effects to an episodic series for the first time.“We are extremely excited to be re-igniting ILM’s involvement in this market and to showcase the team’s expertise, unrivaled technology and production management globally.” adds VFX Supervisor Hayden Jones, “The television and streaming segments have grown exponentially in recent years and we are seeing substantial demand for high calibre visual effects that can be delivered on schedule and within budget, all of which lie at the core of our teams expertise and proven track record.”

ILM TV will offer producers and showrunners access to Industrial Light & Magic’s legendary VFX talent, infrastructure and technology combined with a fresh approach to visual effects, designed to suit the condensed production schedules and rapid turnaround times that episodic series and online streaming programs demand.

Just keeping that The Mandalorian hype train rolling...

[Ronnie]

A second Star Wars tv show coming to Disney's streaming service

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The first Star Wars expanded-universe movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is now getting its own spinoff show that will air on Disney’s streaming service, which is called Disney Plus, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced Thursday.

The new Star Wars series, which will follow Rogue One’s charming rebel, Cassian Andor, will be a spy thriller set before the events of the film. Diego Luna, who played Andor in the original film, will return to the role for the series.

“I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey. We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply,” Luna said in a news release about the show’s announcement.

Disney’s streaming service is an aggressive play to take on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu (although after the Fox merger, that last one may wind up being just another arm of the conglomerate’s business). Star Wars is a logical area of content to bolster the new initiative; the Cassian Andor series joins another Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, written by Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book), and one final season of the animated series The Clone Wars as part of the official roster. Don’t expect Rogue One to be on Netflix for too much longer.

https://www.polygon.com/2018/11/8/18076924/star-wars-rogue-one-spinoff-series-disney-streaming?utm_campaign=polygon&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Now I really enjoyed Rogue One, but my big problem with it was the cast. I just didn't find them particularly likeable. Diego Luna's character in particular. He just didn't fit, at all. So I'm a little gutted he's got his own show now, but hopefully it'll be good regardless.

So they've got a gritty, bounty hunter show, a spy thriller show, now all Disney need to make is a Rebellion/Resistance military show about a squadron pilot. Please please please.

On another note, I didn't realise The Mandalorian was a single season of 10 episodes and that's all? At the same time there's something comforting knowing a beginning and end is already defined so there's less room to jump the shark.

[bob]

10 episodes is more than enough room for shark jumping if you try hard.

[Julius]

11 hours ago, Ronnie said:

A second Star Wars tv show coming to Disney's streaming service

https://www.polygon.com/2018/11/8/18076924/star-wars-rogue-one-spinoff-series-disney-streaming?utm_campaign=polygon&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Now I really enjoyed Rogue One, but my big problem with it was the cast. I just didn't find them particularly likeable. Diego Luna's character in particular. He just didn't fit, at all. So I'm a little gutted he's got his own show now, but hopefully it'll be good regardless.

So they've got a gritty, bounty hunter show, a spy thriller show, now all Disney need to make is a Rebellion/Resistance military show about a squadron pilot. Please please please.

On another note, I didn't realise The Mandalorian was a single season of 10 episodes and that's all? At the same time there's something comforting knowing a beginning and end is already defined so there's less room to jump the shark.

Eh...I currently don’t really care for this new show. However, if they throw in K-2 and some characters from other media (can we finally get a live-action Hera please? They seem to love passing on these chances, for the most part) then I might be up for it. 

My problem with this is that, once again, it’s one step forward and two steps back for Disney’s and Lucasfilm’s handling of the property. The message of The Last Jedi was clear and obvious from the film’s second trailer (and of course the film itself) — Let the past die. We’re going to start taking some risks that might not be in-line with everything that you know and love about Star Wars, but we’re going to start to freshen things up. But then the irony, of course, is that this is a sentiment which only rings true for about a minute in the film itself, and Solo — which I have now seen and quite liked, but again, didn’t really ask for — was released a few months later. Talk about some convoluted messaging to your fans: casual or hardcore. By the way, when I say that I didn’t ask for it, I don’t mean to sound like a fan who wants LFL to do everything that we want (because collectively, this fan base really isn’t the best for that), but how about giving us something that we didn’t ask for, but which is a total surprise? A Taika Waititi film about a stand-up comedian trying to make his way in the lower depths of Coruscant; a Martin Scorsese film about Jabba the Hutt’s rise to prominence in the galaxy’s criminal underbelly, spoken entirely in Huttese with the most subtitles of any film produced in the West to date; or a romantic comedy between a Kaminoan and a clone. 

They keep passing on these opportunities to explore more of the universe, and everything still seems to centre somewhat around the Skywalker timeline/original trilogy era. I’m super excited for Rian Johnson’s trilogy and Benioff and Weiss’ saga, but why does it just feel like we’re going to get those films and then have even more stuff deriving from the films, as opposed to making things which stand on their own legs? It’s why I’m so excited for The Mandalorian: it takes place in an era we still don’t know too much about, and apart from the odd cameo here or there, we’ll likely have an entirely new ensemble cast to find ourselves engrossed with. 

To bring it back around to Cassian’s show, though: if we get a unique perspective on his life as a member of the Separatists well before Rogue One takes place, then neat. If not...meh. 

Also, with regards to The Mandalorian, all I’ve seen is that it’s having an initial ten episode season; I haven’t read anything (I don’t think?) to suggest that there are plans for only one season. 

Edited November 9, 2018 by Julius

[Ronnie]

10 minutes ago, Julius said:

Eh...I currently don’t really care for this new show. However, if they throw in K-2 and some characters from other media (can we finally get a live-action Hera please? They seem to love passing on these chances, for the most part) then I might be up for it. 

My problem with this is that, once again, it’s one step forward and two steps back for Disney’s and Lucasfilm’s handling of the property. The message of The Last Jedi was clear and obvious from the film’s second trailer (and of course the film itself) — Let the past die. We’re going to start taking some risks that might not be in-line with everything that you know and love about Star Wars, but we’re going to start to freshen things up. But then the irony, of course, is that this is a sentiment which only rings true for about a minute in the film itself, and Solo — which I have now seen and quite liked, but again, didn’t really ask for — was released a few months later. Talk about some convoluted messaging to your fans: casual or hardcore. By the way, when I say that I didn’t ask for it, I don’t mean to sound like a fan who wants LFL to do everything that we want (because collectively, this fan base really isn’t the best for that), but how about giving us something that we didn’t ask for, but which is a total surprise? A Taika Waititi film about a stand-up comedian trying to make his way in the lower depths of Coruscant; a Martin Scorsese film about Jabba the Hutt’s rise to prominence in the galaxy’s criminal underbelly, spoken entirely in Huttese with the most subtitles of any film produced in the West to date; or a romantic comedy between a Kaminoan and a clone. 

They keep passing on these opportunities to explore more of the universe, and everything still seems to centre somewhat around the Skywalker timeline/original trilogy era. I’m super excited for Rian Johnson’s trilogy and Benioff and Weiss’ saga, but why does it just feel like we’re going to get those films and then have even more stuff deriving from the films, as opposed to making things which stand on their own legs? It’s why I’m so excited for The Mandalorian: it takes place in an era we still don’t know too much about, and apart from the odd cameo here or there, we’ll likely have an entirely new ensemble cast to find ourselves engrossed with. 

To bring it back around to Cassian’s show, though: if we get a unique perspective on his life as a member of the Separatists well before Rogue One takes place, then neat. If not...meh.  

Unfortunately you saw the reaction TLJ got for doing something new and unexpected. When the fanbase gets the same old Star Wars they complain it's nothing new, when they get something bold and different they complain it's too much of a departure. It's a tough balance to strike. I'm not too bothered about the setting and storyline, my problem with the show is Luna himself, I found him the least compelling character in all of the Disney Star Wars films to date.

On a separate note, it's a little sad not to have something Star Wars this Christmas, I'd gotten kind of used to it the last few years. Really excited for IX though, I trust Abrams to finish the saga really well.

I watched the Scarif battle again the other day. Man, they did an amazing job with it. I'm talking specifically the space shots. Actually the Dreadnought battle at the start of TLJ was great too. Sorry, I'm a sucker for X-Wings, Destroyers, Calamari cruisers, any of the ships and vehicles really haha.

[Julius]

8 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Unfortunately you saw the reaction TLJ got for doing something new and unexpected. When the fanbase gets the same old Star Wars they complain it's nothing new, when they get something bold and different they complain it's too much of a departure. It's a tough balance to strike. I'm not too bothered about the setting and storyline, my problem with the show is Luna himself, I found him the least compelling character in all of the Disney Star Wars films to date.

On a separate note, it's a little sad not to have something Star Wars this Christmas, I'd gotten kind of used to it the last few years. Really excited for IX though, I trust Abrams to finish the saga really well.

I watched the Scarif battle again the other day. Man, they did an amazing job with it. I'm talking specifically the space shots. Actually the Dreadnought battle at the start of TLJ was great too. Sorry, I'm a sucker for X-Wings, Destroyers, Calamari cruisers, any of the ships and vehicles really haha.

The thing is, I go back and forth on The Last Jedi every time that I watch it. I think it is home to some of the best and worst moments in the Skywalker Saga, at least from a storytelling perspective, and I think a lot of that conflict stems from the film being caught in a middle ground between doing something totally new and rehashing some of the same old elements.  For instance, Ben offering to do away with the Sith, the Jedi, and the Resistance had every Star Wars fans’ ears perking up, and got us asking the question of what a GFFA like that would be like; but then, not ten minutes later, we return to the typical good guys v. bad guys affair down on Crait. Another example is when Luke uses something potentially new and exciting (if a little drawn out and confusing on first viewing) in a Force Projection...only to offer his life to buy time for the few remaining members of the Resistance/Rebellion (I mean, yet another prime example: halfway through the film we switch back to calling them the Rebellion, for some reason) attempting to escape Crait, just like Ben Kenobi did back in A New Hope. I think that a lot of the criticism for the film is somewhat unwarranted (and admittedly kind of bizarre), but I do believe that it has the largest contrast between its highs and lows of any Star Wars film to date. Plus, it’s never easy to watch Mark Hamill break down in tears because he was worried that this was the wrong path for Luke to take. 

I’m certainly with you on missing a Star Wars film this Christmas. My birthday is next month, and for the past three years, I’ve gone to see it with my family, which has always been fun. I think that Abrams has an opportunity to do something great with IX, and my only real worry is that, if another Skywalker trilogy (i.e. X - XII) is already being talked about internally, that he’ll adhere to his mystery box methods of storytelling, which is what caused a lot of the backlash for TFA and TLJ. 

And, honestly, I still think that Rogue One has the best third act of any Star Wars film from the perspective of an action-centric culmination. The last forty minutes or so of that film are just perfect. 

[Ronnie]

17 minutes ago, Julius said:

For instance, Ben offering to do away with the Sith, the Jedi, and the Resistance had every Star Wars fans’ ears perking up, and got us asking the question of what a GFFA like that would be like that would be like; but then, not ten minutes later, we return to the typical good guys v. bad guys affair down on Crait

Not to oversimplify but isn't he supposed to be the antagonist? I figured it was similar to Darth Vader's "join me and we can rule the galaxy" line, Rey is supposed to resist. I'm not sure that good guys v bad guys on Crait has anything to do with Ben's message anyway. There needs to be some kind of conflict. Ben's suggestion was never going to happen in the space of that last hour, and given the burning of the Jedi tree, Luke's passing etc it still seems a pretty fitting idea. Anyway I thought the main message of the film was about not destroying what you hate, but saving what you love. That was certainly Poe's arc and Rose pretty much says the words to Finn at the end.

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Another example is when Luke uses something potentially new and exciting (if a little drawn out and confusing on first viewing) in a Force Projection...only to offer his life to buy time for the few remaining members of the Resistance/Rebellion attempting to escape Crait, just like Ben Kenobi did back in A New Hope.

Is your problem with this that it was simply a rehash? I'm not sure Obi Wan was buying Luke and the others time to escape. If anything it made it even more dangerous for them, the focus was immediately back on them.

I totally agree with you that the film easily has the biggest gap between high/low of any Star Wars film but I think that's because it happens to be the most bold and well-thought-out of any of them. It's not just good guys v bad guys, blow up a superweapon. There are themes and narrative threads all over the place. Switch your brain off popcorn films like that or Infinity War are fine, but I appreciate something with a bit of depth and that's what TLJ offerered, imo. It's certainly got more people talking than The Force Awakens. Mark Hamill's reaction to Luke's arc is disappointing though, I agree, and I can't say I blame him. I doubt he'd have agreed to come back for IX if Abrams didn't offer to redeem him a little bit though.

Are they really talking about making X-XII?? Lucasfilm has been pretty clear that this is the conclusion to the Skywalker saga.

I'm seeing A New Hope at the Albert Hall next weekend in front of a live orchestra, that'll have to be my big end of year Star Wars fix. Like you it's a big family thing for us too, we're all huge fans, mum dad, brother sister...

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And, honestly, I still think that Rogue One has the best third act of any Star Wars film from the perspective of an action-centric culmination. The last forty minutes or so of that film are just perfect. 

I think Return of the Jedi just about beats it tbh, but I see where you're coming from, they did a brilliant job. I kind of wish we'd had the original ending with that TIE fighter coming up we see in the trailer (to rescue Jyn?). The way all the characters are killed kind of annoys me a bit.

Edited November 9, 2018 by Ronnie

[Julius]

2 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Not to oversimplify but isn't he supposed to be the antagonist? I figured it was similar to Darth Vader's "join me and we can rule the galaxy" line, Rey is supposed to resist. I'm not sure that good guys v bad guys on Crait has anything to do with Ben's message anyway. There needs to be some kind of conflict. Ben's suggestion was never going to happen in the space of that last hour, and given the burning of the Jedi tree, Luke's passing etc it still seems a pretty fitting idea. Anyway I thought the main message of the film was about not destroying what you hate, but saving what you love. That was certainly Poe's arc and Rose pretty much says the words to Finn at the end.

Yeah, I agree with what you’re saying. I didn’t mean that the stuff in Crait was related to what Ben said, it was more that it was an odd juxtaposition, I think: we’re made to entertain an intriguing notion which could take the story in a completely different direction, but then we end up with the typical good guy v. bad guy battles. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it just made some people sit back and go “oh, okay, so I guess we’re not doing that other thing?” 

Sure, his suggestion wasn’t going to happen in the space of the remainder of the film, but I do think it could have been toyed with a bit more as a concept — some doubts in Rey’s mind about the direction that a war would take the galaxy in, for instance, or how history will just repeat itself again (like it already had done at the point; the senate created a divide between Populists and Centralists in much the same way as it did between Separatists and the Republic, and happened to bring about the growth of another hidden army). 

The thing is, Luke was basically going to commit the Star Wars version of seppuku (his white robes in the film, worn at the end of TFA/start of TLJ and when he goes to burn down the tree, are part of a ritual for the ending of the Jedi Order), which would have ended the Jedi. It’s what he wears at the end of the film, too. But the tree burning doesn’t contribute much to that, other than in symbolism, simply because Rey already has the ancient Jedi texts stowed away aboard the Falcon. And the thing is, people keep asking for “Grey Jedi” or “Bendu”, but the truth is that the Jedi just became disillusioned, and as I’ve mentioned previously and as is implied in TLJ, this came to a head in the prequels, when the Jedi had begun sorting potential by midichlorian count, for example. I think that the Jedi are simply going to be redefined and reborn as what they were originally intended to be. 

And honestly, the film has a lot of messages, many of which I think were put across well. Though I do take issue with Rose crashing into Finn, as many people do. 

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Is your problem with this that it was simply a rehash? I'm not sure Obi Wan was buying Luke and the others time to escape. If anything it made it even more dangerous for them, the focus was immediately back on them.

I totally agree with you that the film easily has the biggest gap between high/low of any Star Wars film but I think that's because it happens to be the most bold and well-thought-out of any of them. It's not just good guys v bad guys, blow up a superweapon. There are themes and narrative threads all over the place. Switch your brain off popcorn films like that or Infinity War are fine, but I appreciate something with a bit of depth and that's what TLJ offerered, imo. It's certainly got more people talking than The Force Awakens. Mark Hamill's reaction to Luke's arc is disappointing though, I agree, and I can't say I blame him. I doubt he'd have agreed to come back for IX if Abrams didn't offer to redeem him a little bit though.

Are they really talking about making X-XII?? Lucasfilm has been pretty clear that this is the conclusion to the Skywalker saga.

I'm seeing A New Hope at the Albert Hall next weekend in front of a live orchestra, that'll have to be my big end of year Star Wars fix. Like you it's a big family thing for us too, we're all huge fans, mum dad, brother sister...

No, my problem isn’t that it was a rehash, it’s more that it was going “Hey, look guys, here’s something you’ve never seen before” to accomplish something that we have already seen before. I do think that Obi’s sacrifice and duel with Vader bought them some time - as made clear by Vader taking time to stamp on his cloak before the doors seal on him after Luke shoots the control console as he attempts to enter the hangar, or how the stormtroopers make their way over to the scene of the duel to watch, which clears the way for Luke and the group to make it to the Falcon. I don’t really take issue with Star Wars referencing itself and “rehashing” certain elements, though it was a bit jarring to hear some musical themes again - TIE Fighter Attack when down in the crystalline depths of Crait, for example, and I was completely taken out of the film when I heard The Emperor’s theme used for Snoke’s torture of Rey. 

I’m very interested to see how IX will perform next year. Sure, I will probably see it five times in the cinema like I did TFA and TLJ, but I think it’s the first time when the majority weren’t (immediately) fans of the film. I knew going in that we were in for a shock, and I still had to see it again a few hours after the midnight showing to help me make my mind up. Though, sure, Infinity War was more of a popcorn flick than TLJ, I disagree that you could turn your mind off during it, and it did some extremely interesting things narratively (in how it handled Thanos, for example) which we haven’t seen much of before, and it very easily has the best MCU score.  

I haven’t seen anything mentioned about X-XII (and I am vehemently against it: I want to see some other stories told; George’s plan was only ever for a trilogy of trilogies; it still centres around Anakin the way that Lucas wanted to; etc.), but I do think that it’s worth mentioning that III was treated much in the same way that I expect to see this film marketed: “The Saga is now complete”, etc. Plus, if Disney ever starts to go bankrupt and/or Lucasfilm needs a cash injection, then you just know that they’d bring the Saga back in a heartbeat to do so. 

Which I think is sad. If anything deserves an actual ending, it’s this Saga. 

Also, that sounds awesome. Have a great time!  

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I think Return of the Jedi just about beats it tbh, but I see where you're coming from, they did a brilliant job. I kind of wish we'd had the original ending with that TIE fighter coming up we see in the trailer (to rescue Jyn?). The way all the characters are killed kind of annoys me a bit.

I agree that ROTJ has a better final act (man, that emotion up in The Emperor’s throne room), I just think RO executes the action side of things better (for obvious special effects reasons). 

Actually, I do believe that I read that that TIE was going to fire at Jyn, not save her, and then an X-Wing was going to swoop in and take out the TIE to save her. The reason that it was cut was largely because they thought that it was too similar to the X-Wings coming in and saving the day when those AT-ACTs were beginning to take aim at Chirrut and Baze. I do wish that we got to see the deleted footage from the original cut of the film as we saw in some of the behind-the-scenes features and trailers, like Jyn running across the beaches of Scarif with the data-take clipped to her belt. 

I actually didn’t mind the characters dying (though I disagree with the general notion that we would have seen or heard of them in another film, so they had to die) that much. I do think that a Chirrut and Baze TV show would be much better than a Cassian one, though, especially after the nudges and winks we got regarding their history. 

[killthenet]

Rogue One is my favourite Star Wars film, and Diego Luna was a huge part of why I liked that film so much, but I have no interest in watching a prequel series. It was great because it was a one off, by far the worst aspects of it were the shoehorned in Vader, Leia and Tarkin cameos. 

[somme]

My hype regarding anything Star Wars has dwindled to nothing. I still cannot fathom why people think TLJ brings anything "new" or "refreshing" to the franchise. It was the Battle/Escape of Hoth drawn out into a whole film, littered with awkward humour and cheap twists. It felt like a bottle-episode of a tv show. 

[Ronnie]

When you oversimplify like that, then any movie is like any other movie. Return of the Jedi was like the A New Hope's Dear Star attack but spread over half the film. Most Marvel films are interchangeable with each other. Good guy(s) have to hunt bad guy who is either in possession of or searching for all powerful thing. Swap the characters, setting, and infinity stone and you’re there. 

Edited November 12, 2018 by Ronnie

[Ronnie]

On 09/11/2018 at 4:56 PM, Julius said:

Yeah, I agree with what you’re saying. I didn’t mean that the stuff in Crait was related to what Ben said, it was more that it was an odd juxtaposition, I think: we’re made to entertain an intriguing notion which could take the story in a completely different direction, but then we end up with the typical good guy v. bad guy battles. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it just made some people sit back and go “oh, okay, so I guess we’re not doing that other thing?” 

Haha fair enough. I see what you mean. I guess the timing of the scenes didn’t help there. 

 

On 09/11/2018 at 4:56 PM, Julius said:

Sure, his suggestion wasn’t going to happen in the space of the remainder of the film, but I do think it could have been toyed with a bit more as a concept — some doubts in Rey’s mind about the direction that a war would take the galaxy in, for instance, or how history will just repeat itself again (like it already had done at the point; the senate created a divide between Populists and Centralists in much the same way as it did between Separatists and the Republic, and happened to bring about the growth of another hidden army). 

Yeah that would have been good. Much as I loved Last Jedi it tried to pack in way too much and anything more from Rey could have bloated the whole thing even more. If they were going to have Rey question things this would have been the film to do it but she probably resists a little bit too easily/quickly. 

On 09/11/2018 at 4:56 PM, Julius said:

And honestly, the film has a lot of messages, many of which I think were put across well. Though I do take issue with Rose crashing into Finn, as many people do. 

As in, how the hell did both speeders survive the crash? Yeah that was a bit silly but if the Falcon crashing into Starkiller Base has taught us anything it’s that Star Wars ships are pretty indestructible... when the scene calls for some cool action. 

 

On 09/11/2018 at 4:56 PM, Julius said:

No, my problem isn’t that it was a rehash, it’s more that it was going “Hey, look guys, here’s something you’ve never seen before” to accomplish something that we have already seen before. I do think that Obi’s sacrifice and duel with Vader bought them some time - as made clear by Vader taking time to stamp on his cloak before the doors seal on him after Luke shoots the control console as he attempts to enter the hangar, or how the stormtroopers make their way over to the scene of the duel to watch, which clears the way for Luke and the group to make it to the Falcon. I don’t really take issue with Star Wars referencing itself and “rehashing” certain elements, though it was a bit jarring to hear some musical themes again - TIE Fighter Attack when down in the crystalline depths of Crait, for example, and I was completely taken out of the film when I heard The Emperor’s theme used for Snoke’s torture of Rey. 

I’ll hear nothing bad about the TIE fighter attack theme playing when the Falcon is flying through Crait. That part gave me goosebumps. Pure nostalgia speaking of course. The OT rehashed that theme a couple times though 

 

On 09/11/2018 at 4:56 PM, Julius said:

I agree that ROTJ has a better final act (man, that emotion up in The Emperor’s throne room), I just think RO executes the action side of things better (for obvious special effects reasons). 

Agreed. But the shot of the Falcon flying out of the core chamber is still incredible and trumps most visual effects shots in my mind. The effects, and music culminating in it escalating the exploding Death Star simply can’t be topped in my mind. 

[Ronnie]

Down to £55, I couldn't resist...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01K6PWYTI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Julius]

According to Variety, Pedro Pascal has been offered the lead role in The Mandalorian, with negotiations reportedly underway. This comes after weeks of him being rumoured for the role. 

[Ronnie]

I've only really seen him in GOT, and he was good in that so...

[somme]

Not sure if you're replying to me Ronnie but I have you on block.

[Ronnie]

I'll try and sleep soundly tonight. It'll be a struggle for sure, but I'll try...

[Julius]

Some official animated shorts based on the films are coming to YouTube:

It actually looks pretty neat. Doesn’t seem like we’re getting anything new from it in terms of lore (which is probably for the best, because can you imagine the backlash if there was?), but I’m a big fan of the art style and the distinct anime direction of some shots in the trailer. This is also a great way to ease those seen by their parents as a bit too young for Star Wars into the franchise, which I think is a smart move from a business perspective, but also offers something worthwhile to fans. 

I could also see it playing into their build-up to Episode IX next year — if you can’t watch eight/ten films to catch up, then you can at least watch some shorts, right?

[Julius]

Well, I suppose that this will make another fine addition to my collection...

I absolutely adore that cover art. Here’s a synopsis:

Quote

Grand Admiral Thrawn faces the ultimate test of his loyalty to the Empire in this epic Star Wars novel from bestselling author Timothy Zahn.

“If I were to serve the Empire, you would command my allegiance.”

Such was the promise Grand Admiral Thrawn made to Emperor Palpatine at their first meeting. Since then, Thrawn has been one of the Empire’s most effective instruments, pursuing its enemies to the very edges of the known galaxy. But as keen a weapon as Thrawn has become, the Emperor dreams of something far more destructive.

Now, as Thrawn’s TIE defender program is halted in favor of Director Krennic’s secret Death Star project, he realizes that the balance of power in the Empire is measured by more than just military acumen or tactical efficiency. Even the greatest intellect can hardly compete with the power to annihilate entire planets.

As Thrawn works to secure his place in the Imperial hierarchy, his former protégé Eli Vanto returns with a dire warning about Thrawn’s homeworld. Thrawn’s mastery of strategy must guide him through an impossible choice: duty to the Chiss Ascendancy, or fealty to the Empire he has sworn to serve. Even if the right choice means committing treason.

Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason will be available for pre-order next week and arriving on shelves in the summer of 2019.