The Star Wars Thread

[Ronnie]

Really have to wonder whether Thrawn will be the main baddie in IX and I wonder if releasing this book is a signpost that that might be the case. Not sure they can get by with just Kylo Ren, especially if he's to be redeemed (?).

god it's so nice having a proper Star Wars trilogy to talk about it again

[Cube]

If they bring Thrawn back, they'll likely have to deal with Ezra Bridger, too. I can't really see him being used in the films.

[Julius]

On 05/12/2018 at 10:54 PM, Ronnie said:

Really have to wonder whether Thrawn will be the main baddie in IX and I wonder if releasing this book is a signpost that that might be the case. Not sure they can get by with just Kylo Ren, especially if he's to be redeemed (?).

god it's so nice having a proper Star Wars trilogy to talk about it again

If there were to be a Bigger Bad, I’d love for it to be Thrawn — however, I feel like the relevance of such a character would be completely lost on the majority of the audience, which is one of the many reasons why I feel Snoke wasn’t Plagueis: the importance of such a reveal would reward the majority of the audience with confused looks. I personally wouldn’t be very happy if Thrawn were simply utilised as a storytelling tool to progress Ben’s development. I do agree with you that the presence of a Bigger Bad being in this film would make sense if Ben were to be redeemed/forge his own path; some might see Hux taking such a stance, and perhaps even turning high ranking members of the First Order against Ben, but I personally feel like the time for political intrigue and infighting isn’t in the final film in the trilogy. 

10 minutes ago, Cube said:

If they bring Thrawn back, they'll likely have to deal with Ezra Bridger, too. I can't really see him being used in the films.

Spoiler

Yeah, if you’ve seen the finale of Rebels, then that’s a likely conclusion to draw — Ahsoka and Sabine too. Such a return for Thrawn could impact the way in which his story is told in the likely follow-up to Rebels, too.

Then again, there is a large enough gap between the ending of Rebels and the start of The Force Awakens that they can bring pretty much any single character back and not have to struggle too much with making decisions regarding the fates of their characters.

 

[Ronnie]

26 minutes ago, Julius said:

If there were to be a Bigger Bad, I’d love for it to be Thrawn — however, I feel like the relevance of such a character would be completely lost on the majority of the audience, which is one of the many reasons why I feel Snoke wasn’t Plagueis: the importance of such a reveal would reward the majority of the audience with confused looks. I personally wouldn’t be very happy if Thrawn were simply utilised as a storytelling tool to progress Ben’s development. I do agree with you that the presence of a Bigger Bad being in this film would make sense if Ben were to be redeemed/forge his own path; some might see Hux taking such a stance, and perhaps even turning high ranking members of the First Order against Ben, but I personally feel like the time for political intrigue and infighting isn’t in the final film in the trilogy. 

If Hux hadn't been set up as an object of ridicule in TLJ I'd agree with you that he could take the reigns but I think we're past that point now. I don't necessarily think we need a "bigger" bad, as much as a bad guy full stop. I'm talking more Grievous (sigh) than Palpatine. Someone to advance the plot and give Kylo Ren room to do his own thing. As for the majority of the audience not being aware of Thrawn, I don't think that matters too much, they can introduce him as any new character would be introduced and there'd be backstory already in place for those that know him.

From reports it sounds like we might be getting a first teaser trailer this month, so maybe we'll soon find out.

[Julius]

31 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

If Hux hadn't been set up as an object of ridicule in TLJ I'd agree with you that he could take the reigns but I think we're past that point now. I don't necessarily think we need a "bigger" bad, as much as a bad guy full stop. I'm talking more Grievous (sigh) than Palpatine. Someone to advance the plot and give Kylo Ren room to do his own thing. As for the majority of the audience not being aware of Thrawn, I don't think that matters too much, they can introduce him as any new character would be introduced and there'd be backstory already in place for those that know him.

I didn’t say that Hux would take the reins, but that many fans speculate that he’ll stage a coup; I agree with your opinion that we’re past that now. And that’s exactly what I mean by a “Bigger Bad” (as opposed to a “Big Bad”, which would be like The Emperor, as you mention): in the event that Ben does anything but stay aligned with darkness, there needs to be a catalyst for change greater than even Han, Leia, or Rey — a threat to his rule of the galaxy (i.e. a “Bigger Bad” than he or Hux). But then, as I mentioned, that’s if Ben even walks any path other than the one he was heading down at the end of The Last Jedi — he murdered his own father, slaughtered his fellow pupils; was responsible for the death of his uncle, Luke, in one way or another; murdered his new master in a lust for power; and betrayed Rey. Some might argue that Vader did worse, and in terms of sheer numbers he likely has murdered more than Ben (though Ben, thanks to Starkiller, might be able to challenge that if we talks about murder by association), but he never did bring himself to murder his own family. Even if Padmé’s heartbreak is a consequence of his own actions, the very fact that she died is the only reason that Anakin resigns himself to remaining Vader until he learns that he his son is still alive. 

I think that the creative team are in a difficult place when it comes to IX, actually, because of this. Ben hasn’t really “won” at all so far in this trilogy, besides murdering Snoke and taking his place, and him getting a typical redemption arc is going to see them get a lot of flak. 

Anyway, as @Cube mentioned, the return of Thrawn in IX would likely bring plenty of baggage with it — many fans aware of his return to canon won’t be happy about him being shoehorned in (and offer space for further criticism of how poorly this trilogy’s arc has been continued as a whole) at the last second as a plot-advancing device, and likewise, he’ll be lost on casual fans. Sure, he can be introduced prior to the film’s release during the marketing campaign, but then the baggage of his past — in the novels and Rebels — comes to the forefront as people will learn more about him, and then everyone’s asking questions about what happened to [insert Rebels character’s name here] and why they aren’t here. It could give rise to the same widespread confusion as a result of wild speculation that DJ from The Last Jedi was Ezra — so if Thrawn were to appear in any shape or form, then I think that he would be best suited as an unannounced cameo. 

If anyone is going to fill that potential role, many fans might argue that it could still be Snoke. It’s not something that I necessarily subscribe to as a theory, but I think that it’s interesting nonetheless that Snoke resembles the Prime Jedi at least in passing, and, at the end of The Force Awakens, asks Hux to bring Kylo to him to complete his training: was his training actually completed by killing Snoke? It’s a stretch, for sure, but it has long been talked about — since the character name’s reveal, in fact — that Snoke might be a reference to snoek, a mackerel often referred to as a red herring. The red herring might be that we were led to believe that he would remain the Big Bad of this trilogy, but there’s enough subsidiary lore that some think that it might also be that the physical embodiment of Snoke himself is a red herring, and that there is someone/thing else pulling the strings. I don’t know — I think it’s an interesting point of potential discussion.

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

From reports it sounds like we might be getting a first teaser trailer this month, so maybe we'll soon find out.

Who’s reporting that? Because it seems...very unlikely. 

The only reason that The Force Awakens received an initial teaser trailer at Thanksgiving in 2014 was because a full year of marketing was put in place for the return of Star Wars — at the time of the trailer’s release, principal photography was ongoing. As far as I’m aware, principal photography had wrapped on all Star Wars films since prior to the release of their first teaser trailer to the public (I say this as a Rogue One teaser exclusive to Star Wars Celebration 2015 was shown prior to the start of that film’s principal photography).

Solo: A Star War Story likely had an atypically short marketing campaign of three months so that it didn’t overlap with The Last Jedi, but also so that it didn’t step on the toes of the marketing campaign for Avengers: Infinity War, and that’s potentially another reason that our first look at this film won’t come until a trailer is dropped at Star Wars Celebration 2019 in mid-April. Trailers such as these are typically released in the two week window prior to the release a big film to ensure that they are attached as a trailer to that film, and what better film to attach the first trailer for Episode IX to thank The likely record-busting Avengers? 

What’s more, the titles of Star Wars films under Disney have all been released prior to the release of the first teaser trailers for said films. So, if anything, I think that we would only see a title for the film released this month — and even that I’m not convinced of. We should have a title by the end of February; the only reason that I say that as opposed to in January like with The Last Jedi is because I do see them going all out and potentially revealing the title during the Super Bowl. 

Edited December 9, 2018 by Julius

[Ronnie]

Sorry forgot to reply to this. re: potential trailer, I tend to type in Star Wars in google most days and a few places were reporting rumblings that we might get a teaser trailer this month. Who knows, it's probably just nonsense. I kind of hope we don't see till a few months down the line, feels a bit early.

On 09/12/2018 at 1:18 PM, Julius said:

I didn’t say that Hux would take the reins, but that many fans speculate that he’ll stage a coup; I agree with your opinion that we’re past that now. And that’s exactly what I mean by a “Bigger Bad” (as opposed to a “Big Bad”, which would be like The Emperor, as you mention): in the event that Ben does anything but stay aligned with darkness, there needs to be a catalyst for change greater than even Han, Leia, or Rey — a threat to his rule of the galaxy (i.e. a “Bigger Bad” than he or Hux). But then, as I mentioned, that’s if Ben even walks any path other than the one he was heading down at the end of The Last Jedi — he murdered his own father, slaughtered his fellow pupils; was responsible for the death of his uncle, Luke, in one way or another; murdered his new master in a lust for power; and betrayed Rey. Some might argue that Vader did worse, and in terms of sheer numbers he likely has murdered more than Ben (though Ben, thanks to Starkiller, might be able to challenge that if we talks about murder by association), but he never did bring himself to murder his own family. Even if Padmé’s heartbreak is a consequence of his own actions, the very fact that she died is the only reason that Anakin resigns himself to remaining Vader until he learns that he his son is still alive. 

I think that the creative team are in a difficult place when it comes to IX, actually, because of this. Ben hasn’t really “won” at all so far in this trilogy, besides murdering Snoke and taking his place, and him getting a typical redemption arc is going to see them get a lot of flak.

That's a very good point re: Ren's crimes, I hadn't really added them all up together. It might sound obvious but I can imagine something like his redemption being giving his life to save Rey. Abrams would get plenty of grief for rehashing Jedi, but it's the only way to have him pay for his crimes and be somewhat redeemed.

I'll have to take you and Cube's word for it re: Thrawn, I've not watched an episode of Rebels and only briefly red Heir to the Empire around the time it came out.

Anyway forget about who or if we'll see a bigger bad. Just give us new B-Wings JJ! That's what I want to see.

[Julius]

The main cast for The Mandalorian was confirmed last week — I thought that I’d posted this already, but apparently not?. Anyways, the press release from StarWars.com: 

Quote

Lucasfilm is pleased to announce the cast of the first-ever Star Wars live-action series — The Mandalorian.

Pedro Pascal (Narcos) has been cast in the title role as a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy. He is joined by Gina Carano (Deadpool), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Emily Swallow (Supernatural), Carl Weathers (Predator), Omid Abtahi (American Gods), Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), and Nick Nolte (Warrior).

“We’re having a great time working with this incredibly talented group and excited for everyone to see what we’re up to,” says Executive Producer Jon Favreau.

Seriously, what a stellar cast! I can’t wait for this show...and we also got a look thanks Pascal at some gorgeous Dave Filoni sketches of the show’s protagonist:

Speaking of The Mandalorian, an excellent composer has been selected for the show in the form of Black Panther and Creed franchise composer Ludwig Göransson. I’m looking forward to hearing his take on classic themes, as well as surely adding some great pieces to the franchise’s musical catalogue.

Quote

“Words fail to express how surreal and humbling it feels to be invited into the Star Warsuniverse,” Göransson said. “I am deeply grateful to Jon Favreau and Disney for this opportunity and to John Williams for raising the bar so high with his iconic, intrepid scores — they will never be matched. In these next months I hope to honor the tradition of Star Wars’ musical landscape while propelling The Mandalorian into new and unchartered territory. And I will try to remember that there is no try.”

Finally, to round up the news on announcements, Warwick Davis has been announced as the host for Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019! He was excellent last year, especially during the particularly packed opening panel for the 40th Anniversary Celebration.

Quote

Davis, a Star Wars and Celebration icon, will make his triumphant return to the main Celebration Stage in Chicago, where he will welcome some of the biggest stars of the show for intimate conversations, thrilling announcements, and other revelations. Warwick previously hosted the Celebration Stage in Orlando in 2017, and has been a staple at Star Wars Celebration since its inception in 1999.

Finally, @Ronnie recently mentioned reading about the possibility of a teaser trailer this month. That still seems very unlikely — though the phrase “footage” in particular is being thrown about a lot (not particularly by anyone with a great track record, mind you), so maybe it’s possible that some footage could be released at the end of something like a short montage of the Saga so far?

Okay, time for the actual final announcement: it seems that our first preview of Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars-themed expansion coming to Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, and Disney World Resort, Florida, and it will be coming on Christmas Day. Speaking of which, for anyone wondering how development is going, it looks to be going swell...

[Julius]

Yesterday we got a behind-the-scenes look at Galaxy’s Edge:

We also got to see a very familiar bounty-hunting droid courtesy of Jon Favreau on Instagram, confirming that IG-88 will indeed be in The Mandalorian: 

 

[Ronnie]

I get the impression my brother, sister, mum and dad know me a decent amount

[Julius]

After some crew members jumping the gun on social media a few weeks back, we got official confirmation today from Lucasfilm that The Mandalorian has wrapped. Really looking forward to seeing what they've cooked up.  

Edited February 28, 2019 by Julius

[Julius]

Would also highly recommend checking out StarWars.com's latest update on the making of the park, as well as Entertainment Weekly's tour. 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Julius

[Ronnie]

15 hours ago, Julius said:

After some crew members jumping the gun on social media a few weeks back, we got official confirmation today from Lucasfilm that The Mandalorian has wrapped. Really looking forward to seeing what they've cooked up.  

Same here, very excited, visually the photos from the set we've seen look great. I'm still holding out hope for a X-Wing/squadron pilots series or film one day down the line as I'm a bit more into Star Wars for that and not as much the criminal underbelly side, but frankly I'll take anything with the SW name on it!

 

5 hours ago, Julius said:

Would also highly recommend checking out StarWars.com's latest update on the making of the park, as well as Entertainment Weekly's tour. 

Looks fantastic. I've bookmarked the link to read later, cheers

Edited February 28, 2019 by Ronnie

[Julius]

Disney's Imagineers have put up a video which shows off their incredible animatronic work on Hondo Ohnaka, which will be coming to Galaxy's Edge:

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Julius

[Ronnie]

Not a new story but this is a fun article about the food and drink that'll be available at Galaxy's Edge. Some lovely photos and weird looking food/drink, including of course blue (and green!) milk

https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-galaxys-edge-food-beverages

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by Ronnie

[bob]

Can't be arsed to spoiler it. It was a Star Wars poster, with light sabres and stormtroopers and shit.

 

 

[Julius]

@bob, I'd stick that in a spoiler tag  

I can imagine that there might be some here who would rather learn about these things in an official trailer/poster as opposed to in a leaked promotional poster mock-up  

Also, I'd imagine that the dedicated Episode IX thread would be a more suitable destination for this (spoiler tagged?) image 

Edited March 27, 2019 by Julius

[Ronnie]

55 minutes ago, Julius said:

@bobI can imagine that there might be some here who would rather learn about these things in an official trailer/poster as opposed to in a leaked promotional poster mock-up  

Yes please, I'm going to try and avoid it till it's officially revealed, so spoiler tags would be much appreciated.

@Julius I have to ask though... how good on a scale of 1 (Prequel posters) to 10 (Last Jedi poster) is it.

[Julius]

8 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Yes please, I'm going to try and avoid it till it's officially revealed, so spoiler tags would be much appreciated.

@Julius I have to ask though... how good on a scale of 1 (Prequel posters) to 10 (Last Jedi poster) is it.

Well, like I mentioned before, it's more along the lines of a poster which will have elements utilised in commercial packaging (such as you boxes, advent calendars, etc.). 

The closest thing that comes to mind is a similar poster for The Last Jedi used only in merchandise and packaging, which is nowhere near the greatness of the teaser poster for The Last Jedi. Because it's a cluttered mess of a poster:

So yeah, in terms of Star Wars posters, the one for IX floating around right now is probably a 5 at best -- but it's probably not fair to compare it to the teaser/final posters we've had for prior films.

It's best features are easily the assets which raise and answer questions plenty of questions about the film, but other than that...yeah. And even though this promo poster got leaked, which is a sign that someone isn't doing their job right, thank the Force that the poster's designers were and left the title out (assuming that they even know it yet?), because that would have been nigh on impossible to avoid if it had been included.

[Ronnie]

3 hours ago, Julius said:

Well, like I mentioned before, it's more along the lines of a poster which will have elements utilised in commercial packaging (such as you boxes, advent calendars, etc.). 

The closest thing that comes to mind is a similar poster for The Last Jedi used only in merchandise and packaging, which is nowhere near the greatness of the teaser poster for The Last Jedi. Because it's a cluttered mess of a poster:

So yeah, in terms of Star Wars posters, the one for IX floating around right now is probably a 5 at best -- but it's probably not fair to compare it to the teaser/final posters we've had for prior films.

It's best features are easily the assets which raise and answer questions plenty of questions about the film, but other than that...yeah. And even though this promo poster got leaked, which is a sign that someone isn't doing their job right, thank the Force that the poster's designers were and left the title out (assuming that they even know it yet?), because that would have been nigh on impossible to avoid if it had been included.

Interesting. I assumed it was the film's final poster (minus the title for some reason). Still it's pretty surprising to see a promo type poster leak, JJ won't be happy!

[Ronnie]

Like E3 for Star Wars fans, Celebration starts tomorrow, I'd love to be there, seems like a great line up of the major panels.

UK time:

Friday 5pm: Episode IX

Saturday 5pm: Galaxy's Edge
Saturday 7:30pm: Jedi: Fallen Order

Sunday 5pm: The Mandalorian

Monday 5pm: The Phantom Menace Anniversary
Monday 9:30pm: Resistance

First footage from IX, Fallen Order and the Mandalorian?? Yes please! I'm tempted to go into IX having not watched any footage at all, but it'll be tough to resist.

Edited April 10, 2019 by Ronnie

[Julius]

Star Wars news relating to Disney+...

• The Mandalorian will be a series available at launch (November 12th)

• Original Trilogy, Prequel Trilogy, The Force Awakens and Rogue One will be available at launch; The Last Jedi and Solo will be available once their Netflix term expires

• The Clone Wars S7 will release in the first year

• The Clone Wars S1 - S6 and Rebels S1 - S4 will be available at launch 

• Cassian Andor series coming 2021; Alan Tudyk will reprise his role as K-2SO

Also, here's a look at the platform and The Mandalorian's logo:

[FalcoLombardi]

I got to see some of the footage that was shown of the Mandalorian. I'm liking the aesthetic. And the cast seems pretty damn good.

[Ronnie]

I still need to hunt down the footage in good quality. I watched the panel and came away very impressed with the three cast members, and Favreau/Filloni. I have a really good feeling about this series.

Also, I LOVE the ship.

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Ronnie

[Julius]

Peter Mayhew has passed away at the age of 74