Evolution Star Wars – Style (Part I of III).

EvolutionAugust saw a break in production to allow for Harrison Ford’s broken leg to finish healing so we could get Han Solo back into action. Now that production has ramped-up again, fans have stumbled into a few serendipitous leaks and, along with them, juicy rumors and speculation. So we’ll seize this golden opportunity to gratuitously incorporate said leaks into an examination of evolution Star Wars-style.

 

 

Part I: The Machines of War

 

Fans of the hyper-popular Star Wars saga will no doubt recognize George Lucas’ personal embracing of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. If you don’t, shame on you, for it is widespread throughout his saga. Evolution is undoubtedly a very complex scientific theory, theory not as hypothesis, rather as proven explanation for transformation. For our purposes we’ll keep its definition as simple as possible. In this spirit we look to Wikipedia:

“Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations.”

 

For an easy example of how George uses evolution in the galaxy far, far away see Exhibit A:

 

 

Walrus Man and Hammerhead

 

Back when A New Hope came out these characters were simply known as “Walrus Man” and “Hammerhead,” no, not the then latest primetime cop drama on ABC, but obvious base descriptors of their [evolved] alien species for the action figure line. Factoid: It was only in subsequent years that this dynamic duo was dubbed with the names “Ponda Baba” & “Momaw Nadon,” respectively.

 

For the purposes of Part I we take evolution to the next step, away from its biological intention and examine its application to technology. If you have time you have to watch the History Channel’s excellent 2007 documentary entitled “Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed.” I will be referencing it from time to time.

 

 

 

 

This supreme special investigated the mythological, sociopolitical, and historical influences that shaped the saga we all know and love so dearly. Commentary is offered by a wide range of experts from university professors, writers & scholars, to some of Hollywood’s leading film professionals, including some familiar faces. In fact, History Channel’s advertising campaign beautifully illustrates the documentary as well as the theme of this mini-series.

 

 

Legacy Revealed

Legacy Revealed

 

The late Dr. Joseph Campbell, one of the world’s foremost experts on mythology, wrote the book “The Hero With A Thousand Faces,” a book that was significantly influential on a young George Lucas. Eventually, Campbell became a friend and mentor to Lucas. According to Dr. Jonathan Young:

“Joseph Campbell thought that perhaps the greatest moral question of our time is: Will we live for the machine or will we live for humanity? And he thought the Star Wars films presented this in stark contrast.”

 

George’s mythological space opera is the perfect backdrop to explore such moral conundrums. And it is his imaginative extrapolation of technology that Lucas exhibited, especially during the Prequel Trilogy moreso than the Original Trilogy. Natural progression provides verisimilitude (veracity and realism) or a framework for the fantasy. For instance, humankind saw the rapid proliferation and evolution of flight between the years 1914, the beginning of World War I, and 1945, the end of World War II, wherein the world saw us go from bi-planes to jets in the span of 31 short years. The main impetus for this transformation of technology in the prequels mostly had to do with the fact that the story took place over a longer arc of time – ten years between I & II and then three more years between II and III, with a whole Clone Wars campaign stuffed in that interim – wherein we see the machines of war rapidly evolve!

 

 

Imperial Design

 

The Republic’s Jedi starfighters were the seminal designs that subsequently branched-off into two different forms of war machine, that of the Republic Cruiser and of course the second-gen Jedi starfighter.

 

 

Ominous Capital Ship

Second Generation Starfighter

 

The second generation Jedi starfighter that we saw in Episode III eventually gave rise to the Empire’s Tie fighter squadron . . .

 

 

Standard Fighter

Devastator

 

. . . While the Republic Cruiser evolved into the Empire’s series of familiar, wedge-shaped Star Destroyers we see as Revenge of the Sith closes.

 

 

Star Destroyer Bridge

 

The Old Republic falls . . . A Galactic Empire born . . . Oppression and tyranny rules the day . . . We see what happens when humans live for the machine. Dr. John C. Lyden said of the technological struggle:

“In Star Wars technology is symbolic of the loss of humanity.”

 

Anakin Skywalker dies when he becomes more machine than man in the form of Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.

 

The evil Empire eventually spawns a new generation of heroes who seek to rage against the machine — The Rebel Alliance is born! Episode VII director, JJ Abrams, provided some telling comments on this idea in “The Legacy Revealed,” some five years before joining the GFFA, saying:

“The irony is that so much of what happens in Star Wars could not have been done if you turn the machines off. So it ends up being about the relationship, the balance, between who we are, the technology, the tools we use, to realize that intent. The message is: Don’t rely on technology, rely on yourself.”

 

However, our rag-tag bunch of rebels must fight fire with fire as they, too, utilize the machines of war. We see the seminal elements of the Rebel Alliance born in Revenge of the Sith in the form of the Republic’s ARC-170 starfighter.

 

 

X-Wing Precursor

 

This eventually becomes the basic, “warhorse,” the Rebel Alliance’s X-Wing starfighter.

 

 

Red Squadron

 

Right about the time production began JJ Abrams said in an interview:

“It’s great to take something like Star Wars and do something new with it.”

 

So while the new generation of directors will have a blast playing in the sandbox that George imagined and built with his own hands they will be able to expand the sandbox into new, unforeseen territories that will keep it fresh and invigorated. In my opinion that is very exciting. We get to keep everything we love about our galaxy far, far away while also seeing something new, hopefully something that will blow our minds. And from every indication that I’ve read – Thank you Kevin Smith, Bob Iger, and Peter Mayhew – that’s exactly what JJ’s vision of Star Wars will do.

 

In the July 21st Force for Change video JJ himself gave us the first ever look at the next-generation version of the X-Wing fighter. The video featured a shorter, “snubbed-nose” fighter with a slightly different design in blue. Recall:

 

 

 

 

And, of course – enter gratuitous use of recent image leaks – we saw some more ideas involving the next generation of X-Wing, to include an awesome version in black as Dekka129 recently speculated could be an even more advanced evolution featuring cloaking technology:

 

 

SpanishLeak2

black x-wing

 

But while the blogosphere goes nuts over the recent leaks, some of our earliest indicators of potential brainsplosion occurred way back in January when Bad Robot Tweeted out a pic of their offices re-opening for business. In the foreground we see the tail-end of a model AT-AT.

 

 

We're Back

 

The AT-AT turned out to be a customized model similar to Bill McMullen’s, if not one in the same.

 

 

New AT-AT

 

Fast forward to April before Principal Photography even began. We learned through a bit of investigative reporting by “The National,” a newspaper in Abu Dhabi, that filming had already begun in the desert. “The National” even broke the images of what appeared to be an AT-AT foot-pad.

 

 

Abu Dhabi

 

In hindsight Bad Robot dropped a HUGE — like, “That’s no moon, it’s a space station” — sized hint at what was to come. Well, the thought of an AT-AT in the desert was exciting enough, but this little leak, this little tid-bit sparks the imagination of what could be. Is it just a giant set piece? Is it wreckage? Is the AT-AT buried in a sand dune? OR could it be that we see a different generation of AT-AT altogether? Perhaps a badass version like the one depicted in this awesome bit of fan-concept-art???

 

 

AT-AT Concept Art

 

It only makes sense that after 30 (or so) years since the battle of Endor that vehicles and technology and the machines of war would evolve and advance, or at the very least change in design and construction. While we can only imagine and speculate as to the fate of the AT-AT we have some solid proof that JJ plans on bringing us a NEW generation, a fresh take, and that is such an apropos theme for our long-anticipated Sequel Trilogy. As the creator, himself, has said:

“It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.”

 

And the next evolution of this vision is taking shape before our very eyes!

 

Keep checking back soon for Part II of the “Evolution Star Wars-style” series!

 

+ posts

25 thoughts on “Evolution Star Wars – Style (Part I of III).

  • September 26, 2014 at 8:47 pm
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    I hope ep7 has some of dem dar evolved AT-ATs,

  • September 26, 2014 at 9:35 pm
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    Didn’t the first generation jedi starfighters evolve into the A-wings as well? They look pretty similar. Regardless, I hope we get some new ship designs in ep7. The falcon should be the only classic ship still being used 30 years later.

    • September 26, 2014 at 9:56 pm
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      “She’s the fasted hunk-a-junk in the galaxy!”

    • September 26, 2014 at 10:03 pm
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      Nah. Doesn’t sound realistic. I want new stuff, mostly spiritual successors of classic ships, but I would like to at least see a few more worn-looking classic ships, probably used by space pirates and scavengers.

  • September 26, 2014 at 9:37 pm
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    Seems to me that this article is really reaching. Evolution has no place in Star Wars as far as I am concerned.

  • September 26, 2014 at 9:46 pm
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    I have to say, George Lucas developed a universe that is quite unlike any. And now that it’s been handed off to a new generation of filmmakers, we’re just at the beginning of what is yet to come.

  • September 26, 2014 at 10:18 pm
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    Actually, I have always wished that the PT design team had focused more on functionality than just on the “kewl factor” when back-engineering the earlier generation of starships.

    The ARC-170 is a perfect example of this. It’s a cool looking ship and all, but there is absolutely zero reason for those S-foils to open, other than because it’s cool and it makes it look a little like an X-wing.

    Problem is, it’s missing the primary functional reason for the X-wings’ split wing configuration – to broaden the fire spread on the main cannons.

    IMHO, the EU’s old Z-95 Headhunter was the logical precursor to the X-wing. A simple design that one could believe would later be improved upon with the addition of a hyperdrive and the split strike foils to increase fire spread.

    Now, the Republic cruisers’ progression from the AOTC design to the ROTS design to the Imperial Star Destroyer to the Super Star Destroyer… THAT was a rather well done evolution of ship design. I wish they’d nailed it that well with all of the PT precursors to OT designs.

  • September 26, 2014 at 10:19 pm
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    I don’t want to knock anyone who obviously put some time and effort into writing this article BUT ……. I think the change of character and veichles designs over the course of time has more to do with the changeing design teams and expanding budgets than George Lucas establishing an inbuilt evolution within his movies !

  • September 26, 2014 at 11:30 pm
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    Advancements in technology in our world (which we’ve witnessed) and the fictional world of Star Wars has nothing to do with the theory of evolution (which we’ve not witnessed), which is a theory, as in hypothesis. Evolution is not yet proven. And if you’re suggesting that Hammerhead and Walrus Man are somehow future evolved versions of the species on earth (and not simply named from the animals from which the artists likely drew inspiration), this is not possible due to “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” As opposed to “Millions of years in the future in a galaxy far, far away…” It is true that SW tech changes over the films, just like it has in our history, but bringing biological evolution in as a sort of underlying theme or tone is a stretch. Please stick to reporting episode VII news.

    • September 26, 2014 at 11:51 pm
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      I would have to agree. Saying that Biological Evolution was planned by Lucas for the Star Wars Universe is a MAJOR stretch for the very reason of what Anon states that the SW Universe is set “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… ” not in the Future. There shouldn’t be any humans by using the same logic. This explanation is right on the money: “simply named from the animals from which the artists likely drew inspiration.”

    • September 27, 2014 at 12:40 am
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      What possible misreading of what Echo wrote could have led you to believe that he was saying that “Hammerhead and Walrus Man are somehow future evolved versions of the species on earth”?

      And don’t even get me started on the conflation of scientific theory and scientific hypothesis. A hypothesis is a testable prediction as to what you expect a scientific experiment to find.

      A theory, on the other hand, is an established scientific principle resulting from repeated testing and observation, incorporating, among other factors (such as scientific laws and facts) the results of, wait for it… tested hypotheses.

      They aren’t the same thing at all. Not even just a little bit.

      • September 28, 2014 at 11:06 pm
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        You are so right! People need to understand what a word means before they try to describe and explain it; getting it all wrong. I laughed so hard when I read what the anonymous user posted. You hit the nail on the head DEKKA129.

      • September 29, 2014 at 9:11 pm
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        ” For an easy example of how George uses evolution in the galaxy far, far away see Exhibit A:
        Walrus Man and Hammerhead

        Back when A New Hope came out these characters were simply known as “Walrus Man” and “Hammerhead,”
        obvious base descriptors of their [evolved] alien species for the action figure line.”

        You are correct about not saying they are evolved from earth. But saying they are “obvious base descriptors of their [evolved] alien species” by calling them Walrus/Hammerhead implies that they once were a Walrus and Hammerhead, which are animals from earth.

        Though I was not necessarily agreeing with everything Anon was saying, I did agree that saying Lucas intended for Bio-Evolution to play a big part in Star Wars is just making pure assumptions.

  • September 26, 2014 at 11:47 pm
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    HERE WE GO WITH MORE PICKY PEEPS.

  • September 27, 2014 at 12:07 am
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    What a great post. The evolution of technology is indeed an important aspect, and it’s one of the reasons why I personally never saw anything KOTOR related as canon – 4000 years in the past, and yet technology is pretty much the same? Sorry, not buying it.

    • September 28, 2014 at 6:23 am
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      Just think down the line, if the main saga after this trilogy, needs a gestational period, then KOTOR or other antient Star Wars could be explored and the original concepts of The KOTOR could then be reconceptualized.

  • September 27, 2014 at 12:35 am
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    Brilliant article! Pondering how Star Wars looks 30 years from ROTJ is like mental chewing gum. Awesome.

  • September 27, 2014 at 3:46 am
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    Gareth Edwards Standalone: Upright AT-AT vs. Rancor at Mos Eisley

    BOYEGA: Allow it!

  • September 27, 2014 at 6:42 am
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    The thing that seemed odd to me is the hexagonal winged TIE fighters seemed like the older design while Vader’s TIE was something unique and special at the time with the bent wings that would later inspire the TIE interceptors. So earlier TIE designs or Jedi fighters, in my mind, should have reflected the hexagonal “straight” wings. I know the later version jedi fighters did in a small way but with the bent hexagonal wings. But the bent design was used right from the start with the vulture droids. So the so-called evolution just comes across to me as being circular and thus “evolution” isn’t the word I would use for it. It was just change for the sake of change.

  • September 27, 2014 at 7:31 am
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    Star Wars spaceships have steadily evolved from Episode I to VI…… but then in VII, everything de-evolves back to Episode IV.

    • September 27, 2014 at 4:09 pm
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      Cool, man. Always wanted to catch the OT on the Big Tellie.

  • September 27, 2014 at 7:46 pm
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    Great article – Absorbing stuff.

  • September 29, 2014 at 7:45 pm
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    I loved this! Still waiting for the promised Part II and Part III.

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