The Force Already Awakened Back in 1975 in Lucas’ Original Star Wars Treatment!

Star Wars 7 TeaserWe all know that George Lucas originally intended to produce the Sequel Trilogy before he decided to sell Lucasfilm Ltd. to Disney, but did he invent the subtitle for Episode VII? We’ll take a closer look after the jump.

 

 

George Lucas wrote the treatments for the Sequel Trilogy that he intended to produce himself. Then Disney hired Michael Arndt to write the script for Episode VII. Recently, George came out and said that Disney isn’t using his treatments and doing their own thing.

“The ones that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn’t really want to do those. So they made up their own. So it’s not the ones that I originally wrote.”

 

At this point we don’t know how accurate that statement is and Dekka129 wrote a great article dissecting the issue, so we won’t rehash that here. Suffice it to say that JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan kept a large portion of George’s concepts, themes, and characters intact, although we won’t know all the facts about this until after The Force Awakens comes out on Blu-ray/DVD and we can watch the special features. Even then this may not be fully addressed if at all.

 

 

The Making of Star Wars

 

Well, sometimes we get great tips and leads from the fans. This is one such case. A fan who goes by the username “Sir Billabong” sent us a tip about how the title of Episode VII may have come about. While reading The Making of Star Wars book he read through the 3rd draft of the 1975 script/treatment for “The Star Wars.” (Don’t forget that the original movie went through a lot of major re-writes until it finally emerged as the masterpiece we all know and love.) From page 61:

 

 

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In the treatment there are three familiar lines spoken by Vader:

Something old has been awakened. The Force has suddenly grown stronger. We must travel future paths with caution.

 

Compare to those spoken by Andy Serkis’ mysterious character in the teaser trailer.

There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it? The dark side and the light . . .

 

So, quite obviously the main idea of an “awakening” –a disturbance in the Force — existed as far back as 1975 and will no doubt have been resurrected in George’s most recent treatments, despite what he says.

 

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74 thoughts on “The Force Already Awakened Back in 1975 in Lucas’ Original Star Wars Treatment!

  • January 30, 2015 at 7:51 pm
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    a bit of a stretch, but ok…

    • January 30, 2015 at 8:22 pm
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      I was thinking the same thing. Connecting those two lines is definitely a stretch if you’re just judging by the repeated use of the word “awakening”.
      But, who knows, maybe there is something there.

  • January 30, 2015 at 8:03 pm
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    An excellent observation! There’s so much unused material in the early drafts that they could mine them to populate an entire trilogy if so inclined …

  • January 30, 2015 at 8:19 pm
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    Lucas are so full of crap. Disney/we are using his script.

    • January 30, 2015 at 8:30 pm
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      I believe you is JJ don’t you.

    • January 30, 2015 at 9:26 pm
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      Go home, JarJar.

    • January 31, 2015 at 3:24 am
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      Lucas are? As in, one Luca, two Lucas?

      • January 31, 2015 at 2:58 pm
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        There is another…

  • January 30, 2015 at 8:28 pm
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    Montross they say? Montross is the name of the second cyborg guy from the leaked concept art! The one that sits with a drink in the bar or so!..

  • January 30, 2015 at 8:28 pm
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    It was reported years ago that Lucas hired Michael Arndt to flesh out his outline.

  • January 30, 2015 at 8:33 pm
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    Actually it was a User on TheForce.Net forums by the name of Darkcide that found this out over a month ago and we have been talking about it extensively.

    So thanks for playing.

    • January 30, 2015 at 8:38 pm
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      Doesn’t matter either way. There is no connection to Lucas’ original 1975 treatment.

      • January 31, 2015 at 3:37 am
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        Except the character Montross and someone saying there’s an awakening in the Force. It’s like you can’t even read the article.

        • January 31, 2015 at 2:59 pm
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          Maybe it has something to do with Robin Williams and Robert Dinero…

  • January 30, 2015 at 9:09 pm
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    Am fairly certain the “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it? The dark side and the light . . ” was pieced together for the trailer from 3 different conversations in the movie.

  • January 30, 2015 at 9:36 pm
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    SPOILER WARNING

    In TFA there will be a scene were the Falcon will have to power down and drift through a perimeter check point to sneak in somewhere.
    Tie fighters will be sent to intercept them.

  • January 30, 2015 at 9:43 pm
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    They found the word “awakened” and “force”(and I’m sure somewhere in the script the word “the” could be found!) so this means that ….what Lucas wrote is what we are getting?!?!

    Please don’t ruin the credibility of this site with crap like this. For the most part reliable news is reported. I know things are slow lately but c’mon

    • January 30, 2015 at 11:00 pm
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      Actually, they found a reference to Sith “feeling” an “awakening” in “the Force”.

    • January 31, 2015 at 3:13 am
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      Darn it! I thought only I knew how to use CRTL + F

  • January 30, 2015 at 9:59 pm
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    There is actually a little more to connect the trailer to this piece, though I admit this is still a stretch.

    INT. ALDERAAN [Alderaan is he Capital of the Empire in this draft] – CRYSTAL CHAMBER

    Three SITH LORDS are on their knees praying before a shining crystal placed on a tall altar. They mumble a strange electronic chant.

    1ST SITH
    Darth, did you feel that?

    Darth stands and stares at the crystal.

    2ND SITH
    Was it an omen? What is it?

    VADER
    Something old has been awakened. The Force has suddenly grown stronger, We must travel future paths with caution.

    The line I’m talking about is “Darth, did you feel that?”

    And there is this bit right before it:
    BEN
    There are two halves of the Force of
    Others. One is positive and will help
    you if you learn how to use it. But
    the others half will kill you if you
    aren’t careful. This negative side
    of the Force is called the Bogan,
    which is where the expression came
    from, and it is the part that is used
    by the Dark Lords to destroy their
    opponents. Both halves are always
    present. The Force is on your right,
    the Bogan is on your left. The Kiber
    Crystal can amplify either one. The
    Crystal Darth stole was the last one
    in the possession of the Jedi. When
    he joined the Sith, the power of the
    Dark Lords was completed.

    Both halves can be amplified by the crystal “the dark side and the light”???

    • January 30, 2015 at 10:27 pm
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      Again, it is a big stretch, but maybe there is something like the “Kiber Crystal” in ep7 that can amplify the Force and the villain is looking to use it to amplify the Dark Side. Maybe it is the Ultimate Weapon and Luke is guarding it, though its power is affecting him in strange ways.

      In the Second Draft Luke’s father is still alive and is known as “The Starkiller”, a very old and powerful Jedi.
      The plot involves Luke trying to find his father in his hidden base and return the Kiber Crystal [it was hidden by his brother Deak in R2 and this eventually evolved into the Death Star plans hidden by Leia, who “ironically” became his sister]. Luke finds out where the base is when his father psychically calls out to him.

      The following scene seems to have evolved into the one from the Third Draft:

      …A Sith knight speaks to Lord Vader on the com-link.

      SITH KNIGHT
      Yes, my Lord, the Ashla Force is strong upon us. I can’t hold the panic. How could it be?

      VADER
      I feel the influence of the Kiber Crystal. Perhaps the Starkiller is still alive. They must have brought it out of hiding at last. We must strain — counter the force. Their attack is organized; they’re going for the poles. Concentrate there.

      • January 31, 2015 at 1:51 am
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        Well your first comment could be. Isn’t there a blue creature in the concept art that is sitting working with a Kiber Crystal in a Catia like bar when Kira Rey Solo walks in?

      • January 31, 2015 at 3:40 am
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        The Kyber crystals are shown to focus lightsaber beams and Death Star beams in the two recent animated series.

    • January 30, 2015 at 10:35 pm
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      I am so glad Lucas threw or the idea of calling the dark side “the bogan”. Bogan has a completely different meaning in Australia, it basically translates to redneck (much like thongs translates to flip flops).

      • January 31, 2015 at 1:25 am
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        Bloody Bogans with the ‘Go home,were full’ and ‘Union Jack’ stickers on the rear windows of the utes. Pathetic

  • January 30, 2015 at 10:07 pm
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    I just finished reading the 3rd draft and that scene has no relevance to anything else in the script. It’s kinda just there randomly and never really touched on later. UNLESS.. (and a big unless) “the force awakened” when they tested the Death Star on Oragana Major. Read the draft you’ll see what I’m talking about I’m sure.

    • January 30, 2015 at 10:39 pm
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      I think it has something to do with Luke learning about the Force from Ben in the scene just before it. Perhaps the “Ashla” is awakening in Luke (or with the return of Ben). In the 2nd draft Luke is directly identified by the Sith as the prophesied “Son of the Suns”, which I always bring up when people try to say Lucas came up with the idea of a Chosen One prophecy just for the Prequels.

  • January 30, 2015 at 10:15 pm
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    What rubbish – it also says THE FORCE too….

    • January 31, 2015 at 3:04 pm
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      And it also has a period.

  • January 30, 2015 at 10:28 pm
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    I am ABSOLUTELY convinced Disney dumped all or at least the VAST majority of Lucas’ ideas for VII and the Sequel Trilogy. Yes, it’s still very possible that Abrams decided to peruse all of Lucas’ notes for some inspiration, but fans across the Internet, like some of the ones on this site, are simply grasping at straws.

    Give it up, kid. Old Yeller was put out of his misery. He had rabies, for chrissake…

    • January 31, 2015 at 12:08 am
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      “I am ABSOLUTELY convinced Disney dumped all or at least the VAST majority of Lucas’ ideas for VII and the Sequel Trilogy. Yes, it’s still very possible that Abrams decided to peruse all of Lucas’ notes for some inspiration, but fans across the Internet, like some of the ones on this site, are simply grasping at straws.”

      Didn’t we go all over this already?

      Has anyone read the treatment for The Star Wars then the rough/first draft then the second draft then the third draft then the fourth draft then the revised fourth draft?

      Go from that treatment to the final movie.

      Lucas didn’t use what he “originally” wrote himself. Lots of things he threw out, rearranged, modified etc etc.

      He came to the decision that he didn’t really want to do those first ones. So it’s not the ones that he originally wrote.

      I never thought for a second this movie would be any different and that was settled a long time ago as the Arndt draft that he oversaw was not used. All information from all credible sources and not so credible ones say that the basics are still from the original ideas but as ever crafted to suit the director and writer.

      The true grasping at straws here is to take a quote from Lucas himself and twist it to something that suits what you want to the exclusion of any other credible information.

      “With Lucas’ Strange Magic film bombing at the box office and the overall prequel backlash. Disney, now more than ever before, will steer clear of affiliations with Lucas ideas.”

      There is no overall prequel backlash. There is only the fantasy backlash that exists in the minds of those that don’t like them. The audience liked them just fine. The new movies will be filled to the brim with Lucas ideas one way or the other so you might as well accept it.

      • January 31, 2015 at 3:18 am
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        After EpVII hits the screens, I’d love to be able to read Arndt’s and Lucas’s script/notes and judge for myself.

      • January 31, 2015 at 4:45 am
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        “Lucas didn’t use what he “originally” wrote himself. Lots of things he threw out, rearranged, modified etc etc.

        I never thought for a second this movie would be any different and that was settled a long time ago as the Arndt draft that he oversaw was not used.

        The true grasping at straws here is to take a quote from Lucas himself and twist it to something that suits what you want to the exclusion of any other credible information.”

        See what I mean? This exactly the sort of wishful thinking I’m talking about. Lucas specifically said Disney didn’t want to use his ideas and, instead, opted to make up their own, not that their script is largely rooted in Lucas’ ideas.

        This isn’t business as usual. Even when Arndt was suddenly replaced by Abrams and Kasdan back in late 2013, fans were in denial.

      • February 4, 2015 at 7:41 am
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        You’re delusional. JJ hates the prequels. He HATES them. Even people who acted in them hate them. They made money because its Star Wars. I went and saw them all in the theater, even though each one sucked. Thats how bad George Lucas has pissed all over his fans. Get over it. Lucas is out. There will be zero input or ideas from Lucas. They have the Original Trilogy. Thats all they need. They don’t need Lucas for anything. The prequels proved that. I’m glad he is acting pissed too. Good.

  • January 30, 2015 at 10:28 pm
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    The context with which this dialogue is presented in the Rinzler book indicates that it’s in reference to Kenobi having gotten back into the game. Really, it seems like a much earlier version of what became the two scenes on the Death Star where Vader senses Obi Wan, then reports it to Tarkin.

    But it certainly could be something that was also adapted to the TFA story, with maybe an old Sith tomb or some such thing having been disturbed, which in turn has awoken something ancient.

    Lucas reuses/recycles old discarded concepts, scenes and characters all the time.It would make perfect sense for him to have incorporated elements of this early SW rough draft scene into his Episode VII treatment.

  • January 30, 2015 at 10:39 pm
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    Is this actually from the 1975 treatment? It sounds way too specific to be.

    • January 30, 2015 at 10:50 pm
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      It’s the 3rd Draft dated Aug 1, 1975. I think Echo-07 may be confused as to what a “treatment” is. A treatment is only about 40 pages long and is essentially an extended outline.

  • January 30, 2015 at 10:47 pm
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    Yeah it already awakened, and it’s been hitting the ‘snooze’ button for 40 years!

    • January 30, 2015 at 10:53 pm
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      Your a little late to the Awakens pun party, sunny.

  • January 30, 2015 at 11:18 pm
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    “although we won’t know all the facts about this until after The Force Awakens comes out on Blu-ray/DVD and we can watch the special features. Even then this may not be fully addressed if at all.”

    If it’s not addressed, there’s the answer for you. If anything can be attributed to GL, they’ll pitch it that way.

    • January 31, 2015 at 12:01 am
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      With Lucas’ Strange Magic film bombing at the box office and the overall prequel backlash, Disney, now more than ever before, will steer clear of affiliations with Lucas ideas. Consider this 1975 treatment and any other Lucas “notes” to be in the Mickey Mouse trash can.

      • January 31, 2015 at 12:15 am
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        The prequels revived Star Wars though 😉

        • January 31, 2015 at 12:55 am
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          The special editions did that. Then there was buildup LEADING UP to Phantom Menace. And then…
          😉

          • February 1, 2015 at 1:45 am
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            The Timothy Zahn trilogy is the unsung hero of the SW franchise. It gave fans more depth and insight into the developing characters. Introduced the vast scope that was possible in a SW universe albeit through a literary lens.In the early 90’s it was OT and Zahn books that you swore by. There were still many gaps in the storyline and no PT yet. It was a time of wonder and demand for SW to materialize into what it is now.

      • January 31, 2015 at 4:00 am
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        1975 Lucas was gold. I can’t see this being “thrown in the trash”. You sound like a Grade A moron.

      • January 31, 2015 at 4:29 am
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        “With Lucas’ Strange Magic film bombing at the box office and the overall prequel backlash, Disney, now more than ever before, will steer clear of affiliations with Lucas ideas.”

        Excuses. Lucas’ reputation was bad enough in 2012, but Disney still took his ideas into consideration and worked with him and Arndt on the script. Fans in general were open to Lucas contributing to the collaborative process.

        • February 4, 2015 at 7:33 am
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          No. No. Nooooo. Lucas WILL NOT have anything to do with this movie. Period. Get over it. Deal with it. Do whatever you got to do. You like the prequels? You like greedo shoots first, and the ruined Jabba Palace music scene? Good, go buy those abortions and watch them over and over again. Finally we have a chance to see something good. Go watch jar jar and the special special edition of the special editions and stop complaining about Lucas not being involved. He’s out. Finished. He can’t hurt Star Wars anymore.

  • January 31, 2015 at 1:00 am
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    “The special editions did that. Then there was buildup LEADING UP to Phantom Menace. And then…”

    Then we got one of the most successful series of movies in box office history generating billions of dollars at the box office, on VHS,DVD,BD, TV plus merchandise and all other platforms.

    The prequels completely revived Star Wars to the point that for years now even with no movies the merch each year generated billions anyway.

    As Phillip K Dick said “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”

    The prequels aren’t going away so you better learn to love ’em.

    • January 31, 2015 at 1:49 am
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      That’s ONE point of view. Another is TPM scored the single greatest letdown in the history of film. The complaining continues to this day. And, although there are prequel supporters, the negativity FAR outweighs the “good things” about the prequels.
      The public outcry over the prequels resulted in Lucas just giving up the whole franchise and he even commented how he got tired of hearing people bitching at him and whining about the prequels.
      Don’t bother bringing up dollars, blah, blah.
      SW fans will buy, go see, and pay for almost anything SW. Haven’t you noticed how many more people dislike the prequels than like them?

      As the old man once said, “You can’t polish a turd.”

      • January 31, 2015 at 3:25 am
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        Like em or not but the prequels did give us some good debate material for the upcoming trilogy. Personally, I really hope the whole “chosen one” prophecy is explained if the Sith do return.

        Having fufilled a prophecy older than time itself but it lasts only 30 years? Don’t think so.

        My gut, Anakin, as the chosen one, will lead his descendents to finally balance the force…epVIII or EpIX maybe?

        Its already been established that the force can create life…recreate/resurrect Anakin wouldnt be that much of a stretch.

        • January 31, 2015 at 5:51 am
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          “Having fufilled a prophecy older than time itself but it lasts only 30 years? Don’t think so.”

          Lol, what?

          “Personally, I really hope the whole “chosen one” prophecy is explained if the Sith do return.”

          Here’s an explanation. The prophecy never made much sense in the first place. It was never mentioned in the originals, poorly explained in the prequels and clearly felt inserted because Lucas was wrapping up his saga.

          How is it logical for a Jedi or Force sensitive to never turn to the dark side? Even if you call them “Dark Jedi” or whatever, it’s still essentially the same thing.

          • January 31, 2015 at 7:32 am
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            Didn’t make sense? It’s clearly stated that the Chosen One is supposed to destroy the Sith. What doesn’t make sense about that?

          • January 31, 2015 at 8:32 am
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            Who wrote it? When? What does “bring balance to the Force” mean exactly?

            Other than Lucas himself saying it, we have no confirmation from Episode VI that Anakin was the Chosen One because it never comes up ANYWHERE in the OT. Is the prophecy actually saying that there can NEVER be another Sith in the galaxy? If yes, then it should also be impossible for a Jedi or Force sensitive to be able to turn to the dark side because it’s essentially the same thing.

            There is no more dark side of the Force, which sounds stupid. The threat should not be removed for no good reason. It’s not like the story ended at VI.

    • January 31, 2015 at 3:46 am
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      “The prequels aren’t going away so you better learn to love ‘em.” You’re taking this too far.

      • January 31, 2015 at 3:55 pm
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        Tools, the all of you.

  • January 31, 2015 at 1:07 am
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    It’s all about Ewoks.

  • January 31, 2015 at 3:42 am
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    He’s clearly talking about Kenobi returning when saying, “something old has awakened”. Read the whole page. Geez, we are stretching it a bit too much on this site now. Bottom line, most of Lucas early drafts were garbage. The prequels were garbage. He hit gold on ANH and Kershner took it to another level with ESB. I’m glad Lucas treatments were scraped by Disney. Hopefully it means we will finally get a decent movie.

    • January 31, 2015 at 3:53 pm
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      Whatever man, nobody cares about your opinion.

    • February 1, 2015 at 5:10 pm
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      Prequels are garbage. Seriously, with such extremists opinions, you ll never be considered in argumentations. Can’t you develop a bit ? OT and PT have pros and cons. Nothing is perfect. Deal with it, moron !!!

    • February 4, 2015 at 7:25 am
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      Exactly. Why are the people here so butthurt over Lucas not being involved? Did you watch the prequels? He has made billions off of this, and his time has passed. He is creatively bankrupt, and don’t even get me started on how he ruined parts of the original trilogy! I feel much better having JJ in charge of this. He is a true SW geek, and will stick to the ORIGINAL original trilogy. You know, the reason star wars became a worldwide phenomena? NOt stupid cheesy prequel movies that are godawful. Not ruining a masterpiece with dumb visual and storyline changes. Cringeworthy additional scenes, and ruining the best parts of the movie. Stop whining about Lucas. I knew he was out a long time ago, and he doesn’t need to be involved. They didn’t steal it from him. Its in good hands.

  • January 31, 2015 at 6:07 am
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    It is possible that Lucas still hasn’t had this level of involvement in the film. Kasdan and even JJ could have pulled from this source material themselves. It is obvious that they have pulled from unused McQuarrie concepts so why not from the original pages themselves. It’s not hard to believe that Abrams has a copy of the Making of Star Wars books in his shelf. Think of all of the other unseen material he has access to at Skywalker Ranch. I’m sure there will be many more revitalizations like this in the film.

  • January 31, 2015 at 9:27 am
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    Great article @Echo-07!!!

  • January 31, 2015 at 12:31 pm
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    It definitely looks inspired by that line.

  • January 31, 2015 at 5:48 pm
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    Initially, I like the “connection”, we’ll see what happens. As far as Lucas’ ideas being scrapped and/or relegated to the “Mouse trash bin”….don’t kid yourself. This ENTIRE conversation is because of Lucas’ vision, he made this. Everything he’s written is usable material. The EU has not been trash-canned…it’s still there. The entire concept is liken to a hot rod builder owning an auto salvage yard…all of the best parts are gold. It’s up to them to decide which parts those are.

    • February 4, 2015 at 7:17 am
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      Lucas is out. Deal with it. There won’t be any signs of the prequels in this movie, unless it is a joke making fun of them.

  • January 31, 2015 at 8:56 pm
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    Who gives a flying f..f…force! I wanna see the film!

  • February 1, 2015 at 4:23 am
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    I read that and thought that could allude to what the film is about. it makes sense to what we know so far.

  • February 2, 2015 at 6:14 am
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    Lucas is all about dramatic irony and bringing things full circle.

    In ANH draft the Sith speak of something awakening, referring to Obiwan’s apprenticeship.

    Wondering if in Ep VII it will be the Jedi saying something has awakened, referring to the Sith return

  • February 2, 2015 at 3:50 pm
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    I think it’s really cool that the words “Kyber Crystal” (although spelled slightly different) were canonized in The Clone Wars and reinforced in Rebels. I know thats a random side note, but I like the throw back to the Lucas treatment.

  • February 3, 2015 at 2:36 am
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    No disrespect to Sir Billabong, but I referenced the ‘something old has awakened’ dialogue from the original draft about a month or so ago, in one of my replies to one of the other articles here at this website. In hindsight, I see that if I had sent it in as a ‘tip’ or a ‘lead’, then perhaps this article would have been written then instead of now…

  • February 4, 2015 at 7:16 am
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    We should all be glad that Lucas is out of the picture. Finally someone can try and make something based off of the original trilogy that was universally loved. Lucas went to the dark side. Ruining his own films, destroying them, pissing on his fans. The prequels were the biggest pile of crap. I watched them once and that was enough for me. So disappointing. I wanted to like them, but they are just so terrible. Its in good hands with JJ, a true Star Wars fan and he is going to do the best he can to replicate the magic of the original trilogy. We should all be happy about that. Let lucas go.

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