Disney D23 Star Wars News: Rogue One Cast, Episode IX Director Confirmed, Theme Park Attraction & More!

Rogue OneThis D23 – the first to truly feature Star Wars since Disney bought Lucasfilm – was full of announcements. Click ahead as we recap what was revealed at the major live-action panel, including details on the next 5 Star Wars movies and the big theme park attraction that’s been cooking…

 

 

 

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First up – Rogue One. The official title for the movie is now Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, although the series is still referred to as the Star Wars Anthology series. More importantly, the official cast for the movie has been unveiled: Felicity Jones is playing the lead, and she’s joined by rumored cast members Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Forrest Whitaker, Jiang Wen, and Riz Ahmed. Most interestingly, however, is that the cast also includes Donnie Yen (who was previously thought to be part of Star Wars Episode VIII), Alan Tudyk, and Mads Mikkelsen (both of which were decidedly not mentioned in any rumors). Tudyk will be playing a performance-capture character. Director Gareth Edwards could not attend the event due to filming at what appeared to be a desert shoot.

 

 

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It’s also worth discussing the other films planned for release between now and 2019. Disney re-affirmed that Episode VIII will be directed by Rian Johnson and that Han Solo will be directed by Phil Lord & Chris Miller. They also revealed that the official director for Episode IX will be Colin Trevorrow, who directed Jurassic World (the most successful movie of the year – at least until this December). As for information about Episode VII: The Force Awakens, a new teaser poster illustrated by Drew Struzan (shown below) was handed out at the conference. (John Boyega was seen wielding a green lightsaber in addition to the blue one seen below.) J. J. Abrams confirmed that the estimated running time of the film will be 124-125 minutes – very close to the running time of A New Hope.

 

 

SWTFA Poster*Note: This poster is made especially for D23. This is not the official TFA poster!

 

 

Last but not least, Bob Iger unveiled the big Star Wars expansions that they have planned. Yes, expansions – the colossal 14-acre Star Wars park expansions will be present both at Disneyland and Disney World! The park expansion will be set in a never-before-seen alien world in the Star Wars Galaxy located somewhere near the edge of Wild Space. The areas will feature two major attractions – one that puts guests in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, and another which crash-lands viewers in the midst of a major land battle between the Resistance and the First Order. Three pieces of concept art were released for the forthcoming expansion.

 

 

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There’s bound to be a few more interesting Star Wars stories to come out of D23, so stay tuned to Star Wars 7 News as they hit!

 

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Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

321 thoughts on “Disney D23 Star Wars News: Rogue One Cast, Episode IX Director Confirmed, Theme Park Attraction & More!

  • August 15, 2015 at 11:47 pm
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    I hope Struzan does the theatrical poster as well.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:22 am
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      Phew… I’m glad it’s only the teaser poster

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:39 pm
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        Yeah I know right! Han Solo’s stance looks all wrong – I dont like it .

        • August 16, 2015 at 1:41 pm
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          Han’s/Ford’s expression in that poster looks silly.

          Overall, this is an unexciting poster. I’m surprised Struzan actually did this. I would have thought it was another artist trying to copy his style, badly. Thank the Force this is not the actual movie poster.

  • August 15, 2015 at 11:50 pm
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    It looks like Jiang Wen’s character is blind. Here’s hoping that they’re going to tap into one of the classic tropes of Japanese and Chinese action cinema: the figure of the blind warrior. After all, Star Wars has East Asian cinema in its DNA: specifically, Kurosawa and the samurai film. The Jedi in many ways are samurai. Ben Kenobi from the original film was a Ronin-like character, and the language of ‘master’ and ‘apprentice’, as well as the relationships between them, seem to me far more like those in samurai films than the medieval knight-squire relationships…

    • August 15, 2015 at 11:54 pm
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      I believe you meant Donnie Yen’s character.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:50 am
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        Oh yes!

        • August 16, 2015 at 4:19 am
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          Kathleen Kennedy is a big liar. She said there were going to be a much stronger female presence in this new age of Star Wars films. Rogue one has the same male/female ratio as a new hope in the 70s, namely, just one female in a world of men.

          Not impressed in this area.

          • August 16, 2015 at 4:34 am
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            Dude the female is the lead what more could you want

          • August 16, 2015 at 2:53 pm
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            Having a female lead is no excuse to under-represent women in Star Wars. Would you be okay with a male lead in a sea of female characters?

          • August 16, 2015 at 3:46 pm
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            Not only would i be ok with a male lead in a sea of female characters, i would be jealous as hell of that guy.

          • August 17, 2015 at 4:02 am
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            Seriously, do you see people complaining about the “under representing of men” in chick flicks? No.

            Moral of the story, this is Star Wars. Not a chick flick

          • August 17, 2015 at 8:23 am
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            dude… let the girl make her point… chick flicks? really??

          • August 16, 2015 at 4:47 am
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            Do you want an all female movie? Or a 99% female led movie with one lone male? Do politics rule your life and even how you view entertainment? Felicity is the LEAD of this movie. She is probably the one running the operation with all those guys. Give it a break.

          • August 16, 2015 at 6:09 pm
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            Did he/she say 99%? She/he said “underrepresentation” and that one female, even in the lead role, was not enough if everyone else was male. Because that is not equal representation either. That does NOT mean 99%. It may come as a surprise for you, but things don’t always have to be 99/1. There are other ratios, like 50/50. Or even 60/40 or 70/30.

            But the fact is that many movies, especially ones that aren’t romantic comedies, still have more of a 90/10 ratio. No-one wants to turn that around and make it 10/90. But 50/50 once in a while would really be nice for us female fans. And if what that other poster said is true about one guy in a sea of females being desirable, even you guys should be rooting for it – instead of complaining about every person who wishes we were further into this equality scheme than we actually are.

            In short: No, not 99%, but somewhere close to 50 percent would be nice in at least every third or forth film of most genres. That would still not be equal representation, but it would be a start. That’s reasonable, don’t you think?

          • August 17, 2015 at 3:12 am
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            That’s propaganda is what it is. To FORCE that mindset onto writers/directors and producers so you can feel that something is “for you.” Hint = Women liked star wars before all this stuff took place. If a script is written that has seven female characters and one male and it’s a fun film great! Pick your ratio in the end though I don’t care. You seem to be thinking with regards to political issues and not as an artist or writer would. It comes down to what the story or “muse” requires it to be. Which could very well be an all female movie if that’s what the story requires. Not a group of shrieking people demanding more (fill in the blank.) That’s not art. That’s not even fair story telling. That’s simply filling out a check list. Which does no one favors.

          • August 16, 2015 at 5:19 am
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            Oh get off yer soapbox already, you whiney, uninformed, peasant. Rogue one and Ep VII (not to mention the entire sequel trilogy) feature females as THE LEAD. Go find another phony crusade to wage an imaginary war on, you silly muppet.

          • August 16, 2015 at 5:28 am
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            What is the ratio of men to women who actually fight wars?

          • August 16, 2015 at 6:23 pm
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            It’s Science Fiction. It has the chance to show us a world where things are different. Rogue One is not a movie about a war on earth in the 21st century, it is the Star Wars universe. Anything goes. (And don’t tell me female soldiers would be too unrealistic. The Admiral of the Armada is a fish, and no-one seems to have a problem with that.)

          • August 16, 2015 at 6:25 pm
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            Most militaries in our patriarchal world don’t allow females in combat, while many actually demand that men undergo military training, even if they are not so inclined. And even if they allow women to become combat soldiers, and not just nurses and doctors, women on the frontlines aren’t actually always held in high esteem by the rest of society, as many people think women should be soft and nurturing, not badass and heroic.

          • August 17, 2015 at 3:15 am
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            Nurturing is heroic. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Men and Women do have differences. Both physically, mentally, and psychologically. Women not fighting on the frontlines is not to their shame. Men, let’s face it, we’re barbaric when we want to be.

          • August 16, 2015 at 5:29 am
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            Well Zero Dark Thirty had Jessica Chastain, and she ruled the screen, MORE than accounting for the male co-stars.

            Number matter not, screen-presence is what will win this fight.

          • August 16, 2015 at 7:21 am
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            I agree that a lone female in a world of men kind of sucks even if shes the protagonist, but there are enough drooling wanna-be alpha males in the world to create quite a fuss if there was anything even close to 50%50%ratio.

          • August 16, 2015 at 8:27 am
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            You get a female lead & you’re still complaining. Oh, the sorry, sick mind of the liberal.

          • August 16, 2015 at 10:51 am
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            It’s NOTHING TO DO WITH being sexist, it’s the politically correct B/S mandate that is STAMPED on a film, that it must be about girl power. That in itself is going to completely overshadow these movies for me and a lot of other fans.

          • August 16, 2015 at 10:05 pm
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            Assuming that the only reason there’s a female lead is because it’s a “politically correct BS mandate” — and that it has absolutely nothing to do with the story they’re trying to tell — IS sexist.

            If this cast photo had an alien standing front and center — and not a woman — would you think anything of it? Or would you assume it had something to do with the story they’re trying to tell?

          • August 16, 2015 at 11:36 am
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            Barbie is sexist and not inclusive towards boys.Barbie should have a twin brother called Chuck who is a Navy SEAL,hard as nails with a big pink gun.

          • August 17, 2015 at 7:19 pm
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            wtf are u complaining about?! we just got all this great star wars news and all u care about is gender equality. get over it. go watch hunger games or some teeny crap. this is star wars and is not some girl power fantasy. no one would take it serious with too many females

    • August 15, 2015 at 11:57 pm
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      I’m getting a Seven Samurai vibe from that cast photo…

    • August 16, 2015 at 2:50 am
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      Master and apprentice ARE medieval era wordings as well. The Jedi are both Knights and Samurai related.

  • August 15, 2015 at 11:54 pm
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    Rogue One: A Star Wars Story?
    Why not just Star Wars: Rogue One? Oh well.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:29 am
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      I agree, I think Rogue One: A Star Wars Story sounds too Disneyish sounding where if they just kept the traditional Star Wars: Rogue One title then that seems to flow better.

      However, you can argue that only the Episode films should keep the Star Wars title first. I just think it sounds a little silly saying a Star Wars story…when it’s obvious that it’s a Star Wars story lol

      • August 16, 2015 at 10:59 am
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        It’s not called Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It’s just going to be called Rogue One.

        A Star Wars Story is just the branding to indicate it’s in the same “universe” as Star Wars.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:51 am
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      I thought it was Star Wars Anthology: Rouge One.

      • August 16, 2015 at 4:21 am
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        How about this guys:

        Star Wars anthology rogue one a Star Wars story.
        No?

        • August 16, 2015 at 6:33 am
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          No.

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:28 am
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      Episode 3.5

    • August 16, 2015 at 5:02 am
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      Sound like Rogue One: A Christmas Carol, Scrooge Story!!!

    • August 17, 2015 at 7:22 pm
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      I think rogue one looks cool but i really wish these anthology films took place between 6-7. Also trevorrow seems like a safe choice. that poster is weak

  • August 15, 2015 at 11:54 pm
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    Director for 9 could have been better.

    • August 15, 2015 at 11:57 pm
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      George Lucas

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:06 am
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        No, Darude Sandstorm

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:01 am
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      Yeah I found Jurassic World to be a bit average. Nothing special really. As long as we have a good story arc to come with the trilogy and a good script then at least he’ll do a decent job. I was still desperately hoping that Alfonso Cuaron would get the gig. He would make a very special Star Wars film I’m sure. Maybe he’ll get a spin off.

      • August 16, 2015 at 5:23 am
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        Cuaron? The film would be comprised of 3 distracting and unnecessary/self-indulgent single takes.

  • August 15, 2015 at 11:55 pm
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    I’m a bit concerned about Episode IX now… ugh, has he done anything better than Jurassic World?

    • August 15, 2015 at 11:59 pm
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      no. this will only be his third feature. Terrible Terrible choice.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:53 am
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        No it won’t. Book of Henry will come before. It’s gotten a bit of buzz, partly because its starring Naomi Watts, and partly because they’re keeping the story tightly under wraps…

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:24 am
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      ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ was a gem of a movie. Check it out if you haven’t seen it already

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:53 am
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      My hopes are that even though Treverrow is directing IX, that JJ peaks over his shoulder like Lucas did for VI.

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:15 am
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        Yeah, because the last time on ROTJ it turned out SO good.

        • August 16, 2015 at 2:54 am
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          ROTJ was fine. Lucas overlooking it aside.

    • August 16, 2015 at 10:53 am
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      Doesn’t matter who directs or produces, the main style of the film is dictated from above, go girl power!!

  • August 15, 2015 at 11:56 pm
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    This doesn’t look like Star Wars at all.

    • August 15, 2015 at 11:59 pm
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      You’re not up for something refreshing/new?

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:11 am
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        Of course! 🙂 I just want it to be the same visual tone. That way, I can believe thatit is Star Wars, and not The Expendables: A Star Wars Story.

        • August 16, 2015 at 12:31 am
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          But it doesn’t even resemble The Expendables.

          It resembles Star Wars more than any other work out there. If anything it just looks a little darker in tone. Which is what they were going for.

          • August 16, 2015 at 12:45 am
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            The mise en scene perhaps resembles Star Wars, but as for the tone, it looks more like a Firefly reboot to me.

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:35 am
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      PEOPLE, IT’S ONLY A CAST PHOTO!

    • August 16, 2015 at 5:48 am
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      I wouldn’t judge this movie based solely on a cast reveal photo. We don’t really know much about the movie at this point.

    • August 21, 2015 at 12:01 pm
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      I’m just curious if you noticed that the last concept painting posted in this article has character images lifted and cloned directly from Ralph Macquarie concept paintings from the original trilogy?

  • August 15, 2015 at 11:59 pm
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    Love the concept art. I hope we see this world on screen

  • August 15, 2015 at 11:59 pm
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    Allow me to tell you I called it first.
    The poster spoils it.
    Hint: Jakku is …

    Okay maybe I didn’t call it first, but I’ve said since the beginning that Jakku is a cover up name

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:26 am
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      No, it isn’t. Let go of that silly Tatooine theory.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:40 am
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        Pomo my friend, are you super-certain? I mean, there you are making Episode VII and you say, “Hey let’s set it on a desert world with the same kind of moisture vaporators as on Tatooine, and let’s give it two suns just like Tatooine, and the same kind of costume designs and spare parts lying around, and the Jabba the Hutt-gate from McQuarrie’s Tatooine concept art. We’ll call it…Jakku!”

        I just can’t wrap my head around a design decision like that.

        • August 16, 2015 at 4:18 am
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          There’s fundamentally no reason to go back there from a narrative standpoint. People constantly complain about how small the Galaxy is in the Prequel Trilogy, and there’s no reason to bring up those complaints again by having the same boring planet be utilized prominently in five of the seven movies they’ve produced (I’m not counting the planet’s fleeting inclusion in ROTS, because it was only shown there for a minute).

          There’s not going to be a gigantic Planet Of The Apes moment where we all gasp in horror as we learn that the planet we spent a good portion of the movie on was a familiar one all along. One desert planet we’re not familiar with out of thousands in a Galaxy turns out to be a desert planet we are familiar with and have seen in all but one of the movies. That would not be shocking in the slightest – at most, a few audience members might scratch their heads in confusion.

          A lot of people who are barely familiar with Star Wars (namely, the general audience that are going to get this movie to make billions) already mistakenly think the planet is Tatooine, anyway, so any stunning twist – and I say “stunning” in the sense that it’s pointless – would go completely over their heads. A plot twist of that kind is why the studio-mandated Khan embargo that Paramount enforced upon J. J. was dramatically inert.

          I think the multiple stars in that picture, if anything, are just for visual purposes in lighting the image. In all of the footage we’ve seen of Jakku – and yes, it is Jakku – we’ve only seen one star in the sky during the day, whereas Tatooine has two. And in this shot, Jakku has three for some reason.

          The McQuarrie homages don’t really mean anything, either. When it comes to a shared universe of this size, artists and writers like to implement old, unused concepts into new stories as a way of making use of existing resources and to pay homage to the people who made them in the first place. You can see this a lot on Rebels.

          Now that I think about it, the Prequel Trilogy could have changed Tatooine’s name for some arbitrary reason, but they didn’t because there was no reason to. And with the Sequel Trilogy, there’s still no reason to. They aren’t going to make more money selling merchandise that says “Jakku” on it instead of “Tatooine” – otherwise, George Lucas might have tried doing that at one point.

          That being said, there is a point where I think Tatooine might show up in the film, but it would be very briefly and in the flashback – or rather, “Force vision” – sequence. And even then, it might just be yet another desert planet rather than the planet that is (allegedly) farthest from where everything in the Galaxy happens.

          …Sorry if this is coming across as me being irritated and rude – it’s just that I’m fed up with hearing this particular song-and-dance. To me, it’s abundantly clear that there’s no misdirection here except in the eyes of those who are actually looking for misdirection.

          Make no mistake – I do enjoy talking with you guys! I actually had a bit of fun writing this reply, in spite of myself.

          • August 16, 2015 at 4:29 am
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            So after all that, tell me how it makes sense to have a planet that is virtually the same as Tatooine in all but name.

          • August 16, 2015 at 7:10 am
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            Because the desert motif is an important part of Star Wars films – particularly to the start of these trilogies – and it would be ridiculous to go back to Tatooine. It’s a big galaxy. There should be many desert planets. Why not explore a new one with new characters and creatures?

          • August 16, 2015 at 8:57 pm
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            Are you serious? Tatooine is a big planet we haven’t seen any thing of that planet let alone another desert planet.
            So every time we visit a planet and see a tiny, tiny percent of said world we have to move on to another world.

          • August 17, 2015 at 8:02 pm
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            I see your points and make no mistake – I do NOT have a need for Tatooine in the film. I thought including it in the prequels was a huge mistake.
            You seem to dance – to use your own description – around the fact that in all the images we have seen so far, Jakku is 100% identical to Tatooine.

            If it is another desert world – Jakku – and they are going all those extra miles to make the best film they can, how come they couldn’t come up with *anything* that gives Jakku its own unique flavor? Fallen capital starships don’t count because they fly between planets.
            In the video where Abrams is in the marketplace it looks as if it is taken from Mos Esp , so much that I at first wondered why he was at a TPM set.
            Come December I’ll either look a fool or I was right, but I don’t care, I find it an interesting discussion.
            I do agree that there is no apparent reason to introduce that twist but on the other hand we do not know if there IS a valid plot point concerning this

        • August 16, 2015 at 5:16 am
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          There are THREE suns on the poster! You got the huge one up top, the still big not quite as big under Boyega’s arm and the tiny one behind the moister evaporator.

          • August 16, 2015 at 10:55 am
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            Camera/light glare from the convention, it’s visible on the ‘darkside/Kylo’ portion of the poster. Is that a sun too then?!

          • August 16, 2015 at 8:59 pm
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            No, that’s a lens flare, I should know.

        • August 16, 2015 at 12:18 pm
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          The action figures all have ‘Jakku’ on them and they’re supposed to be sold for some years to come. No, it definitely isn’t Tatooine.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:36 am
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      If by the same you mean it has a moisture vaporator, more than one sun, and sand dunes then yeah it resembles Tatooine.

      But by no means does that mean they are the same planet. Only thing I can think of if it truly does end up being Tatooine is that they renamed the planet to Jakku in between the 30 years after RoTJ. Maybe because after the giant war some of the planets were renamed kind of like how important cities in history have been renamed like Stalingrad from Leningrad.
      This is just a theory of course, but I am under the assumption that it really is just a new planet and new location to explore in the Star Wars cinematic universe.

      • August 16, 2015 at 2:57 am
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        I’m thinking it might be another planet/moon in the same system as Tatooine.

      • August 16, 2015 at 4:23 am
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        The thing is that the planet was named Jakku before the end of the war – and the battle for the planet occurred a year after the second Death Star was destroyed. Aside from the death of a certain Hutt crime-lord, there does not seem to be a real change in Tatooine’s political climate.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:00 am
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    Man it’s hard to tell from just one picture but something just feels off about it.

    Also I notice that engine in the back which is in a few TFA scenes + is that MAZ’s castle?

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:23 am
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      Probably because it’s all actual people, and has a Hunger Games district 13 vibe, but yeah I can’t really think of an explanation as to why there is no aliens

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:50 am
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        There will be aliens. Alan Tudyk is going to be CGI, so maybe he’ll be the rascally alien team member?

        But in a way the human-dominance makes it seem more authentic to me. The Rebels in ANH were nearly all human, so the tone’s okay. Who knows? Winning over other species might have taken some work.

        • August 16, 2015 at 1:15 pm
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          They were nearly all white too. I don’t see any white people.

      • August 16, 2015 at 2:53 am
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        Why no aliens? Because this is nothing more than a cast announcement photo. They were never going to reveal creatures and droids at this point.

        • August 16, 2015 at 10:02 pm
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          Why is the reply putting comments to the bottom?

          • August 17, 2015 at 1:26 am
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            @ Lens flare August 16, 2015 at 22:02 PM: Probably to make up for the other day of putting them in the middle 🙂

        • August 16, 2015 at 10:04 pm
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          They are aliens, this is a galaxy far, far away every species is alien except on it’s planet of origin.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:26 am
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      Yeah what’s off about it is that it has a different tone and style compared to the trilogy films.

      Which in my opinion is a good thing. We should embrace some changes that are derivative works from the OT. WE’d get bored of seeing the exact same sets, and the exact same costumes, and the exact same characters over and over again in every new Star Wars film.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:52 am
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        These guys really look like Rebel scum. Not in a bad way. Just in a “desperate group of rugged outlaws” sort of way.

        Makes sense, since the Rebellion was small and scrappy before blowing up the Death Star (least that’s how it seemed to me).

        • August 16, 2015 at 11:41 am
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          mispost

        • August 16, 2015 at 11:42 am
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          Was trying to reply to another post but it put me at the bottom of the thread. Comment section appears to have some issues.

          • August 16, 2015 at 9:41 pm
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            Please, leave here at once.

          • August 16, 2015 at 9:47 pm
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            I get the humor and it was funny at one point, but now everybody tries some variation of this tired joke. Its really not that funny anymore. People need to come up with a new angle to make it funny again.

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:42 am
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        No, I wouldn’t, I love the Death Star and that look is Star Wars to me, this is Firefly or even Farscape, not Star Wars. Hunger games, oh, Lord…

        • August 16, 2015 at 3:01 am
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          This photo is probably taken on the set of the Massassi Temple, which was in ANH. From what I’ve read, they redressed the set for the Resistance base that appears in TFA.

          As for the Death Star, interiors were reportedly built for this movie.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:20 pm
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        Yes, I’m just really hoping for there to be a Star Wars feel to it, though. Namely the look of things, but they’re still going for the grimy Sci-Fi thing so that should be fine. Should’ve had aliens, though – why are there no damn aliens yet? I’m all for diversity within the cast when it comes to Star Wars, but please add in an alien or two to the main cast for once. Now that would be a good way to complete the circle of diversity for Star Wars.

      • August 16, 2015 at 9:39 pm
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        Embrace change? The only time I embrace change, is when it is good.

        Aso, don’t confuse change with complete transformation.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:01 am
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    Wow, I cant believe they gave Anakins lightsaber to Boyega. That lightsaber should stay in the Skywalker family. I really hope they at least make Tey a Jedi too and the main character because she is almost certainly a Skywalker and this new trilogy must have some important connective tissue with the others. Also there’s that staff with her again…maybe a lightsaber will come out of the end eventually.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:04 am
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      Well, she is front and center.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:20 am
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      He uses it the most in the movie but it ends up elsewhere late in the movie. The Lightsaber gets passed around a lot according to a leaked shot list but I won’t say anything more spoilery than that here. Rey is closer to the Luke and Anakin path where they did not fight with a lightsaber in their first movie; the duels were conducted by other heroic characters.

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:49 am
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      The lightsaber is staying in the Skywalker family because Finn is the son of Leia and Lando

      • August 16, 2015 at 2:59 am
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        Don’t be ridiculous. That would be rape. Also Boyega is too dark to be a mix between a mixed and a white.

        • August 16, 2015 at 3:12 am
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          Who raped Lando? And why would his son join the Empire?

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:47 pm
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        I think Finn is Finn Windu. The Force awakens within him making him see the lies of the First Order. That’s why he goes AWOL, and joins the other side.

        He has no idea that he is related to a great Jedi, and so he seeks answers for himself from Luke. That’s why he carries Luke’s lightsaber with him, to return it to its original owner.

        But Kylo senses Finn’s awakening, and is seeking Finn because he, too, wants to find Luke (who is his uncle).

        Rey is Kylo’s sister, who’s been hiding out on Jaaku, not wanting to be involved with all this stuff. But fate (the Force?) intervenes when Finn crosses her path in life.

        And Kylo and Rey are the children of Han and Leia. Kylo Ren took the name “Kylo” derived from his lineage: S(KY)walker + So(LO).

    • August 16, 2015 at 4:02 am
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      A lightsaber will come out of who’s end?

      • August 16, 2015 at 10:57 am
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        A certain producer’s if she makes another girl power star wars film.

    • August 16, 2015 at 4:31 am
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      As it stands, I think that since John Boyega holds a green lightsaber at some point in the movie (if the presentation was of any indication), then he only uses the blue lightsaber temporarily. I think it’s most likely that Rey will get the lightsaber at the end of the movie.

      • August 16, 2015 at 5:42 am
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        No picture of Finn with the green lightsaber?

      • August 16, 2015 at 8:31 am
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        Can you direct me to where Finn using a green lightsaber was mentioned? I don’t remember reading anything about that.

    • August 16, 2015 at 7:00 am
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      Well official statements say leia has possession of lukes bespin saber, so I think it will be used by all our leads and eventually return to the skywalker family. They will then build their own new sabers so new toys and replicas can be produced.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:03 am
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    Dammit, there are three suns in the picture. Now I’m confused. Jakku has three suns? That is a possibility. But the upper two suns seem to belong to the same picture…Jakku with three suns. Mm. It kind of sounds right, in a sense.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:08 am
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      I know I’m talking to myself here, please excuse me.
      It looks like we have two images on the left side; there’s the “sky/X Wing”-part, and the vaporator part – which means that one of the pictures shows a sky with two suns.
      I have come to a conclusion.
      Jakku is indeed Tatooine. The moisture vaporator, of course, seals the deal. There is just no way they are going for a new desert planet and then populate it with the exact same moisture vaporators used on Tatooine.
      Carry on.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:41 am
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        A majority of solar systems in the galaxy are binary. Our single Sun solar system is actually rare…don’t read too much into a binary system meaning Tattooine. Like I said, most stars have a companion star.

        • August 16, 2015 at 1:26 am
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          GOD! Tatooine has one t !

          • August 16, 2015 at 2:25 am
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            Only one, huh?

          • August 16, 2015 at 6:42 am
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            TaTooine. That’s 2.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:43 am
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        You realize that Jakku is used on all the new toy packaging right? Disney/lucasfilm would NOT publish the name Jakku on its merchandise if it was not the intended name. Aside from that, moisture vaporators are probably common use across the galaxy on warm dessert planets where water is not available.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:07 am
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    Rey in front and center of the poster, so she’s clearly the main character, the Luke of this trilogy, Finn is a second hero like Han or Leia in the original trilogy.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:52 am
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      While definitely Rey is the main main character I get the feeling we’re going to see more than one Jedi. The fact it’s called the Force Awakens (light side and dark) I think we’re going to see a bit of an explosion in Jedi’s and Sith/Knights of Ren etc. Maybe lead to a climactic fight (in later films) that involves 2/3 good guys versus 2/3 bad guys rather than it being the one on one we got with Obi wan/Vader and Luke/Vader twice in the OT.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:10 am
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    I’d love to see a starwars film directed by Ridley Scott, after all after seeing starwars that was the film that got him into science fiction with Alien. Just a left field thought, stand down keyboard warriors!

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:46 am
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      I would have liked to, too…many years ago. lately his movies have been on the bad/mediocre side. (The counselor, Exodus, Prometheus) Also, Disney/Lucasfilm would like to bring in fresh, new directors for this trilogy. But, nice name to throw in!

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:08 am
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        I get that about Ridley’s later works, tho i enjoyed Prometheus especially from a practical vast set design asthetic, i think he would bring a grandness to the world of starwars, kindanin the way irvin kershner did with empire, But yeah younger generation of film makers is the way disney is going.

        • August 16, 2015 at 3:35 am
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          I would love to see George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road) direct a Star Wars film.

          • August 16, 2015 at 3:47 am
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            He would do a cool anthology film!
            sadly he’s got mad max 5 to worry about

    • August 16, 2015 at 4:07 am
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      Scott could make great Darth [insert name here] movie. Dark, creepy and intense stuff are his thing. The rest of StarWars features like humor, characters and adventure – NOT so much.

      • August 16, 2015 at 4:51 am
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        Ridley Scott directing Darth Bane!

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:11 am
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    Wow, the costumes in Rogue One look frickin’ amazing. I’m loving the colour palette they have gone for. Couldn’t be more excited!

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:22 am
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      You mean dirt?

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:53 am
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      Thought it was a bit overly dark grey. Could have had some orange jump suits in there at least. Dunno, this definitely has a different tone to the typical Star Wars we know of. I just hope it doesn’t come across like just another action movie. Needs to have some magic..

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:13 am
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    Colin Trevorrow…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:24 am
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      That was my reaction. No way is Treverrow ready to direct a Star Wars film, especially one of the trilogy films!! Jurassic World had some of the worst delivery of some of the worst dialogue, and some very poorly directed scenes I’ve seen in a big-budget movie in some time. It was only a hit because of the franchise, there’s no real way it could have flopped.
      Come on Lucasfilm/Disney, if you must give him a Star Wars film, give him one of the standalone films.

      • August 16, 2015 at 3:30 am
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        Kathleen Kennedy’s husband, Frank Marshall, produced Jurassic World and worked beside Colin Trevorrow. Marshall would know best what he is capable of, having seen him work and all.

        Kennedy has produced 93 projects, Marshall 108, (many of those produced together, including most of Spielberg’s films).

        Kathleen Kennedy at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005086/

        Frank Marshall at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0550881/

        What have you done?

        • August 16, 2015 at 3:41 am
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          Seen Jurassic World.

          Hmm? Awesome. I win. ;P

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:15 am
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    Should we be worried in the, at least from what I see, decline in the quality of directors of movies post VII?

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:41 am
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      Disney doesn’t actually care about quality. They care about the numbers. “Hey what about that Jurassic World movie that made all that money off of nostalgic moviegoers? You know, that average at best summer blockbuster. Let’s hire that director.” – Disney Execs

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:58 am
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      Yeah it’s the only worry I have now. Too busy aiming for new on the scene directors with just one or two decent films under their belts. Only decent, nothing amazing. Looper is the best from Rian Johnson, and it was, good for sure but nothing magical. Jurassic World was very average and I really do think it’s successful largely down to Chriss Pratt’s current appeal. His character was pretty dull in the movie sadly.

      I REALLY wanted to see a high quality proven film make take on the reins after JJ. Someone who has done edgy stuff like Alfonso Cuaron. He could have given us a very special Star Wars movie, I am certain of that. He has experience making a Harry Potter film (arguably the best of them) so he has experience of big budget kids/young adult type of movies.

      It’s a shame they’re picking lots of young unproven directors, or just dull directors.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:15 am
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    Does anybody have the picture of Boyega with the green saber? I want to see if it’s Luke’s second blade, or his own new one.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:15 am
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    Wow

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:15 am
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    Apparently,no crossover from Rebels

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:22 am
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      And thank goodness, Rebels characters should stay with the TV show. Let the movies use already established movie characters or come up with their own new ones.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:31 am
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      After all, maybe Rebels ties into the ST.. I can still see Kylo Ren (or Benicio del Toro’s episode VIII character) being Ezra, and MvS being Kanan.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:53 am
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        Ezra is the same age as Luke, and Luke is an old man in TFA. So no Kylo isn’t Ezra.

        The possibility of it being Snoke, or something..maybe. However, I can’t see them using Ezra so predominantly like that and expect average movie goers who haven’t seen rebels to pick up on that.

          • August 16, 2015 at 1:22 am
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            But even Darth vador didn’t know or use carbonite until Empire Strikes Back. So how could he have used it to freeze ezra. Besides, JJ already told us the background of Kylo, being somewhat of a farmer himself, Ezra wasn’t a farmer.

          • August 16, 2015 at 1:58 am
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            Actually, not true. Anakin used it to infiltrate a prison in TCW.

          • August 16, 2015 at 3:05 am
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            I’m glad you guys aren’t writing the script for future star wars films!

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:17 am
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    WHO’S SCRUFFY LOOKING NOW?!

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:20 am
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    The planet in the artwork totally look like a mix of a Naboo and Taris… older Tython maybe??

    Teaser poster is ok I guess although its strange to see Finn with lightsaber and Han in the very bottom. On the other hand,Rey looks awesome yet again. Btw. Where is Poe?

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:27 am
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      What’s strange about Finn with a lightsaber? We’ve seen him carrying it before, it stands to reason that he opens it at some point.

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:53 pm
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        He looks uninterested and emotionless. Casual stance instead of a battle ready look of a Rey or a Han. I hope he is better as a character in an actual movie, and that he grows like Luke did in the Original Trilogy.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:20 am
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    I said this on another message board there is no way Kathleen or JJ will allow Rian Johnson or Trevorrow to mess up the story they are trying to tell.

    If either does they will get Tranked

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:11 am
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      Of the three Rian Johnson has the most potential to tell the best story. He’s the most unique out of the three directors. Kathleen could very well keep them in line but I doubt they’ll have a Trank scenario because he was involved in all of that behind the scenes drama while making FF. Colin doesn’t seem to be having that problem as he is now making his third picture which will come out next year.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:23 am
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    I wonder why they didn’t cast any American actors in this film.

    • August 16, 2015 at 2:46 am
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      There is a lot of talent coming from uk at the moment

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:23 am
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    Rogue one: A star wars story.. Really?!! Lol. It’s just a tittle but still. .

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:50 am
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      They really should’ve just called it:

      “Rogue One: A Toy Story”

      …cuz it’s all about the merch.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:23 am
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    Rogue One: A Star Wars Story??

    Glad you’re here to tell us these things.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:35 am
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      …?

      • August 16, 2015 at 12:48 am
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        It’s a Han quote. We so obviously know it’s a Star Wars story. Redundant subtitle.

        • August 16, 2015 at 12:57 am
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          But the average movie goer doesn’t.

          You see “Rogue One” on the screen and the last thing a person uncommon in the internet of things thinks is “Oh, that must be star wars!”

          I do agree though that they should have kept it Star Wars: Rogue One. People would then probably ask, which number is this? 8? 9?

          Studio’s have to hold audiences hands now’a days.

          • August 16, 2015 at 3:53 am
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            “Aw crap, this isn’t an episodic Star Wars film?! I’ve been tricked!”

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:24 am
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    As long as Rian Johnson is writing the script for Episode IX, I remain tentatively optimistic. But Edgar Wright had my vote.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:25 am
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    well, thanks D23, now I have to change my pants after these anouncments

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:27 am
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    Not Treverrow, please! He’s years away from being ready to direct a Star Wars film. I’m very concerned now.

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:00 am
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      Episode 9 IS still years away.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:27 am
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    Was kinda hoping they would also reveal Maz and Snoke.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:29 am
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    The Force has awoken us all. For those of us that grew up withe original trilogy we had wonderful, but so little to expand our enjoyment of arguably the greatest stories of our time. Now the flood gates are wide open. Such an amazing time to be a fan and it seems that those providing us these amazing experience are fans too. The franchise seems to be in great hands!!

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:33 am
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    Hmm…so Finn is Force sensitive…. (as somewhat suspected and speculated about). Wonder what Kylo’s initial level of awareness about this is???

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:40 am
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      Yeah, maybe Kylo’s tracking Finn down exactly because of his force sensitivity. But is Kylo trying to kill or turn Finn?

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:30 am
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      From stormie to jedi. Quite a career change.

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:53 am
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        Hopefully given troops history of bad aiming, he’s more acurate with a lightsaber lol

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:35 am
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    I think Mads Mikkelsen will play an evil character in Rogue One. If true, it’s the perfect choice, he can compose really scaring characters.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:36 am
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    So was there another poster with the green sabre or not?

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:38 am
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    So Rogue One is a war movie then? Same cinematographer as Zero Dark Thirty, same special effects supervisor as Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and Saving Private Ryan.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:41 am
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    Boyega looks good with a lightsaber

    • August 17, 2015 at 2:08 am
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      No, he doesn’t

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:45 am
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    Despite Jurassic World making tons of money, that director isn’t really that great. I think it was a rather undistinguished job.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:47 am
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    Treverrow for an Anthology film, but Ep. 9?? Even he said he wasn’t ready to direct a Star Wars movie. Ugh.

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:47 am
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    Episode IX director: BIG. F***ING. DISSAPOINTMENT.

    • August 16, 2015 at 12:56 am
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      I have faith in JJ, but these other directors… The CGI in Jurassic World looks completely ridiculous and cartoonish. BFD.

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:41 am
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        Bidirectional Forwarding Detection?

      • August 16, 2015 at 3:44 am
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        there will be different special affects companies/people making these films. The director doesn’t make the special-effects

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:52 am
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    forrest whittaker…..shit…first misser so far in my opinion

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:56 am
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    I am holding Anakin/Lukes lightsaber. There is no way Finn pictured in this poster is holding the same lightsaber I am holding. Take a closer look for yourselves and you will see just how different it is.

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:15 am
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      Is that supposed to be good or bad?

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:17 am
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        Thats up to you.

        • August 16, 2015 at 4:00 am
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          I was disappointed. Now you have left me confused.

          The… check’s in the mail? ^_-

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:16 am
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      Yeah, I’m wondering if he’ll use a CGI Bossk, eating all the bad guys.

    • August 16, 2015 at 6:14 am
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      So your telling me that A New Hope, Return of The Jedi are as good as Jurrasic world?

      • August 16, 2015 at 11:09 am
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        A New Hope and ROTJ are far better, Jurassic world is a bad movie full of plot holes, but nobody complained too much about them because of nostalgia. if it was a star wars movie with that quality everyone here would have said it was the worst movie ever.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:02 am
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    Sure, Colin sounds like a bad idea at first. That’s what I thought when I first heard about him. But here’s my case for him. The second and third JP movies were pretty bad. Colin T was handpicked by spielberg for Jurassic World, and it ended up being the most fun and crowd pleasing movies you could make out of that franchise! Sure, it had it’s flaws but it was the FOURTH MOVIE ABOUT DINOSAURS EATING PEOPLE IN A PARK. He somehow found a way to make it fresh and appetizing to audiences. It was fun, a little silly, and ended on a great note. I feel that’s the kind of movie ROTJ was,and that’s the kind of finale I think they want out of episode 9.This movie will be handed to him with a basic story already in place, developed and gift wrapped for him. All he needs to add is a good, crowd pleasing story, like he’s done with JW. Not to mention… money. Jurassic world made allll the money.

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:34 am
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      there’s something many people forget… these films are not written by the directors… directors just bring the story someone wrote alive… most of the times…

      • August 16, 2015 at 3:20 am
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        Scripts aren’t written in a vacuum. Unless the director is a studio hire who asks no questions and just collects a pay check, they are very much aware of how the script is coming together and they even have their say on what to put in. I can guarantee you that Phil Lord and Chris Miller are having talks with Kasdan family and offering their own advice. Directors can also change things after the fact while filming. Many do this because they find what is written doesn’t quite work as well as they thought originally. Scripts change quite a bit before the movie is complete.

        • August 16, 2015 at 3:42 am
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          Absolutely! I believe though, that Colin can do a good job adding to the stories and outlines that have been created. I think people are overreacting and acting like he’ll make everything himself.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:12 am
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    Could be worse, Michael Bay, Brett Rattner etc!

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:41 am
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      lol, yes, Michael Bay may be worse, but not by too much. Everybody please cross your fingers and/or say a prayer for this young man directing the last film.

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:43 am
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        Amen

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:17 am
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    Kathleen Kennedy was bound to fail at some point, and her choice for director for Ep. 9 might’ve been it.

    • August 16, 2015 at 4:07 am
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      Darth Vader: You have failed me for the first time!

      (awkward pause… coughs)

      Darth Vader: All right, back to work!

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:18 am
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    I think it speaks volumes that the newly revealed director for Ep. 9 has gone on record saying that he feels that he’s not ready for a Star Wars movie.

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:20 am
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      JJ tured down Star Wars the first time he was asked and everybody seems to love him.

      • August 16, 2015 at 5:18 am
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        But it wasn’t because he wasn’t ready to direct a Star Wars movie, it was for other reasons.

    • August 17, 2015 at 3:29 am
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      The movie is still years away and he’s now working on his third picture “Book of Henry.” He’ll be fine.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:20 am
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    Really? Jurassic world dude is doing IX?
    Is this the best they could find? I hate to sound like a pessimist but I already have a bad feeling about this…

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:20 am
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    Treverrow is an uninspired choice.

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:21 am
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      JJ was a safe choice.

      • August 16, 2015 at 1:39 am
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        Whatever you want to call it JJ was a much better choice than the director of Jurassic World. It sounds like your trying to make ‘safe’ into a pejorative in this case, which I think shouldn’t apply here. Take a chance on a Transformers movie, not Star Wars. I’d rather be ‘safe’ than take a chance on a movie like this. Let’s be real: J. World is a forgettable piece of film.

        • August 16, 2015 at 1:44 am
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          Treverrow is the safe choice for Disney.

          • August 16, 2015 at 2:18 am
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            Not for us ( I speak for you).

          • August 16, 2015 at 2:24 am
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            If you have a problem with it don’t go see it.
            To this day i still haven’t played Mass Effect 3

          • August 16, 2015 at 2:34 am
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            You mean for you lol. there are some of us that actually liked the choice.

            besides, Trevorrow still got one or two films to work on before episode nine like Book of Henry with Naiomi Watss. So he still got time to fine tune his directing skills so just give the dude a chance like with Gareth Edwards

          • August 16, 2015 at 4:19 am
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            “Treverrow is the safe choice for Disney.”

            Fanboy: Hmph. Safety Not Guaranteed. Grave danger I fear in his training!
            Disney exec: Master Fanboy, I gave the shareholders my word. I will train Colin… without the approval of the Fanbase, if I must.
            Fanboy: Mickey’s defiance, I sense in you. Need that, you do not. Agree with you, the Fanbase does. Your director, Treverrow will be.

        • August 16, 2015 at 2:19 am
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          Geez everyone is freaking out about Treverrow being the director for episode nine, give the dude a chance at least. I personally thought Jurassic World was both a good, not great, but good film and a worthy sequel (abiet does have some story issues but not as bad as some are making it out to be IMO of course) to the original, more so than 2 and 3, and the dude is a star wars fan himself too as a fan to Jurassic Park

          Just give a dude a chance, liking what Disney is doing with Gareth Edwards (whom directed Godzilla 2014 with equal amount of concern and skepticism)

          Plus, lets see how episode 7 pans out first, it could end up going either way to be realistic here (hoping it ends up awesome for those haters out there)

          • August 16, 2015 at 4:25 am
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            “… give the dude a chance at least. I personally thought Jurassic World was both a good, not great, …”

            0_o

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:29 pm
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      I said it before and I’ll say it again – If Disney picks Treverrow then they are truly 100% in it for the money.

      Ok, they’re 100% in it for the money. With that out of the way, just having Kasdan writing should smoothe out most issues with the script. Now as for the director, dare I say it, it ISN’T actually THAT important who directs.
      The important thing is WHAT he’s directing, not so much HOW he directs it.

      Think about it, the OT was directed by
      1# George Lucas at the VERY BRIEF high-point in his career, arguably failing to make a decent film since then.
      2# Irvin Kershner, an indie director and film-teacher at the tail end of his career.
      and 3#, Richard Marquand, an obscure director at best, who – with all George’s meddling – only ended up half-directing ROTJ.

      Mind you, the OT is awesome, but the OT was never really intended to be “quality” film-making. By sheer miracle, they stumbled and awesomed their way into the ONE kind of film-making that doesn’t need to be “good”. There’s an extent where the PT was trying to outdo itself, whereas the OT was an F###ing honey-badger that dared to go WAY out their regardless of production value or “quality”.
      Ot has guts, and that’s why it can get away with being as – … how do I phrase this?… poorly made – as it was.
      The PT had no guts, it pushed boundaries, but the guts weren’t there, thus negating the audiences will to ignore how unbelievable it was.

      I’m way off topic.

      um,
      yeah, so I’m not too torn up over Treverrow directing because, um, IT DOESN’T MATTER.
      Does Leia have good dialogue to work with? Kasdan, CHECK.
      Will things explode? CHECK.
      Will the actors has good chemistry, we’ll find out in Dec, but by ep IX Treverrow won’t NEED to provide the new 3 with much groundwork, because they’ve already had 2 movies of practice and developement.
      Will Treverrow make a decent movie? Irrelevent.

      Will it be awesome?
      WILL IT BE AWESOME?
      that’s the question I’m asking.

      • August 17, 2015 at 3:34 am
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        Um, directors can BUTCHER scripts. They can change them literally the day of shooting. Yeah, Kasdan or not if you were worried about Colin before (I’m not) you should still be.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:22 am
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    To me that Rogue One cast picture looks less like Star Wars and more Stargate SG1.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:23 am
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    The thing I’m looking for from Rogue One is we already know who the villain is going to be. There is only one real option and as he was responsible for locating the stolen data in ANH, and he may have been the one that lost it… Of course thats Darth Vader. In this movie he is still alive, has not yet encountered Luke or Ben and is considered the biggest bad @$$ in the galaxy second only to the Emperor. Remember Mon Mothma said many died to get this information. So I’m sure many of these characters are going to be dead by the end of the film and some by Vaders robotic hand. If the season 2 premier of Rebels is any indicator, Vader is going to kick some serious rebel butt.

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:41 am
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      Rogue One is before ANH.

      Mon Mothma speaks about the second Death Star.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:26 am
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    So it looks like there could be a few lightsabers going around then, if Finn ends up with a green one, someone else must end up with anikins lightsaber,

    It also indicated that Luke has passed ok his wa

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:31 am
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    I preferred the old rogue one title

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:36 am
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    simple: Finn gets a crash course on wielding lightsabers from luke, and then attends a how-to-build-a-lightsaber lesson. I clearly see details that make the hilt different than anakin’s. Anakin’s saber stays with leia I assume.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:44 am
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    Ok, so the way this is going to happen is give a black man a lightsaber before a woman? Dude when will we get to see a bad ass chick kick ass in a live action SW movie. Black dude already did a lightsaber. Mace Windu. Let a woman main character have a turn!

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:51 am
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      Episode 4-5-6 has a “badass chick” and TFA and Rogue One will have one or more.

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:01 am
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      Reading your comment I remembered that the majority of the human population on this planet is dumb as shit.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:59 am
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    Ben Mendelsohn, Oscar Isaac – Outstanding choices in my opinion.

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:00 am
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    Trevorrow is an uninspired and cynical choice for director.

    • August 16, 2015 at 2:21 am
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      What is an inspired choice for a director? Throw one out that “Disney” would “realistically” pick?

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:12 am
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    Whew. Never seen Struzan let me down before painting Harrison Ford, but that…that’s pretty bad.

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:39 am
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    I really like that concept art. I want to see alien worlds like that, much rather than yet another planet based on some Earth biome.

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:39 am
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    Boyega as the new Luke? Me no likey. Rey should be the one. Finn better live in celibat like the rest of the jedis.

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:40 am
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    Jakku has moisture farms, is a desert planet, has sand crawlers in battlefront maps, and appears to have at least two suns*. So its Tatooine right? Jakku maybe a name given to it in 30 years between sagas or some stupid attempt at deception?

    If Jakku really is a new planet, then that is kind of weirder. A planet so similar to Tatooine that only significant difference is the name? I don’t know.

    • August 16, 2015 at 2:49 am
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      Jakku is a Tatooine reboot, it’s the same thing in all but name.

      • August 16, 2015 at 2:53 am
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        It appears that way. But then will it be revealed that its just Tatooine renamed by the First Order or some other entity, or are they really going for a completely different planet that is exactly the same? I don’t know if I like that, if that is indeed the case.

        • August 16, 2015 at 3:26 am
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          Ol JJ fooled you.

      • August 16, 2015 at 3:31 am
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        Jakku is binary if you substitute the letters with the corresponding numbers in the alphabet,Tatooine is in a binary system,

        • August 16, 2015 at 4:24 am
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          No the U dosen’t work, oh well.

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:26 am
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      No, that’s the Tatooine map, dipshiz.

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:53 am
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    Rogue one. A Star Wars Story?
    What’s wrong with Star Wars: Rogue One?

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:57 am
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      It should just be called Rogue One. “Rogue one: a Star Wars story” sounds like a picture book.

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:59 am
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    Mads playing Moff is corny.I expect he is moul among Empire .who seacretly working for Rebels.

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:08 am
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    Yeah, we are getting both Tatooine and Hoth again. This time in the same film.

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:25 am
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      When was the last time ol JJ came up with an original idea…………….?

      • August 16, 2015 at 4:16 am
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        It’s a brilliant comment reply to demonstrate how Lens flare is making a conversation with himself.

      • August 16, 2015 at 7:37 am
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        I think Lens Flare was talking to me.

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:09 am
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    One picture and it already looks like Felicity Jones is trying too hard. As for the rest of it, it looks like something I would expect from The Walking Dead. Not Star Wars.

    Star Wars is not The Walking Dead.
    And why no Twileks or other aliens? Only humans?
    Also, way too many dark dudes around one white chick. I know what you’re trying to do Hollywood.

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:23 am
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      Way too many racist shitheads around here again. Thank God I’m no director, must be tough sometimes too read all these uninformed opinions about movies if one is a director.
      One cast photo of Rogue One is out and already the whining begins.

      • August 16, 2015 at 3:38 am
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        Why is there no aliens. Its speciest.

      • August 16, 2015 at 11:04 am
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        Nothing to do with racism, they are simply perceptive enough (unlike you) to see the same old tiresome, insulting blueprint being put on everything (films, TV series etc)

        • August 16, 2015 at 3:37 pm
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          Those are but-racists cause they always say I am no racist but…

          • August 16, 2015 at 7:46 pm
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            Look at it from a reversed prespective. If they started putting black female characters in roles were they are constantly surrounded by white males, it would be considered very suspicious and racist.

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:16 am
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    To me, Jurassic World is a anomaly in Trevvorow’s career. He’s an avid author and has shown a better knack for world building and identity politics than Jurassic World indicates. Read his posts on long-run Ning blog boingboing.net

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:21 am
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    I can’t help but notice a trend that seemingly always puts both Rey and Kylo in the center, with Rey being next to (“touching”, if you will) Kylo.

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:35 am
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    The Episode VII poster looks like the cover of a tween novel.

    • August 16, 2015 at 4:08 am
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      To me, the facial expressions are off somehow. Harrison’s especially. I know he’s old and went through a tough situation with his ankle but in this poster, he looks almost frail and I don’t think that was their intention.

      Rather than a tween novel, I get more of something you would see on a plastic cup you might get at McDonalds. I wouldn’t put too much into this honestly. If the movie sucking somehow comes down to the poster not being great, then I think we have greater things to worry about.

      I will say that I don’t think the movie will suck and I think it’s too early to be worrying about episode IX and its director, so on and so forth. I would also imagine that the reason some are so emotional and come off as being negative (or just simply are negative) is because these movies are close to them and they don’t want them to suck.

      In any event . . . I have a good feeling about this.

      • August 16, 2015 at 4:56 am
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        It just doesn’t seem like there’s a primary character over the age of 20.

        Take General Hux for instance. How exactly does a 20-something become a general?

        Where are the 30, 40, and 50 year olds that one would typically find in these positions?

        They’ve focused so much on the diversity of race and sex, which is fine, but it seems to have resulted in forgetting diversity of age.

        This film is more and more coming across as kids in Star Wars Halloween costumes.

        • August 16, 2015 at 7:09 am
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          I think thats just because they want to focus on the young to bring in a feeling of energy. Daisy Ridley is in her 20s, Gwendoline Christie is almost 40, Adam drive is in his 30s, Max von sydow is in his 80s, Harrison ford is in his 70s, and mark hammill is in his 60s. Seems diverse enough for me

          • August 16, 2015 at 10:50 am
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            I’m not sure that focusing on the young is bringing more energy to it.

            What it might be bringing, is the forgettable trendy silliness of Hunger Games or Twilight.

    • August 16, 2015 at 4:33 am
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      They feature old men on the covers of teen novels? ^_-

      • August 16, 2015 at 4:52 am
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        This poster doesn’t feature an old man.

        It shoves the old man in the lower left hand corner, I suppose to help remind people of what Star Wars once was.

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:39 am
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    Disaster of choosing Trank has something to do with choice of Trevvorow. As already you said this is safe bet from studio point of view

  • August 16, 2015 at 4:29 am
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    Wait a second. How the hell did Steve the Pirate end up in space?!

  • August 16, 2015 at 4:40 am
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    Has anybody noticed that in the poster, Rey is standing on the stairs of the carbon freezing chamber on cloud city!!!! There’s were we gonna find our missing lightsaber!!!

  • August 16, 2015 at 4:50 am
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    A Star Wars Story…no…just no…

  • August 16, 2015 at 4:51 am
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    Wheres’ the Bounty Hunter group pic?

  • August 16, 2015 at 5:11 am
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    I like that it looks like they are making Luke’s lightsaber blade look exactly like it did in ANH. In the prequels it was all of the sudden dark blue which was kind of weird.

  • August 16, 2015 at 5:27 am
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    I was Really hoping for JJ or Spielberg to make 9. Jurassic World was ok. I think people went to see it mostly because its a good franchise at least that’s why i went to see it

  • August 16, 2015 at 5:31 am
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    Yea, not digging this rougue one pic. Looks a bit like any generic Sci-Fi flick. Not a Star Wars vibe at all in this pic. This could be a Riddick photo or alien:resurection but Star Wars…. I’ll have to wait and see.

  • August 16, 2015 at 5:33 am
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    Finn’s hand looks like its a bit close to the laserbeam, no?

    • August 16, 2015 at 1:19 pm
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      Yeah, Finn’s hands are a little bit too close to the beam, but I think they did that on purpose to hide the saber. It’s supposed to be bigger.

  • August 16, 2015 at 5:42 am
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    I have to say, I got mixed feelings on the Rogue One poster

    on the left: This looks like a really interesting take on the SW canvas, looks like something I would come up with were I asked to make a SW film.

    on the right: SUICIDE SQUAD RIP-OFF ALERT. My oh my is this identical to SS poster. You got grey-on-grey color grading, the “cool eclectic motley crew of rogues” characters inexplicably staring at the camera, like, where are they going with this??

    PS, Han looks like he’s about to shoot first. 😉

  • August 16, 2015 at 6:51 am
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    Everyone thinks they can do better,yet they never will.

  • August 16, 2015 at 6:58 am
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    Some people say Rogue One pic looks great because it’s darker in tone to match the movie.Well my stool is dark does that make it good.

    • August 16, 2015 at 10:00 am
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      Then I would see a doctor quickly.

  • August 16, 2015 at 6:58 am
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    So happy to see a lightsaber blade that looks strong and normal. Not weak and crackly like Kylo’s

  • August 16, 2015 at 7:03 am
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    The Rouge One cast photo looks like some cheesy network tevision show that gets cancelled halfway through the first season.

    Also, “A Star Wars Story?” Seriously?

    Also, Colin whateverface?

    Load of disappointing reveals.

  • August 16, 2015 at 7:23 am
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    HUGE mistake. They should have let JJ do all 3 of these. This will end up just like the prequels. Thats sad to hear. Disappointing to say the least. If you can’t get a oscar worthy director, than stick with JJ for all 3 of them, and pay him whatever it takes to keep him involved. Iger is on crack.

    • August 16, 2015 at 7:59 am
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      NEVER, then it would follow the same suit as with the Prequels when George Lucas directed all 3 of those movies. Let a different director have a chance to direct a star wars movie.

  • August 16, 2015 at 7:30 am
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    rogue one is ground base war movie?
    this is surprise.

  • August 16, 2015 at 8:13 am
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    well i am a little disappointed tht the run time of TFA is only 124 minutes.

    if it does’nt includes the credits then its fine but otherwise not good.

  • August 16, 2015 at 8:45 am
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    I was born in 1983, so I really have waited my whole life for this, nice to see a modern star wars while keeping all the traditional values strong, this is something special! 😀

    • August 16, 2015 at 9:47 am
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      A horrible fake

  • August 16, 2015 at 9:29 am
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    Should have had chewie behind Han down there. He looks a little out of place all alone.

  • August 16, 2015 at 10:40 am
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    I don’t see Finn as a Jedi he just looks awkward. Thought Rey would be the major force user. Kind of Disapointed.

    • August 16, 2015 at 2:35 pm
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      Exactly

    • August 17, 2015 at 4:28 pm
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      So was I if you remember…

  • August 16, 2015 at 11:53 am
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    That is terrible for a official poster looks like something off a kids lunch box.
    I still think Disney will be known as the company that killed Star wars , over merchandised, over top pc characters , and watered down plots

    • August 16, 2015 at 9:39 pm
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      Oh come on! The film isn’t out yet and you assume it’s going be terrible? Star Wars was very merchandise laden ever since the beginning of the first films! And not even the characters and trailers impress you?!

  • August 16, 2015 at 12:24 pm
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    Where are the aliens?! And well, it’s only the first image we have of Rogue One – there are several other things that contribute to a Star Wars-y look. They’ve got the grimy Sci-Fi part of it already. Other than that, Star Wars seems to have an exaggerated sense of scale and most SW things look like they exist solely for functionality. So don’t give up on it now already.

    • August 17, 2015 at 4:26 pm
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      While the OT had many alien species…the rebellion fighters we see in the film are predominately human, so this isn’t really that disappointing to me that the main characters (at least the first glimpse) are human.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:21 pm
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    Rey is smack in the middle between the Light and the Dark. She’s gonna have to choose sides.

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:37 pm
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    Harrison Ford/Han Solo looks weird in that poster. “Come at me, bro!”

  • August 16, 2015 at 1:37 pm
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    Felicity Jones plays Minnie Bothans! Awesome!

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:31 pm
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    So, female lead again…
    I like very much the logic that if for so many years white males have been leads in movies, so now in all movies leads must be females and black.
    According to this logic if for many years black have been slaves to white then now white must be slaves to black. Right?
    I’m not against female or black lead, but only if it serves the plot, and not because of desire to have all lead female or black. We’re getting two SW movies and their leads are females. It’s getting suspicious.
    I really hope that in the Han Solo movie we won’t find out that Han Solo actually was female and because of sexism and men’s oppression changed his(her) sex. Because how can a male be so cool? He indeed must have been a girl or rather a black girl.

  • August 16, 2015 at 2:46 pm
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    The biggest number of things i have readen in this thread are foolishness.

    About the poster, it´s not the final poster, but it´s very nice. The lines crossing, of the lightsabers and the suns, across both, the dark and the light sides…

    about the suns, are three. this is Jakku, obviously.

    And… what??? can´t be possible to have TWO or MORE dessert planetst or frozen planets in the GALAXY???? are you silly or wath…

    Guys, less overanalysis. Forget this stupid matters and enjoy the film.

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:07 pm
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    Star Wars Anthology is soooo much better than “a star wars story” why did they change that?

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:13 pm
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    I think the poster is cool, but honestly, it would have been a better, more symmetrical piece of work if Han Solo wasn’t in it. It looks like he’s just pasted onto the front to say, ‘Hey look, Han Solo is in this movie’.

    • August 16, 2015 at 3:33 pm
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      ^^ marketing. Marketing is intentionally dumb to account for the public. Whatever that means.

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:16 pm
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    I think the poster is cool but it would have been a better, more symmetrical piece of work if Han Solo wasn’t in it. Right now it just looks like he’s pasted onto the poster just so Disney can say ‘Hey look, Han Solo is in this movie!’.

  • August 16, 2015 at 3:16 pm
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    STAR WARS

    The birthplace of the modern gender and racial equility discussion. Meh. Did the Prequels teach you kids anything. Social bias plus Star Wars does not equal fun and together, are about as smart as trying to catch a lightsaber blade with your bare hands after Darth Vader has force chucked it at your face.

  • August 16, 2015 at 4:25 pm
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    What has me most excited from this update?

    New Drew Struzan Star Wars art!

    Go Drew!

  • August 16, 2015 at 4:40 pm
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    So, female lead again…
    I like very much the logic that if for so many years white males have been leads in movies, so now in all movies leads must be females and black.
    According to this logic if for many years black have been slaves to white then now white must be slaves to black. Right?
    I’m not against female or black lead, but only if it serves the plot, and not because of desire to have all lead female or black. We’re getting two SW movies and their leads are females. It’s getting suspicious.
    I really hope that in the Han Solo movie we won’t find out that Han Solo actually was female and because of sexism and men’s oppression changed his(her) sex. Because how can a male be so cool? He indeed must have been a girl or rather a black girl.

  • August 16, 2015 at 7:06 pm
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    dp

  • August 16, 2015 at 7:46 pm
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    After ANH :

    – Hey guys, GL won’t direct the next movie…
    – What ???? What are you f*** talking about ??
    – I dont know. I heard it will be a guy named Irwin Kershnitz…or something.
    – Who the hell is this dude ??? Big disappointment !!!!

    Then we got ESB.

    Can you guys stop complaining…always ??!

  • August 16, 2015 at 7:53 pm
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    No.

  • August 16, 2015 at 7:55 pm
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    All of them look so fake. They look more like a group of mexican thugs on their way across the border than Rebels from Star Wars.

    • August 17, 2015 at 1:04 pm
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      Yeah, it kind of looks like the cast of some middle-budget sci-fi TV series on ABC… Very generic style.

  • August 17, 2015 at 12:44 am
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    “They also revealed that the official director for Episode IX will be Colin Trevorrow”

    I guess one of the new films has to suck.
    They really *(%(#)%&@(# that one up.

  • August 17, 2015 at 1:46 am
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    What Roque One fails to capture in this photo is any since of the essential Raygun Gothic style of which Star Wars was derived (Flash Gordon). This was the style that Star Wars famously made dirty.

    You can have variety all day long but if you are going to tell a story that ends days before ANH, it needs to fit the look and style of that time frame and this, based on the props and costumes here, does not.

  • August 17, 2015 at 4:32 am
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    I’m glad they didn’t make the female lead for ‘Rogue One’ (or ‘The Force Awakens’) some kind of sexed up character wearing pvc or something for the fan boys. I don’t want the female lead to look like Black Widow or super hero.

    • August 17, 2015 at 1:06 pm
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      Well, eyecandy definitely sells better worldwide. That’s the way it works. I guess The Hunger Games is the only real exception in the movie industry.

  • August 17, 2015 at 12:13 pm
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    A Han Solo Movie and now the Jurassic world director directing 9..ooooops . I will however pass judgement once ive watched them

  • August 17, 2015 at 4:36 pm
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    I’ve noticed a lot of complaints about the official title: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While I agree that Star Wars: Rogue One (with the anthologies sub brand below sounds better to me, I think the title is a smart choice given that the film is intended for super fans and general audiences alike. You have the first installment of the main trilogy titled as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”…the average movie-goer sees this film and likes it…a year later you have Star Wars: Rogue One (same title style) coming out and this same movie-goer says, “Oh the next SW film is coming out…” who then goes to see the film and is confused as they were expecting a sequel rather than the OT prequel that is Rogue One. So that being said, I think its smart to showcase what we originally considered a subtitle as the main title and tagging it with “A Star Wars Story”. It tells the casual fan at a glance that this is different from the main series, but is a story set in the SW universe. It’s all about marketing these films to the masses while making the films’ intent clear.

  • August 17, 2015 at 8:56 pm
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    TFA’s running time (124 – 125 mins) is – very close to the running time of ESB (124 mins), not ANH. 😉

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