UPDATE 2! First Star Wars: Episode VIII Set Pieces from Dubrovnik!

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10 days ago we shared a report with you that the start of filming for Star Wars: Episode VIII in Dubrovnik will commence on March 9. Now almost 2 weeks before the big day, first set pieces from the movie started popping up in the city.

 

February 22, 2016
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First, the locals spotted several tents erected in two different areas of the Old City of Dubrovnik. People were hesitant if they were for the Star Wars crew or for the use of the current Mercedes Global Training Event in the city. The guys from StarWarsDubrovnik uncovered that these are indeed for the Star Wars filming. Not only that but they added a few more images with different set pieces being build in the city.


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The support tents are set up in two of the filming locations (Old City Port and Trg Oruzja Square), and some parts of the set are being put up on the main streets as well.

 

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Also TheDubrovnikTimes shared another image from the Stradun, the main street that runs through the center of Dubrovnik, where you can see a souvenir shop being transformed into an alien world architecture.

 

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We can expect many more images with sets and props from Dubrovnik in the next few days since the filming location is very public.

 

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So based on these set pieces, what do you think? Is this a new planet, or are we going to revisit a familiar place? Tell us in the comments below.

 

 

February 24, 2016

 

A new video from the main street:

 

 

And some more images from The Dubrovnik Times:

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

Born on April 24, 1980.

Val Trichkov (Viral Hide)

Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

181 thoughts on “UPDATE 2! First Star Wars: Episode VIII Set Pieces from Dubrovnik!

  • February 22, 2016 at 6:34 pm
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    A city, yES!

  • February 22, 2016 at 6:37 pm
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    It starts.

  • February 22, 2016 at 6:40 pm
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    *Does a little dance*
    This is so exciting!
    Personally I kinda hope that we’re going back to Naboo. I think the city has the right kind of look for it.

    • February 23, 2016 at 2:35 am
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      I’d love to see the sequels return to Naboo, I’m a fanboy over that planet. The place in these photos certainly would make for some cool new locations though if not Naboo.

  • February 22, 2016 at 6:45 pm
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    i think this is a new planet. we didnt see much city in FA so this could be it

  • February 22, 2016 at 6:54 pm
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    Looks like Naboo to me.

  • February 22, 2016 at 6:56 pm
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    damn, return flights Brussels to Dubrovnik are only 150 euro. very tempted to just fly there a few days in March

    • February 22, 2016 at 7:53 pm
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      We had three locations in TFA which everyone thought were Naboo or Yavin. Turned out to be neither. I venture to guess this will not be Naboo, either.

    • February 22, 2016 at 8:01 pm
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      Not even close. Naboo’s real world inspiration is renaissance period Italy, this looks like Medieval and Gothic period Europe, although alot of the new buildings around (that likely aren’t part of the shoot) have that distinctive modern Italian façade to them.

    • February 22, 2016 at 9:16 pm
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      I’m hoping Naboo will be in Episode VIII. It’s probably not going to happen.

      • February 22, 2016 at 9:35 pm
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        No more Nabooring please 🙁

        • February 22, 2016 at 9:46 pm
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          Please more Naboo.
          Luke and Leia familly is from Naboo.

        • February 23, 2016 at 9:26 am
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          Agreed. It’s time to move away from Dantooine, Tatooine, and Naboo.

          • February 23, 2016 at 6:55 pm
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            Wait- why Dantooine, we’ve never been there in canon besides the novel lost stars. I wouldn’t mind seeing it. But agreed that we should stay away from tatooine and Naboo. honestly Coruscant is the only planet I can see us revisiting from the other films.

      • February 23, 2016 at 5:52 am
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        Enough Naboo. We had that planet in 3 movies already. Nothing there but Reniassancey white people who elect teenage girl monarchs for some reason, and a race of aliens who produced the most pathetic life form in galactic history.

      • February 23, 2016 at 9:26 am
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        I don’t. I’m ready for new planets, and we got two in Force Awakens.

        • February 23, 2016 at 8:21 pm
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          I counted 5, one got fried, make that two got fried that we saw from the surface. Jakku, Hosnian Prime, Takodana, D’Qar, Starkiller Base and island planet Luke is on called Ahch-To .

          • February 24, 2016 at 2:59 am
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            By two planets, I mean ones that Han, Ray, Chewie, Finn, and BB-8 got to visit.

      • February 23, 2016 at 2:10 pm
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        Meh, I’m more interested in post-post-war Coruscant with full-on economic depression and rampant crime-rates; THAT is interesting shit right there…

    • February 22, 2016 at 9:24 pm
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      That’s Seville, Spain in this photo. Also used for Naboo, of course.

  • February 22, 2016 at 7:15 pm
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    Actually reminds me of Naboo, but I don’t think that’s what they’re shooting for. Though I’d like to see some OT or PT planets…

  • February 22, 2016 at 7:16 pm
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    These pics look good, but did anyone else think the Maz castle set was underwhelming, like something from a 70’s Star Trek episode?

    • February 22, 2016 at 7:30 pm
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      Ugh. No. As if everything was always earthshattering in the originals.

      • February 22, 2016 at 7:43 pm
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        You’re crazy, for how much they were limited they went out of their way to focus on amazing world building in the originals. By comparison most of all of the locales in TFA were boring copies of places we had been to before. Maz’s castle and the Rebel base in particular.

        • February 22, 2016 at 9:31 pm
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          Sigh.

        • February 22, 2016 at 10:35 pm
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          Those were literally the two most original locations in the whole movie, lol.

          • February 23, 2016 at 1:59 am
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            If by original you mean totally bland and forgettable locations that everyone were on Yavin IV before the movie came out.

            You people sure like talking directly out of your ass.

          • February 23, 2016 at 5:52 am
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            Ooh, the saltiness is strong with this one.

      • February 22, 2016 at 9:35 pm
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        As if a 2015 movie should not look better than a 1977 one.
        That makes no sense.

    • February 22, 2016 at 7:37 pm
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      only you

    • February 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm
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      The only thing that was underwhelming about Maz’s castle was how obvious of an homage it was to the cantina from episode 4. That and maybe the lack of any classic SW species. Otherwise I thought it was cool!

      • February 22, 2016 at 9:37 pm
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        They did make a Worrt for TFA, it was a creature at Jabba’s palace, One creature looked like a offshoot/subspecies of the Ithorians (hammerheads) and the visual dictionary said he practiced the same religion as many of the Ithorians. People bitch about not having enough new stuff, but when they do mostly new stuff people complain about the old stuff not being there. They simply cannot win. Not every planet will always show the familiar aliens, I look at it as broadening the SW Universe a bit. Every film we see some aliens, few or many, that we didn’t see in a previous film. I would like to see a handful of the old favorites back, sure. We did get Ackbar and Nunb.

        • February 23, 2016 at 6:43 pm
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          I agree, Its not too big of an issue. In my mind its just because we were on the other side of the galaxy from tatooine that there were so few overlaps in species. Its just a minor let down. Other than 3 individuals (chewbacca, Nein Nub, and Ackbar) there are NO species from any of the other 6 films in this movie. Just throwing one or two rodians, gran or whatever in the mix would have made it really feel like the universe is lived in and connected. I just hate it when we only get ONE character representing an entire speices and planet in the whole saga. It makes it feel like they made up a whole species just for that scene because it looked cool rather than imagining a vast galaxy and populating it. Like I said, small potatoes in an otherwise awesome film, but with the OT characters having such little screen time and the PT races being all but forgotten, a tiny bit more connective tissue would have gone a long way for me personally

          • February 23, 2016 at 8:10 pm
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            Where the hell were all these A New Hope creatures in Empire Strikes Back for that matter? Ugnaughts, a Tauntauns and a Wampa native to Hoth, and what else? Not much else at all.

          • February 23, 2016 at 8:49 pm
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            Good point

          • February 23, 2016 at 8:54 pm
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            Yeah hopefully they will throw in a few more classic ones, I think JJ wanted to get almost all new ones on Takodana. But it’s cool we had Nunb and Ackbar (Chewie applies without saying), they didn’t even have to bring those two back and they did. Pablo Hidalgo told me via twitter yesterday. (He is head of Lucasfilm story group and watches over Canon, he was one of JJ’s and now Rian’s advisors on SW lore. ) that The Worrt was the creature in the cage on Bobbajo’s back that head the performer’s face. The Worrt was seen in Jabba’s palace. Granted, he is tough to see in TFA, but he is there. Pablo is good about answering questions, he answer about 4 or 5 of mine over the last few weeks. He’s been with them since EP3 where he wrote daily non spoiler set diaries in 2003.

      • February 23, 2016 at 6:26 pm
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        Right?! Would it have been THAT hard to put some familiar species there? The whole time I was looking for some familiar faces and NOTHING! That’s my only complaint about that scene.

        • February 23, 2016 at 8:26 pm
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          Empire Strikes Back dropped the ball on that one too in context of all the movies.

          • February 23, 2016 at 11:25 pm
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            True..but this isn’t the second movie of a (now) already established franchise.

          • February 23, 2016 at 11:47 pm
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            Doesn’t matter. Big galaxy. You see differing aliens when you go to other planets. It’s not like we didn’t see any, just not any at Maz’s place.

      • February 24, 2016 at 3:00 pm
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        “This movie is a rehash! There’s nothing new!!!”

        *puts new aliens in Maz’s castle*

        “Where are all the old and recycled aliens that I’m familiar with?!!!”

        • February 24, 2016 at 8:37 pm
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          It’s all personal taste. Thematically Maz’s castle was a rehash of the cantina but with new aliens. I would have preferred less new aliens and more new types of locations. But you can never please all tastes at all times. It was a great movie, the lack of classic races dosnt change that. I loved the return of a ackbar and clever nods like that, I just hope there are even more in episode 8.

    • February 22, 2016 at 10:34 pm
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      Mmmmmm…no. You are, of course, totally allowed to have your opinion though. Even if it’s wrong 😉

    • February 22, 2016 at 10:54 pm
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      There were no Star Trek TV episodes in the 70s…

  • February 22, 2016 at 7:29 pm
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    There is a cool seaport city in the Art of The Force Awakens book. I’m betting that’s what this is Dubrovnik shoot is about.

  • February 22, 2016 at 7:31 pm
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    Shit that must be an expensive film to make. I wonder if they have to compensate the shop owners for loss of trade. Still, good to see Rian is committed to keeping real sets in this one. I think visual continuity is an important thing that George fucked up with the prequels, then tried to fix by ruining the OT

    • February 25, 2016 at 11:50 am
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      loss of trade in European summer resort around late February? gimme a break.. most of these shops close for the winter due to the lack of traffic anyways

  • February 22, 2016 at 7:41 pm
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    love this!

  • February 22, 2016 at 7:47 pm
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    Nice plastic chevron barrier rope, some marki tents and some scaffolding = )
    Its out of this world = p

  • February 22, 2016 at 7:54 pm
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    Naboo’s architecture was down to earth and their had regular rectangular doorways, this looks different, so it’ll probably be a different civilization.

  • February 22, 2016 at 8:07 pm
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    So happy that Episode VIII is full-flung into principle photography.

  • February 22, 2016 at 8:15 pm
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    Wait… you want to use my storefront for Star Wars? How much do I pay you for this privilege? Oh… you’re paying me? Have I died? Is this a dream? I don’t understand what’s happening… *faints*

    • February 22, 2016 at 9:26 pm
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      That would have been me, indeed. Haha 😀

    • February 22, 2016 at 10:32 pm
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      Accurate.

    • February 22, 2016 at 10:32 pm
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      If I were that store owner, I’d actually be a little peeved. That means MONTHS of being forcibly closed.Sure, the money and publicity are nice, but that’s a looong time for a small, niche business to close its doors.

      • February 22, 2016 at 11:20 pm
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        Months? They start shooting in a couple of weeks and — unless something has changed — they are only scheduled for a week of filming.

        • February 23, 2016 at 1:10 am
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          Oh, my mistake.
          Still a while to be closed for.

          • February 23, 2016 at 2:39 am
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            True, although I heard that the filming is at night as well, so maybe not so much.

          • February 23, 2016 at 8:44 am
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            I’m pretty sure the shop owner will be well compensated.

          • February 25, 2016 at 5:51 am
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            I’m sure the shop owner is making more money from doing this shoot than a week or two of sales, lol.

          • February 25, 2016 at 6:32 pm
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            Depends of the shop. Shops with expensive jewelry, make a lot of money.

      • February 23, 2016 at 8:19 pm
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        I am guessing he will be paid.

  • February 22, 2016 at 8:21 pm
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    Very medieval. Nice.

  • February 22, 2016 at 8:44 pm
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    Back to Naboo?

  • February 22, 2016 at 9:25 pm
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    They’re SURE these are for Star Wars Ep VIII !? Because there’s nothing whatsoever in any of these that indicate anything specific. Those photos could be sets for literally any movie from any genre.

    • February 22, 2016 at 9:32 pm
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      The rounded door looks StarWars to me.

      • February 24, 2016 at 12:58 pm
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        Reminded me of the Lars homestead… kinda.

    • February 22, 2016 at 10:27 pm
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      You’re right, the sets confirmed to be for the next Star Wars film and used to transform the city in which the next Star Wars film will be shot, might not be for the next Star Wars film.

      • February 23, 2016 at 2:28 am
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        well when you put it that way….

    • February 22, 2016 at 10:31 pm
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      Are there any other movies shooting in Dubrovnik right now?

      • February 22, 2016 at 10:52 pm
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        TV’s Game of Thrones…

        • February 23, 2016 at 12:06 am
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          Doesn’t look super GoT-ish to me.

          • February 23, 2016 at 2:42 am
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            Kings Landing, believe it or not!

          • February 23, 2016 at 5:51 am
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            WOW.

    • February 25, 2016 at 5:49 am
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      Control panels on the building façade is a dead giveaway.

      • February 25, 2016 at 4:37 pm
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        yeah for sure. but when I originally commented on this, the pics with those control panels weren’t published.

  • February 22, 2016 at 10:39 pm
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    HYPE!!! I like that they’re dressing up the entire city instead of doing CGI alterations. It helps make the whole thing more impressive and Star Wars-y.

    • February 23, 2016 at 2:06 pm
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      Nah, this actually looks lighter on “on-set location” effects than Naboo in Phantom Menace.
      ‘Bout the same really, their gonna use the 1st storey of the building and CGI the top / background. All part of the job.

      • February 23, 2016 at 3:05 pm
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        You think? Cool.

  • February 22, 2016 at 10:54 pm
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    Neat! Very Naboo-ish. Hopeful that maybe we’ll get some more interesting locales this time around.

  • February 22, 2016 at 11:26 pm
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    Picture reminds me of Attack of the Clones deleted scene, the apartment of Padme family , filmed at Lake Como, Italy.

  • February 23, 2016 at 12:29 am
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    Now that I think about it, it’s pretty obvious that J.J. and Trevorow were chosen because essentially they’re Spielberg proteges, but what was the criteria for Rian Johnson’s choice? His Looper is not exactly what I call a star wars-like film

    • February 23, 2016 at 1:00 am
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      Go watch the episodes he directed for Breaking Bad and Brick, dude’s a great director.

    • February 23, 2016 at 2:36 am
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      You think Trevorow is a good choice? 50% of his films are terrible, it’s even worse considering he’s only made two real films so far.

      • February 23, 2016 at 2:37 am
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        jurrasic world isn’t terrible…

        • February 23, 2016 at 2:39 am
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          Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

          • February 23, 2016 at 2:44 am
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            they are, just know that most disagree with your position. hence why JW made bank and why trevorow was picked for IX. lucasfilm isn’t run by dummies after all. 😉

          • February 23, 2016 at 3:40 am
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            JW was incredibly disappointing. I doubt that’s entirely on Treverow though, and Disney wouldn’t have chosen him if they didn’t see the potential. The same goes for Rian.

          • February 25, 2016 at 5:40 am
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            I’m honestly shocked that Jurassic World did as good as it did, can’t think of a better example of a completely pointless sequel made purely for the sake of making money.

          • February 23, 2016 at 8:53 am
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            JW made money, but it was no masterpiece. The Transformers movies make money. Would you like Michael Bay to direct SW?

          • February 23, 2016 at 9:25 am
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            I agree, Dogs, that JW wasn’t a masterpiece. But, it was still entertaining.

          • February 23, 2016 at 10:31 pm
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            seriously? JW is a hundred times better then last three transformers “films”. is it a masterpiece? heck no. but it was a fun, enjoyable film that managed to do what even speilberg couldn’t do, make a proper sequel to jurrasic park.

          • February 24, 2016 at 10:31 am
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            That’s not my point. My point is that big budget return doesn’t always mean top quality. JW was fine. But for me it’s no stronger than the other two JP sequels. Similar can be said of movies like Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel or Spectre. Movies that made a ton of money, but to whom the critical and fan reaction was more mixed than the movies that came before them.

            Point is that saying “it made a load of money” as a justification for hiring people from another movie because of box office has always been a false argument because popularity doesn’t equate to top quality. I mentioned the Transformers movies because that’s a perfect example of a cash cow chose creative team you’d not want anywhere near Star Wars. By your logic Bay can come in and do Star Wars because his movies have been a great success and that’s the only qualifier.

            Personally I found JW to be entertaining but largely unoriginal. Ironically it suffers from the same problem as Force Awakens in that regard….and everyone assumed that having Kasdan on board meant the greatest SW of all time, but if there is one weak point of TFA it’s the lazy and derivative script that Kasdan had a direct hand in. The fact is that Jurassic World is not in the same league as Jurassic Park and Trevorrow only has experience with one big budget franchise movie. Whichever way you look at it the hiring carries some level of risk. Everyone thought the quality of the spin offs was assured when they hired Josh Trank (whose preceding picture Chronicle was very good) and we know how that turned out.

            Some people have criticisms of Jurassic World and are entitled to express them. Accordingly they are entitled to express reservations over Trevorrow if they feel they have reason. You have not seen any of his Star Wars output yet and so it’s not your job to prove to other people that his hiring means quality. Live and let live. I sincerely doubt anyone here hopes that he does anything other than a fine job.

          • February 25, 2016 at 2:13 am
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            Who decides the absolute objective scientific standard of what a “quality” film is? Who?

          • February 28, 2016 at 6:27 am
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            Everyone wants a quality film, sure. Once again though that’s never guaranteed even if you had the best of the best working on something. We can only maximize potential by making decisions based on that individual or team’s previous work.

            Steven Spielberg is a good example, he’s made plenty of quality, popular films and is revered throughout Hollywood and the world. However, even he was responsible for directing some movies that can be considered not his best work (War of the Worlds comes to mind). George Lucas is another example, everyone thought that the prequels were going to be amazing after the success of the originals and look how they turned out as far as popularity and quality.

            So, by no means can we simply assume that a movie will be good based purely on a director, or screenwriter’s previous work. That just gives us a good idea of what to expect. Experience does help though yes of course. Although, George Lucas didn’t have much experience making big budget films when he did the first Star Wars, he only had done a couple short films and American Graffiti at the time.

            The risk is just multiplied when the young, up and coming directors are chosen for these big budget films which could pay off. Or it could totally tank, that remains to be seen.

          • February 25, 2016 at 2:11 am
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            Of course. We know full well Hollywood is fueled by what makes the money. Otherwise 1977 would have been the first and last Star Wars had it bombed.

        • February 23, 2016 at 9:24 am
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          I agree. I really enjoyed it.

      • February 23, 2016 at 9:24 am
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        Good grief, man, Trevorrow has only made two movies. One a small independent film, called Safety Not Tomorrow, and a big budget film, which we all know is, Jurassic World.
        Either you liked both films or you didn’t. It’s obvious to me you didn’t like Jurassic World.

        • February 23, 2016 at 5:31 pm
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          You should really read a comment before replying to it.
          There is a big difference between a film being good and it making money. You don’t have to like every film that someone makes, especially if one was a CGI brainfart that is riding the coattails of a franchise. He was chosen because he is part of the ‘in-crowd’. I didn’t expect most internet bandwagon nerds would agree with me. There are plenty of more experienced directors who are denied the chance, just because they don’t belong to a stable.

          • February 24, 2016 at 3:02 am
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            I saw Safety Not Guaranteed, and thought it was nice introduction to Trevorrow as a filmmaker.
            Jurassic World was in your opinion, terrible. Mine is that it was awesome. That’s why we have our own opinions.

          • February 28, 2016 at 6:16 am
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            I don’t see why Jurassic World gets so much hate and therefore Trevorrow along with it.
            It is essentially a lot like TFA, except TFA has to set up for two more films. Jurassic World was just a callback to Jurassic Park which if you liked that movie, I don’t see why you’d not like Jurassic World. The worst part imo of Jurassic World was the subplot involving military raptors.

          • February 28, 2016 at 7:43 am
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            Maybe everyone was expecting something more from Jurassic World, instead of what we got. Either way, the movie set out to be a fun experience, and that’s what it was to me.

          • February 25, 2016 at 2:09 am
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            Because you’re the one that should decide it all.

          • March 4, 2016 at 5:46 am
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            Yes, you are learning. Way to take everything literally.

          • February 25, 2016 at 5:36 am
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            The same is really true of JJ Abrams, he is the prime example of a relatively talentless hack that has gotten to the top by being a huge schmooze.

        • February 25, 2016 at 9:22 am
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          Definetly, I prefer the Safety not guaranteed Trevorrow than the Jurassic One. Just my opinion. 😛

          • February 25, 2016 at 11:30 am
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            Safety was an interesting movie, I’ll tell you that.

      • February 25, 2016 at 2:08 am
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        Irvin Kershner made all those great films people loved before and after ESB….oh wait.

        • February 25, 2016 at 4:23 am
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          LOL

        • February 25, 2016 at 5:48 am
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          All the same, Irvin Kershner wasn’t tapped because he was a talented unknown director, he was chosen because he was one of George Lucas’ professors from USC Film School.

          Totally different game now, I gotta admit, as much as I’m enjoying the new trilogy I don’t think they really picked directors that are all that talented when it comes to world building and such.

  • February 23, 2016 at 2:39 am
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    it does have a strong naboo feel, but i hope its for a new planet. lets continue expanding the universe, not shrinking it. 🙂

    • February 25, 2016 at 6:21 am
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      I hope not, I didn´t like Naboo in the PT.

      • February 25, 2016 at 6:42 pm
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        Naboo is one of my favorite worlds in Star Wars. Looks awsome.

        • February 25, 2016 at 6:53 pm
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          Some of it was nice.
          Some was totally kistch.
          None of it was Star Wars, may be Flash Gordon? not sure, but not Star Wars.
          All that is my humble opinion, of course.

  • February 23, 2016 at 9:28 am
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    Please Mr. Johnson, give us brand-new locations, like we got with Jakku in Force Awakens. I don’t want to revisit Naboo again.

    • February 23, 2016 at 9:51 am
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      Jakku? Why does everyone what to go back to Jakku?

      • February 23, 2016 at 9:55 am
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        Rey sure wanted to go back to Jakku a lot in Force Awakens.

    • February 23, 2016 at 11:45 am
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      Jakku was a “brand new location”? Sure looked like Tatooine to me.

      • February 24, 2016 at 3:04 am
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        That’s what everyone thought it was going to be. I think it’s possible that Jakku could be Tatooine’s identical twin planet. They look the same, but have different names.

    • February 23, 2016 at 2:03 pm
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      That ain’t Naboo, that’s just a old-fashioned city. Are we gonna have to go over this every time they make a non-desert/forest/Coruscant/ice planet?

    • February 24, 2016 at 12:36 am
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      There was nothing “new” about Jakku. Abrams didn’t even bother to provide the planet with a different look & feel to Tatooine like Lucas did with Geonosis, for instance. I’d rather visit new locations in Naboo rather than have my intelligence insulted by visiting another world previously seen in SW, disguised under a different name.

      • February 24, 2016 at 2:55 am
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        It was a new planet, whether you want to admit it or not. For all we know, Jakku could be Tatooine’s identical twin.

        • February 24, 2016 at 5:47 am
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          I never said Jakku was not a new world. I said there was nothing new about it. Huge difference right there.

          Instead of going around telling people what they should/shouldn’t admit, go learn some reading comprehension instead, and stop wasting my time with foolish, unimaginative, lame theories, such as Jakku being “Tatooine’s identical twin.”

          • February 24, 2016 at 7:26 am
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            There’s nothing wrong in posting theories about whether Jakku is Tatooine’s twin.

          • February 24, 2016 at 8:22 am
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            No, there’s nothing wrong with posting theories about Jakku or anything else, in truth. I’m just not interested in such a theory, because as I said before, I find it a lame excuse to justify that an identical setting to Tatooine was used in TFA, as opposed to a more creative and original location.

          • February 25, 2016 at 2:05 am
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            They almost made it a water planet. With crashed Star Destroyers on shallower oceans. Probably would have been more of a nightmare to shoot, kinda like Waterworld. I like that it’s a desert because it repeats the theme.

          • February 25, 2016 at 3:49 am
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            Yes, I’m familiar with early concepts for Jakku. And while I agree that the water world’s shoot might’ve been difficult, there were countless other options that could’ve been used (i.e: the tropical jungle setting that’s rumored to play a key role in Rogue One).

            I don’t mind seeing similar worlds, as long as there are differences that actually make them feel like new worlds. Geonosis and Starkiller are the perfect example, IMO, because there were plenty of differences between these 2 planets and Tatooine or Hoth. *That* is a repeating or echoing theme. Jakku looks and feels *exactly* like Tatooine. That’s a rehash of an already existing world, which is a completely different thing.

          • February 25, 2016 at 4:03 pm
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            Jakku was too similar to Tatooine!
            Starkiller Base was too similar to Hoth!
            Takodana was too similar to Endor!
            Ahch-to was too similar to….. Oh yay finally a new planet!

            This argument has been made countless times before and it really doesn’t matter since it’s just a derivative argument of the whole TFA was too similar to the OT crap.

            I’ve stated this before, they could have chosen any locations to shoot these new scenes but in the end they chose locales that were semi easy to film because they are kind of limited as to what locales they can shoot in real life. Also, the whole point of Jakku being too similar to Tatooine is an entirely subjective opinion. It wasn’t anything like Tatooine except for a desert setting.

            It was a graveyard planet much like Raxus Prime set on a desert world, the locations that we saw in the film were more primitive than Tatooine. At least Tatooine had a fully functioning spaceport, Jakku had two tiny villages and one was destroyed completely the other was torn up by TIE Fighters.

          • February 25, 2016 at 6:43 pm
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            Who the hell said anything about Starkiller=Hoth or Endor=Takodana? You’ve got the wrong commenter here, pal, ’cause I never said anything of the kind. Perhaps you should read people’s comments before posting your opinion about them.

            You’re right about one thing, though: Jakku being too similar to Tatooine is an entire subjective opinion. Yes. It is MY opinion that these 2 worlds are identical to each other, and no apologist’s excuses for it will ever make me change my mind.

            You really expect me to believe that there were only 2 small towns,
            standing just a few kilometers apart, on the whole wide planet of
            Jakku? And w/o quoting any sources to support your claims, besides?
            Yeah, that’ll be the day, lmao.

          • February 26, 2016 at 7:26 am
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            No, read my comment again that’s what other commenters have said and your opinion on Jakku being too similar to Tatooine falls in line with what others have said about the planets so I clumped you in with the other commenters, sorry if you do not believe that too. I was merely going off what you said about Jakku, that it’s too similar to Tatooine.

            To your last point about believing, think about this…
            I expect you to believe whatever the movie shows you or the expanded universe tells you. I’m sure there were a lot more villages and towns spread out on Jakku but we were only shown Niima Outpost and Jakku village.

            Look at how many locations Tatooine had. There was Mos Eisley spaceport, the city of Mos Espa, Lar’s Homestead, that Tusken Raider village, the dunesea where C-3PO was found in Ep. 4, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s hut, Jabba’s Palace, the sarlaac pit, the podracing arena, and all of that was shown to be within reasonable traveling distance.
            The point is does it really matter how long it takes for the characters to travel to those locations? Regardless of all of those Tatooine locations being within traveling distance why does that make Jakku any different? Why does Tastooine get a pass but Jakku doesn’t?
            Also, we don’t know exactly the distance apart between Jakku Village and Niima Outpost. All we saw was that BB-8 left the village at night and was found by Rey during the day time, there is no telling of how much time passed. It could have been a day, two days, a week, assuming that the BB type droids have some sort of advanced solar powered generator for their batteries it might have even been two weeks or a month.
            Furthermore, Finn found Niima outpost within three days, because he would have died of thirst had he not found it.

            If you have trouble believing that BB-8 was captured by Teedo and found by Rey within and undisclosed amount of time/distance, or that Finn found Niima Outpost within a couple of days, but you are okay with lightsabers, space wizards, lightspeed, the fact that nearly every planet in Star Wars has a breathable atmosphere, or any other crazy unrealistic thing then Star Wars is not the universe for you lol

            It’s like of all things to be disappointed about you chose the silliest one.

            In the end, both of our opinions don’t really matter lol I’m just defending Jakku, and trying to understand why people don’t like very specific aspects.

          • February 26, 2016 at 6:08 pm
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            We both agree that there must be more settlements on Jakku. We only saw the planet for the first act of one film. Tatooine, on the other hand, we saw in 5 of the previous 6 films. If we’d only seen it in ANH, we’d only know of 2 settlements as well: Mos Eisley (which we obviously saw onscreen) and Anchorhead (which we heard Luke mention twice, at least).

            Not all of Tatooine’s locations were within reasonable traveling distance. Watto clearly said that the Lars homestead was a long way from Mos Espa in AotC, and Anakin & Padmé had to fly all the way to the Lars’ in her Naboo cruiser. As far as I know, the Lars homestead could’ve been standing at the other side of Tatooine from Mos Espa.

            BB-8 could’ve spent a whole week rolling through the desert? Lol, no, I don’t think Kylo Ren wouldn’t have waited that long to probe Poe’s mind. I also don’t think Phasma wouldn’t have taken that long to order Finn to turn in his blaster for inspection. And finally, I’m sure Finn would’ve faced trial and punishment for insubordination long before he had a chance to free Poe.

            Yeah, Finn had only 3 days to reach a civilized place before dehydrating. But again, Jakku wasn’t a county, a municipality, a province, or even a state. It was an entire planet, lol! As far as we know, the stolen TIE could’ve crash-landed in Jakku’s equivalent to Australia and Nimma could be like Finland. And well, walking from Australia to Finland would take much more than 3 days, as we all know.

            This was a very contrived plot point any which way one wishes to look at it. But I have no problem with it, b/c SW has always called for suspension of disbelief to be fully enjoyed, as you have pointed out. I know you’re trying to defend Jakku, but it’s hard to defend something that is so blatantly, obviously contrived.

            I wish I could help you understand why many people don’t like specific aspects of this film, but I can’t speak for anyone but myself. And as Jaime Lannister would say, there are no people like me. There’s just me, lol.

            In my case this has to do with the total lack of creativity, imagination and originality on the part of professional filmmakers and screenwriters who are supposed to know much better than this. You just assumed my disappointment was the whole Jakku thing. No, that’s far from it. And you don’t even want me to get started on the turd that was the whole Starkiller subplot, believe me, lol.

          • February 27, 2016 at 4:21 am
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            Yeah, so taking everything which I’ve said, and what you’ve said into consideration. Also, taking suspension of disbelief into account.

            I’m confused as to what you are critiquing or disappointed in the lack of creativity because Abrams and Kasdan could have just as easily used Tatooine for the 7th time in a Star Wars movie, but then everuyone would say that that’s even more of a ripoff. It’s one of those things where they are damned if they do, or damned if they don’t. Hence why I always tend to support the production side of any given movie unless it’s just absolutely horribly done, speaking Troll 2 level here. Maybe I’m just much more forgiving and I suspend disbelief more because the whole idea that all of our main characters were able to meet each other within a small amount of time, besides the obvious point of continuing the plot, doesn’t bug me in any way shape or form. You could argue the same problem with literally any movie. Oh wow it just so happened that C-3PO and R2-D2 were captured by the same jawas, it just so happened that Luke, Owen, and Beru happened to buy the two droids who just escaped the battle. See it happens in the other Star Wars movies too. The only reasoning i can see why you wouldn’t like it, is because it’s been done in Star Wars before. That doesn’t bother me at all, because all of Star Wars has been done before just in a different way. The Hidden Fortress is literally C-3PO and R2-D2 just not in space.

            The same thing with Avatar, people like to rip on that by saying it was Pocahontas in space, or Dances With Wolves in Space, but I never see repetitive stories done in a new or refreshing way as being unoriginal. Otherwise we’d have to say everything is unoriginal because there are literally no new original stories. Everything is a remix, even music.

            You could give me any movie and I guarantee it’s been done before. I’m just too forgiving.

          • February 27, 2016 at 7:28 pm
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            I’m disappointed b/c I’ve been doing creative work for 25+ years, and I know there were a ton of options to get a much more original film in general (not just a “new” desert planet or a “new” and “improved” Death Star).

            But you’ve said the magic words “everyone would say this or that”. Exactly. Disney doesn’t want to stir the hive b/c the bees would stop producing their $weet honey for them 😉

            I love SW since I watched ANH at age 7 in ’77, PT and all. But that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the fact that many people hate the PT and, because of that, Disney wanted to play it safe with TFA.

            I never said I didn’t like TFA. This whole
            discussion w/you began b/c I had mentioned that I find Jakku a carbon
            copy of Tatooine. That’s all there is to it. I never meant to get into a lengthy discussion about other aspects of the film, the other SW films, or even other sci-fi/fantasy tales.

            You think I’m wrong? Well, that’s certainly not a first, lol. And I’m afraid all we can do is agree to disagree.

          • February 28, 2016 at 6:05 am
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            No, I don’t think you’re entirely wrong on everything I just don’t see the issue with using Jakku (just another desert planet) as being inherently wrong, or even having another death star type weapon.

            Really though, what else could they have done if you think about it? A biological weapon, an alien invasion, more sith, a new dark jedi organization, a new warrior culture like Mandolorians trying to take over, another Galactic Empire. Planets too? another water planet, a junkyard planet, a forest planet, jungle, take your pick. The joy of Star Wars movies was never in the decision of which planets to place the story on. It was in the mystery, fun, characters, joy, and adventure to watch the story unfold on screen.

            In the end we got a mini Cold War with an ex Imperial Remnant (Who obviously loves their super Death Star type weapons because the Empire had two of them already), sprinkled with a new dark side organization the Knights of Ren.

            If you were in Kennedy’s or Abrams’ shoes, and you knew that you had this giant responsibility on your head to make the next big Star Wars movie. Since they were the major players in producing the movie and the ones responsible for having the final say in the creative decisions for the movie. I would imagine it would be quite the struggle and not as easy as people think to make, with the added pressure of Disney checking on you do as well, not counting the millions of fans who can’t wait to see a new Star Wars movie.

            Furthermore, this was the first Star Wars movie without George Lucas’s creative oversight (Be that a good thing or bad thing) So, considering all of the pressure that the creative minds for this movie had on them, it’s completely understandable to me that they would choose to play the safe side and try to ease older fans and get newer audiences excited for the future movies. This makes me a lot more forgiving, I guess. I’m not a stonecold hardcore critic who sees every plot hole, choice of location, camera angle used, actor’s performance (unless it’s obviously bad), or general mistake as a means to cite the whole movie as being bad. Sure a lot of small mistakes can make something bad, or one big mistake can take you out of the experience, but I didn’t ever see anything so bad that immediately made me dislike the film.

            But to be fair, I don’t have over 25 years of creative work under my belt. I’m assuming anything art related be that music, art, writing, cinematography, if I did that would make me see more of the flaws in anything too.

            It is what it is, I guess, and you either like it or you don’t. We can talk for months about things they could have changed or done differently to make it better, but better is also subjective. Which makes us boil down to the “you can’t please everyone” aspect. I’m just grateful we got an above average, fun, delightful, Star Wars film that overall pleased the majority of audiences worldwide. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome, and a lot of the people I talked to, who weren’t fans of Star Wars before, enjoyed this new one and are excited for the sequels. I was already a HUGE Star Wars fan, and to see that more people are interested in it now makes me believe that TFA did what it was set out to do. That also makes me believe that was what Disney and Lucasfilm wanted to do all along and we can’t fault anyone for saying that it didn’t accomplish it’s goals.

            I’ve enjoyed the discussion, and am always up for debate on topics like these. 🙂

  • February 23, 2016 at 2:00 pm
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    How many are willing to bet that’s Rey’s upper-crust rich family’s mansion?

    You know, on the topic of Rey, I think I know what her last name is… Palpatine.

    • February 23, 2016 at 3:04 pm
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      WHAT A TWEEST

  • February 23, 2016 at 5:07 pm
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    Looks like Star Wars goes to Sesame Street.

  • February 23, 2016 at 7:40 pm
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    Count Dooku’s home town! you don’t think he was the last of that line do you???

  • February 23, 2016 at 10:15 pm
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    Dubrovnik is an ancient European city and once proud city-state during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It is a cradle of Croatian literature and culture in general.

  • February 24, 2016 at 12:20 am
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    Cool, cool, cool…

  • February 24, 2016 at 5:48 am
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    Looks like some Docror Who stuff.

  • February 25, 2016 at 1:07 am
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    Incredible! Can’t wait for this place to appear on the silver-screen!

  • February 25, 2016 at 1:19 am
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    Maybe not put the set photo on the front page? Maybe I’m over doing it, but its kind of annoying seeing a set photo before I click on the article. If I didn’t want to see any, I’m screwed by just visiting your site.

    • February 25, 2016 at 1:43 am
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      No offense, but I don’t think the picture will spoil anything.

      • February 25, 2016 at 2:02 am
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        As if he’s going to get to Dec 15 2017 without seeing tons more than this involving the movie anyway.

        • February 25, 2016 at 2:21 am
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          Anything really spoil-y won’t be in headlines/header pictures anyway, so….

    • February 25, 2016 at 10:10 am
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      This is a set built on a public place that has thousands of tourists daily.

      • February 25, 2016 at 11:52 am
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        No you’re right its not really a spoiler. I admitted I was possibly over doing it. I just didn’t want to see set photos this time around and was disappointed one was included on the front page. Its cool, like most things of this nature, If I want to avoid little things like this I have to avoid the sites.

  • February 25, 2016 at 1:31 am
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    Naboo?

  • February 25, 2016 at 2:06 am
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    I wonder if at any time in the future (50 years or 5,000 years from now) will there be an officially sanctioned Star Wars movie where the characters travel to Earth like in that Masters of the Universe movie. “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” pretty much says that Earth (or what will eventually become Earth) is out there somewhere, right? I suppose Star Wars characters could visit Earth when there are dinosaurs roaming around. That would be interesting, sorta. Of course, if the writers wanted to include time travel, the characters could visit present day Earth. And on a slightly related note….remember this?
    http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–RWtwPSWu–/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/18lr796mmhowojpg.jpg

    • February 25, 2016 at 3:04 am
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      Having just watched that Masters of the Universe movie yesterday… I hope not!

    • February 25, 2016 at 9:58 am
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      In the comic adaptation of Masters Of The Universe, They show an American flag from centuries into the future at the bottom of Castle Grayskull implying that Eternia and Earth are one and the same which makes a lot more sense when watching it.

    • February 25, 2016 at 2:46 pm
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      This has fundamentally changed my perception of the Sasquatch legend. 🙂

  • February 25, 2016 at 2:17 am
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    That’s it. After seeing these photos, I am now convinced that VIII will be the best movie of the entire SW saga!!!!

    • February 25, 2016 at 2:20 am
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      Getting a little ahead of yourself imo….

      • February 25, 2016 at 2:26 am
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        I think he was being sarcastic and satirizing people who get excited.

        • February 25, 2016 at 4:23 am
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          In that case LOLOLOLOL

    • February 25, 2016 at 9:42 am
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      Ha ha ha

  • February 25, 2016 at 5:15 am
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    I wonder how large the set will be

  • February 25, 2016 at 8:35 am
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    Man, this is so my shit.
    If I were there, I’d be coming up saying “Hey, I know you guys are professionals who went through a lot of steps to be hired… but, do you think I could lend a hand and help out with anything?”
    Then they’d tell me to f### off and I’d say “OK” and stand there watching them work for the entire day until they called security.
    I really like set dressing is what I’m saying.

    Can’t wait to see the finished result in the film.

  • February 25, 2016 at 12:30 pm
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    Rounded high doorways ? Hutts ??

  • February 25, 2016 at 1:11 pm
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    Or Back to Naboo where they found out jarjar is behing knights of Ren and the First Order.

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