Star Wars Weekly Social Buzz! Rogue One Reactions and Toy Packaging, New Image from Episode VIII, SW Fan Film Awards and More!

Toy

This week we have a lot to cover. Some Rogue One reactions and first look at the toy packaging, Rian Johnson’s new photo from the set and Pablo Hidalgo answering more interesting questions from the fans. So let’s get straight to it.

 

First the just released Rogue One toy packagng:

 

 

 

 

Also StarWars.com has just revealed that Rogue One director Gareth Edwards, co-producer John Swartz and executive producer John Knoll will be the judges of the 2016 Star Wars fan film awards!

 

 

 

Then some reactions on the Rogue One teaser trailer.

 

Forest Whitaker is excited for Rogue One!

 

 

 

Rogue One writer Gary Whitta loves it:

 

 

 

Rian Johnson loves the Rogue One trailer as well.

 

 

 

Dave Filoni, who has the incredibly hard task to connect the dots between live action and animation movies:

 

 

 

We at SWNN support Peter Mayhew’s statement:

 

 

 

And some brilliant art by Phil Noto inspired by the new trailer:

 

 

 

Surprisingly to everyone Mark Hamill reveals that he doesn’t have any lines in Rogue One.

 

 

 

The LEGO Movie (and Han Solo spin-off) director jokes about Ben Mendelsohnn’s cape:

 

 

 

And now some Episode VIII buzz:

 

Rian Johnson posts picture with Maz Kanata from Episode VIII. Lupita Nyong’o has already been officially mentioned in the Episode VIII cast, so this is really nothing new, but it’s always nice to see a new render of the character, right?

 

 

 

And in case anyone had any doubts that Maz is in Episode VIII, here’s Lupita with Mark and Oscar. It would be cool to see Poe and Maz together in Episode VIII, right?

 

 

 

…and General Leia of course:

 

 

 

Mark Hamill continues to troll us, and we love it!

 

 

 

More training from Daisy:

 

 

 

Probably the best thing you’ve seen from TFA cast – John and Daisy rapping. This special feature is only available on the Target exclusive edition of the Blu-ray.

 

 

 

New Elstree trailer!

In the summer of 1976, STAR WARS was shot in suburban North London. Nobody involved had any idea how big the film would become, many couldn’t even remember the title.

Yet, for the extras and actors in smaller roles, their faces hidden in masks and helmets, this seemingly insignificant job would go on to color their lives even four decades later.

ELSTREE 1976 explores the lives of the actors and extras behind one of the most celebrated franchises in cinematic history.

 

 

 

Some Disney Parks announcement is coming soon:

 

 

 

 

And now here are some really interesting comments by Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo himself! Beware, they are many, but all very interesting 🙂

 

Most of these really don’t need comment:

 

 

 

On Maul and Vader. Have they crossed paths before?

 

 

 

On KOTOR:

 

 

 

 

On the accuracy of some credits (this is about the forceback scene where a guy got stabbed by Kylo)

 

 

 

 

On the Jyn Erso name.

 

 

 

On Sith and Knights:

 

 

 

On the Han Solo spin-off movie:

 

 

 

On the stand alone movies:

 

 

 

And some longer discussions that are best used as screenshots:

Screenshot

 

On when the Sith were formed.

Screenshot-1

 

On Lucas and the EU:

Screenshot

 

On the connection between Rebels and Rogue One:

Screenshot-1

 

Stay tuned for the next recap next week!

 

 

 

Website | + posts

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.

132 thoughts on “Star Wars Weekly Social Buzz! Rogue One Reactions and Toy Packaging, New Image from Episode VIII, SW Fan Film Awards and More!

  • April 9, 2016 at 12:12 am
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    So we can thank Lucas, yet again, for the crappy Han Solo origin story idea? Note: Lord and Miller may prove me wrong and make a fantastic movie. I just think the idea of a Han Solo standalone is just dumb and unnecessary.

    • April 9, 2016 at 12:28 am
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      It was an IDEA, note that George wouldn’t have ever made if he never sold Star Wars. George probably had tons of ideas for Star Wars movies, but they wernt fleshed out at all. As far as I’m concerned, George considered the future of Star Wars to be video games, so it was never going to be made.

    • April 9, 2016 at 2:24 am
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      Ah, so if it sucks, “lay the blame on Lucas”. If it’s decent, “thank god Lucas wasn’t involved!”.

      • April 9, 2016 at 4:23 am
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        Lucas had an entire outline of ideas for a new trilogy, which Disney promptly trash canned. So, no, the only people we have to blame for shitty Star Wars movies at this point is Disney.

        And it will happen. But I think people will be surprised with the Han Solo movie.

        • April 9, 2016 at 8:00 am
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          You missed the point. Imagine my utter shock and surprise.

          • April 9, 2016 at 7:49 pm
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            No, I didn’t. I responded in kind.

      • April 9, 2016 at 8:42 am
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        Sounds good to me.

        • April 9, 2016 at 10:07 pm
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          Yeah, but the OP, and you it seems, are trying to have it both ways – you can’t. If, as Robb up there is saying the idea is Lucas’, then as much as he gets the blame if it sucks, he gets the credit if it doesn’t.

          • April 10, 2016 at 5:29 am
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            It was a joke, not a dick. Don’t take it so hard 😉

    • April 9, 2016 at 8:02 am
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      we can also thank Lucas for creating Star Wars in the first place.. this site wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for him.. it’s easy to focus on everything he hasn’t done or what he’s done poorly, but let’s give the man credit where it’s deserved.. aka much more credit than whiny fanboys give him.

      • April 9, 2016 at 8:42 am
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        He created something great and then did everything in his power to fuck it up. i’d say we’re about even.

  • April 9, 2016 at 12:27 am
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    Really enjoy the weekly social buzz, consolidates a lot of things that fly under the radar.

    Moving on, TFA’s force back scene seems to me to be a bridging of the Jedi from the old to the new (Luke to Rey), told through the narrative of Anakin’s lightsaber. Each week Pablo Hidalgo confirms a little bit more that it was not the Jedi Temple massacre, but the massacre of a clan village, and now Rey was never there, instead Anakin’s lightsaber was there (which was where it came into the possession of Maz).

  • April 9, 2016 at 12:46 am
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    Interesting what Hidalgo said in his answers to fans. He mentioned other schools. What does this mean?!

    Does this mean that there are other Force users out there besides Jedi and Sith? I know Lor San Tekka was a member of the church of the Force, and that Maz knew of the force, but I don’t believe they were actual practitioners of the force themselves. And what does that make Snoke, Knights of Ren and the First Order of Snoke and his Knights of Ren don’t identify themselves as Sith? It’s obvious they are strong with the dark side, but if they’re not Sith, then what’s their proper name?

    It’ll be interesting if they introduce another class of force users to the Star Wars universe.

    I’m also interested to see what they do with KOTOR or SWTOR which is the era that interests me most because of the amount of Jedi and Sith that were alive. We have a few good years with a Star Wars film every year and for that, we’re spoiled, but it’s all good because it’s an exciting time.

    What makes the sequel trilogy so exciting is that although it is Star Wars, it feel completely new and different in a way. The EU isn’t canon anymore so to continue to explore this time period, which is unknown to us at this time, is exciting as we are introduced to new characters, old characters and new surprise characters. Maybe an Ezra type of character. I’m also interested to see what becomes canon from the EU as they have stated that they will be borrowing elements and incorporating it into these live-action films. Everyone seems to love Admiral Thrawn from the EU, and although we’ve never seen a Grand Admiral on screen (I think. Correct me if I’m wrong), Ben Medelsohn’s character in Rogue One is interesting. Maybe if he is a Grand Admiral, that sort of Imperial Class will become canon now since it will appear in Rogue One which means that if it appears in Rogue One, we might be able to see that class in future episodes and who knows, Admiral Thrawn may finally appear in an animated show or a live-action film. What a time to be alive

    • April 9, 2016 at 1:22 am
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      I think Knights of Ren IS the other school. As in, the Sith are dark side users, but so are the Knights of Ren.

      That being said, nobody has said that they Knights of Ren WEREN’T Sith, or more specifically, that Snoke wasn’t a Sith at one time, and formed the Knights of Ren due to a differing philosophy.

    • April 9, 2016 at 1:46 am
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      On the question of other schools, I look at it like religion. For instance, Christians, Jews and Muslims all believe in the same God, but they have differing interpretations of the myth/legend/history relating to him/it (and not just from each other, but within their own religions). Just replace God with the Force. The Jedi and Sith just happen to have been the dominant “religions”, if you will. But the Knights of Ren, or whatever Snoke is, can be comparable to say, the Bahá’í Faith, which also believes in a sole God and uses many Abrahamic elements, but which up until now has been dwarfed by the more mainstream mass belief in Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

      Imagine if, say, Christianity or Islam were gone tomorrow. Likely there would be other faiths that would look to fill the void. With the fall of the Sith it could be that whatever Snoke or the Knights of Ren are, they are the “religion” that’s trying to fill the void, but they still believe in and practice the same core dark side powers.

      Just as personal preference, I would have preferred to learn more about The Sith. But I understand what they’re trying to do here.

    • April 9, 2016 at 1:50 am
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      In 6th season of The Clone Wars, in a story arc concerning Jar-Jar’s lost girlfriend, we learn of Dagoyan Masters, a group of Force-sensitive aliens that despise Jedi because they believe that they kidnap children. Because of that they tend to look at the Force from a different perspective. Other examples of unorthodox Force users also Include Dathomirian Nghtsisters (also in TCW) and Chava (Rebels,) a female Last, who called the Force “Ashla.”

      • April 9, 2016 at 1:52 am
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        Plus the whole Mortis interpretation. It’s pretty much right that the Rens are nothing new.

      • April 9, 2016 at 2:58 am
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        Ah I see, I saw the Clone Wars, but only once, so I forgot that, but I remember now. These other force users don’t appear to use the force for combat purposes like the Jedi and Sith, except maybe the Dathomirian Nightsisters (though they dealt a lot with magic and sorcery). As far as rebels is concerned, I haven’t heard of the Chava just yet. I’ve only watched season 1. I don’t have Disney XD so I wasn’t able to watch season 2.

  • April 9, 2016 at 12:47 am
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    New shot of Rogue One:

    • April 9, 2016 at 2:22 am
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      I have so many mental versions of how that sequence starts – panning to a calm ocean, a slight wake and disturbance becomes visible as we track closer to the beach. Suddenly, a metal hump breaks the surface, like an enormous shark, continue tracking as armored behemoths emerge from the water, advancing on the beachhead.
      .
      I want to squeal like a little girl.

      • April 9, 2016 at 4:35 am
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        It would only sound a little less annoying than I imagine what your voice does when I read your posts.

        • April 9, 2016 at 7:57 am
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          Oh Christ almighty, can you just shut your suck hole for one minute? I have never, NEVER encountered someone so in love with the sound of their own voice.

          • April 9, 2016 at 8:40 am
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            You two need to shut up and get a room already.

          • April 9, 2016 at 7:50 pm
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            Really? You should bring in a recorder to the bathroom every morning when you look in the mirror.

            Or just read your post history here.

          • April 9, 2016 at 9:15 pm
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            I ask you, honest to god, what the fuck were you responding to there? I said I’m loving what this film looks to be shaping up to be, and you just, apropos of ABSOLUTELY nothing at all, have to prove what a complete asshole you are. Are you, in all seriousness now, mentally deficient in some way?

          • April 12, 2016 at 6:59 am
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            No, but I’m reveling in the rage you shared between all that wonderful syntax and diction in your post.

            And I think it’s *ADORABLE* you accuse me of having a fixation in following Snark around and replying to his garbage when you have decided to do the very same thing with me!

            Hypocrite is such an awesome word when you are able to use it with justification.

            In the words of the greatest President in the history of the United States; mission accomplished.

            P.S. And now, yes, I will magnanimously allow you to have what you obviously perceive as your forum back. A charitable donation for your ego, I wouldn’t want to damage it anymore than I apparently have. Such thin skin Cranky. But, in retrospect, I never expected more.

            You have been entirely too predictable. Much love.

  • April 9, 2016 at 12:51 am
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    That New shot of Rogue One (Niamor). Those AT-ATs look to have just surfaced out the water (beach assault).

  • April 9, 2016 at 12:52 am
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    I LOVE how the story group is working on everything to keep it good and consistent. If my worldbuilding name ever gets successful the first thing I’m founding is the Story Group :))

  • April 9, 2016 at 1:44 am
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    I hope they don’t take that whole “Different schools of Force teachings” idea too far. It takes away from the duality of the Force. For me at least.

    • April 9, 2016 at 1:49 am
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      No it doesn’t. As I’ve said below, think of it like religion. Christians, Jews and Muslims all believe in the same Abrahamic God. It’s their interpretation, philosophy and legend that differs. The Force is natural, so whatever “religion” you are if you’re a Dark Side follower then you’re still on the opposite of the light side, which is clearly why Snoke doesn’t want The Jedi to return.

      • April 9, 2016 at 2:00 am
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        I see it in the way that the very believe in the force is a religion.
        Taking your example, the believe in the Abrahamic god resulted in three different religions, Judaïsm, Christianity and Islam
        The believe in the force resulted in the Jedi religion, and then the Sith religion.
        If you “muddle” that by making Sith just another flavor of dark side teachings, that makes it less special for me.

        If that is the case, Luke is just the last remaining follower of an old Light Side belief, the Jedi. And killing him would not keep another Light Side equivalent from popping up eventually.

        Let me put it into a diagram of how I see it
        Abrahamic God > Judaïsm, Christianity and Islam

        • April 9, 2016 at 2:10 am
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          Well, The Force is naturally occuring. It hate to mention Midi-Chlorians, but they’re canon after all.

          Whatever one thinks of religion, the fact is that the religious all believe that God is divine and is therefore, essentially, a natural occurrence. So really no difference from The Force in that sense.

          It doesn’t make sense that any one belief system is immediately correct. Just because The Jedi and The Sith held the monopoly, it doesn’t mean they are the only ones who can use The Force and ascribe a set of beliefs to that use. After all, one assumes that The Force was around long before The Jedi or Sith, and it’s even meant to be in our own world. After all, A Long Time go in a Galaxy Far ,Far Away, etc. Who is to say that The Jedi are the only ones to see the light side, and who is to say that there aren’t indeed others out there who could one day form a light side movement who aren’t The Jedi but become powerful?

          The duality is the light and dark, not The Jedi and Sith.

          Having said all that, I must admit that out of personal preference I would prefer just Jedi & Sith. I don’t think they’ve been explored enough.

          • April 9, 2016 at 2:44 am
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            I think that in the end we both agree, at least on personal preferance. As the debate on real life religion and such is very interesting. But in the end it does not have to matter, it is a fictional universe and it could and should work differently from our world if that served the narrative.

            Introducing another way of Dark Side interpertation just seems… kinda lame to me. “While the Sith had their empire going, there was this secret cult UNDER the secret cult that are now really the bad guys!” Just… blah. I would much rather have a bunch of wanna-be’s who are like “Well, we are not Sith yes, but just you wait! We will make them have a comeback!”

        • April 9, 2016 at 2:19 am
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          The problem you’ve already got though is that the Jedi were CLEARLY wrong – their dogmatic, and downright unhealthy attitude to normal relationships DIRECTLY created a cluster-fuck on a galactic scale. They CAN’T be one side of the Force, only one interpretation of it.

          • April 9, 2016 at 2:47 am
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            I don’t believe they were THAT bad in the prequels. I think a lot of that is bad writing, or more that good ideas were expressed badly. I don’t believe the Jedi were proven wrong in their belief that overly passionate love is unhealthy, it was only when Anakin betrayed those beliefs that everything went to hell after all.

          • April 9, 2016 at 3:16 am
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            Attachment is forbidden. Don’t mourn for those people who you’ve lost. Sex is bad for you. Push all those emotions deep down inside until they turn into a little ball of hatred and scarcely controlled rage. Hell, all they’re missing is pouring beer on that little ball of hate and they’d be Germans. Nope, the Jedi had it WRONG, and they screwed the pooch so badly they let a megalomaniac Sith lord corrupt their chosen one and murder them all.

          • April 9, 2016 at 3:22 am
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            It reminds me of the Vulcans from Star Trek. But the whole point of Spock was the conflict in him created by his emotions and half human side, and as the character developed over the years his emotions not only came through but became a benefit. The balance between the emotion of humanity and the logic of vulcans is what made Spock who he was.

            Let’s not forget that The Jedi weren’t just concerned with the light, they were also concerned with having the force in balance. As mortal beings, it stands to reason that they were capable of error in their approach to The Force, and that the arrogance and confidence that they developed towards the end of their power was a mistake. Many religions have gone through and continue to go through reform in the real world. Why not The Jedi? After all, even within the old EU The Sith went through more than one reform, from the purebloods to the rule of of two. So I agree, there’s no reason The Jedi can’t evolve and reform.

          • April 9, 2016 at 3:38 am
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            The Jedi did not tell you to push down your feelings. It told you to LET GO OF THEM. There is a big difference there. Anakin did not do that, Anakin pretended to be a stoic Jedi, but he was not. And once that arrogance came out, Stuff hit the fan.

            But I agree with you Rover, the Jedi should evolve and reform.
            But if the New Jedi Order is all “Bring your wife and kids!” it would set itself up for failure. There has to be a balance to be found. But I don’t think the Jedi policy of “no marrying” was their big downfall. It was their closeness to the Senate and their inability to act when everyone knew things were shady with dear ol Sheev

          • April 9, 2016 at 3:40 am
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            Telling people you can’t have relationships or children is a lot more than “letting go of your feelings”. That is active suppression and denial of natural instinct.

        • April 9, 2016 at 2:43 am
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          Killing Luke Skywalker, the last remaining Jedi, would totally stop them from ever coming back in my opinion.

          He’s the last one that can teach a new generation and if they kill him before he can begin teaching said ‘new generation’, than there would be no one to pass down anything. This is what Snoke wants. By killing Luke Skywalker, the last remaining Jedi, then there can be no hope of a new Jedi Order. This is Supremene Leader Snoke’s plan, and since he trained Kylo Ren, who in turned recruited members to the Knights of Ren, along with the First Order, their whole mission is to stop the Jedi Order from ever rebuilding. They failed in finding Luke, so they’re a step behind, but their mission still is to eradicate the Jedi. Even if Luke trains Rey and others and is successful in his mission to rebuild the order, the First Order will still try to hunt them down. When the order is rebuilt, the Knights of Ren will be there to oppose his new students, and if this doesn’t happen when he has a few padawans already, then they will at least try to stop him from succeeding even though in the end, a new Jedi Order will emerge, I believe, before this new trilogy is over.

          And I foresee the Knights of Ren and the new Jedi fighting and that, above all, excites the hell out of me. Imagine the spectacle when that moment comes. I loved the amount of Jedi during the last days of the old republic, and their eradication under order 66, was sad, but Luke will bring them back. Seeing that amount of Jedi again, will be awesome.

          If Disney/Lucasfilm decides to do an episode X, XI and XII, as I think they have at least planned it, then when those trilogy start, a new Jedi Order will be there to be protectors and guardians of the new republic, but with a new set of rules which allow them to fall in love, since attachment was a huge no no, and it was one of the things that ruined/destroyed the order in the first place when Anakin got attached to Padme in the first place. If they do decide to do X, XI and XII, then there has to be a new set of villains as I don’t believe Snoke will be around, but if he is powerful, then they might want to keep him around until XII.

          • April 9, 2016 at 2:56 am
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            That is exactly my point. If the Knights of Ren are “Just another school of dark side religion”, what would prevent the Light Side from doing the same thing that the Dark Side hypothetically did. Make a new Light Side religion not named the Jedi to replace them.
            Not to say the the Light Side and Dark Side are active forces (pun intended) in creating these religions, but I hope you catch my drift.

            There is nothing more that I want than the Jedi returning to glory. But it just makes it less special for me if the ‘army’ they oppose is someone else then the Sith. I rather see the Knights becoming Sith 2.0 (basically, abolish the Rule of 2), then “Dark Side Knight Order that was formed after the Sith fell”.
            Plus that line of thinking follows Kylo’s motivation, he wants to be like Darth Vader. And in my eyes that is synonymous with becoming a Sith (eventually).

            “But the Sith are extinct” Yea, and right wing nutjobs call themselves Crusaders, that is the entire point.

          • April 9, 2016 at 4:35 am
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            Totally get your point after reading your statement a few times and understand where you’re coming from.

            I can see new members of force practitioners try to rebuild a new order other than the Jedi, but I don’t believe that will happen now since Rey found Luke. Though a friend pointed out to me recently, that we don’t know if Luke will even train her, after his experiences trying to rebuild it failed miserably though that’s not his fault. Maybe he feels responsible that he didn’t do enough to stop Snoke from seducing Ben to the dark side, but a few things play into Ben Solo’s decent to the dark side. Mainly his parents having different agendas and not being with him possibly during a time when his powers were manifesting and was most susceptible to temptation. And at a time when he probably needed them most. Leia sends Ben to train with Luke, but along the way, Snoke saw him from afar and pounced on him and turned him to the dark side. Snoke probably himself was a fanatic of the dark side and the Sith’s mission to eradicate and destroy the Jedi forever. He fed those lies to Ben, and that’s when he first learned of Darth Vader and became obsessed with finishing Vader’s Jedi elimination mission and became obsessed with Vader himself. Along with all the possessions that belonged to him. Snoke, Knights of Ren and the First Order are described as collectors and this is shown in various times throughout episode VII (Vader’s charred Helmet, wanting Anakin’s original saber) and in Aftermath if you’ve read the book. I doubt Leia mentioned Vader to him after all the atrocities he committed.

            As far as Sith 2.0, or whatever they end up calling themselves, I can totally see that happening too. These characters will learn from the past and I believe that Snoke, if he’s even trying to establish the Sith Order or bring back the dark side, than he will change the rules too just as I believe Luke will change rules concerning the Jedi. This is exciting. Episode VII didn’t really reveal a lot of Snoke’s plan other than wanting to find Luke and destroy him, but his grand plan is trying to stop the Jedi Order from rebuilding. That will carry over to the next 2 episodes and once he fails to accomplish this, his Knights of Ren will be there to oppose the new Jedi.

            Aside from Rey being a new Jedi in Luke’s new Jedi Order, I believe we’ve also seen another student in Poe Dameron. He grew up next to a force tree. If you read Shattered Empire, Luke gives his mother a tree after she helps him gather one for himself. I might be wrong, but the first time I saw episode VII, he seemed to have some abilities when he blew up part of Starkiller base with his X-wing when he went through the crack. I might be wrong, but idk. I guess that’s a new question left at a later time.

            And Finn? That guy is going to be a formidable warrior once these movies are done. When Kylo Ren takes Rey in Takadona, he runs and lets out a passionate scream. And he held his own against that Stormtropper and Kylo Ren. To a certain extent. He’s fearless and fights with emotion, but is untrained to an extent. However, once he trains and becomes a better warrior, he will be a joy to watch. Watch that scene again when he lets out that scream and you’ll see what I mean. His character arc will be interesting in the next two films. It’ll also be interesting if he’s the son of anyone we know. What about Mace Windu, arguably one of the most powerful Jedi when they were still around? Maybe not his son, but a descendant. And what the hell ever happened to that one of a kind purple lightsaber?!!

          • April 10, 2016 at 12:55 am
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            I think that Snoke’s manipulation of Ben happened from a very young age, even before Leia sent him to Luke’s “Jedi boarding school” (she makes it sound like that) She said : “That’s when I lost him.” Which implies that Ben was already on the path to the Dark Side, but things progressively got worse.

            Luke searching for the Jedi temple seems to imply to me that he is not really abandoning the idea of a New Jedi Order. More that he wants to get “back to the roots” so to speak. Plus, I don’t think Ghost Yoda and Ghost Obi-Wan would ever let him get away with abandoning his destiny, besides Luke should know better by now.
            If he refuses to train Rey… that would make him seem weak. Luke faced his biggest obstacle when he fought Vader and the Emperor. The failing of Ben should send him back to the drawing board, instead of completely giving up.

            I think Rey should be the only force user of the new Trio. Give everyone their piece of the pie. But I agree that Poe needs to be more fleshed out in the next movie.
            Introduce new force trainees by the end of Ep 8 and end Ep. 9 with a fully rebuild Jedi Order going back to what they do best, keeping peace and harmony throughout the galaxy.

            I hope that Finn’s parentage is someone completely new. I feel connecting him to Mace or Lando would imply that every black guy in the galaxy is related to each other.
            I much rather have Rey have the Legacy aspect. The Saga needs a Skywalker on the Light Side to continue.

            Rey is Kylo’s baby sister. When Ben just turned into Kylo and his band of Knights (his group of friends at the Jedi Academy who all fell to the Dark Side), they killed all the other students. But Ben couldn’t bring himself to killing his Baby Sister. So he used his Force powers to Mind wipe/sever her ties to the Force, before kidnapping her and taking her to Jakku, taking her off the chessboard (or so he thought)
            Luke, Han and Leia all think that she was killed.
            But now that she stands before him, Luke of course recognizes her.
            Kylo has turned darker and darker since then, so he would now be more willing to turn his baby sister over to Snoke.

    • April 9, 2016 at 5:50 pm
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      It depends on what kind of religion the Force is.
      If it’s following the “Ying-Yang” dichotomy, then the Jedi would begrudgingly insist upon the presence of the Sith, but that’s not what’s happening, what’s happening is that both want each other eradicated, “balance” out the window.

      So we know that the Force is the classic “Them or Us, not both” theology. My take is this, the Jedi are the primary religion from which the others are based [Like, say, Judaiism] and all other versions are, in the eyes of the Jedi, lesser and inferior perversions of their teachings. The issue being that the Sith think that they were invented first and the Jedi are lame anyway. So neither side accepts the other as legitimate and both think that they are first and foremost. I suspect the Force is very similar to the Judaism-based religions in the virtue that they both think they got the same (for lack of better word) God, but that each other got it figured out wrong. Now with any religion, there are fringe groups, as there are periodically non-Jedi-non-Sith cults of the force, though these are treated as more like curiosities than serious contenders, much like real fringe-religions.

      In general, I think that the Jedi are the “correct” religion, and thus, there shouldn’t be many light-side contenders, and there should be more Dark-side religions than there are Light, other wise, the Jedi would look pretty full of shit. Like, more than usual.

  • April 9, 2016 at 2:23 am
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    This might be the longest update ever on this site!

    • April 9, 2016 at 2:26 am
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      I also call BS on people wanting a Solo film. 9/10 of the members of every SW related site I visit is pretty against the idea. That is some heavy Washington DC cone of silence delusion right there.

      • April 9, 2016 at 3:12 am
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        I suspect the kind of research they’re doing amounts to polling the general audience with a “would you like to see a Han Solo movie” style question. Half of them probably think it’d star Ford, and another chunk just want to see an action movie and don’t really care if it’s recast or not. I really don’t think it’s representative of the fans at all. Everywhere I go I see people actively disliking the idea of the project or otherwise simply not being enthused.

        I’m beginning to think that studio just put out any old narrative these days. It’s like the Ghostbusters debacle you’ve got the filmmakers and studio offering up the narrative that that project has a backlash because there are lots of sexist men on the internet. The press lap this up because it means they can print stories about these awful sexists to promote how worthy they are as journos. But when you actually look at any of the talkbacks online for the movie, from sites like this, to movie sites, YouTube videos, Facebook and so on at least half the critical comments go out of their way to emphasise that they have no problem with an all female cast, and their objections lie on the look of the film, the manner in which it’s made, that it’s a reboot and that they aren’t convinced by Feig or the particular choice of actresses/comediennes. In fact these people usually account for at least half of people criticising the movie, and more often a majority on any talkback, with the sexists a vocal minority. I think this is an attempt by the studio to create a situation where the professional critics will be nervous to give a bad review once the movie comes out through fear of being labelled sexist. But I think it’s a stupid strategy because ignoring the non-sexist fan critics when they are of the size that they are is just ignoring the inevitable box office backlash that will come when the project tanks upon release.

        I think Disney is playing a dangerous game because they presume that SW is so big it can’t possibly fail and will always be top quality. But that’s what Paramount thought about Star Trek. But poor creative choices cost Star Trek, and the assumption that SW is impenetrable is foolhardy, because when you’re already looking to release a SW movie a year, a la Marvel, then you risk over-saturation….which is what killed the Berman era of Star Trek and has left the Trek franchise in years of recovery and a series of reboots that have drawn a very mixed reaction from Trek fans….and frankly the amount of Trek fans out there compared the heyday of the 1990s is greatly reduced. Hell, it’s the 50th Anniversary and thanks to the direction of Star Trek over the past 15 years the 50th celebrations look a shadow of the 15th and 30th anniversary celebrations of the 1990s. I don’t think Star Wars, despite it’s size, is immune from decline and I think Lucasfilm would be wise to listen to the fanbase. After all, they have done so with Force Awakens and Rogue One in terms of the familiar design aesthetic, so it seems inconsistent to ignore the reluctance of many to see a version of Han that isn’t Harrison Ford.

        Disney probably are of the mindset right now that “we can ride on the success of Force awakens and as long as it’s better than the prequels and draws on the original trilogy we’re safe”. But I think that can only take them so far. I can that ignoring the fan response to the Han Solo project is shortsighted

        • April 9, 2016 at 4:33 am
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          I think you’re wrong.

          • April 9, 2016 at 4:41 am
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            Oh no! Whatever shall I do!

          • April 9, 2016 at 4:43 am
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            Write another long, rambling diatribe and I’ll continue to think it’s wrong?

          • April 10, 2016 at 9:37 am
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            I find myself continuously agreeing with you American_ignorant but I’m actually on Crankypants side for this against Marsha. Marsha just comes across as an immature brat half the time, and it really bugs me more than anything negative Crankypants might say.

            I find it rare when I support Cranky but he’s not entirely filled with completely dumb and irrational ideas. He just has a very strong opinion and stance on how to view things that you or I may like which he dislikes. It only becomes an issue when his posts are not backed up by evidence or by rational thought.

            I find myself being biased all of the time with all things Star Wars related, but that doesn’t blind me to the fact that other people can have their opinions.

          • April 11, 2016 at 1:56 am
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            REPORTED!

            (JK)

          • April 11, 2016 at 10:23 am
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            No! You’re reported!

          • April 11, 2016 at 3:16 pm
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            REPORT EVERYTHING!

        • April 9, 2016 at 5:26 am
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          Yeah, sure, keep reading those comment sections on click-bait sites that pander to low-hanging fruit, vocal and loud minorities of so-called fans that are hopped up on nerd-rage.

          You don’t represent me and you sure as hell don’t represent my views.

          • April 9, 2016 at 5:42 am
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            “I” don’t represent you in what?

          • April 9, 2016 at 8:04 pm
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            Your opinion.

          • April 9, 2016 at 9:05 pm
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            I don’t believe I claimed to? The latter half of your username is looking rather apt considering your recent attempts to troll me.

          • April 10, 2016 at 5:26 am
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            The burn tho.

          • April 9, 2016 at 7:52 am
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            Do you even read the comments you respond to, or does the world just need more “Marsha, Marsha, MARSHA!” in your opinion. Where did he claim to speak for anyone but himself? Hint – the clue is in the first two goddamn words he wrote there.

          • April 9, 2016 at 8:39 am
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            Marsha does this:

            “An opinion that differs slightly from my own? REPORTED!”

          • April 9, 2016 at 8:03 pm
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            What are you doing Cranky? Why are you attacking other peoples posts and their opinions? Why has Marsha attracted your ire? Isn’t she allowed to post whatever she wants to? I mean, that’s what you’ve been telling me the last three days now and then weeks beyond that.

            Why is she special? Why are you special in that YOU get to transgress against the rules you’ve told me are inappropriate here on these forums? Because, well, you said they were, and apparently your word is internet law.

            Hypocrite much?

            I’ll tell you what man. You win. I shall ride off into the sunset, and allow you to have your Alpha Male status back, or at least not let it be threatened since I never had any intention of touching it. I don’t know where it’s been but my guess, based on its owner, is it’s pretty filthy and worn.

            It’s been fun man.

          • April 9, 2016 at 8:30 pm
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            Oh, wow, you’ll “allow me” that? How magnanimous of you! Tell you what – you make some vague attempt to either not respond to me, or do so civilly and I’ll do the same, deal? And TUD nailed it – this is a poster who has shown up in the last few days, demanding changes to the site, and flagging the shit out of anyone she disagrees with. Fuck that noise.

          • April 10, 2016 at 5:26 am
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            You mentioned me, my life now has purpose!

          • April 10, 2016 at 12:58 am
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            Hear, hear! Given the preponderance of cool s__t in Han Solo’s background (freeing Chewie, Imperial military past, smuggler for Jabba de la Hutt, Lando / smuggler / sabaac / the Falcon, Kessel Run), the question becomes: Who WOULDN’T want to see a Han Solo flashback flick?

        • April 9, 2016 at 12:28 pm
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          Wow! That is a long read but well worth it and I agree completely with all of it. The Ghstbusters analogy is the perfect one for this film where they are just going to throw money at it like Dawn Of Justice hoping they can change the inevitable outcome.

        • April 9, 2016 at 5:31 pm
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          Agreed, but it’s gonna take A LONG time for the slump thus described to take effect, simply for the reason that SW will continue to make money no matter how many fans hate it. PT made money. Heck, Transformers makes money to this day. So it is going to take a long time for the SW charm to wear off, but, say, in a decade or so, I could see the situation playing out the way you predict.

          • April 9, 2016 at 6:21 pm
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            Oh indeed. I’m not saying it’s going to happen any time soon. I mean, we got 18 solid years of Berman era Trek before people got tired of it. But I do think that occasionally Disney will need a “less is more” approach to keep it going for longer.

      • April 9, 2016 at 4:20 am
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        Contrary to what your self-esteem tells you,

        You are not 8/10 or even 7/10 Star Wars fans on Star Wars related sites.

        But I know you’ve tried to speak for the Star Wars Fan Community as a whole for months now, because you think you’re that important.

        I’m laughing so hard right now, man. The only delusion going on is the one where you feel your opinion is as significant as you just made it out to be.

        • April 9, 2016 at 7:48 am
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          “But I know you’ve tried to speak for the Star Wars Fan Community as a whole for months now, because you think you’re that important.

          I’m laughing so hard right now, man. The only delusion going on is the one where you feel your opinion is as significant as you just made it out to be.”
          .
          Oh dear Jesus, I think my eyes rolled right up into my head, then all the way around until they’d done a 360 and were back where they started again. Come on, man, you of all people? Really?

          • April 9, 2016 at 7:52 pm
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            Find the post where I try to pass my personal opinion off as representing the whole of Star Wars fandom, as Snark has here. Go ahead. My account isn’t privacy locked. Feel free to browse until you’re content that you made a mistake in insisting I behave as you and he do.

          • April 9, 2016 at 8:27 pm
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            No, you just try to control every conversation and make this place your own personal echo chamber. Everyone gets to hold whatever opinion you allow them – it’s an open exchange of ideas!

          • April 10, 2016 at 5:24 am
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            For the record, he never tries to stop anyone from sharing their opinion. He just shares his as well.

          • April 10, 2016 at 5:00 pm
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            For the record, actually, he does. Possibly it’s just because for some reason he just, ‘oooooooooo, hates Snark so much!!!’ and has some weird pathological need to respond to him , but he continually bitches and complains about people sharing opinions he doesn’t agree with – specifically his deal seems to be that opposing opionions are allowed to be shared ONCE, and ONCE ONLY, or else suffer the wrath of the self-appointed forum policeman.

          • April 11, 2016 at 12:02 am
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            I sense some pent-up aggression here. How does that make you feel? *scribbles on notepad*

        • April 9, 2016 at 8:38 am
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          People who +1 their own comments are weird (looks down in shame).

      • April 9, 2016 at 8:02 am
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        How would you know that? Have you scientifically polled every member of every SW forum? I doubt that. Hence, you can not make such a statement, not at all.

        • April 9, 2016 at 12:33 pm
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          Take a poll then and see what happens. It’s probably lower than people who would be happy to have President Trump.

  • April 9, 2016 at 4:19 am
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    0:28 the bad part about that is they are 3 of the last 7 pilot’s of the Resistance lfeet

  • April 9, 2016 at 8:16 am
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    You know it’s Star Wars when an empty cardboard box design is a source of interest.

    • April 9, 2016 at 1:32 pm
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      Nobody seems to understand the obsession.

      • April 9, 2016 at 8:18 pm
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        I find it interesting that a month or so ago, the word was that all the RO packaging featured Vader in the corner, so, boom! He’s in the movie for sure! That’s clearly not Vader, and more I think about what this film looks like it actually is, I don’t see much role for him here. No Vader in RO?

        • April 9, 2016 at 10:20 pm
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          He’s been rumored to show up. I hope those rumors turn out to be true. Vader was alive and in his prime during RO, so it would make sense for him to appear at least in a small role. The rumors stated that he would be killing rebels without mercy since between 3 and 4, he was at the peak of his power. He was still young. When episode 4 comes along, he’s much older. Still powerful, but not as athletic as he was in episode 3 before the suit.

          • April 10, 2016 at 12:15 am
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            But the same problem raises its head as in Rebels – Vader is HUGE. He should be a nearly insurmountable obstacle for the heroes in something OTHER than a part of the Skywalker story, or he’s gets neutered. Yes, of course he’s around, but I think he might be too big for this particular story.

          • April 10, 2016 at 2:16 am
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            Exactly. After episode 3, things are dire and the emperor, Vader and Empire in general are at the height of their power. There is disorder, injustice and the citizens around the Galaxy are scared and things are pretty bleak even though we know there are still people who oppose the empire and want things to change (the rebellion, Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, etc). The empire is essentially bullying/terrorizing the galaxy at the height of its power also because there are no Jedi around, the guardians of peace and justice (and essentially the only ones that would be able to stop them if there were still a Jedi Order) and the ones we know of (Obi Wan, Yoda) don’t stand a chance or else they’d be wiped out and the order would be wiped out completely. But since Obi Wan and Yoda are hiding, and they know of Luke and Leia, there is still hope to restore peace and the Jedi Order to the Galaxy which happens eventually in future episodes.

            Vader is pretty insurmountable like you said, since he’s really only fighting rebels with blasters which don’t stand a chance against a Sith. We as an audience should see how dire it should be while also showing us him at his full power destroying the rebels and seeing how messed up the rebellion is against such circumstances. That’s why Rogue One feels different. It feels dark in tone because since there’s no Jedi around, it’s pretty much hopeless.

  • April 9, 2016 at 5:41 pm
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    Rey parents:

    • April 9, 2016 at 9:05 pm
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      Of course. Everybody’s related to one another – even in a galaxy full of 100 quadrillion people.

      • April 9, 2016 at 9:26 pm
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        Yes, I really, really really want Rey to not be a Skywalker. I’m trying to picture a scenario where Luke not only retreated to his little island, but LEFT HIS KID IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT where he doesn’t come across as a giant asshole deadbeat dad.

        • April 9, 2016 at 9:44 pm
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          Kylo killed all the jedi but could not bring himself to murder his young cousin because there was too much good in him, so he stole her away with his father’s ship the Millenium Falcon and left her on Jakku and used his force mind powers to leave a thought in her head that told her to stay on Jakku and to never leave. Still too much good in him, he traded the Falcon to the local scumbag pawn shop guy in exchange for keeping an eye on the young girl until she was old enough to go out on her own.

          Is that scenario so crazy? Luke thought his daughter was dead, he didn’t abandon her.

          • April 9, 2016 at 9:50 pm
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            And Luke couldn’t sense that Rey, his daughter was still alive. Nope, it’s not crazy, but I’m still not feeling it.

          • April 10, 2016 at 5:30 am
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            Maybe the Force hadn’t awakened in her yet.

          • April 10, 2016 at 4:57 pm
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            But LUKE couldn’t tell his own daughter either hadn’t died or was still alive? Yeah, I’m still not feeling it – much happier if Luke is the unrelated mentor, recognizing someone he can come back from his self-imposed exile for to help re-establish the Jedi.

          • April 11, 2016 at 12:03 am
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            Me too.

          • April 11, 2016 at 6:56 pm
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            Really? I thought you were -toot toot!- all aboard the Rey is a Skywalker train.

          • April 12, 2016 at 5:26 am
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            I think she MIGHT be, but I’d rather she just be unrelated to anyone we know.

          • April 9, 2016 at 10:46 pm
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            Your theory makes sense. However, I’m not sure I’m sold yet on that idea.

            I need to know a little more and see episode 8 before I come to a final assumption as to who she is. I thought she might have been Luke’s daughter when I first saw the film, since Han and Chewie look at her strangely, but I’m not sure. She just might have been a student of Luke until Kylo wiped out the other students. And who knows, maybe she was Kylo’s younger sister but I do believe they may be related in some way. And if both are indeed related, it’s why he didn’t kill her and saved her from the other Knights of Ren when they were killing Luke’s other padawans. This was a time when he was still struggling with the temptation of the light side so he wasn’t able to kill her. If she is indeed a student of Luke who is related to Ben, it also means that she would also be related to Luke and Leia (and possibly Han) then she will eventually be the downfall of Kylo Ren’s mission of destroying the last Jedi and any hope of a new order be rebuilt. It’s maybe why Snoke needs to complete Kylo’s training as he was still struggling in this movie with the light side. But since he killed his father, he’s all dark side now.

            And I just thought about this: what if Snoke is too weak to face Luke himself? Instead, he preyed on Ben Solo when he was young, seduced him, and trained him to eventually kill Luke? But since Rey defeated Kylo in a lightsaber duel, Kylo Ren’s training isn’t complete. That, to me, is Kylo Ren’s ultimate goal. He was groomed to be the one to kill Luke himself, not Snoke. I mean, Snoke doesn’t look like he’s ready to fight anyone. He might be powerful with the dark side, but Luke would kill him one on one. It’s maybe why the Knights of Ren were formed too. To assist Kylo Ren in his ultimate mission, though if Rey receives Jedi training (as we all assume she will), then the Knights of Ren will then change mission and will try to kill any new Jedi padawans. But since Rey won that duel with Kylo, found Luke Skywalker, gave him his original light saber and will be training to become a Jedi (thanks to Kylo’s inability to kill her when he wiped out the other Jedi padawans), she will be Snoke and Kylo Ren’s downfall to bringing back to Jedi. Because if the First Order had found Luke, they would have killed him, which would have prevented any Jedi from ever coming back since he was the last Jedi to ever receive training. After Yoda died, Yoda specifically told Luke that when he died, Luke would be the last Jedi and to pass on what he had learned. Since he was the only one that possessed this knowledge, killing him would assure the First Order that no Jedi would ever be trained this destroying any hope of a new Jedi Order being rebuilt.

          • April 10, 2016 at 12:14 am
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            I’m also not in love with the idea of ‘Rey has amnesia’ – far to Y&R for my tastes. Let her be just a talented young woman, thrust into massive galactic events and discovering her own strengths.

  • April 9, 2016 at 5:47 pm
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    I think what Snark is saying below, is that people are not happy with someone playing Han Solo that isn’t Harrison. If we did a poll right now, I guarantee people would vote an Obi Wan movie over a Han Solo movie. Snark is not coming out of nowhere with his comment. And studio logistics doesn’t convince me anything.

    • April 9, 2016 at 9:50 pm
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      I think it’s pretty safe to say most people who stop and think about what Disney is actually proposing to do with that film realize how freakishly risky the idea of replacing Harrison Ford in one of his most iconic roles is. Loving Lord and Miller attached, but dear lord does it seem like the risk-reward ratio on this thing is dangerously high.

      • April 10, 2016 at 9:24 am
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        It does, which is weird considering that Disney/Lucasfilm took a very safe approach to TFA.

        Doing a Han Solo standalone is the complete opposite approach to that lol Maybe that shows that they really are willing to take more risks with the standalones. I’d bet that they considered it and what do they have to lose really? All Star Wars is going to make money no matter how good or bad. They just have to fear the majot backlash of the hardcore fans but even then, I don’t think there are enough of us to make that big of a difference in the revenue.

        • April 10, 2016 at 4:55 pm
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          It’s the KIND of risk that makes me nervous – we aren’t talking about storytelling risks (who knows what the story is, although, yeah, it’s going to be the Kessel Run) which I’d be happy to see, we’re talking about massive risks in the fundamentals of “what is this movie?”.

    • April 10, 2016 at 9:22 am
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      Pablo states specifically why they are going through with the Han Solo movie and that’s because it was one of George’s original ideas that he left for them before he sold Lucasfilm to Disney. Now, whether or not that is a good or bad thing depends on the individual however, to me that means that Lucasfilm is doing it for one of two reasons.

      A) They want to use as many of George’s ideas because he was the creator of Star wars and therefore his ideas are the closest that they can get to Star Wars before having to make up their own stuff. They just want to honor Lucas as much as possible by continuing with his ideas. They have plenty of creative minds they can hire, or who work for them to come up with future ideas for movies. The pessimist would say that they are just lazy and don’t want to form their own stories, however, the Rogue One story was thought up by John Knoll who isn’t George Lucas. So we’ll see how that goes.

      B) Their research team actually found data that suggests doing a Han Solo movie would bring in a lot of money because it’s one of the most popular characters and Disney wants to make as much money as possible before people get sick of Star Wars (If that’s even a thing hahaa).

      If we were to just go off what the internet wants, we’d get completely different movies, or no movies at all. I think an Obi-Wan standalone would be a cool idea to develop as well.

  • April 9, 2016 at 7:29 pm
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    Question: What do you guys think about the subtle reference to the prequels in episode VII? I feel like they should expand on that a bit in future movies. I know a lot of people hate them, but if it’s one Star Wars universe, you can’t just brush them aside under the bed pretending it didn’t happen.

    Like Marvel, the new trilogy needs to not only have references to the original trilogy, but the prequel trilogy as well. With this move and barely mentioning anything prequel except when Kylo says that the First Order should have used clones (or somewhere along those lines), they’re shying away from that and listening to what the fans have to say. That’s fan service by Disney. I totally understand that, and for the majority of the time, it’s excellent that they listen to the fans, but sometimes it can be negative. It’s not going to damage the movie, but it’s Disney listening to the critics and fans and barely mentioning the prequels even though they exist. I bet if they had done well, we would have name drops to past events. You don’t have to include a whole lot of stuff from that era, but at least mention the Clone Wars, name drop great Jedi (Mace, KI Adi Mundi, Plo Koon, etc) or show flashbacks or past footage.

    As much as people hate the prequels, they are a part of Star Wars whether one likes it or not. You can’t forget them like they never happened. After all, they all came from the mind of George Lucas. All I’m saying is a reference to past events or name drops. And when the new Jedi Order is rebuilt, to show flashes of Mace Windu and the other past Jedi.

    • April 9, 2016 at 8:15 pm
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      Well, there was the Clone Army comment, but I must have missed any other references. I think it’s a great idea – the events aren’t the problem the execution of the movies was.

      • April 9, 2016 at 8:31 pm
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        Exactly my point. There was only one reference to the prequels and that was the clone army comment. Besides that, there’s nothing else that’s mentioned and I believe it’s a problem. Not a major one, but one which tries to make the prequels like they never happened which sucks because it’s all canon. Hopefully this gets corrected in the next few episodes. Or at least I hope

        • April 10, 2016 at 12:12 am
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          I don’t know if it’s a problem – the OT also didn’t sit around every movie reminiscing over old times, and the whole ‘And don’tsh shay the Deathsh Schtar.” in TFA felt like awkward fan service. That said, if something makes sense and feels organic to the script, yeah, I’m happy to see a reference back to the prequels and the OT.

        • April 10, 2016 at 5:21 am
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          At the time of TFA, the prequels were like 50 years in the past. It makes sense that there would be very few allusions to them.

    • April 9, 2016 at 9:08 pm
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      Anything that references those fiascos makes the new ones worse by association. The prequels have already ruined enough of Star Wars, no need to let them ruin any more.

      • April 9, 2016 at 10:16 pm
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        By your comments, you’re one of those that hated the prequels. You’re basically throwing it under the rug as if they never happened. But no matter how much you may hate them, unfortunately for you and a ton of other people, they did and it’s the story George Lucas envisioned. And the actions and events that happened in episode 1-3 (the clone wars, Jedi Order, etc), should impact future movies. I love Star Wars in general which means I loved the prequels. Sure, they weren’t the best movies, but they’re the story George Lucas had in mind. If this is all a coherent universe, then any mention of past events is welcomed. Like Mr_Crankypants said, the events weren’t the problem. The execution of the movie was.

        • April 9, 2016 at 10:34 pm
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          Well, it is all fantasy, isn’t it? If I want to pretend they never happened, that’s my choice. And you can believe that they did happen, because it’s all make-believe.

          • April 9, 2016 at 11:06 pm
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            That is your choice. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the prequels had their share of fans too so including references to events that happened in those films or even name drops, would be cool. That’s all I’m saying. And I know at the end of the day, they’re movies, but they’re movies that I have invested in the story and like myself, you’re a fan of Star Wars which is why you’re on this website commenting. This is a great time for all Star Wars fans since a new trilogy is being told, after a time when a lot of people believed that episode 6 would be the last Star Wars ever. Not only that, but we also have films that will tie into the main episodes, as well as books, comic books and animated shows to look forward to. And who knows what other surprises are in store. That’s why I’m looking forward to Star Wars Celebration

      • April 10, 2016 at 5:18 am
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        Agreed.

    • April 10, 2016 at 3:13 pm
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      It would have to make a sense within the story. The Clone Army reference was in there because it made sense in the story. Maybe they are at a Jedi Temple and look up the records and see Yoda or Mace but Luke and everyone alive in the current time period weren’t around during the prequels. There’s no reason to talk about them. It’s like today, you don’t hear too many people taking about World War 2. People know it happened and can name the big bad guy but nobody is talking about it anymore. It wouldn’t make sense in the story. They didn’t make any real references to the OT aside from the Death Star too.

  • April 9, 2016 at 9:28 pm
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    “The prophecy predicted balance, which means an equal amount of Jedi and Sith.”

    George really overestimated part of his audience, didn’t he? Considering elementary logic and paying attention to dialogue seem to be beyond the grasp of certain audience members.

    • April 9, 2016 at 10:01 pm
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      Yep, it’s all right there, in the very first film of the PT – the Jedi had completely lost their way by the time of TPM; dogmatic, rigid, and arrogant. Yoda, while coming across as a bit of a dick, is the only one who gets that the Jedi are not infaliable, and that balance might not be the absolute best thing in the universe for them. This stuff is LITERALLY said in so many words throughout the trilogy.

    • April 9, 2016 at 10:30 pm
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      And giving us a retarded rabbit amphibian thing that steps in poop and gets farted on was way over our heads, too. That character really to be dumbed down.

    • April 10, 2016 at 12:39 am
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      People who have that statement, need to read up on the Taoist interpretation of the concept of Balance, on which the Force is based.
      The eastern concept of Balance is entirely different from our western view.

      Anakin brought balance to the Force by killing off the Emperor and ending Darth Bane’s Sith Order of 2.
      Not when he killed all the Jedi, leaving 2 Jedi masters, and 2 Sith (like the western interpretation would imply)

  • April 10, 2016 at 1:06 am
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    Crikey! That Phil Noto work looks like the cover of a 70s sci-fi paperback. Love it!

    On the other hand: Hooray for more toys that’ll never reach the shelves of any store, thanks to the fact they’ve (apparently) taken the opposite approach to figures that Kenner used in the 70s. I have to pay >$20-$40 online so my girls can have a toy w/ a sticker price <$10? That's some BS, man…

    • April 10, 2016 at 5:08 pm
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      Yeah, Hasblow has seriously lost the plot. Distribution has been a complete mess for literally years now, and their solution to the fiscal mess they’ve made of this line by not getting toys on shelves has been to cut back on articulation, paint ops, and accessories, while raising MSRP. Who knew that would lead to even WORSE sales? Completely unexpected!

      • April 10, 2016 at 10:28 pm
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        Hard to imagine – I remember well my 80s childhood: You could get pretty much ANY SW figure at will, b/c damn-near EVERYWHERE sold them – grocery stores, dept. stores, toy stores, drug stores. Sure, there were oddities, variants (vinyl vs. cloth cape Jawa, anyone?), but you actually had a CHANCE to collect any/all main characters w/ minimal effort. Really have no idea WTF Hasblow (thanks for that, BTW) is on about here. They are COMPLETELY blowing this. Ever seen the documentary ‘Plastic Galaxy’ about Kenner / Star Wars toys? Worth watching if you’ve not seen – here’s a wee snippet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Fkyh616ho

        • April 11, 2016 at 6:51 pm
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          Totally brought back a memory of my parents taking me to the local convenience store and buying my first R2-D2 (still love the photo from that first card) figure. I’ll check that out, thanks!

          • April 11, 2016 at 8:26 pm
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            Oh man, I went through a mess of OG Kenner R2s…that sticker ‘paneling’ around his body just DID NOT stand up to kid play! Luckily had the Jawa Droid Factory playset too for stand-in ‘Red Shirt’ bots!

            I actually have an OG Kenner in great shape on-card; the con flunkie I bought it from MANY moons ago swore it was worth extra-awesome bucks b/c R2 is facing (get ready for it) BACKWARDS in the packaging. Whoa… (insert mad scientist laughter). Man, we fans come up w/ some seriously hokey s__t!

      • April 11, 2016 at 5:13 am
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        Indeed, the 3.75inch black series figs were ok, but I believe now they are solely walmart exclusives- so if you’re not a US resident they’ll be very difficult to pick up.

        In the UK the only new 3.75inch figure I’ve seen since November is FN2187 with a ridiculously oversize helmet. I’m also not sure why they are packing this trashy add-ons with the figures which seem aimed at making kids buy more to build the awful 3 piece kits when they’ve pretty much priced the figures out of affordable range for most kids. (they also seem to cost more in £ than $, what’s with that?)

        On the other hand, I think toy sales will never be what they were in the 1980’s because kids now gravitate towards computer games rather than actual toys.

        • April 11, 2016 at 6:54 pm
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          I’ve just plain given up on figures at this point. I would get into the 6″ series if A) I could FIND any of the ones I actually want (TKs, Vader, Han) and B) They weren’t all now pushing $30 CAD. That’s INSANE for a mass-produced piece of plastic. I do wish I had a Disney store closer, because WHOEVER they’ve got designing and producing for them, their figures and vehilces have been very good, at totally reasonable prices.

          • April 12, 2016 at 7:16 am
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            Wait, you’re CANADIAN? This explains everything….

          • April 13, 2016 at 9:27 pm
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            I actually picked up a 6′ black series Vader and sandtrooper knock off in the Philippines last week I guess the equivalent of about $5 each. I usually avoid knock offs but they looked fine. They had ROTJ skywalker which I already have the black series figure of and I could barely notice any difference. Of course the legs will probably fall off after 10 minutes if a kid was playing with ’em.

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