Empire’s Full Cover Story on Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi is less than 100 days away and Empire Magazine takes its turn with its eight page spread covering the film. We have shared bits and pieces from the spread with you this week, and now that the issue is released, we can put it all together for you, including some new bits of info and quotes.

 

 

BREATHE…..JUST…BREATHE…

 

Take a deep breath, The Last Jedi is on its way, and Empire Magazine is here to quench our thirst, if only for a moment. Rian Johnson delves into the creative process, from how Star Wars stories are developed, channeling the old, imagining and creating the new, and melding them together to create the next chapter in the cherished saga.

 

The most tiresome question Johnson receives must be about who is in charge, who is really in creative control of these films? Skeptics assume it’s nothing more than Disney suits ultimately making the call, but Johnson, although likely tired of answering the question, knows how important it is, especially now with recent events, to make it clear his experience in creating this film was no different than anything he has done before in regards to the control and freedom he had:

 

The perception of these films is that they’re all planned out on a secret sheet of paper in advance, but that’s just not the case. I wasn’t given an outline of where it goes or even a list of things to hit. It really was just, ‘Okay, what’s next?’

 

 

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

 

Johnson didn’t dictate his story outline, instead he quite literally asked himself open ended questions, limiting the restrictions on where he could take these characters, old and new:

 

I had a couple keynote ideas, then I just started freedom writing with each of the characters. What do I know about them? Where do I want to see them go? What would be the toughest thing each of them could be faced with? I started this big document that ended up growing and growing and eventually a through-line started to become clear.

 

Place your bets as you venture into a bit of high society in the Star Wars galaxy. We’ve seen dive bars riddled with scum and villainy, we’ve seen lavish scenic planets and places of royalty in the prequels, and now we’ll see where the wealthy carefree, couldn’t care less crowd goes to play, Canto Bight on Cantonica!

 

I wanted a new environment that was dunking your head in a cool bath of water, right in the middle of the movie. Apart from the prequels, all the touchstones that make something feel like Star Wars involve griminess and dirt. I wanted something completely different. I thought, ‘What would Monte Carlo of the Star Wars universe look like?’

It’s like Mos Eisley but they are all rich jerks, as opposed to slimy, underworld guys. They’re a ctually worse: they’re slimy underworld guys wearing tuxedos and driving yachts.

 

 

LIGHT

 

Everybody is asking what will we expect to see from Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, after his brief but muted yet powerful cameo in The Force Awakens. Johnson asked himself the same questions when developing the story. Reassuringly protective of Luke Skywalker the hero, the kid in Johnson knows that Skywalker is no runaway, but where is he mentally? What has brought him to this point? He explains his process in answering those:

 

Who is Luke Skywalker? But more than that, who’s Luke Skywalker now? I grew up with an idea of who Luke was, so the real question was why is Luke on that island? Luke’s no coward, he is not hiding from a fight, so there must be some reason he’s there that makes sense to him. That was the first nut to crack. The seed for the whole story was inside that shell. I just had to get to it.

The Force Awakens might have been a film about Luke Skywalker, but The Last Jedi is Luke Skywalker’s film. Missing for decades, his trusty X-Wing rusting beneath the waves, Luke finds redemption in the form of Rey.

 

It sounds like Luke’s X-Wing has seen better days, perhaps we see him raise it from the water this time? Or will he let Rey give it a shot? Will Yoda appear to witness it happen? Any potential scene like this will be sure to send chills up our spines, especially as it will undoubtedly be backed by an iconic piece of John Williams music.

 

 

Mark Hamill, humble and candid as ever, admits he was a bit skeptical of Johnson’s take on Luke’s frame of mind heading into the film, but as he typically does in his signature self-deprecating manner admits that he was wrong for being so skeptical:

 

Luke’s changed a lot. It was as shocking for me to read what Rian had written as I am sure it will be for the audience. I was surprised by the way he saw Luke – to hear him say something like, ‘It’s time for the Jedi to end’ – and I wasn’t even sure I agreed with it. Being the caretaker of the character I have a possessive attitude towards him, but even though it’s not the way I would have gone, the more I got into the work, the more I realized I was wrong.

 

Forty years into playing the character that he will forever be linked to, and called out on the street as, Hamill still holds onto Luke with a tight grip. It is clear in these quotes that he still cares very much about the character, and that is such a beautiful thing to see. Hamill could easily show up, hit his mark, deliver a line, and head to the trailer waiting for the check, but it’s evident he is fully aware how important this character, these movies, are to the fans, and that hasn’t gotten lost on him in the last forty years.

 

 

 

DARKNESS

 

Johnson talks about Snoke and Kylo Ren, which we covered in depth earlier this week, so instead of repeating ourselves like film frames of a Tusken Raider moving it’s arms up and down, you can check out our coverage of that segment of the spread right here! BUT beware! Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny…consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan’s apprentice!

 

 

THE BALANCE

 

While The Last Jedi is the second in the trilogy, a linear comparison can be made to The Empire Strikes Back, arguably the most revered Star Wars movie of all time. However, while Johnson admits that in a three act story, the second act typically comes with challenges and conflict, The Last Jedi will be it’s own healthy blend of all things that made him love the saga so much to begin with. Almost as a metaphor using the the light and dark, Johnson finds humor in Star Wars as impactful and important as the heavy moments:

 

This is the second movie in the trilogy, so it’s easy to draw parallels to Empire in terms of a darker feel. And we do dig into the characters: we’re going to challenge them and things are gonna get tough for everybody. But I didn’t want this to go too dark. One of the things I drew from J.J.’s film was the sense of fun and playfulness – that’s as much Star Wars as, ‘I am your father.’

 

The end of the piece gets into Johnson discussing the future of the saga beyond his film. Obviously things are a bit skewed now with the recent departure of writer/director Colin Trevorrow. Before we continue to get caught up in the drama surrounding Episode IX, let’s remember that “always in motion, the future is. Clear your mind of questions.”

 

We are just around the corner from The Last Jedi. Let’s take a moment to realize how incredible that is. A saga that was only in our rear view mirror five years ago, is now bigger than ever, and Rian Johnson appears ready to show us what he has created for us, the next chapter in the most iconic film franchise of all time.

 

 

I ONLY KNOW ONE TRUTH….IT’S TIME FOR THIS ARTICLE….TO END

 

For the full story get your copy of Empire in stores near you, or subscribe here.

 

 

You can find me counting down the days to The Last Jedi on Twitter @JohnnyHoey and we’ll be talking about Empire Magazine‘s coverage on our next episode of The Resistance Broadcast @RBatSWNN.

“For my all is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”

 

 

+ posts

John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast

"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."

John Hoey

John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."

107 thoughts on “Empire’s Full Cover Story on Star Wars: The Last Jedi

  • September 7, 2017 at 7:54 pm
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    I just fail to believe that there’s not an overall plot planned out in this trilogy, or at least some rough draft or concept.

    • September 7, 2017 at 8:07 pm
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      I’ve been a champion of the new Lucasfilm projects since the ST was announced. I really liked TFA and I loved Rogue One. But I’m admittedly concerned about the lack of an overall outline or plan (no matter how loose) with regards to the ST. Now, that’s assuming that there is, in fact, no rough outline or plan. But from what I’m hearing, it doesn’t sound like there is.

      That being said, Lucas probably had less of his story fleshed out than folks give him credit for. A whole lot of what we consider fundamental Star Wars plot points, Lucas made up as he went along.

      • September 7, 2017 at 8:10 pm
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        Just focus on the finished product, it is a lot less stressful than worrying about the process.

        • September 7, 2017 at 11:27 pm
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          While like anyone else, I hope to enjoy the final product, I’m also keenly interested in the movie making process. From story development, to filming, to set construction, to the model-making and special effects, I find it all very interesting.

          And who said it’s stressful?

          • September 7, 2017 at 11:38 pm
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            I said it 😉

          • September 8, 2017 at 1:03 am
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            Ah. Well…no need to get stressed out. I mean, we all love Star Wars and our passions are often evident, but it’s still just an entertainment franchise. As I’ve often said before, the very worst thing that can happen is that we’re going to see a bad movie. I can survive that.

          • September 8, 2017 at 4:01 am
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            That’s a valid point that’s hard to remember. At worst, we’re out $20 and 2 hours. All the hype and expectation is in the heads of the fans. And yes, of course Disney contributes to the hype, but that’s marketing and applies to everything. The hype for Five gum would lead you to expect a life-changing experience.

      • September 7, 2017 at 8:46 pm
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        Loved Rogue One! TFA, not so much….lots of hope with TLJ! Agreed about Lucas, but he clearly had some rough drafts, or early concepts at least.

        I’d have to believe if the story group is heading in certain directions with comics, books, etc…that there has to be something in writing somewhere. Unless, with each new movie, they work backwards to gill the gaps.

        who knows????

        • September 7, 2017 at 11:32 pm
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          Lucas had plenty of ideas and drafts and whatnot, but it’s often a far departure from what made it into the final films. And he certainly entertained some wild ideas (albeit briefly) when working on his movies. Still, I’d rather know that Lucasfilm has a grand plan for their episode movies, no matter how fast and loose they played with them.

          “I’d have to believe if the story group is heading in certain directions…”

          Sure. I agree. the Story Group actually seems to have their act together which is why I can’t believe that there is not some rough plan somewhere for where the ST will lead. Eh, maybe I’m wrong.

          Who knows indeed…

    • September 7, 2017 at 8:39 pm
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      I would have agreed with you, but the disjointed story mess that was TFA has convinced me that they really are just kind of twisting in the wind with regards to the overall plot. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it could let the story develop in unexpected directions, but “unexpected” does not always mean “good.”

    • September 7, 2017 at 8:49 pm
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      Seems to me like they are trying to manufacture the type of environment that lead to the success of ESB and ROTJ at Lucasfilm. When they made ANH, there was no guarantee there would be other films, so all the twists in the other two were made up on the spot. If I recall correctly, wasn’t Luke’s sister supposed to be a new character in ROTJ and not Leia? That wasn’t decided ahead of time. Sometimes when writers are constrained by deadlines, but not constrained in terms of the direction of the story, creative solutions can arise. I get the feeling LFL is trying to force this type of environment. Trying to Inject that ‘seat of your pants’ feeling into the directors as they go along, because they think that translates into energy on film…Not saying they’re doing the right or wrong thing, but that’s my take on why there isn’t an overall outline.

      • September 8, 2017 at 3:54 am
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        Vader wasn’t even Luke’s father in the first draft of Empire.

    • September 7, 2017 at 8:56 pm
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      I don’t know about overall plot, but plot points are definitely hashed out. There have been hints and questions all over new canon.
      1) Who Rey’s parents are
      2) Snoke’s general origin – maybe not specific like a planet or something but that he is from the outside reaches and had a connection to the skywalkers as hinted by dialogue in TFA.
      3) A general idea of what Luke has been doing between ROTJ and TFA.

      There aren’t complete specifics but there are definitely ideas and beats that they definitely want it to go in.

      • September 8, 2017 at 12:15 am
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        Looks like noone involved with TFA knows the answers 🙂

      • September 8, 2017 at 5:10 am
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        Then why does Rian Johnson keep saying that isn’t the case?

    • September 8, 2017 at 3:57 am
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      You have to define “overall plot.” The OT can be summed up as a nobody farmboy discovers his magic power and joins a rebellion to defeat an evil Empire.” I don’t think it’s a stretch to guess how the summary of the ST will go. So while there isn’t a plot outline, obviously there are things that must happen and things that won’t happen. In the Hero’s Journey, you have wiggle room with the details but not the overall story.

    • September 9, 2017 at 3:51 am
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      There probably is NOW, but they admitted they didn’t have one at the end of VII.

  • September 7, 2017 at 8:13 pm
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    When I saw The Force Awakens, I clapped because it was Star Wars. With The Last Jedi, I have a feeling that I will be clapping because it’s a great movie.

  • September 7, 2017 at 9:08 pm
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    “I ONLY KNOW ONE TRUTH….IT’S TIME FOR THIS ARTICLE….TO END” – How long have you been waiting to use that one? 🙂

    • September 7, 2017 at 11:14 pm
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      hahaha, when I realized I wanted to use the theme/lines from the teaser, it came to me as I was putting it all together. I am glad you got a kick out of it!

  • September 7, 2017 at 9:12 pm
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    I was under impression that George Lucas had an outline or at least a vision for the sequel trilogy. It appears that Lucasfilm scrapped George’s overall vision for this sequel trilogy. My concern is without an over all vision for the trilogy, each episode may feel disjointed with each character’s arcs and themes. I guess I will have to assume that the Lucasfilm Filmmakers know what they are doing and this trilogy will end in a satisfying way. That might explained the leaving of Colin Trevorrow for Episode IX.

    • September 7, 2017 at 11:12 pm
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      Would have preferred Lucas’ original vision myself.

      • September 7, 2017 at 11:31 pm
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        I stopped caring what his vision was at the prequels. I still respect the guy. I wouldn’t have any Star Wars at all. Plus he’s not the first one to launch an amazing franchise and then not quite live up to his own legacy.

      • September 7, 2017 at 11:34 pm
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        But you don’t know what that vision was.

        • September 8, 2017 at 2:03 am
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          Don’t care. It’s still his story to tell.

          • September 8, 2017 at 2:29 am
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            Legally speaking, it wasn’t after he sold Lucasfilm and all its properties off to Disney. If he wanted to tell his story, he shouldn’t have sold his company. Simple as that.

          • September 8, 2017 at 3:52 am
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            “His story to tell?” More like “his franchise to sell.”

          • September 8, 2017 at 3:22 am
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            agree…ashamed, he didn’t add it to contract that they use his story, and keep him on as an advisor. then we could have gotten his story.

          • September 8, 2017 at 5:14 am
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            Not anymore.

          • September 9, 2017 at 6:26 pm
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            When George tells “hist story” we get things like the Prequels. Be relieved that didn’t happen again.

      • September 8, 2017 at 5:14 am
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        Turn on your television. Watch all three prequels back to back. Imagine more CGI and a very attractive lead character that acts worse than Hayden did.

        You have your vision.

    • September 7, 2017 at 11:31 pm
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      I want at least a comic with the ideas of george for the sequel trilogy, now on disney hands

    • September 7, 2017 at 11:34 pm
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      From what I’ve been led to understand, the ST retains some elements of Lucas’s treatment. What exactly those elements are, I can’t say. I really enjoyed TFA, but I’m as curious as anyone else to peek at what George had going on in his head. I don’t think we’ll find out for a long time.

      • September 8, 2017 at 12:13 am
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        I am pretty sure that this element is “woman hero” and “30 years later”. Aaahh, and “Star Wars” 🙂

        • September 8, 2017 at 5:13 am
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          If Lucas wrote it, the hero would have definitely been a dude.

          • September 8, 2017 at 2:43 pm
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            God forbid lol.

          • September 8, 2017 at 11:53 pm
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            I’m not saying it would be a problem, just that it’s a certainty. Don’t worry, white heterosexual males still run everything on Earth. You are not threatened by women in leading roles in a Star Wars film.

          • September 11, 2017 at 6:50 pm
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            And 10 years old!

            (C’mon…I had to, it was set up for that alley-oop)

          • September 12, 2017 at 1:45 am
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            Slam dunk, sir. Slam dunk.

    • September 8, 2017 at 3:20 am
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      personally, I felt TFA felt disjointed from the original 6….

      Would love to one day see what his ST would have been.

      • September 8, 2017 at 5:12 am
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        Cw, Cw, Cw.

        Gotta pick one, bro.

        It’s either disjointed from the OT or a mirror of IV.

        Can’t have both.

        • September 8, 2017 at 3:33 pm
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          disjointed from overall story arc of OT, in the story they offered. And yes it can be both. the story did not flow, due to it being a soft reboot of like events from ANH.

          this isn’t one of those situations…but, I see where you’re trying to come from.

          • September 8, 2017 at 11:52 pm
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            Fine, I’ll give it to you. If only because a Mod removed my flaming Gerry Blue hard. I guess I have to be nice for a minute to keep myself from being banned.

            It’d be a shame if I was banned from Breitbart and starwarsnews.net.

          • September 9, 2017 at 12:48 am
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            well don’t get banned here! I enjoy a differing opinion from an intellectual!

            you really on Breitbart? I busted out, when I saw that…funny! Trolling hard there, I’d imagine. lol

          • September 9, 2017 at 1:01 am
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            It was a really long time ago, and honestly, it wasn’t even a troll. I asked a rational question from a liberal perspective and was instabanned.

            I did troll Newsmax, was banned there quickly too.

          • September 9, 2017 at 2:36 am
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            lol! one of my best friends and I are completely opposite in opinion and have the most fun ragging on each other….

            Can’t believe they kicked ya. I can’t help but giving the dummies greif…on some articles. here too…from time to time.

    • September 8, 2017 at 5:13 am
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      Colin was shit canned.

      Lucas’s treatment was trash, so they put it where it belongs.

      Not saying that making VII on a hope and a prayer is going to pay out for them, we’ll see with VIII.

  • September 7, 2017 at 10:06 pm
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    How can be Luke missing for decades, when Bloodline takes place 5-6 years before TFA and Luke is travelling with Ben Solo at that time. What a load of BS!

    • September 7, 2017 at 10:47 pm
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      Good catch!!

    • September 7, 2017 at 11:12 pm
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      He used to go missing a lot… Miss Tatooine, Miss Coruscant, Miss Universe.

    • September 8, 2017 at 12:11 am
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      What is Bloodline? Not only me – the vast mayority of moviegoers would ask….you see? It´s irrelevant what a book or comic book or a videogame is telling. The important stuff are the movies. And for me and all my friends Luke is really lost for decades. It fits better to the story of TFA then 5-6 years…Everyone seems to look as they don´t see Luke for ages! He´s even a legend long forgotted…..in 5-6 years??? 🙂

      • September 8, 2017 at 12:25 am
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        I look at the Comics and Novels as fun “supplementary / extra material” — but the HEART of the story is always the films.

      • September 8, 2017 at 2:22 pm
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        “It´s irrelevant what a book or comic book or a videogame is telling.”

        For you, but not for a great many Star Wars fans. And the strictly casual movie-goer isn’t likely to agonize over the exact length of time Luke’s been missing.

        “He´s even a legend long forgotted…..in 5-6 years???”

        He’s a legend to an orphan girl on a backwater planet with what is likely meager contact with the greater galaxy and a former Stormtrooper who’s been raised by the First Order in the unexplored regions of the galaxy.

      • September 12, 2017 at 9:33 pm
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        I get that, but when LF threw out the old EU they said, books, comics, animated series are on the same level of canon as the movies. I find this annoying, too, but I’ll call them out because they did say, the new canon should be considered this way, so they should stick with what they decided.

    • September 8, 2017 at 2:46 am
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      I thought the exact same thing when I read it. However, even from Bloodline, we get the idea that Luke has already been off for years doing who knows what. He wasn’t a political figure. He wasn’t up front with Leia, dealing with the day to day crap. He was off doing “Jedi things”.

      Outside of probably Leia, Han and Ben and a few others, people probably thought he HAD been gone for decades.

      • September 12, 2017 at 9:28 pm
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        “Missing” and “not being active in politics because doing Jedi stuff” are not the same things.

  • September 7, 2017 at 11:01 pm
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    Was hoping for more info and pictures….

    • September 7, 2017 at 11:08 pm
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      Empire is always a let down with SW. Same for The Force Awakens and Rogue One.

    • September 8, 2017 at 5:10 am
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      What? Did you see where Finn and Poe are standing?

      • September 8, 2017 at 7:43 pm
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        Where are they standing? It looks like the long clinical hallway back to my proctologist’s office.

        • September 8, 2017 at 11:43 pm
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          Sure you’re on the right site?

  • September 8, 2017 at 12:07 am
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    I´m not sure I´m happy about the: “OK, what´s next….”. I´m more for establishing the trilogy basic story and then work on every episode. But not knowing anything at all? It means – let´s make a movie, let´s tell some stories, some questions, others will invent the answers……so basically JJ, Kasdan, nobody knows who is Rey, why she was left on Jakku, why Maz have the lightsaber and everrything else. They just did it because it moved the story further. And now those who come after will think of the answers….Is this the right way to make the new trilogy? 🙂

    • September 8, 2017 at 12:10 am
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      no.

  • September 8, 2017 at 12:21 am
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    The years leading up to The force awakens, I was positive this new trilogy would be epic. Like Lord of the Rings 3 hour movie, no holds bard epic. Huge Jedi vs Sith battles, Leia Jedi Knight, Grand Master Skywalker and his Jedi academy, tons of cool new Jedi. And it’s turning out, we are getting just some sci-fi movies to sell toys. Combined with the disregard for the real EU and the random SJW books they keep releasing, I’m at a point where I am losing interest in Star Wars. 38 years fully committed and it just sucks.

    • September 8, 2017 at 12:51 am
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      Bye.

      • September 8, 2017 at 1:25 am
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        Going somewhere?

        • September 8, 2017 at 3:38 am
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          I thought you were leaving star wars? No? My mistake .

    • September 8, 2017 at 1:20 am
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      Sadly we do not all seek the same things in these movies. It’s almost impossible to please everybody.

    • September 8, 2017 at 5:09 am
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      The real EU sucked.

      And it’s hilarious you’re complaining about social justice warriors in Star Wars.

      Go read Breitbart for an hour, feel better about a reality that doesn’t exist.

      • September 8, 2017 at 5:28 am
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        “Feel better about a reality that doesn’t exist”

        How would it be a reality if it doesn’t exist. That is a contradiction. I’ll disregard your comment about the books, it’s obvious you haven’t read them, or anything else for that matter. And no CNN doesn’t count.

        • September 8, 2017 at 8:04 am
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          I’ve been a fan since ’77…I was heavily invested in each and every incarnation of the EU, but it needed to be burned to the ground and rebuilt. For the most part, the LFL story group has been reincorporating the parts of the old EU that worked, and letting garbage like the Courtship of Princess Leia fade into obscurity.

          There’s no one telling you that you can’t keep enjoying the old EU, and if you want that to be your head canon, more power to you. I still enjoy reading the old Marvel comics, as silly and decidedly non-canon as they are.

          As for the SJW comment…you’re entitled to your ideology. I don’t know why the term “Social justice” became such a slur. To me, that just means having empathy and treating people with different world views and backgrounds with respect…something that seems in very short supply these days. Perhaps ponder why you feel so threatened by fictional lead characters who are not white men.

          • September 8, 2017 at 11:30 am
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            Because not everybody has empathy, or at least the level the SJWs want everyone to have. SJWs want everyone to believe what they believe or be ostracized. It doesn’t matter what you believe you should never force somebody to believe the same as you, and using ad hominem attacks such as racist, xenophobic, asshole won’t make anybody ever change their minds.

            You don’t spread a positive message by using negative ad hominem remarks, poor logic, and hyperbole to back you up.

            It’s basically “You don’t have the level of empathy that I require and want everybody to have so you must be inferior to me in that regard and must therefore be a bad person.”

          • September 9, 2017 at 12:19 am
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            We SJW’s don’t have an agenda nor do we expect everyone to empathize with everything or everyone on the level we do.

            After all, not everyone can be quite as awesome as we are.

            But we do try to set high expectations for people treating each other with respect.

            It’s funny how you say we’re using negative ad hominem attacks, poor logic, or hyperbole to justify our actions when we’re on a forum where you can see documented acts imprinted on the fabric of the internet of racist, sexist, and discriminatory comments.

            You don’t see those of us in my camp coming on here and posting “OMG! THEY CAST ANOTHER WHITE STRAIGHT MALE IN A ROLE IN A STAR WARS FILM! RACISM AND SEXISM IS RAMPANT IN LUCAS FILM!”

            But you cast a woman in the lead role of the new trilogy who was successful in her part of rejuvenating the franchise and there are still posts two years later about how it’s an SJW led Disney plot to make STAR WARS MORE SENSITIVE. Waaaaaaaah.

            We had White Supremacists on these VERY forums spamming like crazy after the first teaser trailer for VII was released that showed a black Stormtrooper.

            So palllllleaaasssseeeee demonstrate where the SJW’s who frequent this site come into the forums and disparage ANYONE who isn’t already posting something that could easily be linked to discriminating behavior.

            You won’t find it. You guys just don’t like that we point out the bullshit and call it for what it is.

            If you feel bad for the people who are disabled, the homeless, people with low self esteem, addicts trapped in a cycle of substance abuse, or those who suffer from catastrophic mental illness, you can do something about it. You can volunteer a small amount of time to help people in need and better their lives. That’s action and empathy. And it does mean something to people who have little or no assistance; who have no friends, family or support systems and ignored by society in general because we don’t want to have to feel bad about their existence. In fact, now it’s fun just to label them as leeches and takers, so we don’t even have to feel bad about it, we can feel enraged at everything they TAKE from us!

            Someone’s decided that having compassion and being kind is a negative trait in the United States and that myth is being perpetuated into reality. Don’t be apart of it Constant, you’re a better person than that.

          • September 11, 2017 at 11:47 am
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            You’re not a SJW.

          • September 13, 2017 at 1:42 am
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            I am a social worker. Being a social justice warrior is literally apart of our code of ethics. No shit, google it.

            So it’s funny to me when people try to use it against me (I know you didn’t) as an insult. It’s like the British calling American soldiers Yankee’s during the revolutionary war. SJW’s is what we are, we embrace it.

            You had a very nice response and I appreciate it. But I disagree that SJW’s come from an emotional stand point when they cry foul.

            We’re usually well educated individuals who have a deeper understanding of systemic issues that create discrimination against minorities and women then most. Because we study it. Intensively. Experience it first hand. Learn to navigate it and attempt to prevent it from happening again.

            My counter argument is the people who spew the sort of bullshit that started this thread, like Smr9 who decries Finn as a Jar Jar Bink’s character or insists that Disney cast Daisy Ridley only because she’s a woman, stem from a completely irrational and VERY emotional stand point themselves.

            And when we do that? Especially since both Ridley and Boyega actually did a very good job acting, and few people if any ever fault them for their performances, it diminishes their accomplishments as actors and the gap they very much bridged to fans they represent.

            It is a big f-cking deal for a 6 year old African American child to see a Star Wars movie and watch a man be a hero among other characters. Because that person looks like him. And that isn’t very common in Hollywood STILL. Proof is in the pudding. Look at all the people who get upset when you cast someone in a role who DOESN’T Look like them.

            Same for girls. Leia was our only stand out Lady for six movies. And no, Portman did her best but Lucas relegated her to..whatever it is you want to go call her but it wasn’t a lead or heroic character.

            My 5 year old niece loves Star Wars because of Rey. She has Star Wars t-shirts, she comes and takes Star Wars toys from me to play with at her home, and she wants to watch the movies any time I have to spend with her.

            Am I going to let some asshole take that away from her and other young girls and women like her because “SENSITIVE SJWS!?!?!” No. I’m not. I’m going to tell them their dicks and to STFU because they have no idea what they’re talking about.

            Good discussion, thanks for the response.

          • September 8, 2017 at 9:17 pm
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            First of all the whole threatened thing doesn’t work on me. Nice try though.

            The problem with SJW’s is that you create the narrative around your facts, not the actual facts.

            Like the fact that Mara Jade, is my avatar and one of my favorite Star Wars characters next to Rey, Ahsoka, Boba Fett and Luke. Like the fact that Lara Croft is my favorite video game character. My Old Republic character is a female bounty hunter and currently on my desk are an Aphrodite IX statue, a Magdelena statue, and a Sabine Wren figure.

            See the facts get in the way of the agenda.

            The problem is not with the characters, it’s when the characters are forced down our throats, because of a specific agenda. And you if you can’t acknowledge that that is happening in every facet of our society then we can’t have an intelligent conversation about it.

          • September 9, 2017 at 12:06 am
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            Yes SJW’s are evil because we have an agenda.

            Soon as I hear that word I know someone’s been brain washed.

            Because there’s no way they’ve managed to penetrate the secret brotherhood of SJW’s and attend our ultra top secret meetings where we discuss our agenda in the first place.

            So someone lied to you and you believed it. Sad, bigly.

        • September 8, 2017 at 2:29 pm
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          I have read all of the EU up to the half way point of the NJO.

          Again, it’s garbage. It would figure someone who thinks having female leads and a gay character or two in a Star Wars book makes it SJW material.

          Like I said, head on back to Breitbart. Read about how as a white heterosexual male you are actively discriminated against and you’re the real victim in the world.

          A reality that does not exist.

          • September 8, 2017 at 8:58 pm
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            haha wow.

          • September 8, 2017 at 11:43 pm
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            Brilliant come back.

      • September 8, 2017 at 6:22 am
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        Old EU had plenty of fantastic books. No reason to knock one thing to prop another up.

        • September 8, 2017 at 2:26 pm
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          Plenty? I disagree. Handful? Better.

          • September 8, 2017 at 2:39 pm
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            Sure that is your opinion. The new EU is not really a stellar list. The books do not even feel like real books. More like vague teases for future movies. I do not really read SW literature anymore (my last was Bloodline)

          • September 8, 2017 at 6:04 pm
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            The new EU not being all that great doesn’t make the old EU any better. As you said, no reason to knock one thing to prop another up.

          • September 8, 2017 at 11:58 pm
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            Whataboutism at it’s finest. I never brought up the new books. They are in fact, trash too. I enjoy some of them but you are correct. They are vague teases. LFL promised us an interconnected Star Wars Universe, but after reading a handful it was obvious that they were going to restrict writers on what they were allowed to write about. Which means we get half-baked stories squeezed into odd time frames that do not impact any of the films in anyway.

            Anyways, t’s not my opinion, it’s fact that the EU books are crap. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t like them. I wouldn’t fault you for enjoying anything, THAT is your opinion and cannot be argued.

            I love all sorts of trash, but I can recognize it’s trash.

            But the quality of a book being good? Yeah, that can be debated. It’s not opinion that bad authors wrote trashy books and LFL pushed’m down the pipe to sell to Star Wars fans who had nothing else new to long for after the OT finished in the 80’s. For all the Preening Fanboy Princesses on these forums balking at Disney DARING to produce sub par content for profit, it’s absolutely HILARIOUS to watch them defend crappy EU books which would produced for LFL under Lucas to make a profit on sub par content.

            Hypocrisy is so much fun to watch in live action.

        • September 8, 2017 at 6:13 pm
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          The old EU had a handful of good books, the rest were pretty rough. Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy was fantastic. His other entries to the EU were not half bad either. I enjoyed the Darth Plagueis novel. There are probably one or two others that I liked. But the vast majority of it was tedious and uninteresting.

    • September 8, 2017 at 5:59 pm
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      Cry me a feakin’ river…….

      • September 8, 2017 at 8:35 pm
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        Why?

    • September 8, 2017 at 6:08 pm
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      It sounds like you wanted a video game, not a movie with a story about people. I’m sure 2 hours of Jedi Knights fighting off a Sith army would have had plenty of 12-year-old audience members pumping their fists into the air, but it would have suffered as a story about personalities.

      “..we are getting just some sci-fi movies to sell toys.”

      That’s a ridiculous observation based on nothing.

      • September 8, 2017 at 8:38 pm
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        So Lord of the Rings “suffered as a story about personalities”? Maybe take the whole comment into consideration when commenting.

        • September 8, 2017 at 9:35 pm
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          I wasn’t talking about Lord of the Rings. I was talking about Star Wars. They’re two very different properties. What works for one would not necessarily work for another; especially considering how the narrative structure of these stories are wildly different.

          The Star Wars movie you’re envisioning just sounds….corny.

          • September 8, 2017 at 9:40 pm
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            Yeah because FINN aka the new Jar Jar comedy relief wasn’t corny and completely pointless.

          • September 8, 2017 at 11:26 pm
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            What does Finn have to do with the Star Wars that you were envisioning? Don’t change the subject. You don’t like Finn. Fine. But your “no holds bard epic” sounds like a pile.

          • September 9, 2017 at 2:50 am
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            I love that scene.

          • September 9, 2017 at 6:23 pm
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            That’s a hilarious moment. Loosen up.

          • September 9, 2017 at 12:01 am
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            Finn had a character arc that started in the first scene of the film and finished at its end. He was not pointless in the least.

            He is also an incredibly relate able character. Based on your previous SJW comment, I have a feeling you’re still mad that there’s a black Stormtrooper.

    • September 8, 2017 at 9:45 pm
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      Star Wars was never about being a massive epic. It was about being a fun action adventure with likable characters who came from humble upbringings to become heroes. Nothing has changed. And I love it how people pretend that the merchandising of Star Wars is something new. Spaceballs was making fun of it 30 years ago.

      • September 8, 2017 at 9:52 pm
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        According to some people on here, Star Wars was never about women either. So what it was supposed to be doesn’t really matter anymore.

        I have no problems with the Star Wars toys obviously.

        I personally don’t know one person, who doesn’t look at the cut scenes on The Old Republic and go, “why can’t we have Star Wars movies like that?”. I’m fully aware I need to readjust my expectations. But I will always view this era as a missed opportunity.

    • September 9, 2017 at 6:21 pm
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      “And it’s turning out, we are getting just some sci-fi movies to sell toys.”

      Ewoks.

      “I’m at a point where I am losing interest in Star Wars. 38 years fully committed and it just sucks.”

      Please do. And don’t let the door hit you on the way out, broseph.

  • September 8, 2017 at 4:30 am
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    Love those buns.

  • September 9, 2017 at 6:11 pm
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    New Jedi training. New Snow walkers and snow speeder battle. New Cloud city type place. New lando type character. New family revelations (probably).
    Clearly, and Once again, they’ve copied the template from the OT.
    I just rewatched the PT with my kids. Bad acting, weak dialogue, already dated CGI FX. They are still a mess. BUT there is a shit ton of originality, very little rehash, and a good, if convoluted and in need of a real Screenwriter, story. A story from a storyteller (albeit not a great film maker)
    There was practically ZERO originality in TFA. and so far I’ve seen ZERO originality in what I’ve seen in TLJ. Every scene in TFA and seemingly TLJ has an analogue counterpart in the OT. This is not true of the PT.
    The charm of Rey and the intriguing character of Ren saved the film, for me, from being a total rehash waste of time.
    WILL TLJ will be the same? Perhaps slightly better with RJ at the helm? So far it looks like it. Every shot in the trailer was “seen it before”. Different. But the same.
    this is damn close to filmmaking by numbers. Playing it way too safe.

    This is what happened when you have no vision. No storyteller. Big budget fan fic.

    • September 9, 2017 at 8:22 pm
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      How is a swanky casino city full of rich people the same as a floating gas mine city?

      How do you know DJ is the same as Lando?

      You seem to be stretching in your comparisons to fit a preconception.

      And sorry, but there are PLENTY of borrowed imagery in the prequels from the OT. The Phantom Menace has many of the same plot points and details as ANH. The idea that the prequels did everything differently is bogus:
      https://vimeo.com/137711830

    • September 11, 2017 at 6:46 pm
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      Hero found on desolate planet.
      Hero meets mentor.
      Hero gets involved in seedy conflict with mentor’s involvement.
      Hero gets pulled into galactic conflict.
      Mentor dies.
      Attack on space station.

      That’s 4 of 8 SW films, 2 by GL and 2 by Disney, cut one of the above and it’s 5 of the 8, including 3 by GL. (Move Jabba ‘seedy speakeasy’ scene after Yoda’s death and you get full on 5 SW films with the same exact plot).

      SW isn’t built to be all that ‘original’. It’s built for cool space stuff with mythological impact via reference to other stuff, like samurai films, westerns, cult-classic sci-fi. It’s been self-referential since Leia’s “I have a bad feeling about this” in ESB.

    • September 12, 2017 at 3:34 am
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      Solution…don’t go see it

  • September 9, 2017 at 11:38 pm
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    #wheresrey

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