Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[Glasgowchivas]

I'd like to see a mix of styles. Zweihander Jedi, ninja Jedi, swashbuckling Jedi etc.

I believe you're getting your wish. The bad guy in Ep 7 two-hands his saber as if its a heavy claymore.

Not sure what sense that makes but it looks cool as fuck.

[Goose]

Pinch of salt time - this image was supposedly taken during a Hall H run through for Comic-Con - info via Nerdreactor

Star Wars: The Force Awakens – December 18, 2015

Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One – December 16, 2016

Star Wars Episode VIII – May 26, 2017

Star Wars Anthology: Fett/Solo – May 25, 2018

Star Wars Episode IX – 2019

Star Wars Anthology: Kenobi: The Balance of the Force – 2020

[TehStu]

I think the choreography of the fights in the prequels is less important than the fact that you don’t have any emotional involvement with the characters, and there’s nothing at stake. I mean, the fight at the end of Revenge of the Sith takes place because Anakin had a dream and became evil, and Obi-Wan wants to stop him because he’s one of the goodies. That’s it; there’s no emotional drive behind it. There’s no real sense of dire consequences if Obi-Wan loses. I can’t remember who said it – either Chris McQuarrie or Andy Diggle – but some scriptwriter said that action scenes should be constructed as tense scenes where the tension is resolved through action.

If you actually care about the characters and the situation, you could have a fight consisting of an old geezer vaguely poking a stick at the Green Cross Code man and everyone would love it.

Yeah, even as a prequel apologist, I can't argue with that notion. I think of all the fights, the fact you know Obiwan finishing Anakin could have prevented (perhaps the severity?) of the Empire is there, but it's nothing like Luke vs Dad in RotJ - I'll keep saying it, but that's the best 90 seconds of cinema.

Duel of the Fates was ruined by the fact that Maul was a paper-thin character, and the comical death just cemented his general irrelevance. Duel of the Fates was still ace, mind.

[Sabreman]

I'd love to see McGregor back as Kenobi in a good Star Wars movie. Balance of the Force was one of the rumoured titles for The Phantom Menace, wasn't it.

[dreamylittledream]

I'd love to see McGregor back as Kenobi in a good Star Wars movie. Balance of the Force was one of the rumoured titles for The Phantom Menace, wasn't it.

Yes - as in the irritating prophecy relating to Anakin

Neither is a great title for a film to be honest

[Space Renegade Ulala]

I'd be up for Ewan whipping it out again and having some fun pootling about getting into scrapes.

[TehStu]

I'd say not likely, but perhaps it was Lucas he got sick of, rather than Star Wars. I'd love to see him reprise his role.

[MDY]

Someone put forward the idea of Ian Glen in the role if they go for an older Kenobi.. I could live with that...

[Froettmaning]

I'd say not likely, but perhaps it was Lucas he got sick of, rather than Star Wars. I'd love to see him reprise his role.

He's been pretty scathing about the prequels over the years, but I don't recall him having any problems with mountains made out of cash money.

[Harsin]

He's doing awful BT adverts right now, I don't think his artistic integrity is that high.

[redbloodcell]

I'd say not likely, but perhaps it was Lucas he got sick of, rather than Star Wars. I'd love to see him reprise his role.

Actually he's said he'd be happy to return to fill in the gap between Eps 3 and 4.

[TehStu]

Mountains of cash money for the win, it seems.

[makkuwata]

Nah, he's clearly a huge fan. He often brings up the 'wanting to get into acting after seeing his uncle help blow up the death star' thing in interviews.

I think he genuinely just wants to be in a good one. He can't be deaf to people saying he was one of the few good elements of the prequels.

[Glasgowchivas]

Good news Jurassic World fans, Colin Trevorrow is to be unveiled at Comic Con today as the director of Episode 9, according to Umberto Gonzalez.

If true has there ever been a director who's had a career swing like him? From indie-film to a mega blockbuster sequel to a Speilberg classic and now a Star Wars Episode?

Woaft.

[Broker]

That's a shame, he's not really got a personal style like JJ or Johnson.

[Delargey]

Rogue One is the only one of the spin off's that interests me.

All this fan service wank is a bad idea. Please give us something new!

Obi-Wan movie is a terrible idea, he is mean to have spent the tine between ep 3 and 4 in Tatoonween being a hermit making racist comments about Sandpeople not having space adventures.

[makkuwata]

Obi-Wan movie is a terrible idea, he is mean to have spent the tine between ep 3 and 4 in Tatoonween being a hermit making racist comments about Sandpeople not having space adventures.

Why? That was always ridiculous. Yoda and Obi-Wan shouldn't just be sitting on their asses for a couple of decades twiddling their thumbs as the bad-guys take over.

[mdn2]

Because he's meant to be keeping a low profile and watching Luke.

[makkuwata]

Because he's meant to be keeping a low profile and watching Luke.

Why? None of the baddies know he exists. Keep a low profile for what reason? Is the plan to sit around for decades until he's too old to do anything about the situation himself, hoping that a completely untrained farmer will save the galaxy?

Obi-Wan should be getting shit done and i'd quite like to see him do it. I'd rather they concentrate on new characters with the spin-off movies, but i'll be glad if they put to rest the notion that Obi-Wan gave up.

[JohnC]

Maybe he can fight a space penis and/or vagina with some clueless biologists and then go on an adventure with C-3PO's head.

[Jumble Jumble]

The shit that he gets done, though, will have to have absolutely no effect on the big picture, and be exactly effectively equivalent to if he had stayed in his cave.

[makkuwata]

Yeah, but he'd be saving lives and fighting the good fight. Not sitting around growing old and resigned to the fact that the galaxy was fucked forever.

The big picture is an evolving concept. The events of the original trilogy didn't prevent the bad stuff from this new one from happening, but they still thought it would be a good idea to blow up those Death Stars.

[Jumble Jumble]

Also his name is Ben Kenobi, right? I hate how he was exclusively called Obi-Wan in the prequels (though I accept it made some sense). Luke calls him Ben all the way through the OT.

[K]

Good news Jurassic World fans, Colin Trevorrow is to be unveiled at Comic Con today as the director of Episode 9, according to Umberto Gonzalez.

If true has there ever been a director who's had a career swing like him? From indie-film to a mega blockbuster sequel to a Speilberg classic and now a Star Wars Episode?

Woaft.

There’ve been quite a few directors in that situation recently. Gareth Edwards, Josh Trank, Marc Webb; they all went from low-budget indie stuff straight to 100m+ blockbusters.

[whizzo]

He's been pretty scathing about the prequels over the years, but I don't recall him having any problems with mountains made out of cash money.

The reason he is so scathing about the prequels is because he is a huge fan and was so disappointed thT his Star Wars films came out so bad. If he thinks a new film is going to be good I'm sure he would be there

[Alex W.]

The shit that he gets done, though, will have to have absolutely no effect on the big picture, and be exactly effectively equivalent to if he had stayed in his cave.

Maybe it doesn't have to be big, universe-defining stuff though? You could get a lot of mileage out of a story about an old Samurai in hiding near a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Maybe he helps save a space village from marauders, or something.

[Jumble Jumble]

Well yeah, my point was that it cannot be big, universe-defining stuff.

[makkuwata]

A Death Star was under construction at the end of Episode III. There wasn't an operational one for another 20 or so years. They threw together another one in the space of a few years in time for Jedi. Somebody was doing something as important as the events of IV in the time between trilogies.

[Froettmaning]

The reason he is so scathing about the prequels is because he is a huge fan and was so disappointed thT his Star Wars films came out so bad. If he thinks a new film is going to be good I'm sure he would be there

Oh, yeah, I think he's made clear he was frustrated by Lucas's methods and as disappointed by the outcome as much as any fan. I've always been a fan of his - decent actor with proper star-quality twinkle in his eye.

All the new actors in VII+ and the Anthology films will be earning a relative pittance, I would have thought, but bringing back McGregor for a starring performance or three? Surely a might payday.

[Rev]

I think the choreography of the fights in the prequels is less important than the fact that you don’t have any emotional involvement with the characters, and there’s nothing at stake. I mean, the fight at the end of Revenge of the Sith takes place because Anakin had a dream and became evil, and Obi-Wan wants to stop him because he’s one of the goodies. That’s it; there’s no emotional drive behind it. There’s no real sense of dire consequences if Obi-Wan loses. I can’t remember who said it – either Chris McQuarrie or Andy Diggle – but some scriptwriter said that action scenes should be constructed as tense scenes where the tension is resolved through action.

If you actually care about the characters and the situation, you could have a fight consisting of an old geezer vaguely poking a stick at the Green Cross Code man and everyone would love it.

Yeah, even as a prequel apologist, I can't argue with that notion.

I'm not going to argue with it, but I think there is a little more to it with the Phantom Menace fight. There's one of those "the prequels are so bad they manage to hide important bits of the story" sections there. The Jedi are taught this ridiculously OTT style of fighting because that's what an all-powerful cult would do, they'd just get progressively more ceremonial and useless in the real world. When Darth Maul kills Qui-Gon it's not just meant to be "sad face, cool jedi is dead" it's meant to be "the jedi are now threatened" and Obi-Wan's reaction to that is to kill Maul without ceremony rather than relying on a particular stance or something.

There's a whole trail of effect from that, the complacent Jedi being unable to defend themselves against unforeseen threats (Order 66, unprotected younglings (worst word ever?)) and the dark side playing on it with General Grievous being designed to kill Jedi as viciously or unceremoniously as possible. Eg. the first few seconds of this:

The ridiculous fights make sense as an aspect of the story, but it's so hidden and under-explained that it might as well not be there.

Relatedly, Kieron Gillen's Darth Vader series has almost managed to make the transformation from Anakin into Vader into the staff-killing Vader of Empire Strike's Back. It's not perfect, but pretty good.