The Force Awakens Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams 2015)

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

You are dangerous.

[Wojo 2,453]

Well, assuming Luke is a major character in the Sequel Trilogy (or, at least, Episode VII), and assuming at this point, being an elder Jedi, he is a mentor figure (which the dialogue in Teaser #2 seems to heavily imply), and assuming he is killed, people will expect his ghost to guide Daisy Ridley in her quest to be more feminine.

Jesus Christ. It's no wonder that women never post here.

Well we could always make some women, if we need to.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I...do not understand.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

The problem is that most people who will go and see the film will not be familiar with Clone Wars.

So info specific to that cartoon series will need to be restated.

In addition, now books, comics and videogames are all canon, so they can present new characters and situations that the films will reflect.

So that problem you mention (casual people wont see tv cartoons, read novels etc...) is still present.

That's my main gripe with the reboot of the EU. People was not going to read the books either way. So people will get confused now too about why this happened and whatnot.

At least with the old EU, some people would know something. Now nobody knows what happened after endor and be bewildered by the new film. Because if the new film explains everything it is going to be 'exposition crap'...

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I completely understand why the new trilogy and all the spin-off films will largely ignore the established EU.

Because it's very restrictive to be tied to supposed canonical event. Especially considering the vast majority of movie goers won't have any awareness of the UE.

[Incanus 5,722]

I completely understand why the new trilogy and all the spin-off films will largely ignore the established EU.

Because it's very restrictive to be tied to supposed canonical event. Especially considering the vast majority of movie goers won't have any awareness of the UE.

Especially when there has been quite a few books, comic books, incarnations and variations on the material throughout the years. It would be a nightmare for the writers to try to navigate all of that because such amount of detail and stories might become a tad restrictive. I know it will break the hearts of the expanded universe fans to a degree but what Stefan said makes a lot of sense.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Especially when there has been quite a few books, comic books, incarnations and variations on the material throughout the years. It would be a nightmare for the writers to try to navigate all of that because such amount of detail and stories might become a tad restrictive.

Yes. A tad.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Also, isnt the quality of the UE a bit dubious?

[Incanus 5,722]

Especially when there has been quite a few books, comic books, incarnations and variations on the material throughout the years. It would be a nightmare for the writers to try to navigate all of that because such amount of detail and stories might become a tad restrictive.

Yes. A tad.

Yes I like to understate for dry British butler humor effect,

Also, isnt the quality of the UE a bit dubious?

I am sure the quality varies when so many writers have participated expanding the SW universe over the years.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

You could dismiss it since it was not full canon. Now every crappy book counts in the main story (and there are some sub-par novels published already, or so i have read, so the future is not very promising).

My point is they are starting a new evil faction and the rebel faction is in some point of the future.

It could have been accomplished the same with the old EU. (and Han, Luke and Leia would be closer to their real ages...)

Whatever happened between Endor and VII doesnt matter if it is EU or new canon. It has to be stablished by books that most people are not going to read. The new story and characters could have been part of the old EU.

Unless they mean that the galaxy, our heroes and the Force sat iddle for 30 years. If that is the point they want to make, then yes, new canon is needed.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Especially when there has been quite a few books, comic books, incarnations and variations on the material throughout the years. It would be a nightmare for the writers to try to navigate all of that because such amount of detail and stories might become a tad restrictive.

Yes. A tad.

Yes I like to understate for dry British butler humor effect

Quite.

Also, isnt the quality of the UE a bit dubious?

Not according to its fanboys!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I'm a Trekkie. I point and laugh at Star Wars fanboys.

[mstrox 6,652]

Also, isnt the quality of the UE a bit dubious?

It's not great, no. Entertaining in various levels, but not great. Even the books that are often held up as the gold standard of Star Wars fiction (the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn) aren't particularly great - jam packed with references to the OT, full of crazed force clones. The best you can hope for in most Star Wars/EU books is that they get the "voice" of the characters right.

You could dismiss it since it was not full canon. Now every crappy book counts in the main story (and there are some sub-par novels published already, or so i have read, so the future is not very promising).

You can still "dismiss" current books - they're just licensed fiction books, after all. "Legends" stories still exist - they're all in print, the words are all the same, and they all "happened" the same as they used to (which is to say that of course they did not happen, because they're about outer space laser battles). The continuity wipe wasn't a quality control issue, it was just clearing the slate so the movies can do their own thing.

Maybe it's just having grown up liking comic books, but I'm not intimidated by a continuity refresh. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" doesn't make old Batman or Superman comics any less valid or fun to read. Same with the Marvel events that change continuity. If anything, slavishly adhering to continuity can make things dense and uninteresting. I'd rather people just tell good stories.

I'm glad they didn't do an in-universe continuity wipe (like "Crisis" mentioned above, or the Star Trek reboot), and just said "oh well" and cleaned house. Would have been very clunky.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

You cant dismiss media now.

If they tell the creating of the 1st order in one novel, and you dont like it, you cannot dismiss it because it may be referenced in film 2 for example.

[Wojo 2,453]

Some of the EU is great. Most is not. Deciding which is and isn't is harder and less profitable than starting over.

Should people be upset that the new movies will ignore the Timothy Zahn novels and characters? Well, no. The last set of movies didn't use the Zahn characters, though I believe the name Coruscant is a Zahn invention, but not the concept of a planet wide capital city. So future movies and works will simply pick and choose old (Legendary) EU items for the new Canon EU.

The Zahn novels and other old stuff is safe and sound on store and library and home shelves.

[mstrox 6,652]

You cant dismiss media now.

If they tell the creating of the 1st order in one novel, and you dont like it, you cannot dismiss it because it may be referenced in film 2 for example.

But you can, for instance, not read that book and just watch the movies - maybe not knowing the origin of the First Order, but who really needs to know that stuff? Or if you dislike that particular book, just decide for yourself that you won't take it as gospel.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

My father didn't want it incinerated.

[Romão 2,274]

I quite enjoyed Shadows of the Empire, from a purely entertainment point of view, but all the other EU related material I've read was really sub par

[Bespin 8,484]

The only thing I have read in the EU was those Dark Horse comics telling the story and origins of the Sith (the species).

 

They were very interesting.

 

 

But globally, I think there is no need to watch Clone Wars or read any books before watching Episode VII.

 

They will only assume that you know that Luke and Leia are the childrens of Darth Vader, that's it (and they'll probably mention it in the new movie, just in case).

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

You cant dismiss media now.

If they tell the creating of the 1st order in one novel, and you dont like it, you cannot dismiss it because it may be referenced in film 2 for example.

But you can, for instance, not read that book and just watch the movies - maybe not knowing the origin of the First Order, but who really needs to know that stuff? Or if you dislike that particular book, just decide for yourself that you won't take it as gospel.

But i mean that they will use it if they want to talk about that topic in film 2 or 3... you wont be able to dismiss it.

But then GL already created his own crap in his films...so it doesnt matter

[mstrox 6,652]

They aren't going to release a Star Wars movie that has required reading tied to it. The fiction will always serve to supplement the film story, not to drive it. The films are a multi-billion-dollar business, and the books will also be a tiny subset of that.

The books may fill in unnecessary backstory (i.e. how did the First Order begin) or may describe nonsequitors from the movie (i.e. "the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell," "my little maneuver at the Battle of Tanaab," etc) but they're not going to make a Star Wars movie that doesn't make sense to people who haven't read the books.

[Incanus 5,722]

Has this First Order etc. already appeared in expanded universe at some point?

[Bilbo 3,709]

They aren't going to release a Star Wars movie that has required reading tied to it. The fiction will always serve to supplement the film story, not to drive it. The films are a multi-billion-dollar business, and the books will also be a tiny subset of that.

The books may fill in unnecessary backstory (i.e. how did the First Order begin) or may describe nonsequitors from the movie (i.e. "the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell," "my little maneuver at the Battle of Tanaab," etc) but they're not going to make a Star Wars movie that doesn't make sense to people who haven't read the books.

Exactly, I mean, this is a series which started with the 4th film

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

Those three paragraphs in the opening crawl rather be enlightening, because i want to know what happened between VI and VII...

[mstrox 6,652]

Has this First Order etc. already appeared in expanded universe at some point?

Nope - "First Order" and "Resistance" are both groups that we haven't heard of until the Star Wars celebration last weekend.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

Has this First Order etc. already appeared in expanded universe at some point?

Nope

[Incanus 5,722]

Ok. So clean slate it is. Good. It doesn't diminish the EU but the films just work in their own continuity.

[Bespin 8,484]

Those three paragraphs in the opening crawl rather be enlightening, because i want to know what happened between VI and VII...

Don't expect the opening crawl to summarize the last 30 years.

It will only introduce the current plot.

[Ricard 2,245]

[Joe Brausam 215]

The idea is that the films can be watched, understood, and enjoyed without you ever checking out the other media. The main episodes are all you need.

The Anthology films, books, comics, games, and television shows are not necessary for understanding the main story. They exist to enrich the story. If you enjoy what you're watching and you want to experience more, there is an official avenue for that.

Take Jakku for example - we'll get to experience the battle in Battlefront, but in the film we know all we need to. We can see the crashed ships and the scavengers and understand that a massive battle happened there at one point.

The First Order and the Resistance will certainly be explained either in the crawl, or through character interactions in the film. Just like in A New Hope, we learned that there was an Empire and a rebellion against it. We knew that there used to be more Jedi, and an Old Republic. But we didn't have the events of that transition explained to us. We didn't need it explained either!

[Faleel 5,372]

"It is 30 years after the death of Emperor Palpatine....."

[ymenard 54]

Of course everything is gonna get explained in the crawl. There will be backstory talk during the movie, too. Anything less would be script suicide.

[Bespin 8,484]

And don't forget, if it's true that after the events of Endor, Luke really disapeared in nature... Jedi are still extinct.

Nobody knows what a Jedi, a Sith or even the Force is.

Remember Tarkin at the beginning of ANH :

Darth Vader: Don't underestimate the Force.
Governor Tarkin: The Jedi are extinct, their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

I shudder at the notion of Luke dissapearing for 30 years.

And i suppose he didnt left to create a secret jedi order...

[Balahkay 627]

I shudder at the notion of Luke dissapearing for 30 years.

And i suppose he didnt left to create a secret jedi order...

It doesn't seem like it otherwise we probably would have seen more lightsabers in the teasers. Maybe he'll start one with the new heroes.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

Take Jakku for example - we'll get to experience the battle in Battlefront, but in the film we know all we need to. We can see the crashed ships and the scavengers and understand that a massive battle happened there at one point.

I just saw a Battlefront development diary and they say that battle was pivotal, between the NEW REPUBLIC and imprerial strongholds.

I'm happy some from the EU remains...

I shudder at the notion of Luke dissapearing for 30 years.

And i suppose he didnt left to create a secret jedi order...

It doesn't seem like it otherwise we probably would have seen more lightsabers in the teasers. Maybe he'll start one with the new heroes.

I suppose the idea is that no new force sensitive people has been found till now. Or were all dormant, untill now.

Like Luke and Leia sort of.

But it conflicts with the prequels if everybody is going to be trained at old age. (it doesnt conflict with the OT though)

[BloodBoal 7,538]

The Prequels are not canon anymore.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

yea right.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Wojo 2,453]

If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.

[Bilbo 3,709]

Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber is in the trailer!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Which was first seen in Episode IV, not the Prequels!

[Bespin 8,484]

I shudder at the notion of Luke dissapearing for 30 years.

And i suppose he didnt left to create a secret jedi order...

Imagine a moment you're THE Jedi (and the only one) that defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor.

You'd be probably be solicited by MANY people... and this would give anyone the urge to flee!!!

Luke will never recreate a Jedi Order. In any case, not with the role it had in the Old Republic.

[Jay 37,402]

[Wojo 2,453]

But how would he know that? Would R2 tell him that? Would the Emperor have permitted records to survive the fall of the Republic and duration of the Empire that explain history in a factual manner? Jedi would have been painted as enemies of the Empire,and Luke would be forced to hunt for answers and draw his own conclusions.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[A. A. Ron 1,744]

Kyle Katarn!

[Not Mr. Big 4,643]

Darth Revan!

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Bastila! HK-47! JOLEE BINDO!

[Not Mr. Big 4,643]

I can't wait to hear John Williams' HK-47 theme!