News Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opening day reports - Disney's Hollywood Studios

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
That's very interesting. I hadn't heard many people with the opinion that TFA put TLJ in a difficult place. I like this thread, it's actually quite informative.
Come to think of it...I don’t think I have either?

But I almost assumed it was a common thought.

7 introduced characters with no backstory or purpose really...totally mangled the OT characters that Disney refused to believe everyone wanted...

The thing that still sticks with me is the cash grab moves. Why modify the storm trooper armor slightly? Why rename republic and empire?

Simple...not only trying to reinvent the wheel with the reboot...but trying to sucker old guys like me into rebuying the same stuff from hasbro.

Sorry...we have nice parting gifts for you.
 

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
Why modify the storm trooper armor slightly? Why rename republic and empire?

I agree. It makes sense when you think about it, but I had only read opinions the other way that JJ set up all these storylines and RJ immediately trashed them. And now it sounds like JJ is going to do the same and put back all his storylines.

And the slight changes for merch possibilities is no surprise. At all, heh.
 

LSLS

Well-Known Member
I agree. It makes sense when you think about it, but I had only read opinions the other way that JJ set up all these storylines and RJ immediately trashed them. And now it sounds like JJ is going to do the same and put back all his storylines.

And the slight changes for merch possibilities is no surprise. At all, heh.

To be fair, it's tough to make that argument when RJ it has been said (by JJ, RJ, or both) that RJ had written the majority of Jedi before JJ had finished TFA.
 

DDLand

Well-Known Member
I personally enjoyed both movies, but aside from the Canto Bight sequence (which was well-intended but poorly executed imo), I thought many of the critiques of Last Jedi were the result of poor setup by Force Awakens.

Didn’t like what they did with Luke? Well, he got sidelined to an island for a whole movie, so he either has to have been locked away against his will or he has to have some reason to have withdrawn from the Galaxy for almost twenty years. Snoke’s backstory? Why didn’t we get it in his introduction? Same with the Knights of Ren, and the New Republic, and so on.

Force Awakens is a lot of fun, but, like A New Hope, it doesn’t really set up a follow-up movie very well. Empire gets around it by having a time jump, but with everyone’s priority #1 being to find Luke ASAP, that wasn’t really a possibility here.
Totally agree. The Force Awakens began the march towards this discontent. Think about the characters from the original trilogy. Everyone of them has regressed and was doing exactly what they had been doing before. Han Solo was diminished to goofy comedic relief. The plot was really dumb. Imagine flying to an enemy installation, and never asking your insider for specific details. Wouldn’t Han have ever asked, “okay we’re going to be at the Starkiller Base soon, hmm, we should probably review the plan?” Instead they were already on the planet before Han furiously asks “you don’t have a plan?” Also why would a group of only 3 make the infiltration, wouldn’t it make far more sense to send a group of people?

To fully understand the plot you have to buy a companion book. How many people know the New Republic capital is Hosnian Prime and that’s why the First Order targeted it? Or that, for some reason, the New Republic likes to park its entire fleet next to the capital to hang out (hmm, maybe not parking everything in one place would be a good idea)? Or that Leah had been rejected from society because she was freaked out by the First Order and tried to warn people? Do people know the Resistance was actually a private organization designed to stop the rise of the First Order as the New Republic ignored the threat? Do you think most audience members caught the idea that the New Republic had made arms treaties shrinking the size of their military, while the First Order went back on their word and kept secretly building?

All of this was in Episode VII, but was cut because it’s clunky as all get up. But because audience members don’t understand the background, the story sometimes doesn’t make sense and audience members are left scratching their heads by the circumstances that the protagonists find themselves in. Why is Leah walking out of a sketchy ship to find BB-8? What is the Resistance? What is the New Republic? What is the First Order? Why are they blowing up planets? Who’s the guy with the secret map of Luke Skywalker at the beginning? Who’s Snoke? What are the Knights of Ren? Why was Kylo Ren seduced to the dark side? Why are Han and Leah separated? What happened to Luke? Who are Rey’s parents? Who is Finn? Who is Phasma? Why does Phasma matter?

Many of these questions can only be answered through comic books and tv shows. It’s ridiculous to expect audience members to be well versed in all the Star Wars canon. It’s like asking someone to read their scriptures daily, but instead of a holy text, we have the work of Lucasfilm Story Group. By raising so many questions, Johnson had the chance to answer many of them in a crappy way.

JJ was obsessed with creating an A New Hope clone. So he used the story beats of the original, and then built the story around it. He knew he wanted to have a new Rebel Alliance, so he created lengthy backstory for why the Resistance made sense. He knew he wanted to have a new Death Star, so he came up with a lengthy backstory for that. What emerged was a messy story that was too complex for the film, and ended up on the editing room floor.

But Force Awakens was a cultural event, and was FUN. But fun does not necessarily lend itself to a great foundation to build out future installments. We were supposed to be getting episode twelve in a few years, but Force Awaken’s inability to launch the franchise has hampered those plans leading to their termination.
 

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
All of this was in Episode VII, but was cut because it’s clunky as all get up. But because audience members don’t understand the background, the story sometimes doesn’t make sense and audience members are left scratching their heads by the circumstances that the protagonists find themselves in. Why is Leah walking out of a sketchy ship to find BB-8? What is the Resistance? What is the New Republic? What is the First Order? Why are they blowing up planets? Who’s the guy with the secret map of Luke Skywalker at the beginning? Who’s Snoke? What are the Knights of Ren? Why was Kylo Ren seduced to the dark side? Why are Han and Leah separated? What happened to Luke? Who are Rey’s parents? Who is Finn? Who is Phasma? Why does Phasma matter?

Many of these questions can only be answered through comic books and tv shows. It’s ridiculous to expect audience members to be well versed in all the Star Wars canon.
All true, but that is how JJ works, the mystery box man. So maybe JJ does take some blame for the start. I don't blame him and I don't blame Rian either. JJ wrote his treatment and made the movie. Kennedy approved it and Disney signed off. Mystery box or not, Kennedy should have NEVER let Rian run rough shot all over ep7. But she did and here we are. Kennedy is the failure in this whole thing in my eyes. She either approved, or just didn't care, how the OT characters were treated. And how the threads that were started in 7 ended up. That is why we are at this point, and why she isn't the person to be in charge of star wars.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
If this thread is just going to be yet another movie thread, can we just lock it? We are past the time of most opening day reports.
You’re probably right.

The problem is that it’s hard to “compartmentalize” Star Wars. It’s all really tied together because the strength/pull of the original phenomena.

What’s happened in the land...or should we say: what “didn’t” happen...has a ton to do with the movies. People always try to make it about something else...but it never is. The distaste for the prequels is a spectre till to this day. Even that is hard to faction off.

It is what it is.
 
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erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
You’re probably right.

The problem is that it’s hard to “compartmentalize” Star Wars. It’s all really tied together because the strength/pull of the original phenomena.

What’s happened in the land...or should we say: what “didn’t” happen...has a ton to do with the movies.
People always try to make it about something else...but it never is. The distaste for the prequels is a spectre till to this day. Even that is hard to faction off.

It is what it is.
100%.
The big reason there are so many debates on galaxys edge, is the decisiveness of the sequels. If 7 and 8 had gone in a better direction, we aren't having a lot of these arguments. No matter what trilogy the land was based off of, it would still need more to do then shop and it needs more ambiance. So it's not 100% about the movies, we can blame Iger too.;)
 
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Kram Sacul

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
The thing that still sticks with me is the cash grab moves. Why modify the storm trooper armor slightly? Why rename republic and empire?

Simple...not only trying to reinvent the wheel with the reboot...but trying to sucker old guys like me into rebuying the same stuff from hasbro.

Couldn’t have anything to do with the story taking place many years later? Nah. That’s not a good enough reason to whine about it.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Couldn’t have anything to do with the story taking place many years later? Nah. That’s not a good enough reason to whine about it.
Right...tiny modifications on appearance and relabels really “drive the narrative”

Those tie fighters have to be black...the xwing has to be “more sleek”...definitely hits more as “the resistance” instead of the “the alliance” - which was the frankly more dignified term for a rebellion that wasn’t broke in 1980.

If you ever need a ride to that shift at MK and I’m in town...I’d be happy to help out. We’ll even stop at Starbucks.
 

matt9112

Well-Known Member
Right...tiny modifications on appearance and relabels really “drive the narrative”

Those tie fighters have to be black...the xwing has to be “more sleek”...definitely hits more as “the resistance” instead of the “the alliance” - which was the frankly more dignified term for a rebellion that wasn’t broke in 1980.

If you ever need a ride to that shift at MK and I’m in town...I’d be happy to help out. We’ll even stop at Starbucks.

I like starbucks.
 

mdcpr

Well-Known Member
I think of how classic WDI (well, Marc Davis) was so adept at making tableaus — think of the little scenes along the Rivers of America.

Why isn’t Galaxy’s Edge stuffed with that kind of thing? It gives guests a chance to explore the area, discover whimsical things, and be entertained and surprised.
They can only be entertained and surprised for a price.
 

drod1985

Well-Known Member
Me checking to see if this thread hasn't devolved into an endless cycle of echo chamber debate on the films...

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