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Star Wars VII Cast Announced!
- Thread starter danlb_2000
- Start date
lebeau
Well-Known Member
Kasdan wrote two great screenplays in the early 80s; Raiders and Empire. He's talented. I liked the Big Chill. I even lined Grand Canyon and kind of liked Mumford. But Kasdan's involvement doesn't excite me like it would if it were 1983. He's had a rough few decades. And I'm still angry over having to sit through his Wyatt Earp.
I liked Abrams during the first season of Alias. But man, that show went down hill. The problems with Alias have crept into everything else the guy has done since. He's smart and talented. But his execution almost always falls short.
His Star Trek reboot was okay. It was massively dumb as was the sequel. But I understood going in that it was a big dumb, noisy movie for people who don't like Star Trek. It was entertaining enough to give a pass although I was less forgiving of Into Darkness. I do think that style will suit Star Wars better than it did Star Trek.
Cash grab? Of course it's a cash grab. There is no story left to tell. Disney is grabbing cash. But I'm sure everyone involved is earnest in trying to deliver the best Star Wars they can. I suspect that's what you mean. My point is that based on the recent work of Kasdan and Abrams, I don't have high expectations. Their best efforts haven't been very good in a long time.
I would have to disagree on this. There is plenty left to tell. More than 100 novels and a handful of video games has shown this.
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lebeau
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I struggled with how to make the point I was trying to make. There are more stories to tell in the Star Wars Universe. But the Luke Skywalker story came to a natural conclussion. There really isn't a good story reason to make Star Wars 7.
I don't begrudge anyone involved for doing it. I hope it will be good. But it is being made more for financial reasons than story reasons.
The Luke character has a good bit of life left. His ordeal might be done with his father, but he is the only know living Jedi. Simply rebuilding the Jedi order could span a few movies.
Then there is the case of rebuilding a functioning government. The senate no longer exists. Regional governors we placed in charge of their territories. I doubt they would just give back control.
Then there is also remaining Imperial forces (Called the Remnant in the EU) that will need to be dealt with.
Many stores, these original characters have left to tell.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
The Luke character has a good bit of life left. His ordeal might be done with his father, but he is the only know living Jedi. Simply rebuilding the Jedi order could span a few movies.
Then there is the case of rebuilding a functioning government. The senate no longer exists. Regional governors we placed in charge of their territories. I doubt they would just give back control.
Then there is also remaining Imperial forces (Called the Remnant in the EU) that will need to be dealt with.
Many stores, these original characters have left to tell.
There are stories you can tell about Luke Skywalker. That's true of just about any character. His original story arc was to become a Jedi and redeem his father. That story arc has been completed. From a "story" perspective, there is no reason to continue. The follow-up you described has nothing to do with Luke's arc which has come to its natural conclusion.
You can come up with other stories to tell. But the primary reason for doing so is that there is still money to be made. Hopefully whatever additional stories they come up with live up to the original story arc.
Is that not the reason for making any movie? Sure, you always hear that romantic notion of "I have a story to tell" in interviews, but the real reason is always to increase the number of zeros in one's bank account.
prberk
Well-Known Member
Why do I think you are not the only one?
I feel a disturbance in the force -- one that I have not felt in a long time!
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lebeau
Well-Known Member
Yes, but... With Empire and Jedi, there was still story to tell. And by that, I mean Luke's character arc was incomplete. With Star Wars 7, that is no longer the case. There was a story reason to make those movies in addition to the obvious financial incentive.
This new movie doesn't have an arc to complete. Both Luke's arc and the overall Skywalker father/son story line are complete. I'm sure that Abrams and company will begin a new arc with links to the original. Hopefully they do it well and it feels like an organic continuation of the overall story. But while there are stories that can be told, the original arcs are complete.
To come back to the original point, Star Wars 7 is as much a cash grab as any other unnecessary sequel. If it's done well, no one will care.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
Do the various Star Trek movies count? From a character perspective, there was never a reason for any of those to be made.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
Do the various Star Trek movies count? From a character perspective, there was never a reason for any of those to be made.
Sure.
Star Trek never really had a character arc to begin with. It was more episodic which makes sense given that it originated as a TV show.
MasterJedi
Active Member
NO! NO! NO! NO! While Luke and Anikans are complete it still does not end the full arc. I will be disgusted with Abrams if he does not have the ultimate balance in the universe a Skywalker descendant. No new arc...continuation I believe. Clouded must be your judgment.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
Lucas has said that Luke fulfilled the prophesy of bringing balance to the Force (or whatever).
I suspect we will get a new generation of Skywalkers. It's the easiest way to tie the new arc into the previous arcs.
MasterJedi
Active Member
BUT this is Abrams film now. I dont feel like Luke actually brought balance... not convincing. He was perceived as having a dark side i.e. being "too old to train", "clouded future", anger and daddy issues.(sounds a lot like his father) Now that the films are revived I think that will still be played upon and that story will continue for the proper balance. Luke will probably fall to the dark side or maybe be the cool jedi uncle to his neice that will conquer evil.
Lucas only said that because he needed to tie up the "loose" ends to the story that still left many wondering if the series was complete.
Lucas only said that because he needed to tie up the "loose" ends to the story that still left many wondering if the series was complete.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
Whose prophesy? About what?
Does anyone understand what that was even supposed to mean?
Is it balanced if all the bad guys are dead, or balanced, in the Eastern sense, if the number of good guys equal the number of bad guys?
If the latter, is "balancing the force" even something that they would want to happen?
Wouldn't the construction of 2+ Death Stars be a much more important thing to prophesy about?
lebeau
Well-Known Member
I guess it depends on how you define "unnecessary sequel"? Yes, I would agree that the best reason for a sequel is to finish a story started in earlier movies but there is nothing wrong with a sequel telling a new story using the same characters and world of the original. For example Aliens is a great movie, and although it does wrap up the story of what happened the Ripley after the first movie, it's manly a totally new and standalone story that didn't "need" to be told. Just because a sequel doesn't continue a story doesn't make it a cash grab.
I see a cash grab as a movie that tries to exploit the success of it's predecessor without putting much effort into the attempt, especially movies that just do the same thing over and over in each sequel.
Gomer
Well-Known Member
I’ve always taken it to mean that the force in its natural state is balanced and the jedi don’t pervert that natural balance, they use it. The sith, dominate the force and caused it to be out of balance. So the destruction of the sith brings balance to the force. I don’t’ see it as a matter of proportional jedi to sith. But that’s just how I have reconciled the prophecy and the closing of ROTJ. It’s admittedly a jumbled storyline that is open to interpretation, so I could see Abrams taking it either way so my opinion could easily change based on the events of Ep VII.
Ep VII can take 3 possible paths in my opinion…
1. Balance was restored in Ep VI, but another will fall to the dark side and put that balance back out of whack requiring a new generation to battle the sith.
2. There were additional sith (i.e. Plaguies) pulling strings during the OT which means balance was never restored at all and we will fight that battle in the Sequel Trilogy.
3. My interpretation of balance is incorrect and a lack of Sith causes the balance to be out of whack and a Skywalker falls to the darkside to bring balance and fulfill the prophecy.
I guess its possible they throw out the prophecy all together and start a new story line, but that doesn’t seem to align with what we have heard of the ST closing the saga and the spinoff movies starting new story arcs.
prberk
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know what the overall story arc was supposed to be when Lucas had originally planned for nine movies (three trilogies) to begin with? I know he later decided that 6 was sufficient, and changed his public stance toward a third trilogy, but for most of my younger years, he was saying that it was a 9-part series with three trilogies making up the story, that he was doing the middle first, then the early ones, then the later ones. What was the storyline supposed to be for the later ones, at that time?
I imagined that, like 1-3 was a generation above Luke, that 7-9 was about Luke's children.
MasterJedi
Active Member
I had always heard that Lucas intended for 6 movies. A New Hope tested the waters. Then 5 and 6 were later released thus why Luke looks freaking old. 1-3 werent created because at the time the technology wasnt enough to put his vision on the screen (seriously how could you portray Coroscaunt and pod racing with 70's-80's tech). I dont think that he had thought Star Wars would take off like it did...thats probably why there were no other stories prepared aka 7-9. Abrams just needs to sit in Lucas' head and become him to make this a successful story of peace and love. There has to be a TON of continuity. This cant be like the 20 different versions of Godzilla.