General

Episode IX is perfect as is, just accept it.

Much as I will defend the sequel trilogy for the most part, the word "perfect" does not describe any of them, especially Episode IX. They needed to smooth out almost everything related to

, including his return, his ridiculously convoluted plan through the Sequel Trilogy, and why his defeat was even possible. Other parts of Ep 9 worked better, but the shoe-horning in of that villain, and almost everything related to him was a mess.

@Grenadier I was just messing with Jaw, me and him go back and forth about VIII vs IX. IX is my favorite, but it's definitely not perfect, nor are the revered OT films.

Scott wrote:

Eff I was gonna make the joke that you spelled “VIII” wrong here but forgot to. Damn me.

Scott wrote:


XIII??? Maybe I'm brain farting.


Edit: Missed the boat.

theJaw wrote:

Maybe he means XIII the game? No clue really.

Oh, lol @Scott. My bad.

SW movies all have flaws in them, none of them are ACTUALLY perfect, but to be fair, the original trilogy (at least IV and V) were as close to "perfect" sci-fi/fantasy movies at the time of their release for lots of folks. Sure we can use hindsight and acknowledge the blunders and shoddy writing from those movies (lookin' at you, brother/sister twist) but at that moment in film history, it was something completely fresh and new and interesting. I'm really jealous of my dad, who never passes up the opportunity to tell me that he was in the theater seeing the Tantive IV being chased by the much larger star destroyer at the beginning of ANH during its initial run - when nothing like it had ever been seen.

So to an extent I get why folks have been almost predisposed to be disappointed by any SW movies that followed, both PT and ST. Obviously as someone who grew up in the 90s, I don't share that exact sentiment and tend to be more disappointed by story-related issues within the movies, but I totally understand why some folks would consider the OT to be "perfect" in their eyes compared to later installments - later installments just weren't groundbreaking or revolutionary the way the first wave of SW movies had been. But that would have been near impossible at this point, people are so use to overblown spectacle by now. This, I feel, is the detail missed by those fans who tend to get toxic. Either they grew up with the OT as they were introduced, or they were brought up to revere those films over others BY the folks who grew up with the OT as they were introduced, so they become defensive and create this unearned sense of ownership to the movies solely because they devoted so much head space to them. But perspective changes as time passes and I really wish those folks who feel so anti-SW these days would just loosen up and go along for the ride...

...until Episode IX. You can skip that one.

KCPenguins wrote:

You haven't seen Episode XIII yet???

Scott wrote:

Honestly, they already released the opening crawl and everything...

https://starwarsintrocreator.kassellabs.io/#!/CMMx...

Why did they have to make that stupid plot twist with Rey in RoS? It's just so bad and so tropey Star Wars bullcrap.

I agree and that unnecessary kiss as well

@Kommie Think you answered your own question there. A familial connection is classic SW tropey bs. That one definitely was my least favorite though. For as little as Luke/Leia being siblings was planned, Rey/Palpatine was just a hail mary hope of appeasing the most vocal detractors of Rey being “no one.” All of them are attempts at rehashing the Luke/Vader reveal in Empire, which just can’t be replicated.

I think Trevorrow’s script handled Rey’s revelation gorgeously. In that version, Rey rises to the occasion against Kylo Ren and when he repeats that she is “no one”, she responds to him by saying “no one is no one.” After Rey defeats Kylo, he has one tiny window of civility and tells Rey her last name: Solana. No pre-established importance, the moment suggests that she made her name important herself by being a hero. Maybe a slightly cheesy line with the “no one” bit but it at least makes SW and the characters who populate that universe seem way more important and meaningful instead of insisting that everyone of true importance is required to be related to someone else of true importance in order to matter.

Despite establishing that the Force flows through the entire universe: Luke was only important because he was related to the OTs villain. Anakin was only important because he became Darth Vader/was Luke’s father. Rey was only important because she was related to the OTs primary villain.

I really hope the next sequel, if it happens, throws Rey into the Obi Wan role and allows the main protagonists of that story be fresh, new characters with no baggage left behind by legacy characters (the way Rey was until Episode IX).

JD wrote:

One of the most forced kisses in cinema history imo. That moment, to me, is the dead giveaway that Ep IX was just to spoon feed the out spoken fandom their own head canon because for some reason people constantly shipped Rey and Kylo despite him being a murderous neo-nazi sociopath until the last 45 minutes of the trilogy.

Yeah it's a rhetorical question. Anakin was No One. Why can't Rey be No One? Oh, right in a giant universe with billions of Planets all the main characters have to be related.

Also, the Red Room fight in TLJ.... Rey drops the lightsaber and kills the guy with her other hand. Game of Thrones/Night King (implying D and D probably ripped it off from TLJ).

Kommie wrote:

Yah it’s a bit silly. I mean I get wanting SW to feel “like SW”, so they paint the movie by numbers with all the pre-established SW cliches, but imo SW was always about the themes, not the moment-to-moment plot beats. Give me a thematically strong story that progresses the narrative instead of a tropey story that keeps the narrative in the status quo any day of the week.


Lol yah when that Arya/Night King scene aired, Rian Johnson sent out this MVP of a tweet:
image

Kommie wrote:

You do know which of those scenes was shot first, right?

Grenadier wrote:

TLJ is what I was implying.. It came out in 2017. I didn't do a great job of implying if though. D and D really didn't care at the end

Welp a buttload of news in the Star Wars universe after tonight...

Taika Waititi confirmed to be helming an untitled Star Wars movie - Pumped for this. Unlikely there is any other creator in Hollywood I have more faith in than Waititi. Everything he's done has been great, and after seeing his treatment of Thor I can only imagine what his SW movie will be like. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins directing next Star Wars movie, titled "Rogue Squadron" and releasing in 2023 - Pumped for a Rogue Squadron movie and the teaser they released with Jenkins talking about her father and the movie she "always wanted to make" gives me faith that we'll get something worthwhile here. Hayden Christensen confirmed to be returning as Darth Vader in the Obi Wan Kenobi Disney+ show - I've always subscribed to the idea that Christensen only came off so rough in the prequels because it was George Lucas directing him. This dude has been real good in other projects. That said, he'll be playing Darth Vader this time... so who knows how much his performance will really matter. I assume James Earl Jones will still be voicing him if he's able. Either way, it oughtta be interesting to see how Vader plays into this story 10 years after Revenge of the Sith, or if it'll end up making his meeting with Kenobi in A New Hope a bit less special. Ahsoka Disney+ show confirmed - Wonderful. She ruled in Mandalorian and while I sorta hate that her sole purpose in that show as to set up this show, I'm still very much looking forward to this. The Ahsoka/Thrawn/Ezra/Sabine stuff may be my favorite aspect of Star Wars in this modern era, so I cannot wait for a show to delve deeper into all that. Mandalorian spin-off "Rangers of the New Republic" Disney+ show confirmed - I imagine this will tie into the X-Wing pilots who showed up during the 3rd and 4th episodes of Mandalorian Season 2. This could be cool but I'm wondering how it'll compare to/contrast against the Rogue Squadron movie. I feel like there's a real easy chance both projects overlap with themes and storytelling, but maybe that'll be on purpose and turn out well. I'm not super hyped for this but it will still be really cool to see the inner-workings of the New Rebellion for the first real time in live action canon. Lando Calrissian Disney+ show confirmed - Hopefully they're able to get Donald Glover, I don't know why you'd bother without him. Still, I'm not too too hyped about this. I'm sure it'll be fun enough but I feel like the Lando character has more-or-less been explored as much as they can. We'll see though. Andor Disney+ show confirmed, BTS teaser released - See: my Lando thoughts above. Just about the exact same feeling. "Mystery-thriller" Disney+ show titled "The Acolyte" confirmed - Intrigued to see what they do here, and if they actually commit to a "mystery-thriller" vibe for it. No story details are out as far as I know, but the genre could be neat for a Sith apprentice or something like that. Maybe some Palpatine/Plaguies stuff? UPDATE: This is apparently set during the new High Republic era that was announced and will be rolled out in 2021. I was skeptical at first but I'm looking forward to exploring that era in the comics so it'll be neat to see how the show ties in. The Bad Batch animated Disney+ show re-confirmed with a trailer - Probably what I'm least excited about. I'm over the clones in just about every way. I dig Rex because he's an actual character, but I don't need anymore prequel-era clone stories. It seems they're destined to keep doling them out though. Star Wars: Visions short animated film series confirmed - If this is anything like the old "Star Wars Tales" comics or the newer "Star Wars Adventures" comics, it could be great. Quick standalone stories that satisfy. Looking forward to seeing what they end up doing. "A Droid Story" starring C-3PO and R2-D2 short film confirmed - I have a soft, nostalgic spot in my heart for the real crappy Droids cartoon from the 80s, especially the movie they edited a few of the episodes into, so I'll watch this and probably love it. Apparently it's about them leading a new character through a story, which is similar to the cartoon premise. Looking forward to it even if I don't expect that much out of it.

If I missed any news, post about it here.

Too much to get me to watch all of it. Maybe some.

Kommie wrote:

As a fan of Star Wars in this modern streaming era, there's no such thing as "too much" - just "what I'll feel like watching". I say keep pumping out the content for those who will be into it, and it at least offers some stuff I can visit down the road when I'm bored if I pass on it initially.

Mostly just interested in Obi-Wan and Taika's movie, but I'll give the rest of the non-animated stuff a chance.

BTW, we missed a Star Wars obit a few weeks ago, and another popped up today.

David Prowse (Darth Vader) passed on November 28th, 2020.

Jeremy Bulloch (original Boba Fett in Empire and Return of the Jedi) passed today, December 17, 2020.

Reed wrote:

Teasers like this are as helpful as CGI game reveals that show no game-play for new IPs.

I just thought that teaser was a neat little announcement video. Wasn’t really meant to be an actual trailer or anything.

theJaw wrote:

Yeah like, "Guess what we're making? We know it's a big deal to a lot of you. Get hyped"

What’s the best way to read/learn about Rouge Squadron? There are books but which one lol.

Reed wrote:

The Marvel SW comics featured them (issues 52-55). Not sure if it’s the current run or the one right before the current run.

There was also a Dark Horse comic series that was great:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&lo...

That’s a link for the omnibus, but it’s almost $50 because those books are out of print nowadays and the stories are now “legends” (non-canon).

Otherwise there were those 3 games. I believe the first came out for N64, then Rogue Leader and RS3 came out on Gamecube (and other consoles?).

Thanks, yeah I saw the Omnibus book on Amazon the other day and thought that might be the place to start.

Reed wrote:

Yah from what I remember, those comics rule.

Important to also note that it was actually Rogue Squadron that attacked the Death Star with Luke in A New Hope, so they naturally have a ton of stories in the canon and non-canon lore. There was a Dark Horse miniseries about Biggs Darklighter (Luke’s pal from ANH) that was really fun.

So some exploring may do ya well as far as Rogue Squadron and its members and all the stories in regards to them go.

I remember trying to read the old Rogue Squadron books years ago and always getting bored.

I need a good Rogue Squadron movie.

razeak wrote:

Looks like there’s a good chance you’ll be getting one.

Curious as to what kinda story The Mandalorian does for Season 3. Dark Saber will probably be the focus, and I imagine people will "protest" and claim to not watch if Grogu is absent all season, or most of it.

I doubt there will be protest. Grogu’s story was paid off perfectly in the finale, and it’s SW so you know the character will resurface eventually. I personally expect him to be a big part in whatever the crossover between Mandalorian/Rangers of the New Republic/Ahsoka(+Book of Boba Fett?) will be. He’ll probably be a “key” in defeating Thrawn.

Mando Season 3 will almost definitely revolve around Mandalore and who is the rightful ruler.... if the planet even still exists. Bill Burr said it didn’t in Episode 7 so who knows. Regardless I imagine the Darksaber is still the symbol for whoever “leads” all Mandalorians so that will definitely be a major factor in Season 3.

Just sorta silly because the Darksaber has literally never had the “only passes via combat” rule, so that was invented just to add tension between Mando and Bo Katan. They straight steal it from Maul, and then Sabine just gives it to Bo Katan in Rebels. None of this “you need to beat them in combat” stuff.

I haven't seen Season 2 yet (will be binging soon) but it's interesting that the baby Yoda stuff is over already. I was expecting a kind of "Lone Wolf and Cub" thing that would play out over many seasons, not just 2. I guess I thought Grogu factored more into the imbedded story than he is.

Looking forward to watching S2.

Favreau apparently said

Yeah I'm sure we'll see more of Grogu, hopefully it's sooner than later though. I'm excited to see what they do with Mando possessing the darksaber.

My wife is calling Grogu "Googoo baby" now.

theJaw wrote:

They picked a good director. She's also inspired by her dad being an F4 pilot. I hope that all translates well.

No baby yoda, no viewers.