Star Wars Episode 7

[mynameisbob84]

So, Disney bought Lucasfilm and announced Star Wars Episode 7 for 2015. Is anyone actually looking forward to it, or was the prequel trilogy enough to kill off any remaining enthusiasm for the Star Wars saga?

 

[Shaun__]

I was worried Disney would ruin it by adding teddy bears or an annoying comedian like Eddie Murphy when he is trying to be family friendly. Then I remembered the Ewoks and Jar Jar. That made me realize I could not see how it can get any worse.

Also if Han shot first, his aim sucks since Greedo returned fire.

 

[Jupiter551]

Disney making star wars is a -5, but George Lucas not having godlike powers over the franchise is a +100. Depends now whether they decide to make it "for kids" or for all ages.

 

[morment]

I'll probably see it, but I won't expect much from it.

 

[Crumb]

I'll watch
I have to, the geek in me has no choice.

 

[Anonymous]

I have been a lifelong Star Wars fan. My fandom goes beyond merely enjoying the films and collecting the toys. About 13 years ago I set out to find out how to build my own lightsaber and, with the help of the world wide web, I was able to do it. Now I have a huge collection of replica Star Wars props. Most of them were built using the same parts and techniques used by the original prop makers. I even have Star Wars tattoos. Seriously, I'm a huge Star Wars geek. I can even enjoy the prequels on a certain level.

That said, about a year and a half ago, I had to come to realize that Star Wars was pretty much over for me. I still loved it and have no regrets about anything, but it just seemed like all the new Star Wars stuff coming out was not for me. All the Star Wars Lego stuff, the Clone Wars show, and just about all the other things coming out with Star Wars name slapped on it just didn't hold any interest to me.

When I read this news today, I was in complete shock. There had been absolutely zero murmurs of this within the fan community. At first I thought this had to be some sort of mistake. Then I read that there will be a new film in a couple years. I was floored. At first I thought this cant be good. Then, I got to thinking about all the Marvel films in the past few years. All of those were done under Disney and I love those films. I started thinking like there might be hope for the Star Wars franchise. Plus, every year when I visit Disneyland, I always make sure and go on the Star Tours ride. Maybe having Disney take control from George Lucas wont be so bad. He's a great idea man, so him still being a creative consultant is a good idea. Just let other people have the ultimate say. He needs to be reigned in. Also, maybe other creative types like JJ Abrams, Joss Whedon, or others could finally get a chance to tell some Star Wars stories. Who knows?

I think its going to be an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan again.

 

[Jupiter551]

I think we all know it couldn't be any worse...unless Lucas signed some sort of deal where he gets to interfere.

 

[KayleePond]

I thought I was being Punk'd when someone told me this! I am concerned but curious. At the same time, when there is a universe that I REALLY enjoy, sometimes I am happy just to have any piece of it carry on. As someone else said, even if it's bad I can enjoy it on some level. The idea that Lucas wouldn't do Star Wars anymore kind of blows my mind, it is difficult to wrap my head around. I think that we can all agree that the geek community has a love/hate relationship with him and especially in more recent years it goes more on the hate (or perhaps frustration or annoyance is the proper word) side of things. However, this man DID create this world and though he is responsible for things that we dislike he is also responsible for some things that we intensely love. I feel that the lame things he has done do not overshadow the fact that he created motherfucking Star Wars and Indiana Jones, two of my favorite movie series ever.

I read a really great article with Steven Spielberg a little while ago and I must say that it softened my harsher feelings towards Lucas (I tiny bit). Mr. Pond and I have discussed at great length the Lucas and Spielberg relationship many times, along with the weird stuff with Indiana Jones and Star Wars. It is just clear that not only are they just such close and dear friends but they have a great respect for one another professionally. Spielberg was asked about all of the hate for the most recent Indiana Jones and he very graciously said that George Lucas was the one who wrote the originals and how could he not let him take it where he thought it should go? To be honest I felt a bit like a dick for all the shit I've talked about Lucas recently. He is the one who created these worlds and he is also the type who has had these stories written for many, many years. If he is the one who has created these universes, how can we tell him that he is wrong? Blah, I am often torn about this. I am not saying I am happy with the new Indiana Jones, Episodes I-III (We continue to insist that these movies all do not exist) or the updates and changes to the original Star Wars movies, but I feel like perhaps I should let up a bit on the person who gave me such wonderful fantasy worlds to enjoy.

I am interested to see where this new path leads, but as the voting options said I am cautiously optimistic. The whole concept is still pretty strange to me though.

 

[Jupiter551]

I thought I was being Punk'd when someone told me this! I am concerned but curious. At the same time, when there is a universe that I REALLY enjoy, sometimes I am happy just to have any piece of it carry on. As someone else said, even if it's bad I can enjoy it on some level. The idea that Lucas wouldn't do Star Wars anymore kind of blows my mind, it is difficult to wrap my head around. I think that we can all agree that the geek community has a love/hate relationship with him and especially in more recent years it goes more on the hate (or perhaps frustration or annoyance is the proper word) side of things. However, this man DID create this world and though he is responsible for things that we dislike he is also responsible for some things that we intensely love. I feel that the lame things he has done do not overshadow the fact that he created motherfucking Star Wars and Indiana Jones, two of my favorite movie series ever.

I read a really great article with Steven Spielberg a little while ago and I must say that it softened my harsher feelings towards Lucas (I tiny bit). Mr. Pond and I have discussed at great length the Lucas and Spielberg relationship many times, along with the weird stuff with Indiana Jones and Star Wars. It is just clear that not only are they just such close and dear friends but they have a great respect for one another professionally. Spielberg was asked about all of the hate for the most recent Indiana Jones and he very graciously said that George Lucas was the one who wrote the originals and how could he not let him take it where he thought it should go? To be honest I felt a bit like a dick for all the shit I've talked about Lucas recently. He is the one who created these worlds and he is also the type who has had these stories written for many, many years. If he is the one who has created these universes, how can we tell him that he is wrong? Blah, I am often torn about this. I am not saying I am happy with the new Indiana Jones, Episodes I-III (We continue to insist that these movies all do not exist) or the updates and changes to the original Star Wars movies, but I feel like perhaps I should let up a bit on the person who gave me such wonderful fantasy worlds to enjoy.

I am interested to see where this new path leads, but as the voting options said I am cautiously optimistic. The whole concept is still pretty strange to me though.

For me it's the fact that Lucas has been such a DICK about it all lol. He refuses to release the original theatre cuts on blueray, in fact he claims he destroyed the 1977 theatrical cut of Episode 1. He called fans of the original series whiners because they refused to admit that the movies were meant for children (even though the second trilogy never would have had the support to be made if those same fans hadn't kept SW alive). Claims everyone loves Jar Jar Binks except for a few loud crybabies. He reminds me a bit of Kim Jong Il before his death - power mad and completely delusional.

I presume you've seen The People vs George Lucas documentary? Well if not, one of the arguments made and I think it's a very good one, is that while he may have created the universe and the films it doesn't give him license to come back and alter them, ensuring the altered version is the only one available. It would be like Da Vinci turning up in present day Paris and wanting to draw a moustache on the Mona Lisa - yes he created it, but at some point it becomes a part of the collective culture and he loses the right to change it.

 

[Crumb]

For me it's the fact that Lucas has been such a DICK about it all lol. He refuses to release the original theatre cuts on blueray,...

I still have the originals on VHS

 

[KayleePond]

For me it's the fact that Lucas has been such a DICK about it all lol.

Seriously this kind of sums it up.

Such. A. Dick.

I really do go back and forth and believe me I have talked a LOT of shit. You are completely right and I think that he has been terrible in so many ways. There is no way that I will say that I actually like the guy but there are moments when I'm torn. I'll think "What gives me the right to judge him so harshly?" and then I think about Jar Jar and the alterations to the original movies and such and it's like "HULK SMAAAAAASH!" I have seen that documentary, it certainly does cover a lot of good points! Him not giving us access to the original versions is probably his worst offense, to me.

Blah! I try to be an understanding person but maybe I'm just an asshole too.

 

[KayleePond]

For me it's the fact that Lucas has been such a DICK about it all lol. He refuses to release the original theatre cuts on blueray,...

I still have the originals on VHS

Me too! Thank goodness.

 

[lordmagellan]

You don't have to like Lucas or the changes he made to his stories, but I have to respect a man that follows his vision. Sure he may be a dick, but you gotta admit you loved that sweet Lucas dick.

I actually even enjoy a good deal of I-III. Yep, I admit it. The overarching story is pretty good, in my opinion. The manipulation of Anikin was brilliant as far as I'm concerned. But as the saying goes, "the devil is in the details;" and that was truer for this trilogy of movies than any other, I think. Most of the dialogue was horrible (though to be fair, Sir Guinness hated Obi Wan's in the original), the age gap between Anikin and Padme was questionable, "Ani" was a really stupid choice, Darth Maul was under used, Jar Jar sucked in the first- got better in three where he said nothing and put Palpatine in charge thereby giving us the Empire.

They're like any other films that have good points and bad points, but since they're attached to our childhoods, we consider them sacred. They're not. I love Star Wars, the films, the games, some of the books (only read a few), the mythology of the whole thing, the unbridled imagination that went into and goes into creating the universe, I love it. And I have good ole' George to thank for it. Sure, now his ego has gotten too damn large for his own story telling good; but I'm partly to blame. And so are you. George Lucas is a demonstration of what happens when you surround yourself with too many "yes men."

while he may have created the universe and the films it doesn't give him license to come back and alter them

As a creator, I can't agree with that. Well, not completely. If I created something and it turned into some phenomenon, but I felt it was unfinished, yes I have every right to alter it to my vision. Unless I've sold it. If it belongs to someone else, then I have given up all rights to it, except being named as creator. But if I still own it or hold any licenses or copyrights, I can do whatever I damn well please. Love it or leave it.

 

[Jupiter551]

As a creator, I can't agree with that. Well, not completely. If I created something and it turned into some phenomenon, but I felt it was unfinished, yes I have every right to alter it to my vision. Unless I've sold it. If it belongs to someone else, then I have given up all rights to it, except being named as creator. But if I still own it or hold any licenses or copyrights, I can do whatever I damn well please. Love it or leave it.

Yeah but then you come back to the Mona Lisa argument. If Da Vinci could travel forward through time would it be ok for him to paint a moustache on the Mona Lisa? Or Michaelangelo to give David a footlong shlong?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_IV:_A_New_Hope#Honors

In 1989, the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress selected the film as a "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" film.

^ That should be rescinded because he has done and is doing everything in his power to destroy any surviving copies of that film. He's even said that within a generation magnetic tape will fail, all the VHS copies will be useless even if anyone had the hardware to play them and he will have essentially rewritten history.

Another issue is he may have been the "creator" but he is far from the only person who worked on the film, is it ethical for him to go back and change or remove their work? If nothing else George Lucas is an abject lesson in what happens when creativity ceases to be collaboration and becomes creative masturbation.

It also won six Academy Awards including some that are really fundamentally changed by the new cuts: best editing, best visual effects, best art direction.

Think of influential artists in film, music etc. Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, U2, etc. Most creative geniuses start their career with their best work, make some other great work, and then start getting a bit stale and when they're 50 and still releasing albums...half the time we don't even know about it.

George did something truly unique - he took his brilliant early work and turned it into his stale later work.

 

[Jupiter551]

You don't have to like Lucas or the changes he made to his stories, but I have to respect a man that follows his vision.

Hitler followed his 'vision' too, not all visions are worthy of respect

 

[mynameisbob84]

I have mixed thoughts. On the one hand, Lucas is still attached to the project as a "creative consultant" and after the prequel trilogy and Indy 4, I've pretty much concluded that 21st Century Lucas is to quality cinema what Kryptonite is to Superman's evening.
Then there's the fact that the prequel trilogy was just so bad. It certainly speaks to the idea that extensive CGI is a hinderance to the Star Wars universe as opposed to something that can enhance it. I can't see Disney scaling back the CGI any.

But then on the other hand, with another director at the helm, shit could be awesome. The best Star Wars movie is still the one that Lucas didn't direct. David Lynch was at one point attached to direct Empire. Imagine if David Lynch directed Episode 7! Or Joss Whedon? Or J.J Abrahams? Or, if we're thinking outside the box, somebody like Edgar Wright or Guillermo Del Toro. Any one of those could theoretically do something great with the series.

The other positive to come out of the sale to Disney is that Lucas no longer has control over the way Lucasfilm properties are presented and sold. Original theatrical Star Wars Blu-Rays? Old Star Wars toys featuring in a new Toy Story film? Indiana Jones cropping up in a new Kingdom Hearts game? A Star Wars/Muppets crossover? An Avengers vs Star Wars beat-em-up? A Howard The Duck Sequel?? There's the potential for good here.

I'm putting myself in the "caustiously optimistic" pile, yo.

 

[lordmagellan]

A Howard The Duck Sequel??

If only.

Another issue is he may have been the "creator" but he is far from the only person who worked on the film, is it ethical for him to go back and change or remove their work? If nothing else George Lucas is an abject lesson in what happens when creativity ceases to be collaboration and becomes creative masturbation.

It also won six Academy Awards including some that are really fundamentally changed by the new cuts: best editing, best visual effects, best art direction.

This is why I said, "mostly." The fact that film is a huge collaborative effort is what plunges this into a big grey area. But, if he's using original scenes that were previously edited by himself, then he's not stepping on any toes, necessarily. The others did their job and provided their talents and were paid for it with the knowledge that he would cut and splice the film to make a movie. They really had no say in how it would all come together.

Take the scene with Jabba from "A New Hope;" it was cut from the original because he didn't like Jabba, but still wanted that scene for continuity. When the technology improved, he went back and added it in. I've no problem with this; hell authors do it all the time, that's what revised and expanded editions are.
Now the head replacement in Jedi...that's a little weird for me. That is cutting an actor from the film and replacing him. But at the same time, the actor was paid any way, and knew that his scene may end up on the cutting room floor.


I can't answer your Da Vinci scenario because, knowing Da Vinci, even if he wanted to come and change the Mona Lisa, he'd be way too distracted by all the inventions and science of today so he'd forget all about it. Of course he may see it and ask why we make such a fuss over it.

 

[Jupiter551]

I can't answer your Da Vinci scenario because, knowing Da Vinci, even if he wanted to come and change the Mona Lisa, he'd be way too distracted by all the inventions and science of today so he'd forget all about it. Of course he may see it and ask why we make such a fuss over it.

He might, but that's the point - it isn't what the Mona Lisa was to Da Vinci that counts, it's what it means to culture, humanity. Expanded and revised editions - no problem, but I've never yet heard of another creative person systematically destroying or denying his earlier versions - and THAT is the problem. No one cared that much when Lucas wanted to go back and fuck up his old films, we cared when we found out he would ONLY release the fucked up versions, as if the rest just never happened. Imagine Paul McCartney changing all the Beatles songs so John Lennon was no longer in them, then deleting all the masters, removing any legal copies from the web....within a few years, certainly a few decades, very few of the originals would exist anymore and even less people would know about them.

That's what George Lucas doesn't get to do, that's unethical and it's fucked up.

 

[Anonymous]

Guess we can forget about this deal leading to a release of the original theatrical versions on blu ray.

http://www.slashfilm.com/20th-centu...wars-films-making-original-box-set-difficult/

 

[mynameisbob84]

Well, that sucks

To be fair to Lucas though, he's said to be giving away the $4 billion he made from the Lucasfilm sale to education. For all the shit he gets for being a greedy tit, that's pretty classy of him.

 

[Shaun__]

Video of Lucas explaining his reasons.

​

 

[waogo]

What everyone is missing from this, is... does this mean maybe Lucasarts can now make a remake, or a new X-Wing or TIE Fighter game? PLEASE? Or better yet, a remake of XvT!

Anyway...

Untrue about ALL the Marvel films. I think, really, only Cap and Avengers were under Disney. Maybe Thor, too. Not sure. And, even still, they were under direct Marvel control, anyway, so... And, may have been mostly complete before the Disney deal went through, anyhow, in the case of Cap/Thor. I mean, they still had to honor the Paramount distro deal, too.

And I'm kind of excited, now. Star Wars has really only had The Clone Wars CGI cartoon going. It's good, but, well, it's the only thing, lately. Even the live action TV show has stalled. Which, with Disney owning ABC, might get it back underway.

Also, I enjoyed the last Indiana Jones film. Felt it fit right in. I mean, with magic melting Nazis' faces off, and ripping out still beating hearts, and what not, "aliens" seem to fit. I hesitate to call them aliens, since they were from another dimension, etc, etc, blah, blah, nerd reasons.

 

[waogo]

Just thought of something. Disney owns Henson's stuff, now, right? Puppet Yoda, please? Also, ala ET in Ep1 or whichever... Pilots from Farscape in the new Senate. Hee hee.

That's another thing Disney's done well with... Muppets was excellent.

 

[Jolene]

I'm just thrilled Lucas won't have anything at all to do with the next movies. When you're at the bottom anything is a trade up. Go Disney! (ewwww did I just say that?)

 

[16_bit]

The job of writing the next film has gone to Michael Arndt (yea, i don't know who he is either), writer of Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3 and the next Hunger Games film. Can't say i really saw any of the films he's written on so i don't know if this is a step in the right direction or not.

Apparently they are going to focus on a new generation of heroes but reports suggest there could be roles for some of the originals, and have suggested that Harrison Ford is keen to come back.

 

[Crumb]

Apparently they are going to focus on a new generation of heroes but reports suggest there could be roles for some of the originals, and have suggested that Harrison Ford is keen to come back.

they'd kind of have to focus on a new group... its been 30 years since jedi
if anyone is going to come back, it'd have to be as the leaders of the new republic and be seen to 'pass the torch' to the new generation

 

[bigsancho]

Well the prequels pretty much set the bar low so what other stupid shit Disney can do to fuck the series.

Medicolorians (sp) is all I have to say

Also I guess Luke will have an Obi Wan style of character in the new series

 

[16_bit]

The latest rumour at the moment is that Disney are thinking about bringing Darth Vader back. Obviously there's bound to be lots of rumours until more things are confirmed but he is an iconic part of Star Wars, you could see why this could turn true. How they would do it would be their biggest problem (at least in terms of making a good movie) but at the moment, it's still just a rumour from 'indutry insiders'.

 

[Crumb]

The latest rumour at the moment is that Disney are thinking about bringing Darth Vader back. Obviously there's bound to be lots of rumours until more things are confirmed but he is an iconic part of Star Wars, you could see why this could turn true. How they would do it would be their biggest problem (at least in terms of making a good movie) but at the moment, it's still just a rumour from 'indutry insiders'.

the only way that I can think of, to bring him back, is to make the new Vader a clone
which is not unheard of in the star wars univers

 

[xoScarlett_]

Was I the only on that heard that after the 2015 movie, there will be one new Star Wars movie every year?

I reaaally hope that's not true. Disney would ruin one of the best movie franchises ever.

But I am so stoked that the original trio (Fisher, Hamill and Ford) are returning. I'd be even
more stoked if the ewoks made an appearance.