So we now have release dates for the next two
Star Wars movies after
Episode VII. The
Rian (Looper) Johnson directed
Episode VIII will be coming in
May 2017, a year and a half (rather than the traditional 2 years) after this year's entry, and in time for the 40th anniversary of the release of the first
Star Wars. This will make a great anniversary present for sure.
However in additional news we have the release date and title of the first of the stand alone
Star Wars movies to be released.
Gareth Edwards entry is now officially titled
Rogue One.
In addition to this exciting news, we have word that
Felicity Jones has been cast, and that the story comes from an idea from the head of
ILM supremo
John Knoll. This is aiming for a December 2016 release.
Let the speculation begin. With that title does it mean we'll be getting an
X-Wing Rebel pilot focused story? An early
Rebellion based tale? Coming from the mind of
John Knoll you'd expect some effects heavy action packed tale for sure. I personally would love a
Rebel Alliance grunts focused story, more dealing with those on the front line of the
Galactic Civil War, the troops out in the field, the pilots making the difference without the need for
The Force to help them, more gritty
Band of Brothers style soldiering set in the
Star Wars universe. Or perhaps the
Rebel mission to capture (either of) the
Death Star plans? Too many exciting possibilities.
What would you like to see?
Read the full story over on
Empire here:
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=43692
Or here on Starwars.com:
http://www.starwars.com/news/rogue-one-is-the-first-star-wars-stand-alone-film-rian-johnson-to-write-and-direct-star-wars-episode-viii
Posts
Rogue One would be Luke Skywalker, right? I mean, I know they called him Rogue Leader over the radio, but I'd think they would be one and the same. After all, Rogue Leader isn't an actual call sign, as evidenced by the first film where, after Gold Leader died, they called another pilot Gold Leader, indicating that he got bumped up to that position (for the final 5 seconds of his life.) I've never read any of the Rogue Squadron books and it's been ages since I played the games, but I don't remember anyone else being called Rogue One, and it would make sense for that to be Rogue Leader's actual call sign. Though, after Luke "retired" from RS to become a full time Jedi Master, the position went to Wedge Antilles. Personally, I wouldn't mind a story focusing on Wedge, as opposed to another Skywalker story.
I think Wedge is a great choice for a non-Jedi movie. For one thing, he's in all three original films and even casual fans know who he is. Hell, my Mom knows who he is and all she knows of Star Wars is what she's seen in the six existing live action films. (they're on the short list of Sci-Fi films she really loves) So, that's a great base for a film, in my opinion. Plus, after Luke goes full Jedi, he does command Rogue Squadron. I know, none of that is considered "canon" anymore, but I think they would be wise to have that happen in the newer films. After all, he was second in command of the fighter attack in Return of the Jedi, so he was already high up on the food chain, plus he helped Lando destroy the Death Star II.
The Clone Wars and other animated series seem to be doing well, but I don't pay much attention to cartoons. Disney at least offers a chance for a revival, considering whats been done with Marvel.
I like the prequels, so I'm going to disagree with you on the first bit. Sure, they're not as good as the original films, (but then, what is?) but I like them. Though, I definitely agree with you on the second bit. The re-re-re-re-releases with two or things done differently each time got old really fast.
I've seen a few episodes of The Cone Wars, it's not too bad. For a kids' cartoon, that is. It's mostly got decent stories, but there are definitely some things that are geared more towards kids. (lessons learned, etc.) Though, the newer cartoon they have, Rebels, is definitely not an improvement and it's being done by Disney. You can tell, because the characters have that distinct Disney look to them. (the main kid literally looks like Aladdin) But, that's not to say that movies geared more towards adults are going to be like that. Disney is definitely doing good things with the Marvel films. However, that's not to say that it's all to Disney's credit. Marvel also gets a lot of credit for the movies they've made, either partnered with Disney or other studios.
Rebels, the new animated series is growing on me (after getting over the sting of The Clone Wars coming to an early end), it has the same production team as was working on The Clone Wars, but yeah it has definitely skewed younger, but that said, in the early seasons of The Clone Wars it aimed young and the themes got more mature as it went on, so we might find the same happening here. Some of the latest episodes of Rebels have been quite good and getting quite dark too already. If you've seen the episode that re-introduces us to Grand Moff Tarkin you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
:eek!:
With regards to the new movies, the time is right for new blood, and if Disney's track record with Marvel is anything to go by we may have good times ahead. Seems to be to have a bit of a hands off approach, let the studio do their thing, provide the money and support for them to bring in the best possible new talent to work on the projects and then watch the money roll in. Hope that model works just as well here.
Though, the way Disney XD airs the episodes irks me as well. They're sporadic. They apparently just run new episodes whenever they feel like it. I've missed the last four episodes because I keep forgetting to look for it and set the DVR.
Edit: Ooh, I just found this:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/alexandre-desplat-will-score-star-wars-rogue-one/
No John Williams for Rouge One. :eek!:
It is good that they have him on the "episode" films, though. I guess we'll see what Alexandre Desplat does for Rogue One. I've only seen a few of the 157 movies he's done music for (counting stuff that's not out yet.)
Well, the new Star Wars trailer is here, what are everyone's thoughts? Gives us a bit more of an idea of what's going on, but not much more, which I like, not giving too much away (Yes, latest Terminator: Genisys trailer, that's you I'm looking at, naughty trailer :rolleyes:. Avoid if you haven't seen it already and don't want every major plot point spoiled) which is refreshing these days, but just enough new stuff to keep us excited.
What we catch mere glimpses of in the first teaser we see a bit more clearly here, such as the new Stormtroopers, including that nifty silver/chrome elite version we've heard a little about, a clearer look at the classic TIE Fighter design, which has interestingly had a colour inversion where the hull is now black/dark grey, and the solar panels are white. It also looks like Ansel will have a new Star Destroyer to build, though it didn't look like a Super Star Destroyer design, but more a normal sized ISD which has been customised to some extent, perhaps damaged and refitted or something? So it looks unique, but seems to be built on a standard ISD space frame. We also see the hangar interior and some other Imperial flavoured architecture, the familiar feel is still there, but it has a slightly slicker finish to it, almost like a cross between Star Wars and Tron: Legacy's shiny aesthetic.
We also have what seems to be Mark Hamill revisiting dialogue from Return of the Jedi when he told Leia he was her brother, and how the Force is strong in his family, etc. So who is he talking to? I'd bet it's the new girl and that she is perhaps Leia's daughter, or maybe Luke's? Who knows? Let the speculation continue though.
We get more of a look at the new main characters and get some more hints at what their relationship might be, Finn definitely looks to be on the run is some fashion and is being aided by Rey, we see him in some classic Star Wars styled civvie gear as well as his Stormtrooper armour, and see them both avoiding the fire of a strafing TIE Fighter on Tatooine. We also see the Rebel pilot Poe Dameron in his X-Wing again, but there is nothing really new revealed here other than a new shot showing the fighters flying overhead rather than the trucking side on shot we saw last time. The Sith, or should I say Sith wannabe shows us his face, or at least his mask this time, which is interesting to see, some clear inspiration being drawn from the look of Revan from the Knights of the Old Republic video game.
There are also some really nice visual touches here that really give the feel of 30 years of history that we've missed out on, the war wreckage strewn across the Tatooine desert showing us that the Empire clearly didn't just give up after the Battle of Endor, with entire Star Destroyers smashed into the desert surface, and is it me, or does the gargantuan thruster nozzle array that the Falcon flies into towards the end of the trailer look like an Executor styled Super Star Destroyer's back end inverted as if it crashed to the surface upside down?
We also get some of what was lacking from the last trailer, a glimpse of the old guard made new for these new movies. We see shots at the beginning that hint at Luke, a robed and hooded man kneeling next to R2 reaching out to him with a robotic/prosthetic hand, Leia, a woman's hand passing Luke's old lightsaber (the one he lost on Bespin) to a younger woman's (her daughter's?) hands. But tantalizingly we're not shown their faces, that is left for the money shot when a grizzled Han and his Wookiee partner (still not looking a day over 200) are revealed stating they're home. Standing on what looks to clearly be the deck of the Millennium Falcon. Yes they are, and when seeing them we feel like we're home too.
Anyhow, here's a link to the trailer, enjoy.
https://youtu.be/ngElkyQ6Rhs
:cool:
And I really, really hope J.J. Abrams doesn't butcher this like he did with Star Trek. (Not trying to start an argument - that's just my opinion.)
The new Star Wars trailer I'm liking. I saw that earlier. I freaking love the crashed X-Wing and ISD on Tattooine. Speculation wise, given that Luke starts his spiel with "The Force is strong in my family" and ends with "You have it," I'm guessing he's either talking to his child or his niece/nephew. Hell, possibly even more than one. It's interesting that they had Luke's old lightsaber being passed on. Shades of "The Last Command," where he passes it to Mara Jade after she kills his clone? I love the end bit with Han and Chewie.
Don't even get me started on the new Terminator trailer. :rolleyes:
Also it has been revealed that the desert planet is in fact not Tatooine (shock horror! :eek!:There's more than one desert planet in that galaxy far, far away), and is in fact a brand new world called Jakku.
As for the lightsaber, I think that's part of the plot. Not sure who knows what around hear so don't want to go to far with rumours in case some of them are true.
Here's a link to some images of costumes, model, props etc. May contain spoilers.
http://io9.com/star-wars-costumes-and-props-reveal-new-characters-for-1698341539?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
:thumb:
Don't you mean to "chewie" on
Those are little hills, not mountains. Otherwise, they'd tower over the X-Wing. The Imperial-class ISD is 1600 meters long. It's hard to say if the scale is off since we don't know the distances, but we are talking about ILM and JJ Abrams, so it's possible. :shiner: As for the ground bit, I'm sure it was torn up behind the hills. As long as that thing has been there, everything would have long since settled. Deserts have frequent sandstorms and their landscape is constantly changing. I agree about the haze, definitely overdone. The only reason for a desert to look that "cloudy" is if there's a sandstorm happening, of which we see no indication.
Yeah I guess you are right about the desert. I do like this shot though. Looks to be a upside down Executor class. Thoughts? I wonder what ship that was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYHdQUyOunA
Also, the Battlefront trailer was awesome.
TFA trailer is the first trailer that's got me wanting to go to the cinema since 2009.
Also, once again, interestingly, at the panel at Celebration where this news was revealed, a little video teaser was shown that had the crowd going mental, so I'm curious as to what that could have been at this early stage. This plot should certainly make for an interesting movie though.
Oh, and in relation to the comments regarding SW:Battlefront, it didn't really need a plot, it is a Star Wars themed battle simulator, you make your own stories within that if the gameplay is well enough designed and the variables are put in place and can give you those naturally occurring cinematic set pieces that the Battlefield games are so famous for. With the old SW:Battlefront games you also got a galactic map and had a conquest mode where you actually cut a swathe across the galaxy battling system to system to rule/liberate the galaxy, which was a pretty cool feature that helped you feel part of a much larger campaign and made the individual battles seem more valuable. Also playing with friends and actually building a team to battle against your opponents with added another dimension that singleplayer campaigns can't touch, that feeling of working together as a close knit team of other live players to defeat an enemy/problem resulted in some of my best gaming experiences. The first SW: Battlefront was my first experience of this to a level where I actually had a regular crew that I hung and played with, and it just elevated the game to a whole other level, I just hope we can get that again with this new incarnation.