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New Star Wars

TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
edited August 2016 in General Discussion #1
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
Post edited by TALON_UK on
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  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    And, let the Star Wars saturation begin. If there's anybody that knows how to run a cash cow into the ground, it's Disney. Though, having said that, they are doing good things with the Marvel universe movies, so I'm at least somewhat optimistic that it won't suck. ;)

    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.
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    Well that's the sort of thing I'm hoping for, a more rank and file soldier based Star Wars story rather than the heroes and Jedi tales that we already have an abundance of.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    I'm with you on that one. There's a lot more to the Star Wars universe than just Jedi. There are plenty of interesting "other" career choices.

    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.
  • homerpalooza67homerpalooza67228 Posts: 1,891Member
    And, let the Star Wars saturation begin. If there's anybody that knows how to run a cash cow into the ground, it's Disney. Though, having said that, they are doing good things with the Marvel universe movies, so I'm at least somewhat optimistic that it won't suck. ;)

    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.
    Lucasfilm has already done an admirable job of running Star Wars into the ground, starting with the abysmal prequals and crappy OT re-releases.
    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.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Lucasfilm has already done an admirable job of running Star Wars into the ground, starting with the abysmal prequals and crappy OT re-releases.

    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.
    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'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.
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    The prequels are not to everyone's taste for sure, my mind changes about the individual entries of that trilogy dependent on my mood. Still, has to be said even a poor Star Wars movie knocks the socks off of most of the dross out there. They'll usually have their moments despite their flaws. My positive spin on prequels is easily the fact they gave us an even more rich and varied universe to play in (some of the hardware and new locations developed for the prequels are unarguably fantastic) and they gave us the Clone Wars animated series, good period, kids cartoon or not. If you've only seen episodes from the first one or two seasons get the whole lot in boxsets and mainline the lot, you'll find it very rewarding and that the themes and quality of the show improve exponentially as it goes on. In many ways it actually outshines the prequel movies in that it has more time to deal with the possible stories that the Clone Wars era can offer up. The later shows go to some really dark places, and sometimes you forget you're watching a children's cartoon. Quite mature themes tend to crop up. Get 'em watched.

    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.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    I actually do like a lot of the stories in Rebels, but some of the art really irks me. The Wookiees, for example. Awful looking.

    wookies_versus_stormtrooper_trailer.png?w=500

    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!:
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    Is a shocker, but understandable. With a main new Star Wars trilogy picture coming out every two years, you don't want to be working John Williams into an early grave. You want his focus on producing the best possible work for those 3 movies. The standalones by their very nature should be quite unique in the Star Wars pantheon, and if that includes a non-Williams soundtrack? I'm down with that. As long as they have Williams signed up to do all 3 of the sequel trilogy movies it's all good.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    I know, I just love his music. His Superman score is on my top ten of all movie scores. (Right up there with Jerry Goldsmith's Planet of the Apes score) I could do a whole list of movies that he's scored that I love the music in, or you could just save time and look at George Lucas' and Steven Spielberg's list of films. I was listening to "Catch Me if You Can" on TBS last night (even though I have the Blu-Ray) while I was on the computer. I love the music he did for that film.

    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.)
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer #2

    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:
  • rojrenrojren2298 Louisville, Kentucky USAPosts: 1,970Member
    I haven't been to a theater since 2009. I'm thinking I may have to go see this.

    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.)
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    Well, he's always said he was more of a Star Wars fan than a Trek fan, so hopefully that'll reflect in the quality of the resulting work. Gotta say it's looking pretty good so far.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Remember, "Star Trek" was JJ's Star Wars demo reel. :lol:

    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. :D

    Don't even get me started on the new Terminator trailer. :rolleyes:
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    Oh, and on checking this out this morning I stand corrected, a slight revision in my analysis, if you pause it a frame in the lightsaber shot you just glimpse an alien looking face as the hand passes the lightsaber over, so I guess that means it's Leia receiving the lightsaber.

    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.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    That makes sense, as Luke would have to have trained her. One wonders why he went to Bespin and retrieved his father's lightsaber, unless it's just one that resembles his father's.
  • stfanboystfanboy67 Posts: 388Member
    Is it just me or did the shot showing the crashed Imperator-class Star Destroyer look terrible. The ground looks unaffected from the crash and the mountains look tiny in comparison. Also the haze is overdone. I know it's a big ship but the way it is layered in the shot it looks larger than a mile. I think it is a great idea but the execution was cheap.

    WUsdR94.jpg
  • Vortex5972Vortex5972321 Posts: 1,202Member
    I was under the impression that the Luke dialog in that trailer was reused from ROTJ, sounded like the right inflections etc.

    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
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    Nice find, lots of good stuff for the speculators to chew on there.

    :thumb:
  • stfanboystfanboy67 Posts: 388Member
    TALON_UK wrote: »
    Nice find, lots of good stuff for the speculators to chew on there.

    :thumb:

    Don't you mean to "chewie" on ;)
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    stfanboy wrote: »
    Is it just me or did the shot showing the crashed Imperator-class Star Destroyer look terrible. The ground looks unaffected from the crash and the mountains look tiny in comparison. Also the haze is overdone. I know it's a big ship but the way it is layered in the shot it looks larger than a mile. I think it is a great idea but the execution was cheap.

    WUsdR94.jpg

    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.
  • stfanboystfanboy67 Posts: 388Member
    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.

    egbH3dg.jpg
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    I'm thinking Executor class too.
  • stfanboystfanboy67 Posts: 388Member
    Found this gem on Reddit. :lol:

    PtXIDAg.jpg
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    "WE AIN'T FOUND S***!"
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Yeah, that was pretty funny. Though, I haven't seen Interstellar, so I don't know what he was really doing in that scene.
  • Vortex5972Vortex5972321 Posts: 1,202Member
    Here's some officially released high-res stills from the trailer. http://imgur.com/M0SNeTh

    Also, the Battlefront trailer was awesome.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    I never really got into the Battlefront games. I got the first one in a bundle of SW games (because I wanted Knights of the Old Republic) years ago and I found it quite boring. No story, just FPS arenas.
  • Vortex5972Vortex5972321 Posts: 1,202Member
    I found that to be a nice change. Don't really remember the first one, but the second was good. From the sounds of it, the new one doesn't have a single player campaign, so not sure I'll bother with it.

    TFA trailer is the first trailer that's got me wanting to go to the cinema since 2009.
  • TALON_UKTALON_UK2 Posts: 0Member
    So news has broken on the plot of Rogue One, and it is apparently going to revolve around a Rebel band's mission to steal the plans to the first Death Star, and will (obviously), be set between Ep.III and IV, interestingly the series of standalone movies will now be known collectively as the Star Wars Anthology Series, so I guess there is a lot of scope there for movies set in, but occurring on the fringes of that universe.

    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.
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