I wanted to see the heroes become the villains, (A repressive New Republic) instead of re-hashing the Empire over again. I hear they have a new Death Star.

But then, that's re-hashing the prequel arc. Hrm. Maybe we need some bio-mechanical bad guys to invade the New Republic! :rotfl:

Quote from: Ratman_tf;861804I wanted to see the heroes become the villains, (A repressive New Republic) instead of re-hashing the Empire over again. I hear they have a new Death Star.

But then, that's re-hashing the prequel arc. Hrm. Maybe we need some bio-mechanical bad guys to invade the New Republic! :rotfl:

Luke is going to end up the BigBad, by the end of the movie if not sooner - mark it well.

Quote from: Ratman_tf;861682Like when Wash died in Serentity I was like "Well, that happened." And I say that as a Firefly fan.

I loved Wash's death because it was sudden, unexpected and not heroic. He was just lost to us in the chaos of battle, the kind of death only redshirts get, but suddenly occurred to "one of our own."

That we haven't seen much in movies, and probably only happened because the actor Alan Tudyk has no career sense (or figured the franchise was dead) and was okay with getting his character whacked.

Quote from: Spinachcat;861856I loved Wash's death because it was sudden, unexpected and not heroic. He was just lost to us in the chaos of battle, the kind of death only redshirts get, but suddenly occurred to "one of our own."

That we haven't seen much in movies, and probably only happened because the actor Alan Tudyk has no career sense (or figured the franchise was dead) and was okay with getting his character whacked.

I prefer that sort, too. Especially when/if they happen generally in proportion to the risks, as it makes it much easier to think the danger in the plot has some significance to it, and isn't voided by "main character shields".

Quote from: Spinachcat;861856I loved Wash's death because it was sudden, unexpected and not heroic. He was just lost to us in the chaos of battle, the kind of death only redshirts get, but suddenly occurred to "one of our own."

That we haven't seen much in movies, and probably only happened because the actor Alan Tudyk has no career sense (or figured the franchise was dead) and was okay with getting his character whacked.

I think everyone involved did that movie with the knowledge that it was never gonna be a series again and almost certainly not going to get picked up for a sequel, so they were just wrapping up the narrative (namely River's storyline) as much as possible.

JG

Quote from: Werekoala;861854Luke is going to end up the BigBad, by the end of the movie if not sooner - mark it well.

Ah yes, the "why isn't Luke's in the poster?, oh wait, he is there!" theory.

We will see. It makes some sense.

Quote from: Spinachcat;862072Ah yes, the "why isn't Luke's in the poster?, oh wait, he is there!" theory.

We will see. It makes some sense.

Eh - I've been touting the theory for well over a year, for Reasons. Mostly because I think it would be an amazing story development, I think Hamill would be a GREAT bad guy (his voice work as the Joker shows he can get into the mindset, and he once said in an interview he wouldn't mind being Bad Luke), and it fits the thematic cycle of the movies so far. A fall from grace for the fair-haired Hero would fit nicely, and be a more "mature" twist for a franchise that that is almost 40 years old.

I know it won't be nearly as dark as I'd do it - think "Heart of Darkness"/"Apocalypse Now" with Luke as. Col. Kurtz. One or both of the Kids take on the Martin Sheen role.

"Dathomir. Why did it have to be Dathomir..."

Quote from: Werekoala;862121A fall from grace for the fair-haired Hero would fit nicely, and be a more "mature" twist for a franchise that that is almost 40 years old.

Ok, a fall from grace for a fair-haired LIKEABLE Hero....

From what I've seen of the trailers I'm trying to put together a probable story arc. The black storm-trooper was the only recognizable character in the first trailers, and he's all over the new one, so he'd the clear hero, though the did add the girl.

But I see the BST is also wearing rebel gear and looking bemused, and someone mentioned seeing him with a lightsaber (I missed that personally). Given all the details its looking like we have a former stormtrooper who gets lost/left behind/sole survivor who winds up joining the rebellion and possibly becoming a jedi apprentice. Luke Skywalker is in it, which gives us an angle there as a possible mentor figure. I know they jettisoned the EU Canon (thank GOD), but that would mesh with his role in the books over the entire course of the EU.

Girl is clearly cast in the action heroine role of the Padme from Attack of the Clones, so female lead. Romantic interest? I'm not sure. Abrams doesn't have a track record of 'shipping' characters in the usual fashion so I'm willing to believe not.  Could be the/a Solo Child, which would make some sense with the scenes with Han and Leia, giving a smart 'passing of the torch' story arc.

The Bad Guy is clearly a sith worshipper of Darth Vadar (worshipper does seem the best word here). Not betting on Luke for that role, not that I'd mind Evil Mark Hamill.  I wouldn't mind seeing Han Solo die, if only because over the last two decades I've gotten the impression that, while I like Harrison Ford's characters, I don't much like Harrison Ford, or rather his attitude towards his job.  

Anyway: We clearly see an organization of these Sith types, and we see Storm Troopers and people who look like Rebels, so we can just call them Rebels and be done with it for now.  Again with the Tatooine.

Setting? With ditched EU, we can presume that the death of the Emperor above Endor was merely the beginning of the end for the Empire. Long running war with a slow rebuilding of the Republic? Seems most likely. Similar in shape to the EU stuff without being bound by it, maybe with a longer slog for Republic forces than in the books.

Han's comment, so far the only clear line of dialog, other than some vague mutterings about Darth Vader (as I recall. I haven't been obsessively parsing these trailers, you know...), suggests that the 'old gang' have been out of touch for a long while. Lost in space?   That does suggest, following the clear Star Warzian tradition of "Great Man of History" that without the Old Gang (or parts of it) the Rebellion hasn't been able to secure a strong footing against the remnants of Empire because their Great Men have been lost.

One thing that really jumped out at me in this trailer too - aside from the water-planet where the clones were grown, is this the only time it rains in Star Wars?

It rains on Dagobah, and R2 is stuck outside.

It's been known for a few years now that Lucas wanted David Hare to direct and write screenplays for the prequels. Now Ron Howard has come forward to that he, Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis were also offered the job. So much for the notion of Lucas being a control freak.

SPOILER-FREE mini-review:

The Force Awakens is a fun romp... as long as you don't expect originality.

You've seen it all before. And that's kinda the movie's strength as well as it's weakness.

Plus it's got the energy mace from Gamma World in it.

Saw it. Liked it. The Family Liked it. Daniel Craig is in it. Oh, ...and they totally stole ideas from my home game!