Star Wars 8 - The Last Jedi (film)

[EvilNed]

“Well you see that’s implausible with the writer’s intentions, etc etc.” Sorry I couldn’t resist. Anyway, I see what you’re saying but with all the major original characters now gone, one being an unfortunate early death, it kind of kills the possibilities of continuing that thread. Of course there’s still Ben/Kylo, but wasn’t the whole idea of these new films to move on to new characters and let the past be? I’d rather see Rey be “the one” like they’ve hinted at and it goes onto possibly a new family thread that can continue on into the new trilogies. The Skywalker thread is getting tougher to weave into these films. So dont continue Star Wars. Or tell another fairytale set in the world. But don’t try to explain shit, because that unravels Star Wars.

[Neil]

It’s only a rumor at this point, but some reliable sources are reporting that Lucasfilm and Disney are now putting their Star Wars spin-off/anthology films on an indefinite hold: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/luca...on-hold-195-02 Of course one of the reasons leading to the decision is Solo’s box office returns. I personally think it’s stupid to cancel future movies because of only one film making moderate box office returns. What they should do instead, is focus more on the quality and stop mining characters or stories from the original trilogy. Make film with all new characters in different parts of the galaxy. It’s an endless well of possibilities, they just keep drawing from past films rather than being creative. I enjoyed Solo, but nobody was asking for a Han Solo prequel. The next films were also drawing from previous stories(Obi-Wan and Boba Fett), which begs the question of why start these anthology films and say you’re going to tell all new stories, but then only fill in some needless gaps in the history of established characters?? For now they’re focusing on Episode IX and Rian Johnson’s announced trilogy. I’d thought Johnson’s trilogy was also part of their anthology plan, but this suggests otherwise. Surely they’re not letting him make the next trilogy of the saga films? After The Last Jedi was so divisive among fans, I find it hard to believe that they’re giving him a whole trilogy, and giving him the next part of the saga films seems even more crazy. Spoke to my friend at Pinewood tonight. Supposedly Disney still have 5yrs of bookings at Pinewood, for the new trilogy of films, and a TV series...

[shootemindehead]

I disagree. Star Wars works best as a fairytale. Keep it to the Skywalkers. The more we learn about the universe, the dumber it gets. Why would anyone call himself the Dark Lord of the Sith? Um...I think one of the biggest mistakes Disney has made was hanging everything on the old crew, including the Skywalkers. They should have had the balls to forge ahead with new characters completely, but probably felt insecure as to how the audience would recieve them. Maybe they were right. Their new characters, Rey, Finn and Poe, were pretty bad. But, they didn't have to be. 'Rogue One' showed that new characters can be written well and work within an entirely new story, even if that story was hooked onto an already existing story. I understand Disney's want to use the OT crew. But, in the end they scuppered them as well and angered many fans into the bargain.

[EvilNed]

Um...I think one of the biggest mistakes Disney has made was hanging everything on the old crew, including the Skywalkers. They should have had the balls to forge ahead with new characters completely, but probably felt insecure as to how the audience would recieve them. Maybe they were right. Their new characters, Rey, Finn and Poe, were pretty bad. But, they didn't have to be. 'Rogue One' showed that new characters can be written well and work within an entirely new story, even if that story was hooked onto an already existing story. I understand Disney's want to use the OT crew. But, in the end they scuppered them as well and angered many fans into the bargain. I just Said Keep it to the Skywalkers, not necessarily Luke or Anakin.

[MinionZombie]

I don't think you need to 'keep it to the Skywalkers', whoever they may be ... there's so many stories in such a populated universe. We could do with, perhaps, seeing some more concise and personal stories so you can really focus on entirely new characters in other movies in the franchise. It'd be good to take a slightly Marvel-like approach in terms of the creative direction of different movies within the same universe - so you could have a heist-centric movie, then have another that plays more like a gritty war film (we kind of got that with Rogue One, actually, which worked very well). Indeed, thinking of Solo, in hindsight seeing how wobbly it's been (it's been Ron Howard's best ever box office opening IIRC, but on SW's own scale it's a poor showing) they'd have been much better risking it on the original directors - it'd be fascinating to know what that version of Solo would have been like. They might have done better to have remained bold, rather than lose their nerve as they did - and what a costly reversal it has been both in terms of budget and BO results.

[EvilNed]

I don't think you need to 'keep it to the Skywalkers', whoever they may be ... there's so many stories in such a populated universe. Tell to many stories and the rather ludicrous setup falls apart tho.

[bassman]

Even though it’s not doing great by SW standards, and indeed has its issues, I think Solo is actually a good direction for the anthology films. If you kind of take out the fact that it has Han Solo in it, it’s a fantastically fun adventure film. It’s like a western film with train heists, gun duels, gambling, etc. It’s really fun and these films need that again. SW is supposed to be fun adventures. Last Jedi didn’t quite deliver the fun. Solo is actually a successful direction for their spin off films in terms of the plot and separation from the main saga films, it’s just being seen in a negative light because of it featuring a young Solo.

[MinionZombie]

Tell to many stories and the rather ludicrous setup falls apart tho. I don't really see it that way. As long as you play by the established rules, as it were, and don't radically change the tone (e.g. gross-out comedy, hyper-violent revenge thriller, romcom), then I don't see why telling other entirely different stories within the same universe would be a bad thing.

[EvilNed]

I don't really see it that way. As long as you play by the established rules, as it were, and don't radically change the tone (e.g. gross-out comedy, hyper-violent revenge thriller, romcom), then I don't see why telling other entirely different stories within the same universe would be a bad thing. The premise is kinda dumb tho. The good and evil part of it. Only works in a fairytale.

[bassman]

I’ve heard a lot of people talking about Knights of the Old Republic, which takes place thousands of years before the Skywalker series. I’m not too familiar with it, but apparently it’s a fan favorite storyline. Maybe something like that, including it’s own journey or fairytale, could be something that would be more pleasing? Finish out this current trilogy, then maybe the Johnson trilogy could be this?

[shootemindehead]

Even though it’s not doing great by SW standards, and indeed has its issues, I think Solo is actually a good direction for the anthology films. If you kind of take out the fact that it has Han Solo in it, it’s a fantastically fun adventure film. It’s like a western film with train heists, gun duels, gambling, etc. It’s really fun and these films need that again. SW is supposed to be fun adventures. Last Jedi didn’t quite deliver the fun. Solo is actually a successful direction for their spin off films in terms of the plot and separation from the main saga films, it’s just being seen in a negative light because of it featuring a young Solo. It should never have been about Han Solo though. That's where its downfall lies. Nobody wants/wanted to see Han Solo without Ford. That movie should have been 'Kelly's Heroes' in the Star Wars galaxy. Have a bunch of Imperial soldiers fighting on that backwater planet and their CO dies. But, before he dies, he lets them in on a big score he heard about. They head off in seacrh of it, pursued by criminal gangs, the rebellion and the Empire. There's your film. No Solo. No Chewbacca. No Lando. No embarrassing fuck ups. - - - Updated - - - I’ve heard a lot of people talking about Knights of the Old Republic, which takes place thousands of years before the Skywalker series. I’m not too familiar with it, but apparently it’s a fan favorite storyline. Maybe something like that, including it’s own journey or fairytale, could be something that would be more pleasing? Finish out this current trilogy, then maybe the Johnson trilogy could be this? 'Knights of the Old Republic' was a computer game, put out when there was, literally, nothing Star Warsy about. If you ask me, its popularity is perplexing and, frankly, it never felt like Star Wars to me. It's more fantasy based, as in 'Lord of the Rings' in a Star Wars setting. There's just a lot of people saying that they want to see that, because they liked the game 15 years ago. But, it doesn't mean it'll translate into a good film, or even a coherent story. Star Wars is strange. It means so many different things to so many different people and they'll never get what they want. There's people out there "wanting" Boba Fett movies, Yoda movies, movies about Luke after 'Return of the Jedi', movies about Princess Leia before the 1977 film and it's all nonsense. None of those will work and certainly not on a level that will satisfy fans of all flavours. That's why Disney should just do new stories, with new characters, but based in a familiar universe. It's a big universe, George made it that way. But, filmmakers (including Lucas, it has to be said) keep reducing it down to the size of a backyard.

[bassman]

It should never have been about Han Solo though. That's where its downfall lies. Nobody wants/wanted to see Han Solo without Ford. That movie should have been 'Kelly's Heroes' in the Star Wars galaxy. Have a bunch of Imperial soldiers fighting on that backwater planet and their CO dies. But, before he dies, he lets them in on a big score he heard about. They head off in seacrh of it, pursued by criminal gangs, the rebellion and the Empire. There's your film. No Solo. No Chewbacca. No Lando. No embarrassing fuck ups. Perhaps I didn’t get it across the way I’d wanted, but that’s exactly the point I was trying to make. It’s not a successful spinoff because of Han Solo, it’d in fact probably be a better film without him, but the execution of the film is exactly the kind of thing they need to do if they insist on continuing these spinoffs. If they’d used all new characters the way you suggest, I could see “Solo” gaining a much better reception as the western of the series. Much like the better reception of “Rogue One” being the heist film of the series. That's why Disney should just do new stories, with new characters, but based in a familiar universe. It's a big universe, George made it that way. But, filmmakers (including Lucas, it has to be said) keep reducing it down to the size of a backyard. Agreed. This is why I’m hoping Favreau’s TV series and Johnson’s proposed trilogy step away from the Skywalkers and the nine saga episode entries. Speaking of Lucas....in a recent interview he gave a few hints as to the outlines he’d turned over to Kennedy for the new films after the purchase of Lucasfilm. Apparently he was going to dive even deeper into the midichlorian/blood thing from the prequels that most fans dislike. Maybe we should count our blessings with the new films that we did receive!

[ProfessorChaos]

former big-time star wars fan here, just chiming in to say i've not seen episode 8, nor do i plan to. not bothering with solo either. episode 7 was okay, but i really just prefer to leave it to the original trilogy and the prequels, which are far from perfect, but have some redeeming qualities. i did however, see rogue one...and i think it's a bit over-rated. everyone says "it's like a war film", but i've watched lots and lots of war films and rogue one was nothing to get excited about, sorry. just a bunch of fan-service and shitty characters in a story that wasn't terribly original, imo. my star wars fandom pretty much died as the ink was drying on the contract lucas signed with disney. i knew they'd try to marvel-ize it, milk the hell out of it, and run it into the ground. like MZ was saying, the non-stop in-your-face advertising for star wars has been going on since mickey got his grubby hands on it, and it's beyond stale.

[shootemindehead]

Perhaps I didn’t get it across the way I’d wanted, but that’s exactly the point I was trying to make. It’s not a successful spinoff because of Han Solo, it’d in fact probably be a better film without him, but the execution of the film is exactly the kind of thing they need to do if they insist on continuing these spinoffs. If they’d used all new characters the way you suggest, I could see “Solo” gaining a much better reception as the western of the series. Much like the better reception of “Rogue One” being the heist film of the series. Sure. I was agreeing with you, but I phrased it arseways. 'Solo' is diminished because it was a about Hank Solo and not Han Solo. As regards these spinoffs, I think Disney really missed the trick here with expanding a recognisable universe. I, too, would see 'Solo' having a better reception if they'd made a separate character. In fact, the film could almost play out exactly the same way. It still wouldn't have made a ton of money though, but probably could have been a modest success. The whole production, as it plays out, was a clusterfuck from beginning to end, with the hiring (and firing) of directors unsuited to such material. No monitoring of progress during the shoot (they completed 80% of the film before somebody said to Kennedy it was rubbish). Bad casting. Bad character ideas. Bad marketing, etc. It was a disaster from beginning to end and costs just spiraled out of control. In fact, it's amazing that Ron Howard managed to pull anything out of that fire. It still remains a, merely, mediocre movie that's cost upwards of 300 million dollars. Agreed. This is why I’m hoping Favreau’s TV series and Johnson’s proposed trilogy step away from the Skywalkers and the nine saga episode entries. Favreau maybe, if he can get away from kiddie star wars, like 'Rebels', and give his show a bit of grit, it might be good. I fear he may try and lace the show with stupid comedy moments and jokes. Johnson, probably, won't get his trilogy after the division over 'The Last Jedi' and I think that's a good thing. I'm not sure he's suited to this stuff. Speaking of Lucas....in a recent interview he gave a few hints as to the outlines he’d turned over to Kennedy for the new films after the purchase of Lucasfilm. Apparently he was going to dive even deeper into the midichlorian/blood thing from the prequels that most fans dislike. Maybe we should count our blessings with the new films that we did receive! Yeh, heard about those Lucas mumblings. Frankly, his ideas sounded terrible. Simply put, Lucas was a great ideas man, that needed somebody like Gary Kurtz to temper his steel. When he's let go about things "unregulated", as it were, we end up with the likes of the prequels. former big-time star wars fan here, just chiming in to say i've not seen episode 8, nor do i plan to. not bothering with solo either. episode 7 was okay, but i really just prefer to leave it to the original trilogy and the prequels, which are far from perfect, but have some redeeming qualities. i did however, see rogue one...and i think it's a bit over-rated. everyone says "it's like a war film", but i've watched lots and lots of war films and rogue one was nothing to get excited about, sorry. just a bunch of fan-service and shitty characters in a story that wasn't terribly original, imo. my star wars fandom pretty much died as the ink was drying on the contract lucas signed with disney. i knew they'd try to marvel-ize it, milk the hell out of it, and run it into the ground. like MZ was saying, the non-stop in-your-face advertising for star wars has been going on since mickey got his grubby hands on it, and it's beyond stale. Yeh, Star Wars is not Marvel and it never will be. But, if somebody at Disney had a bloody clue, these films would almost make themselves. But, really, the only thing I wanted from Disney was for them to release the original films on blu ray. In saying that, I thought 'Rogue One' was superb and right up there with the original trilogy AFAIC. Gareth Edwards really got what made the 1977 film so interesting. As for it being "a war film", I can see why people would put it like that. It's a squad of troops going into enemy territory to get something. Kind of like 'Where Eagles Dare'. I also thought the characters were very good and they suited the tone of the film as well. Plus, the fan service was really limited to a few scenes only. If anything, there's far more fan service in 'The Force Awakens' than there is in 'Rogue One'.

[bassman]

But, really, the only thing I wanted from Disney was for them to release the original films on blu ray. As I understood it, Disney couldn’t release the original trilogy for a few more years. I think Fox retained the rights to home video releases until 2020-something. Of course that could all change within the next year now that Disney is purchasing Fox.