The Big, Dumb Star Wars: Force Awakens thread.

Jerry wrote: I remember, in a Galaxy not so far away but a long long time ago (I'm old), there were at least sort-of plans for all 9 movies at some point, some time. 3 trilogies. Does anyone know if: 1) anything of all 9 existed at once (like even a basic plot idea) 2) JJ followed anything Lucas had pre-written, or did he just wing it?

From what I've read recently, no - Lucas pretty much winged it for 4, 5, & 6 and maybe had a rough outline for 1-3, but nothing specific. Lucas presented some ideas for VII, but JJ chose not to use them.

In reply to Jerry:

1) Lucas has stated he had rough ideas for the sequel trilogy way back in the day. He also stated that he wrote a script for VII before the Disney deal went through, but had not written anything for VIII or IX.

2) In an interview I read, Lucas stated that JJ did not use anything he had previously written.

I don't have the sources anymore, but since they were entertainment sites, I don't have any reason to think they would make any of that up.

In reply to Javelin:

Disagree, unless you are just going to dub in a less whiney actor to replace Hayden Christensen and do nothing else.

The biggest problem with remaking the prequels is where to stop? I mean, Mark Hamill was certainly not the greatest actor in the world from 1977-1984, and a parsec is a measure of distance instead of time, and then there are the midget Wookies, I mean Ewoks, that are just as bad as Jar-Jar. So you are basically giving Disney a free pass to completely rewrite the entire Star Wars universe, and they will give that job to JJ Abrams. (And the longer we can keep JJ away from the writers table, the better for all of us.)

This is the mouse after all, so they will.

Personally, I like the approach they are taking with the non-sequel movies, like Rogue One. Instead of remaking any and or all of the movies, put in stories that finish tying them together. There is a lot of rumors floating around that Jar Jar was suppose to be in league with the Sith and his bumbling personality was part of his cover. Make THAT movie. That would be awesome.

In reply to Paul_VR6:

He took a blaster hit to the back of his hand in ROTJ that showed off the circuits and wires underneath. After that he wore a glove the whole time.

GameboyRMH wrote: I think everyone can just pretend midichlorians never happened...

I look at midichlorians like I look at parsecs. The name for something in the Star Wars galaxy doesn't necessarily have to mean the same thing as it means here on Earth.

In reply to ThunderCougarFalconGoat:

Parsecs is actually correct as the parsec brag is all about shaving distance in a very dangerous area of space. To do so requires a lot of balls, power and flying ability.

In reply to ThunderCougarFalconGoat:

I remember reading recently JJ has limited involvement in VIII. Or is not directing it. Most movies of this type are written by committee rather than really being one man's idea or vision. Most of the actors in the first movie were relatively unknown, except for Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing and it showed in the scenes they were in.

A "parsec" seems like a length of time, at least going by Han's statement about the speed of the Falcon: "It did the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs." That sounds like doing a known distance in a length of time.

One comment I read about JJ's dismissal of Lucas' VII ideas was he didn't think they would be what the fans wanted. Well... one thing the fans have been clamoring for is a Blue Ray release of the original series, before Lucas added the additional CGI crap. Perhaps now we'll get that.

Ian F wrote: In reply to ThunderCougarFalconGoat: Most of the actors in the first movie were relatively unknown, except for Alec Guinness and James Luceno (Tarkin) and it showed in the scenes they were in.

Peter Cushing played Tarkin.

In reply to Stefan (Not Bruce):

Until someone in a movie says that is what the 12 parsec statement represents, it isn't canon. So its still wrong.

In reply to Ian F:

JJ is only listed as Executive Producer on VIII and IX. No directing or writing credits are being shown, and Disney has hired two other directors for the next two movies.

mapper wrote:

Ian F wrote: In reply to ThunderCougarFalconGoat: Most of the actors in the first movie were relatively unknown, except for Alec Guinness and James Luceno (Tarkin) and it showed in the scenes they were in.

Peter Cushing played Tarkin.

Right. I was drawing a blank and Googled it. Thought the name that came up didn't look right. Fixed.

ThunderCougarFalconGoat wrote: In reply to Stefan (Not Bruce): Until someone in a movie says that is what the 12 parsec statement represents, it isn't canon. So its still wrong.

This right here is why I hate being a geek sometimes and why I've avoided all of the Star Wars and Star Trek talk pretty much everywhere.

In reply to Stefan (Not Bruce):

Who is "Leila"?

Personally, I'd like to see Fin related to Mace Windu...

I'm fine with Luke and Leia being brother and sister with Darth Vader being their dad. Wow, that's a twist that you didn't see coming. Such a twist, right?

Anything after that is too much.

Anakin built C-3PO?

Yoda and Chewbacca served together years ago?

Then it's like the Star Wars universe is the size of Mayberry.

Am I the only one how doesn't want to se everyone inter related? I don't see Finn as being force sensitive.

The strongest argument for Solo comes from StarWars.com itself, back in February of 2002. This information comes from what the website at that time called "Ask the Lucasfilm Jedi Council," and so was indeed part of canon at that time.

Whether or not Lucasfilm still considers it canon, we do not know:

"Han claims that the Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs -- but a parsec is a unit of distance, not time. What's the deal? While Captain Solo is known to make boastful claims that seem to defy the basic laws of space-time physics, in this particular case, an understanding of the mechanics of the Kessel Run illuminates this statistic. The Kessel Run is a contest of speed and endurance for smugglers. Those who undertake it must deliver specified cargos (usually illicit in nature) to a series of divergently moving transport vessels. The smuggler must deliver the cargo before the transports wander out of the free trade lanes into restricted Imperial space. Solo's record is impressive, since the transport vessels covered less than 12 parsecs of distance during his hurried run between them, a testament to his piloting and the speed of the Millennium Falcon."

A parsec is definitely a unit of distance, it's the length of the radius of a circle where one arc-second of angle subtends the average radius of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. It's about 3 and a bit light years, and it was invented because it's really convenient when you're measuring the distance to stars by using a telescope to observe the shift in viewing angle from opposite sides of the Earth's orbit.

My reading of the "Kessel run" line is that it was a mistake -- a bit of dialogue tossed in to sound cool without thinking about it, which was later "retconned" to justify the use of a unit of distance in what appears to be the wrong context.

My reading of the Kessel run is this: Standard Navi-computers will take a safe route equaling X parsecs. Solo figured out a dangerous way to do the run in only 12.

My best run ever was only 16 parsecs, and I almost died. So yeah, 12 is impressive no matter how you look at it.

I've been confused for years, whenever someone talks about Bobba Fett. How did I miss this important character, I thought? After watching all 6 episodes over the last couple of weeks, I figure the entire screentime of Mr. Fett is well under 10 minutes, and the only time his name is used on screen is in Episode 2. Episode 5 and 6, he is referred to as "The Bounty Hunter", and "Bobba Fett" only appears in the credits.

I presume he showed up somewhere else?

I liked the cracked theory that the parsec boast was a test. If these passengers didn't know any better he could more easily overcharge them for the ride. A test skywalker and kenobi failed.

In reply to Streetwiseguy:

First appearance was the holiday special and more so in the EU.

In reply to Streetwiseguy:

Fett was written as a pushover, I've never understood the fan appreciation for him.

The books and comics that came out after made him a badass. Dude needs his own movie.

In reply to Appleseed:

Not anymore, none of that is canon anymore. In fact, in the new Marvel comics that are, Luke whoops his ass while he can't see on Tatooine post Episode IV. He's a buffoon again as he was always meant to be.