Disney buying Lucasfilm

[Sky]

I've known a lot of musicians who think they sound great stoned. For a couple of them it's even true.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3667682/Music/Maggot%20Brain.mp3

[Samprimary]

apparently disney is presenting tenative plans to give the star wars universe an Avengers treatment, where individual characters get their own movies (hi, kyle katarn??) and possibly wrapped up in combo movies. So like, two or three a year at some point.

[Merusk]

Well.. that's dumb.

It works for Avengers (and comics) because they're character-driven stories and have been since their origins.  To me, SW has always been about the bigger story, not the individual journey.  You care about the ensemble while identifying with an individual or two.

Who knows, maybe it'll work but I've got my skeptic hat on.

[Ingmar]

I've known a lot of musicians who think they sound great stoned. For a couple of them it's even true.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3667682/Music/Maggot%20Brain.mp3

Need non-stoned version to prove anything. 

[TheWalrus]

apparently disney is presenting tenative plans to give the star wars universe an Avengers treatment, where individual characters get their own movies (hi, kyle katarn??) and possibly wrapped up in combo movies. So like, two or three a year at some point.

If they do a Jolee Bindo, I'm in.

[Ratman_tf]

Maybe they'll set Star Wars on earth and give all the heroes superpowers.  AVEN GURRS MAED MONIES! COPY DAT!

[Samprimary]

you could easily have a character driven star wars. and apparently this will kick in only after the main sequel trilogy is underway, so

[Sky]

Need non-stoned version to prove anything. 

There isn't one. I don't have the focus to play that accurately and creatively for that period of time anymore. 99% of what I play now are 1-3 minute written pieces.

[eldaec]

To me, SW has always been about the bigger story, not the individual journey.  

Really? You didn't think Star Wars was about Han Solo's redemption in coming to the aid of his friends and Luke Skywalker's coming of age? Instead it was I don't know, a commentary on how terrorism can be justified against cyborg oppressors, and an analysis of competing fascist and monarchist political structures or something?

Watching Star Wars you care about the plight of the generic hippies of the rebellion about as much as you care about the generic American bystanders in Thor.

The basic concept of multiple character and story threads that promise to crossover in future movies makes a lot of sense if you want to build a sustainable machine for printing money and simultaneously not have it dependent on individual directors/writers not fucking it up.

[Cyrrex]

What I think will be interesting will be whether or not they include the more well known EU characters (even if they make up new stories and/or backgrounds for these people), or if they decide to create all new characters and run with them instead.  I mean, many fans know characters like Mara Jade, Thrawn, Kyle Katarn, Dash Rendar or even a Jaden Korr, so picking some of these might come with some added interest.  Or turn others off entirely, I don't know.

On the other hand, they can make up new characters that nobody currently identifies with.  I think they will struggle a bit if they do this too much.  Nobody wants to see the adventures of Fred Solo, Han's bastard son from Ord Mantell.  Nobody cares about Agatha Ackbar or that her father once led a fleet into a trap.  Too many people know who Princess Leia's children are supposed to be for them to invent new ones for her.  Or do they dare?

If I were them, I would borrow names from the current mythology.  Re-tool the stories that don't translate well (or are just plain bad) and change the canon as needed.  But try to keep the more identifiable characters primarily intact.

That said, I am a huge nerd.  I will eat up whatever shit they choose to serve me.

[eldaec]

We covered it a few pages back but all the non-canon sources are irredeemably terrible. They are so bad as to be unfilmable.

I wouldn't rule out them name dropping as a fanboy wink, but no competent writer would go near that stinking pile for central characters or stories. And nobody who knows who the fuck admiral Thrawn is will fail to show up for this movie no matter how much of the non-canon bullshit they ignore.

Plus I would guess the first couple of these films will tell a much 'smaller' story than the other films. I'd expect the focus to be on a new character coming of age to save a small part of the world from something less than galactic domination of the sith. Even if the EU was not uniformly awful, it always wants to out-epic itself to the point of absurdity - I doubt much/any of it would even fit into Arndt's story.

[Cyrrex]

I'm not arguing the merit of any of the EU stories, only the identifiability of a few of the characters.  Put more bluntly, I would much prefer to see a movie with, say, Mara Jade, if it keeps the essence of her character/personality somewhat intact.  To hell with the backstory, whip something up that fits better or works better with the medium.  For better or worse, I have some idea of who Mara Jade is and would be more interested in seeing that in film.  Alternatively, I don't know who Jett Flamestar is, nor do I care about his continuing struggles against Hapan Pirates.  Or somesuch.

[eldaec]

They are only identifiable by people who are already guaranteed to see the movie, and only liked by people guaranteed to both see the movie in IMAX and certain to buy every edition of the DVD.

[Cyrrex]

Hmm, maybe.  I'm just thinking out loud anyway.  I'll be eating up whatever shit they serve.

[Tannhauser]

Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy has said she wants two-three films a year (not necessarily SW I gather) and that it will be Episode VII and will be a sequel to Return of the Jedi.  The plan is to return to the characters of the first trilogy.

As long as they keep Damon Lindelof away from it I'll be happy.

[Cyrrex]

I'd be totally cool with that.  Kinda hoping that they don't try to force the original three back into key roles.  I don't really need to see Harrison Ford attempting (and failing) to recapture his swashbuckling youth.  I saw Crystal Skull, and cringed all the way through.  And Mark Hamill looks more like the Emperor or Yoda than himself.  Carrie Fisher....no longer hot, or something.   In other words, if these sequels are meant to be places some 30 years later in the timeline, keep these guys in the background and far away from the action.

Of course, if they choose to make the sequels more or less immediately following Jedi, then they need to recast them completely.  Give them some kind of symbolic cameo appearance. 

[Numtini]

To me, SW has always been about the bigger story, not the individual journey. 

Don't let Lucas hear you say that or he'll stone you to death with Joseph Campbell hardcovers.

[Sky]

Actually, Fatal Alliance would film /really/ well. Some phenomenal action scenes in that.

Bane might translate well, too. I wonder how tied Karpyshyn's hands were for the Revan novel, because it really, really sucked. Bane wasn't horrible, decent pulp reading (which is all SW is anyway, it's funny some think it's ever been anything but pulp). I think the Thrawn stuff would work great after a screenplay treatment was worked up.

[Ratman_tf]

I think the Thrawn stuff appeals to people who fetishize the military porn aspect of Star Wars. I haven't actually read the books, but that's what I gather from the reviews and the interwebz screaming.
I like the mythic worldbuilding aspect of Star Wars, and have been utterly dissapointed by what EU I have read, which does seem to try and outdo the original movies to the point of absurdity.

In a set of sequels or whatever, I'd really like a return to the style of the very first movie, when people like Marcia Lucas/Griffin, FF Coppola, Irvin Kirshner, etc. were there to tell Lucas how to make a movie that doesn't suck.

[Speedy Cerviche]

They should just restart the franchise like they did with star trek instead of trying to shoehorn stuff in perfectly to please the nerds.

[eldaec]

Also, I guarantee those nerds will take greater offence if the new movie changes the colour of Mara Jade's lightsabre or the depth of Kyle Katarn's beard than if they get left out altogether.

The whole mess is one gigantic third rail.

[eldaec]

In a set of sequels or whatever, I'd really like a return to the style of the very first movie, when people like Marcia Lucas/Griffin, FF Coppola, Irvin Kirshner, etc. were there to tell Lucas how to make a movie that doesn't suck.

I think hiring Micheal Arndt is a signal Disney are trying to do exactly this.

Expect a simpler story, fewer characters, mostly about some guy coming of age with a minimum of unnecessary baggage.

I'm not expecting any galactic politics or pointless attempts to build on trivial plot threads from other films or books.

[Ratman_tf]

In a set of sequels or whatever, I'd really like a return to the style of the very first movie, when people like Marcia Lucas/Griffin, FF Coppola, Irvin Kirshner, etc. were there to tell Lucas how to make a movie that doesn't suck.

I think hiring Micheal Arndt is a signal Disney are trying to do exactly this.

Expect a simpler story, fewer characters, mostly about some guy coming of age with a minimum of unnecessary baggage.

I'm not expecting any galactic politics or pointless attempts to build on trivial plot threads from other films or books.

Hell, ANH had a bunch of guys sitting at a table talking about galactic politics.



It's just that it didn't suck.

[ghost]

And that was some of the best that the movie had to offer. 

[Sky]

In a set of sequels or whatever, I'd really like a return to the style of the very first movie, when people like Marcia Lucas/Griffin, FF Coppola, Irvin Kirshner, etc. were there to tell Lucas how to make a movie that doesn't suck.

I agree, because that's where Lucas really derailed hard with the prequels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R66FvPTj2Yw Kirsch had so much to do with why they were good, along with the strong ensemble cast that was allowed to act as an ensemble. The end of the clip about re-shooting the Bespin scene could apply to every scene with Aniken and Padme.

[murdoc]

Brad Bird isn't directing the next Star Wars movie

[Shannow]

bum

[Venkman]

I think the Thrawn stuff appeals to people who fetishize the military porn aspect of Star Wars. I haven't actually read the books, but that's what I gather from the reviews and the interwebz screaming.
I like the mythic worldbuilding aspect of Star Wars, and have been utterly dissapointed by what EU I have read, which does seem to try and outdo the original movies to the point of absurdity.

They actually don't suck as far as storytelling goes, and they're an interesting concept with both a genius Admiral as well as his Second who goes on to do other things in later series.

You guys can mock the EU stuff, and I'll be with you for most of it. But between Dark Empire, Shadows of the Empire and I, Jedi, there's more than enough characters to pull an Avengers approach to Star Wars for the next 10 years easily. There's stuff in the EU that has become more canon than midichlorians, but not so specifically defined to tie creative hands.

[Ragnoros]

The main reasons to pull from existing works are.
A. Built in audience.
2. Strength of the material.

LULZ in both cases.

Can we get back to making fun of Lucas?

[Merusk]

Thrawn didn't appeal to any sort of military fetishist and I don't even know what you're talking about with that point. How the hell do you fetishize the military of fucking Star Wars?

Are you talking about the 501st?  If so you're wildly missing the point of why they dress-up.  They're not WW2 reneactors fetishizing the Nazis or Civil War reneactors cheering on the possible 2nd coming of The South. I know a few of *those* guys and they're genuinely scary.

No, the 501st chose a very clear icon of Star Wars to dress-up and be geeky as; the Storm Trooper.  Dress up as a rebel trooper, who'll recognize you?  The Stormtrooper outfit is the Star Trek uniform for Star Wars geeks. It's really that simple.  Maybe they could have chosen an X-wing pilot uniform, but growing up, most guys I knew wanted a ST outfit, not an orange jumpsuit.

No, Thrawn was embraced because he was a great villain.  Where Vader/ The Emperor were menacing and brutal, Thrawn was cunning and methodical.  Plotting, laying traps, feints, whith a plan that made sense instead of being the overt-the-top hand-wringing maniac so many other "super genius" villains have been outlined as.

To me, SW has always been about the bigger story, not the individual journey. 

Really? You didn't think Star Wars was about Han Solo's redemption in coming to the aid of his friends and Luke Skywalker's coming of age? Instead it was I don't know, a commentary on how terrorism can be justified against cyborg oppressors, and an analysis of competing fascist and monarchist political structures or something?

Watching Star Wars you care about the plight of the generic hippies of the rebellion about as much as you care about the generic American bystanders in Thor.

The basic concept of multiple character and story threads that promise to crossover in future movies makes a lot of sense if you want to build a sustainable machine for printing money and simultaneously not have it dependent on individual directors/writers not fucking it up.

Han Solo is the name given to a greater archtype.  He's a sketch in a larger morality play, just as Luke, Obi Wan and the rest are.   They've been developed over the last 35 years to much more, but go back to the original movie and they are minor pieces in the greater story.  Even in Empire they were still fairly stereotypical and had only just begun to develop in to individual characters.  Greatly because of Kirchner's allowance of the actors to do so. 

Watching Star Wars I cared about the story of the Rebellion vs the Empire, played out by these set pieces. Yes, the greater story was about human spirit vs technology. Why do you think the Stormtroopers wore masks and Vader was a cyborg?  Vader redeems himself by accepting his human side again and destroys the puppetmaster.  Luke realizes he's becoming his father when he looks at his machine hand.

Yeah, it wasn't just laser swords and explosions and a generic space cowboy banging his space babe.  If it was, the prequels would have been better movies because they were as formulaic.

[Khaldun]

What I think will be interesting will be whether or not they include the more well known EU characters (even if they make up new stories and/or backgrounds for these people), or if they decide to create all new characters and run with them instead.  I mean, many fans know characters like Mara Jade, Thrawn, Kyle Katarn, Dash Rendar or even a Jaden Korr, so picking some of these might come with some added interest.  Or turn others off entirely, I don't know.

On the other hand, they can make up new characters that nobody currently identifies with.  I think they will struggle a bit if they do this too much.  Nobody wants to see the adventures of Fred Solo, Han's bastard son from Ord Mantell.  Nobody cares about Agatha Ackbar or that her father once led a fleet into a trap.  Too many people know who Princess Leia's children are supposed to be for them to invent new ones for her.  Or do they dare?

If I were them, I would borrow names from the current mythology.  Re-tool the stories that don't translate well (or are just plain bad) and change the canon as needed.  But try to keep the more identifiable characters primarily intact.

That said, I am a huge nerd.  I will eat up whatever shit they choose to serve me.

Define "too many people". I honestly don't think there are that many compared to the total set of "people who will go to see the movies". Moreover, if they use the names of the children from the EU, then suddenly they've got the entire baggage of the EU's shitty, shitty plotlines to worry about--if you're going to use the names, many will reckon, why not use the stories or at least the main character arcs?

They should just write as if the EU books had never been written. Inevitably they'll probably borrow a few elements here and there simply because there are only so many ways the story can go after the Emperor gets blown up and Darth Vader dies, but that will just be convergent evolution.

Best-case scenario for me is a story that concentrates on the struggle to re-establish the Jedi Order, and set them against a sort of "legion of super-villains"--some sort of sinister alliance between crime lords, ex-Imperial warlords, Dark Jedi, bounty hunters, Mandalorians etc. all of whom are determined not to see the Jedi reborn.  You could do a fun first film just around recruiting new Jedi, maybe with an aged Luke being determined not to repeat the remoteness and Zen detachment that got the Jedi into such trouble before. That would inevitably touch on a few of the sort of "scarred Jedi" or "Grey Side" Jedi-types that the EU has offered up at times.

[Ratman_tf]

Thrawn didn't appeal to any sort of military fetishist and I don't even know what you're talking about with that point. How the hell do you fetishize the military of fucking Star Wars?

Oh, people manage.









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tBM2ZfncoU

[Ingmar]

Actually, Fatal Alliance would film /really/ well. Some phenomenal action scenes in that.

Bane might translate well, too. I wonder how tied Karpyshyn's hands were for the Revan novel, because it really, really sucked. Bane wasn't horrible, decent pulp reading (which is all SW is anyway, it's funny some think it's ever been anything but pulp). I think the Thrawn stuff would work great after a screenplay treatment was worked up.

Revan sucked because the writing was bad. Hands tied or no, throwing plot out the window as irrelevant, the actual prose was crappy. You can't build a house with no foundation.

[Tannhauser]

One of my all time favorite games. 

[Evildrider]

From the Hollywood Reporter:  Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are officially signed to write and produce installments of the new STAR WARS trilogy. It's not yet known which episodes they will write, or which they'll produce, but they're definitely on board.


Kasdan is the guy that wrote Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Although, he also wrote Dreamcatcher.