# Star Wars Episode VII anticipation thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936 "2013-08-23T02:11:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/161 "2014-11-28T19:32:44Z")
> [@Bruce\_Wayne](#): > > I’ve heard a few rumours and none of them confirm anything about his apprentice. Closest guess is Daisy Ridley character(the girl on the speeder on Tatooine) So if the Tatooine girl is the strong-with-the-force protege, they’re not going with Skywalker kids, or at least not at first? I figured the story would be about Skywalker kids. I guess the girl could be a cousin. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/162 "2014-11-28T19:41:24Z")
I confess I got chills when the Millennium Falcon appeared. Abrams worries me a bit, though. I’ve found his previous films to be a mixed bag. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/163 "2014-11-28T19:58:03Z")
Holy crap. An African Imperial imperial stormtrooper! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/164 "2014-11-28T19:58:50Z")
So, Stormtroopers are still around? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/165 "2014-11-28T20:08:05Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I predict the film will be about a Spunky Sith Princess & her Cute Animal Sidekick, who go on an adventure of discovery, personal growth, an terrorizing an unsuspecting Galaxy with her pinky, sparkly lightsaber. That would probably be a pretty good movie compared to what we’ll actually get. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/166 "2014-11-28T20:19:35Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > So, Stormtroopers are still around? Their armor is, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/167 "2014-11-28T20:26:19Z")
OK, I watched the trailer, here are my thoughts. First, the trailer doesn’t show us much. Looks fine as far as it goes. I thought the shot of the Millennium Falcon going upside down was nice. Whole thing has that glossy CGI/Abrams-y look to it, which is not my favorite, but oh well. But I would say that there is no way this is going to be a good movie. At best, it could be a decent movie on its own terms, but it can’t be a good continuation of the original Star Wars trilogy. Here’s my reasoning. The trailer says in a cheesy overly dramatic voice, “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark Side… and the Light.” This is ridiculous insofar as continuity with the original trilogy is concerned, inasmuch as the Emperor, Darth Vader, Yoda, and Luke Skywalker were extremely powerful Force users. Then, according to the prequels, Darth Vader was supposed to bring balance to the Force, which he did by killing the Emperor. So WTF is any type of “awakening” supposed to be? Sounds to me like a very artificial raising of stakes. They introduce a new villain and say, “You thought ol’ Palpatine was a badass? You ain’t seen nothing yet–this shit’s awakened now!” Mmm hmm… The extended universe, which has now apparently been tossed in the trash, dealt with the fact that the Emperor and Luke were so badass in the Force by simply continuing to use them. The Emperor had clones made, and Luke fought them, eventually submitting to the Dark Side and becoming the Emperor’s apprentice for a time. The more than a whiff of the stupid and anticlimactic in this timeline as well, but it actually gets better with the kids of Han and Leia going on to do some pretty cool stuff. I don’t think Abrams has the stuff to pull this off, and I think we’re going to get Episode VII: The Wrath of Khan Um Wait Darkness Somethingorother SITH! Luke Leia Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/168 "2014-11-28T20:40:43Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I don’t think Abrams has the stuff to pull this off, and I think we’re going to get Episode VII: The Wrath of Khan Um Wait Darkness Somethingorother SITH! Luke Leia Etc. I just hope Lawrence Kasdan saves this thing with a quality script. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/169 "2014-11-28T20:50:12Z")
I have faith that Abrams can make the best script in the world a horrible, lens-flared mess. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/170 "2014-11-28T20:53:55Z")
Honestly, I never noticed the lens-flares until people on the internet pointed it out. > [@Aeschines](#): > > Here’s my reasoning. The trailer says in a cheesy overly dramatic voice, “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark Side… and the Light.” > > This is ridiculous insofar as continuity with the original trilogy is concerned, inasmuch as the Emperor, Darth Vader, Yoda, and Luke Skywalker were extremely powerful Force users. Then, according to the prequels, Darth Vader was supposed to bring balance to the Force, which he did by killing the Emperor. > > So WTF is any type of “awakening” supposed to be? > > Sounds to me like a very artificial raising of stakes. They introduce a new villain and say, “You thought ol’ Palpatine was a badass? You ain’t seen nothing yet–this shit’s awakened now!” Mmm hmm… > . Or maybe thousands of new Force users will suddenly appear, like Season 3 of _Korra_. Or maybe a whole new Force-powered species or empire will appear. Or maybe the Force will change, mutate, and start giving people completely different powers. Or maybe some sort of anti-Force will awaken, forcing the Light and Dark Side to join up. It could be anything. We just don’t know yet. Lucas is gone; the old rules and constraints are gone with him. Anything can happen now. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/171 "2014-11-28T20:55:07Z")
A reawakening of the Force makes perfect sense to me. Most Force users have been wiped out. Balance, schmalance. All that Force energy is bound to build up and start manifesting both its dark and light sides. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bruce\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/172 "2014-11-28T21:04:30Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So if the Tatooine girl is the strong-with-the-force protege, they’re not going with Skywalker kids, or at least not at first? I figured the story would be about Skywalker kids. I guess the girl could be a cousin. She might be Han and Leia’s daughter or a descendant of Obi-Wan. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/173 "2014-11-28T21:04:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Honestly, I never noticed the lens-flares until people on the internet pointed it out. It has been estimated that 40% of an Abrams movie is lens flare. > [@](#): > > Or maybe thousands of new Force users will suddenly appear, like Season 3 of _Korra_. Or maybe a whole new Force-powered species or empire will appear. Or maybe the Force will change, mutate, and start giving people completely different powers. Or maybe some sort of anti-Force will awaken, forcing the Light and Dark Side to join up. It could be anything. We just don’t know yet. > > Lucas is gone; the old rules and constraints are gone with him. Anything can happen now. And Disney and Abrams are here, bringing new ones with them. It seems pretty arrogant to me to just toss the Extended Universe like so much trash. Now, I will grant you that, _if_ some really talented people (like Kasdan… not Abrams) get really inspired and are free to execute their vision, they _could_ make something really great. They could, in effect, use the Star Wars universe as stem cells and grow something that is even better than the original trilogy. Something exciting, sophisticated, deep. Sadly, I think that’s unlikely. They are going to trash the Extended Universe and give us a superficial story with a coating of CGI. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/174 "2014-11-28T21:10:09Z")
It looks close enough to a Star Wars feel for me to be excited. I bought tickets just to see episode I teaser trailer and - well don’t remember feeling very encouraged by it. I know everyone hated the prequels – I liked them - I even loved Jar Jar (ok - just kidding about that). I will be there at midnight ~ 54 weeks from now ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/175 "2014-11-28T21:17:00Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > It seems pretty arrogant to me to just toss the Extended Universe like so much trash. Now, I will grant you that, _if_ some really talented people (like Kasdan… not Abrams) get really inspired and are free to execute their vision, they _could_ make something really great. They could, in effect, use the Star Wars universe as stem cells and grow something that is even better than the original trilogy. Something exciting, sophisticated, deep. > > Sadly, I think that’s unlikely. They are going to trash the Extended Universe and give us a superficial story with a coating of CGI. They can still be inspired by the EU, they’re just not saddled with a zillion plotholes the EU nitpickers would immediately swamp the internets with. Plus, the movie gets to be new for everybody, including the EU elitist snobs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/176 "2014-11-28T21:26:38Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I predict the film will be about a Spunky Sith Princess & her Cute Animal Sidekick, who go on an adventure of discovery, personal growth, an terrorizing an unsuspecting Galaxy with her pinky, sparkly lightsaber. > [@Aeschines](#): > > That would probably be a pretty good movie compared to what we’ll actually get. Disney will be hawking Sith Atrocity Play-sets to little girls within a year. It will be Pink. _It will be **Pink** …_ ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/177 "2014-11-28T21:52:53Z")
1. I don’t care about the “Extended Universe” and am glad they felt no obligation to honor it. 2. AWESOME ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/178 "2014-11-28T21:57:47Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > OK, I watched the trailer, here are my thoughts. > > First, the trailer doesn’t show us much. Looks fine as far as it goes. I thought the shot of the Millennium Falcon going upside down was nice. Whole thing has that glossy CGI/Abrams-y look to it, which is not my favorite, but oh well. > > But I would say that there is no way this is going to be a good movie. At best, it could be a decent movie on its own terms, but it can’t be a good continuation of the original Star Wars trilogy. > > Here’s my reasoning. The trailer says in a cheesy overly dramatic voice, “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark Side… and the Light.” > > This is ridiculous insofar as continuity with the original trilogy is concerned, inasmuch as the Emperor, Darth Vader, Yoda, and Luke Skywalker were extremely powerful Force users. Then, according to the prequels, Darth Vader was supposed to bring balance to the Force, which he did by killing the Emperor. > > So WTF is any type of “awakening” supposed to be? > > Sounds to me like a very artificial raising of stakes. They introduce a new villain and say, “You thought ol’ Palpatine was a badass? You ain’t seen nothing yet–this shit’s awakened now!” Mmm hmm… > > The extended universe, which has now apparently been tossed in the trash, dealt with the fact that the Emperor and Luke were so badass in the Force by simply continuing to use them. The Emperor had clones made, and Luke fought them, eventually submitting to the Dark Side and becoming the Emperor’s apprentice for a time. The more than a whiff of the stupid and anticlimactic in this timeline as well, but it actually gets better with the kids of Han and Leia going on to do some pretty cool stuff. > > I don’t think Abrams has the stuff to pull this off, and I think we’re going to get Episode VII: The Wrath of Khan Um Wait Darkness Somethingorother SITH! Luke Leia Etc. Wow, you’re basing such a strong opinion on a 2.5 minute trailer? I think it looked great, had great sound, and showed Strom Troopers. I’m hopefully expecting the same fun, enveloping movie experience we got with the first Star Wars. Anything else is just icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/179 "2014-11-28T21:57:52Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > It has been estimated that 40% of an Abrams movie is lens flare. > > And Disney and Abrams are here, bringing new ones with them. > > It seems pretty arrogant to me to just toss the Extended Universe like so much trash. Now, I will grant you that, _if_ some really talented people (like Kasdan… not Abrams) get really inspired and are free to execute their vision, they _could_ make something really great. They could, in effect, use the Star Wars universe as stem cells and grow something that is even better than the original trilogy. Something exciting, sophisticated, deep. > > Sadly, I think that’s unlikely. They are going to trash the Extended Universe and give us a superficial story with a coating of CGI. The Extended Universe wasn’t “tossed in the trash” – it’s just that… another Universe. We tell the King Arthur story, or the Batman story, or dozens of others, in many different ways and many different universes… I see no reason why Star Wars (or Star Trek, or Game of Thrones, etc.) has to only have one “legitimate” canonical Universe. They’re all legitimate, and all canonical, in my view – they just don’t all happen in the same universe. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936/180 "2014-11-28T21:59:54Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > And check out that lens flare when the Falcon goes through the desert. > > By the way, all critiques to me actually make me hopeful. I don’t want the trailers to be too awesome. I just want to see a few shots and then allow the movie to be what it is. I still insist that Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones had some awesome trailers and both are total crap. I absolutely loved the sounds in the new trailer! That alone give me hope. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-anticipation-thread/666936.md?page=10)