As Disney has amped up production of new Star Wars stories, we’ve got a lot of movies, books, shows, video games, etc in our future.
What do you look forward to more and/or enjoy more: Digging into the past (the prequels, Clone Wars, Rebels, the Vader comics, Rogue One, Old Republic, the Han Solo project) or moving forward from the original story (the new episodes and any shows, movies, video games, books, etc that shoot off from those)?
I know there’s a lot of vitriol over the prequel movies, but personally, as I’ve watched them with my kids, I find that I don’t hate them like I once did, and it actually has reminded me that I used to like them (as did a lot of people who now claim otherwise). Sure, some of the dialog is embarrassing and a lot of the acting is pretty wooden and there are some really clunky plots, but they introduce some cool characters and open the door to some great tv shows (CW and Rebels) which have helped me to appreciate Anakin’s and Obi-Wan’s story more.
So for me, I am thoroughly enjoying the new stuff that leads up to the original trilogy (Vader’s and Luke’s past). I did like TFA and am looking forward to future episodes, but not at all like I look forward to Rogue One and new seasons of Rebels. I’m even looking forward to reading the new Ahsoka novel.
I’d prefer they work on new stuff. Working in the past is okay, but runs the risk of being overdone. I think it’s fine to take one character and fill in the gaps (I would be perfectly fine with an “Obi-Wan on Tattooine” movie that was something like a spaghetti western, or maybe Boba Fett in some sort of crime/action movie, for example). Rogue One looks like it’ll have a lot of new characters and only a couple of old ones show up in cameos, which is good. But the Young Han Solo movie sounds like a bad idea.
Not only is there the risk of feeling like repeating the same stuff over and over (something TFA was already very guilty of) but sometimes it can change stuff in ways that aren’t good, such as the sequels ruining Yoda IMO by making him a lightsaber savant.
There’s a big gap between ROTJ and TFA to fill in that should provide plenty of fertile ground for stories.
I do like the Clone Wars and Rebels series, I like the idea of Rogue One and even the Han Solo film (and I hope an Obi Wan film will be next) so I do love selectively exploring the past.
But I lovedThe Force Awakens, and am so eager to see where the new trilogy goes, and ever after beyond. The fact that there are all new Star Wars movies for the foreseeable future* is mind-blowing, I really genuinely thought that would never happen!
So for me it’s both, equally.
*Forever? Difficult to tell. Always in motion is the future
As much as I love the animated series and am super stoked for Rogue One, I’d prefer future stuff, especially stuff that isn’t beholden to the EU (little saddened they brought Thrawn into Rebels. Just let the 90s go, people!).
I’ve never seen the prequels, partly because I’m not really interested in what happened before the original trilogy and partly because I didn’t want to destroy the latter’s magic. I waited until the critics started coming in before deciding whether I was going to watch them and what I read then put me off.
The Force Awakens was a very pleasant surprise, however. I expected it to be at least OK, probably a bit more than that but I thought it was pretty good, actually. Respectful of the original but not afraid to make some very bold decisions (Han Solo) and really entertaining.
I’m not very interested in Rogue One but I’ll admit that I find the idea of young Han Solo movie intriguing.
I like both approaches, and I have full confidence in Disney to make the prequel stuff good. They are doing worldbuilding, whereas George Lucas was telling the story he wanted to tell and didn’t really care what violence he did to his world and its rules in the process.
We’ve also got quite a few years between Return of the Jedi and Force Awakens to explore, which they can do once they’ve recast Han, Luke, Leia, etc.
IMO, Disney can do no wrong these days. Between Marvel, Pixar, their own animated brand, and Star Wars, they know what they are doing.
This :). McGregor is just the right age to play a middle aged Obi-Wan having adventures on Tatooine. I still want more Darth Vader as well (not Anakin). I don’t know if James Earl Jones still has it in him, but I would love to see the adventures of Darth Vader that take place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Really? To be true to the character, it will just have to be a lot of torture, genocide and the like. I don’t think Disney’s up for those kinds of movies.
I don’t mind the current approach of just doing both. Nostalgia and suspense both have their place, and I think interspersing them with each other make both more effective.
You’re right. I think what I miss about him is that he’s one of those classic villains that you love to hate. Anakin (despite being the same person) and Kylo Ren aren’t really in the same league of villainy that Vader was in, and Palpatine was too behind the scenes except for part of Revenge of the Sith.
Maybe the problem is that I saw the SNL sketch of Undercover Boss featuring Kylo Ren before I saw TFA, but I’ve not been able to take that movie seriously. Kylo is such a whiny, emo twit. He’s like the Holden Caulfield of Star Wars villains (and yes, I find him even more annoying than Anakin the youngling-slayer).
I think I’ll just stick with watching the original trilogy over and over…
I can picture some episodic movies showing past adventures of established characters, but no more origin stories, please. They create more plot holes than they solve.
For me, it’s a big continuity flaw how they throw force adepts around, I was really hoping that Rogue One would just be about fighter pilots and espionage without any Vader cameos, but no joy, based on the trailer. They really should leave the force off of a young Han Solo movie, but we’ll see.
Mostly what I’d prefer are Star Wars movies that explore the genre without redefining it. I would be very happy watching the exploits of a young Han Solo living a mundane life of smuggling, gambling and good-natured villainy*. I would be very happy watching a New Republic general root out a stubborn post-Empire Moff.
Perhaps an even better idea: resurrect the show Firefly as a Star Wars property.
I do not want midichlorians, virgin births or prophecies (as in the prequels). I do not want aliens who can block the Force, Sherlock Holmes written as an Imperial admiral, or a proliferation of force users that makes you wonder who isn’t a Jedi (as in the EU novels). I do not want witches or ghosts or mystical god-like Force users on long-lost planets (as in some Clone Wars episodes, though I like the Clone Wars overall).
You wouldn’t have to show anything worse of Vader than what we saw in ANH and ESB, and you could easily cast Vader in a heroic light if you put him up against an Outer Rim despot who is even worse. Vader frees the slaves would make a great movie (though obviously not on Tattooine).
As a gamer I’m strongly partial to the Old Republic when the Sith weren’t limited to functional duos. Movies? Eh - either go forward or go really far back, i.e. the Old Republic again.