J.J. Abrams to Write and Direct Star Wars: Episode IX

[Dan_D]

There is a big difference between questions that are important for the movie to function and those that are more or less important padding. What happened in IV was sufficiently explained in the movie. VII has film breaking plot holes.

They are judged by the same standards, they are just different where it matters.

I get where you are coming from. I am willing to wait and see if these issues are addressed in future films. Some series' do not have installments that stand well on their own. I don't consider that a bad thing necessarily, but I would have preferred the film be more cohesive like everyone else.

 

[Dan_D]

I could list dozens more. There are also dozens of new books and comics that are bringing back a lot of it also, sometimes with a slightly different spin. I do believe they need to be selective about what they bring in, as some of the old canon was just terrible (IMHO Yuuzan Vong, Starkiller from Force Unleashed, Emperor's unending clones, etc.)

I agree about the things that were terrible outside of Starkiller. I didn't have any problem at all with him in the original Force Unleashed game and it's story. The second game was another issue entirely.

 

[Ur_Mom]

I loved Rogue One. Sure, there wasn't a lot of character development, but there really shouldn't have been much. It's a single movie where everyone dies.

Episode 7. I have the common complaints that others have, but I still generally loved it. They played it safe. I'm hoping that it's much different for the next 2.

I'm good with JJ being the director again. I think he'll do good.

Sorry, not sorry, once Rey was the protagonist, my interest died. Of all the franchises to sacrifice on the pc alter, they haf to choose Star Wars. Oh well, as long as the youngsters enjoy it I'm happy. Honestly, I am well beyond caring about creative choices in sequels.

You wanted a strapping young lad with bulging muscles in a slave Leia outfit? That's the least of my issues. A damn green muppet that is 800 years old is a hero in the originals. And a whiny little bitch kid.

 

[BiH115]

Sorry, not sorry, once Rey was the protagonist, my interest died. Of all the franchises to sacrifice on the pc alter, they haf to choose Star Wars. Oh well, as long as the youngsters enjoy it I'm happy. Honestly, I am well beyond caring about creative choices in sequels.

What exactly is the problem with Rey being the protagonist? Please entertain us.

 

[Krenum]

I was hoping for George Lucas with a clause:
a. no CGI
b. allow actors to discard bad cheesy lines

Yeah, about that.....

 

[Dan_D]

Rey being the protagonist was the least of that film's problems. I enjoyed the film overall, but I'll admit a lot of that enjoyment comes from nostalgia. I did enjoy the few things in it that were new as well as the visuals. We'll see where things go with the next installment. As for Rogue One, I liked it despite the lack of character development. Most of the characters weren't really even all that likable either, but the visuals, action sequences and the Darth Vader stuff kept it enjoyable for me. It provided some context for some elements of Episode IV which I thought helped the series overall. It's not without some problems, but I can look past those.

 

[Mugato]

Finn and Rey being able to dual Kylo on any level at all is something that needs to be addressed. There is no doubt about it. It's possible Finn is Force sensitive and there is some evidence to suggest he's had some training in fighting Jedi, as it seems clear that the First Order has prepared at least some of its Storm Troopers to do precisely that. Rey doing it is another matter entirely. We need more information on that. I will say that it's stupid without some sort of plausible explanation and there are some fan theories which may or may not be correct that will do that well.

And actually, people did mouth off to Darth Vader in Episode IV. By Episode V that behavior was completely squashed from anyone's mind, but it did happen at least two times in Episode IV. Grand Moff Tarkin ordered Vader around like a lap dog. Admiral Motti mouthed off in the conference room and Vader Force choked him as a result of his responses to Vader's statements. So it did happen in the original trilogy.

Again, Disney is choosing content from the EU to use in the films. I can't believe some of you "fans" aren't seeing it. Ben Solo, clearly inspired by Ben Skywalker and Jacen Solo in the EU. The First Order is similar to the Imperial Remnant. Grand Admiral Thrawn is canon! He's used in Star Wars Rebels, which is also canon. The paths taken by Luke and Leia are also not dissimilar to the ones taken in the novels. The main difference is that Luke ultimately seems to have failed here, but Leia is pretty much doing the same thing. Even Han's behavior is straight out of the books. Vader's castle on Vjun was moved to Mustifar but it's the same concept. Luke's original saber being recovered, again, right out of the Last Command by Timothy Zhann. The chick from Rogue One seems like a combination of Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors without the Force sensitivity of the former. Rebels makes elements of KOTOR, KOTOR II and SWTOR canon as well. I haven't read any of the canon novels but I'm sure I'd find more elements from the EU in those as well.

I can go all day with this. There is plenty of inspiration from the EU here. Disney simply chose to disregard the worst of it, or use too much of it as to back themselves into a corner with it.

I do agree, and although it's hard NOT to rehash the same plot outlines as the 100+ EU books out there (that's a lot of material), they do seem to be pulling from different series. I'm re-reading the New Jedi Order again and am on book 5; if you read these books, there are so many similarities to Rogue One and TFA it's not funny. Centerpoint is essentially the new death star. A hyperspace weapon. Except it's in the hands of the Rebellion, they use it against the Yuuzhan Vong and end up wiping out half of the Hapan fleet. Read the series, you'll find Han in a sad state since Chewie died (they reversed that with Han dying), he becomes and alcoholic and then goes out for revenge on the Vong, ignoring his family. Wouldn't it be funny if they did that to Chewie in episode VIII!!

I was not a fan of TFA, maybe if there is enough outcry he will follow some of Rogue One's set design and universe setting, I would like that.

 

[Dan_D]

I do agree, and although it's hard NOT to rehash the same plot outlines as the 100+ EU books out there (that's a lot of material), they do seem to be pulling from different series. I'm re-reading the New Jedi Order again and am on book 5; if you read these books, there are so many similarities to Rogue One and TFA it's not funny. Centerpoint is essentially the new death star. A hyperspace weapon. Except it's in the hands of the Rebellion, they use it against the Yuuzhan Vong and end up wiping out half of the Hapan fleet. Read the series, you'll find Han in a sad state since Chewie died (they reversed that with Han dying), he becomes and alcoholic and then goes out for revenge on the Vong, ignoring his family. Wouldn't it be funny if they did that to Chewie in episode VIII!!

I was not a fan of TFA, maybe if there is enough outcry he will follow some of Rogue One's set design and universe setting, I would like that.

The way Chewie died was stupid. The whole Yuuzhan Vong arc was stupid. I was actually pleased when Disney hit the delete button on any of that shit being canon.

 

[otherweeb]

Why? Do you have any specific opinions on this?

Abrams oversaturation, everything tastes like chicken.

 

[PhilRiley]

I've been waiting to hear The Beastie Boys - Sabotage in Star Wars. Looks like my wait is over!

 

[Meeho]

The way Chewie died was stupid. The whole Yuuzhan Vong arc was stupid. I was actually pleased when Disney hit the delete button on any of that shit being canon.

Well, the way Han died was forced, predictable and not well executed, so they also need to work on their killing offs

 

[Todd Walter]

Regarding J.J. Abrams work on the Star Trek films, I couldn't agree with you more. The casting is spot on, the visuals are generally good, although the set design leaves a lot to be desired. The characters are badly written and clearly shows that the people working on those films do not fully understand the source material. It's why they are bad.

Now, I think you are somewhat off base on The Force Awakens. I hate having to defend that film, but I can't agree with all of what you said. First and foremost, I will agree that the film is far too close to Episode IV. That's definitely valid. I think this is done largely because the formula worked before and they were playing it safe as it was the first Star Wars film with George Lucas being totally hands off. It's not the choice I'd have made, but lets face it, George did the same thing with the prequels. Episode I followed Return of the Jedi's formula almost to the letter. Episode VII is a trip down memory lane and banks on nostalgia. The numbers speak for themselves as it made truck loads of money. I also agree that the super weapon in the film was lame and served as nothing more than an "super sized Death Star", which isn't terribly creative. I will also agree with you in part that some details were needed to help us have some context for some of the films scenes.

That about covers what I agree with. Now lets get into what I don't agree with, or can't agree with at this time. Episode VII is designed to be part of a trilogy. It cannot be fully judged or understood by itself. Yes, it could have been more cohesive and self-contained, but ultimately, there are going to be and should be some plot lines which need resolution in subsequent films for an overarching plot. I do not see a problem with this. Because Star Wars, and specifically the original trilogy are part of the public consciousness, its hard to remember the threads started in Episode IV that went nowhere in that film. Specifically, the Clone Wars is mentioned by Ben Kenobi and that he was a Jedi Knight. Absolutely nothing about the Clone Wars is stated, known, or inferred by that point. We didn't know if there was a war against clones, or where clones came into the picture. We were told nothing. Darth Vader's background isn't stated at all, nor is anything about the political structure of the galaxy. There is a single comment about the Imperial Senate being dissolved and that this is the last vestige of the Republic.

We know nothing about how the Galactic Empire came to be, or anything about the Old Republic, other than the Galactic Empire replaced it. The Emperor is mentioned, but not shown, and nothing about him is known at this point. Why Darth Vader is seemingly subservient to Grand Moff Tarkin isn't stated either, but it seems odd at the time. It's even stranger when you look at later films where Darth Vader is clearly the number two guy in the Galaxy. The events surrounding the retrieval of the Death Star plans isn't even known until Rogue One. Effectively, it's clear that we are coming into the middle of some larger story, but we are given very little information about it. We have no character origins save for Luke's and no knowledge of what's going on other than the standard rebellion against tyranny type of story.

Episode VII is no different in this regard. We know the First Order must stem from the Galactic Empire, but we have no knowledge or understanding of how or why this vestige of the Empire still exists. We have no idea who the fuck Snoke is, or where he comes from. Some back story about Ben Solo / Kylo Ren is hinted at, but we don't have any details to speak of. Again we have no origins for anyone. We don't know why Rey is so powerful or skilled either. We don't know how the Falcon was lost, or even necessarily why Luke disappeared outside of vague theories as to why. The only thing made clear is that the New Republic wasn't going to openly oppose the First Order and that the Rebellion is a split from the New Republic.

All things told, we probably have about as much information about the story and characters as we had the first time we saw Episode IV. I think the only reason why Episode VII doesn't get a pass for this is because it isn't original and visual effects of this caliber are common place today. Episode IV was unique in its day and was something no one had seen at the time so it's bad dialog, bad acting and incomplete story are largely overlooked. Plus we've had decades of viewing Star Wars as part of a larger trilogy which provides answers to the questions people undoubtedly had when watching Episode IV the first time. I think Episode VII can't be fully judged or even understood until we have the rest of the trilogy. Even then, we may not know everything by the end. We still had unanswered questions about the Clone Wars and Darth Vader's past prior to the prequel trilogy being made. We shouldn't have as much of that this time around, but who knows?

In any case, I think Episode VII has been judged by most people prematurely. Until the rest of the trilogy is released, we won't truly know how good or bad the film really is.



A large subset of the Star Wars Expanded Universe was pure garbage. Plain and simple. If you watch Rebels, Episode VII and Rogue One you can see that Disney is drawing from the best aspects of the EU and trashing the bullshit. That's not to say they'll always pull from the best or work all of the good shit into canon, but they ARE in fact drawing from the EU.



Disney's efforts are better than George Lucas's efforts over the last couple of decades. Episode I = Crap. Episode 2 = Crap. Episode III was almost decent, but then it turned to crap in the last 15 minutes when George thought ripping off Frankenstein's monster and having Padme die of a "broken heart" was a good idea. Nothing J.J. Abrams could possibly do would be that insulting or fucking retarded. That kind of bad bullshit writing belongs in My Little Pony and nothing else. At least Azureth could masturbate to that. The Clone Wars series was good, but we have Dave Filoni and others to thank for that, not so much George. Rebels is excellent, and arguably better than the Clone Wars and that's all Disney. Disney did the smart thing and used the real talent behind the Clone Wars series to make that. Episode VII isn't perfect, but again I think it's too early to really judge the film. That said, I already think it's better than Episode I or II. Rogue One is better than any of the prequel nonsense. Again, it isn't a perfect film, but Disney isn't doing "worse" with Star Wars than George did.

Also, pissed off Teddy Bears in Return of the Jedi? George has been out of his fucking mind for decades now. Disney buying out Lucasfilm is a goddamn errand of mercy. Taking Star Wars out of George's hands is practically a public service.

If it wasn't for his first wife, the first movie would have been received very differently. She was one of the editors that got the pacing back on track and eliminated a lot of GLs famously bad dialogue choices. I think the problem is that he was paying homage to the old Flash Gordon serials which he understood and then landed in SF land which he doesn't (or didn't want to, really.)

 

[Etherton]

Finn and Rey being able to dual Kylo on any level at all is something that needs to be addressed.

Patriotically, the part where the ground conveniently split open, allowing Kylo to escape, while Rey stood over him with her lightsaber pointed at him.

 

[twonunpackmule]

Rey's parents are Porgs.

 

[Todd Walter]

Have you watched Star War's Clone Wars or Star Wars Rebels? The studios are drawing heavily from legends. Rebels especially has brought an awful lot of things back into canon while hinting a a lot of it could still be re-added.
"There's always a bit of truth in legends." -Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars Rebels)

The biggest things "Rebels" has brought back into canon:
Jedi-Mandalorian War from KOTOR
Battle of Malachor V from KOTOR
Darth Revan from KOTOR (implied due to the previous events, he was also in a canceled episode for Clone Wars)
Darth Traya from KOTOR 2 (implied, the same voice actress is in the Sith Holocron found on Malachor in the show)
Grand Admiral Thrawn from (Heir to the Empire)
Inquisitors (although I will admit all of them except the grand inquisitor were pathetic)

I could list dozens more. There are also dozens of new books and comics that are bringing back a lot of it also, sometimes with a slightly different spin. I do believe they need to be selective about what they bring in, as some of the old canon was just terrible (IMHO Yuuzan Vong, Starkiller from Force Unleashed, Emperor's unending clones, etc.)

Rebels is a textbook example of how to do a cartoon right. They manage to appeal to YA and to Adults and do things you wouldn't expect in a 'kids' show. The carnage may be bloodless but the lightsabers but decapitations abound!

 

[Todd Walter]

The way Chewie died was stupid. The whole Yuuzhan Vong arc was stupid. I was actually pleased when Disney hit the delete button on any of that shit being canon.

I can remember the dark times, when we only had Brian Daley's Han Solo trilogy, Neil-somebody-or-other's Lando trilogy and Alan Dean Foster's Pip and Flinx Meet the Empire book to read. Then the 90s came and so too did the EU. We thought it could only get better with more writers. We were wrong.

 

[termite]

I'm ok with this.

However honestly I'd be fine with two more hours of Vader wading through Rebels, like at the end of Rogue One, preferably with an R rating. Kind of a Star Wars version of Logan, without the fucking kids.

 

[ecktt]

Well shit.....We're gonna get Return of the Jedi...the next generation.

 

[JustinCorrigible]

For some reason I have a hard time not believing that JJ begged and begged behind closed doors for this job again. Wonder if he at one point was so desperate considered those glitter bags... :-D

 

[DeathFromBelow]

The way Chewie died was stupid. The whole Yuuzhan Vong arc was stupid. I was actually pleased when Disney hit the delete button on any of that shit being canon.

I was really surprised at how many people hate the new film(s) just because Disney did away with the old Expanded Universe. The EU mostly sucked.

Finn and Rey being able to dual Kylo on any level at all is something that needs to be addressed. There is no doubt about it. It's possible Finn is Force sensitive and there is some evidence to suggest he's had some training in fighting Jedi, as it seems clear that the First Order has prepared at least some of its Storm Troopers to do precisely that. Rey doing it is another matter entirely. We need more information on that. I will say that it's stupid without some sort of plausible explanation and there are some fan theories which may or may not be correct that will do that well...

Again, Disney is choosing content from the EU to use in the films. I can't believe some of you "fans" aren't seeing it.

I think they're borrowing from KOTOR I/II here. I don't know about Finn but I can see Rey and Kylo Ren having some kind of literal force connection like Revan and Bastilla or the Exile and Kreia. They've borrowed some artistic elements from KOTOR.

I liked VII overall. Very good character driven story that Star Wars hadn't had in a while. Just don't let Abrams do any more planet-gets-blowed-up scenes and IX should be ok.

 

[Dan_D]

I was really surprised at how many people hate the new film(s) just because Disney did away with the old Expanded Universe. The EU mostly sucked.



I think they're borrowing from KOTOR I/II here. I don't know about Finn but I can see Rey and Kylo Ren having some kind of literal force connection like Revan and Bastilla or the Exile and Kreia. They've borrowed some artistic elements from KOTOR.

I liked VII overall. Very good character driven story that Star Wars hadn't had in a while. Just don't let Abrams do any more planet-gets-blowed-up scenes and IX should be ok.

There are tons of possible explanations for Rey and Finn having those skills. Many of those explanations may not be satisfying and it remains to be seen what the future films will go with plot wise, or even if the problem will be addressed at all.

 

[TheCommander]

TFA was entertaining but cheesy no doubt. I dont like how Rey seemed to be an expert at everything and especially how she was able to take on a Sith lord with no training of any sort. The little alien woman or"female version" of Yoda was also annoying. Han Solo died in a lame way but I was glad it happened; he seemed out of place in TFA and was pretty much like a half-dead animal waiting to be put down. Overall it was a decent movie but nothing great.

 

[Sikkyu]

I was hoping for George Lucas with a clause:
a. no CGI
b. allow actors to discard bad cheesy lines

Lucas doesn't give a shit anymore. He is rich, old and lazy as fuck.

 

[STrAYeR]

Couldn't destroy Star Trek fast enough, now he wants to destroy Star Wars as well.

 

[luke51087]

Han Solo died in a lame way but I was glad it happened; he seemed out of place in TFA and was pretty much like a dead animal waiting to be put down.

Ouch LOL

 

[HeadRusch]

What exactly is the problem with Rey being the protagonist? Please entertain us.

I'm going to assume the OP is suggesting that Rey is just a clone of Luke, only with added abandonment issues (Luke at least had an emotionally-distant Uncle and submissive aunt to raise him when his father left to take over the Galaxy).

 

[MrValentine]

I think the only reason why Episode VII doesn't get a pass for this is because it isn't original

Correct. And I might want to let that slide if it didn't have so many characters from the last (Ep6) movie. Its obvious they want you to think of this as a continuation of the story, but they want your imagination to fill in the gaps. IMO that is just crap story telling. Its obvious the script was thrown together as a quick cash grab by Disney, and due to time constraints to get it done quickly no one was allowed to edit/fix it.

I'm trying to think of other recent movies that disappointed me on the same level. And I can honestly say I enjoyed Batman vs Superman more than TFA. The best part about TFA was the little bit of Han/Chewy/Falcon back story we got. When I think of the rest of that movie I want to puke. And not because I think of SW as some holy grail, but because I HATE laziness and seeing people fuck up a good thing.
They needed to do a good back story filler movie, not an 80s action chuck norris in space movie.

The way Chewie died was stupid. The whole Yuuzhan Vong arc was stupid. I was actually pleased when Disney hit the delete button on any of that shit being canon.

QFT

Well, the way Han died was forced, predictable and not well executed, so they also need to work on their killing offs

GOT style?

I would love to see some of the screen writers/producers from the Marvel universe given the reigns for SW. Letting Abrams run the whole show is doomed to fail, look at his history... and you know what they say about history. Which also reminds me of a definition for insanity.

 

[CaptNumbNutz]

I agree about the things that were terrible outside of Starkiller. I didn't have any problem at all with him in the original Force Unleashed game and it's story. The second game was another issue entirely.

My problem with Starkiller was how quickly he ramped his abilities (which I understood was necessary for the game's story) but then suddenly rips a Star Destroyer from the sky. There were a dozen other ways to write that scene that might entail some force usage and taking out that ship WITHOUT him pulling off that trick. 900 year old Yoda I might believe do that, but not a teenage StarKiller. It was a monumental feat that kind of made the game epic on that first play through but then afterwards you realize how batshit insane it was. It was a deus ex machina plot device that was really weak and it detracted from relatively easy battle afterwards with Vader and the Emperor. "I can rip a mile long, trillion ton starship from the sky OF COURSE I can smack the Emperor around like a little bitch!" They also flubbed on the story on that mission as well as the boss battle making a few simple tricks all it takes to beat the game. I literally had more trouble beating Kazdan Paratus earlier in the game. On top of that, they added a YET ANOTHER mission to steal the death star plans, and that point in the EU there were at least 5 other incongruous stories already.

I'm very happy Disney ret-conned the Force Unleashed. Neat game, but it detracted from the overall story. However, they did pull quite a bit of influence for Kanaan Jarrus of Star Wars Rebels from Rahm Kota in Force Unleashed which was a nice touch.

 

[James Robinson]

Well, the way Han died was forced, predictable and not well executed, so they also need to work on their killing offs

I love how mouth-breathers tried to make it 'deep' by explaining that maaaaaaaaayyyyyyybeeeeeeeee Han killed himself in sacrifice, willing to do anything for his Son...

OUR SHIELDS CAN NOT REPEL FACE-PALM OF THAT MAGNITUDE!

 

[SmokeRngs]

The way Chewie died was stupid. The whole Yuuzhan Vong arc was stupid. I was actually pleased when Disney hit the delete button on any of that shit being canon.

The Vong storyline is what killed off Star Wars novels for me. I don't even remember how far into it I got but it was just completely absurd, boring and strung out waaaaaaaaay too long. Many of the events in the books were also really damn stupid. Killing off Chewie and the way they did it was one of the worst issues but by no means the only one. I was also super pissed that Anakin Solo was killed off since he was the only one of the three Solo kids I actually liked and the fact he was killed off was a decision forced by Lucas himself.

As much as I hate the fact that the EU was basically wiped away I have to agree that it was a good thing. There were too many stories and way too much one-upmanship to keep things as dramatic as possible. As I said, I never even finished the Vong storyline and never read anything after that but I looked up some stuff here and there an the the whole galaxy was a huge mess. Within 30 or maybe 40 years they had taken a galaxy which had been effectively stable for around 20,000 years and completely destroyed it. There's simply no way you could keep continuing on like that and make anything decent.

That said, there is quite a bit that I did read that I liked a lot. I'm one of the big Thrawn partisans myself. As a character he was just awesome. Through pure ability alone he was able to make his way to the top of the military hierarchy despite being non-human. He didn't have any Jedi powers or any other special abilities and yet he was easily the most dangerous opponent the New Republic could have faced.

Then you have the older EU stuff such as the Han Solo adventures and the Lando Calrissian Adventures. I really, really wish they had gone with one of the stories from the Han Solo Adventures for the Han Solo movie. Those were some good stories. While the Lando Calrissian Adventures were a little more "out there" I found them very enjoyable and not out of the galaxy far fetched. Splinter of the Mind's Eye is definitely a forgettable story but it was also written before Empire and before things like Luke and Leia being siblings was decided.

It's also good to keep in mind that Star Wars was never meant to be part of a trilogy or series. It was supposed to be a one off standalone movie. It was only due to the huge success that it was continued.

 

[Saturn_V]

The Vong storyline is what killed off Star Wars novels for me.

What took you so long? I was out after Stackpoles Rogue Squadron books and Zahn's The Hand of Thrawn, and that was alomst twenty years ago.

 

[Ranulfo]

loved Rogue One. Sure, there wasn't a lot of character development, but there really shouldn't have been much. It's a single movie where everyone dies.

Uh, then why should I care about the characters at all? Why should I bother to watch it? They all die. The end. The journey? What journey? They didn't develop the characters much at all.

Han Solo died in a lame way but I was glad it happened; he seemed out of place in TFA and was pretty much like a half-dead animal waiting to be put down.

There were a few brief seconds there where I wondered if they were going to pull a Han shoots first type scene and have him stab his own son or kill him in a scuffle where they both fall off the edge.

 

[Ur_Mom]

Uh, then why should I care about the characters at all? Why should I bother to watch it? They all die. The end. The journey? What journey? They didn't develop the characters much at all.

We all know the story. A team of rebels stole the death star plans, got them to Princess Leia.

You're absolutely right. We don't really need to watch it. We don't need to know the sacrifice. We don't need to know why the exhaust port was there as a weakness.

You get to know them enough. A little back story, a bit into the way the rebellion was, how the plans were obtained, and then it gives a nice intro into Episode 4.

I thought it was fine. They weren't strangers at the end, but they weren't memorable people. They were expendable rebels that got the death star plans. Hell, I bet their name isn't even listed on the "Died for the Republic" plaque.

 

[KazeoHin]

Y'all are calling him Jar Jar Abrams, but y'all forget which Star Wars director actually created Jar Jar...

 

[Dillirium]

Lights, Camera, LENS FLARE!!!!

 

[bbs lm-r]

I liked the robot ball from TFA, reminded me of a Dyson vacuum.

 

[SecretStash]

I think they're borrowing from KOTOR I/II here. I don't know about Finn but I can see Rey and Kylo Ren having some kind of literal force connection like Revan and Bastilla or the Exile and Kreia. They've borrowed some artistic elements from KOTOR.

By George you might be on to something! Maybe they'll also explore more anti-jedi techniques, with saber resisting energy batons or whatever those were called. Too bad the world seems to empty of Jedi/sith to take out. Who knows, maybe Luke lost his identity too; it would be too boring/unoriginal if he just felt defeated and exiled himself. Luke could be the sought after Revan figure that went missing.

 

[Azphira]

Why do I have the urge to start up Photoshop Elements 15 and add lens flare to Star Wars screenshots?


Now I am reminded by this...

 

[jedijeb13]

Finn and Rey being able to dual Kylo on any level at all is something that needs to be addressed. There is no doubt about it. It's possible Finn is Force sensitive and there is some evidence to suggest he's had some training in fighting Jedi, as it seems clear that the First Order has prepared at least some of its Storm Troopers to do precisely that. Rey doing it is another matter entirely. We need more information on that. I will say that it's stupid without some sort of plausible explanation and there are some fan theories which may or may not be correct that will do that well.

.

There is actually canon dealing with this in Splinter of the Mind's Eye, where Leia duels Vader to protect Luke who was injured in the duel first. At the time Leia nor Vader had any idea who she was or that she would have enough connection to the Force to even manage to stand up to Vader for a second.

I don't have trouble with Rey or Finn being able to stand up to Kylo, it is painfully obvious that he has major trouble with focus and discipline the way he lashes out when anything even starts to go wrong. A good swordsman needs to be able to block out everything and focus on the fight. While emotions do feed the Dark Side, Vader focused his hate to increase his power, Kylo just lets it fly every which way. Kylo has strength as shown with being able to stop the blaster bolt in the opening scene, but that is only when everything is going his way, and is more of a trick than skill. Kylo comes off more like a spoiled brat/bully who Snoke picked up because he had a strong connection to the Force but it seems Snoke has not been able to break him down then build him back up the way Palpatine did with Anakin. Palpatine spent 20 years manipulating Anakin and molding him, twisting him until he broke. From what is eluded to in TFA Kylo mentally snapped when he couldn't live up to Luke's expectations and Snoke simply picked him up.

I'm waiting to see if they can somehow make something our of Kylo. I think there is much more there for Luke to make something out of Rey though.

I liked Rogue One, but was disappointed because I was hoping for a full Rogue Squadron series since I have always been more into the space flight of Star Wars than the Jedi story line.

J.J. Abrams I am still torn on, I did have some problems with TFA and I really didn't like the new ST idea, but I did really enjoy Fringe. If he could put some meat into Ep9 like what was in Fringe then maybe it has some hope.

 

[Dan_D]

What took you so long? I was out after Stackpoles Rogue Squadron books and Zahn's The Hand of Thrawn, and that was alomst twenty years ago.

Pretty much this. I read a few here and there afterwards but never did care for anything past those. Although, I did like the Republic Commando novels.