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CONFIRMED Star Wars Episode 7 news


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Here's all I care about:

 

I don't want the movie to be stupid. If it is original, well-written, serves its own plot, isn't full of winks and nudges to the EU or previous movies and has its own plot that functions well, then I'll be happy.

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I pick on Mara Jade because she's the symbol of what went so horribly wrong with the EU. And including her in the new movies would fulfill no other purpose than straight fan service. It's pandering to the fanbase. Once you start down that road, the entire thing runs off the cliff. It's a bad idea. Look at the second Star Trek movie. Including Kahn was straight fan service. That's all that was. And the result was a convoluted, boring, MESS.

 

It's just a bad idea.

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Mara was competently executed as a new character (at least by the first couple authors) and the fanbase was starved for a well written, rounded, three dimensional female character because the original movies did a shitty job in that area. Put those two things together and you had a non movie character who exploded into popularity. So far, so good. The problem is this encouraged the EU writers to create a bunch of new characters in their own pathetic attempts to cash in on this trend. *cough* Droma *cough*

 

The focus should have remained on the movie characters and their further adventures. Those are the character we fell in love with, those are the characters we give a shit about. It's okay to have a couple newbies here and there, you need that to fill out the story, but they should never TAKE OVER the story as Mara Jade went on to do in several cases.

 

I could go on and on, but it's just personal opinion. I don't live and breath Star Wars so at the end of the day I ultimately don't give a shit either way. I just think the producers avoiding fan service pandering will ultimately end up making the movies better.

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Yeah, I agree with most of that assessment. In your first paragraph, I thought you were going in the direction of pointing out that authors other than Zahn have done a terrible disservice to Mara.

 

I do not, however, agree that the stories need to always focus on the "big three." I think the most interesting stories involve the most no-name Schmoes from backwater corners of the galaxy, personally. I especially enjoy when they explore other eras, like the distant past. I was actually writing a story set 25,000 years in the past for the longest time, until Dark Horse decided to move in and tell the same story, in an era which had been untouched for decades. But hey, whatever.

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I think focusing on the big 3 and continuing the tale of the films is where the EU went wrong. Those characters faced their greatest challenges on screen-- anything else done with them only comes along to disservice them in my opinion. I think picking up in the far future, or way past, or simply focusing on new characters would have been the smarter choice. I know they did that much later, but had they done it from the start I don't think there'd be such a hard line of derision between those who love and hate the EU.

 

Really, the EU should have been the spin-off TV show, letting the big 3 show up for cameos from time to time, or to give orders via hologram or something.

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I get what you're saying, and it is certainly a valid opinion. To me though it would feel like a spinoff TV show like you mentioned. It would feel like "Welp, we couldn't afford to bring in the main stars so here's No Name Extra #3 and his buddies. Aren't their adventures cool? Huh? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" In other words ... Agents Of Shield.

 

The 80s V novels are a good example of an expanded universe done right. Focus on the main characters without trying to top what was on film.

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I missed that. I just went back to catch that, and now my eyes are bleeding from geek rage.

 

Random favorite quotes:

 

....!!! What! How the hell is that????! The EU is.....SO MUCH....., how are they not using it???? Im sorry , im sorta lost here. SO....if they artent using the "EU" with literally tons of story.........story that is OLDER THAN EVEN THE NEWER TRILOGY........" JUST WHAT THE fuck ......ARE THEY GOING TO USE?????" what.....MADE UP SHIT???!!!!!! INSTEAD OF WHERE THE STORY HAS ALREADY GONE.....FOR MANY YEARS??? whats the point of that..... Doesent make any sense whatsoever. If ppl hadnt read any of the EXPANDED UNIVERSE....they wouldnt know the difference ANYWAY!!!! And their gonna make the movies more base fan....friendly anyways.....WTF. i mean an all new look on the storyline might not....be a bad thing, BUT IF IT AINT BROKE.....DONT FIX IT.

 

You know what's sad? Millennial fucks who haven't seen any of the films, least of all eps 4-6, but know the ins and outs of the characters and plots of the computer games. That's nauseating.

 

Man. Three cheers for geek gatekeeping.

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I do have to say that with all the script rewrites and not being beholden to the EU, Episode VII better be the greatest movie ever. You're gonna overwrite the EU, fine. But it better be spectacular.

 

Yeah, I'm cranky. Because Jesus Christ it's been a year and a half, and you're filming next month--just tell us who is in the damn movie already.

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I do have to say that with all the script rewrites and not being beholden to the EU, Episode VII better be the greatest movie ever. You're gonna overwrite the EU, fine. But it better be spectacular.

Whether it is or not, we can still write it off as an alternate universe or timeline divergence. I've recently embraced this concept and made peace with it.
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Guest El Chalupacabra

OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL!

 

At wondercon this weekend, whilst covering for a scandalized Bryan Singer at the X-Men/Fox panel, Simon Kinberg, part of the Star Wars brain trust, admits that they have considered the EU in no way in writing the new Star Wars films.

Until I see it, I won't believe it. Remember the "The villain isn't Khan" lie?

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I do have to say that with all the script rewrites and not being beholden to the EU, Episode VII better be the greatest movie ever. You're gonna overwrite the EU, fine. But it better be spectacular.

Whether it is or not, we can still write it off as an alternate universe or timeline divergence. I've recently embraced this concept and made peace with it.

 

Yup. My point still remains that the movie better be spectacular because they have nothing to blame if it's not.

 

I also remember JJ Abrams saying he regrets doing that. Add that to the fact that the only people reading the EU are geekdom/fandom.... yeah, no EU.

Define what you mean by "no EU." (I'm seriously curious, not trying to be bratty.) The Inquisitor--the main villain in Rebels, a show Kinberg is involved with--is a concept that comes straight from the EU.

 

I'll believe Abrams when I see it. Into Darkness left a very terrible taste in my mouth.

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No EU = they just aren't aware of it, and they don't care to be. I'm speaking purely of the books and comics as they are a step removed. I know TCM and Rebels are technically EU, but given that they are produced in house by Lucasfilm and developed similarly to the movies, there may be some cross-over of content.

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No EU = they just aren't aware of it, and they don't care to be. I'm speaking purely of the books and comics as they are a step removed. I know TCM and Rebels are technically EU, but given that they are produced in house by Lucasfilm and developed similarly to the movies, there may be some cross-over of content.

Actually, most people involved with Lucasfilm say that TCW and Rebels are NOT part of the EU. They're canon.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

 

I'll believe Abrams when I see it. Into Darkness left a very terrible taste in my mouth

Agreed. I am going into these new Star Wars movies with the idea they will suck worse than the PT. If I am wrong, then great, but I don't think much of JJ Abrams after STID, and the last couple botched seasons of Fringe. As far as I am concerned, he is in the same camp as Michael Bay and Roland Emerich, until he redeems himself and proves otherwise with these new movies coming up.

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Abrams isn't innocent when it comes to STID, he certainly had input into the story and script-- but Kurtzman, Orci and Lindeloff are the WORST. They are the laziest writers, and I pin more blame on them.

 

Given the input of Arndt and Kasdan I have more hope.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

I don't know much about Arndt, but Kasdan does make me feel a little better. Then again, there's the ewoks to consider.

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