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Okay so we know the ending of Rogue One...but do we really?


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We know Vader is in it. We know they're testing the Death Star. We know the rebels are after the plans, and ultimately they get them.

 

It's a very similar situation to Revenge of the Sith - what follows the movie we're about to watch has been established, fates are sealed in most cases, outcomes are or should be easily predictable.

 

But the big question is the execution. I know generally people scoff at novels, but sometimes they add extra depth. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader added interesting details to the story that played out in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. In a more interesting twist, the Darth Plagueis novel adds interesting twists and backstories to the timeline of The Phantom Menace that make you look at many important aspects of the movie differently than before...even if they aren't "canon" and they're "legends."

 

So does Rogue One sort of rewrite history as we know it? For instance, what if the spies ticket out of Imperial territory with the Death Star plans is to somehow insinuate the plans are already aboard the Tantive IV when they aren't - just to use the pursuing star destroyer and its subsequent docking of the rebel ship as a means to relay the plans into Leia's hands?

 

Would that go over generally well, or would it piss fans of the OT off for sort of rewriting the books and how what we originally saw was perceived? Could any similar scenario that reimagines established events without outright changing them go over well?

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I would say the story isn't set until it's told. So to say that the film could change anything is already based on assumption only.

 

The same thing happened with the prequels. People already had their own story in their head and were not able to comprehend they were wrong.

 

But I do agree that the film has the ability to change perceptions. The best example would be Darth Vader because we know so much more about him now. People actually found him devalued following the prequels. The unknown quality was taken away and replaced with a more intimate viewpoint.

 

Rogue One is more of a prequel than an Original Star Wars Story. It directly links in to the established storyline. I think they've just been careful not to use the word "prequel" to avoid some backlash.

 

Maybe they'll be careful to stay away from established plot points from the OT. But it is going to be tricky.

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We know Vader is in it. We know they're testing the Death Star. We know the rebels are after the plans, and ultimately they get them.

 

It's a very similar situation to Revenge of the Sith - what follows the movie we're about to watch has been established, fates are sealed in most cases, outcomes are or should be easily predictable.

 

But the big question is the execution. I know generally people scoff at novels, but sometimes they add extra depth. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader added interesting details to the story that played out in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. In a more interesting twist, the Darth Plagueis novel adds interesting twists and backstories to the timeline of The Phantom Menace that make you look at many important aspects of the movie differently than before...even if they aren't "canon" and they're "legends."

 

So does Rogue One sort of rewrite history as we know it? For instance, what if the spies ticket out of Imperial territory with the Death Star plans is to somehow insinuate the plans are already aboard the Tantive IV when they aren't - just to use the pursuing star destroyer and its subsequent docking of the rebel ship as a means to relay the plans into Leia's hands?

 

Would that go over generally well, or would it piss fans of the OT off for sort of rewriting the books and how what we originally saw was perceived? Could any similar scenario that reimagines established events without outright changing them go over well?

Zerimar will be pissed. Mara will be annoyed. No one else will really care.

 

I think that people like stories for being stories, not for JUST the endings. There's countless stories you know the ending to before going in-- like say, every romantic comedy ever. OF COURSE they end up together, but fans of that genre go to see how it goes down.

 

That said, by giving us a new cast in this story, Rogue One gives a set up where we don't know who's going to live or die. There's lots of things that could happen that make for a fun story. At the end of the day, it's Star Wars, we know the good guys will win and the Death Star plans will be stolen. It's not like it was a big shock the Death Star was blown up in ANH, that certainly didn't keep it from doing a tad bit of repeat biz.

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We know Vader is in it. We know they're testing the Death Star. We know the rebels are after the plans, and ultimately they get them.

 

It's a very similar situation to Revenge of the Sith - what follows the movie we're about to watch has been established, fates are sealed in most cases, outcomes are or should be easily predictable.

 

But the big question is the execution. I know generally people scoff at novels, but sometimes they add extra depth. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader added interesting details to the story that played out in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. In a more interesting twist, the Darth Plagueis novel adds interesting twists and backstories to the timeline of The Phantom Menace that make you look at many important aspects of the movie differently than before...even if they aren't "canon" and they're "legends."

 

So does Rogue One sort of rewrite history as we know it? For instance, what if the spies ticket out of Imperial territory with the Death Star plans is to somehow insinuate the plans are already aboard the Tantive IV when they aren't - just to use the pursuing star destroyer and its subsequent docking of the rebel ship as a means to relay the plans into Leia's hands?

 

Would that go over generally well, or would it piss fans of the OT off for sort of rewriting the books and how what we originally saw was perceived? Could any similar scenario that reimagines established events without outright changing them go over well?

Mara will be annoyed.

 

 

Uh, excuse me? :p

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After reading Seth's post I thought...

 

Wouldn't it be cool if this film was a tragedy? Imagine that things go so badly that the only positive is that they somehow manage to scrape the Death Star Plans out at the end? I think that would make a great movie.

 

I wonder how Jyn Erso's Dad will fit in to the established story? He's credited as the designer of the thing. But we know the plans were in the hands of the separatists as far back as AOTC.

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I wonder how Jyn Erso's Dad will fit in to the established story? He's credited as the designer of the thing. But we know the plans were in the hands of the separatists as far back as AOTC.

 

I have a feeling his involvement will have something to do with harnessing kyber crystals for power. They've shown up in Rebels and other media, and it's been speculated they're what powers the Death Star's superlaser.

 

As far as the film being a tragedy, I firmly expect everyone to die, ESPECIALLY Krennic. I'll be more surprised if anyone in the squad survives the entire OT.

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After reading Seth's post I thought...

Wouldn't it be cool if this film was a tragedy? Imagine that things go so badly that the only positive is that they somehow manage to scrape the Death Star Plans out at the end? I think that would make a great movie.

Will anyone care if its a tragedy? You already know where this is all going, so introducing characters as a "bridge" to a well-established ANH story (and beyond), only to be captured / killed in one film might not mean much.

 

In a way, will it end up like all of the Marvel SW comics published between ANH & ESB, or ESB & ROTJ? In that series, the writers tired to shoehorn in as many new characters & events all having some influence or effect on the bigger movie story, but in the end, you knew their importance as movers and shakers was cancelled out once the movie adaptations arrived.

 

This does not mean the story cannot be entertaining (I do love the ANH period), but your tragedy idea would not mean much to audiences, just as 11 years past the prequels, no one cares about the "why and how" of Jinn, Padme, Windu, or Shmi to the greater the SW universe, even as each was supposed to be a pivotal, (ultimately ill-fated) character.

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After reading Seth's post I thought...

 

Wouldn't it be cool if this film was a tragedy? Imagine that things go so badly that the only positive is that they somehow manage to scrape the Death Star Plans out at the end? I think that would make a great movie.

 

 

Will anyone care if its a tragedy? You already know where this is all going, so introducing characters as a "bridge" to a well-established ANH story (and beyond), only to be captured / killed in one film might not mean much.

 

In a way, will it end up like all of the Marvel SW comics published between ANH & ESB, or ESB & ROTJ? In that series, the writers tired to shoehorn in as many new characters & events all having some influence or effect on the bigger movie story, but in the end, you knew their importance as movers and shakers was cancelled out once the movie adaptations arrived.

 

This does not mean the story cannot be entertaining (I do love the ANH period), but your tragedy idea would not mean much to audiences, just as 11 years past the prequels, no one cares about the "why and how" of Jinn, Padme, Windu, or Shmi to the greater the SW universe, even as each was supposed to be a pivotal, (ultimately ill-fated) character.

I agree with you for the most part J.

 

The reason I suggested a tragedy is because I think they will go the formulaic route and depict a struggle only for the rebels to somehow overcome the odds and save the day. Whilst I will enjoy the movie regardless, I think they could take a risk and make this one be a little different.

 

The last thing I want is to see endless rinse and repeat retellings of the same story like in the Marvel Superhero franchise. I hope they aren't being too formulaic with Star Wars.

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If there was ONE thing you knew going in it was that she died.

Yeah, but I didn't know that Leia remembered the 2 seconds her mom was alive after she was out of the womb.

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Yeah, but-- see you can't leave the PT with her being alive. That makes no sense.

 

Now if she died, only to show in Re3bels as having faked her death, only to have a real send of with Vader-- that'd be a cool thing.

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The PT could have ended a few years after the twins are born, though, or even just a few months. ANYTHING to have her doing something proactive after their birth to save them from Anakin/Vader and fight against the Empire.

 

I would be all for Padme having faked her death, but it's like that "Palpatine killed Padme" fan theory - it's making excuses for problematic writing.

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So generally, nobody cares if the end of Rogue One overlaps with the beginning of ANH as long as it's executed well? Or if new information comes to light that changes how certain events in ANH are percieved?

 

Doesn't sound like anyone is too concerned, which is good.

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As long as it fits within the narrative that's been set, I'm fine. Vader is attacking to get the Death Star plans, Leia puts them in R2-D2 to get them to Obi-Wan. If it tries to mess with any of that, I'll hate it. But I don't think that's even possible.

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I'd be super happy if Grand Moff Magneto is chasing down Jyn's team through the movie, and near the end they escape. Vader steps in, kills him and wipes out half the team.

 

Some last ditch Hail Mary allows Jyn to escape--Vader chases her down. In the final moment, the Tantive gets in range and she transmits the plans.

 

In order for Leia to escape, Jyn sacrifices herself to slow Vader down. She dies, the Tantive escapes, Vader gives chase.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

I'd be super happy if Grand Moff Magneto is chasing down Jyn's team through the movie, and near the end they escape. Vader steps in, kills him and wipes out half the team.

 

Some last ditch Hail Mary allows Jyn to escape--Vader chases her down. In the final moment, the Tantive gets in range and she transmits the plans.

 

In order for Leia to escape, Jyn sacrifices herself to slow Vader down. She dies, the Tantive escapes, Vader gives chase.

Ugh. Narratively that is a good ending. And this is not a criticism of it. But we've seen a variation on that in the star wars universe before, in games, and books (IE Shadows of the Empire in both the book and game, The Force Unleashed, Kyle Katarn games, etc. etc) where the substitute hero(es) act behind the scenes and through their actions and sometimes sacrifice they make it possible for one of the big 3 to succeed.

 

Here's a thought, what if we just have a good story where the good guys just plain fail in their mission? Would the good guys losing for a change be so bad, if the story was a good one? In real life the good guys don't always win. What if Jyn and Company fail their mission in the end? Wouldn't that make it all the more special when Leia, Luke, and Han succeed?

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