Speculation Will (Insert Character Name Here) Be in Episode VII?

No, he won't tell Lucas that he CAN'T do that, but he would remind Lucas that if Chewie was used in Episode 7, a retcon would have to be made because that would contradict previous canon.

Being reminded of canon that could be changed, is not the same thing as telling lucas that said canon CAN NOT be changed.

 

Right, that's the whole POINT of the Lucasfilm Holocron, and the reason why the Expanded Universe dovetails so well with the films. The EU has spread into some many different areas, novels, toys, t-shirts, video games, models, RPGs, comic books etc, that a database needed to be created in order to keep it all organized and coherent.

 

That's assuming that the movies will take place after a Yuuzhan vong invasion. I have to agree with the earlier, Lucas employs people to keep track of continuity - his name is Pablo hidalgo. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't keep him employed if the movies weren't to follow some continuity in the EU. all the novels that have spanned decades, as well as authors and publishers have all followed the same continuity. Why can't a man who wears glasses and likes to splash lens flares against a screen deal with that and employ continuity!

 

Created when there were no plans for an ST...

Things have changed....

 

What? You mean like Breezy's "Han without Chewie is like the Falcon without a hyperdrive" comment? So, you're saying that we absolutely cannot have Han unless Chewie is also there? That's an opinion, not a logical reason. Of course, you ARE entitled to the opinions posted, as well as your opinion regarding my deductive ability. What I am saying is that none of these opinions and arguments thereof are convincing to me, to make me say to myself, "Oh, I guess we really DO need Chewbacca."

 

That's all that there has been in this discussion is opinions, and more to the point opinions based on "I don't like the Expanded Universe, therefore Disney, Lucasfilm and JJ Abrams don't either." That smacks of "I'm right and you're not."

 

How many scenes does Han have in the OT where Chewbacca isn't a hanging around or enters the scene? I think, maybe, when he kisses Leia in ROTJ (but I think Chewie is in an establishing shot seeing the Death Star blow up and cheer with the Ewoks). Even when Han kisses Leia in ESB Chewie and Han have a little back and forth about the negative power coupling. All I can think of is when Han wakes from carbonite or when he asks Lando to take Falcon or when Han shoots Greedo (first!), or when Han talks to Leia at the Ewok village (I guess Chewie and Han had a tad more alone time in ROTJ, Chewie was cool with hanging out with the Ewoks). Anyway, overall the two go hand in hand in, like, 80% of the scenes in the series. It'd be really weird to see that not continue.

 

That's because we don't need him. We don't need Luke, Leia, or Han, either, but that does not mean it would not be fun and logical at the same time to have them in it. No one is trying to argue that his presence is a necessity; that's ridiculous.

No. Quite wrong. In fact, I rather enjoy the EU material that I have read, even though it's few and far between. The point is not whether or not I or anyone else enjoys the EU material that is floating around out there, the point is that Chewbacca is a beloved character in Star Wars, and a consistent presence in the OT films. It's not "Han and the Falcon", it's "Han and Chewie". They go hand in hand.



I'm perfectly fine with Chewie passing on, but due to two factors including 1) His adoration from fans, and 2) The fact that a very small minority of SW fans even know he's "dead", if his death does indeed happen, it makes much more sense to off him on screen...most likely in a scene where he saves Han through some sacrifice. That would satisfy both ends. EU loyalists get Wookie blood, while everyone else gets to know how/why it happens.

 

Okay, I'll try and say things in a different way:

EU details, and even deaths, have been tossed aside nonchalantly and without so much as a one-line explanation in TCW. The cartoon. The cartoon that really would be lucky to have a tenth of the viewership of Episode VII. Do you honestly think that if they're willing to retcon Even Piell's story (a Jedi with almost no screen time and never a name drop) for a cartoon, that they will hesitate for even a fraction of a second to pretend Chewie's death never happened? This isn't some no name unrecognizable character that they can keep EU continuity with as an easter egg to please the bookworm fans - this is a huge, household name, in one of the biggest movie events of all history. If you think for even a second that Chewie won't be in it, well then I've got some stuff to sell you.

 

Good point, but unfortunately, all some people will hear is 'Blah blah blah blah EU Blah blah...'

 

You're talking like this is some sort of "reality". It is not. It is fiction. People can believe or disbelieve whatever the hell they want and no "canon system" whatsoever will ever change that. Thoughts are free after all.

As for the likelihood of Chewie appearing in the ST I have only one thing to say:

 

I really hope Chewie's in it. I'm not really concerned with what some book may have said about his life or death and neither is Abrams/Arndt/Disney or even George Lucas for that matter. It's been established that Episode VII isn't an EU story.

 

Thank you, I've been trying to say this for weeks now and no one seems to get it.

 

Of course chewie will be in it. This shouldn't even be a question. Even if the big three didn't return (but we know they will) chewie will still be in it one way or another, same as he was in rots

 

They'll probably do what Marvel does. Make changes for the films and then don't do anything to the EU. Just move on and don't look back. Let the EU and movies exist seperatly *kinda like alternate universes*. They'll have Chewie and just pretend that the EU doesn't exist.

 

Watching this argument kind of reminds me of watching gay marriage arguments back in 2005 and 06. I would have this bemused expression on my face... like.... what is this pointless argument? You guys realize that it's inevitable right? Clearly it's going to happen some point in the future. You've just got your fingers in your ears saying nah nah nah. Well now it's 6 years later and we're pretty much halfway there (in public perception, states legalizing, republicans starting to come around, etc).

We all know in our hearts what's going to happen here:

Chewie is going to be in the movie, alive, with no reference to any death in the books. This is going to happen.

 

They could also label the books and comics that don't fit with the ST as "holonovels" as described in the Shadows of Mindor. Essentially in universe fiction about the characters. That way these stories stay as part of Star Wars, although not as historicallyaccurate.

Real world examples would be movies such as Patton, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, movies based on real people and real events but not 100% historically accurate.

 

I'm not one for dragging details of the EU into the ST, I think the Vong and Ysalimir should be ignored bar all but the briefest of dialogue references, and I don't want to see EU stories retold on the big screen.

That said though, If the ST deliberately writes off huge chunks of the EU, changing things like the names, age and sex of Vader's grandchildren and ignoring the deaths of Chewie, Mara Jade, Anakin Solo and Jacen/Caedus, then personally, from that point on, I will only consider pre-Disney Star Wars to be relevant.

I said the same when Disney took over Marvel, that if they played around too much then only pre-Disney Marvel would count for me, but in that instance they've handled the whole franchise with total respect in all media.

Let's hope they are clever enough to not alienate fans that have shown a commitment to the franchise (sometimes in spite of their feelings on the PT) because after all, It is appreciation for the OT that makes Lucasfilm worth the $4billion, and that appreciation is often more reflected in how fans of the OT see the EU than how they see the PT.

The PT divided fandom enough, If the EU is over-written in the ST then I foresee a break-off of disgruntled EU fans.

So Chewie ... DEAD!

 

What about the commitment to the general audience? You think people who go in the cinema hoping to see their beloved childhood heroes again will be happy if one of them turns out to be dead? Off-screen dead? People are going to be disappointed if that happens. Seriously, the resulting ****storm would probably reach the upper stratosphere.
The Fanrage of some hardcore EU-Fans is probably unimportant in comparison. Someone is always going to be pissed off no matter what.

 

The characters of Luke. Leia and Han are going to be 45-50 years older than when we last saw them.

Do you really think the audience incapable of comprehending that maybe a few things have happened in that time, that they have not had the easiest time andthey have lost friends and family?

Come on, if we're going to revisit the characters from the OT, let's pay them the respect of allowing them the depth provided by that emotional baggage rather than expecting them to be simply older looking versions of themselves.

I'm not talking about intertwining the plot withthe EU to any great degree.
I just don't want to see a splintered timeline either.

The timing's right for the New Republic era to sit between Episodes VI and VII and for Episodes VII-IX and X-XII to fit in the 35-40 year gap that exists between the upcoming SOTJ novels and the births of Nat and Kol Skywalker in the 80s ABY

Episodes I-VI cover a period of 36 years and half of that is the 18-19 year gap between ROTS and ANH.
So it's entirely feasible to fit another 6 if not more films into the mid 1st century ABY without having to re-write the space between VI and VII.

In consideration of that, I would suggest that those who insist the EU must be over-written and those who insist it must be heavily referenced are all being equally selfish in respect of their own personal preferences.

Anyway, that's more a topic for the EU thread.

However...

Chewbacca? ..... He DEAD!

 

If there's an important death, show it on-screen and not off-screen.

That way, the audience can experience the loss and grief and anger the protagonists feel immediately after their friends death. It leads to emotional connection = good thing. The audience would better understand where the emotional baggage comes from, what is going on in the heads of the protagonists, how they struggle.

I don't see a good storytelling reason to do such a thing off-screen when doing it on-screen is much more effective. And lets face it, storytelling reasons are more important than pleasing some fragment of the fanbase.

So yes, I hope in the 30 years after ROTJ the protagonists lived in peace. The events in the movies should be the most important events of their lives.

 

- Shadows of Mindor.

My favorite line in the whole book!