Discussion What is your greatest hope about Episode VII?

I'm hoping they dare to be hopeful. That they dare to be a cornball gee-whiz affair like the previous six. I'm hopeful that Jar Jar Abrams puts a lot of trust in the opinions of the veterans, ESPECIALLY Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, John Knoll and their whole crew. Those guys have the sensibility on lock-down to the point where George won't have to be bothered....they get what Star Wars is.

Any doubts about this may be quashed by the poster of The Sea Hawk seen in one of Skywalker Sound's studio suites.

 

Kevin AND Quentin Rachel.

 

That is a good omen. Not as good as Captain Blood, but still pretty good.

 

My greatest hope is that VII will not only be a big box office success, but will also be a huge critical success. Something that gets universally great reviews from critics and movie go'ers alike, and maybe even some nominations for shiny awards.

I know they have all these plans for 3 sequel movies and 3 spinoff movies, and who knows what else. I know that it's nearly impossible to happen, but there's always a chance that Ep 7 will tank. Maybe it gets horrible reviews. Maybe there's enough of a contingency that hated the prequels to the point where they boycott any new film out of spite. Maybe fans of the originals have outgrown the franchise, and the next generation of fans have no interest because of their apathy for the last three. Maybe it falls way short of expectations and Disney ends up pulling the plug. The way the movie industry is today, they're real quick to cut bait on hugely budgeted movies that fall short.

Granted, It'll probably gross $400+ mil, so this is all crazy talk. But I'll just be happier after if it's a solidly successful movie, which should ensure at least 5 more.

 

You may be right, but only because he hid a watch in his hinder. Classic.

 

A solid story without plot holes and throw in some genuine humor. LESS CGI and more practical effects. I want to see some good acting from the actors responding to each other and not blue screens...

 

1. Good characters that aren't one dimensional and that we really care about.

2. Interesting story that is original and doesn't steal from the OT or PT.

3. Good mix of humor, drama and mythology to give them more 'depth' then your average Summer Blockbuster movie these days.

4. A good mix of new effects, old effects, CGi landscapes, and old landscapes to satisfy older and younger fans.

5. Make sure the ST has its own identity with new music, with a nice touch of older OT/PT themes too.

6. In the end, still be a fun ride that are rewatchable like the other Star Wars movies.

 

Another hope I have is for George Lucas to be vindicated in some sense as a story teller. I know the script is merely based on his treatment, but I have always thought Lucas was at his best when he operated as the architect of the story instead of the one who had to deliver it (the first Star Wars and American Graffiti nonwithstanding). I truly do hope that Episodes VII-IX are the ideal mix of the old and new guards of the Star Wars universe working together perfectly.

 

the critics, ESB apart, have never got Star Wars, which is a pity as its steeped in cinematic history

 

My greatest hope is that this doesn't turn into Star Trek I - VI. That is my greatest hope.

 

Most sequels/prequels of a movie series usually don't get glowing reviews simply because critics don't look at them as original material like any new movie. In many ways, I sort of agree with them because summer blockbuster movies are really a matter of taste, and a review is pretty meaningless if you are not a fan of the series already. I have family members who loved the Original SW in 1977, and haven't really cared for anything after that (they are causal fans). I highly doubt if they even saw Episode 7, that they would give it a glowing review regardless of whether it was really good or not.

Drama's/Biographical movies are usually the only reviews that hold any weight to the average moviegoer. I was interested to see what the reviewers thought of Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, or Lincoln last winter, simply because it was an original movie that nobody had any preconceived notions about. Now I didn't read many reviews for The Dark Knight Returns, simply because the reviewer may have not been a fan of the other 2 Batman movies, or maybe not a fan of Batman as a Superhero (or maybe a huge fan of Batman), so they already have a bias either way.

Star Wars reviews are meaningless, because like most Movie Series with sequels/prequels, they are made for the diehard fans, and not for the casual fan which is usually the critics.

 

Some of my greatest hopes...

1. Yellow lightsabers. TCW's final Season 5 arc was a nice start, but I'd love some of the new Jedi, or even a Force-strong villain, wielding a yellow blade. I demand satisfaction for all the lies Kenner forced on us back in the day!

2. A son or daughter for Luke. I wanna see him as a father, not just a father-figure.

3. New villains; not resurrections of Plagueis, Vader, Sidious, or Boba Fett.

4. Fun. Without the use of a "Jar Jar"-type to attempt it.

5. Appearance by the Falcon, and a ship that basically becomes a 'character' as the Falcon did in the OT (if it's not just the Falcon taking that spot again)

6. Leia with a lightsaber. Even if only a sparring match, or to make a point, rather than an actual duel w/ a villain.

7. Luke survives VII (and the whole ST), not reinforcing the belief far too many have that the mentor figure needs to die because Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan did.

8. An epic space battle with lots of starfighter action; the scope & quantity of ROTJ mixed with a bit more of ANH's characters to identify with, rather than the vast scale of ROTS where the starfighters were merely traveling thru the battle to do something else.

 

that shot of the X wing pilot being blow out into space is super cool tho, but id agree for more Biggs/Porkins type characters

 

My single greatest hope is that we'll get a great, not just good but great, Avengers-level blockbuster movie that critics will appreciate, that will delight audiences old and new, and that will revitalize the entire franchise.

Following that, I hope the main character will be a powerful female Jedi - maybe not at the start of Episode VII, but certainly ending that way by the end of Episode IX. It's often been said that Star Wars' fandom is about 50% female. It's high time all those ladies got to see a strong female lead character in the movies. All the strongest Force-users we've seen in the movies have been males - Anakin, Mace Windu, Yoda, Sidious, Vader, Dooku, Maul. A badass female Jedi who can unflinchingly go toe-to-toe against the mightiest Force-users in the galaxy would be a nice way to least begin restoring this particular balance of the Force.

Another hope is that the Jedi will have more lightsaber colors than just blue and green. Mace Windu's purple was great, but it was isolated. Having more Jedi have purple and adding, say, yellow and orange would IMO be a great way to visually show that the new Jedi aren't so hidebound and unable to change as the old Jedi Order that fell in part due to those flaws.

After that... I hope there will be characters I can empathize with, a villain who is not simply a new member of the Banite Sith, new ships and planets, hear memorable new music, that there won't be an overdose of CGI, and a new story that touches on at least a few themes different from those of the previous two trilogies.

 

That we finally see a shaved wookie.

 

Good points but I could care less about the critics. I am referring to Star Wars fans that really thought Episodes I-III were awful and ruined Star Wars. George Lucas went from being a geek god pre-1997 to a relative outcast this past decade.

 

im proud to go on record as a GL Loyalist - flawed genius

 

Hopes:

1. Preservation of the major themes (good, evil, love, sacrifice, friendship, betrayal, redemption), with accompanying music.
2. A cast that has been tested carefully for chemistry.
3. Strong character development, direction and acting.
4. A story that adheres to major SW themes, moves the story forward, yet anchored in the OT, dare I say, even the PT.
5. Interesting locations. TCW has really done a number on all the exotic planets. What's left?
6. Further exposition and explanation of significant SW ideas/philosophy without destroying the mystery or mythology, than has already been done. I like Kasdan's comments about going back to what works.
7. I wouldn't mind references to the EU subordinate to the overall story, not vice-versa.
8. Great dialogue and humor. Not unlike Katz, Huyck and Kasdan.
9. Special effects subordinate to the story without the cartoonish look. I love the cg effects in space.
10. A villain(s) worthy of our new heroes potential realization. The villains and the circumstances have to be so dire that their defeat makes the protagonist(s) victory worthy of our acclaim.

 

Seeing Darth Plagueis on screen

 

But it wouldn't be Star Wars if it didn't have plot holes!


I like those who have said that they hope for big box office success and that people really enjoy the film, not just the already established fans, but that it brings in tons of new fans.

 

If you think about this will be the 4th generation of SW fans that will witness another new era of movies. You had the OOT generation that grew up with the movies, then the SE generation who first experienced them on VHS and 1997 re-release, then the PT generation who grew up with them with that trilogy, and now a whole new generation growing up with them for first time with the release of the ST. I have no doubt the new trilogy will be just as popular as the others.

 

Seeing this...

 

I see what you mean, and I don't know if it will ever get back to the OT-level love again. I can only speak about my friends (I hate generalizing about people I dont know about on the internet), but many of them felt burned by the SE & PT, and alot of them are just not hyped for the ST as I am. Not dont get me wrong, in the end they will see it because it's SW (and it wont hurt that they will be curious to see Luke, Leia and Han on screen one more time).

I just notice with my nephews and their friends that SW isn't a religion to them like it was to us. SW was groundbreaking from 77-83 and there was NOTHING like it, and to many of us growing up. They enjoy the SW movies, but they are not diehard's like we are. They will look at the ST as just another movie trilogy summer blockbuster that they will see in the movie theater and then move onto the next one. When we saw the movies, they stuck with you for years, and all you waited for was the next SW movie in 3 years.

As much as I am looking forward to the ST, it will not be as great as the OT. I said to my friends in 1998 that the PT would not be as good as the OT, and the reason is it is next to impossible to create movie magic over and over. I told them the characters wouldn't be the same, so you would lose that dynamic, the story wouldn't be the same, etc. Now I welcome new characters, new story, new adventures with the PT and ST because it would have gotten old if we had 9 movies of Luke, Leia and Han. But the OT was something special that was ahead of its time, and captured generation X kids at the perfect age. Stuff like that is very rare in movies today.








"Chewy, call Leia and tell her I will be late for dinner tonight cause we have a couple of things to take care of with the Falcon!"