ST Will Episode VII have a downer ending?

Each trilogy has one movie with a downer ending. In the OT, it was Ep V, the second in the trilogy. In the PT, it was Ep III, the third in the trilogy. Do you think they would keep the pattern going by giving the downer ending the Ep VII, the first movie in the new trilogy? And if so, how do you think it would affect the next two movies?

These are just me hypothetical thoughts. If it did, Ep VII would be positive throughout the first half of the movie, with the big battle at the beginning (as each of these types of movies have) and the new characters getting introduced. In the end though, the villians turn the galaxy against both the Jedi and the idea of a new Republic. Also, John's character gets built up as the new hero, only to be killed off at the end, with the heroes just barely surviving. This would allow Gleeson, Ridley, and Issac to be the new Big Three (Personally, I hate this idea as I like the hero being a non-Skywalker or non-Solo, but with 4 main actors, I figure it's a way to feature all 4 but still have a Big 3).

Then in VIII, Luke sacrifices himself early on to save the new heroes, but his sacrifice somehow gives the heroes the edge, and Ep VIII ends with the heroes and villains in a draw. EP IX would then be then final showdown by both sides.

As I said, I honestly hope this doesn't happen as I don't think people who've waited to see these movies for years want to see a downer movie, but SW is about patterns, and this fits that pattern.

what are your thoughts?

 

What state the galaxy is in will have a big role to play in whether the movie ends in an upbeat note or a downbeat one. If there is a relatively well established New Republic and a strong Jedi Order than we can probably expect something that will lead towards the degradation of both. If the galaxy is in complete disorder since the fall of the empire (or if the empire hasn't entirely fallen yet) it is possible that VII could be the first step towards bringing a more peaceful and just order to the galaxy.

 

Unless it involves OT characters in a negative way, I think it would be hard for any predicaments facing the new characters to give the audience a downer ending. By the second movie we should know and care about the new characters enough to be depressed by bad things happening to them

 

Sure. Happy endings are overrated. Just ask George RR Martin and Steven Moffat.

 

I don't think it will be a good idea to have a dark ending right now when JJ & Co. are just testing the waters. A downer ending, if the story ain't that strong and the surviving characters are not that interesting or lovable, it could take the fans away for the next episode. "Han's dead, what's the point in watching the rest, man. The legacy's destroyed, my childhood is ruined, etc, etc." or something like that.

Should better leave the downer ending for Ep. VIII when everybody actually cares for the story and the characters.

 

Bitter sweet ending. Emphasis on the sweet. In a fairly complex turn of events, an unexpected member of the Big 3 dies for the greater good - ie, the project of rebuilding the Republic, marking the beginning of a new era in earnest. Kind of similar to the upbeat tone of TPM's ending - in which Qui-Gon doesn't make it.

 

No.

1) JJ Abrams was raised on the OT, not the PT. And even ESB wasn't that dark - Luke resisted Vader and was rescued by Leia. Han was frozen, not killed. It was a cliffhanger, but certainly not the Red Wedding.
2) JJ Abrams couldn't even give Star Trek: Into Darkness the downer ending the original story template had.
3) Disney spent a LOT of money on Lucasfilm and downer endings do not make gobs of money worldwide. Nor do they lend themselves to years and years of sequels and spin-offs and toys and theme park rides. The movies will be about as dark as the Marvel Universe films.
4) The main audience for these films will be kids and their parents, because kids want and parents buy toys and Disney Store merchandise. And they won't do anything to jeopardize that.

 

Of course it will have a downer ending. I'll have to wait a whole nother year for the trailer of Episode VIII. Its so far away.



Why can't I just watch all three movies now?

 

In the OT EP4 had a good feel finish ,

In the PT EP1 had a good feel finish ,

So that history won't be tampered with so we will get that good feel finish in EP7 ....EP8 will more likely give us the downer ending.....

 

If it mirrors ANH it will establish the problem but will more than likely be a pretty complete film on its own. Thus a "happy" ending.

 

ESB was absolutely a "downer ending" for an adventure movie of its day. No point jumping forward 30 years & comparing it to the Red Wedding in GoT. In ESB the bad guys had the upper hand & the heroes were in pain & in a bleak situation. Their only realistic goal at the end of the film was to rescue Han. That would be hard in itself let alone having any chance of actually defeating the Empire & restoring freedom to the galaxy. The heroes & the Rebellion looked royally screwed when you first saw the end of ESB in 1980. A very dark ending for a serial adventure movie.

I think there will definitely be a downer ending in the ST. One thing Abrams has continually said is he wants to bring great emotion to the story. The best way to do that is to include loss & hopelessness to at least one point of the trilogy. Using traditional story structure you'd have to guess that Ep8 would be the most likely point for this, given it will be the "middle act" of the larger story. It's unlikely he'd want to kick off the new trilogy with a downer opening episode, & Ep9 will surely end the story on a positive uplifting note. So Ep8 will probably be the one.

 

I highly doubt Episode VII will have a downer ending. There will be plenty of opportunities for turmoil and danger throughout the middle of the film, don't get me wrong. But for Disney's first venture into the Star Wars Universe, I would like to think they would be making the film in the vein of A New Hope - a lighthearted, raucous adventure story where the good guys win.

 

I was answering the question re: Episode 7, not 8

And ESB was not that dark. Yes, I saw it on first theatrical release as a child. There was no doubt Han would be rescued in the next film. The only bummer was having to wait three more years to see the conclusion.

Last, "emotion" does not automatically equal "character death" and "downer ending." Far from it. ANH has plenty of emotion and the good guys win big. I believe when Abrams said that, he was referring to returning to the big, sweeping and ultimately joyful emotion of the OT vs the less successful emoting of the PT. I'm not slamming the PT, just pointing out that money wise and critically the PT did not fare as well.

Last, JJ doesn't own it, Disney does. And Disney is not going to risk its investment by potentially turning off audiences with a downer ending.

 

It will be a happy ending with a mysteriousness about the enemy.


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I've picked on AOTC a lot...but one thing it managed to achieve was having an "upbeat" and "somber" ending both at the same time. The battle was won....but "begun the clone war has." Perhaps VII could have this...the good guys win, but a larger conflict begins (or most likely this will be the ending of VIII as everyone else has said).

 

Happy endings are overrated. I predict that within a week of Episode VII opening in theaters, the world's supply of Prozac will be completely depleted.

 

the new trio die and the Old trio take their place.

 

VII will be pretty tame, but VIII will be the meat grinder.

 

Rather, here's what I hope to see go down. There's a local conflict in the galaxy, which the heroes must solve. This initial conflict is solved fairly easily, but behind this first conflict, are the baddies for the rest of the trilogy. I guess this is a re-hashing from the PT, and Sidious' "grand plan," but that's the basic framework I want to see. Provided the writing is better than the PT.

 

Fair enough, still I think there's a chance of a reasonably dark ending to Ep7. The reason is, Ep6 ended on an extremely positive note. By making Ep7 clearly things will have to go quite bad for there to be more story to tell. I can't see them starting the story with things in bad shape considering where we left off. It's possible that the peril will grow as the story progresses & by the end things might be in pretty bad shape.

Regarding ESB, that they would rescue Han isn't the point. Star Wars (back then) wasn't about Han, it was about the Rebels overcoming the Empire & Luke overcoming the Dark Side. Both of these goals looked utterly hopeless at the end of ESB. Looking back, how could the Rebels possibly defeat the Empire in their situation having just seen ESB? This represents a very dark ending. Just compare this to the ending of ANH. That's why in RotJ, to wrap up the story in just 1 movie they had to concoct a situation where the Empire again made an ultimate weapon & Darth Vader & the Emperor both happened to be on it at the same time. Without that scenario it would be very hard to get any kind of decisive victory.

I didn't mention character death, but it's funny that you reference ANH when so much emotion came from Ben's death. Whether you agree or not, ESB is widely regarded as the most emotional movie. Most of the emotion in that film is anguish & despair as well as the characters loyalties & caring about each other in dark times.

Regarding the commercial aspects of movies these days, you might want to look at some huge hits in recent years. The Hunger Games is extremely dark & the latest film had a very dark ending. It was a massive hit. The last few Harry Potter films featured very dark elements & endings, & was still hugely popular including with kids. It's a trend these days so there's no reason why Lucasfilm would balk at this choice if that's where they see the story going.

 

Agreed. I could see it happening. I just hope it doesn't.

 

Well we did have a pretty sad funeral for Qui-Gon Booze.

Here we might kill off any number of the big three and chewie. Yeah I think Episode VII will have a bittersweet ending at minimum. LIke Final Fantasy Episode VII. Sure, the world was saved and the bad guy became minced meat, but Aerith died.

 

I say it'll have a "foreboding" ending - akin to AotC. The good guys win, but the bad guys are still at large and happy with the events so far.
It's part 7 of the story. You can't have a happy ending come off the back of a super happy ending (RotJ).

By the way, this was being discussed quite some time ago;
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/episodic-endings-in-a-9-part-saga.50014568/

 

Both EpI and EpIV

Mentor Dies
Wins Big Battle

Doesn't sound good for Luke.

 

I want Luke to survive Episode VII. Mix something up for once & have someone's mentor live.