Discussion The ST would suffer the same fate as the PT

It should also be pointed out that even without someone having insanely specific ideas about what should be seen in the new movies, the general overhype can break many products these days.
It really doesn't matter what we are talking about - a book, movie, video game, series - the overhype that goes on on the web drives fans and general audiences alike into a frenzy of unrealistic expectations. These do not have to be specific things, just the general idea that "This will be the most revolutionary thing in it's category" and that's actually only partially based on the marketing of the said product. In most cases, fans and regular followers will work themselves up in such an overhype bloodlust that it is nearly impossible for the final product to meet their expectations, no matter how great it objectivley is.

Beware of overhype, younglings.

 

Even though EU fans like to bash TCW for changing things around I think TCW did a good job of handling these two aspects. TCW told its own story but included some aspects of the EU (certain worlds, character names...etc). Following EU storylines 100% or close to a 100% would be a huge mistake but at the same time totally ignoring everything in the EU would be a mistake as well.

 

I say the safest bet would be to pull a "Marvel Studios". Have the stories mostly be original but have them very very very loosly take some inspiration from the comics and sprinkle in a couple "easter eggs" for fan service that dont detract away from the movie but serve as a couple moments of joy for the fanboys. That would be a very safe bet.

 

And we need this thread because..?

 

This does make sense.

 

The PT was different from what I was expecting mainly aspects from TPM and AOTC and some things didn't mesh with the OT like I expected but I was just along for the ride.
I have ideas on how I want the ST to be but don't expect the writers to use all of them. Will I be disappointed? Maybe but if they come up with something reasonable I will like it. If the actual ST doesn't go the way you want it, you can always make a fan-fiction story of it.

 

Although I have not been that impressed by Abrams' handling of the last two TREK movies, I will do the same with Episode VII, as I had done with the Prequel Trilogy . . . wait and see. Perhaps I will end up being satisfied with it, as I was with the PT.

 

I'm not saying that I'm one of those people you're referring to, but I think it's worth pointing out that Batman has to be redefined and changed to fit each new generation. You can't have the same Batman from the 1940s existing in the year 2013. Not the same with Star Wars. The Star Wars series has more of a timeless quality to it because it doesn't take place on Earth and isn't made to look like it occurred during a particular time in Earth history. I guess that's part of what makes Star Wars unique.

 

As long as I have fun, I will love the ST.

 

I agree, People are going to compare the ST to the OT regardless. I personally love the reboot of Star Trek! Both movies finally rock compare to eveything that came before! As for the PT, they weren't like the original trilogy but I enjoyed them just the same. I feel Episode III is simply great! I think GL made a mistake of starting with The Phatom Menace. I felt he should have begun with Episode II, then a whole movie based on the Clone Wars ending with Labyrith of Evil. And finally Episode III. Regardless of how good these ST are, people will still complain, its in our nature and they'll say: " The ST is not as good as the OT but at least they are better than the PT!" (Mark my words!)

 

This may be off topic but I would warn people to go spoiler-free into the ST. I went spoiler-free for Episodes 1 & 2 and enjoyed them very much. I read every spoiler for Episode 3 and I regretted it that night while I was watching the movie unfold and pretty much knew what was going to happen. Once the movie is in full production, I'm going to stay away from all spoilers except for trailers & when actors do interviews on talk shows to promote the movie.

 

The prequels fail because they are fundamentally bad storytelling. No sense of magic or adventure.

 

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Its very hard to go spoiler-free with the internet these days, but I will have to use a little willpower this time!

 

I don't remember much from the time leading up to TPM but do remember watching a Yoda trailer for AOTC several times. I enjoyed them the first time I watched and as time went by mellowed on them. I love them but they are the bottom two in my rankings of the saga. I also bought the comic adaptations some time along the way.
ROTS OTOH I was pretty spoiled for. I watched the trailers multiple times, read the novel, played the ROTS and Lego Star Wars games, and saw the original Clone Wars series lead up to ROTS and read the Labyrinth of Evil as well. I bought a guidebook to the movie as well. I bought the CD a bit later on I believe. All this stuff did not ruin the movie for me. I saw it twice and loved it both times and still do.
I never really focused on who was who in the cast during the PT so I will be interested in that for the ST. I will watch the trailers and see what the plot is for this and see what else I can find.
If I see spoilers for anything and the reviews aren't good I will like it.

 

Stop saying the "general audience and hardcore fans" didn't like the prequels! I'd argue that most people did, but the older generations of fans prefer the OT, the newer generations like the PT but just isn't vocal on the internet yet, or they just jumped on the hate wagon because the a large group of fans on the internet doesn't like them!

But I do agree with your overall point, the ST will not mach up to the ideas people already have in their minds. It's going to be harder this time also, because there are three generations of fans now, OT, PT, and TCW, and each of them are hoping to see certain aspects of their movies appear in the new one. People keep on saying "Look at the Avengers! Look how great it is!" And it is a great movie, but the thing is, no live action Avengers movie ever came out before it! So people didn't have too many ideas that would get in the way.

I do think though the hate on the ST will wear off as newer generations come into the Star Wars community, out side of the internet at least. The internet is a different story. Most casual fans that watched all six star wars movies like them all! It's just that once you get on the internet things change, but even now, people who hated the prequels when they came out are opening up to them, some new fans are even standing up for them! But there will always be that other type of fans that will join the hate club.

People are expecting Luke to be head of The New Jedi Order, they are expecting next generation Skywalkers, Leia and Han being married, Leia being a Jedi, and much much more, but what if all that we thought we knew were all wrong? This is why fans need to leave their minds open, and their imagination intact, because if you lack either one of them you might fall into the trap of a hater.

 

Avoid trailers too if you can. I was spoiler-free for TPM, but let my curiosity ruin it for AOTC, then spoiler-free for RoTS. AOTC would have been awesome spoiler-free because it finally brought in the familiar stuff we waited for, and there really wasn't much in RotS to surprise us. Still, I went into TPM not knowing how anything would look except C-3PO and Anakin, not knowing about double-bladed lightsabers, the presence of Palpatine and looking like he did as Emperor already, the Senate, a Jedi Council, expecting to see Yoda on Dagobah instead of sitting in a chair in an urban environment, not anything about Jar Jar, podracers. For RotS, I heard of Grevious but knew nothing about him or whose side he was on.
The new movies will do fine commercially and critically, but a lot of it has to do with how the so-called press approaches it. I don't know why John Carter got panned, and I don't just say that because of my opinion of the movie, but question the tactics of the press before the movie even came out. It's like they decide "okay, let's approach this like it's something cheesy and a joke, sight unseen, and go with that", or "let's boost this as much as possible and let everyone feel euphoric." Maybe they'll slant their coverage toward vocal fans reacting in protest to a few details or images, which will in turn shadow everything badly and make it out to be a joke before it even comes out. Ah whatever; it's hard to tell exactly how people will react to movies anymore.

 

Bobatron: Trailers will be tough to avoid! I will stay away from specific spoilers but a good trailer always gets me juiced for a movie. I remember only seeing trailers for Episode 1 & 2 and they didn't ruin it, but Episode 3 I pretty much knew every plot point and really regretted it to this day.

 

I have to see the trailers for the ST no questions asked. Trailers, Cast and basic plot and how it effects the EU are my things to find out and I will.
One movie I should have thought things through was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. I read the book when it came out, watched the trailers (blast the epic music for making it 100 times more exciting than it should have been) and clips multiple times and looked at the cast list. DH Pt 1 fell a bit flat to me. DH Pt 2 was different. I knew for the most part the books were way better than the movies. I watched the trailers a couple of times but no clips from the movie. I saw the movie with my cousins from out of state and it hit me when my cousins picked me up that we were going to see the Final Harry Potter movie. I was excited for it but that set a fever pitch for it.

 

As for how the ST is received, I don't even worry about that stuff anymore. My one problem during the PT (mostly Episode 3) is I worried too much about reviews, spoilers, what my peers thought. We have 3 more SW movies, I'm just going to sit back and try to enjoy and not get involved in the SW community in-fighting.

 

Looks like a great discussion is going on here. I was a bit concerned that people would turn this thread into a simple PT vs OT flame war but to my surprise, that has not happened. Everyone is going about this with a bit more mature and reasonable tone, much appreciated.

After I get out of work today I will come back and read all the replies and add my 2cents to the discussion.