ST Rian Johnson to write and direct Episode VIII (and also new SW Trilogy - see page 194)

No wonder the folks at LFL see to love him so much.

 

Oh I am not arguing it isn't there but the execution was poor and is the fault of TFA and JJ rather than TLJ and RJ. It is therefore a flaw in the ST.

They shouldn't have cut the scene of Leia's aide being sent to the Republic (so you know who the woman is in the foreground when the planet is destroyed) and just had a 5 seconds showing the Republic fleet in more detail rather than being specs on the screen.

However, it is still nonsensical that the entire Republic fleet was orbiting a single world. It is perfectly plausible (and IMO would have worked better) to have had a few ships not there and for them to be the "remnants of the Republic fleet" and be part of the opening space battle. Just ties it up more neatly IMO.

 

Rian has a similar mindset.

 

I'm not sure about Leia's aide. I can see why they cut it. Leia's intro works way better on Takodana for me. I'm also not convinced it matters that much that we don't know who she is in TFA. The wider point is that the Republic is toast.

Yes, I would agree - you could show more of the fleet being hit. Maybe have shots from inside their bridges as their commanders see the blasts coming. Fine. And yes, you could have some of the fleet there at the start of TLJ, but I think that was kind of the idea with the rest of the Resistance - hence why those extra ships and the bombers weren't present for SKB. Again, could that have been clearer? Sure. But in broader numbers I don't think that many people are that confused by the stakes in TLJ. Most people will have gone with what the crawl and the film tells them. And IMO, the film lays it on pretty thick on that front.

Are there people who want more clarity? Sure. But there always will be. Could they have nailed that aspect better from the start? Probably, but I don't think it's the failure some make that aspect out to be either.

 

I doubt all the Republic ships were in the Hosnian system. The reason they didn't show up in TLJ is simply because the film is set literally a few hours after the events of TFA and any stragglers out there would still be trying to figure out what the hell just happened. They'll show up in IX hopefully.

 

I don't know - they're kind of described as being wiped out.

I think the use of the word "peaceful" to describe the Republic suggests that they were woefully underprepared for the FO's attacks, so I can buy that they were wiped out. We do know there are other allies out there somewhere, but prior to Luke's "arrival" on Crait, those allies are either too busy dealing with their own First Order crackdown, or too afraid of the FO's might to risk their necks. Essentially, 99% of the galaxy is in Maz's castle Finn mode. There is no way they can win against the might of the FO, so it's better to run, hide, or keep your head down.

 

This is the wrong thread for this but not sure it warrants starting a whole new thread of its own to ask the question...

Can anyone tell me why the New Republic capital is in the Hosnian system and not on Coruscant? Also, how much of the Old Republic and Empire territory is part of the New Republic?

This is not a "oh you have to read the NEU to get that info but it should be clear in the films" rant (though I do believe that myself) but I simply want to know.

Any of you lore experts able to shed the light?

Thanks

Also to prevent a DP...

@Satipo sorry I wasn't clear. Not saying the scene with the Aide was particularly needed to know who she was (though that does add emotional weight to the scene) but having Leia despatch her to the New Republic to warn them etc would have helped set up the world building a bit better. However, you are right about Leia's arrival scene being better for her character.

 

To make it quick, apparently the New Republic blames Coruscant for the rise of the Empire. It was the capital of the Old Republic and Galactic Empire. It was also a symbol of corruption, wealth and greed regarding politics. Thus as a last insult to the former Empire's capital, it was denied the privilege of being the site of New Republic capital and the rotation system is there to prevent centralization of power that allowed Palpatine to flourish in Coruscant.

As for the size, it's unclear but apparently the New Republic is smaller than the Old Republic.

 

Just checked the Visual Dictionary for TFA and it says that after the New Republic signed a truce with the remnants of the Empire, one of the first acts of the new Senate was to bring in the Military Disarmament Act, so it's clear that they were making a conscious effort to have a much smaller military to avoid getting into a major galaxy-wide conflict again. Leia is sceptical of this approach and is still suspicious of the remnants of the Empire, but most of the New Republic just wants to move forward, and ends up being somewhat in denial about the FO as it begins to emerge as a threat. I think this is also explored somewhat in Bloodline, but I haven't read it yet. I imagine there are a few remnants of the fleet left, but not enough to take on the FO, and as someone said, they are probably still working out what just happened and deciding how to respond...some will have already surrendered to the FO (which is mentioned in the Visual Dictionary for TLJ).

Could we have used a little more explanation in the films? Maybe, but for me it's not really a problem, because the people wanting more explanation are generally the more hardcore fans, not the general audience. The hardcore fans can go and read about it in the Visual Dictionaries and novels, etc - and this gives LFL the chance to create interesting characters and stories outside of the saga films. Now I know people say you shouldn't have to read a book to understand / enjoy a film, but that's not what's happening here - the films are pretty easy to understand, the background material is there if you want to get into it - but you don't have to.

One of the criticisms of the prequels is that there was too much exposition and not enough focus on the characters and action, I think they're making a conscious effort to try and avoid that...maybe they've taken that too far at times, but I would prefer that to the alternative.

 

To me, the lack of explanation regarding politics would have been fine had TFA and TLJ not made this conflict into a galactic conflict. If it was something along the lines of the Invasion of Naboo (One planet, one conflict), I wouldn't be asking as much questions regarding the New Republic. But blowing up their capital is a big deal and I do want to know so I can care about them. It says something when I feel more emotions about Alderaan being destroyed than the NR capital planet despite TFA showing the terrified faces of the citizens.

 

I would say there was a happy medium that could have been struck with just a few lines of dialogue or perhaps a single scene of some debate/argument going on in the new senate about the threat posed or not posed by the First Order. Nothing more than a few minutes.

Anyway guys thanks for the explanation.

 

So if the Resistance and Republic fleets are gone, does this mean that whatever military force the survivors are going to muster for IX will be much more ragtag, made up of commercial vessels, private security ships, and various planetary defense craft, in the vein of the N-1 Starfighter?

 

Maybe it’s just me but I think both films have explained it enough. There was a New Republic. There is a Resistance Army. From the ashes of the Empire the First Order rises.

The New Republic capital planet is destroyed. The Republic is in tatters. The Resistance is under attack from the First Order that is striving to gain military rule.

I really don’t think it needs much more than that.


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I was being sarcastic.

 

I guess thats not the case since they made an emphasis on how none in the galaxy answered the Resistance call on Crait. Would be weird if after that emphasis they will make a dozen of capital ships pop out of hyperspace to help MF.

 

These are all good questions, but it hardly matters as I doubt the writers of 9 will care about connecting their story to 8. It seems to me that after TLJ, anything goes.

 

I'm not saying that I want Rian fired, but I have to say I'm a little surprised that so far, he still seems to be on board for a new trilogy. He's had to spend a lot of his time explaining away every complaint about the film on Twitter, even using non-canon material to justify plot points. I wonder why Kathleen's been silent on the whole thing.

 

Could be because she’s fanning dollar bills.


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Because he's a good little foot soldier for her.

 

Or because really explaining things would be spoiling episode 9

 

Her silence about the whole thing leads me to believe there could be changes to the plans going forward...

 

I won't be surprised to hear the news about him leaving the position of new trilogy's director half year later. They obviously want to let the dust settle.

 

I can’t wait for his trilogy. He has made a fantastic, mature and progressive film that makes this long time fan very happy.


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He has certainly made the first truly nihilistic SW movie.

 

In your opinion of course.

My opinion is that he has shown a maturity and progressiveness whilst still honouring the saga.

Bravo, I say.


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