Lit A/V The Force Awakens and the EU [TAGGED spoilers.]

A movie a year for 5 years is a great deal more of an impact than Legacy ever could have been. I'm not saying it's the doom of Star Wars culturally, in my case, I'm saying my time with it is likely winding down. I can't keep up, and I feel like the gross materialism of it all runs contrary to the message portrayed by the Saga's paragons of virtue... the Jedi. It's all making for the perfect stew to turn me off from the franchise.

 

How is it difficult to keep up with one movie per year?

As for the EU, I long ago gave up trying to keep up with all of it. My love of Star Wars hasn't waned since then. If anything, it's gotten bigger.

 

Star Wars will die after Romeo and Juliet dies.

 

But, but... we're doomed!

Aren't we?

 

Nah.

 

A glooming peace these movies with them bring;
The sun for sorrow will not show his head
Dwell here, to have more talk of these sad things;
None shall be pardon'd but some punished;
For never did a story cause more pain
Than when Star Wars succumbed to Disney's reign

 

Whaaa?

 

Well, gameplay-wise it was the biggest overhaul in the series since 2, the naval missions were fantastic, the writing was decent, and I actually ended up liking Connor. They definitely could have gotten more mileage out of the setting, though. The Trenton raids, Saratoga, and the guerilla war in the South would have made fantastic sequences.

 

Connor was a terrible character that had potential that was never exploited. He never showed his emotions, and that made him extremely unlikable and boring.

Also, it could've been a lot better gameplay-wise. Most of the activities off to the side were rather contrived and boring, the city-building mechanic that was so fun before was completely axed (replaced with the homestead complete with boring crafting), the switch from free-running on two buttons to one made the controls really uncooperative, and don't even get me started on the ending. It could've be a lot better. The biggest advancement there was in graphics, but the setting in a developing country didn't let a lot of color or beauty get across.

So it was a step-back disguised as an advancement really.

But why in the heck are we talking about Assassins Creed all of a sudden anyways?

 

Nick,

The pessimism stems from what is known of corporate conglomerates like Disney, in that respect the omens are not encouraging. Thus far? Shutting down of LucasArts, cancellation of game projects, irrespective of the potential quality. Of course you can take a benign view and say the games would have been rubbish, but there was quite some interest around the 1313 trailer. Then there's the books and comics, if ever damage control and clear communication was needed - instead we've got ever greater haze.

I have a great deal of faith in Abrams and co to deliver a blinder of a film for ep 7, but I don't have that confidence for anything else. If it's announced that spin-off X will have creative team Y, maybe that will change.

But, back to the main point, where corporate practices are concerned there's grounds to be uneasy about all this.

Nor will Disney be unduly concerned about fan boycotts, if only due to the uphill odds of that ever happening. Fans talk about not buying but rarely actually stop. (Though I'll say right now my SW bill has gone down, considerably, over the last few years.) Disney can relax and rest easy that most fans will not put their money where their mouth is? And those that do? Statistically insignificant!

For myself, I'd place them on the same level, ESB notwithstanding, SW isn't really considered to be all that great outside of effects.

 

Precisely.

Why are people cautiously optimistic about Episode 7 itself? Because of Abram's history of directing good films, not because we know anything about the film. But, vice versa, why are people pessimistic about the broader future of the brand itself? Because of Disney's history of milking things for everything they're worth, seen here, here, oh and here, and let's not forget here, and here too, and we can't forget here, or here.

It speaks worlds for Disney's plans for the Star Wars brand when a few years ago they said they were done milking their own Classics with crappy new direct-to-video sequels, but that their first plans for Star Wars are now not to be content with producing the Sequel Trilogy, but to begin cashing in on more spin-offs even before they've pulled off Episode 7. Usually you learn to walk before you run... but apparently not in this case.

 

Take that back... nothing beats Connery!!!

 

Pessimism and hate are two very different things, and there's no sense conflating them.

On Superhero Hype I see the article "CinemaCon: Star Wars Movies Coming Every Supper Starting in 2015", my reaction is "I have a bad feeling about this." Then I read the comments and someone says 'how awesome would it be to see the adventures of Luke Skywalker between films?" Mine "it wouldn't be, we'll end up with a Luke that isn't Luke." Also "I've been there, done that... doing it again in Star Woods."

 

What I don't understand from people wanting stories about that in the spin-offs is... "between films"? They'd be films. Sure, it'd just be called Star Wars: The Spin-Off, but for all intents and purposes, it'd just be Episode 7.5, making Episode 8 then nothing special, which is why I really, really hope the spin-offs aren't about any of the main characters, so that Episode 8 is still the eighth film in the Saga, with the spin-off being precisely that: nothing more than a spin-off.

Whereas, a standalone Vader or Yoda film? Sure thing. Those have zip to do with the sequels, so won't detract from the build-up to Episode 8, but just be EU [2.0] Movies.

 

My inner optimist says that the movie a year deal will be a good thing. That after they lay the groundwork for Episode 7's production they can use that to make the new stories without needing to up the ante in terms of visuals like Avatar or do production finagling like the Marvel movies.

The shorter time doesn't mean the movies will be cheap or rushed, it just means that they won't turn every movie into a two year marketing circus act. I hope alot of talented but not high profile directors and writers would be brought in too. The guys who did Battlestar Galactica and Game of Thrones and such had no problem putting out good hour-long episodes every week with less than half the budget.

But then my inner pessimist taps me on the shoulder and says "Come on, this is modern Hollywood, they're going to milk Star Wars for all it's worth an half these spin-off will be embarrassing as hell."

 

As a Star Wars fan more Star Wars is exciting as long as its accompanied by quality. I want more Star Wars but i'm in fear of TOO MUCH Star Wars to the point its no longer exciting anymore. I'd like it when new Star Wars felt like this massive event.

 

Eh. I don't agree with that. Every single blockbuster and it's mother for the past few years has been a hugely hyped marketing extravaganza, it's gotten very tiring seeing all these movies try to pass themselves off as the second coming of action movie Christ.

I have no problem with seeing Star Wars put out some simple, unpretentious movies that we don't have to wait four years for and have the main character glaring at us from every popcorn bag and billboard.

 

Are you talking about the new BSG? Because that series took a nose dive in later series like you haven't seen. It went from well done and complex hard SF to mythological bullcrap and destroyed pretty much everything what was great in former seasons.

 

We consider them to be that great. Do you think there are message boards out there with people endlessly discussing Thor and Iron Man 2 to anywhere near the same extent we dissect every single aspect of every single movie on here?

I don't think so, and this being the freaking Internet and all, that must mean something.

e:

You will have them glaring at you from every popcorn bag and billboard. It'll just be every year now instead of a few months every three years. That's what over-saturation is.

 

Disney have said that in future they'll license development of Star Wars games to external dev studios. With the exception of The Force Unleashed, that is exactly the model Lucasarts were using for SW games for the last decade. Jedi Knight 2, Jedi Academy, Empire at War, Battlefront, KOTOR, all of them were developed by external dev studios and merely published by Lucasarts.

 

But Star Wars isn't those other blockbuster movies...its Star Wars!

 

May it stay that way!