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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

ST Everybody and Yo Mama Wants to Be in Ep. VII

Discussion in 'Sequel Trilogy' started by Lord Tyrannus, Nov 5, 2012.

  1. appleseed

    appleseed Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2002
    She's a great actress, with a ton of charisma, and she seems to be pretty serious about her craft. She also has a Hammer Films connection, as she was the lead in their version of Let Me In. And of course, the two most famous Hammer actors-Cushing and Lee-contributed greatly to Star Wars, as did Hammer veteran Dave Prowse.

    I would love this if it turned out to be true. It also harkens back to TPM. And that is very Star Wars, the parallel characters and all.
     
  2. Episode Swag

    Episode Swag Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 9, 2013
    I am not familiar with Chloe so i cant comment on her. But the possibility of a female main character is interesting. I would love to see a female Skywalker lead in this.

    But, my main concern is that if another trilogy is going to be made after this, then will the Skywalker name fade away? I mean if the lead skywalker is female and she marries at the end and has a kid for episode 10, then he or she won't be a skywalker. Maybe they could make an exception in the GFFA for someone as influential as this female lead might be and have her actually pass down the family name. Heck that would be kind of cool. In a way, having the female's last name be passed down to her offspring would be the ultimate girl power thing to do.

    You know what? That would be pretty awesome to see.
     
  3. Tan-Wessel

    Tan-Wessel Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    May 31, 2001
    Here you go:



     
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  4. Arawn_Fenn

    Arawn_Fenn Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2004
  5. Jedi Merkurian

    Jedi Merkurian Future Films Rumor Naysayer star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    May 25, 2000
    *threadmerge*
     
  6. CGI-BOBAFENT

    CGI-BOBAFENT Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2002
    She'd make a great skywalker, and would kinda come full circle with the Carrie/Star Wars film link [DePalma shared the casting sessions for his film with Lucas]
     
  7. FRAGWAGON

    FRAGWAGON Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    You're right, it should have been Chewbacca Skywalker.
     
  8. FRAGWAGON

    FRAGWAGON Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    Or one of those horrible, unpronouncable EU names with all the apostrophes.
     
  9. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    Moretz seems pretty analogous as to where Natalie Portman was being cast in the prequels. Talented and young, but not in a creepy Dakota Fanning way.
     
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  10. johnrain39

    johnrain39 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2012
    Moretz could play Ahsoka Tano or her daughter!
     
  11. Tan-Wessel

    Tan-Wessel Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    May 31, 2001
    Apparently, if this anecdote is to be believed, she got the acting bug via her brother dressing her up as Princess Leia:

    Skip to 2:28
     
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  12. JoinTheSchwarz

    JoinTheSchwarz Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 21, 2002
    For all we know, we could be looking at the new Leia, not the new Luke. So no, it doesn't confirm a thing.
     
  13. Aizakku Rorensu

    Aizakku Rorensu Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 13, 2013
    That's the way that I would look at it.

    Yeah, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Sure, you could do it, but it would be a head-scratcher as to why Disney would.

    It would be akin to Disney buying Marvel in order to get the movie rights to it's superheroes (and make Marvel superhero movies that they hope will appeal to boys), and then turn around and make the Black Widow the main hero of The Avengers; or creating a new female superhero and making her the main hero. Sure, they could have done that, but why would you spend $4 billion dollars on Marvel when you could have simply created something new with a female lead for a lot cheaper.

    Or like Tron. It would be like bringing it back and making Quorra the main hero and primary story of Tron: Legacy, and having Kevin Flynn and Sam Flynn be the secondary story. Sure, you could do it, but why would you?

    Or on the flipside: it would be like making a new Hunger Games trilogy and having it's main hero be the son of Katniss Everdeen instead of the daughter. Sure, you could do it, buy why would you?

    Anyway, no, I don't want to see Disney do this with Star Wars, and I don't understand why they would, because they bought Star Wars for the same reason they bought Marvel.

    And sure, there'll be strong female main characters in Episode VII. We've had strong female main characters in Star Wars since around the 6:00-minute mark of the first movie. And this Chloe Mortez would make a great Jaina Solo, or a daughter of Luke, or just a great new young Jedi. But as the main hero of a new Star Wars movie (or trilogy)? I have a hard time seeing Disney doing something like that, given the main reason they bought Star Wars in the first place. No, the main hero will be male, and most likely 18 to 22 (I don't see them going younger than that for the main hero). And if they do go younger, then I imagine it'll be like Episode I with Anakin playing an important role, but the main heroes were Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
     
  14. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    And don't forget: attractive, caucasian and hetero-normative! We wouldn't want them to waste their investment. :rolleyes:

    Because I'm sure their investment had nothing to do with the profitability of lightsabers, Yoda, Chewbacca, Vader, and all of the ancillary branding of Star Wars. I'm sure DISNEY of all people have no four quadrant plans for Star Wars. No it was all about tow-headed white boys running around in robes, saying "NOOOOOOOOOO!"
     
  15. Aizakku Rorensu

    Aizakku Rorensu Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Jan 13, 2013
    Yeah, I intentionally left that out. So no, nothing was forgotten.

    No, I imagine Disney will have Jedi in every race, gender, and alien species. And will have merchandise for one and all. In fact, I would be shocked if Disney didn't do this.

    None of this of course changes the fact that Disney primarily bought Star Wars to increase their reach into the boys market, which was my point.
     
  16. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    Yes, and having a female main protagonist shouldn't burden that desire. I think that Star Wars is strong enough to overcome the fear of cooties. [face_dunno] Obviously this presumes that any of the creators behind the scripts want to take that chance. But if anyone would be willing to back that play, it would be Disney.
     
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  17. Aizakku Rorensu

    Aizakku Rorensu Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 13, 2013
    Star Wars may be, adult Star Wars fans posting on message boards may be, but not most 7 to 13-year-old boys, who these movies will mainly be targeted to...

    And you say it shouldn't burden anything, but it does. And it's not wrong that it does, it's only natural.

    It's not a play to back, because it's not the main reason this was done.

    Again with the "burden" of a main female protagonist: I believe The Hunger Games opening weekend had something like a 61% female to 39% male audience split. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. And it made a ton of money. A 61% to 39% female to male split is not something that Disney would be after with Star Wars though. Disney is already extremely strong with the girl and young teen girl market. They're now trying to strengthening and increase their market share of the boy and young teen boy market.

    So it's highly unlikely there will be any chances taken with Star Wars when it comes to the gender of the main protagonist. And that's only because it's not part of the plan.
     
  18. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    And you don't think, in some part, that has something to do with the marketing of that movie, and the built in fanbase for those books? Not to mention the inherent over 13 nature of the marketing?

    The closest example we have for this in practice is Ahsoka Tano, ostensibly the main character of her portion of the franchise, surrounded by likeable, marketable male protagonists like Anakin, Obi-Wan and the clones. Ahsoka, who was the main character (and audience proxy) for a cartoon that was basically designed for the precious 7-13 boy market. Ahsoka, who for a certain generation of fans, will undeniably be their Luke Skywalker. Ahsoka, who according to Daryl Depriest, became the best selling female character in the history of Star Wars merchandising (by a longshot), and the central character of a TV/merchandising push that was hugely successful.* And not only was the character successful, but nothing about the marketing required the color pink, nor a foray into the dreaded girls toy aisle. [face_worried] Ahsoka was a merchandising marvel for a boys toy franchise.

    And while I agree with you that Hasbro probably wasn't knocking LFL's door down in 07 begging for a new SW property centered around a female tween lead in a skirt, the two companies came together to create a business model that could support the story that Lucas and the producers wanted to create. And they did so by selling the character, but also selling all of the very marketable boy characters that surrounded her. Now we can debate whether Lucas decided to create Ahsoka because of focus group think, gender politics, or just preference. Regardless, it happened, it worked. And it probably only happened because of the quirky, unique nature of the creative owned pre-2013 Lucasfilm.


    *(YMMV on why that has fallen apart as a merchandising entity in the last year or two. Personally, I blame the filler nature of the show and the scheduling musical chairs. I don't think its because the 7-13 fanbase suddenly decided in 2011 that girls are icky.)
     
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  19. krtmd

    krtmd Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 5, 2012
    I'm just going to leave this here.
     
  20. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    Well "should" vs. "can there be a female main protagonist" are two different, equally relevant questions. While I wouldn't necessarily object to people not thinking there "should," I would give a serious side eye to anyone who was passionate about "shouldn't." ;)
     
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  21. Aizakku Rorensu

    Aizakku Rorensu Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 13, 2013
    Sure, I think it had a great deal to do with all that you mentioned. And that's my point.

    With The Hunger Games, Lionsgate marketed it to an audience who they thought would be most receptive to that particular property and it worked.

    Disney will craft and market Episode VII to the 7 to 13-year-old boy market and hope that works. And it should work, because it's worked for over 35 years.

    And I'm not sure what Ahsoka has to do with anything. Yes, Episode VII will no doubt have strong female main characters. Star Wars always has; like I said, since Princess Leia shot a Stormtrooper 6-minutes and some seconds into A New Hope. And there's been female Star Wars action figures since 1978. I had a Princess Leia action figure when I was eight in '78 and thought she was cool. And Disney will no doubt market any new female characters as much as they can.

    That said, at the end of day the movie will have a male main protagonist and will be marketed to 7 to 13-year-old boys, for reasons stated in posts above. And that's like it's always been. And if anyone else of either gender and any age also enjoys it, then that's great too. And that's also like it's always been. And the toys and other merchandise will be marketed to everyone, young and old. And that's probably the only thing that'll be different than how it was done with the Original Trilogy (and I say Original Trilogy because I imagine the Prequel Trilogy had a more modern and comprehensive marketing plan for merchandise).

    Anyway, that's the long and the short of it, is it not?

    While the IGN article is well reasoned, the only thing missing is why Disney purchased Star Wars. That must be addressed and understood first.
     
  22. Zuckuss the Ruckuss

    Zuckuss the Ruckuss Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2013
    I'm not going to get too far into this, but your comparing a Tv narrative vs a film one. Some episodes, Ashoka is the main character. Some episodes, Anakin is the main character. Hell sometimes a clone trooper is a main character.

    Your comparing different mediums. I'm not saying that a female focused Star Wars film couldn't work. But, I largely agree with Aizakku that its probably not in Disney's agenda off the bat. Especially if you take into account what Bob Iger said to investors when acquiring the property.

    I think that it will come with the future films after this trilogy. I'm sticking by my comments that Disney is going to play it "safe." for their first go around.

    I think what you are going to see, imo, is a male lead and a female lead for this movie. That will fit into a dynamic like Anakin/Obi wan. That is the safe approach I think they will take.
     
  23. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    Gee, it might have been explained in a paragraph or two discussing how she was a paradigm shifting anomaly in the very boy-centric, toyetic market that you're describing, precisely because of Lucasfilm being the kind of company that takes those risks. You should read it. :p

    If we're framing the value of the franchise on its main protagonists, I think it's fair to point out that Lucasfilm are the zany folks who gave us a "marketable," "relatable" boy lead who was a 10-yr old boy, then a teen killer of indigenous, then a killer of children who morphed into a black clad supervillain. I don't think modern Lucas has a great record with creating protagonists that fit into your model of marketability.
     
  24. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    1. Of course there are different main characters for different episodes. Star Wars has always been an ensemble piece. But no other female character has come close, either in percentage of time as the focal character, or in the role as the audience's entry point into the universe. That can't be emphasized enough.

    2. The mediums are comparable in terms of merchandise, which is a large part of what Bob Iger is interested in. The Disney Princess label pulls in something like 3 billion dollars a year. This is about much more than box office.

    3. Frankly, as far as the boy's market is concerned, Disney probably should do whatever the hell Lucas wants. It's not like Sam Flynn, John Carter, or even Captain Jack are big draws for the 7-13, nor do they really sell the merch.
     
  25. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    Maybe in this fictional galaxy that happens to take place absolutely nowhere near earth, Luke, Han, ObiWan, Anakin, etc. are all chicks. If Padme and Leia were guys, these films are certainly sexist toward males. I think this is probably the accurate way to look at it. In 1983, a woman would never have been in charge. Look at Mon Mothma's hair... total dude.