ST Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) in Episode VII

i didn't say you specifically but my statement still stands.

 

again we are at this whole thing were people get annoyed when someone supposedly doesn't include the Solo family as being part of the Skywalkers which I never did say as they are part of the family. I only said/meant that if you look at the ST it seems to be a Solo Saga which is true if you look at it by itself but that it's still part of the Skywalker Saga.

 

GL made it completely clear that Luke in the ST would always be the next Yoda/Obi-Wan. This wasn't going to change when Disney bought SW, and looks like it in fact didn't. Any fan that is disappointed by Luke being the next Yoda/Obi-Wan clearly hasn't been listening for the last thirty years. I believe it's likely Luke will have a PT Yoda size role. I've always gotten the impression this is what GL had in mind and I have no reason to believe Disney altered this. Just give me Luke doing something incredible with the Force, a couple good fight scenes, and show him restore the Jedi Order and I'll be completely satisfied. Yoda was hardly in TPM, had a few more scenes in AOTC plus a fight scene, and then in ROTS he had some of his greatest moments and one of the most epic duels of the Saga. No reason to believe Luke wont get the same treatment for the ST. Far, far too early for this Luke Skywalker fan to call foul.

 

I'll come out and say it: Luke is (and always was) my favourite character in the saga. Yes, my favourite! And yet I'm perfectly OK with Luke's role in TFA. Sometimes a character's absence actually highlights their importance, and frankly, I can't really picture how a Luke-centric TFA would play out.

And yes, this is exactly what we'd been promised, as Rabs notes.

 

I'm hoping for an animated series focused on Luke at some point. I think watching his struggles after watching the ST, and knowing what happens to him, would make his role in the ST all the more special.

 

I'd definitely be up for that. I think it's a safe bet we'll get an animated series set sometime in the gap between ROTJ and TFA.

Abrams even says...

I take that to be partly an offhand comment but also an acknowledgement that LFL plan to fill that gap at some point. And an animated series would be the perfect way to deal with the OT characters in that time period.

 

I think I need to step away from this thread until the next official bit of business comes along.

As a Luke fan, "...I care."

I understand. I truly do.

but it makes my inner fan girl just a tad bit sad to see how much the dark side has seeped into this thread over rumors and the like. I can understand loyal Luke fans feeling this way AFTER TFA comes out and your expectations were not met, but why worry when the film is still pretty much 6 months away?

The recent bummedness has hammered home a very valuable lesson I'm been coming to about fandom: switch the expectations off and do not believe everything you read or see. I've had so much fun not expecting anything in my movies and comics lately it's been a joy.

I luke forward to having fun in this thread again. There were some lovely theories / discussions. I hope it is sooner rather than later.

Bows politely before buggering off.

 

I was hoping for this, but given the rumors for Luke I would expect it will be a pretty depressing series as everything seems to go to hell for him between ROTJ and TFA.

 

To be fair though, even if bad things happened in the interim, it doesn't mean there can't be good times and great things that happen as well. Plus, if they do a Luke-centric animated series between ROTJ and TFA, I here there's this Mark Hamill guy who is a pretty good voice actor.

 

Its because of the EU. Were used to Luke having a legacy, well except for the ending of the eu

 

Exactly the right questions. This is part of the main tension in the fanbase, IMO, which is between those who advocate an emphasis on the logical progression of lore (with the story following from that), and those who advocate for a timeless story (with lore following from that). In the former camp, characters, for the purposes of the just and fair progression of their arcs within the context of the established lore, deserve peace, or happiness, or what have you. But for the latter camp, you create a story with timeless motifs, conflict and drama, and you fit the lore into that mold. For that camp, no one deserves anything based on past lore. A good story dictates what does, or does not, happen to a character based on their role in that self-contained narrative. If they need to play the childless wizard, they play the childless wizard. If they need to be estranged from their partner in order to make the drama work, that's what happens. If they need to die, they die.

This is partly behind the disappointment with the PT. It was a lore-first film, for a lot of people, with the personal stories playing second fiddle.

 

If that's all it is (and I don't think it is, though I agree it's a factor), it's gotta be one of the worst reasons. The post-ROTJ EU succeeds because it plays to expectations for the most part, which is fine for disposable tie-in novels, but it doesn't really cut it for a major motion picture. I never felt like the EU gave us the "real" story so much as the story that was most pleasing to fans.

 

If that's what fans love, that becomes the real story. So the real story is like the real world verses the matrix, and its more depressing. Rather have the matrix

 

Eh is it in either or? My problem is Luke gets totally frakked so we can reset conditions to basically that of the OT. Luke is the hero of the OT without him we would not have this franchise and I think the characters should have some accomplishments to his name in 30 years not getting totally screwed to prop up the New Generation. I am for some balance (I dont need rainbows or grimdark) and I dont see much balance when it comes to Luke. That could change though.

 

I'll wait until I've seen all three films, unless Luke dies at some point, before I decide if there was balance.

 

That really sums it up nicely, actually, and I like that way of looking at it. And I really think it's that lore-first approach is where you start hitting up against that feeling of "glorified fanfic", since you're telling the story fans want to see, not the story that wants to be told.

 

A perfectly valid position to take. I am just saying now it not looking great for Luke now.

 

You're not starting a story from scratch here. There's certainly good stories to be told but that simply don't work in the SW universe we know. Disney could've hired David Fincher to direct Episode 7. We would've gotten a dark, bleak and most likely excellent story and probably a better movie than JJ Abrams could direct but it wouldn't have been the right Star Wars story. Other franchise always have the liberty of rebooting in a few years if the story starts veering off course, but SW doesn't get that.

And I maintain that Marvel splitting with Edgar Wright was the correct decision if his story didn't fit well with the universe they created. Would Wright's film have been awesome? Probably, but when you have a universe that millions of fans are already invested in, you have to pay some respect to it.

 

I read somewhere JJ wanted to give us fans the story we all would enjoy.

 

the Luke being Yoda/Kenobi was always said to be for Episode IX when he passes on Excalibur to the next generation not during the Old ST that was talked about, where he teaches his sister or whatever else was said, where Luke still had an active role in the story. And even if it was always the plan for VII to have that Luke, doesn't mean it's the only way to go or that it's the right way to go with this missed/wasted opportunity that is the Yoda 2.0 Luke.

 

It's not about which is more depressing or true-to-life. Story-style believability and real world believability are totally different things. Storytelling is about illuminating and reflecting on the human condition and exploring common themes in life's journey through metaphor and by using dramatic devices. Satisfying stories resonate because they hit on some sort of deeper truth that we recognise.

But in order for that to happen, you need to push beyond people's expectations and into the part of the map left uncharted.

An interesting example is ESB vs. the parallel universe sequel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye: the latter plays to expectations, while the former subverts them. Which would you rather have as a movie?

 

I think the movie should be consistent with the overarching themes of Star Wars. Subverting vs Playing it Straight is not really the point in my book.

 

Guess JJ makes the movie he wants to see himself. Thats what George Lucas did too. It`s the right approach to filmmaking, for a director and a storyteller. So enjoy the ride, have fun, or take a break from it, i would say. It´s there for all of us, to share and explore further, the Star Wars universe that is.

I still believe Rey is Luke`s daughter. Luke will train and guide her in the force, and he will want YOU to join him on this journey too......

 

Unless one of the overarching themes is "Luke lives happily ever after", I don't see how that's relevant.