ST Prequel References in TFA

Seems legit to to me! :3

 

I would say that the first line of the movie is a clear reference to the prequels.... ops, sorry! Don't hate me pleeease.

Seriously, some music themes, specially Snoke, are CLEAR references to the prequels. Also, idea of a powerful army unbeknownst to the Republic is a concept of AOTC which is clearly repeated in TFA.

 

Anakin: I can't do it, Mom. I just can't.





Ben : I don't know if I have the strength to do it.

MJ

 

I can't figure out if the clone army comment made by Kylo Ren is a just nod or a jab at the prequels.

 

I don't see how it would be a jab in that way. The only jab was to Hux from Kylo Ren about the efficiency of his troops.

If TFA wanted to make jab at the prequels then they did it in a weird way by imbuing the fabric of the movie with them.

The Clone Army references has multiple meanings. For one in ANH the Clone Wars were mentioned and so TFA had it's Clone Wars mention. The new First Order Stormtroopers themselves are in most every respect like the Clone Troopers (who themselves became the first Stormtroopers after ROTS) save for not being clones themselves (though the FO wants them to in essence be like them). Like the CT's the ST's are trained all their lives to serve the Republic/First Order. The Storm Troopers in TFA were in their first battle just as the Clone Troopers were in AOTC.

So whether it's the parade ground or the revelation of the army that was unknown or how strong it was even if it was partially known it all ties into threads from the one trilogy into the other.

 

Kylo said the clones were more loyal and efficient. So it was a nod to the PT !

 

A little fun can't hurt.

MJ

 

Yup. I also noted that a lot of the characters had faces in TFA, just like they did in the prequels.

 

Well a lot of actors do tend to have faces!

What do you mean?

 

It was a joke. I was poking fun at the "TFA prequel reference" posted above, where @MacJordan showed a shot of two female characters looking out the window of a ship. That is such a standard shot for Star Wars, and therein lies the humor of it.

I mean, Star Wars does tend to have shots of females looking out of ship windows!

 

- Balance of the Force concept from Lor San Tekka
- Kylo said the clones were more loyal and efficient
- Palpatine "any Jedi" line from RotS during the Force Vision

 

True but that said it is striking in some respects.

In terms of the actual composition of the overall frame this one does have quite a lot of similar points not to mention the none too different hairstyles of said females who look quite similar to begin with anyway.

That TFA very specifically was pouring over I-VI is quite evident in every phase of the movie from start to finish so in that sense besides everything that is consciously connected then you get all the unconscious ones that they didn't even notice themselves when working in the narrative style of the story.

Whether intended or not the above scene from TFA (in which JW also referenced both Anakin's Theme and Across the Stars) has all sorts of connectors across the saga from TPM as above to ROTS to TESB and ROTJ in various ways thematically, emotionally, structurally etc.

There is a distinct underlying theme for both Rey and Kylo Ren in terms of their characters and emotional states that is far more reminiscent of Anakin rather than Luke. Luke simply didn't have the underlying emotional issues that the other 3 have. When he was given an obstacle in terms of his father it's something that he didn't waver on and was resolute to achieve his goal. He simply didn't display the kind of doubts that the other 3 did which also includes not just Anakin in the PT but his Vader persona in the OT from which Lucas reversed engineered Anakin's.

 

Where though?

 

There's also a shot of Kylo landing that is very reminiscent of General Previous landing.

 

But if he was the General Previous, who was the general at that moment?

 

Benicio Del Toro.

 

An odd reverse and juxtaposition (and little bit of stretching ) but still...


Finn: Got a boyfriend, a cute boyfriend?
Rey: None of your business! That's why!

Anakin: Sure you do. You just don't want to tell me.
Padme; Alright. His name was Paulo......Cute dark curly hair dreamy eyes.

MJ

 

Oh man, I think some of these are stretching a bit too far. The biggest influence of the prequels overall on TFA is how much CGI is present to create and augment environments as well as characters. Maz Kanata and Snoke are not possible without Jar Jar, Boss Nass, Watto, Sebulba, and others coming first. At a talk at the DGA, Abrams himself notes that none of what is realized via CGI in TFA is possible without the innovations Lucas helped realize.

 

Possibly but it doesn't really matter one way or the other.

If someone identifies something that either seems more or less likely to be deliberately included one way or another the fact that it is possible to reference it makes it there to be seen.

Many choices are very deliberate and conscious, others likely come from subconscious references or while trying to reference one movie you can't help but also reference the other as per Lucas' storytelling methods.

That JJ and Kasdan already knew of this and did it anyway makes it really just acceptance on their part that it was going to happen at times whether they intended it to or not.

So did they mean to connect in all the Anakin to Shmi or Padme and Obi-Wan to Vader connections to Han and Kylo Ren? It's not just Vader and Obi-Wan in ANH.

 

I'd point more to fan extrapolation as opposed to direct filmmaking inspiration. Nothing wrong with either approach.

 

3 clear references:

Lor San Tekka talks about the Balance of the Force;
Kylo says the Clone Troopers were more loyal;
Palpatine/Sidious can be heard in the Force Vision saying "Any Jedi", extracted from his RotS line when he reveals himself to Anakin "Be careful of the Jedi, Anakin. Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to use the Dark Side of the Force and you will be able to save your wife from certain death."

 

#4 Ewen McGregor!

How could u forget him??

 

Here are my takes on some very obvious reference to the PT movies - especially "A New Hope":
- The trench run at SKB
- Han stroking Kylo's face one last time
- Using BB-8 to carry the Skywalker Map to safety
- The pub-lounge scenes in Maz's Castle

 

Um...