ST Why the ST is Likely to Work Better as a Trilogy than the Others

I have faith in JJ. I love what he's done with the Trek reboot. I'm a die-hard for that series and I loved how he worked Khan. That, to me, was genius.

I feel like he can do well.

Speaking of Trek, it'd be neat to see some Star Wars alternate universe stuff wouldn't it?

 

I like the Trek reboot, too. But I doubt many will share your sentiment for alternate universe SW.

I wouldn't mind it in comics.

 

I'm VERY new to EU. My first book has been Darth Bane's first volume, I'm ALMOST finished.

I read about Infinities and liked the idea. Maybe not for a movie but...yeah.

 

Awesome post! Your point about about possibly not having the ESB Vader shock had the OT been more planned out makes me think about the word "plan" being kind of a misnomer. It seems to me that when writing a first draft, one often has a general idea of where it's going, but let's it develop to where it wants to go. Once the first or second draft is finished, the general period of discovery begins, and one doesn't so much plan the later drafts as one restructures them for optimum dramatic content. It's possible that if Lucas had written multiple drafts of the entire OT before producing them, and in the earlier ones decided that Vader would be Luke's father, then in later drafts it would become apparent that keeping such information hidden in the first act maximizes the dramatic impact. Thus we might still have had the Vader shock at the end of ESB. It probably depends on how many drafts the writer is able to go through more than how planned their piece is.

 

What I have surmised after reading this amazing thread is that the ST is likely to work better not necessarily with a common villain through all three movies, but a CLEARLY DEFINED ANTAGONIST in all three. How's that for tying it together?

On that one point: the true antagonist's motives are inconsequential - revenge, hatred, racism, or...taking orders from a Brit - if he is clearly integrated into the overall story and clearly the main obstacle to the protagonist's success, he is the antagonist. It is Vader.

Tarkin DID take orders from Emperor when he discussed the Senate with the council. Tarkin ruled one business unit of the Empire: the DS. Vader deferred to Tarkin out of respect for Tarkin's authority on the DS. But Vader was an officer of the entire Empire. He is at least Tarkin's equal, and arguably his superior.

Now, in the ST, if it is about rebuilding the Republic, our heroes will be faced with these same kind of choices: how do we structure command? Do we have a standing military? Are we a Functional org, or do we have Business Units? Etc. most of this (hopefully) will not be shown quite so literally on-screen, but it could very well drive the conflict in the individual films, and the ST as a wole.

 

Pfluegermeister said:
So let's look at what Liedl said about these concepts. What they could mean in practice, I can't say, but the inferrence is that, after Jedi, the Rebel Alliance does indeed defeat the Empire proper and becomes the legitimate government, only to risk becoming unglued due to factionalism; various factions within the Alliance could have very different ideas about how to restore the Republic - or whether to restore it at all. The war that dominates this trilogy could very well be fought between factions of the Rebellion itself. And that could be VERY interesting, if done right.

As to the overarching theme of the ST? We won't have a true handle on that until it concludes, which was also the case with the OT and PT. But if (as we assume) the ST is meant to conclude the entire Saga, then I'd say the final ending is going to have to be more than just a "big explosion" kind of victory; it's going to have to be an ending that resolves ALL the trilogies, not just this one. And one way to do that is to write Episode IX so that it ends with a caution AGAINST factionalism.

And what's going on right now in contemporary politics? If not factionalism, what? There's your relevant political message: factionalism can lead to the undoing of democracy.

Very interesting. Any material taken from the original draft would be fantastic. Yes I believe in new ideas and adding material or stories, but to have an original story spread out for the ST will make it that much more special.

T-R- said
This sounds suspiciously like:


· - The trilogy would deal with the rebuilding of the Republic (Lucas in 1980)
· - The main theme of the trilogy would be moral and philosophical problems, such as the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong, justice, confrontation, and passing on what you have learned (Lucas in 1983 and 1989).

Looks like George is making the ST he talked about from 1980 on.

· Episode VII would begin roughly 20 (or perhaps 30-40) years after the end of Return of the Jedi (according to Lucas in 1980 and 1982).
· R2-D2 and C-3PO would be the only characters who might continue through all nine films (Lucas in 1980, 1981 and 1983).
· The trilogy would deal with the rebuilding of the Republic (Lucas in 1980).
· Luke would have a romantic relationship with a female love interest (Lucas in 1988).
· The main theme of the trilogy would be moral and philosophical problems, such as the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong, justice, confrontation, and passing on what you have learned (Lucas in 1983 and 1989).
· The key actors, Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Ford as Han Solo, and Fisher as Princess Leia, would appear, in their 60s or 70s (Lucas in 1983)
· "The other one — what happens to Luke afterward — is much more ethereal. I have a tiny notebook full of notes on that. If I’m really ambitious, I could proceed to figure out what would have happened to Luke" (Lucas in 1980).

So we don't know what happens to Luke. I'm for sure Han will die in the ST, Leia will pass away, and Luke's death will be from a saber battle.
The constraints will still be there on how to bring this all about. I would imagine the pressure just because it's Star Wars, but there will be freedom to work around things. Also given the fact that they know there are going to be more movies to work with. Now if only the PT had certain characters from the beginning....

Dra—
But I also think the ST has plenty of potential built in constraints, as others have said, which may or may not be utilized. Lots of fans want to know about the prophecy, Chosen One, if the Sith can return and how, whether the Jedi Order will be different from the PT, what the big 3 will be like, how the Republic will look. I assume the writers will consider most of these elements, but they may also decline working with them much. Writers are often more practical than responsible; if one of these constraints seems to burden the new story, they could simply be ignored or unmentioned. So I guess that also is a freedom for the ST: they can ignore the past or barely mention certain things as long as they don't radically alter the established world.