ST Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) in Episode VII

I think we definetly need a Jedi Master like Pai Mei.

 

so now a 2nd source are reporting on cameo Luke being true.

 

As long as he does that cool stroking thing with his beard...

 

He better say some words or something at least. it'd be absolutely crappy to wait till the end to see Luke and not even a word is said from him.

 

yeah, so the tragedy seems to be true.

 

The future of the franchise rests on it ...

 

Now seems an appropriate time for us all to remember the equally intense period of mourning two years ago when everyone feared that the OT cast would overshadow the new characters.

 

That's a great thought. Might also explain why there are so many castles in this film!

 

Which one?

 

The StarWars7news one.

 

See now that was a wasted opportunity with Oppo Rancisis. He could have been the Star Wars Pai Mei.

A Chorus of Disapproval - I like the 47 Ronin idea.

 

Me too.

 

Sure that would work. I wouldn't mind it still being very dangerous to be a Jedi too. I liked the force pikes Grievous' unit used in the Prequels, it would be fun to do something else along those lines.

 

imbuing a wooden staff with the force makes it unbreakable.

 

but that was eu/Jedi Path. nevertheless, i think it should be transferered to the NU

 

I find that ridiculous. Everything, everywhere, is imbued with the force...

 

i mean focusing in it like through a focusing crystal, and making it much harder to break. Surely your familiar with Jedi and especially Sith alchemy.

 

I don't think many of us are.

 

Don't call me Shirley!

I'm aware of some of that stuff from the EU (which I've only read some of, as so much is junk, IMO), but find most of it a bit... I don't know... silly.

 

Sorry, new title.

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Abides.

Until, of course, the end. When Luke gets angry about something that happened to his rug, and joins up with Rey to do something about it.

 

Prequel syndrome lives on!

For 16 years, people had an idea in their heads of what Episode 1-3 would be like, and when the films happened, and didn't exactly live up to those expectations, they hated them.

For 30+ years, people have had an idea in their heads of what Episodes 7-9 would be like, and now we're discovering that they might be nothing like what we hoped or wanted.

As Hamill himself said, some people are bound to be disappointed.

Luke only being in 1 scene is very, very, very disappointing to me. I didn't expect Mark Hamill to have 2 hours of screen time and be our main protagonist, but I expected him to be a BIG supporting role - similar to Obi-Wan in A New Hope, Qui-Gon in Episode 1, etc. A good half hour of Luke screen time and a display of his force power would've been MORE THAN ENOUGH for me.

It just doesn't add up to me. Really? 6 months in London, all that weight loss, the beard, the hype, etc. all for one cameo scene? It's a HUGE letdown to any fan of the original trilogy, but honestly, it makes sense to me.

Look who is making the film. JJ Abrams. He has gone on record saying Han Solo is his favorite character, and it seems that he has relegated Luke to the backburner to make Han's arc more important in this episode.

I can only hope that Rian Johnson will be the great redeemer of Luke Skywalker in Episode 8. I'm not asking for another Luke Skywalker movie. I'm asking for 25-30 minutes of valuable screen time. Why not some Jedi training scenes or montages? Why not a scene where Luke uses The Force greater than any Jedi before or after him? Why not a scene where our young heroes rely on the grizzled veteran Luke Skywalker to save the day? It's about passing on the torch!

Another thing that seriously gripes me is our new heroes inexperience.

How can Finn, Rey, or Poe realistically battle Kylo Ren?

How could a 70 year old Han Solo, who isn't Force Sensitive whatsoever, do well at all in a fight with Kylo Ren? Something isn't adding up!

As great of a character Han is, we NEVER see him go toe to toe with any Sith Lords. He would've got destroyed. He was afraid of the bumbling Boba Fett!

And how can you expect me to believe that Finn, Rey, or Poe can match up against a Sith Lord with NO training? If this is a rehash of A New Hope, we had Obi-Wan clash with Vader so that our new heroes could escape. That's what makes sense story wise. Because if Finn, Rey, or Poe go up against Kylo Ren, he's going to cut them all down relatively easy. Even if Rey is a Force Sensitive and has some minimal Jedi training, that would put her on the level of Ezra Bridger. It just makes sense from a storytelling perspective to have Luke show up in the third act and save our heroes. And that opens the door for Episode 8 for Luke to say "You guys have a lot of potential, but much you have to learn, allow me to teach you", and he can train Finn & Rey to become Jedi, and Poe can take up Han's mantle or whatever.

But for me to believe that Luke Skywalker, THE GREATEST JEDI OF ALL-TIME, is relegated to a mere cameo in Episode 7, it's just very hard to swallow. It is absolutely going to take away from my movie going experience. Because as much as I want to see this film, and as much as I know I'm going to love this film (The trailer is just so damn beautiful), there is going to be a very hollow void left in my heart that only Luke Skywalker can fill. Will that cameo at the end be enough? We'll see. And I have no problem waiting for Ep 8 and Ep 9, if it is going to be a worthy payoff.

If we get to Episode 8, and we get to see Luke have ONE LAST HURRAH, then I'm all aboard.

Luke Skywalker IS Star Wars. He is the ULTIMATE good guy. He IS our hero. And I just think it's a severe missed opportunity not to use Luke Skywalker as a major supporting character in this film. And if the OT3 don't share the stage together once more on film, that will also be a HUGE letdown. JJ Abrams better hope & pray that he has made the greatest film of all-time so people will overlook these scenarios, but I highly, highly doubt it.

It makes me wonder if JJ has no faith in Mark Hamill's ability as an actor? Do they not think he can carry the role of the wise sage? I understand that Mark isn't Alec Guinness, but he was there in 1977, and he watched Guinness, and he watched Cushing, and he learned from the masters. I truly believe that Mark Hamill can channel that gravitas. I've always thought he was extremely underrated, and underutilized as a performer. I just think it's hilarious that one of the greatest voice actors of our generation is relegated to a small, non-speaking cameo at the end of the film. They're really asking for negative backlash, aren't they? That's the only thing I can think of. They must WANT to piss us off. Because otherwise, it just doesn't make sense.

I don't want to sit here and sound like some pissed off, disgruntled fanboy. I don't want to hate on this film. I want to love it. I want to feel that magic I felt in 1995 when I watched the original trilogy for the first time as a child. I want to feel how I felt watching Revenge of The Sith in 2005 in the theaters, and saying "Finally, Finally, George, atleast you got ONE of the prequels right". I am just hoping they don't screw it up. They can't screw it up. And most importantly, they can't screw up Luke. He is the most important character in all of the saga, in my honest opinion.

 

I think we will see Luke in a hologram message or even cloaked/hooded in an action scene earlier in TFA before the final scene and epic reveal with Rey on Skellig. No evidence for this (other than Mark indicating he had filmed on set at Pinewood and been in the Falcon too), but my gut tells me we will see older Luke in more than one scene, plus briefly in younger form in the flashbacks.

 

Can we please drop this line of argument? Speaking for myself, I hated the prequels because I thought they were terrible movies, not because I had an idea in my head about what they would be like. Aside from Vader's descent to the dark side, that story could have been told a billion different ways. I had no specific expectations.

Otherwise, good points!