PT Anakin Podracer flag cut from TFA

Better to head us off now than letting expectations getting so high that when nothing is revealed in E9, we wouldn't revolt.

 

But the guy seems to love him some red herrings. I really think we need to know how many people know about the boonta eve classic for us to know how she would have gotten that. Its possible that when he was fighting in the clone wars she tracked that down just to see if he was the chosen one. I think he reserching anakin all the way back then would be cool.

 

Yeah so in an interview tell us that she just picked it up sometime over the years. You guys are acting like its possible to stop people from over analyzing easter eggs. and again who cares if some people get their hopes up for something that doesnt happen. Thats always gonna happen dude no matter what.

 

If anything it would have been a doorway to more stories that connected all the trilogies. Original stor-

****.


Sent from my brain using thumbs.

 

THe lack of podracer flags didn't bother me, missing dialogue that was in the trailer being cut from the movie bothers me more!

 

Oh yeah thats always annoying.

 

thejeditraitor

I saw your comments before they were modified by Seagoat...

Let me explain my position for you.

I am someone that believes that when people say things, the things they say are connected, or aren't separated into their own little bubbles that have no meaning or context with each other.

We have plenty of evidence that shows Abrams has a certain amount of disdain for the Prequels. We can go over it again if you like...

The bones of Jar Jar being inthe Jakku desert as an inside joke, that he was more than happy to say in an article to endear himself to a certain segment of fans...

His comments about how the Prequels were special to a younger generation of fans, just like the originals were to him, which if you look at it is just a way of him saying he didn't care for the prequels but admitting that others do care for them (which is fine)...

The whole campaign during the conventions (Celebration, SDCC etc etc) that take a subversive shot at the prequels and how they were made...

Then there are comments like this:

So his reminding us of what Star Wars is, was mining everything for TFA out of the OT, and only fleeting things from the PT? The story of Star Wars had to be reclaimed from the prequels that had "existed" in between TFA and the OT?

You are totally entitled to your opinion that people may be taking the flag thing a bit to over the top (even though I hope you tone your rhetoric down a little so we can keep this thread open), the bottom line is that there are those of us that see the removal of the podracing flags as just another feather in Abrams "I Don't Like the PT" hat...

If Abrams truly wanted to do his own thing, that's fine, and understandable, however, he doesn't just do his own thing. He leaves the OT imagery front and center! So now it's not about pod racing imagery but now it's about Boba Fett imagery... How is that doing their own thing?

Once again, it follows with what we see in TFA itself, all this OT imagery, OT rehashing, OT themes, etc etc, yet a couple seconds where a little bit of PT imagery shines through, and he has to nip it in the bud in order to do their own thing...? His reasoning makes no sense at all...

but that's just my opinion...

 

Podracing is like horse race tracks throughout the galaxy. They happen everyday. Anakin just happened to be in one which was prominently featured in the movie.

 

Well, I didn't know that fact. I didn't saw the flag on the trailer XD. But, though it would be a nice touch, I think it's a little improbable the flag had survived along very many years intact. And, well I can buy (if the explanation in Episode VIII is rather good) Maz Kanata got the Luke's lightsaber... But it's more difficult to me the flag had come from more than 60 years ago...

 

Here's the thing though. It doesnt matter if it being there makes little sense, we are trying to discuss why it was cut and what that says about JJ and his approach to the fandom. Also I will repeat this again; Maz has been around for 1,000 years who is to say she didnt study up on Anakin when he was the big war hero for the republic or before then? Also it could be just that she made a flag with that logo in honor of anakin. And again it doesnt matter if you find it unlikely thats not what the debate is about. Its about the change itself and the reason behind it. In universe reasons for why or why not are not important to that discussion. Also its a freaking easter egg for Gods sake. Does it need to have a perfectly flawless reason for being there? Do you really need every easter egg to have a perfect explanation for existing beyond suspension of disbelief? I would you have a panic attack if in ep 8 we have an old B wing in the background that isnt rusted enough? I mean come on have some suspension of disbelief especially when it comes to an easter egg.

 

Yes, you're right. I hadn't minded if Abrams had put the easter egg on the film. As you say, it's only a twink to the other movies. I like that. I wouldn't have any problem with it. I only was trying to give a logic explanation to fact of the lack of the flag on the final movie. I only did it to look the bright side an to have a possible explanation in universe. ;-) I mean, it's not that bad for me at the end (although I would like the flag had been on the movue too).

As for Abrams taking the flag out... Well, I think the reason he has explained is pretty vague and almost nonsense to me xD.

 

Yeah I bet Abrams answer to it when fans ask will be "well you see what I told you was true........from a certain point of view"

 

So I guess you could say that the prequel references we were promised from the trailer were just false flags?

 

Well this is a bit bizarre. Did they take out Sebulba's as well?

I mean if JJ wanted to do "his own thing" then he failed miserably with TFA which was all about "doing George's thing" that George did better.

I think the constant references to the PT were a plenty anyway so what's the point of taking out one that really was onscreen in the upper portion of the screen?

Maybe JJ just didn't want Maz to have BOTH Anakin's podracer flag AND his lightsaber?

Maybe for whatever reason in his mind the chances of Maz having both was something he couldn't buy into?

Also Vader's NOOO is in there plus making Rey and Kylo Ren walking Anakin and Padme references through the entire film. Plus all the other thematic and story points taken from the whole saga as well as JW's score etc etc etc.

So the thing that makes the most sense to me barring other information is that JJ didn't know about the flags inclusion until it was pointed out and anything to do with Anakin had to go through him and not put in by someone else.

JJ had a supposed "blank slate" for the movie and brought tracing paper as a wise man once said.

The lead credit on TFA's script should of course be George Lucas.

 

Do their own thing? ROFL! Yeah copying off ANH is clearly doing "your own thing".

 

If TFA is a copy of ANH then so is TPM - Young Skywalker on Tatooine who rides a speader and is good at fixing droids fancies a royal woman and comes across somewhat-elderly Jedi who die in battle with a sith, hangs out with tall alien creatures, is hesitant to leave the planet and become a Jedi because of his family, ends up leaving to become a Jedi, and ends up flying a ship for the good guys and using it to get up close to the enemy battle ship and blowing it up, and getting an award ceremony at the end.

ANH doesn't have a phony, wannabe Darth Vader who comes across as an all powerful bad guy only to be revealed as a pathetic loser who can't bring it on, it doesn't have a storm trooper defecting and becoming a good guy, it doesn't have weird tentacled creatures running around the Millennium Falcon, it doesn't have lightsabers with cross-guards, it doesn't have a wise old dried apricot woman, it doesn't have relics of [ancient?] Jedi/Sith being idolised, inflatable bread, snow planets, good guys flying tie fighters, floating laser beams, force-torture, mind reading/reverse mind reading, planets with an island and a Jedi temple, quarter portions, and none of the other films have any moment where the actual force of the parried lightsaber strike actually has an impact.

If you don't like TFA or want to criticise it based on its own content, fine, but to dislike it based on calling it a carbon copy of ANH is ridiculous and old hat. It's very reminiscent of ANH, but so is TPM, and it also has a lot of its own original ideas and new takes on old ones, all of which fit nicely in the SW universe.

 

Yeah, this thread isn't inherently about whether it's good or bad that Episode VII, arguably, lifted most of it's key story beats from A New Hope or if it does so more than any previous Star Wars film so I'm not going to argue about it here. That's not the point of bringing it up in this particular thread. The point is to contest the veracity of JJ's claimed reasons for making this specific change. Regardless of one's feelings towards the creative vision behind the film, or lack thereof depending on your point of view, it is hard to not scoff at reasoning like wanting to do "our own thing" in that scene when we are being practically bludgeoned with references that had the all the subtlety of a jackhammer just about everywhere else. Whether it be lifted story elements, visual references, or in-jokes. Now keep in mind I'm not a TFA hater or necessarily against JJ going back and editing things in his movie inherently, but I do think his motives for doing this one are at least a little suspect. If for nothing else than because of the reason he chose to gave for it in the context of the rest of the piece.

 

Already putting it to good use I see.

 

You just created the first and GOAT gif! I couldn't resist

 

You do realize that your derailing the thread just to rant about something that you can have a massive epic debate over on the ep 7 threads? Also so what if ep 1 was also reminiscent no one here said it was a carbon copy if they did they exaggerated and again so what? It has nothing to do with the flag. We are debating if JJ's claim that having a flag in the background makes the scene all about podracing makes any sense. Have a thought on that? Cool. But please dont make this an ep 7 vs ep 1 thing people are just saying that it borrows stuff so why cant it take a freaking flag? Its just that to many of us JJ had a lazy excuse.

 

I was just responding to the previous post after being brought here by an alert. I apologise if it was off topic. I don't care what's a clone of what, I love the movies lol. I wouldn't have noticed if the flag was there, TBH I don't even know what it looks like. It's Good that the PT is "dead" in the ST anyways because in the 18 years following ROTS the empire eradicated all trace of the old republic and Jedi, and there were more wars following ROTJ or at least huge battles as the emperor's loyalists were laid to rest. Very little would really survive through that. And a pod race flag... Even if it was on a planet that the empire didn't care about, how likely is it that the flag would have survived and still be identifiable in TFA?

 

Maybe Anakin's pod race had multiples flags. Then someone was fan of his and inspired by him and used the same flag for their own race or other purposes.

Also, as a Prequel fan and someone of the PT generation, having that flag there and other little PT nuggets meant something to me and probably a lot of other people too. Having it taken out makes me feel sad. A little less included. Besides, it was just a flag, it was only on screen for like 2 seconds, there was no real reason to take it out.

 

To be fair, I fully understand JJ's decision to distance the new movie from the PT. I love the PT but most vocal fans don't (sure, on this forum there is a huge concentration of fans, but in general the consensus is that the PT was no where near as good as the OT - at least I observe that, both online and in real life) and JJ was trying to make sure that this felt like the OT for the people who felt that way, this movie is setting up a trilogy, and if this one tanked so will the rest and so there was a lot riding on it... Sure a flag is NADA really and a nice bone to the hardcore PT fans such as yourself, but I think he really wanted to avoid the PT in full for the reasons I've mentioned... Luke is at an old Jedi temple, he's set the stage for the story to include PT stuff with the new director, and most likely (HOPEFULLY) there will be references to the PT in the next one, we can't just ignore it forever, after all, and it is a great backstory with a great many fans. That's my 2c. I strongly believe that they will refer to a lot of PT stuff in the next two, while keeping the overall tone of the OT/TFA.