Speculation Any old friends in TFA do you think?

This is obviously not a thread for anyone that's seen TFA yet (I'm seeing it tonight I hope)

I was reading through some of GL's drafts of Return of the Jedi yesterday and the netherworld and Yoda and Ben's ability to maintain a link with the real (GFFA) world features quite strongly.

It got me to wondering, not for the first time, whether they'll be any appearance's (visual or audio) from Yoda, Ben or Anakin, or even Qui-Gon, in TFA. If none of them have any role then there really wants to be some sort of explicit or implicit explanation as to why not, otherwise they'll be a clear inconsistency between OT/PT and ST. Obviously a 30-odd year gap is a pretty long time to be hanging around in the netherworld of the Force without good reason, but nevertheless, if the Force ghost issue is ignored completely (from the perspective of the the characters named above) then it will harm the film in term of its status within the saga.

 

In RotS Yoda tells Obi-Wan that Qui-Gon found the path to immortality. So 30 years doesn't seem all that long in that respect.

However -- it would be impressive to me if they kept any "cameos" a secret at this point ie. Liam Neeson, Ewan, etc having voice overs...

But there is also the possibility of Holocrons as they became Canon in both The Clone War and Rebels TV shows. So there could be a whole new cast of characters to call upon from the old days -- including Yoda or Ben.

I also have wondered if the mask of our chief villain is that of our old pal Revan.

I for one would like to and hope to see a cameo Force Ghost or 2 -- but it's entirely possible that they may appear in future episodes as well.

Though nothing will ever explain to me how Anakin ever becomes one given the PT

 

I could see a Yoda force ghost appearance but I'm not holding out any hope for this. There are rumors of "an old friend" appearing in the next film (VIII) though but I don't want to mention anything further in here. In this film (VII) since

Spoiler

Luke is presumably still alive and Han and Leia are in the mix as well,

I doubt the story would necessitate any force ghosts.

 

In the ROTJ draft I read (it was in the Rinzler 'Making of...' book) that, by redeeming himself Anakin became 'good' (only the good side of the force was capable of this, the option wasn't open to the Emperor) again and this enabled Obi-Wan to intercept Anakin in the Netherworld and bring him back. Sketchy, obviously - it's GL we're talking about here - but it's an explanation of sorts, even if it didn't make it into the film.

To be honest I'd be surprised if we do get any old friends, as I've heard repeatedly that this trilogy is about a new generation, which wouldn't really have any direct ties with the Jedi mentioned. But I still think the matter needs addressing in some way.

 

Eh -- I'll accept that as the most plausible explanation...

But to completely leave out Force Ghosts after the end of RotS and all the drip and drabs during The Clone Wars tv show --- I'd say it would be odd.

So I kind of disagree - these movies are about the new generation -- but not ONLY about the new generation.