ST Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader) in IX

I strongly disagree with the notion that Anakin's fall was inevitable, but the rest of that quote is very insightful. It IS a very interesting observation to make, especially in light of what's happening IRL.
The way GL created his saga, with his last film ending where his first one began, aptly illustrates the cyclical nature of history. ROTS brought the story full circle both literally and figuratively.

 

Imagine if the vision Ben has is actually Anakin and not Han...

 

I voted no, not because I don't want it to happen - it can and should - but because JJ definitely hates the prequels, if his attitude about them during TFA's press tour was any indication.

 

I think its a stretch to say JJ hates them, but he clearly isn't interested in them. I think it was Iger and higher ups who believed the PT would damage the brand in promoting the successor film to ROTS. It was clear what message was being given by all the players during 2015.

 

I will say it seems like the Disney brass has heard the countermessage. TCW back, loads of PT focus at Celebration, an Obi-Wan show starring Ewan.

I just don’t have much faith that JJ has.

 

And yet every movie after TFA (and even TFA) had Prequel References included as had Rebels and the books and Comics since 2014. The fact that the Marketing for TFA was so "anti-Prequels" is due to the neisayers who bashed the Prequels online since 1999 and the feel of Need that this fanbase Needs constant Catering and belly rubbing from it's creators.

To force the narrative the LFL and JJ are ignoring the Prequels is not true.

 

Apparently people don’t read. I just posted this link 2 pages back.

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies...-wars-the-force-awakens-193726/#ixzz3uDSexBFJ

Evidence JJ doesn’t hate the prequels.

And Disney allowed Filoni and Garetth Edwards to use prequel characters.

 

No one is arguing that the other anthology movies and shows aren't acknowledging the PT. The problem is the sequel movies are barely doing it.

 

As someone who is more interested in the heart of the story and not the technical aspects of film/ships/physics in space etc.... the mere mention of a few prequel related concepts/ideas by JJ in TFA doesn't mean he isn't ignoring the overall emotional tie that some fans have to the entire Skywalker saga.

Rey being on a desert planet
Lor San Tekka saying "balance of the force"
Kylo mentioning clones
Phasma's armor supposedly created from a Naboo Star fighter
Ewan McGregor Obi Wan voice
Maz saying a lightsaber belonged to Luke's father

To me these are just tiny easter eggs that are neat to catch during viewing but they don't strike any heartfelt chords. The lack of actual Anakin presence combined with the entire focus being on Darth Vader make it seem as if Anakin's redemption never happened while expecting viewers to understand and accept why Kylo is supposedly going to be redeemed.

 

I would love that. I am sure they wanted Harrison more in the final film. Still we can find a place for Anakin.

 

It makes more sense for it be his father from an emotional stand point.

 

This is being released 1 month to the day. Gives me hope.

 

Ugh. Sorry prematurely posted.

This is from Naboo News. It’ll be released 11.20, while TROS will be released 12.20. It’s a the Star Wars #75 cover photo of the toy for Force Ghost Anakin.

https://naboonews.wordpress.com/

 

You misquoted me. I never said LFL hates the prequels - clearly they've realized the PT has a huge fan base. But we have no idea if JJ has. I guess we will find out in 6 weeks.

 

Yes, we do know JJ enjoys the prequels. He likes ROTS the best. But his all-time fave is ANH. I’d assume then TESB and ROTJ, but it could be the opposite.

 

Quotes?

 

I’ve posted the link 2-3 times here as it gets pushed down. Most recent was maybe 2 days ago.

 

According to the leaks there is a scene where Rey blocks force lightening with her sabers. The whole sabers blocking lightening was set up in the PT. If JJ was ignoring the PT that wouldnt be a thing at all.

JJ has said many times he is aware that there is a fanbase or generation that grew up with the PT. But either way there will be a limit to how much he uses. Since i get the impressions he is taking from alot of other star wars media too. Dark Reys saber being a concept from the animater shows.

 

See the thing is, in the past, Anakin not appearing at all in this trilogy would have ‘merely’ been very disappointing to me. But it wouldn’t have been ‘make or break’ for me.

But then they brought back Palpatine. I love Palpatine, but now that he’s back, to not being back Anakin would be an absolute tragedy. See, I hated Dark Empire. I hated how Luke turned to the dark side, I hated how it completely stepped all over the prophesy and Anakins sacrifice... That wouldn’t have been an issue if Anakin were involved but hey, DE was written before the lore of the PT was established. Now, though, they do not have that excuse.

 

Yeah, he limits himself to the kewl bits.

 

Agree with this (never read Dark Empire). I will admit that I was intrigued at the idea of Palpatine coming back, but I think that will work if and only if Anakin also returns and plays a crucial role in his final defeat.

 

If they plan on still calling Anakin, “the chosen one” he HAS to play a crutial role in Palpatine’s defeat. If not, they will be changing one of the biggest plot points of the entire saga. The core fanbase would explode over this. I can just see the angry YouTube videos already. I think that the entire ST’s success depends on Anakin’s return. I’m not holding my breath but I think it would be a huge blow to Star Wars as a whole if they don’t bring Anakin into this mess. They could do it. They should do it. The story needs it!

 

I'm honestly starting to think that if Anakin wasn't going to appear in the movie at all, Disney would have somehow let people know by now. They must be well aware of all the speculation about it, and it seems pretty clear that they're trying to make TROS a crowd-pleaser after the divisiveness of TLJ. So I think one of the last things they want to do is sit back while people get excited about a particular aspect of the film, only to then say, "Haha! That thing you were hoping for didn't happen! You got excited for nothing!" More likely, if Anakin wasn't in it, they would have found a way to subtly quell that expectation so fans could focus on other aspects of the film that WILL happen. For example, maybe rather than deleting his Galaxy's Edge photos, they could have captioned them with something like, "While Hayden is sadly not part of the current era of SW, he's always welcome to play in the SW galaxy!" or whatever.
Of course, none of this is to say that his role will be big or particularly significant. But I really do think he'll be there in some form.

 

Disney wouldn't put out a statement saying anakin isn't in the movie. there is no reason for them to do such a thing. people will speculate non-stop about what they want in the next movie. doesn't mean Disney have to tell fans whats not gonna be in the movie. because people will then say oh they didn't say this person isn't there so he must be there... but then thats not a surprise.

 

Yeah no non-confirmation from Disney meaning "he is in it" is kind of reverse logic.

But I'm guessing Anakin makes an appearance. Or I will find JJ elitist personally... I mean why promote it as a "nine-parter conclusion" if you are going to go out of your way not to include the main player of 1-6. It would be harder to leave him out than include him, and would be pretty disrespectful to a lot of fans.

I mean, how would you even explain his absence when we know he is a force ghost?
Easier just to feature Anakin.