Lit A/V The Force Awakens and the EU [TAGGED spoilers.]

Eight weeks huh? Dang. Poor Ford. I'm glad they're trying to stick with their original schedule though.
Also, those comments on that article.

True. I admit having the same voice makes more sense, but I stand by the fact that different voice actors are the reason I like Delta Squad more than TCW clones. And Carth is everywhere. Normally not my favorite VA by a long shot, but I really liked him as Scorch:
"That'll make them think twice. Maybe even three times."
"If we're all clones, why am I the only one with a sense of humor?"

 

Rogue Five, @comicbookmovie comments section: Yeah and that's usually tame for them.

 

Maybe they kept a copy of Michael Arndt's script? The one with less Han Solo?

 

Or maybe they could use his clone Haarison instead

 

Nah, Harrison purposely walked into that "malfunctioning" door. He finally gets his 1983 old wish for Solo to "exit stage left" and gets to keep the money. He played us all...

 

If he gets killed off in Episode 7, we'll never hear the end of the conspiracy theories.

"I'll only slow Mark and Carrie down... leave me behind, kill Han off first and save Luke 'til last! And before you kark hounds can change your minds and cut my death scene again!!!"

 

Its ok though Mark can voice a decent Harrison, we just need a CGI lookalike.

 

Anyone read this pile of rumors? http://makingstarwars.net/2014/06/6-13-14-now-podcasting-episode-37/

Summary of the actual rumors below, everything else there is speculation.

Spoiler: long story short

The villains of Episode VII are the "Jedi Hunters", an organization seeking the resurrection of the Sith and the destruction of the Jedi. They're the reason there's no New Republic, attacking and destabilizing any sort of power base the Alliance has tried to put together. Lupita Nyong'o, Adam Driver and David Oyelowo are supposed to play the principle ones (yes, two of the three main villains are persons of color, though David is apparently voice-only, possibly the rumored reprisal from Rebels). Similarities to the Inquisitor, but they're apparently not the same. They're dedicated to the protect the Sith legacy and ensure their survival; Luke's been fighting them for thirty years, is tired, outnumbered and needs help. Further rumors are that they succeed in resurrecting "a Sith" in IIX who is then the main villain to be defeated in IX. Palpatine? Plagueis? Someone else?

I mean, it has some similarities to the plot of Dark Empire, so I'll give it a bit more credence than most, but it still sounds like a crappy rumor. Apparently it's been gathered by people working on the movie, extras and the like, who haven't actually seen or read the script. And, really, it's just rumors, so, as usual,

 

I'll say this, it's the first thing I've heard that I could even remotely see as being true.

 

Did you read the comments below the article? Preeeety grim.

 

That's like asking if I tasted that jar of arsenic you left in the hallway.

 

So that's a yes then.

 

"scary individuals, dressed in black, some helmeted"

Well gee, that sounds original. Did that plot description remind anyone else of DOFP? Elite killers hunting down mutants/Jedi one by one in a grim future?
If nothing else, it is a one eighty from the existing post ROTJ eu for the most part. I kinda like the grim future idea, but I guess we'll see just how much if any of this is true.

 

Yeah, but if this has any accuracy, then those comments have got themselves a point!

 

I like those rumors more than any of the other rumors I've heard so far, personally. It's pretty much the polar opposite of the post-ROTJ EU–no New Republic, and the formation of the Jedi being hounded every step of the way–but I think it could be good. I like the idea of three Jedi Hunters (Driver, Nyong'o, Oyelowo) vs. three new Jedi (Gleeson, Ridley, Boyega).

 

The basic thing that it all boils down to for me is that you could either have an Episode 1 status quo or an Episode 4 status quo. The former being a functioning society that is kind of at peace, with the Jedi kind of being in control. The latter being a somewhat destabilized world in which an overwhelming black/white villain has to be defeated, and in which heroes come from decentralized places.

And if I've learned anything from The Internet, it's that everyone is aiming for another OT. So while it wouldn't be very rewarding to have our heroes start kind of in shambles after all they achieved in Ep6, it wouldn't make for a good OT if they were too happy or too secure. And the latter seems to be the most important thing for everyone.

 

By far the worst story rumors I have heard. I mean if they are true...I think I will redbox Ep. 7. (At least I will have more money I guess...because that will be the end for star wars for me.)

 

At the risk of being politically incorrect... in our supposedly enlightened time, when there is currently a President 'of color', is it really a thing that actors skin tones and global origin are something that are even worth mentioning? That's not a jab at you, its just something I've noticed has become popular on the net these days, and I feel comfortable enough here to talk about it. Referring to none-white folks in various walks of life as 'people of color' just strikes me as continuing to draw dividing lines between races. It shouldn't be bad thing to be a person of color, but, nor should it be a good thing. It shouldn't be a thing at all, unless its a person talking about their own cultural history. I thought the entire point was acknowledging there in no real difference at all, and we are all simply human. If we humans are ever going to stop being culturally divided, it needs to stop being something even worth mentioning at all, in my eyes.

On the actual topic of the potential spoiler... I have to admit the idea doesn't thrill me. Somehow it doesn't seem 'grand' enough for the main series. A spinoff? Sure. But not Episode 7.

 

I won't be happy with Episode VII if Han dies in it unless he is crushed by a door on the Falcon.

 

I won't be happy with Episode VII, period.

 

Too soon man.

 

I'd suggest that you're colliding two different and separate ideas.

In an ideal world, the idea of being colour-blind would be perfectly acceptable because everybody would be accepted for who they were without discrimination of any kind. But we're far from that ideal.... If it was proven that it didn't matter what you are in terms of how you can get on in life, it wouldn't matter but as it is, there's no shortage of evidence that says the playing field is far from even. It's not going to be fixed by operating as if it is, which is what the blind position ends up doing.

One of the ideas to help get to a better world is that of representation - that society will get better if it more accurately represents its members in its cultural output - thus the drive for characters that represent different ethnicities, LGBT, disabilities. If the cultural output does not include these people then, practically, it's as if they do not exist. The BBC series New Tricks was a surprise smash hit, why? Because there was a large audience of older people who liked it greatly because it featured older people, when the bulk of programmes feature younger characters, so they responded, in part, to that sense of identification, that they were being represented. Representation is a form of recognition. It's why Lenny Henry has been advocating for more diversity in characters in dramas because there's a lot of power in seeing people that look just like you, whatever you are, in the cinema, theatre, on the TV.

 

Reasonable point, and good enough for me.

 

And already, TFN's own Eric Geller has done his detective work to try and debunk the rumor. Story's on the main page, http://www.theforce.net/story/front...Recent_Episode_VII_Villains_Report_158482.asp