Loose Lips Sink Starships

The last time I wrote on this blog was on the leading up to the release of Force Awakens- Obviously, in the near 3 year-gap that has occurred since I wrote here, much has changed with Star Wars and Disney (and rather dramatically I may say). While I could go in the future and talk about the positive, today I'd rather discuss a disturbing turn of events that has taken place in this very medium...

So Much for the Trailer...

I’m back on the bloggers chair after a long hibernation!! Any way, let’s get down to business…

Horror Beyond Imagination

Sorry folks that I have been off the bloggers chair for such a long time. Watching the World Cup has been taking away most of my free time and I haven't had the right motivations to finish my piece on the Jedi Order which will be coming on it's way. Anyway let's cut the meat. 

Of all the rumors that we have seen of Episode VII, their have been some stinky ones, but none that come close to my fears of what I absolutely DO NOT want to see in the upcoming Star Wars Trilogy. This one really came close to terrorize my sanity and at the time of release and made me not want to even care about the future of Star Wars anymore. But how can I divorce myself from that? It would be like ripping a hand or something out of me. Thankfully, a well known guy from a respected Star Wars website debunked the most chilling part of the rumor. 

But anyway, here is why I consider it to be Horror Beyond Imagination, the rumor that the Inquisitors would be the villains of Episode VII, that they would try to resurrect the Sith, and that our heroes are still the Rebel Alliance and have been fighting a war for 30 years: 

1. The Prophecy of the Chosen One: Folks the truth is that whether you like this prophecy or not, it's pretty much the equivalent of Holy Trinity importance in the Star Wars universe. It's what the first six films rotated around and what arguably two of the most important arcs of the Clone Wars one way or another touched upon. This is one of the most important cruxes of the story that very few fans really understand, one which the EU certainly never did and decided to massacre it by bringing back the Emperor as a clone, having another Sith Empire take over the galaxy centuries later and so forth. So please JJ, for the love of Yoda and the Whills, DON'T BRING THEM BACK!!!!! Reducing Anakin's sacrifice to merely saving his son reduces the importance of the hero as a World Redeemer and merely makes it a family drama. It really reduces the weight and the importance of the character's act. 

2. So, Luke isn't very strong in the Force?: Here's the thing. The war between the Rebels and the Empire took about 4 years to be, in which they managed to destroy both Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, two of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. Are you seriously telling me that Luke Skywalker, a fully trained Jedi Knight, couldn't defeat a group of Force users that where probably weaker than Vader? AFTER 30 FREAKIN" YEARS? Talk about a Plot Hole the size of Jabba the Hutt. Talk about lazy and weak storytelling. 

3. What the hell was everyone Celebrating For?: So yeah, we all know that at the end of Episode VI a bunch of planets (including none other than Coruscant!) where celebrating the demise of the Empire, going so far as to bring down the statues of the Emperor and easily get rid of whatever Imperial  security was stopping them at the time. Sure, it's fairly possible the Empire didn't fall entirely, but not even in the EU did they last that long. With the Balance of the Force, it would be nice to think that the galaxy is a more peaceful and enlightened place, where war isn't breaking the toll everywhere and planets aren't getting destroyed and such. Which brings me to my next point...

4. Star Wars IS NOT meant to be a dark and depressing story at the end of the day: So you know, the generation of people in the prequels faced in the end something worse than what they could have imagined. The galaxy was left in a state of despair. But despite the fact that Star Wars deals with complex and dark issues, Star Wars has always been about seeing the goodness in people and having an optimistic outlook on life. It's very telling that when compared to many blockbusters of the last decade, Star Wars is one of the few that is life-affirming and has been for the most part, family friendly entertainment with only one film having a PG-13 rating. And contrary to many people who are so obsessed with violence and darkness, I commend George Lucas for having done that, which is something Steven Speilberg identified as what made Star Wars special, mainly it's "marvelous innocence and naivete". Making Episode VII having an apocalyptic backdrop makes the accomplishments by Luke and the Rebel Alliance worthless, ruins the beautiful ending of Jedi, and most of all isn't in accord with what Star Wars should be about. Having Luke's generation go through something just as bad, if not worse than the previous generation, is such a huge letdown and perhaps the biggest reason why the EU post Jedi was such a massive failure. 

5. OT 2.0 and so much for "Moral and Philosophical Issues": Basically what this argument amounts for is saying that if this rumor would be true, it would be basically another version of the Original films, with little regards to change the story or make it original, or even throw curveballs. It throws into question if Lucas's ideas for the Sequels are even being applied to this new series. Worst of all, it makes you think what exactly JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan have been doing for this past year writing that script, considering the fact that this plot is basically an EU fanfic. I mean, why would I even want to watch another film series about the Rebel Alliance destroying the Empire, when that is literally what we saw previously in the other trilogy?

The good news, as I guess could be said is that Eric Geller from The Force.Net was informed by an unnamed source (probably Pablo Hidalgo or someone at Lucasfilm) that the Inquisitors hell bent on resurrecting the Sith would not be the villains. However, it still leaves the Empire part of the story unknown. Several other rumors have been pointing towards the direction that an Empire, albeit changed stylistically and more modern, might be the villain of the film. This could only work within the context of the story if it is a) a New Empire inspired and created from the previous one or b) a Remnant that went into hiding until the time was right. So you know folks, let's not give up hope yet.

The EU hits the fan

So yeah, now we know. It's been a year and a half now since the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, and finally, now finally they decide to let the bomb out and say that Episode VII will not be based on the EU post Jedi and it will tell a different story. Man are these guys now slow to reveal news. 

Of course this shouldn't come as surprising to anyone really, since any fan that is aware of the convoluted mess the EU has become knows that Episode 7 needs a clean slate, as it's stated here:

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s

One thing that isn't very clear is if novels like "Heir to the Empire" will now be considered as Alternative Universe or such, but it could potentially play out to be that way in the future. We also get it very clear here that film canon isn't something they are going to mess with, regardless of what some may think: 

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

Needless to say it will be interesting to see the upcoming novels that will be designed in this new EU, which seems to be much better handled and much more interesting than how it used to be. Some of the new novels, which just look plain fantastic, are here below: 

I will post an upcoming new post on everything Rebels sometime in May when I have more free time of my own. In the meantime, I will post an opinion piece going deep into the Jedi, in order to discard some critics out there. 

The Tarkin novel will be in the vein of Darth Plagueis, and the Heir to the Jedi is a continuation of the Empire and Rebellion series apparently. And man, does the Lords of the Sith novel look epic. I've never been more excited for the EU myself. 

PS: Whoever thought A New Dawn was going to be the title of Episode VII can now put the nail on the coffin on that one.

UPDATE-UPDATE: 
To clarify the canonicity of the EU, Star Wars Books, a web page run by Del Rey, posted the following comments:

 I think the importance of this cannot be overstated so I wanted to repost it here:
"we mentioned this in another post - to be clear, there is no "new EU." There is only the established EU--hereafter known as Star Wars Legends, and the main, canon storyline, which includes the films, The Clone Wars and Rebels television shows, and the new novels beginning this September with A NEW DAWN. It sounds like a minor thing to point out, but it's significant in the fact that even the term "EU" always meant it was outside the main, whereas now, all new material will be part of a unified whole."
So note, ALL new books coming out, starting with John Jackson Miller's next book, are NOT EU. (The same goes for the upcoming comics from Marvel, any video games, etc). Del Rey and LFL (and Marvel, etc) are working together. As such, the upcoming books are NOT a "new EU" but, rather, all canon, along with the 6 movies, the Clone Wars TV show, and Rebels.
Yes, it is a continuity reboot, so to speak, removing all previous EU from canon (unless they want to bring it back in some manner--it's all there for them to choose from) but it DOES elevate these new books in a way we've not seen before.

The Yoda Arc

Literally amazing.

SPOILERS AT YOUR OWN RISK

The Disappeared Arc

I have to say, this arc has so far been my favorite of the season. It was truly a blast. 

SPOILERS AT YOUR OWN RISK

Order 66 Arc Review

Man, this one was pretty intense. And I have to say, I don't think I have hated Palpatine more than I do now.

SPOILERS AT YOUR OWN RISK

Clovis Arc Review

If any of you have been sitting under a rock, or have been in a far away land disconnected from civilization, then you should know that all 13 Episodes of the Clone Wars Season 6 are available for streaming in Netflix. And let me say, they look gorgeous. If you wish to have a sneek peek, then by all means, be my guest and watch the trailer here:

As the Clovis arc is apparently set before the season finale events of Season 5, I decided to watch this arc first. So now, here is my review:

SPOILERS AT YOUR OWN RISK

Hayden Christensen to return as Anakin?

Thanks to a blog dedicated to Hayden Christensen we managed to find out that Lucasfilm has been promoting the Saga via China's CCTV-6  channel in a special 30 minute interview with Hayden Christensen and Anthony Daniels (voice of C-3PO). George Lucas, JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and a couple of others make appearances in that and other videos that can be found in the link below: http://www.m1905.com/video/play/728583.shtml 

Besides the fact that it's great to see Hayden again talking about Star Wars, it also brings to mind a couple of other things that are going on inside the mind of Lucasfilm. As China has become an increasingly more important country in terms of box office results, this special was probably a move by Lucasfilm in order to bring the Chinese up to the hype of Episode VII and get those who haven't seen the films interested about it. And what better way to introduce Star Wars than to bring the main character into this special? 

Despite the fact that Hayden said his appearance in the upcoming film was "unlikely" let's remember also that JJ Abrams denied his involvement in Episode VII only to later appear as director 2 months later...so how knows? 

So even if Hayden doesn't make an appearance in Episode VII, it's good to see that Lucasfilm hasn't forgotten of seeing the importance of the saga as a whole, despite what some may be led to believe. And who's to say that we won't see Hayden again as Anakin in the future? 

The Lucasfilm Story Group

One thing that recently hit waves within fandom was a series of tweets that Leland Chee sent talking about how canon would be handled as things move forward. He basically said that what is determined as canon will now be decided by a group known as the Lucasfilm Story Group of which Leland and Pablo Hidalgo are members of. Now that George is retired it will seek to eliminate the hierarchy that currently exists and give everything the same level of canonicity. 

Of course, many interpretations could be given to this, and many people have already given ridiculous reactions to this set of news. But their are a couple of things we can know from the new Lucasfilm Story Group: 

1. Their creating some sort of master story plan: At the end of the day, what this all bogs down to is that most of the future content that comes out of Star Wars will be created by them. This will obviously eliminate the possibility of EU writers going into whatever direction they want, and giving us sometimes disastrous decisions in return. It will create a more cohesive version of the universe and one that doesn't fall apart the way the previous one did with its contradictions and over saturation. 

2. Various Unknowns will now determine the future of Star Wars canon: Let's face it, the problem with this is that many are uncomfortable with the idea of someone new dealing with Star Wars canon, but it's somewhat safe to assume that guys like Dave Filoni and Simon Kinberg could be a part of the Story Group.  In that case, we can be sure that much of the integrity of Star Wars will be repsected far into the future. 

It's too early to tell how exactly this is going to impact everything but it's still safe to assume that a big chunk of the EU is going by the wayside (and some still are in denial about it). 

The End of Dark Horse

As was predicted since the acquisition of Star Wars by Disney, Marvel is now going to be the helm of all comic books Star Wars starting in 2015. Dark Horse will be allowed to end it's current wave of comic books this year, and as stated by Big Shiny Robot, it is currently unclear if Disney will purchase the rights to reprint the comics made by Dark Horse.

Many fans were seemingly upset about the whole thing, despite the fact that it was something almost everyone saw coming (including myself). Personally, it's something that doesn't really affect me as a fan.

For starters, I never grew up reading comic books, and I was never really around them. Part of it has to do with my lack of interest in superheroes, but it also stems from the fact that Dark Horse failed to impress me as far as Star Wars is concerned. Not only because of the crappy storylines that were utterly predictable, boring and a 100% ignorance of the mythology of Star Wars (I'm looking right at you, Dark Empire and Legacy!) but also because the artwork was largely devoid of any resemblance to the characters of the films.

Of course, I'm the first to admit that I haven't seen everything these guys made with Star Wars, so there might be a few gems I'm not really aware of. One of the few things that Dark Horse published and that I have to say they've done a magnificent job with is the adaptation of George Lucas's first rough draft of Star Wars. Mike Mayhew's artwork is absolutely fantastic, and I think that they've really captured the essential origins of Star Wars before it even turned into a film.

However, before Dark Horse steps away from producing comics for Lucasfilm, they will produce a 4 part adaptation of what would have been the final Darth Maul arc of the Clone Wars. The series will be titled Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir and will likely end the arc of the character, once and for all. I still think that the fans should petition to see this adapted to the screen someday. Let's revive the Save the Clone Wars campaign folks!

We can conclude the end of Dark Horse by saying that the future of Star Wars comics remains uncertain (I've heard many complain about Marvel but like I said, I have little knowledge into anything superhero-related). But we can also be optimistic because the stories that will be adapted into comics will likely come from the Lucasfilm Story Group (more on that in a later post), so it's possible that we won't see weak stories developed into comics in the future.

The Future of Indiana Jones

Jedi News reported in early December that Disney had managed to acquire the rights to the Indiana Jones franchise from Paramount, whom will still receive a financial participation from any Indy film that comes out in the future. 

This was accompanied later by a couple of statements from Alan Horn, Disney's Chairman, whom had the following to say about our favorite archaeologist. 

Disney's Alan Horn on Indiana Jones: "We need a story." Guesses it will be another two to three years before we see a fifth movie.

“There will surely be new Indiana Jones movies in the future, be they sequels or reboots, and when they do come to fruition, Lucasfilm will be producing.”

Around the same time, producer of the last 4 Indy films Frank Marshall gave an interested tweet saying that it was "A bit strange sitting in the Indiana Jones office in the Lucasfilm office on the Disney lot, but I'm sure I'll get used to it." 

Of course, it's anyone's guess what exactly this tweet means, but it's probably a safe bet to assume that Frank Marshall is back as producer of the next Indy film which is only a few years away. Having another adventure with Harrison Ford back in the hat would be a delight, but it also begs to question if Spielberg and Lucas will return as they are both essential to the franchise. 

Having a 5th Indy is honestly not surprising nor anything bad to be honest, since in the original contract with Paramount Pictures, we were meant to have 5 Indiana Jones films, so it would be nice for the dream to finally be fulfilled and have one final adventure with Harrison sporting the hat before he gets too old. 

What worries me though is the idea of a "reboot". A reboot in the James Bond style isn't desirable and is something that would have unimaginable fan backlash, given the hater culture that currently exists today. It would be almost impossible to accept another actor as Indy, given the fact that Harrison has been Indy for the best of 4 decades now, when each James Bond had only a decade to be Bond. So while James Bond is more open to interpretation, Indy is more tied to a particular time period and a particular actor.

The best way for a future for Indy under Disney would be to fill in the gaps between The Indiana Jones Chronicles and the films with different actor(s) and could be interpreted via animated series or films with younger actors. Even a series of Mutt Williams films would be possible, even if some folks may not like Shia LaBeouf. I know I do. 

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hello everyone.

It's been a while since I have had time to return to the Star Wars Defender Blog. Anyway, here are some important announcements I wish to make:

1. We are Now on Facebook: The Facebook page sadly doesn't have a lot of likes, so I would be more than happy if any of you with a Facebook account would like to give us a "like". Here is the link: 

https://www.facebook.com/thestarwarsdefender

2. My good friend Adam from Nilbog's Storybook Land has a great new post on the Expanded Universe. His sentiments mirror my own for the most part, and gives us an outlook for what may or may not come in the future. As I have said before, I really hope George set things straight with Arndt (and now Kasdan and Abrams) into what road the new films need to go into and told them NOT to adapt "Dark Empire" or something of that nature. But since we know that it will be an original story and with the various tweets Pablo Hidalgo has been giving us, it's dead certain at this point that the entirety of the post ROTJ EU is an AU at this point (and sadly a similar fate appears to be in the future for The Force Unleashed). However, it isn't my universe, so I have no say into what happens whatsoever. We can also say that with the interviews we've been reading on Dave Filoni so far, that Rebels will be closely tied to various concepts and ideas George had of that time period, and that the show will include prequel era influences whenever possible. It's clear at this point that Dave Filoni is at the ''helm'' of Star Wars and has managed to graduate to the rank of Master. I have no doubt that he will make a great show that will add up to The Clone Wars and the films. 

For Adam's article, click on this link: 

http://nilbogsstorybookland.blogspot.com/2013/12/expanding-and-expanding.html

3. In the coming week(s) or so, I'll seek to get ahead of all the topics Star Wars and related things, including my thoughts on Disney's purchase of the Indy rights, On the comments of the EU regarding Pablo Hidalgo and finally on an update to the casting call and the characters of Episode VII. 

So for now, all I can say is, enjoy the Holidays, stay close to your families, and May The Force Be With You. 

JJ Abrams Wants it Both Ways

So once again JJ Abrams has talked about Star Wars in an interview that was conducted recently in The Times. He had a couple of things to say about the hateboy produced "Dear JJ Abrams" video:

“I would say that (the website conveys) a feeling that we share very much… I loved how Star Wars had that sense of a world far beyond the borders of what you can see and have been told – it’s one of the things it did so brilliantly.

If you watch the first movie, you don’t actually know exactly what the Empire is trying to do. They’re going to rule by fear – but you don’t know what their end game is.

The beauty of that movie was that it was an unfamiliar world, and yet you wanted to see it expand and to see where it went.”

Any self respected Star Wars fan who reads this at first might feel like they want to cry their eyes out in a bench at their local park, but reading things further will make you reach a different conclusion.

"Abrams is eager not to criticize the more recent movies and suggests that he may need to tread a careful line not to alienate fans of the originals and the younger fans of the prequels. 

He said: A lot of kids who grew up with the prequels when they were young really do identify with those movies as much as my generation identified with the originals."

So there you have it: JJ Abrams wants it both ways. And it doesn't really surprise me. 

For starters, we realize that the hateboys count on Abrams on bringing him the Star Wars they want-which probably includes his friends Damon Lindelof and Simon Pegg. On the other hand, the younger fans (including his kids) and GL himself, are keeping a somewhat close eye to see that the film is a valid continuation of the saga. With that type of pressure, he has the unimaginable task of having to, you know, please everyone. And that obviously is something that remains to be seen until the film is released, but meanwhile, he is walking in the thin line that both sides of fandom are standing on.

Will he be able to pull it off? Nobody knows. What we do know is that if we analyze these recent comments with ones he made previously, we see the parallels and get to understand Abrams' point of view better.

Abrams: Well, I’m just a fan of "Star Wars.” As a kid, “Star Wars” was much more my thing than “Star Trek” was. If you look at the last three “Star Wars” films and what technology allowed them to do, they covered so much terrain in terms of design, locations, characters, aliens, ships — so much of the spectacle has been done and it seems like every aspect has been covered, whether it’s geography or design of culture or weather system or character or ship type. Everything has been tapped in those movies. The challenge of doing “Star Trek” — despite the fact that it existed before “Star Wars” — is that we are clearly in the shadow of what George Lucas has done.

Abrams: It's funny how in a weird way sometimes by demystifying a character it takes away from some of the fun that you felt about that character. It takes the mystery out of it. Sometimes a character is more interesting when you don't know everything about them. Even someone from my generation -- and I'm ancient compared to so many of the Star Wars fans out there -- for me the character of Darth Vader was always so compelling because you were putting together all these thing in your head and making all these assumptions, that to get to know Anakin as much as we ultimately did changed the way you consider Darth Vader. It's crazy that my kids relate to Anakin; which to me is criminal because I grew up believing Vader was a bad guy. I related to Luke and Leia and Han Solo. You just don't relate to Vader! I still think it's wrong to be on Anakin's side. So I guess there's no one character I can point to and say that I want to know more about him or her, it's just that Star Wars is so vast it would be great to find new characters that have that level of emotional intimacy.

Here, we can see that Abrams not only had admiration for the prequels in terms of the ground it covered and the places it visited, he also conveys a similar feeling of what he said about the video: primarily that he likes the idea of mystery that existed with the original films, but at the same time realizes that his kids and others relate to the characters of the prequels. 

See folks? There's nothing to worry here. I'm fairly positive Episode VII will deliver. Whether or not it will please both fandom's, is something less than likely since it seems pretty clear that he is following GL's advice, at least as far as Jett Lucas is concerned. 

Halloween: Anakin Skywalker

This Halloween I had the chance to be Anakin Skywalker at the end of Return of the Jedi (without being a blue ghost). I've had various Star Wars costumes throughout my life, going back to when I was 6. I remember that year I was a young Anakin with a podracer suit. 

As I grew older, I began to make combinations with different sets of costumes and made up my own costumes along the way. One of those combinations came to be part ninja, part Jedi, and part Jack Sparrow. I also remember the next year I had the chance to be a part Jedi, part farmer with a cape. I friend of mine gave that costume the nickname of "bounty farmer". 

Anyway, I look forward to being Anakin or some other Jedi in the future. 

Harrison Ford is Back...Or So it Seems

I rarely write about rumors here, mostly because the majority don't have a chance of being even remotely true, and the few that are probably true are only half true. 

Jedi News's source of rumors has now said that Harrison Ford is finally onboard with Episode VII, something that has been in the speculation box for nearly a year now. However, the interesting part is that Ford signed not only for Star Wars, but also wanted a commitment to Indy 5. So if all parties get arranged, then we might see Indy 5 after all by 2016. It's also worth noting that he wanted to see the synopsis of his character on more than just Episode VII, and that he signed on for a multi film deal. 

Of course, we can't be sure that everything this new rumor says is true, but it's the one that has the best chance of being true. I assume that Mark, Carrie, Anthony Daniels and maybe even Kenny Baker have already signed in early on, but with Harrison it was harder to convince him, and Indy seems to have been the giveaway since Ford is more fond of the archaeologist than the space smuggler. Peter Mayhew apparently replaced his knees in order to be capable of walking again, and be back as Chewbacca.

I have been anxiously waiting for Indy 5 to hit the theaters since 2008's Crystal Skull, so here goes to hoping that we get Harrison back into both franchises. 

JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan Take Over the Script

Star Wars fans where expecting some form of news on October 30th due to the anniversary of the Disney acquisition. However, something rather strange and unexpected popped up earlier, and it was a different kind of news from the one the fans wanted to hear. 

For some unknown reason, Michael Arndt is no longer working on the script of Episode VII. Director JJ Abrams, and old time screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan have taken over. We also got the good news that Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood and Roger Guyett, who had all previously worked in Star Wars, will be returning (no word on John Knoll or Dennis Muren). 

Obviously, this kind of news helps bring in the surface new rumors, and a rash response from the side of the fans. One such rumor claimed that Arndt's story and characters were thrown out the way and that the story was started from zero once again. 

There is no way that rumor has any chance of being even remotely true. For starters, we know from an interview made to Jett Lucas that George has been "constantly talking to JJ". I simply don't see JJ and Kasdan throwing the script and starting over with George under some form of supervision. Not only that, but it's also been repeatedly confirmed that Episode VII will be released in the Summer of 2015, regardless of what the rumors say. A rewrite of the script so close to shooting would only delay things further. 

Jedi News gave in a similar theory that I have, which is basically that Arndt was hired to finish the script up to a certain point, and later somebody else would take over. This is supported with Kathy Kennedy's announcement that "Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point". 

Having Lawrence Kasdan as a major screenwriter is good in the sense that the guy has a good picture of what Star Wars is, having worked with George previously and known the plans of the prequels decades before they were made. As far as JJ goes, I'm confident he will deliver. 

Of course, we won't know for sure what exactly goes on behind the scenes for some time. We should, nevertheless, remain optimistic that things will turn out great.

New Info on Star Wars Rebels

Most of you probably know already the info that was released about Star Wars Rebels in the New York Comic Con. However, I still would like to analyze and say my own opinion on the matter. 

For starters, we got to see the first look on one of the main villains of Rebels, and that will be the Inquisitor, a dark Jedi tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down the remaining Jedi Knights. 

He striked to me at first as looking too much like the Son from the Mortis Trilogy, but I later got over it to realize that the two would be very different characters. 

It's also important to note a couple of things: Pablo Hidalgo is known to have said at some point that there would be Inquisitor(s) not just an Inquisitor. Perhaps this guy will be the main focus of the show, but then it brings into question the grand-scheme of things-when will these guys be killed off? And by whom, if so few Jedi are left? It's certainly interesting to see what approach they will take, to see, if the Inquisitors are killed before A New Hope or after. 

Dave Filoni goes on to talk more about it on the video, about how it's going to be Empire-centric with it's villains. It's important to note that many Clone Wars veterans, including Joel Aron and Killian Plunkett, will be involved in the making of the show. New, as well as old vehicles and ships will make appearances in the show. Rebels will take place 14 years after Revenge of the Sith and 5 years before A New Hope.

Another interesting bit we got to know was that George Lucas's ideas for the time period would be incorporated into the show, but he would no longer be directly involved. Dave Filoni has taken the helm as the storyteller, which is a great thing, because he has now been assigned the rank of ''Master'' after 8 years of working with George in Clone Wars, and George can now go happily into retirement with Mellody and their daughter, Everest. 

One of George's ideas for the time period, would be that the Stormtroopers would be made up of ''brainwashed'' civilians, mainly because the clones were too individualistic for the Empire. Due to accelerated aging, the Jango Fett clones are no longer serving as soldiers, and are instead training the Stormtroopers, or are retired and abandoned by a galaxy that never really cared for them. All of these implications put into question the execution of Order 66, which will be further explained in the upcoming bonus content, to be released in 2014. 

Another interesting concept is the fact that much of the show will take place in Lothal, a planet that wasn't involved in the Clone Wars and is instead now being occupied by the Empire. With the promise of economic prosperity, the Empire soon becomes a military and crushing force on the planet, recruiting Stormtroopers and building TIE fighters. It's fairly possible that this show could go on to be a critique of Imperialism and Industrialization, and may touch on environmentalism, something that wasn't really explored in the Clone Wars. 

The Jedi did come to be mentioned by Hidalgo, saying that with the Inquisitors goals, ''The fact that there is one in the series...the Empire has reason to believe there are Jedi somewhere.'' Hidalgo recognized that ''There is a presence for the Jedi in the show but we are being very cognizant of the fact  that Order 66 signifies something.'' They also want to keep in mind the importance of Luke Skywalker being the only Jedi a few years after this show is set. 

That does bring to question one thing...Ahsoka. Will Ahsoka still be a Jedi, or not in this show, or will she appear? That remains to be answered, along as to which famous film characters will make an appearance. 

So far this is probably the best thing to have come out of the Disney acquisition. 

The Star Wars Optimist

Before I can jump in into this pretty big and fishy topic, in which I'm pretty sure plenty will disagree, let me just say one thing before I start: I am naturally an optimist. I like to think that intelligent, not mindless optimism, is the only realistic strategy through life. If Luke hadn't been optimistic when he went inside the Death Star, he would have fallen to the dark side and become the new apprentice of the Emperor. Worse, Vader wouldn't have been redeemed, and the galaxy wouldn't have been saved.  So at the end of the day, when it comes to a moral that Star Wars teaches us, of which their are several, is that we have to persist and get back up after bad things happen. If we don't, then it will only make our lives miserable. 

That is a lesson that many fans have either forgotten about, or are simply ignoring, when it comes to the future of Star Wars under Disney. Some are saying that Disney will ignore the prequels when it comes to Episode VII, others are doubtful that the Clone Wars Bonus Content will be released, others have been getting upset over rather neutral comments from JJ Abrams, etc, etc, etc.

And you know what? I can't take this pessimism. I'm sorry. By thinking negatively not only are you being unhappy, several around you will be faced with that same unhappiness.

Sure, I'm not saying that this has been an ''easy'' year for fans anyway. I understand that many still feel sad over the cancellation of Clone Wars and 1313, and so forth. But friends, their are plenty of reasons to wake up the next day and feel good about your life and about Star Wars. As some say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one I think explains it better than anything I may argue in the future:

If this doesn't give you any faith in the future of Star Wars, Fine. Go ahead and be cynical and say that you aren't pessimists, but realists and that I am a delusionary dreamer. But at the end of the day, what does that give you? 

In the end, the fans will only be optimistic about Episode VII if their is anything to be hopeful about. With George having meetings with JJ and Kathy, their are reasons to remain hopeful. 

Heroes and Scoundrels

When Star Wars was first introduced to audiences in 1977, it became a worldwide phenomenon. Many have argued looking back that it's success is largely due to the fact that it came at the right time. The United States had recently come defeated out of the Vietnam War, and was facing a scandal out of its previous president. The country was in a state of despair. Episode IV gave the public a sense of hope, and most importantly, it gave a group of heroes with a strong sense of morality: the Jedi. 

The Jedi ever since first being introduced, have been the central core to the saga, even if their appearance in Episodes IV-VI wasn't as prominent as in I-III. And part of the reason why they remain so iconic and important to the franchise, has to do with the image they represent: that of the moral hero. 

Part of the appeal of characters like James Bond, Boba Fett, Jack Sparrow and Han Solo has to do with the fact that they reflect a broken aspect of ourselves. When Bond was first introduced in the Ian Fleming novels, he was a guy who could sleep with a woman and later murder her and have no remorse over it (I'm talking about the character of the novels). In some ways, Bond was no better than the bad guy he was fighting against. And this is of course, part of why the audience like the character. 

Bond...James Bond

We live in a society in which several young kids are being raised by the television and the Internet, due to the fact that their parents are too busy working a full time job. Most of these times, these kids grow up to idolize the celebrities that were popular at the time. And it's a real shame, because as Joseph Campbell described it very well in The Power of Myth, ''One of the many distinctions between the celebrity and the hero, is that one lives only for self while the other acts to redeem society.'' This isn't to say that Han Solo is a celebrity per say, but that he is more of a selfish character...at least in most of A New Hope.

However, every now and then a hero becomes noticed by the popular culture, and makes us all realize and see the good within us as humans. Gandhi did that in the 40's. Martin Luther King did so in the 60's, and more recently Pope Francis has been receiving high level of appraisal and respect outside of the Catholic Church. In today's popular films, few characters embody the ideal moral hero better than the Jedi.

That isn't to say that the Jedi are perfect, by any means. But in several ways, they serve as great role models to both young boys and girls alike, in a time in which the world's traditional morals are more desperately needed than ever.

And  I'm pretty sure that more than one Star Wars fan has previously or still, wishes to have been mentored by the likes of Obi-Wan, Yoda and Qui-Gon, because ultimately, many of us wish to become wiser and see the best that is within our own potential. In several ways, I find that to be the reason for Obi-Wan's popularity, and one of the reasons why he is my favorite character: We get to see him mature from a young man into a wise old master. Few other film characters get that type of development, and it's one of the things I hope we can get from an old Luke Skywalker in Episode VII.

So, at the end of the day, even if scoundrels like Han Solo and Boba Fett are popular among the fans, their is a reason why the Jedi are the central part of Star Wars.