Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

[elliseamos]

Clearly fan made. Still...

Pretty rad.

Never considered this. Perhaps Luke or his or Leias offspring, are the bad guys?

Would depend on how it was handled, but I don't think I'd hate that, actually.

shouldn't the light saber be red?

[BurtReynolds]

I really don't get the Disney hate. Doesn't really seem to be justified based on their track record with Pixar and Marvel. Considering how lousy the prequels were I don't see how Disney taking over from Lucas can be anything but a positive.

The Disney-Pixar merger was brokered by somebody who favored the newer company's continued autonomy over the extremity of the potential for monetary gain (read: not George Lucas). In addition to that, the merger discussion was actually brought on by the acrimonious breakdown in previous collaborative arrangements...a breakdown that saw a new chieftain brought in whose first test was "do NOT fuck up the Pixar thing." He had every reason to step carefully, and to concede the artistic in favor of the monetary.

Even so, ever since the merger a slow but incessant effort has been initiated to blend the two, feeding Disney's weakening image at the expense of Pixar's unique brand. As an example, in marketing for Brave heavy emphasis was placed on Pixar's name, even though that movie relied heavily on Disney traditions (story of a princess facing unwelcome pressures, she's pretty tough, it's another culture, fairy tale magic, etc.) and had a number of Disney people at the top of the production side of things. Marketing for Wreck-it Ralph, on the other hand, placed Disney's name prominently...even though many of the facets of that movie (quirky choice of character and setting, 'finding your place in the world' plot, highly stylized design, etc.) were traditionally associated with Pixar and a HUGE number of the people involved (cough cough John Lasseter). We'll take a few pieces off your face and give it our name, we'll take a few pieces off our face and give it your name, and eventually people will stop paying attention to the difference.

Meanwhile, there is Pixar's newfound obsession with developing sequels...specifically, sequels to those movies for which Disney stands to make massive merchandizing bank. Is there even a chance that Planes would be in development today if Pixar had never touched Disney, or vice versa? What about Monsters University? And isn't it interesting that, at the same time all these follow-ups started landing on the docket, Brad Bird suddenly found reason to be elsewhere a lot of the time?

The problem you face when working with Disney is this: Disney will always be the number one priority. Your brand will be YOUR brand, but only to the extent that it serves the larger entity. This is not the same as saying that your brand will be your brand so long as it churns out good material.

So what about Marvel, then?

For one thing, Marvel is in general an exquisite fit for Disney. They very naturally hit on all of the primary Disney "love it"s: big spectacle, lack of ambiguity, explosive but not upsetting action, edgy but not real edgy you know because careful. Demographically expansive. Guaranteed to sell toys.

Having said that, it's worth keeping in mind that when Disney made their purchase, Marvel had already contracted distribution deals with Paramount and crafted a vision for every movie leading up to....wait for it...Iron Man 3. Part of the deal was, Disney agreed to fund production of those movies already in development, and make a shit ton of cash off them, but not be a part of the process. In many ways, we're really only just now beginning to enter the period of time when Disney is in the position to affect the Marvel universe...a universe that already suits it well and has had the chance to bring in a stupid amount of money and acclaim before Disney ever had a chance to put redactor pen to script page.

So how does Lucasfilm stand up in this equation? It's hard to say, and that's the real problem. Right now, all you really know is that a company for whom Star Wars is hardly a find on level with Scrooge McDuck's lucky dime is now in control. It is, for the first time ever, a medium-sized piece of someone's very large pie. A someone whose track record on good decisions is riddled with "if-then" statements...a someone whose first and most telling reaction to the success of the acquisition was to immediately focus on the frequency and volume of planned releases, rather than on the development of great storylines.

Yeah I know they have been mostly hands off with Pixar and Marvel but I take that as a positive (the Pixar sequels don't bother me at all). My assumption is they will do the same with Star Wars. Put it in someones hands with a vision and let them go with it. I could be wrong....maybe the Disney execs are dying to ruin Star Wars but seeing as how Lucas already did I don't see the downside.

Eventually that sort of interference is inevitable but in the best places it takes awhile for that large corporate culture to smother the new acquisition.

But again look where we're starting from. Lucas was every bit as bad as Disney if not worse. Actually I'm positive he was worse. He never viewed star wars as anything other than a toy commercial. I think even Disney is more protective of its properties than Lucas, and i can't believe I'm typing that. I can't think of anything Disney has done In the past few years that is as soulless or artless as Lucas' output.

It can only go up.

[epilogue]

Clearly fan made. Still...

Pretty rad.

Never considered this. Perhaps Luke or his or Leias offspring, are the bad guys?

Would depend on how it was handled, but I don't think I'd hate that, actually.

shouldn't the light saber be red?

I'm no aficionado, but I don't think so.

[elliseamos]

Clearly fan made. Still...

Pretty rad.

Never considered this. Perhaps Luke or his or Leias offspring, are the bad guys?

Would depend on how it was handled, but I don't think I'd hate that, actually.

shouldn't the light saber be red?

I'm no aficionado, but I don't think so.

i had to look it up: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lightsaber

When he founded his own branch of Sith, Revan observed the tradition of using red-hued blades laid out by the original Sith. Many of his followers followed suit, and red lightsabers became recognized as the mark of a darksider.

Lightsabers depicted in the first two released films, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, had blades that were colored either blue (for the Jedi) or red (for the Sith). This color difference was a decision during post-production when the lightsaber blades were being rotoscoped, as the original blades were simply white. In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker's newly-constructed lightsaber was colored blue during the initial editing of the film, and appears so in both an early movie trailer and the official theatrical posters, but in the final film, it was ultimately colored green in order to better stand out against the blue sky of Tatooine in outdoor scenes. It also appeared as green in re-release posters.

Green would become another standard blade color for Jedi lightsabers in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Mace Windu's amethyst-bladed lightsaber, as first seen in Attack of the Clones, was a personal request from actor Samuel L. Jackson as a way to make his character stand out among other Jedi. Jackson's favorite color is purple and he frequently requests the characters he plays to use an item of the color.

Various blade colors appear in the Expanded Universe and in other Star Wars products. The original Kenner figure of Luke Skywalker in his Tatooine costume from Star Wars was released with a yellow-bladed lightsaber. A multitude of other colors have since been used, including orange, silver, cyan, viridian, gold, bronze, and even black.

[BurtReynolds]

that tagline is terrible.

[elliseamos]

that tagline is terrible.

[Jorge]

that tagline is terrible.

It reads like it was written by a Brazilian teenager with a tenuous grasp of English.

[epilogue]

that tagline is terrible.

It reads like it was written by a Brazilian teenager with a tenuous grasp of English.

[epilogue]

Lightsabers depicted in the first two released films, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, had blades that were colored either blue (for the Jedi) or red (for the Sith). This color difference was a decision during post-production when the lightsaber blades were being rotoscoped, as the original blades were simply white. In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker's newly-constructed lightsaber was colored blue during the initial editing of the film, and appears so in both an early movie trailer and the official theatrical posters, but in the final film, it was ultimately colored green in order to better stand out against the blue sky of Tatooine in outdoor scenes. It also appeared as green in re-release posters.

Green would become another standard blade color for Jedi lightsabers in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Mace Windu's amethyst-bladed lightsaber, as first seen in Attack of the Clones, was a personal request from actor Samuel L. Jackson as a way to make his character stand out among other Jedi. Jackson's favorite color is purple and he frequently requests the characters he plays to use an item of the color.

Various blade colors appear in the Expanded Universe and in other Star Wars products. The original Kenner figure of Luke Skywalker in his Tatooine costume from Star Wars was released with a yellow-bladed lightsaber. A multitude of other colors have since been used, including orange, silver, cyan, viridian, gold, bronze, and even black.

I read the poster image differently.

[Norah]

that tagline is terrible.

It reads like it was written by a Brazilian teenager with a tenuous grasp of English.

so so so so so so bad

[VinylGuy]

that tagline is terrible.

It reads like it was written by a Brazilian teenager with a tenuous grasp of English.

why brazilian and not colombian?

[Jorge]

He's actually Argentinean, so I guess it's a moot point.

[VinylGuy]

He's actually Argentinean, so I guess it's a moot point.

really? we are everywhere.

[dimejinky99]

In fairness, that may well be the tag line, come the time. I wouldn't be surprised.

[elliseamos]

I read the poster image differently.

so how did you read it, if not, broken brazilian for "the dark side didn't die off in Return of the Jedi?"

[epilogue]

I read the poster image differently.

so how did you read it, if not, broken brazilian for "the dark side didn't die off in Return of the Jedi?"

I just thought the figure behind the Vader head was supposed to be Luke or some other Jedi.

[elliseamos]

I read the poster image differently.

so how did you read it, if not, broken brazilian for "the dark side didn't die off in Return of the Jedi?"

I just thought the figure behind the Vader head was supposed to be Luke or some other Jedi.

could be, i see it that way too, but the saber should still be red if he's turned to the dark side.

[epilogue]

I read the poster image differently.

so how did you read it, if not, broken brazilian for "the dark side didn't die off in Return of the Jedi?"

I just thought the figure behind the Vader head was supposed to be Luke or some other Jedi.

could be, i see it that way too, but the saber should still be red if he's turned to the dark side.

Yes, of course.

Basically, I didn't read the tag line. I just thought it was a reverse Bane/Batman kinda thing. Clearly, not the case. Also, Luke never had long hair and that "Jedi" in the pic does. So... I'm totally wrong.

Just didn't look at it carefully. But, yes, having I get what you're saying now, and yes. It should be a red light-saber.

[@SkitchP]

I just started watching Star Wars with my daughter, and I am struck by how awesome Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) would be as either Obi Wan Kenobi or General Tarkin.

[darth_vedder]

re: Lightsabers.

I thought Episode 2 was supposed to show Jedi with all kinds of colors. I swear I remember seeing promos of Yoda with a yellow one.