Black Cat Bone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41932861

Crikey.

A Rian Johnson-developed trilogy set in the Star Wars universe but in a galaxy well apart from the Skywalkers? Yes please. That sounds like just what Star Wars needs at this point, ditch the familiar and develop something new and original, equally competent and entertaining as the last few outings have been.

It really has become a nice milking cow for Disney who are well on their way to become the Evil Empire of this little galaxy.
So far the recent trip has been enjoyable but I won't hang on forever.

I'm not necessarily a Star War diehard or anything, but I see this as a potential positive for the franchise. I thought what Rian Johnson did with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was refreshing and possibly my favorite work within Star Wars or at the very least, ranks closely to The Empire Strikes Back. Furthermore, allowing him to direct his own Star Wars trilogy, which takes place in a different location, could very well bring out some interesting ideas, stories and characters into the universe.

Isn't 9 films enough of that shit?

borofan wrote:Isn't 9 films enough of that shit?

Yawn

It could go both ways. Disney obviously see it as their main cash cow and will continue to milk it as long as possible. And that could lead to all manner of unnecessary tie-ins, and oh-god-not-another-one overkill like we're getting from Marvel.

Yet they are, I think, also conscious of the need to put out quality product after the massive backlash against the prequel trilogy. Sure, there are always going to be a few basement-dwelling Comic Book Guy types who want to poke holes in the new ones too, but the vast majority seem to have responded warmly and they will have taken that on board; hence giving someone like Johnson the chance to do his thing with it rather than palming it off onto a kiddie blockbuster foreman like Chris Columbus or someone.

Darryl Strawberry wrote:I will watch them.

Even if one of them is Jar-Jar Binks: The Wilderness Years?

I realize that what once was considered 'our' franchise (speaking as a middle-aged sci-fi fanboy) is now safely delivered onto the next generation. It's kind of cool to know that subsequent generations have taken to Star Wars the same way we did, even in enhanced ways with the range of video games and more merchandise that wasn't around then. I'm not interested in that development but in that way, it offsets the 'I saw it when it came out first'-feeling you have with what kids now can interact with on a much bigger playing field. I'd probably nerd out the same way too if I had been their age.

Which reminds me- I'm still waiting for the Ewok-movies on blu-ray....

PENK wrote:

borofan wrote:Isn't 9 films enough of that shit?

Yawn

It's a fair comment. Why do people want even more of these films? Surely it's all been done by now.

The Modernist wrote:
It's a fair comment. Why do people want even more of these films? Surely it's all been done by now.

Same reason why there are so many superhero-movies: people buy into it. Nobody gives a crap that all storylines have been rehashed- as long as the CGI is off the charts, there's a lot of action, many buildings get destroyed and the bad guy snuffs it bigtime in the end....

The Modernist wrote:

PENK wrote:

borofan wrote:Isn't 9 films enough of that shit?

Yawn

It's a fair comment. Why do people want even more of these films? Surely it's all been done by now.

No, a fair comment would be ”are more films really necessary? Surely it’s all been done by now and even the most ardent fan has enough to last them a lifetime? Wouldn’t the creative energy and budget be better going into something new and original?”

The comment above is just threadcrapping.

And for what it’s worth I think of the Star Wars films - or something like James Bond - as a series that keeps going because it’s grade-A escapism with an established, inviting world that offers possibilities and excitement, though the quality varies from film to film. They’re comfort viewing.

joels344 wrote:I'm not necessarily a Star War diehard or anything, but I see this as a potential positive for the franchise. I thought what Rian Johnson did with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was refreshing and possibly my favorite work within Star Wars or at the very least, ranks closely to The Empire Strikes Back. F

That was Gareth Edwards, not Rian Johnson.

Star Wars is a ommercial behemoth, but it is the universal myth of our time. There is absolutely no doubt about this. In some respects I don't think this is a bad thing - even if the telling of the story isn't all that compelling at times, it still has a powerful resonance for a lot of people.

Disney are obviously pretty impressed with the Last Jedi.

PENK wrote:
And for what it’s worth I think of the Star Wars films - or something like James Bond - as a series that keeps going because it’s grade-A escapism with an established, inviting world that offers possibilities and excitement, though the quality varies from film to film. They’re comfort viewing.

Cheers. I'm sure that's it, but it still seems strange to me as you can get those things from any sci-fi film. Why be obsessed with Luke Skywalker..?

I suppose it's a bit like saying 'why buy another Rolling Stones album when 100 other bands do it so much better?'

The Modernist wrote:
Cheers. I'm sure that's it, but it still seems strange to me as you can get those things from any sci-fi film. Why be obsessed with Luke Skywalker..?

Well, it's not Science Fiction; it's Space opera - it doesn't deal with speculative notions of our future. The Star Wars universe is entirely separate.

Even if the films themselves were poor, the actual story Lucas tried to tell with the Prequel trilogy was actually quite interesting when you consider that they are pitched at children. The Republic collapses and becomes the Empire. There's a political edge to it. Sure, it's not that subtle but it's not just good vs evil.

There's a whole load of aesthetics involved with the Star Wars trilogy that, if you were into them as a child, just seem to hit the serotonin when you watch them as an adult. If it's not the "beat up" nature of the setting, with dusty, falling apart spaceships, then it might be just the sound of lightsabers igniting or the music itself, which is a fundamental part of the movies.

I don't think these are "any other sci-fi film" because that does a disservice to other science fiction films, and to Star Wars itself. What are these "things"?

Darryl Strawberry wrote:I agree. We often forget that Star Wars is not even set in some imagined future. It's an imagined past.

I'm not sure that that is a very important distinction though, at least not in evaluating the appeal of the films

Toby wrote:apart spaceships, then it might be just the sound of lightsabers igniting or the music itself, which is a fundamental part of the movies.

I don't think these are "any other sci-fi film" because that does a disservice to other science fiction films, and to Star Wars itself. What are these "things"?

There lots of franchise films that offer this kind of escapism - the Batman series for instance.

I'll address your main points -which were interesting and insightful - later.

PENK wrote:

borofan wrote:Isn't 9 films enough of that shit?

Yawn

That's me told. Incisive argument as ever...