Disney Buys Lucasfilm, Announces New "Star Wars" Movie For 2015

[Mat001]

I don't know. I do know that between TPM and AOTC they sold 35 million less tickets.

I doubt Padme's age in regards to her political status had that much to do with it. More of the complaints about Jar Jar, the acting and the general story direction. Not to mention competition from "Spider-Man".

And it still doesn't change the fact that George Walton Lucas said he needed to reduce Amidala's age in order to sell the romance angle.

Never said otherwise.

Again, the OT never says that the Force depends on your DNA or how many you have in your cells.

That is because there are different situations in the OT versus the PT. In the OT, we have two potential recruits that the Jedi are aware of and are waiting to train until the time is right. One of those potentials, Luke, has trouble understanding the Force because he's spent his whole life not being aware of it. Obi-wan and Yoda have to work from the ground up to make Luke into a Jedi. In the PT, the situations is different. This is at the twilight of the Jedi Order. A time period in which the Jedi were training children from a young age, to become Jedi. Shaping their minds from the get go to understand the Force and to accept it as part of their lives. They don't have trouble believing in it because of this. Anakin believes in his ability to use the Force, because he's had ten years of training from Obi-wan. He knows that the Force can allow him lift heavy objects like a ship, or like Yoda did with the crane. He knows that he can see blaster bolts without even looking for them. This is the opposite of Luke. If Luke had been trained from birth, he wouldn't have trouble doing the things a Jedi can do.

And by the new rules re: midichlorians in your blood, even being the son of a Jedi wasn't a guarantee that you'd be Force sensitive. There's no way Yoda and Obi-Wan would know Luke even had midichlorians. Remember that we don't see them testing L & L in ROTS.

Doesn't mean that they didn't, either.

Wasn't he 18 in TESB?

Twenty three. Twenty in ANH.

And there are problems in the concept, because the concept is flawed. In 4 movies, there is no problem/no mention of Jedis not being able to marry. Everything works fine until we're told that they can't love/get attached and then the idea of jedi family dynasties goes out the window and then you wonder why everyone was so fine with the idea that Luke was the son of Skywalker. That's where it doesn't match.

There's no mention in the OT, because Luke never pursues a relationship with Leia. Thus the Jedi don't tell him to not fall in love. The Jedi worry about his relationship to Han and Leia, which is why Obi-wan tells Luke to bury his feelings deep down, because the Sith will exploit them. Which they do. As to Luke being the son of Anakin, why wouldn't they be fine with it? What's done is done. What mattered was protecting the children and making sure that they could destroy the Sith. This was addressed in ROTS.

Midichlorians are why the Jedi and Sith can do after TPM. Before, it was all belief.

Again, nothing has changed. Belief plays a part. It's not highlighted in the PT, because we've got a few thousand Jedi running around who know about the Force and have lived with it's existence. It's different for Luke, who has to play catch-up to his teachers and his enemies.

Those are concepts that never made it into the movie, and for good reason. Midichlorians was one of such ideas that should have remained as a scribble between other ideas.

It didn't make it into the OT, because Lucas had trouble working it in. He didn't in the PT, which is why he could introduce it.

Even with all the Force working for him, it took the non-believing scoundrel to give him an all clear. To show us that we need everyone when we're fighting against the most pure form of evil.

Which I do not deny. Han plays his part in ANH and ROTJ, just as Luke has his part in all three OT films. But Lucas could have easily had Han say that he believes in it and thus wants to become a Jedi, after seeing Luke do what he did. But he didn't. Lucas had specific story in mind and a specific reason for it to be that way.

No, it shows that it was one of hundreds of concepts -and a pretty shallow one, at that-, regarding Anakin. He even put that Anakin was a mutant? Doesn't mean he was hanging with Xavier's crowd.

Yes, there were different ideas. Once he settled on it, he used it. Other ideas though, were just as good and were worth revisiting. They may not have been right for one movie, but for another, they were.

Massive testing of newborns of every species in all the Core worlds? The paperwork alone would give bureaucracies conniptions. It's an organization older than anything they've known. The Jedis are ubiquitous. That should be enough to have people stand in line in order to try to join up. Maybe have masters travel the galaxy, searching for promising recruits.

We've been over this. The people either come to the Jedi Temple seeking testing, or the Jedi are summoned to the world. But because the Republic is so big and because of the guidelines for admittance, it was like 1 in every 50 were recruited. That's why there are only ten thousand active Jedi in TPM. They all met the guidelines and they were all the ones that the Jedi had found up to that point. There were still thousands of other potentials out there, who wouldn't be found and trained, similar to Anakin's situation. Or they were too old to begin the training. That's why Qui-gon said that if Anakin had been found within the Republic's boarders, he would have been found and taken in sooner.

And Luke was capable of defeating Darth Vader and the Emperor because trained to be a Jedi and believed he was saving the galaxy.

Which isn't in doubt. The only thing that changes is that Luke can do this to begin with, because he had a connection to the Force. This is why the Jedi were waiting on the children, instead of Joe Blow off the street.

The children have midichlorians, but they cannot be detected unless the Force is active within a Jedi? Then why are they hidden? They don't know how to use the Force, so they can't be sending out red flags.

The Jedi and Bail are being as cautious as possible. If they started training right away, the Sith would sense it and start looking for them. Vader starts his pursuit of Luke as soon as he's able to get back to Coruscant and begin his quest. For twenty years prior to that, he's unaware of his son's existence. He believes all the Jedi are gone, which is why he boasts that no one can stop the Empire now. Then he finds out Obi-wan is alive and then he thinks that he has killed him, which is why he again boasts about absolute victory. Then he senses the Force in Luke at Yavin 4, when he didn't at Alderaan. Not even from five feet away when Luke sees their duel end and he starts shooting at Vader. He only knows of Luke because he was using the Force to prepare to destroy the Death Star. And Sidious doesn't consider Luke a threat until he reaches Dagobah.

Leia being out there, in the Senate, no less, squashes the theory.

Nope, because Bail and Leia agreed to work together to fight the Empire. He couldn't keep her from participating in the Alliance. That's why she was in the Senate and why she was there to intercept the Death Star plans. Even if she fell, there was still Luke.

Now, Luke being trained first by Obi-Wan and then by Yoda, makes him a threat because he is now a bona fide Force user. He believes he can use the Force -and we see he can, albeit slowly, and that's why Vader-Sidious go after him.

Right and before then, they didn't know.

What I always found very odd is that apparently 'balance' to George Lucas means wiping out one side completely.

It was the side that was causing the problem. The Force is in balance so long as good and evil are on even sides. It's not about how many Jedi and Sith there are, because they are not the Force. The Sith cause the imbalance because they promoted greed, fear, power mongering, hate and selfishness. They turned everyone against each other through these emotional states. The Jedi work with the larger universe to promote compassion, love, charity, selflessness and knowledge. Anakin's task was to excise the cancer Vidocq mentioned. The Jedi and the Republic exist as symbiotic entities with each other, living together for mutual benefit. The Sith are that cancer and Anakin's the cure.

I much prefer the idea put forward in a comic that Anakin brought balance by evening out the numbers between Jedi and Sith.

Which comic?

[carabas]

It was the side that was causing the problem. The Force is in balance so long as good and evil are on even sides. It's not about how many Jedi and Sith there are, because they are not the Force. The Sith cause the imbalance because they promoted greed, fear, power mongering, hate and selfishness. They turned everyone against each other through these emotional states. The Jedi work with the larger universe to promote compassion, love, charity, selflessness and knowledge. Anakin's task was to excise the cancer Vidocq mentioned. The Jedi and the Republic exist as symbiotic entities with each other, living together for mutual benefit. The Sith are that cancer and Anakin's the cure.

'Balance' of the Force implies that there's two sides of the Force that are in balance with one another, not that the Light Side completely and utterly dominates the Dark Side. It's what the word means.

Which comic?

Force Fiction by one Kevin Rubio in Star Wars Tales #7. It was an anthology series.

[Alex]

Is there anything whatsoever to keep Marvel from grabbing talent from Dark Horse and continuing on, more or less, with the comics as is?

Would they want too?
I mean, im sure they would sell better by virtue of being at marvel, but these comics haven't exactly been lighting the world on fire.

[Guapo Méndez]

I doubt Padme's age in regards to her political status had that much to do with it. More of the complaints about Jar Jar, the acting and the general story direction. Not to mention competition from "Spider-Man".

"A 14 year old queen? Are you pulling my leg? The senate benches dust is older than she is."
And yeah, add that to Jar Jar, the complete cocking-up of Jedihood, midichlorians and Anakin, it's no wonder people didn't flock to see AOTC and instead went for Spider-Man.

Never said otherwise.

Which is why I say de-ageing Anakin was a mistake. 15 minutes of kid Vader and then switch him for an 18-year old looking actor and boom: now you can believe he'd take down the Trade Federation's ship. Now you don't need a 14 year old Queen.

That is because there are different situations in the OT versus the PT. In the OT, we have two potential recruits that the Jedi are aware of and are waiting to train until the time is right. One of those potentials, Luke, has trouble understanding the Force because he's spent his whole life not being aware of it. Obi-wan and Yoda have to work from the ground up to make Luke into a Jedi. In the PT, the situations is different. This is at the twilight of the Jedi Order. A time period in which the Jedi were training children from a young age, to become Jedi. Shaping their mins frm the get go to undersand the Force and to accept it as part of their lives. They don't have trouble believing in it because of this. Anakin believes in his ability to use the Force, because he's had ten years of training from Obi-wan. He knows that the Force can allow him lift heavy objects like a ship, or like Yoda did with the crane. He knows that he can see blaster bolts without even looking for them. This is the oposite of Luke. If Luke had been trained from birth, he wouldn't have trouble doing the things a Jedi can do.

Still, nothing about the hardware already embedded in your system. It's all about how you trust the Force to help you defeat the evil empire. A child trusting the Force is no big deal - after all, kids jump from high places with nothing more that a cape tied around their necks. An adult, knowing full well the consequences of his actions -especially turning off your targetting computer while you barrel down the canyon and have Darth Freaking Vader right behind you, while the main weapon is about to turn the moon of Yavin IV into dust, is going to have more value doing that than a know-nothing kid.

Doesn't mean that they didn't, either.

He made it a crucial point in TPM and didn't even show the connection in ROTS.

There's no mention in the OT, because Luke never pursues a relatinsip with Leia. Thus the Jedi don't tell him to not fall in love. The Jedi worry about his relationship to Han and Leia, which is why Obi-wan tells Luke to because the Sith will exploit them. Which they do. As to Luke being the son of Anakin, why wouldn't they be fine with it? What's done is done. What mattered was protecting the children and making sure that they could destroy the Sith. This was addressed in ROTS.

They don't tell him anything because the prohibition was Lucas' brainfart in AOTC.

Again, nothing has changed. Belief plays a part. It's not highlighted in the PT, because we've got a few thousand Jedi running around who know about the Force and have lived with it's existence. It's different for Luke, who has to play catch-up to his teachers and his enemies.

It's not highlighted because in the PT it's all about the size of your midichlorian count and how if you're not born in the right worlds when you're a kid, you're screwed. It was more about diminishing the Jedi and making them incompetent than to show a true worthwile villain. A true mastermind would have force suggested Amidala into giving him special powers, not hope that the stupidest creature in the universe would overhear him and propose the change himself. The right choices were there all along and he just went with the crappiest ones at every turn.

It didn't make it into the OT, because Lucas had trouble working it in. He didn't in the PT, which is why he could introduce it.

And still isn't trouble-free. It's a crappy concept that creates more questions than it answers. And not the good questions.

Which I do not deny. Han plays his part in ANH and ROTJ, just as Luke has his part in all three OT films. But Lucas could have easily had Han say that he believes in it and thus wants to become a Jedi, after seeing Luke do what he did. But he didn't. Lucas had specific story in mind and a specific reason for it to be that way.

Han Solo wouldn't be a Jedi because he's only sure about the things he can see and control: a fast ship, a trusty blaster and knowing all the places he can hide contraband. No matter how many Force tricks he sees Luke pull off, he knows he is safe by sticking to what he knows.

And Luke believed he could be the Force's ally and make the exhaust port shot. Midichlorians were not even part of the equation- because even he didn't know how many he had and how much Force he could pull from them.

Yes, there were different ideas. Once he settled on it, he used it. Other ideas though, were just as good and were worth revisiting. They may not have been right for one movie, but for another, they were.

It's just as cringe-worthy as the Jedi Battle Language scene they dropped from ROTS.

We've been over this. The people either come to the Jedi Temple seeking testing, or the Jedi are summoned to the world. But because the Republic is so big and because of the guidelines for admittance, it was like 1 in every 50 were recruited. That's why there are only ten thousand active Jedi in TPM. They all met the guidelines and they were all the ones that the Jedi had found up to that point. There were still thousands of other potentials out there, who wouldn't be found and trained, similar to Anakin's situation. Or they were too old to begin the training. That's why Qui-gon said that if Anakin had been found within the Republic's boarders, he would have been found and taken in sooner.

But if the Jedi know that every birth can -and will- have wildly varying numbers of midichlorians, they are being derelict in their duty of checking every birth. They are guardians of the old republic, they are part of the system and they have the power to have suggestions made into law. Mandatory testing on every inhabited world would be the norm, and even in the Outer Rim terrotories -why would the Jedi limit themselves to serving only the Old Republic when virtually *every* creature in the universe has Force potential? Especially when they have a freaking prophecy saying there will come a Chosen One.

Whereas if you only have belief, people will either believe they have the ability or never bother the Jedi. And if they live in the Outer Rims, where they can dismiss the Force as a city slicker's trick, ah, well they won't have much to do with a society of robe-wearers. People will seek enlightenment -or to use the Force for their selfish means- and then you have the conflict.

Which isn't in doubt. The only thing that changes is that Luke can do this to begin with, because he had a connection to the Force. This is why the Jedi were waiting on the children, instead of Joe Blow off the street.

He believed he could be a Jedi like his father, a guardian, a champion of good. Not that he had umpteen-thousand midichlorians in his system and that he was pre-approved for herodom.

The Jedi and Bail are being as cautious as possible. If they started training right away, the Sith would sense it and start looking for them. Vader starts his pursuit of Luke as soon as he's able to get back to Coruscant and begin his quest. For twenty years prior to that, he's unaware of his son's existence. He believes all the Jedi are gone, which is why he boasts that no one can stop the Empire now. Then he finds out Obi-wan is alive and then he thinks that he has killed him, which is why he again boasts about absolute victory. Then he senses the Force in Luke at Yavin 4, when he didn't at Alderaan. Not even from five feet away when Luke sees their duel end and he starts shooting at Vader. He only knows of Luke because he was using the Force to prepare to destroy the Death Star. And Sidious doesn't consider Luke a threat until he reaches Dagobah.

And a name-change and exile can mask the already known midichlorians? If a Force user is "broadcasting" and that's how the Emperor can sense it, how come Obi-Wan managed to hide in plain sight? Yoda needed a negative-Force planet to hide, but Obi is fine in Anakin's homeworld, packing all the midichlorians he packs?

It's an easier explanation that Obi stopped using the Force -or used too little to be of consequence- and that's how he managed to evade the two most powerful Sith actively hunting Jedi to extinction. You can turn off your belief, but you can't shut down the hardware.

Nope, because Bail and Leia agreed to work together to fight the Empire. He couldn't keep her from participating in the Alliance. That's why she was in the Senate and why she was there to intercept the Death Star plans. Even if she fell, there was still Luke.

But she was jam-packed with Force-manipulating midichlorians: a stray thought and the Emperor would have picked it up. But if she had no knowledge of the Force and no physical reason tying her to the ability, there is nothing that can give her away.

And George didn't think about this particular scenario when he came up with midichlorians. Just plum escaped his mind. No amount of explanation can save this one.

Right and before then, they didn't know.

Right, because there were no thousands of midichlorians in his system to give him away.

[Simbob4000]

I have to ask: How much do you love the prequels Mat001? Because you seem to have some kind of defense for ever bad and dumb thing in them.

[The Batman]

Would they want too?
I mean, im sure they would sell better by virtue of being at marvel, but these comics haven't exactly been lighting the world on fire.

Sure, but is that because of the content, Dark Horse's limitations as a smaller publisher, or because the comics exist as a niche within a niche?

I know about it, and while they may sound alike, linguistically mitochondria breaks down thusly: míto ( s ) thread + chóndrion small grain, the only meaning for midichlorian I can think of is...half a chlorian? Words mean things.

Wait, so even though the two words sound alike and the concepts of endosymbiotic cellular organelles described are similar, obviously save for the bits about the Force, the fact that the two words don't break down linguistically means seeing the reference is just wishfully thinking? I'm sorry, but honestly, that seems like wishful thinking and a real reach. The midichlorians is a meaningless word save the reference and its 'in-universe' meaning only strengthens the reference.

I hope not: I was really looking forward to a Brian Wood Star Wars.

Ditto. Hopefully Dark Horse will be able to get a few issues out before the license swings over to Marvel and/or Marvel keeps Woods' SW book going.

[Vibranium]

Sure, but is that because of the content, Dark Horse's limitations as a smaller publisher, or because the comics exist as a niche within a niche?

I would say this first, because yes Dark Horse is small but anyone can get their stuff via the website or various online retailers

[Simbob4000]

I would think Dark Horse does will for themselves with Star Wars comics in trades, I always see lots in bookstores.

[Sonofspam]

I would think Dark Horse does will for themselves with Star Wars comics in trades, I always see lots in bookstores.

That and Hellboy probably keep them in business quite well.

[The Green Condom]

I have to ask: How much do you love the prequels Mat001? Because you seem to have some kind of defense for ever bad and dumb thing in them.

At this point it's beyond love, more like an obsession. And not just with the prequels, but everything Star Wars.

[dupersuper]

Wait, so even though the two words sound alike and the concepts of endosymbiotic cellular organelles described are similar, obviously save for the bits about the Force, the fact that the two words don't break down linguistically means seeing the reference is just wishfully thinking?

Maybe...'twouldn't be the first time I saw things differently than other moviegoers.

The midichlorians is a meaningless word save the reference and its 'in-universe' meaning only strengthens the reference.

How so?

[Phil Clark]

I have to ask: How much do you love the prequels Mat001? Because you seem to have some kind of defense for ever bad and dumb thing in them.

Just because you and several others here didn't like the prequels and take great joy in picking them apart doesn't invalidate someone else's opinion that the Prequels were good movies and entertaining. Some of us just enjoyed the movies for what they were for us, entertaining films that told more of the Star Wars saga. We were entertained, and still are each time we watch them. And that is enough for us.

[Alex]

I don't understand why people think picking out problems with the plot makes them worse movies.
The shitty acting and direction is what makes them bad, it wouldn't be better if it was true to the other 3 movies.

[Phil Clark]

I don't understand how people can pick virtually all the films apart pointing out every little error and still consider themselves to be Star Wars fans. If you hate virtually every aspect of the series, then you are not a fan of the series. You are just a complainer masquerading as a fan. True fans forgive the flaws because the overall story strikes a chord in their souls.

Me, I prefer to enjoy the films despite their flaws instead of tearing them apart to make myself feel superior in a "Look how good I am, I could do these films better than the guy who created them" kind of way.

[Mat001]

'Balance' of the Force implies that there's two sides of the Force that are in balance with one another, not that the Light Side completely and utterly dominates the Dark Side. It's what the word means.

But it doesn't. Greed, fear, anger and hate continue to exist just as compassion, love, selflessness and kindness still exists. They are in balance to each other. The yin and the yang. The positive and the negative forces. Black and white. When ROTJ ends, the criminal exploits of the Hutts and other like-minded individuals will still exist. There will be men like Nute Gunray and men like Bail Organa. That never goes away completely. What changes though is when one side overwhelms the other. When black and white become gray. The pool needs to be cleaned so that it can be back to the way it was.

Force Fiction by one Kevin Rubio in Star Wars Tales #7. It was an anthology series.

Well, that doesn't count as it is since the majority of "Star Wars Tales" was considered "Infinities", unless otherwise indicated by Lucasbooks.

"A 14 year old queen? Are you pulling my leg? The senate benches dust is older than she is."

How many showings did you hear this at? How many theaters?

And yeah, add that to Jar Jar, the complete cocking-up of Jedihood, midichlorians and Anakin, it's no wonder people didn't flock to see AOTC and instead went for Spider-Man.

Only the fanboys gave that much of a crap about such details.

Still, nothing about the hardware already embedded in your system. It's all about how you trust the Force to help you defeat the evil empire. A child trusting the Force is no big deal - after all, kids jump from high places with nothing more that a cape tied around their necks. An adult, knowing full well the consequences of his actions -especially turning off your targetting computer while you barrel down the canyon and have Darth Freaking Vader right behind you, while the main weapon is about to turn the moon of Yavin IV into dust, is going to have more value doing that than a know-nothing kid.

And again, you continue to miss it. Let's put it another way; take two movies about religion. Film one is about dealing with one's own faith, while film number two deals with the person's own personal relationships and his issues of faith aren't important to the film. Meaning, he is of the church, but the story isn't about faith, but about something else. The OT is about Luke trusting in the Force to stop the Empire and the Sith, due to his lack of knowledge and experience. The PT is about Anakin's struggles between good and evil and figuring out the right path. Having the Midichlorians doesn't automatically take away from the faith aspect. The faith still exists in the PT, but the faith is about something else. It's about a larger issue which is having faith in the Force to fight nature, when others tell you it cannot be done. In the OT, it's about having faith in the Force that it can do what is deemed impossible.

This is about the two parts of the story, from two different viewpoints and dealing with different situations.

He made it a crucial point in TPM and didn't even show the connection in ROTS.

Except for the part where Palpatine tells Anakin that manipulation of the Midichlorians can result in the creation of life and the prevention of death. The Jedi know that the kids have the ability to use the Force, which is why Obi-wan asks Yoda if it is possible for the twins to defeat Sidious, since they failed to do so. Which in turn leads to hiding them.

They don't tell him anything because the prohibition was Lucas' brainfart in AOTC.

Except you're wrong.

1. Luke's relationship with Leia becomes platonic in TESB, thanks to Kershner and Kurtz cutting those scenes out.

2. The Jedi don't discourage Luke from his relationships with Han and Leia, they discourage him from leaving Dagobah.

3. The Jedi have changed their methods between ROTS and ANH.

It's not highlighted because in the PT it's all about the size of your midichlorian count and how if you're not born in the right worlds when you're a kid, you're screwed.

The PT is the Jedi in the twilight of their existence. It can be different from the OT and that's what we get.

It was more about diminishing the Jedi and making them incompetent than to show a true worthwile villain.

The Jedi weren't incompetent. They did the right things, but were beaten by someone who chose to betray them.

A true mastermind would have force suggested Amidala into giving him special powers, not hope that the stupidest creature in the universe would overhear him and propose the change himself.

Sidious didn't hope for it, he manipulated events into unfolding the way he wanted them to. He knew that he couldn't get Padme to go along with it willingly, which is why he gave consent for the assassination attempts, so that she would be out of the way and he could then manipulate someone else into willingly giving him what he wanted. Besides, a true master of the Force cannot manipulate minds with the Force, that are strong willed.

And still isn't trouble-free. It's a crappy concept that creates more questions than it answers. And not the good questions.

Nothing is ever trouble-free. You can still find it in the OT as well, long before the PT.

Han Solo wouldn't be a Jedi because he's only sure about the things he can see and control: a fast ship, a trusty blaster and knowing all the places he can hide contraband. No matter how many Force tricks he sees Luke pull off, he knows he is safe by sticking to what he knows.

No, he's not. Lucas could have easily wrote that Han starts to believe and you'd swallow it whole.

It's just as cringe-worthy as the Jedi Battle Language scene they dropped from ROTS.

It wasn't dropped because it was a crappy idea. It was dropped because Lucas changed the situation that the whole sequence was designed for and pushed it to another scene.