The Rise of Skywalker General Star Wars Episode IX News/Speculation Thread - Part 1

[Fincher]

I don't think anyone's disputing that Disney's in the business of making money. However, even with a Days of Future Past, it would be a lot more viable if they could actually get the actors back. Carrie Fisher died, good luck getting Harrison Ford back again, Daisy Ridley doesn't want to come back, Oscar Isaac doesn't want to come back, I doubt you'll get Adam Driver back, and even Mark Hamill is a question mark at best. So say they do some time travel story in the margins with whatever they can scrabble together and "fix" the timeline. Okay, so now what? The First Order never happened, and Luke never had his fall from grace? Okay, cool, but Daisy/Oscar/etc. still aren't coming back, so what stories are you telling with that?

Rey and Kylo are wiped from existence (without having appeared in this time travel movie), and now Jaina and Jacen are there instead? Hey, the fraction of viewers who read those books might like that, but now you've p***ed off fans of the sequel trilogy characters, when young people who aren't so attached to the original trilogy are most likely Disney's best hope for the series moving forward. It's also hard to legitimize Jaina and Jacen as the "true" legacy of the original cast when Harrison Ford and Carrie Ford aren't there. It's like, hey, care about these characters because this is the Skywalker Saga, unlike those movies we just made that we called the end of the Skywalker Saga, which actually included those characters from the old movies you know and love.

Maybe you fix it so that the First Order didn't happen and Ben Solo never turned and him and Rey lived happily ever after offscreen and Jaina and Jacen are his younger siblings who we'll never see interact with him or their parents. That's...better, but it's still an awkward fix contingent on the idea that the key to a successful movie is having the characters be Skywalkers, when this time travel movie that's supposed to fix everything isn't starring Skywalkers. I mean, Days of Future Past worked because the original characters were there, in the movie. It's all very tricky, and even if you pull it off you've only got partial Skywalker appeal moving forward especially without a proper torch passing. It's certainly not how I would approach it, either from a financial or a creative perspective.

 

[henzINNIT]

There's nothing that a DOFP-style continuity reboot would achieve in this case. It's not happening.

 

[Gothamsknight]

The idea of erasing the ST is not only stupid, and unlikely but incredibly disrespectful to those who put their hearts into it. And before someone says "people did the same for movies that were trashed", you have to understand that the kids growing up today LOVE the ST and they will be defended to no end when the kids get older, just like people do now with the PT. I still love the characters of Rey and Kylo Ren despite not liking TROS, and i think it'd be a huge slap to just try to write that out of existence to please one of the most disrespectful and ungrateful fanbases on the planet.

 

[BatLobster]

I'm sure regardless of each of our opinions on the movies, every single one of us has things that we would've loved to have seen done differently in the films. That's one thing...but to "erase" them and replace them with (???) would just cause problems and be even more incredibly divisive.

The vast majority of people who saw them would think erasing them is a weird and dumb idea. It wouldn't even be division along the lines of people who loved the movies and people who didn't. It would be division against people who think that's ridiculous and stupid, and the minority of extreme haters who would take it as some sort of victory. Unfortunately I think the Snyder Cut situation has emboldened certain people...what they fail to realize is that was a very specific situation where the stars aligned in a certain way to make something very unlikely come to frution.

Disney/LFL need look no further than the success The Mandalorian to know that the galaxy is plenty big enough to tell new stories that people are excited about.

 

[henzINNIT]

Nothing is really all that broken. It was a couple of years in a story that has already spanned decades.

All the characters who were "ruined" by the ST have a 30-year window to do all sorts of fun things beforehand, all the heroics you can dream of. The favourites all lived to be pensioners after all. And yeah they died, but I'm not going to mourn all the lost potential of Chewie becoming a full-time carer to these characters in their final days.

 

[TheVileOne]

It’s in Disney’s best interest to sell Star Wars stuff people actually want. Does that mean erasing the ST? As I said I highly doubt it, even if I think Kennedy was the wrong person to run Lucasfilm and her films did long term damage to the brand phasing out her era would be a pretty big slap in the face no matter how it’s framed. But at the same time I wouldn’t put it past the company to do whatever it takes to move the focus back to what it is people actually want to see. In the space of 4 years the value of the brand has crashed. Does that mean erasing it? Probably not. ‘Fixing’ it via some type of X-Men DoFP story? Yeah, I can see that happening.

It's not happening JMC.

 

[jmc]

And I never said it was. I said it wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Big difference.

 

[Sian]

The idea of erasing the ST is not only stupid, and unlikely but incredibly disrespectful to those who put their hearts into it. And before someone says "people did the same for movies that were trashed", you have to understand that the kids growing up today LOVE the ST and they will be defended to no end when the kids get older, just like people do now with the PT. I still love the characters of Rey and Kylo Ren despite not liking TROS, and i think it'd be a huge slap to just try to write that out of existence to please one of the most disrespectful and ungrateful fanbases on the planet.

Agree with you there, TFA was fun and enjoyable, I loved TLJ, and the ending had so much promise.
I think it's partly because of this that TROS was such a devastating disappointment. All the plotlines set up by RJ - Poe leading perhaps a different, more aggressive type of Resistance, Finn leading a stormtrooper uprising, Hux finding out the truth about Snoke's death, how Kylo and Rey would resolve their relationship...,..... sacrificed to satisfy a handful of toxic bigots and whiners, which didn't work anyway.
I used to be proud to call myself a SW fan. Not anymore.

 

[jmc]

It was sacrificed because the brand took a hit and JJ had little time to fix it. Not that it worked. If you would have said to me a year ago The Joker would make more money than Episode 9 I would have bet money on it you'd be wrong.

 

[Sian]

I think people want more than flashy action sequences, they want heart. TROS was completely devoid of it. What has always made SW special is the strength of its storytelling. For all their flaws the PT had a strong storyline. TROS had no story at all. We started the film halfway through the plot, with many elements -- how Rey learned she could heal, Palpatine returning, what really happened with Finn/Rose - happening offscreen. The fact that Terrio's had to explain it in an interview speaks volumes. DLF threw an incoherent mess at the audience and expected people to be satisfied.
These days people want more. You can get flashy action scenes in a computer game.
Joker was intense. But it had volumes of heart, and a superb central performance from Joaquin Phoenix. In short,. Joker was a good film. And although as a SW fan it breaks my heart to say it, TROS was not.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Honestly, I think more people want flashy stuff over heart than some realize, sadly. I used to hear people say that they would have liked TLJ if Luke had a big action scene, and I disagree with them because I felt Luke became above that sort of thing.

What I would have added in TLJ was it opening with a flashback to when Kylo was younger. Something of that sort I think. That's the one scene I think should've been in TLJ.

 

[Frodo]

The ST is not gonna be erased. I think alot of these rumors are used to stir up SW fandom, and have those who disliked the films feel vindicated, and those who liked them feel upset, which as usual, has worked like a charm.

I wasn't crazy about the ST myself , and I think alot of the criticisms of them are justified.

That said, I would be totally against the idea of erasing them out of continuity for the sake of half of the fandom which hates them. And i'm not saying that because I think that one half of fandom is right about the ST and the other half is wrong.

I'm saying that because whats done is done. For good or ill , these films are part of canon.

These are the films Disney wanted made, and they don't get a do over, or an erasure ,because they aren't satisfied with the fan reaction.

Learn from the past, and move on. Again, all of this is assuming the rumor is true which I really don't.
Even if it were, i'm against the erasing thing on general principle.

 

[jmc]

I get what some of you are saying, and to an extent I agree that there shouldn't be any erasure of the ST. But at the end of the day the company has to sell things people want. No sane company is going to die on a hill for a product that isn't working, it's just not good business. The ST didn't result in the type of secondary revenue Disney were hoping for. So when I say I think it wouldn't surprise me if Disney phased out the ST and in some way retconned the story and stick to what people actually loved about Star Wars that's the reason for it. If they don't take into account the economics of the ST then that $4B investment becomes worthless. Star Wars lives and dies by its fans, and a lot didn't like it. If sacrificing the ST means a better return on investment then the will do it. Again, I stress, I don't think it would happen, but it's not an illogical move for them to make either in light of recent events.

 

[Frodo]

SW isn't in that dire a straits that they would need to retcon or phase out the sequel trilogy. It would be more trouble to them than its worth.

There's just no advantage for them to do it from a business perspective, let alone a PR perspective.

All that being said, moving away or shifting focus away from the ST trilogy is something different imo.

Focusing on new trilogies with new characters which don't have the ST fan baggage is a heck of alot easier for them, than constantly dwelling on past mistakes and re fighting old battles.

That gives them room to grow with a fresh slate and to avoid the mistakes they made the first time around.

Ultimately, I think that's where they're headed anyway , even if Kennedy leaves.

 

[Brother Jack]

If they didn't erase the prequels, they won't for the sequels.

 

[Frodo]

If they didn't erase the prequels, they won't for the sequels.

Exactly. The sequel trilogy is here to stay.

You can't un-ring that bell. Sooner or later, all of SW fandom is going to except that.

That doesn't mean SW fandom universally agrees on them. Far from it.

But these films , flaws and all, divisions and all, for good or ill ,exist, and are part of the SW canon and family.

They aren't going away .

 

[Sian]

It's only TROS I hate, but at least it' saved me some money, because I never want to go near anything Star Wars again.

 

[Schlosser85]

It's only TROS I hate, but at least it' saved me some money, because I never want to go near anything Star Wars again.

Well that sounds like a reasonable attitude.

 

[Schlosser85]

I have tons of problems with the sequel trilogy, but expecting them to retcon or wipe them from existence is just silly.

 

[Frodo]

I have tons of problems with the sequel trilogy, but expecting them to retcon or wipe them from existence is just silly.

Totally.

The ST happened. They aren't going to be erased from people's memories and sw canon. Certainly not when they made a billion dollars.

Yes , there's a divide in the SW fandom over the films and they'll probably always be controversial to some extent .

But sooner or later , there has to be some acceptance of the reality, that they're part of the SW canon of films, books, tv shows, games and everything else.

Doesn't mean you have to like them, watch them, buy them , or praise them.

But , as I've said before, they're here to stay.

 

[Spider-Fan]

They will not erase the sequels, and even if they tried, what is the point? Ford is never coming back and isn't getting younger. Fisher is dead. Hamill also doesn't seem eager to come back. But even if Ford and Hamill could somehow be swayed, Fisher is dead. The original trio will never be able to share the screen again. Why bother trying again at this point? Just do other stories set in the Star Wars universe. Let the OT characters rest. Focus on other eras or whatever. That is what they need to do.

 

[Marvolo]

The best way forward is move hundreds of years into the future and the past.

And they need to get on making books, comics, and or films set during the Hundred Year Darkness. I want an actual Sith Empire that lasts a hundred years. A Sith empire that can grow and evolve. With long lasting well developed and interesting characters. A terrifying Sith Emperor, and thousands of Sith warriors and cultists and dark side sorcerers to rival the Jedi Order. Basically, the opposite of that weakass Final Order **** we got in ROS.

 

[DarthDaveBanner]

This is why I'm excited for the High Republic projects, something completely different with new characters that don't have to live up to peoples 20+ years if anticipation.

Although obviously there are already certain "fans" crapping all over it because it involves some female protagonists...

 

[Frodo]

As long as they move forward with new compelling stories and characters, and they stop using the OT as a creative crutch, they'll be fine.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Regardless of your thoughts on the sequels, it will be nice to one day wake up and and not read on facebook someones 5 page essay about how the ST, and TLJ in particular, somehow ruined the Darth Vader figure they got on christmas morning when they were kids.