The Energon Pub

[RAR]

Flashbacks might be part of Rey's Training - Incidentally they nearly left a clip of Luke fighting Vader in Empire Strikes back in Rey's Vision in the Movie - which incidentally actually contained a flashback to her youth being dropped off on Jakku as well as Premonitions or flashbacks that involved some actions of the Knights of Ren - either yet to come or perhaps showing them destroying Luke's students and such.

I would lean more towards a premonition as Kylo is in his normal Knight of Ren garb - but he does have his Lightsaber and that was seemingly chopped in half so he'd need a new one - so if he did he'd have to re-make the same one twice (Something no one else seems to have done so I've noticed - unless Darth Maul did it) so it could be either I suppose.

Also remember Han Solo is credited as being in Episode 8 - so as they didn't get his body that can only really be in flashback, video or hologram form I guess. or in a vision or Flashback.

He's not likely to come back as a ghost is he.
I also speculate that Episode 8 might be the 1st Movie that at least has a chance to not have a time Jump between each Movie.. as all the other have such a leap in time in either years in most of the Movie or Months (in the case of Return of the Jedi after ESB).

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the 1st shot of Episode 8 be the last shot of Episode 7 or something like that.


Not that I rule out it doing something really annoying like saying Rey met Luke of such an such a place and they travelled to such and such a place and did such a such a thing... and we drop back in with Rey, Luke & Chewie after they have all known each other for some weeks or months...

That would be a bit odd... it would also side step how Luke got on the planet in the 1st place too... It may depend on if the filming is being conducted on the same island or not - it looks like that may be Luke is on another different Location and when he was - it wasn't with Rey as far as I noticed.

I suppose you can make some decent guesses from the location shooting and who is present if you are of a mind to. but even that may not be a perfect indication as Chewie isn't as likely to wander around on mountains unless they get him a stunt double.

[Burn]

Would Force Visions be considered "flashbacks" though? Given that it's viewed in the present rather than told/presented in the past.

Plenty of rumours about Kylo in Rey's Force Vision, the one I like is it was a vision of Kylo retrieving Vaders helmet and the dead bodies were actually Ewoks.

That would go a long way in helping establish Kylo as a villain rather than a disgruntled emo kid.

[Stuartmaximus]

They've already got someone else in the suit playing Chewie other than Peter Mayhew!

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-force-a ... gn=SR-FB-P

[Burn]

If anyone needs a laugh.

Very Lonely Luke vs Emo Kylo Ren engage in a "Twitter War"

[RAR]

I know I've spent the last several days eggin' them on - chuckle.

[Va'al]

Tried posting this yesterday but it never came through.

Serkis throwing some stuff out on Snoke: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/02/st ... -exclusive

[RAR]

I bet the number of people who think Snoake could & should have been a make up effect is legion - in fact you'd only need Minor tweeks to do the same with Maz too to make her either a Puppet or a costume effect.

Both are Humanoids and any issues with scale has already been delt with by Peter Jackson in his Movie and how they shot Hobbits. the same trick would have worked with Maz.. I expect JJ just couldn't be bothered.

I don't object to Maz being CGI - as frankly she's better than some of the practical effects of the uninspired monsters in her bar are.

I really wish I knew the real reason why there are almost no continuing Aliens in the Movie is that Disney's Choice - is it a licensing issue with Fox over "A New Hope" merchandise or is it Just JJ wanting to put his stamp on it.

Personally I think he fell flat on his face as the creature design has very little that stands out - the only one I even noticed was the Trandoshan looking big fella, some of the designs even the Ralph McQuarrie based ones were poorly implemented in my view.

The creature effects is something they need to work on very hard in the next Movie to raise their game on.

[Stuartmaximus]

some interesting stuff on this show! especially later on in it....about the speculative possibility of Snoke appearing on Rebels.

[Va'al]

Oh Mads...

[ZeroWolf]

Oh so that's who mads is! I did wonder why people were making a big deal over him.

Rar I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill with your complaints. I liked the maz and snoake effects, though the prospect of him being in rebels is interesting.

[RAR]

Oh so that's who mads is! I did wonder why people were making a big deal over him.

Rar I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill with your complaints. I liked the maz and snoake effects, though the prospect of him being in rebels is interesting.

Those are not specifically or exclusively my complaints - I think Snoake looks OK as a Hologram and there is only a few spots Maz looks dodgy 60% of the time she doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

But as I said I think the puppets look 10,000 times worse than either of them - not because they are practical effects - but simply because the design is bland and none of the aliens are recognisable races (bar 3 or so).

I look on it this way I don't expect someone to make a Babylon 5 Project and never show any of the established races (even Crusade didn't do that) - and I would expect the same courtesy from Star Wars too.

Yes using Snoake in Rebels could be interesting - I guess it depends on how they handle him over all. A lot of people could be left very confused if his whole back story is revealed in Rebels and not a wiff of it is in Episode 8 - as then plenty of people will miss it entirely.

If he turns out to simply be the head of the Inquisitors I'll go.. "Oh that was a missed opportunity" Besides I am a whole lot kinder than some people are being there are plenty of people who cut the movie no slack at all and have alist of complaints several pages long - the complaints about the races and the puppets isn't a common one - but a lot of people didn't like the CGI creatures much.

That said some people online are not so bright - as some of them also thought BB-8 was completely CGI. You can't just dismiss some of the complaints though they are shared by way to many people for that - and Disney really will have to keep some of them in mind going forwards.

I'm kind of perplexed who they tested this Movie on as it's so Polarising and yet they didn't seem to have a clue that was going to be the case at all. and yet they also tried actively to Hide Rey - the motives for which have some really suspicious of their motives because of that.

Anyway My personal concerns come down to how they handled the world building aspects - I feel they completely and utterly failed at that for reasons I may elaborate on another time if the subject of discussion ever warrants it. I certainly liked it better than a whole lot of other Movies I could mention - Spectre or The Martian for example. I did however like it less that Edge of Tomorrow, I'd say it's slightly better than Tommorowland too- but I don't really have any huge issues with Tommorowland over all I do have some with Episode 8 - and even if they are not deal breakers for me that are still modest annoyances some of which hopefully can be fixed in later movies.

[ZeroWolf]

I have a feeling that expectations was a reason some have had issues with it. I am happy however I know another person who liked Babylon 5 (I'm assuming you liked it from your tone)

I recently watched Nostalgia Critics review of the Force Awakens and he makes some interesting points like his observation that the reason this film borrowed so many plot beats from the first trilogy was to prove to people that this wasn't going to be the prequels all over again. This Was To prove that the franchise is in safe hands, and that the next two won't be retreads of a similar nature

[RAR]

I have a feeling that expectations was a reason some have had issues with it. I am happy however I know another person who liked Babylon 5 (I'm assuming you liked it from your tone)

I recently watched Nostalgia Critics review of the Force Awakens and he makes some interesting points like his observation that the reason this film borrowed so many plot beats from the first trilogy was to prove to people that this wasn't going to be the prequels all over again. This Was To prove that the franchise is in safe hands, and that the next two won't be retreads of a similar nature

Yep I like Babylon 5 very much - and Stargate, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek and so on...

Babylon 5's Final season and pretty much everything after the moment Sheridan says "Get the hell out oh our Galaxy" was a disappointment - but it wasn't his fault it was him loosing a season in his story arc that cause things to be stuck in the wrong place.

But the thing that is VERY good about Babylon 5 is that it shows even the "Destined Hero" needs some help - that even the secondary Characters can feel as weighty and important as the main ones in their actions.

Fortunately we do get some of that with Wedge & Poe in Star Wars.
I do have some concerns that the message of Eps 4,5 & 6 is Co-Operation. Luke doesn't have the others working for him they are his Friends and Colleges.
I always suspected the reason Wedge has such a high Opinion of Luke is the way he treated him when he's this big deal in the Galaxy.

Now I don't think for one moment Rey would be any different - I don't think she has a bad bone in her body - so to speak... But I do think Disney might want to push her as a "Chosen One" type to such an extent that everyone else actions in the Franchise seem as diminished as the actions of most Non-Force users do in the Prequels.

Or to put it another way if a situation ever comes up with another Lando or Bail Organa like Character, I don't want their deeds and actions pushed aside by the force users.

Disney were at least getting it reasonably right with Poe. But it is a concern some have and I can certainly see why they would. I don't want Rey to feel like she can do everything alone. I want her to except as well as offer help just like happens in 4,5 & 6.

That is a part of Star wars I want to get back to - the whole Jedi Centric thing was getting way to much towards the end of the EU's current lifetime.


Take Ben Skywalker - he was by far a more interesting Character when he was shown not just as a mini-Luke but more as a a product of his training in Investigations too I wanted him to perhaps even gravitate towards Coran Horn as a potential Master or Mentor over his own father.

I'm glad they made up in the end after he had some concerns - but Luke really was teetering on the edge of going quite crazy at one point. But that is Luke he does nasty things from time to time and then gets over it.
Only this time it seems Disney isn't letting him get over it as quickly.

Someone speculated that Luke may have seen Rey in a Vision as she saw him and that was whey Artoo was left behind to wait for the person with a lightsaber to show up.

They further speculate the Look on Luke's face is he foresaw she would "Be his death" and so when he saw her that was why he looked ambivalent.

He may be right Luke might just go off somewhere like Spock did - but it seems much more likely to me that he will get killed off in Movie 8 or 9 as a direct result of involvement with Rey.

Heck we may even have already seen the day of his death in one of the visions perhaps the whole coterie of the Knights of Ren was able to over power him - especially if he's not a Grand master or perhaps even a proper master but still just plain ol' Luke Skywalker and like Mark Hammel says - he feels he's not up to it any more - and like Mark; Luke needs reassurance he can still contribute even after a long time away from the spotlight.

[Shumi Nagaremono]

Bit late to the party, but I loved this flick. While there were a bunch of call-backs to the original trilogy, I didn't feel that they were out of place and didn't distract from the plot. I hope that future movies make their own mark on the franchise, but if JJ Abrams' aim was to show fans that the people making Star Wars GET Star Wars, I'd say it's mission accomplished.

I saw the movie on opening weekend in Tokyo with my wife (who's also a casual fan; I didn't drag her to the thing). It was a good time. Probably the only time I've seen/heard polite applause before/after a movie.

There was a whole bunch of merch for sale at (and near) the theater, so I snapped a few pics. My friend threw them up on his blog.

http://blockaderunnerpodcast.com/2016/0 ... rchandise/

It's really fun to see how much of a phenomenon The Force Awakens (and Star Wars in general) has become here in Japan. It's everywhere. Even all the little kids are running around with their little (often) home-made lightsabers.

[Stuartmaximus]

I have a feeling that expectations was a reason some have had issues with it. I am happy however I know another person who liked Babylon 5 (I'm assuming you liked it from your tone)

I recently watched Nostalgia Critics review of the Force Awakens and he makes some interesting points like his observation that the reason this film borrowed so many plot beats from the first trilogy was to prove to people that this wasn't going to be the prequels all over again. This Was To prove that the franchise is in safe hands, and that the next two won't be retreads of a similar nature

Yep I like Babylon 5 very much - and Stargate, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek and so on...

Babylon 5's Final season and pretty much everything after the moment Sheridan says "Get the hell out oh our Galaxy" was a disappointment - but it wasn't his fault it was him loosing a season in his story arc that cause things to be stuck in the wrong place.

But the thing that is VERY good about Babylon 5 is that it shows even the "Destined Hero" needs some help - that even the secondary Characters can feel as weighty and important as the main ones in their actions.

Fortunately we do get some of that with Wedge & Poe in Star Wars.
I do have some concerns that the message of Eps 4,5 & 6 is Co-Operation. Luke doesn't have the others working for him they are his Friends and Colleges.
I always suspected the reason Wedge has such a high Opinion of Luke is the way he treated him when he's this big deal in the Galaxy.

Now I don't think for one moment Rey would be any different - I don't think she has a bad bone in her body - so to speak... But I do think Disney might want to push her as a "Chosen One" type to such an extent that everyone else actions in the Franchise seem as diminished as the actions of most Non-Force users do in the Prequels.

Or to put it another way if a situation ever comes up with another Lando or Bail Organa like Character, I don't want their deeds and actions pushed aside by the force users.

Disney were at least getting it reasonably right with Poe. But it is a concern some have and I can certainly see why they would. I don't want Rey to feel like she can do everything alone. I want her to except as well as offer help just like happens in 4,5 & 6.

That is a part of Star wars I want to get back to - the whole Jedi Centric thing was getting way to much towards the end of the EU's current lifetime.


Take Ben Skywalker - he was by far a more interesting Character when he was shown not just as a mini-Luke but more as a a product of his training in Investigations too I wanted him to perhaps even gravitate towards Coran Horn as a potential Master or Mentor over his own father.

I'm glad they made up in the end after he had some concerns - but Luke really was teetering on the edge of going quite crazy at one point. But that is Luke he does nasty things from time to time and then gets over it.
Only this time it seems Disney isn't letting him get over it as quickly.

Someone speculated that Luke may have seen Rey in a Vision as she saw him and that was whey Artoo was left behind to wait for the person with a lightsaber to show up.

They further speculate the Look on Luke's face is he foresaw she would "Be his death" and so when he saw her that was why he looked ambivalent.

He may be right Luke might just go off somewhere like Spock did - but it seems much more likely to me that he will get killed off in Movie 8 or 9 as a direct result of involvement with Rey.

Heck we may even have already seen the day of his death in one of the visions perhaps the whole coterie of the Knights of Ren was able to over power him - especially if he's not a Grand master or perhaps even a proper master but still just plain ol' Luke Skywalker and like Mark Hammel says - he feels he's not up to it any more - and like Mark; Luke needs reassurance he can still contribute even after a long time away from the spotlight.

funny how you should mention Stargate! coz that's the only property with Star in the title that JJ hasn't tackled yet.

[ZeroWolf]

Though stargate is being remade as we speak (well rebooted). Can't wait to see how that turns out

I've often wondered how popular Star Wars was in Japan, and if it had as much influence over there as over here (well in the west as a generalisation).

[Shumi Nagaremono]

I've often wondered how popular Star Wars was in Japan, and if it had as much influence over there as over here (well in the west as a generalisation).

It's not as influential as in the US, but it's very popular.

Up until Clone Wars, I'd have compared Star Wars here in Japan to Godzilla in the US. It's this big series that everybody's aware of, even if not so many have actually seen. But we got Clone Wars (dubbed) and Rebels (also dubbed) so the kids have been familiar with it for awhile.

Something interesting, though. I found out that one of my students is a big Star Wars fan. I asked about his favorite character.

"Darth Maul" he said.

"Maul? Not, like, Vader?" I asked.

"Vader's cool, but we don't see him as a whiny little kid. He shows up, is awesome, then dies."

Fair point, kid.

When people say that the prequels negatively impacted the original trilogy, I guess that's what they're talking about.

[ZeroWolf]

I've often wondered how popular Star Wars was in Japan, and if it had as much influence over there as over here (well in the west as a generalisation).

It's not as influential as in the US, but it's very popular.

Up until Clone Wars, I'd have compared Star Wars here in Japan to Godzilla in the US. It's this big series that everybody's aware of, even if not so many have actually seen. But we got Clone Wars (dubbed) and Rebels (also dubbed) so the kids have been familiar with it for awhile.

Something interesting, though. I found out that one of my students is a big Star Wars fan. I asked about his favorite character.

"Darth Maul" he said.

"Maul? Not, like, Vader?" I asked.

"Vader's cool, but we don't see him as a whiny little kid. He shows up, is awesome, then dies."

Fair point, kid.

When people say that the prequels negatively impacted the original trilogy, I guess that's what they're talking about.

Thanks Shumi for that insight interesting comparison as well with Godzilla.

[Stuartmaximus]

I've often wondered how popular Star Wars was in Japan, and if it had as much influence over there as over here (well in the west as a generalisation).

It's not as influential as in the US, but it's very popular.

Up until Clone Wars, I'd have compared Star Wars here in Japan to Godzilla in the US. It's this big series that everybody's aware of, even if not so many have actually seen. But we got Clone Wars (dubbed) and Rebels (also dubbed) so the kids have been familiar with it for awhile.

Something interesting, though. I found out that one of my students is a big Star Wars fan. I asked about his favorite character.

"Darth Maul" he said.

"Maul? Not, like, Vader?" I asked.

"Vader's cool, but we don't see him as a whiny little kid. He shows up, is awesome, then dies."

Fair point, kid.

When people say that the prequels negatively impacted the original trilogy, I guess that's what they're talking about.

ah but....Maul didn't stay dead! he returned in The Clone Wars series

[ZeroWolf]

But to be fair, the kid may not of seen the clone wars cartoon so didn't know that Maul returns.

[Stuartmaximus]

fair point

[Shumi Nagaremono]

But to be fair, the kid may not of seen the clone wars cartoon so didn't know that Maul returns.

Thinking back, the kid almost certainly saw the Clone Wars cartoon. It'd explain a lot.

That kid's probably a bigger fan than me. I never watched any of the supplemental material. Tried a few Dark Horse comics but could never get into them. Absolutely LOVE the new Marvel comics, though.

[RAR]

Though stargate is being remade as we speak (well rebooted). Can't wait to see how that turns out

I made a new thread about Stargate....
stargate-there-is-a-reboot-coming--t106127.php-

That someone on that thread thinks the TV show is just "Fan Fic" and that JJ Abrams has done a great Job lately gives me a bit of a cold shudder.

It's not like the Stargate Movie story is so fabulous it needs telling twice.
They will likely end up making something with the intellectual weight of the Mummy Movies.

Anyway sorry about the temporary derailing...

[Stuartmaximus]

hmph!

well i hope one day a dir cut of it WILL be released.

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-force-a ... gn=SR-FB-P

[ZeroWolf]

Not sure I see a problem here, we'll still get the scenes, just as special features instead of making the film longer. In fact I prefer this approach. It was novel when lotr did it but after marathoning them, I think some of the cuts were justified.

After all that thirty five mins may just be six five-mins establishing shots of locations