Star Wars: Episode VIII ***Speculation & Spoilers***

Two things:

1) I, too, am mostly uninterested in the Han spinoff even though I will see it. It just feels like a character that I don't need to see more from in this format but, perhaps, they'll exceed my expectations.

2) That tweet from @zoogs does a good job of aligning The First Order to something relatable to this generation of Star Wars fans. I think it hits the nail on the head, actually. Good find.

 
Enhance said:
I, too, am mostly uninterested in the Han spinoff even though I will see it. It just feels like a character that I don't need to see more from in this format
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My thought is, Han Solo is exactly what this format needs. He's the character best-placed in a fast-paced but cynical neo-grunge universe.  They go to all this trouble of creating an atmosphere in Star Wars of junky futurism where wizards and squeaky-clean politicians are the ones out of place, then they focus on the wizards & politicians.

If they do it right, the Han Solo series has potential to be the best of all of them, including the canon films.

 
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Lucas should have been involved as an advisor. He can't write dialogue, and he's not a great director... but he can world build like nobody's business (Top 3 with Tolkein and Rowling IMO). He also understands the classic serialized story telling and the Hero's Journey better than Rian or JJ. With someone to keep him in check, he'd have been an invaluable asset.

And to follow up, I think people are digging so deep (like, prequel deep) to find all these hidden meanings and allegories, that they're missing the forest for the trees when it comes to the sequel trilogy, and why people don't like it. It's not about feminism, millenials, progressive/conservative agendas, etc... It's about characters that people love, in a world that doesn't exist. And the new movies haven't leveraged that very well. They could have done a much better job passing the torch and still incorporating old characters (where the hell are R2, 3PO, and Chewie) to keep the central storyline (Skywalkers/droids) going. And unless IX absolutely kills it, in a decade from now I think it's going to be a viewed as disappointment.

Anecdotal, I know, but of the hardcore Star Wars fans that I know (lets put that around a dozen)only one of them liked the new movie.

 
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Those are actually the things it is all about to me. What defines characters we love? A story that is meaningful? I don't think there's an objective answer. The impression I'm getting is that I feel the same way about the new trilogy as a lot of you do about the OT -- and I'm as connected to the OT as some you are to the new one. (They're fine) I don't happen to know too much diehards about the originals, but I think a lot of the newer fans are in a similar boat. We grew up in a world where the OT was already legend, but it wasn't entirely ours...in one way or another.

I can't agree with putting Lucas up there with Tolkien and Rowling. The original Star Wars was saved by the edit, advanced by the Empire guys, and all Lucas wanted to do with a potential sequel was keep telling the family soap opera down another generation.

I could actually really get on board with more exploration of the grungey underworld -- well, common world -- of Star Wars. It's one of the aspects of Firefly that I really loved, and all of the movies center instead on issues of cosmic importance to the galaxy. 

But I don't think the backstory of Han Solo, legendary swashbuckling hero and lovable princess-marrying rogue, is the best vehicle for that. I could be wrong!

 
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zoogs said:
Those are actually the things it is all about to me. What defines characters we love? A story that is meaningful? I don't think there's an objective answer. The impression I'm getting is that I feel the same way about the new trilogy as a lot of you do about the OT -- and I'm as connected to the OT as some you are to the new one. (They're fine) I don't happen to know too much diehards about the originals, but I think a lot of the newer fans are in a similar boat. We grew up in a world where the OT was already legend, but it wasn't entirely ours...in one way or another.

I can't agree with putting Lucas up there with Tolkien and Rowling. The original Star Wars was saved by the edit, advanced by the Empire guys, and all Lucas wanted to do with a potential sequel was keep telling the family soap opera down another generation.

I could actually really get on board with more exploration of the grungey underworld -- well, common world -- of Star Wars. It's one of the aspects of Firefly that I really loved, and all of the movies center instead on issues of cosmic importance to the galaxy. 

But I don't think the backstory of Han Solo, legendary swashbuckling hero and lovable princess-marrying rogue, is the best vehicle for that. I could be wrong!
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Why?

Tolkein is Tier 1 the GOAT in my opinion for world building. Lucas essentially did the same thing, but in space. Rowling is 3rd because while she did world build, some of her ideas were was borrowed from Tolkeing and C.S. Lewis.

 
As mentioned, I think the success of the Star Wars world owes more to just Lucas. I'm curious why you consider Rowling a borrower relative to Lucas, though. Kurosawa?

 
I think some people confuse borrowing with paying homage.

My favorite author's characters start in a village near the Mountains of Mist, and I've seen people say he stole it from LotR, which is hilarious. They then go on a long journey where they get separated from their powerful "wizard" ally for awhile.

He also has one his characters (in like the 7th book) use the name Underhill or something similar when he's incognito.

A Harry Potter example is Wormtail. You don't come up with that out of the blue not knowing about Wormtongue. You do it on purpose. Or maybe they had the same inspiration. Harry Potter has almost no similarities to LotR that matter. Maybe some huge general things like a smart wizard.

Not sure about C.S. Lewis other than them both having a Jesus character, but I'm guessing she got that from The Bible.

 
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“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.” - Mark Twain

 
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