StarTopic Star Wars |ST| SW fans cannot help what they are. Their passion leaves a trail. The enthusiasm for Star Wars is like an itch. They cannot help it.

[merp]

Unpopular opinion:

I actually like Disney Star Wars.

Like, I'm a huge fan of it.

5 years ago, I wouldn't have said, but I certainly am now.

 

[merp]

More news, ig




Thoughts, fellow Star Wars fans?

Oh yeah, and I just did a quick look and...

The Bad Batch season 2 airs on January 4th!

 

[famicorpse]

I hope we do get a female lead of color. I'd love to see Lashana Lynch in a leading role in the Star Wars Universe.

Unpopular opinion:

I actually like Disney Star Wars.

Like, I'm a huge fan of it.

5 years ago, I wouldn't have said, but I certainly am now.

Same. The TV era has been great and I'm optimistic about what's coming up in TV and excited to see where the films go.

 

[merp]

I hope we do get a female lead of color. I'd love to see Lashana Lynch in a leading role in the Star Wars Universe.


Same. The TV era has been great and I'm optimistic about what's coming up in TV and excited to see where the films go.

Me?

I just want more damn aliens.

There aren't enough aliens.

 

[TreIII]

Unpopular opinion:

I actually like Disney Star Wars.

Like, I'm a huge fan of it.

5 years ago, I wouldn't have said, but I certainly am now.

For me, it's getting there. Even as much as I still miss the old EU and the 20+ years I spent with it? What I've been seeing here lately, and what seems to be just over the horizon as the new EU continues to grow, gives me shades of that same bit of excitement I used to have when I was eating up the old books, and enjoying the games' contributions to the overall lore, as well.

Spoiler: Star Wars Leaks/Rumors

They deliver on the kind of stuff that "Ahsoka" and "Skeleton Crew" are supposed to explore, with new territories, new aspects of the Force, the origins of the Nightsisters, and just, in general, all new settings for conflict? And I'll be very pleased indeed.

 

[merp]

For me, it's getting there. Even as much as I still miss the old EU and the 20+ years I spent with it? What I've been seeing here lately, and what seems to be just over the horizon as the new EU continues to grow, gives me shades of that same bit of excitement I used to have when I was eating up the old books, and enjoying the games' contributions to the overall lore, as well.

Spoiler: Star Wars Leaks/Rumors

They deliver on the kind of stuff that "Ahsoka" and "Skeleton Crew" are supposed to explore, with new territories, new aspects of the Force, the origins of the Nightsisters, and just, in general, all new settings for conflict? And I'll be very pleased indeed.

Also, unpopular opinion:

I read the old EU.

I didn't really like it or have fond memories.

My biggest pet peeves were the post-ROTJ EU novels. And especially the dumb Yuuzhan Vong. Oh yeah, and Mara Jade (that's a big unpopular opinion of mine). Oh, and I guess Karen Traviss' influence in the novels in general. And whatever else that I didn't like that I'm forgetting from the post-ROTJ era of the EU.

Though I did like the Clone Wars or prequel-era EU and novels like Darth Plagueis by James Luceno.

Oh, and anything by Matthew Stover. He was good. I want him back as an author for more novels.

 

[TreIII]

Also, unpopular opinion:

I read the old EU.

I didn't really like it or have fond memories.

My biggest pet peeves were the post-ROTJ EU novels. And especially the dumb Yuuzhan Vong. Oh yeah, and Mara Jade (that's a big unpopular opinion of mine). Oh, and I guess Karen Traviss' influence in the novels in general. And whatever else that I didn't like that I'm forgetting from the post-ROTJ era of the EU.

Though I did like the Clone Wars or prequel-era EU and novels like Darth Plagueis by James Luceno.

Oh, and anything by Matthew Stover. He was good. I want him back as an author for more novels.

Guess I'll just have to respectfully disagree. I'll grant you that the ongoing post Return stuff certainly had its failings, as well as postulating the idea that Sheev Palpatine put all these glorious plans and "Perfect Jedi Traps" in motion, because he wanted a galaxy that was ready for the Vong, among other things. And YMMV on how things like Chewie going out were executed (though I'll never stop laughing at the irony that in this new canon, he and Lando are the only ones left atm of the original heroes!).

But Timothy Zahn's stuff was great stuff. And there was nothing quite like seeing a true, accomplished Grandmaster Luke come into power, with a (largely) SUCCESSFUL Jedi Academy that was doing more to excel where the old Order fell short. Being basically on hand to see Han and Leia's twins grow up along with me, and excel at different aspects of the Force, before Jacen began his tragic descent into the Dark after he got kidnapped and tortured.

It made for a great ongoing story worthy of being invested in, as it was happening. And that's not even including the KOTOR/TOR stuff, the Tales of the Jedi stuff and so forth!

The fact the new EU keeps mining the old for ideas to refurbish/reinvent/reintroduce is something that I actually consider a mark of pride, as an old EU fan. I'm merely waiting for the day my boy, Xizor, to make a proper on-screen/panel appearance. So much the better if we bring back the actual Sith species, since it seems Andor was just fine re-canonizing the Rakatan!

 

[merp]

Guess I'll just have to respectfully disagree. I'll grant you that the ongoing post Return stuff certainly had its failings, as well as postulating the idea that Sheev Palpatine put all these glorious plans and "Perfect Jedi Traps" in motion, because he wanted a galaxy that was ready for the Vong, among other things. And YMMV on how things like Chewie going out were executed (though I'll never stop laughing at the irony that in this new canon, he and Lando are the only ones left atm of the original heroes!).

But Timothy Zahn's stuff was great stuff. And there was nothing quite like seeing a true, accomplished Grandmaster Luke come into power, with a (largely) SUCCESSFUL Jedi Academy that was doing more to excel where the old Order fell short. Being basically on hand to see Han and Leia's twins grow up along with me, and excel at different aspects of the Force, before Jacen began his tragic descent into the Dark after he got kidnapped and tortured.

It made for a great ongoing story worthy of being invested in, as it was happening. And that's not even including the KOTOR/TOR stuff, the Tales of the Jedi stuff and so forth!

The fact the new EU keeps mining the old for ideas to refurbish/reinvent/reintroduce is something that I actually consider a mark of pride, as an old EU fan. I'm merely waiting for the day my boy, Xizor, to make a proper on-screen/panel appearance. So much the better if we bring back the actual Sith species, since it seems Andor was just fine re-canonizing the Rakatan!

Yeah, honestly, the bolded part just seems like either fascist apologia or Imperial fan apologia or, I guess, both since the Imps are indeed fascists.

I always hated that.

 

[merp]

Rumor: Damon Lindelof and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's 'Star Wars' Film To Start Shooting in April - Star Wars News Net

The upcoming Star Wars film from Damon Lindelof and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is rumored to be targeting a production start in April.

www.starwarsnewsnet.com

Happy New Year! We are kicking off 2023 with an exciting rumor for all Star Wars fans, particularly for those who’ve been longing for a return to the big screen. For those who haven’t been keeping up for the past few months, Lucasfilm is actively working on a new feature film that will be co-written by Watchmen and The Leftovers creator Damon Lindelof and directed by Ms. Marvel helmer Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

According to the website World of Reel, the upcoming project would be gearing up for a production start this April. News about the film, which has yet to be officially confirmed by Lucasfilm, first started circulating back in March 2022. The project started picking up some steam after the summer, when, according to reports, Lucasfilm set up a writers’ room that Dave Filoni may have even visited. Justin Britt-Gibson will be co-writing with Lindelof.

The film will reportedly be set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, and characters from the sequel trilogy could even make an appearance. (Daisy Ridley has been suspiciously posting pictures from the Lucasfilm headquarters in recent months — she is rumored to have popped by numerous times.) Another rumor from insider Daniel Richtman pointed out that the film will feature a new set of leads, with the filmmakers looking to cast a woman of color as the lead.

World of Reel is a reputable website in the world of independent and low-budget movies, though they also cover the entire film industry. We are taking this as a rumor for now until more evidence appears, but the project has been in the oven for at least a year, so the timeline seems to match up. If it is indeed true that they will be filming this spring, other Hollywood trades will surely get wind of it fastly and we’ll have more news to report in the coming weeks. It wouldn’t be the first time in recent memory Lucasfilm starts filming a project without the world knowing anything about it — news on The Book of Boba Fett first came out no more than 2-3 weeks before cameras started rolling, and while Skeleton Crew had been in the news cycle for a few months by that point, it wasn’t until late May, during Star Wars Celebration, that we learned about the title, lead actor, and timeline. That was one month before they started filming.

If nothing else, this marks the beginning of an exciting year for Star Wars. We’ve got The Bad Batch season 2 hitting Disney Plus in just a few days, and The Mandalorian season 3 coming out in two months from when this article is posted. Star Wars Celebration is coming to Europe in early April, where Lindelof-Obaid-Chinoy’s film will surely be officially announced. Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew are coming later in the year, and Star Wars: Visions is making a comeback during the Spring with the second batch of stories.

We are already getting ready for a wild ride of news and content coming down the pipeline, so make sure to stay tuned to StarWarsNewsNet.com and learn all about it with us!

Isn't Damon Lindelof kinda... unpopular?

Like, not in the industry itself, but for "fans" in general?

 

[Buried In Time]

Lost was groundbreaking television and much of what people loved about the show can be attributed to Lindelof and his guiding hand as showrunner, but some will always hold a grudge against him for how it ended. The Leftovers and Watchmen were both fantastic and generally well received.

His forays into big budget film have been compromised by having much less control over the final products. There's often been too many cooks. When you're one of five writers on a project that's trying to appease the director and the studio suits, rewriting some else's work and later being rewritten, how much of your original artistic intent can make it to the finish line.

What's encouraging to me about what I've heard about this project is it's being run like one of his TV shows. Lindelof is the "showrunner" of the film (quite possibly series of films) with a writer's room and he's co-writing with Justin Britt-Gibson. Unlike the previous features he's worked on, he's not just a hired hand, he's the one shaping the the story and characters. I have a good feeling about this.

 

[merp]

Lost was groundbreaking television and much of what people loved about the show can be attributed to Lindelof and his guiding hand as showrunner, but some will always hold a grudge against him for how it ended. The Leftovers and Watchmen were both fantastic and generally well received.

His forays into big budget film have been compromised by having much less control over the final products. There's often been too many cooks. When you're one of five writers on a project that's trying to appease the director and the studio suits, rewriting some else's work and later being rewritten, how much of your original artistic intent can make it to the finish line.

What's encouraging to me about what I've heard about this project is it's being run like one of his TV shows. Lindelof is the "showrunner" of the film (quite possibly series of films) with a writer's room and he's co-writing with Justin Britt-Gibson. Unlike the previous features he's worked on, he's not just a hired hand, he's the one shaping the the story and characters. I have a good feeling about this.

This I didn't know; thanks for explain it all to me.

Anyway, I'm currently watching The Bad Batch.

I'm on episode 1 right now.

 

[merp]

I finished both episodes of The Bad Batch.

Thoughts?

 

[Deleted member 2]

Lost was groundbreaking television and much of what people loved about the show can be attributed to Lindelof and his guiding hand as showrunner, but some will always hold a grudge against him for how it ended.

I just want to make it cleart hat this is a vast misrepresentation of the general criticism against Lost.

To put it simply, the ending was not the problem - it exposed the problem that the show had its entire runtime, that they didn't have an ending in mind while they were writing it.

By the time season 6 rolled around, the lore and mysteries had become so convoluted that there was no possible way for them to provide a satisfying ending to the show beyond one that pushed emotional buttons. This was a huge problem, because the main hook for the show was teasing you with answers to questions it was raising. The show answered a question with another question, and answered that question with another question, and so on and so on, until.... it ended.

Now to be fair to Lindelof, I believe the root of the issue lies in JJ Abrams and the fact that he didn't leave anything when he left the show and Lindelof and Cuse became showruners. It was up to them to guide the story to its conclusion when there never was a conclusion in the first place.

If this sounds familiar it's because this is exactly what JJ did with The Force Awakens!

 

[chocolate_supra]

I just want to make it cleart hat this is a vast misrepresentation of the general criticism against Lost.

To put it simply, the ending was not the problem - it exposed the problem that the show had its entire runtime, that they didn't have an ending in mind while they were writing it.

By the time season 6 rolled around, the lore and mysteries had become so convoluted that there was no possible way for them to provide a satisfying ending to the show beyond one that pushed emotional buttons. This was a huge problem, because the main hook for the show was teasing you with answers to questions it was raising. The show answered a question with another question, and answered that question with another question, and so on and so on, until.... it ended.

Now to be fair to Lindelof, I believe the root of the issue lies in JJ Abrams and the fact that he didn't leave anything when he left the show and Lindelof and Cuse became showruners. It was up to them to guide the story to its conclusion when there never was a conclusion in the first place.

If this sounds familiar it's because this is exactly what JJ did with The Force Awakens!

Every conversation about Lost and TFA reminds me of a talk Abrams did where he described his "mystery box" style of writing, and this sounds like exactly that.

 

[Buried In Time]

I wasn't overly fond of the way Lost ended but for me it was less about unanswered questions and more that I wasn't invested in the endgame involving the Man in Black and the island, but it didn't negate my overall enjoyment of the series. The lore and mysteries were fun, but at the end of the day I was more interested in the characters and their emotional journeys (though I totally understand those who were hoping for more).

 

[Deleted member 2]

Every conversation about Lost and TFA reminds me of a talk Abrams did where he described his "mystery box" style of writing, and this sounds like exactly that.

His biggest mistake in his career was outing himself so fully in that Ted talk

 

[Mekanos]

I just want to make it cleart hat this is a vast misrepresentation of the general criticism against Lost.

To put it simply, the ending was not the problem - it exposed the problem that the show had its entire runtime, that they didn't have an ending in mind while they were writing it.

By the time season 6 rolled around, the lore and mysteries had become so convoluted that there was no possible way for them to provide a satisfying ending to the show beyond one that pushed emotional buttons. This was a huge problem, because the main hook for the show was teasing you with answers to questions it was raising. The show answered a question with another question, and answered that question with another question, and so on and so on, until.... it ended.

Now to be fair to Lindelof, I believe the root of the issue lies in JJ Abrams and the fact that he didn't leave anything when he left the show and Lindelof and Cuse became showruners. It was up to them to guide the story to its conclusion when there never was a conclusion in the first place.

If this sounds familiar it's because this is exactly what JJ did with The Force Awakens!

I wasn't overly fond of the way Lost ended but for me it was less about unanswered questions and more that I wasn't invested in the endgame involving the Man in Black and the island, but it didn't negate my overall enjoyment of the series. The lore and mysteries were fun, but at the end of the day I was more interested in the characters and their emotional journeys (though I totally understand those who were hoping for more).

Yeah, I'm surprised so many people were apparently so outraged that Lost didn't answer the series' questions. The show had always been about the characters first and foremost (hence its character-focus episodes with tons of flashbacks that tons of series in the last 20 years have copied). I agree the MIB story arc was on the weak side (despite Terry O'Quinn doing the best he can with the material), but I thought the show ended strong in terms of emotions and characters. Across The Sea I thought was much worse than the finale, which was set up to be the big lore flashback and stuck us with terrible kid actors and a boring episode that ended with "and then he shoved his brother into the hole and turned him into the smoke monster."

I didn't really care much for Watchmen though, so I'm mixed on Lindelof. We'll see what he does with Star Wars, I guess.

 

[Supreme Overlord]

Every conversation about Lost and TFA reminds me of a talk Abrams did where he described his "mystery box" style of writing, and this sounds like exactly that.

Always remember, the answer to "What's in the box?!" is always "It doesn't matter what's in the box," because once you find out beyond that, something is irreparably lost, and that is why, dear children, you must never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, open the box.

 

[chocolate_supra]

Always remember, the answer to "What's in the box?!" is always "It doesn't matter what's in the box," because once you find out beyond that, something is irreparably lost, and that is why, dear children, you must never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, open the box.

 

[MSnap]

I finished both episodes of The Bad Batch.

Thoughts?

Pretty good stuff. Not a whole lot happened, but it did seem like mostly a refresher arc. I liked the part with the kaleidoscope.

 

[merp]

Always remember, the answer to "What's in the box?!" is always "It doesn't matter what's in the box," because once you find out beyond that, something is irreparably lost, and that is why, dear children, you must never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, open the box.

No, I'm Super Mario, and I'll open any damn mystery box I find.

 

[merp]

Thoughts?

Looks like "The Cage" himself isn't joining the GFFA.

 

[MSnap]

Good week for Bad Batch. I kinda like that this one works as a transition between Clone Wars and Rebels.

 

[Supreme Overlord]

Unpopular opinion:

I actually like Disney Star Wars.

Like, I'm a huge fan of it.

5 years ago, I wouldn't have said, but I certainly am now.

Where I stand is that there are some things I rather like or at least appreciate, a lot that doesn't really leave much impression or that I just really haven't engaged with, and some things I ... er, rather dislike.

I'd probably suggest it's trended in directions I'm not a huge fan of, if I were to have to give a general opinion. We'll see how that goes.

---

---

As far as the recent Bad Batch episodes go, my main comment in the opening duology correlates with Andor in that that would have killed Nemik.

I do appreciate the humanizing aspects of the histories and cultural heritage not being Separatist culture, but a culture of the people; it's a culture which predates the war, and the clones simply never considered this because they don't.

And I appreciated how the setup of the third episode flips things around, with regard to who the protagonists are and who the audience should root for, the whole problem of just following orders versus the choices one must make and those same choices one must forever live with, especially colored the whole way through by how Cody's apprehension of the Empire, his sorrow and regret for what he's done in its name, and his inevitable defection from its ranks wasn't exactly subtle from the start. It carried with it some weight of substance, and various narrative choices actually enhanced this.

Beyond that, the animation is on-point as expected. The style and technique has really grown since the beginning of Clone Wars, and I'm glad for it.

 

[merp]

Good week for Bad Batch. I kinda like that this one works as a transition between Clone Wars and Rebels.

A very bleak episode.

I hope they have something that's a bit more cheery later on.

I hate "dark" Star Wars all the time...

 

[merp]

Anyone else keeping up with the current novels of Star Wars: The High Republic?

 

[MSnap]

A very bleak episode.

I hope they have something that's a bit more cheery later on.

I hate "dark" Star Wars all the time...

I can understand that. What I like about the Bad Batch is that Omega is there to keep morale up even when things are looking a little bleak. She wasn’t in this episode though.

 

[merp]

There's going to be a new trailer for The Mandalorian season 3.

Actually, the first real trailer for it, as I understand it.

I don't think there's been anything revealed for it so far.

 

[merp]

I can understand that. What I like about the Bad Batch is that Omega is there to keep morale up even when things are looking a little bleak. She wasn’t in this episode though.

Good point about that last bit.

 

[merp]

Made a post in this thread asking if anyone had listened to the A More Civilized Age podcast.

Nintendo General Discussion |ST16 Jan 2023| Team Famuary Stays Winning

LOTRPG A fully realised Middle Earth rpg would blow my mind... that isn't an mmo

famiboards.com

Really good stuff, though I do find some of the commentary a bit insufferable.

(But hilarious, if that makes any sense for a podcast.)

Oh yeah, and here's the episode I'll be starting soon:

A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Podcast: Bonus: A More Civlized Q&A

Later this month, the crew here at A More Civilized Age will be launching a humble Patreon, with a monthly Q&A podcast as a bonus to our supporters. But since that Patreon isn't up yet, and because wanted to give folks a taste of what's to come, we wanted to do a free bonus episode for y'all...

amorecivilizedage.net

 

[merp]

New trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 incoming!

The Mandalorian Season 3 Poster Revealed, New Trailer Arriving Tonight - IGN

A brand new poster has been revealed for The Mandalorian's third season ahead of its trailer debut during tonight's NFL Wild Card Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

www.ign.com

 

[Supreme Overlord]

A very bleak episode.

I hope they have something that's a bit more cheery later on.

I hate "dark" Star Wars all the time...

Oh, I'm sure they'll have more cheer and lightheartedness.

Granted, I also haven't seen most of what's being released to be particularly dark, so that might influence some difference in how things are viewed, but I do find an episode like this does lend more weight to those lighter episodes.

 

[merp]

Here's the poster for the new season of The Mandalorian.

 

[merp]

New trailer.




Edit: Wait. No. Wrong one.

 

[merp]

Actual new trailer.

 

[TreIII]

Good stuff.

I hope the recap is good enough. Because if casual Mando fans didn't watch Boba Fett, they may be more than a bit confused why the ending of Season 2 has already been cancelled out and why Mando's going to Mandolore.

 

[famicorpse]

Trailer looks beautiful. It seems they've upped the budget too. Cannot wait for this! But I gotta hurry up and finish Clone Wars because my co-worker tells me that there is going to be a war in Mando but if he says more it'll spoil Clone Wars.

 

[merp]

Here's a working trailer.

 

[merp]

Gonna watch The Bad Batch season 2 episode 4 later today.

Initial thoughts?

 

[MSnap]

Gonna watch The Bad Batch season 2 episode 4 later today.

Initial thoughts?

I forgot to watch it

 

[merp]

I forgot to watch it

...Initial thoughts on episode 5?

 

[MSnap]

...Initial thoughts on episode 5?

I actually did watch it this week. Love Wanda Sykes’s character and it was interesting seeing an Indiana Jones style treasure hunt in a Star Wars setting.

 

[merp]

I actually did watch it this week. Love Wanda Sykes’s character and it was interesting seeing an Indiana Jones style treasure hunt in a Star Wars setting.

Really? I hated her.

 

[MSnap]

Really? I hated her.

Well I just like Wanda Sykes so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[Supreme Overlord]

That seems a lot like something that would be setting up further exploration or lore regarding these ancient days and civilizations and how that thing fits into those subjects.

Regarding the treasure hunter, I wouldn't say I have a strong opinion overall, though how things have been presented I'd lean more toward Hunter's perspective. We'll see what they do with that character going forward.

From the opening two-parter to this here now, it almost seems like it might be signifying the group stalling out, going nowhere fast with whatever plans they try to follow, that the life they're trying to carve out is a dead end. But I'm not so sure about trying to read into it at this point, before there's more closure on the matter. It wasn't that long ago I was considering some themes and story one of these might he building up or leaning on, only to find none of that actually went anywhere, fast.

...Initial thoughts on episode 5?

Yourself?

 

[Supreme Overlord]

May the fourth be with you when Star Wars: Visions returns.​

Last time, Visions presented anime shorts from renowned Japanese animation studios. For this next release, the shorts are created by choice studios from around the globe.

The shorts promise to feature unique animation styles from a variety of countries and cultures, depicting each filmmaker’s specific vision of the Star Wars galaxy.

The shorts included in Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 were created by the following international animation studios: El Guiri (Spain), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Punkrobot (Chile), Aardman (United Kingdom), Studio Mir (South Korea) Studio La Cachette (France), 88 Pictures (India), D'art Shtajio (Japan), and Triggerfish (South Africa). D’Art Shtajio’s short was created in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd. (United States).

“We always saw Star Wars: Visions as a framework for celebratory expressions of the franchise from some of the best creators working today. Animation is in a global renaissance, and we’re constantly staggered by the amount of creativity pushing the medium forward. With Volume 1, the imaginative minds of Japan’s anime industry were on full display. With Volume 2, we expanded our canvas to take audiences on a global tour of some of the most talented creators from around the world. We’re so proud to be able to reveal the line-up of studios we’ve assembled. Every short is incredible, full of heart, scope, imagination, and the values that make stories distinctly Star Wars — all while opening up bold new ways of seeing what a Star Wars story can be.”

 

[chocolate_supra]

May the fourth be with you when Star Wars: Visions returns.​

Last time, Visions presented anime shorts from renowned Japanese animation studios. For this next release, the shorts are created by choice studios from around the globe.

CARTOON SALOON!!!! YESSSSSSS

 

[Buried In Time]

I had a Mandalorian meets Gremlins 2: The New Batch dream in which Grogu had to take on the failed clones created with his DNA and each of them is a different flavor of wild mutation.

 

[Weebos]

My wife and I finally sat down and watched Andor, and while it didn't quite live up to the hype, it was still fantastic, and we're excited for Season 2.

 

[merp]

CARTOON SALOON!!!! YESSSSSSS

Obligatory: