Star Wars VII - The Force Awakens, on BluRay and Dvd April 5th, 2016

[Black Valkyrie]

Thats Lucas for sure .

[Kanedas Bike]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

So many Tie Fighters, so much Light-saber, so much everything. And Bobba Fett.

-b.

[reddsun1]

Honestly, I thought that s*it was a fan-film or something. There. I said it.

[mickyg]

That had me crying! Great find.

[dizman]

Looks ok so far, too bad we have to wait a year to see the final results.

I wonder if they will bring Lucas in after the new trilogy is out to make his cuts/additions to the movie, wouldn't surprise me.

Edited December 1, 2014 by dizman

[Zinjo]

I'm a little disappointed in the Falcon sequence - it really looked CG - what happened to filming miniatures again for this one?!

Filming CG enhanced miniatures was a Lucas thing. Abrams doesn't subscribe to that method of effects work. However, unlike Lucas, he doesn't subscribe to filming actors on totally green screen sets. He finds value in having physical sets for the actors to interact with.

I do like the fighters skimming the water. Nice effect!

Anyone else notice the the lightsabre having a rougher edge to it, almost like a flame? A visual departure from the classic sabre look.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Zinjo

[Zinjo]

Or maybe the dudes in white armor aren't Stormtroopers but Republic soldiers.

Did anyone consider that there would be more than on gene pool for Stormtroopers over the years? After a while the Fett genes would degrade over enough generations. Adding to the pool would make sense. Another explanation is that the Storm Troopers were no longer clones, but empire conscripts.

[Mr March]

Anyone else notice the the lightsabre having a rougher edge to it, almost like a flame? A visual departure from the classic sabre look.

Agreed on the CG effect; they look great to me.

And yes, I did notice the lightsaber blade and I do think the actual function of that lightsaber is more interesting than discussing the damned blade guard. The lightsaber looks really rough. Almost like fire in some respects. And there are strange electrical discharges cascading along the "blade". Could it be a NEW type of lightsaber? A very OLD type of lightsaber? A malfunctioning lightsaber? An improperly built lightsaber? I just hope the reason is more interesting than what I can imagine on my own

Edited December 1, 2014 by Mr March

[taksraven]

Makes sense......

[JB0]

Actually, it doesn't. If someone slides their sword down the blade, they won't land on the guardblades, but on the emitters for the guardblades, which are high-energy devices and will likely explode spectacularly.

I'd be a lot happier with the crosshilt if the guardblades had recessed emitters.

[electric indigo]

Filming CG enhanced miniatures was a Lucas thing. Abrams doesn't subscribe to that method of effects work. However, unlike Lucas, he doesn't subscribe to filming actors on totally green screen sets. He finds value in having physical sets for the actors to interact with.

You might want to check just how many physical sets or partial sets were built for the prequels. I doubt that the Abrams' movie will have a significantly different ratio here, nor that it will be crucial for the quality of the movie.

The actors were lost mainly because Lucas is terrible as a writer and in directing humans, and the green screen scenes didn't make it easier for them.

And I'd rather have a spectacular CG scenery than a brewery standing in for a spaceship engine room.

[taksraven]

You might want to check just how many physical sets or partial sets were built for the prequels. I doubt that the Abrams' movie will have a significantly different ratio here, nor that it will be crucial for the quality of the movie.

The actors were lost mainly because Lucas is terrible as a writer and in directing humans, and the green screen scenes didn't make it easier for them.

And I'd rather have a spectacular CG scenery than a brewery standing in for a spaceship engine room.

I heard that another issue with the prequel trilogy was that Lucas was so paranoid about security that the cast only got their relevant script pages on the day the scene's were supposed to be shot, preventing any chance of rehearsal or even just figuring out how to act the part, etc......

Edited December 1, 2014 by taksraven

[lechuck]

A bit late, but count me into the group that does not like the complementary wing design on the new (or revised?) X.

But I do like the slick side profile of the whole fuselage.

If they wanted to keep the whole "X" theme, maybe they should have just make the wings align diagonally.

Or just give it forward swept wings, that always makes things "new and fast"...

[Kelsain]

Did anyone consider that there would be more than on gene pool for Stormtroopers over the years? After a while the Fett genes would degrade over enough generations. Adding to the pool would make sense. Another explanation is that the Storm Troopers were no longer clones, but empire conscripts.

It's confirmed in Rebels (which is official canon) that Stormtroopers ARE civilian conscripts, not continued clones of Jango or even more diverse clone lineages.

Honestly, I like that one of the main characters looks like he's a rogue ST. I always played with my figures that way, RPG'd that way, etc as a kid.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Kelsain

[Dobber]

I always thought the ST's were just people. They had different voices in the OT.

Clone troopers where a whole different thing. Their Armour was the obvious precursor for the StormTroopers though.

Chris

Edited December 1, 2014 by Dobber

[SchizophrenicMC]

Pre-Disney canon states that by 0 BBY, the vast majority of the Stormtrooper Corps was comprised of birth-born recruits, primarily human male, but females were allowed to enlist as long as they met the physical requirements. Only a detachment of the 501st Stormtooper Legion was still comprised of unretired Fett Clones, who'd managed to last that long. It also states this was a deliberate move after the rebellion on Kamino, in which a Kaminoan faction used repurposed clones to attempt to break free from the new Empire. Genetically modified clones were considered too susceptible to the kind of programming that made groups defect en masse.

Disney canon suggests similar points, though I'm not certain how exactly they went about diversifying the corps.

My hope for the weird lightsaber is it's an ancient Sith lightsaber of various ceremonial purpose. Pre-Disney canon explains that older Sith lightsabers used artificial focus crystals, which caused the red blade hue, but also often failed to maintain a stable, solid blade, instead causing arcing and power fluctuations across the blade. This was both frightening to opponents, and dangerous to the wielder, as the blade could arc back on the user at any time. Of course, Disney doesn't believe in canon, so who knows? Maybe it's just a special effect we'll see on all the lightsabers.

If this trailer is anything to go by, we're looking at a mostly-CG film, with some partial sets and props. If we're lucky, it'll have as much practical work as Phantom Menace, but I'm honestly expecting Revenge of the Sith-level cinematography at best.

[JB0]

Of course, Disney doesn't believe in canon, so who knows?

And Lucas did? The prequel trilogy was a big ball of continuity errors and retcons even just when considering the original movies. Start adding in all the extended universe stuff you're referencing and it almost seemed like it was actively TRYING to invalidate it all.

[jvmacross]

george works fast.....

[derex3592]

LOL! That....is epic,

[Gubaba]

George Lucas special edition:

OK, yeah... that was good. I'm glad Jabba's back.

[treatment]

[peter]

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Looks cool. Just don't know why the chick was riding a fudgesicle.

[peter]

Looks cool. Just don't know why the chick was riding a fudgesicle.

At least it wasnt with another chick and a cup.

[myk]

At least it wasnt with another chick and a cup.

God bless the internet...

[Mommar]

His wife does not sound like a nice person.

[Roy Focker]

It's confirmed in Rebels (which is official canon) that Stormtroopers ARE civilian conscripts, not continued clones of Jango or even more diverse clone lineages.

Honestly, I like that one of the main characters looks like he's a rogue ST. I always played with my figures that way, RPG'd that way, etc as a kid.

To me they're clone and always meant to be clones. In the 4th issue of Star Wars Official Poster Monthly 1978 had an article which I have attached below (found it online years ago). Is the first mention of them being Clones.

[skullmilitia]

I can't remember where it was said, and when, and I don't care that Disney says the "Expanded Universe" doesn't exist.

However, In on of the Books i read a few years ago, outside of the 501st, most of the clones were either killed off, or went AWOL

and fought against the empire once they became self aware, of being pawns.

Same book even said Cody and Rex after being ordered to kill the Jedi Order, refused to fulfill their duties to the entirety, and fled

to hide on remote worlds.

[anime52k8]

I think them not being clones and instead being conscripts better explains why they're all so bad at their jobs.

[Gubaba]

To me they're clone and always meant to be clones.

And you DO realize that this new movie is set forty or so years after the original trilogy, right? Things CAN change in that time.

[Graham]

Stormtroopers can be any race or colour, although the Empire generally prefered Human males.

Stormtroopers are generally NOT Clone Troopers.

By the time of episode VII, all the original Clone Troopers would have died out, as they had accelerated aging and aged twice as fast as normal humans. Also, it's been stated that no new Clone Troopers were bred after the end of the Clone Wars. Heck, by the time of episode IV, it's doubtful if there were any Clone Troopers in active service due to their accelerated aging.

Any Stormtroopers seen in episodes IV, V, VI and likely VII have either been recruited (or possibly conscripted) from the civilian populace and trained at an Imperial Academy. The recent episode of Star Wars Rebels "Breaking Ranks', further confims that Stormtroopers are recruited from the civilian population.

And yes, since April this year, Disney has basically disowned the Expanded Universe, which is a good thing in my opinion, as while some of it was good, most was pretty dire.

Only the current 6 movies (+ VII when it comes out) + the Clone Wars animated series is now considered canon.

[Gubaba]

Only the current 6 movies (+ VII when it comes out) + the Clone Wars animated series is now considered canon.

Wait... what about The Ewok Adventure movies? HAVE THEY BEEN DECANONIZED AS WELL!?! :o

[Chronocidal]

Shadows of the Empire might have survived the book burning, but I think it was the only book that was ever considered anything close to "canon."

Didn't one of the Ewok movies actually introduce a force "witch" that got expanded into some of the EU as well?

[areaseven]

[Knight26]

A couple of EU authors I have spoken to have been just fine with the decision to cut the EU as canon. They view the separation of the EU into its own timeline as the only way Disney could really proceed. One of them called the EU a giant out of control garden that the landscaper didn't maintain. Disney has basically closed off the field and started planting a new garden, taking only the best seeds and cuttings from the old garden to arrange as they see fit. So some EU stuff will creep into the new movies, probably some concepts and storylines, maybe just mentioning them, and even some EU books could be brought into the canon, with some rewriting to fit the new Disney canon. If the powers that be keep a tight reign on it this time then the DSWEU could be pretty good.