Will Disney Taking Away Everything We Love About Star Wars?

In a sense, you could say so. Alien species, old and new, are part of the fabric and texture of the Star Wars galaxy. In TFA JJ totally wiped clean that part of the texture and started his own texture. In the grand scheme of things...who cares, i guess. But I think its perfectly reasonable to read into JJs decisions on things like not including classic creatures. Not a single classic creature in Maz's castle??? probably 50 new ones! But not ONE of George's creations? It just seems a little off. And I can't imagine that it never came up in a meeting. And I can't imagine why he would make that decision, other than maybe ego. Or maybe it was a decree from on high. Who knows, but there was definatley a decision made to not include classic creatures.

But they did include a lot of other classic stuff: Jedi, Lighsabers, giant round superweapon, xwing, tie, star destroyer, the desert, stormtrooper and the list goes on...So it does seem kinda weird that they didn't include some classic creatures.

And while we're airing it out, why the heck didn't anyone get a limb lightsabered off in TFA??? That's as essential as "I've got a bad feeling about this." !

 

I agree with Royle... we're two movies in, just because not everything has gotten featured again doesn't mean that it's been "trashed". And yeah, there were a lot of new creatures in Maz's castle. Cool. A lot of the creatures in the Cantina scene that we now regard as "iconic" weren't seen in any of the other films, either.

Regarding the limb being "lightsabered"...
I don't know, man. I mean, if that's what makes a good Star Wars movie for you, then I guess this really must've been the worst thing in the world for you. But if that's the case...

 

Well everyone's a critic.

...and by "everyone" I mean me....and by "critic" I mean fanboy.

@cawatrooper having a limb get cuttoff isn't what makes it good...being good is what makes it good. But not having a limb get cut off, like not having anyone expound about the Force, not having lightsabers at all, or not having spaceships. It's a staple and trope that's been in every movie so far except TFA. (not sure about RO, can't remember). I was waiting for that moment the whole movie. And all these little things are minute and silly, yes. But when some people (me) get a big enough pile of little things (and TFA is full to the brim, as are a bunch of the other movies) they can start to get a little ticked (fanboy rage). I like TFA, but there are too many nonsensical plot points, Story decisions, design decisions, character decisions...It's like they never thought twice about any of it. So I'll probably never love it. But I accept it, and I like aspects of it. It reminds me of TPM with better acting. Some of it is awesome, and some of it is terrible. But that's just the opinion of a grumpy Thirty-something who watched the OT 100-too-many times as a kid.

 

No one lost a limb in ANH.

I just think it's looking for something to complain about when saying that, on a planet we have never visited before; in a movie that gets slammed for being too similar to the original, that there weren't any "classic" aliens.

And let's not forget the tribute to the original Cantina scene:


This is clearly an ode to the wolf creature Lucas eventually edited out

 

Walrus Man's arm in ANH.

That's true about the wolfman creature. I forgot about him. That was a nice callback/cameo, even if it was a bit meta. I think that wolfman was based on an old unused Ralph McQuarrie design. I remember kinda recognizing it when I first saw the movie.

 

Well, Unkar Plutt lost his hand but that scene was deleted.

 

Aren't you confusing Zuvio with Sarco Plank? Sarco is the one that can be seen in the few seconds that Finn and Rey run through Niima Outpost.

 

No, he's still there (the guy on the left side of the smoke with sparks in the round hat!)

 

This isn't about featuring every single alien in each film but it's about keeping a sense of consistency as Lucas did. They have always been one hit wonders in SW like Ephant Mon, Amanaman, Nabrun Leids ect but there are creatures that are a staple in the SW galaxy that can be seen in almost every movie. Ithorians, Rodians, Aqualish, Quarren, Gran, Twi'Leks and Niktos are just an example that can be seen in various films. We saw these aliens alot throughout the movies and in different places and they showed us that they were part of the galaxy and not a singular being in a certain place.

 

I think that's kind of a matter of perspective, though. The galaxy, any galaxy, is a BIG place. And while our own Milky Way has yet to show significant life outside of ourselves, we're really just getting started. But a more fantastical galaxy like the GFFA?

But it this way- our Milky Way has 100 billion stars. Both the Milky Way and the GFFA are estimated at over 100,000 light years in diamater, so we can assume they're roughly the same size.

Now, unlike our own galaxy where life seems (so far) to be very rare, sentient life in the GFFA abounds. There are even planets like Utapau that are home to multiple sentient species.

Do we see a lot of species repeat, particularly in the prequel trilogy? Sure. But bear in mind, a lot of that takes place in the Core worlds, particularly Coruscant.

In slightly more backwater locations like Takodana, these concentrations of aliens that you're familiar with are likely to be sort of watered down by other species.

And hey, even though diversity is good, I guess I can get where you're coming from- but I hardly think it's worth getting upset about, especially two movies in. Speaking of... has anyone even mentioned the Twi'leks and Ugnaughts in Rogue One? Because Saw's group was a nice little homage to exactly what you seem to be looking for.

 

@LadyMusashi If there were an "Epic Post" button I would use it. You are so spot-on and you capture my thoughts exactly. And this coming from a previously hard core OT fanatic, 52 yr old dude who has expanded his horizons and understands what Disney has given us SW fanatics, and will give us in the future. For those of you who continue bringing up aliens and droids, let me quote a DROID from a DISNEY SW movie, not created by Lucas --- "....I find your answers vague and unconvincing...."

 

You and me both!!

 

The cut Unkar scene. But oh well.

I don't think that means nearly as much to anyone outside of those who are finding the smallest things to complain about.
TFA can't be lauded as nothing more than ANH copy and then criticized for not using enough Lucas era things.
That is just not possible.

 

Things Disney has not trashed:

1. Core story elements....courage....honor.....integrity.....teamwork. The mystery of the Jedi....even more enhanced esp. by R1.

2. The Score....JW in TFA and Giacchino (using JW themes) in R1. Several parts of R1 score were just stunning in my mind....the final scene from when Vader says "prepare a boarding party" through the end of the movie - the score during this just SUPERB! Evoking JW at his best!

3. The "look" and cinematography of SW. Nailed it in TFA and especially R1.

4. Sound and CGI. Superb. All those iconic sounds, noises, etc, that we expect were there. And I will go even as far as saying the lightsaber ignition sound in TFA was even MORE epic than in any previous SW movie.

5. Those iconic spacecraft....TIEs....XWIngs.....Millenium Falcon.....all there and untrashed. The Falcon has never sounded better - sound effect spot on and POWERFUL. Star Destroyers just POPPED off the screen in R1 - incredible detail. The Death Star in R1 was incredible - they did true homage to Lucas by showing the immenseness, the power, the details of it were done with care and attention.

6. Hey, a back story on an Imperial Officer? How bout that? SOmething Lucas NEVER did.....all we got were those cookie cutter Pietts, Needas, Veers, Ozzels. Knew nothing about them, all they did was say "Yes Lord Vader". I thought Krennic was incredibly well done, probably my most favorite Imperial Officer yet. And Tarkin was incredible too. Tarkin showed no evidence of trashing.

7. Plucky Droids that became fan favorites instantly - CHECK. No trashing here. ......BB8 and K2SO (my most fave droid after R2) fell right in line with Lucas' ideas.

8. The awe, the majesty, that is SW - CHECK. Just watch the trailer reaction mashups especially for Trailer #1 for TFA - the pure joy in peoples faces - CHECK. No trashing.

 

This discussion is definitely one of the more fascinating I've seen. Having witnessed the course of the fandom over the last 20 or so years, it has become more, well, not splintered, per se; I'll say "faceted". Splintering implies a division and I hate division. Faceting implies a cohesive whole with many sides, I'll go with that. With the advent of every new film, novel, game, comic and TV episode, a new facet has appeared in the fandom. When you ask: "Will Disney be taking away everything we love about Star Wars?", the answer is completely subjective, meaning that you're going to see answers from every facet, which is awesome. I love it.

After a little more thought, everything I love about Star Wars still exists. The OT, the wonderfully convoluted EU, the fans themselves, all of that is still around. The post-Disney films, while I've really enjoyed parts of them, have made it clear that I am no longer included in the target audience. But, you know what? That's okay, because I still have the OT, the EU and the fans to hang out with.

 

@KesselRunner Great post! I am interested in why you don't think you are in the "target audience"? Age related or what?

 

Partially age related, yes. I'll say this, if I'd never read the EU novels about the next generation of the Solo/Skywalker clan, or the ones depicting the acquisition of the death star plans, I would have loved the new movies, they would have been the best thing since sliced bread. But I read those books a long time ago, and as far as I was concerned, that was the only continuation of the story we were ever going to get, and it was the only faithful depiction of the characters we were ever going to get. And now, with that background, I feel a massive disconnect between me and the new films. It is a different Leia, a different Han and a different Luke we're seeing than the ones I knew from the books. I guess that's why I feel like an outsider. Just a crotchety old 90's kid, stuck in his ways.

 

I've got a different story.....and if you're crotchety then...wow....i am a 60's kid who saw ANH BEFORE it was ANH. In the theater more times than i can count as an impressionable 12 yr old. SW has been a part of my life ever since....just a movies guy , havent read any books or anything. So my perspective is different....but I can say I still get as excited as i was in 77 watching the new movies! I read your story on your profile....thanks!

 

Who knew that my love of reading would cause my downfall! It would have been awesome to recapture that excitement for the new films.