Does anyone care about the characters that are left for Episode IX?

Still feel invested Rey and Kylo only, the rest of them, no.

 

I wouldn't say that I care for any of the new characters, I am interested to see what happens to them but I don't care for them in they way I did for the characters in the OT but I put that down to one thing, poor story telling in TLJ.
Now before anyone locks their targeting computer on me, this is just my opinion.

One thing TFA did well was set up the characters, I know you can argue TFA was at it's core a reboot of ANH but I didn't mind that so much as the new characters were interesting, well written and at the end of that film I did care. I do think JJ Abrams is a decent story teller but there is no denying Kasdan's influence made TFA fun and enjoyable with interesting characters.

The reason I don't care about the characters now is because TLJ is a poor story which relied on slapstick comedy over story quality. I think Rian Johnson was more interested in trying to shock the audience and as a result the story suffered, also I don't think killing off most of the OT characters helped either as they could have taken a back seat but still had influence throughout the ST.

 

I don't but I will finish out the trilogy.

 

Is that really a problem with the characters, though?

First of all, the box office is fine. The Last Jedi absolutely killed it, even if it didn't do as well as the first Star Wars film with Luke Skywalker in 35ish years... that was always a pretty high bar, when you're talking about smashing cinematic history again.

Second, the toy argument is tired. How are Marvel toys doing? There's like three Marvel movies a year now, are those toys flying off the shelves? How about DC?

Doubtful. Kids aren't playing with toys like they used to. That's just a fact- they're playing with video games significantly more.

So, let's head on over to videogame world and see how Star Wars is faring there... oh my god EA, what are you doing!?!?!

EA currently holds the Star Wars license, and has so far only managed to make free-to-play microtransaction laden apps along with two mediocre Battlefront games (one of which also contained microtransactions, and ended up being a horrible PR scandal).



So no, literally none of those things prove that people don't care about the characters. They just mean that Star Wars needs to realize that they should focus on video games more, and that they need to cut ties with EA immediately.

 

I see the ST departing from ideal characters, and venturing more into making them very human. I totally believe these new characters can hold the story though, with the help of new additions.

Perhaps Rey will recruit more force help and the spark will turn into a fire this time.

It would really help if we knew what the afterlife was all about , bring luke back in some amazing afterlife scene.

 

Lando is coming back. Ghost Luke/ possible flashbacks. Kylo is the dynasty character.

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- I honestly think Hux was used perfectly in TLJ. In TFA Hux was set up as a wanna be Nazi and in TLJ Rian came in and built off of that by creating a social commentary on how he sees the modern neo-nazi. In Rian's eyes the modern Nazi's are just angry big talkers who easily are pushed around. Hence why Hux is a literal story punching bag for Kylo by the end.

- I also don't agree that Rose was pointless in TLJ. Sure her side story with Finn pulled away from some of the aspect of the film, but that story thread was crucial by the end for how that missions screws the resistance royally.

- After IX, I think people will come to terms with Luke's death being in VIII. TLJ sets Luke up to be unleashed in IX as a force ghost and finally give us the payoff as to what Obi-Wan meant by "strike me down and I will become more possible then you can possibly imagine." Something now even establish in TLJ by Yoda calling lighting out of the sky.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 7, 2018 ---

Until they blow us away with new films set during the Old Republic.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 7, 2018 ---

Wow, where did that all come from? Was that speculation? If any of this is true I see decades worth of films to really flesh these ideas out.

 

I'm glad you liked it but the problem of making fun of your villains is that no one will take them seriously. You can do jokes around them but not with them, look at Thanos and how much of a menace he was.

Spoiler: Solo Spoiler

Or look at Maul in Solo, wasn't he a badass?

You can do all the social commentaries you want but he almost became a parody and with a parody there are no real stakes.

The main goal of the trilogy is "Defeat the First Order", well, the First Order is now ruled by an unstable whiny guy who already lost twice (and I like Kylo) and an almost spaceballs parody.

Yeah, its an interesting take but they represent no menace.

Well, it did payoff actually. Obi Wan became Luke's voice and force (ha!) of reason. A guide. It's not physical power but spiritual.

 

@Darth Basin The Greatest, you realize that yesterday you gave me an "Old News" rating for a post I made in February, right?

I mean, I can't even be mad at that.

Anyway, to keep it on topic- Solo didn't do a whole lot here, either.

Spoiler: Solo spoilers

Enfys Nest, for instance, is an awesome character. Possibly the first example of a badass character design that actually panned out in its first cinematic appearance and didn't die!

So where is she? She should be in Battlefront. She should be in the FFG games lines. She should be flying off toy shelves, and people should already be getting their Enfy halloween costumes ready.

So I'll agree that there maybe is a problem with characters- I'm just not sure what it is.

 

No matter how good the movie or it's characters are, if you saw it when you are 25 - it's never going to have the same impact as a movie you saw when you were 6. So yeah, I care about Rey, Poe and Kylo Ren as much as a 31 year old me can, which isn't much in comparison to how 6 yo me cared about Luke, Han and Leia between ESB and RotJ. Take this answer however you will.

 

Bingo

 

I've been interested in Kylo since TFA. That hasn't changed. TLJ got me interested in Finn and Poe by actually giving Poe a part in the story, and strengthening Finn's character with some depth. So in those three characters I have interest.

The only character I could say I care about is Rey. Jakku bits in TFA created an empathy with her, being alone, in the middle of nowhere. No life, no friends, no childhood. Kicked around. And then the vision of the little girl being abandoned and crying "Come back!" really just, punched me in the emotional gut, pretty much solidifying my need to see her overcome and win.

 

I totally get and agree with what you are saying. I love Star Wars, the OT, PT, and ST. I was 7 when ANH came out. Regardless of what comes out today, nothing is going the compare to the wide eye and wonder I had back then and the nostalgia I feel towards them. When older, you have a more critical eye towards them. I wasn't a PT hater but it was different and I viewed them with different eyes and when I go to watch the new ones, I go in with the idea that I know it is not going to completely compare to the wonder and amazing of the 7, 10, 13 year old me.

 

I am interested in TFA Maz.

 

For me, I'm more interested to see where the Rey vs Kylo Ren dynamic goes in Episode 9 more in a macro way. I think if JJ can craft an Episode 9 that deals with the Force in a way that somehow ties Rey/Kylo together that will 'end this destructive conflict' then I think he can pull it off. I guess what I'm saying is I don't 'care' specifically about Kylo Ren or Rey the same way I cared about Luke, Leia and Han in a personal way. But I am intruiged about their story and how they tie into the big story concerning the force. I have my problems with TLJ, but the one thing I loved in the movie was them Force Connecting and I'm hoping JJ can continue that in a bigger way in Episode 9.

 

i must be an anomaly. TFA did for me exactly what ANH did.
but then i don't go to the movies prepared to nitpick and eviscerate and try to crowbar my square head canon into the round narrative.
and as i've said many times before, i even tried very hard to hate TFA just for existing. oh well. XD

but as an adult 40 years later, i have never lost my sense of play, of childlike wonder, of the optimism and good will that Star Wars represents--in spite of the fact of having to be an adult and feeling cynical about many things in the world, and having to do adult things with people who don't remember what it's like to exercise much imagination. i don't buy toys today as a collector. i buy them to play with. just like i did when i was 7 only now they're 100x more expensive (but also fancier too!). : D

 

I felt the same way towards TFA as it really took me back to my childhood because it has that sense of adventure for the first time since the OT movies. But after further inspection, and repeat viewings, I do understand the movie is basically ANH 2.0 and uses nostalgia in a powerful way. TFA is like a great cover band that you see at a bar that plays all those great songs you love, but they are STILL just a cover band.

I go back and forth constantly on TLJ. One hand, I hate that it is bold and different, and on the other hand, that is what I sort of respect about it. That is why part of me wants to see how Episode 9 shakes out and then we can watch them together and see if the Trilogy works a part 1,2,3 or just 3 standalone movies.

 

nah. for me it is sufficiently new. i get there's a ton of "familiar" and retread going on in TFA, but Rey, Finn, and Ren Ben in particular are entirely their own brand of awesome to me and i think TFA accomplished something truly unique in that it very obviously and deliberately built on the OT, but still gave us plenty of new things to marvel at. that's all Star Wars needs to do, really. it's a pulp science-fantasy serial. it should behave like one. and it does.

now that's not a genre everyone likes, and TLJ went a bit off the rails from that genre, but i have no doubt Abrams will put the train firmly on the tracks again: we'll get high adventure, we'll get melodrama, and probably a little romance in the mix. and a happy ending. because that's the formula that's worked for over 150 years and it will continue to work. : D

 

Now don't get me wrong. I loved the TFA (TLJ also) and get giddy like a child waiting for them to come out. I just don't think anything is going to compare to what it was like being a 7 year old child. If that makes sense. I don't nitpik either. I don't understand the nitpiking either. This is sci fantansy, nitpiking takes the fun out of it.

Im the opposite with the toys now. I have many of the '77-'83 toys, figures, etc but they were well played with back then and thus not as valuable now. Anything I get today, I tend to leave in the box, except for Legos, I open them up. LOL. They are expensiveeeee, I think most of what I have today, except books and my force FX lightsaber, has been given to me as gifts.

 

I was sooo excited about TFA. I also LOVED Rogue One. I couldn't wait for TLJ... Now, I don't know. I don't care for TLJ, I feel it was poorly done. Having said that, I'm with @FN-3263827 I expect JJ will get the train back on the tracks and deliver a solid ending to what has, unfortunately, turned into a bumpy (to say the least) sequel trilogy.

I'd like to see some explanation for Rey being so powerful. I'd love to see Kylo NOT be redeemed, but become the total evil bad guy villain Darth Vader was supposed to be until Luke turned him back to the light.