JJ - no mention of midichlorians

Good news...hahah

 

awesome news.

 

That's because they're saving all the twists for VIII.

 

Kylo Ren is Han and Leia's son

 

I expect nothing less. but thanks for sharing.

 

More confirmation that he is distancing himself further from the PT. I expect to be blasted for saying this, but there will be a lot of folks highly disappointed when there is no Plagueis, no Sith rule of two, and no prophecy of the chosen one mentioned in this trilogy. I cannot wait!

 

Those things won't be in the film because their time has come and gone, not simply because of the mere fact that they are from the prequels. Their stories have come to an end. (Well, we'll leave Plagueis to his own thread. ). The entire push towards OT comics, novels, cartoons and the like is to remind us (the general audience) about the Empire, TIE fighters, storm troopers and OT characters so that we can better transition into TFA. The idea that Lucasfilm is going to slight half of its Star Wars movies is absurd.

 

Given what we seem to know about this film, as of right now, it would completely bizarre to bring midichlorians into the story.

Think about it,

Kylo in teaser 2 - obviously a force user
Rey - Some suggestions from MSW that we will see her abilities throughout the film (heightened abilities used to complete objectives, possible force grab on sabre when finn is in trouble)

just for the sake of THIS argument, if MSW is right on the beats, then what? Han is going to bust out a midichlorian test on rey and completely throw us out of the movie just to prove "she has a high midichlorian count"?


as @Kryptic Mind perfectly highlights it was an answer to a question no one is asking. If people use force powers in the movie, then they have force powers.

 

LOL , i never thought of it that way. Hope no stupid force ghost brings it up again.

" By the way , ever wondered what the Force actually is? Have a look in this microscope my Padawan"
" Pada... what ??? "
" Padawan! also bring me that ladyshave over there and we shall do some fun tests "
" Oops , looks like you have contracted severe syphil........*cough*... i mean wow! you are really strong with the force mate!"

 

I've heard salient arguments for why the prequels should be considered good, even important films. I think they helped accelerate the CGI revolution that the Marvel films benefited from and America now goes deep into credit card debt just to consume.

I think however, the ST is going to walk very far away from the prequels in terms of its lore. I think the midi-chlorian remark is not too unfamiliar from JJ, see his comments about the prequels during the Howard Stern interview only recently after he was nominated to give us Episode VII.

I don't want to go deeply into why the prequels didn't resonate with some of us. It's really a question of what you loved about Star Wars in the first place. And as I say, objectively, the prequels helped revolutionize film making, so for the second time, Star Wars advances the needle on what is possible with fantasy on film. That's just monolithic achievement right there. I recognize that as someone who considers Return of the Sith one of the saddest and awful films I've ever seen and Jar Jar an offensive minstrel character. And minstrel shows had scarred American culture for far too long to ever be resurrected again, even if it was in semi-aquatic bunny rabbit form.

But what if Star Wars pushed the needle forward again? What if, (as Mad Max recently demonstrated) practical effects blended with more complementary use of CGI is, in fact, a better cinema? That real masks and puppets can still look great in 2015 and they do add resonance and better performances. CGI isn't dead, it's evolving and Star Wars Episode VII could lead the way on how to do that.

I know I'm abstracting a lot from a "no midi-chlorians" casual answer on an MTV interview.

Damn you all though, because I'm right about this and time will prove it so.

 

I've never understood the hatred/disenchantment/etc. with midichlorians, nor the erroneous contention that they somehow negatively change anything about the force from the OT. The PT only enhanced what the OT previously established about all things, including the force. There is a group of SW fans that think midichlorians undermine anything about Star Wars or the force, and that viewpoint is a myopic viewpoint to hold. It's funny/sad that these fans will seize upon this interview to celebrate. All that being said, given the time period the ST takes place in, I never expected midichlorians to be a focus of it at all, so it doesn't matter that they won't be mentioned in this (or these) films. The truth that they are an expansion of what was known before about the force will always remain intact.

 

This probably belongs in the PT thread, but my understanding of midichlorians is that everyone has them, though to varying amounts, but that they only choose who to "speak" to. Yes, it's easy to say that the Force was reduced to a bacterial infection, but, like most things in the prequels, if you think about it without disdain for a moment it can kind of make sense. Midichloarians aren't the Force, they're the conduit of the Force; we know that in reality, life exists in all shapes and sizes. Does anyone know what a tardigrade is? It a microscopic life form, nick-named "the space bear" that lives in almost every single known environment, including the vacuum of space. My take on midichlorians was always that they were like the Star Wars version of tardigrades, microscopic beings that channeled the mystical energy of the Force into something a little more tangible for the beings in our level of existence.

This also goes along with George's original idea of the Force, that anyone could use it if properly trained. Sure, some people would be stronger than others with it, but the idea was that "Force users" weren't a genetic anomaly but rather ordinary people who dedicated their lives to the Force. If everyone has midichloarians, then everyone has the potential to "hear" and use the Force.

Now, I'm still not a fan of dissecting the Force and explaining exactly how it works; though I'm kind of pro-Plagueis, I'm still very glad to hear we won't be hearing exposition about these Star Wars tardigrades in TFA. My point is only that, again much like most of the PT, they make a certain amount of sense if you can look away from your disdain for a moment and extrapolate from what was said on-film.

 

Because, for better or worse (mostly worse), they're a part of the lore. If you're the type of fan who takes the saga as a whole (as I do), they're absolutely part of the story. It's not defending them, it's trying to make the beginning of the story a little less uneven, a little more cohesive with the rest of the saga.

 

I wasn't at all impressed with the midi-chlorian angle when I first heard of it (which was by reading the illustrated script before the TPM's release, and I was convinced (or hopeful) that the script was a red herring, I was THAT disappointed!) But I've kind of made my peace with them.

In very simple terms, SW for me was the battle between a group of "spiritual warriors" and a group who revered "technological terrors". Remember this line from ANH: "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force" [Vader]? That summed it up for me. That was the Star Wars, faith versus technology. And at the time it was relevant: we were leaving the idealistic 60s and transitioning into the brave new world of computerised the 80s. For me, that was where SW found its niche.

But the PT was about the decline and fall of the Jedi Order and while I'd rather the Jedi Temple had been a garden paradise sanctuary filled with meek, levitating monks deep in meditation (lost at the heart of Coruscant's state of the art tech), it kind of works that it wasn't. It kind of works, too, that the Jedi were throwing electronic tracking devices around, breathing underwater with micro-aqua lungs instead of holding their breaths (which we know they can do for prolonged periods from the opening of TPM, don't get me started) and recognising each other through blood tests rather than by sensing each others "presence". The Jedi had lost their way, they were easy pickings for the Sith.

That said, I'd like the ST to acknowledge this and deal with it. If the whole issue is just ignored (as JJ's recent comments suggest they may be), it kind of strengthens the importance of things like midi-chlorians. If no one ever expresses the opinion that the old ways were wrong, they remain right. We need to hear, on screen, that there is a better way, that the Jedi lost their way. That faith (for them) is stronger than technology ever could be.

I worry a little that JJ is taking the move from the PT too far and, as much as I agree with him that the PT didn't get everything right, ignoring it is the worse possible type of fan service. And, if I'm honest, all this showcasing the fact that CG will be downplayed in favour of practical effects and that the PT will not have that great an influence on the new movies, I kind of feel a little bad for Lucas. ("Don't be so sentimental!").... :'(