SPOILER The opening scene

What would be very kewl would be, when the scrawl finishes, it pans down to the scene over Endor, just like at the beginning of RoTJ, and this time as the Star Destroyer dispatches the shuttle, it passes though the hulks of the two fleets that were devastated after the battle...

 

Perhaps the damaged Star Destroyer Kyle's source told him actually isn't Boyega and Christie's and it is instead part of the graveyard over Endor, it makes a lot of sense. We get the Vader's helmet scene people have been buzzing about since the concept art leak and it provides a good mysterious introduction for the grave robber before he is revealed later.

The circle is now complete so to speak. III ends on Tatooine, IV starts on Tatooine. VI ends on Endor, VII starts on Endor. There won't have to be Ewoks, it's a big moon guys

 

So... what if the desert planet they keep talking about is Endor!

(joke)

(...but maybe not joke...)

Well, I think there's a good possibility ewoks are in VII because Warwick Davis is confirmed to be in the film. Though, I suppose he could be in another role, since he appeared as a human in Episode I. But if there's a scene on Endor, I'd be sort of surprised if Davis doesn't reprise his role.

 

It has been said by Viral there will be NO ewoks, I trust Viral's source. Wicket is not returning, there is no point

 

I wonder what the effect of having the second Death Star blow up while in orbit would have on Endor's ecological system. I had never thought of that, but... what if in destroying the Death Star the Alliance wiped out the planet and turned it into a dessert. Not instantly, of course, or the heroes on the ground would have been killed... but... over time, seepage of radiation...

I highly doubt this occurred, but... interesting idea

It would explain why there are no ewoks...;

 

I like this opening and, tbh, something similar had occurred to me. The main objection to this (as someone else noted) is, why would anyone wait 30 years to rob Vader's grave? Good question..but then, we know there's a flashback sequence. Could the movie start with "previous" events, then fast-forward 30 years? Or perhaps have a sequence that transpires to be a recording? (Although I'd rather it not do that, too much like Serenity!)

Would JJ be bold enough to include a pre-crawl sequence? (I kinda hope not...)

 

What if?......
The film starts with a band of motley Jawas who scurry over a few battle damaged vehicles.
One slowly removes the brown hood & protective mask to reveal, "gasp" it's Wicket the Ewok!
Endor has be decimated & ruined by the remains of the battle 30 years before....

Really, there are rumors bouncing heither & yon about EP7.
I don't think a "damaged TIE fighter" could be a major set piece. Unless the character fled a damaged space ship or Star Destroyer in the same star system. As Ben states in A New Hope, the TIE fighters are small & can't travel in deep space. Unless the TIE fleet had some super-duper upgrades I don't see that scene making sense.
In the ideal, Lucas & Crew(ILM) will offer brand new planets & aliens with new fresh concepts.
If large chunks of EP7 take place on Endor or Tatooine, fans & critics will bray like donkeys.

 

The crashed TIE fighter comes from a Star Destroyer in orbit, see John Boyega rumors.

TIE's can travel in deep space, they don't have a hyperdrive is the problem

 

By "deep space" I refer to a TIE(Twin Ion Engine) fighter being able to travel great lengths(use hyper-drive).
Apparently several of the rebel fighters(X-wings, Y wings, B wings, etc) are able to do it even though they are "older" than the TIE series.

With JJ & crew at the controls, my fear is that he or the screenwriters of EP7 might have a slew of "What the __?!?" casting choices(Benedict Cumberbach as Kahn???) or plots/scenes that go nowhere like Star Trek Into The Darkness.

TFM

 

Episode VII seems to parallel the framework of A New Hope, so the first third of the film (not necessarily the opening scenes) might see a desert planet, a battle-cruiser of some description in close proximity and some smaller vehicle departing the cruiser to crash-land on the desert. Instead of sandtroopers pursuing, we have Driver and/or Boyega's peers and commanding officer?

I keep wondering if earlier drafts did feature Tatooine, but it was renamed and underwent some design changes during the rewrites, too late to make substantive changes, so we have a world that looks like Tatooine but strangely is not.

 

You know, Boyega could be living in the downed TIE fighter in the same way that Dasy is living in the AT-AT... doesn't make him a stormtrooper, but people seeing concept art of him in the fighter wreckage could have assumed that...

 

It's "Storm-troopers" & "sand-people"(also called Tuskin Raiders).
I agree that comparisons to A New Hope will be made if EP7 does in fact have the "dirty, gritty western feel" as some ILM & studio insiders have claimed.
I think Disney & the "suits" pushed JJ & the EPs to jazz up a few scenes or SFX(use IMAX, new audio/digital formats etc). The "old-school cool" bits may sound artsy or indie but this is a multi-BILLION dollar franchise that will run for decades. I'm sure Walt Disney & the corporate board want features that play on any digital device or can be edited/manipulated in any format.
They'll want to squeeze every last nickel out of Star Wars & the huge budgets.

 

From StarWars.com (can't get more authoritative than that)

Robert's Rules of Forum Engagement #639 - If you correct someone, make sure you are right

 

I've seen all the films & The Holiday Special(CBS TV), I don't recall any "sand-troopers".

 

Again, from StarWars.com

Robert's Rules of Forum Engagement #32 - Always check your references

 

I wouldn't mind it at all to start with a mysterious beginning to kick the film off. And it'd be a nice way to tie-in to ROTJ and help to bridge the gap between the last trilogy to the new. I hope it's true!

It sounds like a JJ-esque scene to me

 

Yeah! Did you NOT see the orange flappy things on their shoulders? That's what makes them sand troopers, duh!
...

 

I've heard the term sandtroopers before, because of orange flappy things. Just like the stormtroopers on Hoth were Snowtroopers, and the stormtroopers on Endor were called Scout Troopers.

 

I dunno. I don't think Sand Planets are created by destructive forces. Sand is a manifestation of geologic forces not a change in climate.