What does Star Wars Episode 7 mean to you?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens means I get to relive my childhood and I can see my dad's childhood relived. He is the one that got me interested in Star Wars from a young age and it continues to last today. We were just talking about the new film yesterday. From everything I read about it, it makes me more excited to see it. Star Wars is more than just a film saga. The original films not only changed the way we look at movies, it changed the way movies are made. Probably one of the most exciting things is seeing a new generation of fans who will love and adore the saga for the rest of their lives. December 18, 2015 just cannot come fast enough!!!!!!

 

I thought that GL was primary considered to be a pioneer in the process, possibility, and technical excellence of film making. His primary object in Star Wars, in my opinion, is not to entertain children, but to demonstrate a never-before-seen level of special effects and wizardry that would really blow audiences away. People both young and old walked out of Star Wars amazed. They didn't know the film medium was really capable of doing what they'd just seen.

Secondly, I remember as a child having trouble accepting that Uncle Owen and Aunt Biruh had died. I had never seen a charred corpse before, and I genuinely wondered if that was what that was, or if I was just imagining things. That torture droid homing in on Leia was a thing of nightmare to me, also. The Cantina in Mos Eisley did not strike me as something appropriate to children's entertainment. There was smoking, drinking, and some truly deformed looking aliens. As a kid, I know I found the denizens of Mos Eisley extremely creepy and unnerving.

Lastly, why is it so self-evident that focusing on fans needs and wants is totally the wrong way to go? From reading this board, it seems to me that fans want goosebumps, new stories, surprises, complex characters, internal consistency, climactic battles in space, and climactic battles with lightsabers. Why is it a bad move to deliver these in episode VII? I don't mean to be rude, honestly. Tell me what I'm missing, here.

 

Star Wars - The Force Awakens means to me a chance to renew and awaken new ideas. The EU always felt constricted to me, like too many people trying to tell their own stories - after some time I felt the EU was painting itself into a corner that was more restrictive than encouraging new ideas. Even in the beginning there were conflicts between The Thrawn Trilogy and Dark Empire - both stories are good but neither really supported the other, in a sense.

The PT was shoe-horned in to a final destination. No matter how you cut the cake, it ALWAYS had to end with the beginning of A New Hope. It made it feel very 'safe' - you couldn't, for example, kill off Obi-Wan. It's very nature of being a prequel restricted the storytelling.

Now, we have one entity driving the car (Disney). It's allowing others behind the wheel, who can take side roads to show awesome things, but the destination is going to be lead by them. And they are picking exciting drivers! Rian Johnson, who did Brick and Looper and who also did some amazing Breaking Bad episodes! Gareth Edwards - that movie Monsters that he did is so good! These are people who when driving the car will keep it exciting, because they are just getting used to driving and are more than likely going to go fast, in a sense. They are going to have fun, and we are going to get some exciting stories out of this.

 

Right now TFA means nothing to me. I have to manage my expectations in order to get maximum enjoyment. I'm chomping at the bit for more info, but want to go into the movie is as open of a mind as possible.

 

It is by far the best thing to happen since the hype leading up to The Phantom Menace, I can't wait to see the aftermath of it's release and how it will affect entertainment in general.

As a kid I would watch the original trilogy back to back every other weekend, I was completely obsessed.. We had to replace the VHS a few times. I always knew there would be a Star Wars VII, but when Lucas dispelled the rumours in 2011 I lost hope.

Every now and then i'd google the sequel trilogy and what Lucas' ideas were back in the 80s.. Then suddenly the Disney sale happened, I knew that there had to be more films, there'd be no other reason for Disney to pay that much.

My first choice to direct was JJ Abrams, then i'd have got Gore Verbinski and David Fincher to direct the second film together, and the third would be done by a heavyweight such as Spielberg or Scorsese, with production overseen by Abrams once again.

I have zero interest in spinoffs, I don't want an entire film based on the Jedi, pilots or bounty hunters.. Why not cover these things in the main films? Recasting major characters would also be unforgivable in my eyes. On the other hand.. everyone will shut up about Boba Fett once they see how crap he is spread across 2 hours.

He's just a cool suit and one liners. Boring!

 

December 18 is the culmination of a 3 year journey that all of us experienced and endured together. This will be the most hyped film of this generation. Will it live up to the hype? Will it fall short like TPM? We'll see December 18. I am proud to be a Star Wars fan. I know in my heart that I picked the right franchise to be a fan of. We have the best fan community. I feel like we have the most intelligent fans, and fans that know what they want. Will Ep 7 fulfill my expectations? Will this be the movie that I've imagined in my head for 20+ years? Some of you have been imagining it over 30 years! Let's see if creatively it is up to snuff. I have faith in the creative team, the filmmakers, the actors, the crew, everyone. I'm stoked to see Mark Hamill back. I hope this film leads to a live-action resurgence for him in the twilight of his career. He deserves it!

The entire world will be watching. Let's hope we have a film that we can be proud of, and that we can share with our families, our parents, our siblings, our children, and our children's children. Star Wars is timeless. I hope that this next chapter in the saga continues the storied tradition and furthers the mythology of these characters, of this universe, and of The Force itself. I've never been more excited for a film.

10 years ago, I walked into a theater to see Revenge of The Sith. I thought that would be the last time I would ever see a Star Wars Saga film on the big screen. Deep down, in the back of my mind, and buried somewhere deep in my heart, I always knew that 7, 8, 9 would come to fruition. I just didn't know if it would be my generation to witness it, or if it would be some story told 50 years from now, with no connective tissue to Jedi. Well, here we are. Star Wars is back and bigger than ever. This is the pinnacle of blockbuster filmmaking. I hope this movie is truly a game changer and that it becomes the benchmark that movies aspire to strive to. Let us hope!

 

I think you are forming biases that may cut you off from what might be potentially great stories.
1- Stories about other characters this has been proven by many books even some of the video games. So movies done right set in a GFFA could be great judging them based on rumors from what little info we have at this point is premature.
2- Great characters get re-cast it happens and sometimes it works great. A young Han Solo would need to be recast and could be great fun to watch. So declaring it "unforgivable" is a simply announcing you are close minded and apparently think people who disagree with you are somehow flawed.
3- Fett is crap? You may as well say that Jar Jar was the best thing to ever happen to cinema. Both are opinions and both run counter to a vast majority of fans. Now if you are suggesting that a little bit of Fett goes a long way and that he might not be compelling over 2 hours. I would say that depends on the script, the director, the supporting cast, in other words it could be great or it could suck but it is not doomed to failure. As for him being just a suit and one liners there is quite large fan base that bought his books, and would love to see him action.

I would say lighten up, let things roll out before you judge them crap you might just enjoy yourself.

 

No matter which way he chooses to go Star Wars is still so huge that a certain part of the rabid fanbase will tear JJ Abrams apart. It means different things to a lot of people, just reread some of the threads on here and the at times heated debating. If they tried to appease all of us you would get a derivative, sub par, film.

For me; it should be close to the spirirt of the OT in that it needs to return to it's pulp, matinee serial roots: simple storytelling, stereotypical characters, lots of cliffhangers.

 

Note that I said "unforgivable in my eyes" what part of that says that people who disagree with me are "flawed"? I'm going to rate your post 'Trolling' for this reason.

It seems you're the one who needs to lighten up, that's the most condescending post i've read thus far on this forum.

 

Well first off, you are right. You can't please everyone and the attempt to do so is folly. I agree with you there.

In fact, one of my heroes, George R. R. Martin, says that art is not a democracy. You don't get to vote on how it ends. At a certain point, someone has a creative vision for what Ep. VII should be, and that person needs to realize that vision, and not pander to the demands of the fan base.

Y'know, maybe its just this website, but I have to tell you I don't actually see a lot of heated debate on this forum. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places. I see lots of different speculation as to what VII might be like, or should be like. I see people agreeing to disagree on the quality of the PT. Some people really can't stand the crossguard lightsaber, or the names of new characters.

I guess there's so little that's truly known about VII, there's truly not much to be offended by just yet. Once more information comes to light, it'll be as you suggest, and the fans will endlessly strive and pick each other into a frenzy. So far, and thankfully, I don't have that vibe yet.

But who would really disagree with what you said? Ep. VII should adhere to the spirit of the OT, return to pulp, matinee, flash gordon roots. Simple storytelling, archetypical characters, lots of cliffhangers. Throw in the furniture of Star Wars: force philosophy, sabers, aerial combat in space, empire v rebels. What's not to like?

I have a case in point about attempting to appease the fans: Yoda and his lightsaber battles in the PT. I'm going to skip over to that forum and start a thread about that.

 

I guess I was severely missing your point. Codesending or trolling wasn't really my intent. Sorry if I misunderstood.

 

@Fish
You are right about the debating I guess. This is a pretty civilised place. Considering this is the internet it's like a haven of adult conversation.
On everyone agreeing episode 7 should stick to the 'simple' storytelling of the OT, I am not that sure. It seems lots of folks want a more complicated storyline with lots of references to obscure characters (Syfo, Plagueis, ...) only the geekiest of fans would recognise. Then there are those who want a much darker tone, something closer to 'The Dark Knight' than 'A New Hope.' And don't forget the many fans who did like the PT and wouldn't mind a return to something resembling a serious, Greek tragedy.

 

Episode 7 means EVERYTHING to me!

 

I think that's just natural for any movie franchise these days, simply because social media gives EVERYONE a platform to critique. Star Wars isn't alone, just look at Ben Affleck playing Batman, as I haven't seen that much hate on the internet since The Phantom Menace days!

As for JJ appeasing the fans, I think there is a happy median. I look at JJ no different then an owner of a sports team, a musician, a TV show writer: You want to appease your fans, but if you listen to them too much, you will be sitting with them while someone new is taking over your job. The whole point is that you don't want to listen to the fans word for word, but you sure as heck don't want to thumb your nose at them.

 

More star wars.I was sad as hell after watching the revenge of the sith.Wondering if I would live the day to see more tales from this amazing universe.I was a bit upset that Lucas seemed so reluctant to do more,when people and myself craved more.Disney will cater the hell out of us in this regard.It would be awesomeness if they would do some Kotor stuff.Loved the first and second (Videogames)So..yay more of star wars for all of us fans out in the world.

 

Damn....there aren't words to describe it, really. Star Wars defined my childhood, and it's held a remarkable influence in my life since then. The countless times it's helped me find escapism and enjoyment in life is truly incredible, and now that it's all starting again, I don't know how to put it. It's odd, but I feel kind of like a kid again. All the naivety and joy from that time in my life is coming back to me, and I have Star Wars to thank for it. Regardless of how the film turns out, I will always treasure what it's done for me.