Why aren't I excited for Episode 8?

So far I do not want to think ahead of December 17th (the most likely date I'll see TLJ.) I consider each film, including SW, separate entities and that usually helps with coping with things.

 

That depends on who they get next.

 

1 & 3 I completely agree with and are troubling.

I would add that they waited way too long to announce the title and release a teaser.


That teaser was greatly similar to one for TFA and that is all clever and cutesy in the LFL & Disney offices, and helps mollify a director who watched the last two SW get 400 TV ads and felt both films were "spoiled" and is harping on not showing too much too soon.

That teaser would've been great if released with RO. And if they'd released a more substantial teaser at SWC, I'd have no issue with that first teaser.

But it was very disappointing as a first look in April, knowing we'd likely not get another teaser or trailer until August at best.

Now it's looking like October will be the next look at footage.

And not much since has been very different from that teaser

Which is my whole issue with LFL: they treat SW like one idea repeated ad nausea is enough.

I don't want to see 40 pictures of Rey posed on that island or KR with his lightsaber on.

There's no creativity to the marketing and most of it is stuff we saw in TFA.

--- Double Post Merged, Sep 6, 2017, Original Post Date: Sep 6, 2017 ---

Tim Matheson or Jonathan Frakes....

 

You guys are kiding, right? i am out of surogates to keep my mind away from tlj , game of thrones helped a bit ,but only a bit , 100 days, 9 hours .......

 

You’re spot on, mate!

 

Here are the things that I think may contribute to someone being less excited at this point:

1. This is not our first SW movie in 10 years. We have already gotten two new SW movies in the last two years.
2. The teaser trailer was a bit underwhelming.
3. The internet. Back when I was a kid during the OT, we didn't get news about SW every day. We basically had to wait until we could see a trailer one time in a movie theater, then wait for the movie! We were not inundated with rumors and theories (most of which are junk anyway).
4. The recent upsets at LFL - Han Solo directors and Episode 9 director. This doesn't really impact me much, but I can understand it making others nervous or less excited.

All that said, I am still really excited for TLJ! I am really interested to see where this story and these characters go. I loved TFA and I love the new characters. I want to see where it all goes. I never really get hyped up from merchandise. For me, it is the trailers that does it. Yes, the teaser was underwhelming, but I liked the BTS footage. Also, I never expected a full trailer before September/October anyway. The hype machine has really only just started with Force Friday. Thing will get moving more and more, until the point that you wish there was less of it when you are seeing multiple TV commercials each day! I am ready for the trailer, but also still not in any rush for it. I like not knowing too much. And I am still very much excited to see TLJ in December!!!

 

This is most significant Science fiction movie in last 30 years.And I am not even talking about what it will mean in the context of Star Wars proper.

 

SW broke ground and changed film it was revolutionary. Coming back after 35 years we are well on the other side of the revolution. We can't see a light sabre again for the first time.

 

I agree the first teaser was underwhelming and failed to trigger the kind of excitement that makes me want to rematch it over and over, even though I loved the red/white color scheme of Crait, I'm really into the possibility of diving into ancient Jedi lore (with the shot of those books), and I'm definitely intrigued by RJ's decidedly non-fanservicy zen/wizard take on Luke (which I'm assuming will feel cantankerous/cynical on the surface at first, but will lead to a more nuanced understanding of the Force and the SW universe, and Luke himself).

4 reasons that come to my droid mind:

- The opening emphasis of Rey on Ahch-to, as if we're watching the very next scene after the end of TFA. It never really occurred to me before that one of the exciting things about ESB and ROTJ was the time jump between each movie -- the movie starts, and there's a genuine mystery/excitement about where our heroes are at, what's happened to them over the past few months/years, how they've grown/changed, etc. It's really interesting to me that I would find it disappointing to just pick up right where we left off.

- While we got a glimpse of Luke in a totally different light, the other character shots felt like stock photos from TFA outtakes (Leia is still at that table, etc), without showing us any new characters (Rose or Dern/Del Toro's characters, or minor characters like Justin Theroux), or giving us a fresh look at characters we haven't really gotten to know yet (Snoke).

- While we saw Crait, we didn't really get a sense of the scale and diversity of the SW universe (no creatures or new costumes, no Casino planet or other landscapes aside from Crait and Ahch-To, no interior shots of First Order facilities or structures on other planets, not much outer space stuff), so it felt small and as if we're not really seeing anything new

- While this is to be expected in a teaser, there's no sense of the character dynamics or the narrative yet, which will be the main things that power our experience of the movie

I do think a well-cut trailer that has time to breathe and give us a sense of the scope and scale of the story they have in store for us can trigger all the old feelings again for us, and I do have faith in RJ's storytelling abilities (TFA's main flaw that lessens it on repeat viewings), his instinct for originality (there will be echoes of previous films for sure, but as he says "it will be shocking, but feel honest and real") and his classic tastes -- the clean and simple poster, with the white border, is really striking and probably my favorite SW poster since the original ROTJ poster, which it evokes:

 

I agree with you as well. I'm a huge Star Wars fan like most people here, but I find myself getting less and less excited about TLJ. Honestly, the only thing that keeps my expectations relatively high, is Rian Johnson.
I think the hype is even lower than last year before R1.
I blame Disney's marketing. They should find a better way to keep us excited about the new movies, not just a couple weeks before the release. The first teaser barely revealed anything, and we still don't know too much about the film, that's worth to be excited about, outside that it is a Star Wars film.

However, I felt similar last year before Rogue One and thanks to that it exceeded my expectations.

 

A few new characters quickly killed off after 10 mins+ debut I won't be excited for that.

 

I absolutely agree, and I feel that as we, the SW community, have grown older, the feeling of awe and wonder has vanished slowly from film. A New Hope brought along an advent of new film technology which has only since been advanced, greatly, and I feel that much of this can be applied to the prequel trilogy too, despite the bad rapport it's built up with much of the community over the years: the feeling of "wow, how did they do that?". That feeling of detachment and wonderment as purely awe-inspiring, eye-opening world-building takes place before your very eyes. Now, though, I can just Google how this and that were constructed - digitally or physically - and even hazard a pretty educated guess as to how that cute little ball droid works.

But then, I think there's always going to be something special about Star Wars when you become used to one aspect of it to turn it all on its head and remind you of why these films mean so much to you, that feeling of comfort and completely predictability, such as a resonance with themes and underlying subplots within the arc of a film, the enticing, heart-pounding and touching orchestral music, or even something as mundane as a nod to the fans, but ultimately, I feel that this has more to do with the lack of a second trailer up to this point. Music soaring and twisting into the heavens which pounds along with your heart, a shot which we'll talk about for months, or a line taken completely out of context absolutely contributes to the excitement a trailer can give, but what could we take away from that first trailer that was new to talk about? Honestly...I'd argue next to nothing. We knew Luke would be training Rey; we knew Kylo had a scar (which was a talking point for a hot minute but alas); and we knew that Luke was more than likely the titular last Jedi. "The Jedi must end" shows how far down he's fallen, how much he questions, but again, that's something else that we've been talking about as a community for years.

I can absolutely empathise with those who don't feel as excited for The Last Jedi - yet, mind - as they were for The Force Awakens or Rogue One. I've absolutely been in the place where I'm a few months out and I feel like it's my responsibility to go along at midnight, but I don't feel all that enthused about it. It's more or less what happened to me around the time of the final trailer for Rogue One.

However, it's different for me this time around. My personal understanding of Star Wars music has evolved massively over the last few months, making me more excited than ever for the score of a film, and, likewise, I've been more excited than I ever have about a director to see which direction Rian Johnson could take the franchise after he was announced to be director years ago. Seriously, if you haven't already, go watch Looper, Brick or The Brothers Bloom and I'm sure you'll be going "wow, imagine what can this guy do with Star Wars!".

I just think those that are not yet excited should embrace it, not be surprised by it. We're still months out, and we're bombarded almost daily with everything Star Wars, a lot of which has been negative over the last few months from my perspective, so feeling slightly fatigued or unexcited is only natural. But I promise you, the two month run-in to this film, as soon as we see the next trailer, will be a blur, and your excitement to see this film will only be enhanced when talking to others about it, such as here in The Cantina.

As a footnote, the October-December hype train for Star Wars films recently has probably become my favourite time of year.

 

I have learned to stay on an even keel with a SW movie. Don't get too hyped or you're setting yourself up for a big disappointment.

I've stayed away from spoilers (knowing spoilers out of context is a bad idea because I hated that Luke was going to be in TFA for 30 seconds, yet loved it when I saw it on screen).

Just go in with an open perspective and enjoy this time as a SW fan. And finally, just because a movie isn't as great as ESB, doesn't mean it still can't be an enjoyable movie. The internet breeds hyperbole as everything is either 'the best movie ever' or 'the worst movie ever.' TFA isn't a great movie, but I still enjoyed it and it's worthy of being part of the Saga. Isn't that all that matters?

 

Indeed, it is all that matters.
Although...the internet don't necessarily breed hyperbole, as you say....but folks on the internet do.
An' alotta that folks so easily let themselves buy into it... turns into a outta control messgoin' all ev'ry which'a'way.

 

It's interesting how it's all a matter of perspective. Personally, I'm unhealthily excited for TLJ. At this point I know it's a bad thing in a way, because if it's disappointing, it's gonna be hard to take. I'm fully aware of that, but can't do anything about it. I enjoy the buildup and I'm happy that something as small as a new TLJ image can make my day.

That's mainly because of my faith in Rian. To me (and let me stress that it's my point of view) he's an absolutely perfect guy for this job and it shows. I like virtually every single thing I've heard about the film, so I have no reason reason not to be excited. There are some things I'm not sure about, but nothing major.

 

Sure is interestin' and one better... there's room for All the different views an' thoughts on it...none of 'em's wrong.

 

I think that's a big part of why TLJ hype is strong in many of us. We've seen Rian put his heart and soul into this movie, heard nothing but good things about him as a director, and even Adam Driver said he couldn't wait to get to set everyday to see what new stuff Rian added. This guy loves SW and its fans, and it shows.