Will Disney Taking Away Everything We Love About Star Wars?

Honestly, I don't see it that way. I thought R1 meshed superbly with ANH, the "look" and "sounds" of the SW galaxy at that time just pre-ANH was extremely well done. I salute Gareth Edwards for having the courage to take the risks in R1, while keeping the core of SW intact....he was able to create an entirely new vision and different characterizations, worlds, etc. I wish they did the same in TFA. You say "many elements that were a staple of Lucas were dropped" in TFA - what exactly are you referring to? I think just about every element of Lucas was used in TFA, almost too much.....realize Lucas is the architect of all this, but wish they were able to take TFA in a different direction.

I think Luke's last line in the trailer is uttered in a different context in the movie. Many people are acting as if that is the last scene - I don't think so. I think it is Luke expressing his feelings about the Jedi to Rey sometime early in her training. After this, there is some sort of epiphany with Luke or Rey convinces him to train her in the ways of the Jedi. I don't think the Jedi and Sith will be "thrown in the garbage".

Overall I am impressed with what Disney is doing with the franchise, and this coming from someone who was completely entirely utterly blown away by ANH, I saw the original in the theater in 1977. I was a complete OT fanatic, but now I see that there is a whole new generation of SW fans out there, and it is OK for the Skywalker story to end, and it is OK for Disney to take it in a new direction. I see the "core of SW" as more than Jedi or Light Sabers or TIE fighters....I see the "core of SW" as honor, courage, teamwork, integrity.....

 

I think theyre already doing it with TLJ and I personally dont like it but then again, i havent seen the movie...but judging by the trailers it doesnt really feel like a star wars movie to me.
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I really liked Rogue One but TLJ teaser looked interesting. I mean, yes, we do want Disney to take risks with SW but I really hope they do not mess with the fundamentals of the SW universe and Lukes character. That's why I'm really hoping he is somewhat still the Luke Skywalker we all know and love. Of course, he will be different and more mature than he was in ROTJ, but please do not make him a grey Jedi. After all these years, you're telling me he's just going to be a grey Jedi? Like @Amanaman said, that would just be a big slap in the face to the fans and other characters such as Obi-Wan, Yoda and Anakin. I still remain optimistic though. We've still got a full trailer to come out and then the film so I won't say too much about the teaser.

 

I have no problems with you not being a fan of the new films my friend, nothing is for everyone.

That being said, I do take issue with a couple things.

First off is the issue of the aliens. I don't think you're being entirely fair considering the pattern of how George introduced new aliens in his films. The only times that we generally saw familiar aliens in the films were when we were visiting familiar locations again, Tattooine in particular. The main exception to the rule was Coruscant, as we did get to see a number of familiar species there. That makes sense though, as Coruscant is the center of the galaxy and a melting pot of tons of different alien cultures. Even then though, if you think about it, he introduced way more new alien species than familiar ones on Coruscant, especially when you throw in all the cool new aliens on the Jedi Council. Focusing on the Jedi in particular, other than Yoda obviously, they were almost entirely made up of new species, the only notable exception being Aayla Secura(for whatever reason George really liked using the Twi'leks all over the place, not that I'm complaining).

If you think about it, the only time we see familiar aliens is on worlds that we revisit like Tattooine and galactic melting pots like Coruscant.

That being said, I did find the design of some of the aliens in TFA to be a little lacking. The species that was basically just Ithorians with mouths struck me as being a particularly unnecessary addition when they could have just used an Ithorian instead. I also think that including one or two classic alien species in Maz's Cantina would have been nice just for the sake of visual continuity between the films. We still got Wookiees, Mon Cals and Sullustans through the inclusion of Chewie, Nien and Ackbar of course, but some background extras wouldn't have hurt.

As for Rogue One, once again we end up visiting new places, so we shouldn't expect much by way of familiar aliens. Even then though, we did get some. Beezer Fortuna is one that comes to mind.



Also, let's not forget Admiral Raddus.



Plus the white Mon Cal officers on his ship.



In all seriousness, is there such a thing as too many Mon Calamari?

I also really enjoyed the design of a lot of the new alien species in Rogue One as well. I felt that Gareth Edwards and his crew did a much better job than JJ in capturing the proper Star Wars spirit while creating new aliens.

The Tognath in particular were an excellent addition to the ever growing cast of alien species in Star Wars.





As for your point about the Guardians of the Whills. It isn't like there was an army of the guys. As far as we know in Canon at this point, they were only serving at the Kyber Temple in Jedha City. Also, if you'll remember, the Empire wiped out Jedha City, so at that point Baze and Chirrut were probably the last remaining members of their order, and we know their fate at the end of the film as well. I suppose that it's technically possible that maybe some disillusioned Guardians had already left Jedha at that point. Even if that's the case though, they definitely wouldn't have possessed the numbers necessary to challenge the Empire. Plus, let's not kid ourselves, Chirrut and Baze were talented, but not "take on Sith Lords" talented.

 

I absolutely love what Lucasfilm is doing and has done with Star Wars since its majority shares were purchased by Disney. All that rumbling about "Disney changing too much stuff" is quite funning considering many above also claim that the new lucasfilm lacks originality. I also understand that many of you are frightened by Luke's line in the trailer that "the jedi must end". But please take into account that the Last Jedi is the middle part: everything you know and love you might loose. It's narrative framing and reading your worries it seems to be working perfectly. It is exactly the reason why the middle parts of any saga are always the strongest. The stakes are high, everything might be lost and like the actual protagonists you fear this.

 

I sadly have to disagree with some of your points and have to agree with Amanaman. While I won't mention all the familiar aliens that were seen in huge quantities in both Tatooine and Coruscant as you said, you seen to have missed many of the times that Lucas used his aliens to mech the movies together even if they were from distant worlds. Taun Tauns were seen in Hoth yet we can clearly see the head of one mounted on display in Jabba's palace.

Both Trandoshans and Ungnaughts were introduced in TESB one being in space and the other race on Bespin and yet we then see them pop up again all the way in Jabba's palace.


Again in a far off planet like Geonosis we had both an Aqualish and a Quarren Separatist.




And you seem to have been mistaken about the Jedi as well as we got to see many familiar non Twi'lek Jedi.

Weequay and a Barada.

Nikto

Bith Jedi that can be seen in the far right talking with Aayla Secura.

There are many more things like these and when you add all of that to the familiar aliens that were seen a plenty on both Coruscant and Tatooine, we get six movies that seem to go in perfect harmony with one another. Aliens filled the Star Wars galaxy and they were all over. They were not used as fan nods like Amanaman said. If Disney were to do a good job making their movies flow nicely, even if they dumbly wanted to stay away from those made by Lucas, they should at least have used aliens that were shown in TFA in Rogue One but Disney's SW are good action movies yet lack the harmony and coherence of the Star Wars films made by Lucas. I don't think this is about liking the new films or not but more seeing how Disney seems to be acting like a little kid with a new toy instead of respecting and honoring that which came before.

I wouldn't like some new company to buy the rights to Star Trek or Babylon 5 and have them treat Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi and Borgs or the Narn, the Centauri, Minbari and the Vorlons like simple fan nods just so that they can give us everything new.

 

As for seeing aliens from ESB on Tattooine, once again, that makes sense, Jabba's Palace is the kind of place where you can find lowlifes and dregs from all over the galaxy hanging out. And that Trandoshan you mention, oh yeah, that's Bossk, otherwise known as a Bounty Hunter, you know, the kind of people Jabba keeps on his payroll.

Additionally, for the Jedi I was referring to the heavy hitters(hence the reason I said Aayla was the only "notable" exception). You know, the ones everyone wanted an action figure of. Cool characters like Kit Fisto, Plo Koon and so on. Also, the Jedi all being from Coruscant falls under the melting pot analogy I used.

As for your separatist example, they are on Geonosis for a reason, a gathering of leaders from separate systems, in other words, a situation where it makes sense to see a few familiar aliens(just like it does with Coruscant). Everything else on Geonosis was new.

As for this fan nods analogy. I fail to see how you can watch Rogue One and look at characters like Admiral Raddus as simple fan nods. They were important to the story and they expanded upon the Mon Calamari species as well. Then we have a classic alien in a background role with Beezer Fortuna. He was just a background character like you guys wanted. I think "fan nods" is something you're using to cover the fact that you won't be satisfied unless they completely fill the films with classic aliens, even if that isn't what George did back in the day, unless it made sense.

As for the comparison to other franchises. The vast majority of Star Wars aliens aren't as iconic to the franchise, as say, Vulcans and Klingons are to Star Trek. To get the same level of iconicness in Star Wars you need species like Wookiees and Hutts, as in species that were represented by major characters.

 

You're ignoring the part where Raddus is a new character though, a new character from a classic species. It's like you refuse to give them any credit even when they do something that should make you happy. Instead of giving credit where credit is due, you just dwell on all the other characters who aren't classic aliens. That is just a recipe for unhappiness and unfair judgement. Once again though, how often did George introduce major characters that were familiar aliens? The answer, not often, unless it made sense for the story being told, hence the reason the Jedi Council is made up almost entirely of new aliens. More often than not, George preferred to have his people design new alien species for major background aliens in his films.

As for the films being mostly filled with humans, that's always been the case, especially when it comes to main characters. The aliens have always been primarily used as set dressing, except in cases where they are important to the plot. This also makes sense for the context of a film like Rogue One featuring the Rebel Alliance and the Empire. Neither organization is particularly heavy on alien members in the films(in fact the Empire is prejudiced against them). In fact, we actually see more aliens in the Alliance in Rogue One than we do in ANH.

As for your example about Jabba's Palace, yes we see familiar aliens, familiar aliens we've already seen previously on Tattooine for the most part, so it makes perfect sense that we would see them there again. Of course it adds continuity because it would be weird if we didn't see any familiar aliens when visiting familiar places. When we visit brand new planets though, we don't see any familiar aliens unless it makes sense for the story.

Bespin and Hoth, all new aliens. Endor, all new aliens. Naboo, all new aliens and so on. The fact is, for the most part, when we are visiting new places in the films, we seldom see familiar aliens. Every planet in TFA was a new planet. Only Yavin IV was familiar in Rogue One(and it didn't have any aliens in the films previously anyhow). The fact is, unless we are visiting a planet we are familiar with, you shouldn't expect to see familiar aliens, and if you do get some, you shouldn't expect many. That is perfectly in line with how George handled his movies in that regard.

The exception to that rule, which I've already mentioned is Maz's castle. It's the exact kind of place that is a melting pot where it wouldn't have hurt them to throw in some familiar species. A Rodian here, a Gotal there. I agree that it would have lent the movie a bit more of a connected feel to the OT. Even with that oversight though, it's hardly a massive flaw that drags the film down.

As for the use of TFA aliens in Rogue One. It probably wouldn't have hurt to have one or two pop up in the background of Jedha City, but once again, it hardly hurt the film. Also, keep in mind, different parts of the galaxy and different eras. They were much more concerned about connecting Rogue One to ANH than they were TFA.

Now if we return to some of these new locations and don't see familiar aliens from the last time we visited them, that's a good time to voice some concerns.

As for classic aliens, I love classic aliens. I'd love to see a Nautolan character or a Kel Dor character, but I'm alright without seeing those old favorites if it makes sense for the story being told.

 

If Disney wants to destroy everything that came before and ruin the franchise they could have just made their own new Sci Fi movie and left SW alone. Jedi, Sith Dark Lords and the Force mystery are what made billions. I guess if they do not want to make billions they can continue down the dark side.

 

You want exactly the same movie you've seen 6 times before. You don't want anything to change?

 

I, the emperor, exterminated those persky races in 'operation cinder'. That is why they are no longer around.

 

i think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. I like a lot of the new aliens....but JJ should have included some old school aliens in TFA. Especially in the Maz's Castle scenes. The TFA cantina scene felt more like a tribute than a scene taking place in Star Wars, "Look at all these new aliens!". Are we even in the same galaxy? Rogue One did a better job of including more: The alien in Jyn's cell was an OT alien (I forget which species), Twilek, Aqualish, Mon Cal, and maybe others, I can't remember off the top of my head. And at least the new aliens in RO didn't look like Lord of the Rings reject designs for goblins and trolls. e.g:





Lucas was always adding aliens but keeping a healthy dose of familiar ones. This way he could expand the galaxy, not recreate it every time.
Here's to hoping Disney will learn from George, instead of copying him from a distance.

 

I think the real solution is to have a good mix. We need to see Rodians/Twileks/etc in the new movies, but we also need new stuff. Abnedos are a welcome addition (though Ello Asty was kind of a weird character) and I'd love to have new species enter the Star Wars alien pantheon.

Regarding the Jedi- well, first of all, we haven't seen the film... I'm sure you're aware, but movies kind of need drama and a plot. This could easily fall into the "superhero forsakes his identity" trope.

But even if it doesn't (and again, we haven't seen the film, so we can't say the context at all), it's not inconceivable that there is a good reason for Luke ending the Jedi that doesn't devalue what the Jedi have done before. For instance- I work in technology. We're beginning to phase out projectors in rooms for digital screens. I could say "It's time for the projectors to end" (and it would be super epic ). That wouldn't mean that I hate projectors, or that it was wrong to use them. Rather, that they served their purpose, but it's something else's time now. And yeah, maybe that'll alienate some fans... but I don't think it's worth getting upset over, I'd rather see the story they're trying to tell.

 

There was a Sallustan and a Mon Calamari in the Force Awakens..........and an actual Wookie. What are you people complaining about.

 

And a Kyuzo! Don't forget about Constable Zuvio!

PS. The are two other species worth pointing out - Stennes Shifters who appeared in ANH and Delphidians who showed up in Rogue One.