Why ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ Is a Huge Risk for Disney

[Rumors Rocks]

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...ars-episode-vii-is-a-huge-risk-for-disne.aspx

It's silly to suggest that the first of the new Star Wars will be anything but a massive hit for Disney (NYSE: DIS ) . Even if the movie is terrible -- which anyone who saw Episode I: The Phantom Menace knows is possible -- curiosity will bring the movie a huge box office haul.

But unlike the prequel trilogy -- which built to the have-to-see-it moment of the creation of Darth Vader -- a lousy first film could dim prospects for its sequels.

Star Wars box office history

The first Star Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope, was a completely unexpected hit. The movie was an unknown quantity from George Lucas, a then largely unknown director. That film has gone on to become one of the most (if not the most ) profitable movies of all times. In addition to its huge box office, the movie also basically created the licensed toy business and has been repackaged for rerelease in various formats more times than even the most ardent fan would want.

Box Office Mojo shows the domestic, international, and total box office takes for the second Star Wars trilogy. .

• Episode I, The Phantom Menace (1999): $474 million U.S., $552 million foreign, $1.02 billion total.
  
• Episode II, Attack of the Clones (2002): $310 million U.S., $338 million foreign, $649 million total
  
• Episode III, Revenge of the Sith (2005) : $380 million U.S., $468 million foreign, $848 million total

Interest in the series was clearly enormous with Phantom Menace bringing in $1 billion, but that film being lousy chased away 35% of the audience as Attack of the Clones brought in $350 million less.

It can also be argued that had Phantom Menace been a better movie, Revenge of the Sith would have maxed out over $1 billion (an extra $150 million in box office). Making a bad first movie -- Phantom Menace scores a mediocre 57% at Rotten Tomatoes, which is kind for how dull the movie was -- may have cost the trilogy half a billion in lost revenue.

There is a huge potential audience for Star Wars

Disney and director J.J. Abrams have been very slow to release any details of the new movies, but they did post a press release about Episode VII earlier this week. In it they announced that principal photography starts May 2014 and will be based at London's Pinewood Studios.

They also released the first official details on the storyline for the films, when they take place, and a very hopeful piece of information for fans of the original trilogy.

"Star Wars: Episode VII is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and will star a trio of new young leads along with some very familiar faces. No further details on casting or plot are available at this time," the release said.

If familiar faces means a return of Mark Hammil as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, and Harrison Ford as Han Solo, than Disney is doing the right thing. The enormous Star Wars fan base is more likely to connect to the movies if they in part update the audience on what has happened to these beloved characters.

For the most ardent Star Wars audience -- the ones that buy the books and comic books that comprise the extended Star Wars universe -- it's not just having these characters in the film that's important, but what aspects of their literary past are acknowledged.

The extended universe mostly makes sense
Though the early Star Wars books contain some logistics problems, a large effort has been made to make the entire Star Wars Universe fit together. For example, 2013's Kenobi, a book that explored the years after Revenge of the Sith but before A New Hope, took painstaking effort to explain why Obi Wan Kenobi in Episode IV looked way older than he should have given that only 20 years had passed.

Pleasing fanboys entirely and respecting every little piece of backstory is not always appropriate or possible on the big screen. But being respectful of the audience that has devoted time and money to keeping the Star Wars brand vital is important.

It's OK if the Episode VII changes some details but if it skips over major story points -- say Han and Leia being married or Luke rebuilding the Jedi order -- then the series biggest fans could turn on it.

The Force should be with Episode VII

J.J. Abrams showed with the Star Trek reboot that he could be respectful of a franchise's past while creating a movie that does more than please fan boys. Episode VII will be one of the most anticipated movies of all time, but it will also be one of the most heavily scrutinized films ever as well.

A bad first movie won't tank at the box office, but it might cost later films a huge chunk of potential box office. If a bad Phantom Menace cost $500 million, the stakes should be even higher here because this is the first movie under the Disney banner.

Make a good movie -- not even a great one just more Episode III than Episode I -- and Episode VII could be a billion-dollar movie that leads to billion-dollar sequels.

 

[SeanWM48]

good article. first film will indeed bring the bank thanks to curiosity and the fact that it's been a while. but if it's a stupid movie they'll lose the casual fan and only have the diehards left.

let's face it the diehards will watch it regardless of reviews or characters or anything else. but i look at it from my own perspective - i am not a star wars fan but i'll go check it out if i hear it's good.

if i was a diehard fan i'd trust JJ abrams though. i'd bet on this film being a real crowd-pleaser while also setting the table for a sequel or two.

 

[JoWiJo]

RE: The Force should be with Episode VII

While I haven't been a big fan of the original series of Star Trek, I still like it, and have been a fan of The Next Generation and Voyager. The reboot movie was fun to watch, but I found the conclusion unsettling.

I say that to preface this: Abrams was not respectful to the franchise's past. How can you claim he did when he did something that was a significant shift from the canon? The minor changes I can take. The senseless destruction of Vulcan, however, was totally disrespectful, and will remain so unless they do another movie where they go back in time and prevent its destruction and kinda-sorta restore the original timeline. And this time-traveling thing has already gotten pretty old, especially in the Star Trek franchise. Really old.

What does this mean for Star Wars VII? It potentially means that the canon is not safe. My guess is that he won't be allowed to do anything that significantly parts from the other six movies, but those of you who are into the canon established via books or side comments from Lucas himself may wind up pulling your hair. I, myself, didn't get wrapped up into the expanded universe, so I may enjoy VII a lot more than those of you who did. But there is no telling what he may do to the extant story line. Yeah, the Force may be with him in Episode VII, but he may be using the Dark Side to accomplish his goals. Only time will tell which side he uses.

Oh, and by the time we get to the end of IX, don't be surprised if one of the two droids becomes a goner, for no other true reason but to make you want to cry. Ditto for the Falcon (let's see what his vision for Star Wars does to that ship).

 

[Planogirl]

I will just say that they definitely don't want to upset the devoted fans. I worry that they could be tempted to dumb down the Star Wars franchise and that would be a big mistake. It's already a fun space western so making it too childish could just make it beyond silly.

However, if Abrams can stay away from characters such as the Ewoks or Jar Jar, he will already have an advantage.

On a side note, I originally saw Star Wars A New Hope as the second billing at a drive-in theater. We went to see the first movie but watched this one out of curiosity and were blown away. It appears that they were test marketing it here and there before fully releasing it and people everywhere went crazy for it.

 

[cubsblue]

Kline truely is a fool. He us wrong more often than not on his predictions in the market and has shown in the past that he is lost when it comes to media.

 

[akadada]

Great article. Brings up a lot of good points. I think there's two issues:

1. Maintain the original fan base to allow for credibility to the future fan base...

2. . . . which means, 30+ plus years later, the trilogy does need a new fan base along with inspiring my kids to be excited, so I think JJAbrams can do that. I'm hopeful in the force.

Anecdotally, prior to the new Star Trek, I had absolutely no interest in it, but the new Star Trek was very settling for me the way it ended. It gave it new life and up to date excitement.

As an aside, I've read most of the post Episode six trilogy books, so personally, I would welcome any level of influence Timonthy Zahn could provide in the future episodes. Personally, I thought Zahn's books are as good, if not better, than the original, although without the original, Zahn would not have been able to write...may lightning not strike me for saying that though. Force believers.

 

[DanBoris]

RE: The Force should be with Episode VII

While I haven't been a big fan of the original series of Star Trek, I still like it, and have been a fan of The Next Generation and Voyager. The reboot movie was fun to watch, but I found the conclusion unsettling.

I say that to preface this: Abrams was not respectful to the franchise's past. How can you claim he did when he did something that was a significant shift from the canon? The minor changes I can take. The senseless destruction of Vulcan, however, was totally disrespectful, and will remain so unless they do another movie where they go back in time and prevent its destruction and kinda-sorta restore the original timeline. And this time-traveling thing has already gotten pretty old, especially in the Star Trek franchise. Really old.

What does this mean for Star Wars VII? It potentially means that the canon is not safe. My guess is that he won't be allowed to do anything that significantly parts from the other six movies, but those of you who are into the canon established via books or side comments from Lucas himself may wind up pulling your hair. I, myself, didn't get wrapped up into the expanded universe, so I may enjoy VII a lot more than those of you who did. But there is no telling what he may do to the extant story line. Yeah, the Force may be with him in Episode VII, but he may be using the Dark Side to accomplish his goals. Only time will tell which side he uses.

Oh, and by the time we get to the end of IX, don't be surprised if one of the two droids becomes a goner, for no other true reason but to make you want to cry. Ditto for the Falcon (let's see what his vision for Star Wars does to that ship).

The big difference between the Abrams Trek and Star Wars is that they decided that Trek should be a reboot whereas Star Wars will continue the story of the movies. When you do a reboot, having to stay with canon really limits what you can do creatively. As for the EU, I would not be surprised if they ignore everything post Jedi. They may lift elements from the EU, but probably won't copy anything exactly. For example we may see children of Han and Leia in Episode VII but they won't be the same characters that were in the EU.

 

[DrummerDad]

I really want to know how then can integrate Jar Jar into the story, or ewoks.

 

[Twin Dad]

good article. first film will indeed bring the bank thanks to curiosity and the fact that it's been a while. but if it's a stupid movie they'll lose the casual fan and only have the diehards left.

let's face it the diehards will watch it regardless of reviews or characters or anything else. but i look at it from my own perspective - i am not a star wars fan but i'll go check it out if i hear it's good.

if i was a diehard fan i'd trust JJ abrams though. i'd bet on this film being a real crowd-pleaser while also setting the table for a sequel or two.

Actually the die hards have been up in arms since it was announced Disney bought Lucasfilm. The fan pages on Facebook are full of fans ripping any move Disney makes whether rational or not. Whether or not the go to see Episode VII in droves is up in the air but the margin for error is very small. They screw up the first movie and they could turn on Abrams so fast your head will spin.

RE: The Force should be with Episode VII

While I haven't been a big fan of the original series of Star Trek, I still like it, and have been a fan of The Next Generation and Voyager. The reboot movie was fun to watch, but I found the conclusion unsettling.

I say that to preface this: Abrams was not respectful to the franchise's past. How can you claim he did when he did something that was a significant shift from the canon? The minor changes I can take. The senseless destruction of Vulcan, however, was totally disrespectful, and will remain so unless they do another movie where they go back in time and prevent its destruction and kinda-sorta restore the original timeline. And this time-traveling thing has already gotten pretty old, especially in the Star Trek franchise. Really old.

What does this mean for Star Wars VII? It potentially means that the canon is not safe. My guess is that he won't be allowed to do anything that significantly parts from the other six movies, but those of you who are into the canon established via books or side comments from Lucas himself may wind up pulling your hair. I, myself, didn't get wrapped up into the expanded universe, so I may enjoy VII a lot more than those of you who did. But there is no telling what he may do to the extant story line. Yeah, the Force may be with him in Episode VII, but he may be using the Dark Side to accomplish his goals. Only time will tell which side he uses.

Oh, and by the time we get to the end of IX, don't be surprised if one of the two droids becomes a goner, for no other true reason but to make you want to cry. Ditto for the Falcon (let's see what his vision for Star Wars does to that ship).

As soon as Episode VII was announced I knew the EU was in trouble. And I'm OK with that. The last two series were not that great and the books have been trending downward since Vector Prime. Instead of reinventing the wheel I hope they just go back and cherry pick from the EU.

If this is really a passing of the torch trilogy you cannot expect for all of the Big 3 to make it through. And I have to think, if Han goes the Falcon goes with him.

I will just say that they definitely don't want to upset the devoted fans. I worry that they could be tempted to dumb down the Star Wars franchise and that would be a big mistake. It's already a fun space western so making it too childish could just make it beyond silly.

However, if Abrams can stay away from characters such as the Ewoks or Jar Jar, he will already have an advantage.

He is already being called Jar Jar Abrams by some. I personally don't get the hate from the Star Wars faithful. Without Disney buying LucasFilm there would be no more movies. And Disney has done just fine with the Marvel movies so I think the fans are getting their undies in a bunch prematurely. For the new movie, they hired a seasoned director who is a fan and a veteran writer who helped write, arguably, the best movie of the saga. The Clone Wars was ending anyways Disney just canceled it a bit sooner than planned and is starting a new series. LucasArts was a ship with no rudder so Disney rearranged the model and has EA doing new games. Disney has done everything right so far. We'll know for sure after the next movie.

As an aside, I've read most of the post Episode six trilogy books, so personally, I would welcome any level of influence Timonthy Zahn could provide in the future episodes. Personally, I thought Zahn's books are as good, if not better, than the original, although without the original, Zahn would not have been able to write...may lightning not strike me for saying that though. Force believers.

I thought the Zahn books were fantastic. Thrawn is one of the best villains I've ever read. He's not a classic villain but the brilliant player who wears the wrong jersey.

 

[Ulysses]

One thing is for certain, if the films take place after the original trilogy, there probably is no good way to bring all the characters back together that would be easily accepted by the die-hards of the fanbase. Plus, I'm not sure how compelling of a story it would be (though I never read the Zahn books).

Although it would be really interesting if they took an approach similar to what Netflix did when they re-booted Arrested Development, and focus on stories based around just one character, with some appearances/interactions with a few other key characters. Although they will inevitably have to introduce some new blood into the series somewhere, and that would be a good way to go about it - by letting the known characters usher them in.

However, I am glad that Disney owns the franchise now, because frankly, I haven't been happy with any decision George Lucas has made since the mid-90s. To this day, the only copies of the original trilogy that I own are from the 1994-95 VHS re-release of the movies. That was also the very last time Han shot first, and there were no gratuitous CGI additions where they weren't needed.

 

[wiigirl]

I really want to know how then can integrate Jar Jar into the story, or ewoks.

 

[BrianL]

I hate how the article's author constantly cites Phantom Menace as a terrible movie. I quite liked it and think it gets a bum rap. I'm just not a prequel hater, and really don't get why so many fans are. I am also looking forward to the new trilogy.

 

[xie]

And Disney has done just fine with the Marvel movies so I think the fans are getting their undies in a bunch prematurely. For the new movie, they hired a seasoned director who is a fan and a veteran writer who helped write, arguably, the best movie of the saga. The Clone Wars was ending anyways Disney just canceled it a bit sooner than planned and is starting a new series. LucasArts was a ship with no rudder so Disney rearranged the model and has EA doing new games. Disney has done everything right so far. We'll know for sure after the next movie.

Honestly I think it's too soon to say whether Disney will do right by Star Wars or not. Most of what Marvel has made since their acquisition by Disney was already in the pipeline pre-Disney, and they (Marvel) seem to still definitely be in charge creatively speaking of their characters and story lines. Disney has taken over distribution and marketing from Marvel, primarily. Marvel still seems firmly in charge of their toons otherwise.

I thought Abrams did OK with the first Star Trek movie. I thought the second one he did was bad. It left me not wanting to pay to see another one. I struggle to quantify the difference, except to say: the first movie was about their time at the Academy, and it therefore was a bit "new"; they could have gone anywhere and told brand new stories, with these characters they had refired. Unfortunately the second movie simply rehashed a story we'd seen before, but hacked it up a bit (for the worse). The universe is a big **** place; can't we find a storyline about a villain other than Kahn? And, lens flare. And Vulcan. And Alice Eve disrobing, randomly for no reason. Anyway.

I also think Abrams is spread too thin; he's got his name on a bajillion different properties. So many tv shows and movies that I honestly wonder how many of them he actually works on, and how many he just spends 5 minutes signing off on.

I'm with you, I hope Disney doesn't wreck it. Honestly Star Wars was a success both because of and despite Lucas. The Star Wars universe is amazing; he had vision there, and he clearly had a vision with Luke's original hero's journey storyline, which was a solid character arc upon which to pin the first trilogy. Unfortunately outside of that there were some pretty big problems with the second trilogy. The dialog and characters are inconsistent as heck; some are great, others are little more than one-dimensional finger painted cardboard. And there was some truly horrible casting in Eps 1-3. (That give me the willies, really, when I hear "three new unknown actors". Please don't put bad actors in main roles again. )

 

[SeanWM48]

Actually the die hards have been up in arms since it was announced Disney bought Lucasfilm. The fan pages on Facebook are full of fans ripping any move Disney makes whether rational or not. Whether or not the go to see Episode VII in droves is up in the air but the margin for error is very small. They screw up the first movie and they could turn on Abrams so fast your head will spin.

ha! come on. don't you know any star wars superfans? they might be keyboard warriors but when these movies come out they're shelling out the cash regardless of who's in it, what the reviews say, who the director is, etc. disney or not, these guys are suckers for this star wars stuff.

like i said, maybe it'll be a fun movie, i actually hope it is. but if there's one thing disney DOESN'T need to worry about it's the diehards. those are the folks you can count on. they're money in the bank. it's broadening the audience and bringing in casual moviegoers that matters.

 

[Twin Dad]

Honestly I think it's too soon to say whether Disney will do right by Star Wars or not. Most of what Marvel has made since their acquisition by Disney was already in the pipeline pre-Disney, and they (Marvel) seem to still definitely be in charge creatively speaking of their characters and story lines. Disney has taken over distribution and marketing from Marvel, primarily. Marvel still seems firmly in charge of their toons otherwise.

I thought Abrams did OK with the first Star Trek movie. I thought the second one he did was bad. It left me not wanting to pay to see another one. I struggle to quantify the difference, except to say: the first movie was about their time at the Academy, and it therefore was a bit "new"; they could have gone anywhere and told brand new stories, with these characters they had refired. Unfortunately the second movie simply rehashed a story we'd seen before, but hacked it up a bit (for the worse). The universe is a big **** place; can't we find a storyline about a villain other than Kahn? And, lens flare. And Vulcan. And Alice Eve disrobing, randomly for no reason. Anyway.

I also think Abrams is spread too thin; he's got his name on a bajillion different properties. So many tv shows and movies that I honestly wonder how many of them he actually works on, and how many he just spends 5 minutes signing off on.

I'm with you, I hope Disney doesn't wreck it. Honestly Star Wars was a success both because of and despite Lucas. The Star Wars universe is amazing; he had vision there, and he clearly had a vision with Luke's original hero's journey storyline, which was a solid character arc upon which to pin the first trilogy. Unfortunately outside of that there were some pretty big problems with the second trilogy. The dialog and characters are inconsistent as heck; some are great, others are little more than one-dimensional finger painted cardboard. And there was some truly horrible casting in Eps 1-3. (That give me the willies, really, when I hear "three new unknown actors". Please don't put bad actors in main roles again. )

I have a bunch of coworkers and friends who are more of the casual Star Wars fan. When they say they are worried of what Disney will do I just point to what they've done with Marvel.

I loved the reboot and what they did with reintorducing the characters. I wasn't as put off by the second movie as most. It wasn't reusing Kahn that bothered me as much as all the homages to Star Trek II. I also had no trouble with Alice Eve disrobing but that's another topic. I did like having us introduced to Carol Marcus.

In interviews it already looks like they are trying to not repeat the mistakes of the second trilogy. They are building sets and models. There are rumors flying about sites all over Europe being used for shooting plates. Iceland is only the most recent.

ha! come on. don't you know any star wars superfans? they might be keyboard warriors but when these movies come out they're shelling out the cash regardless of who's in it, what the reviews say, who the director is, etc. disney or not, these guys are suckers for this star wars stuff.

like i said, maybe it'll be a fun movie, i actually hope it is. but if there's one thing disney DOESN'T need to worry about it's the diehards. those are the folks you can count on. they're money in the bank. it's broadening the audience and bringing in casual moviegoers that matters.

I know plenty and would consider myself one. I also know tons of causal fans. A lot are very worried of what Disney will do to the new trilogy. Most of my casual friends can be put at ease by pointing to Marvel. The former group, not so much. They don't like Abrams just because he did Star Trek. They are convinced that Disney will try and milk the merchandising for all its worth (my irony meter overloads whenever I hear that one). Others are upset with Clone Wars ending prematurely, ignoring that the series was originally supposed to be five seasons then stretched to seven then shortened back to six. Others are mad that their beloved EU is going to get shredded. Most of the bluster will, I think, die off when the movies come out. But Disney and Abrams won't have a big margin of error. They have to knock this first film out of the park or, as I said earlier, the fan base will turn and fast. That means the diehards will stop buying merchandise and will not go back to the theater 13/14 times. That will make it a whole lot harder for Disney to make good on its $4B investment. I think they have made all the right moves, so far. But the real test will be how the first movie is received.

 

[Magic Fanatic]

I have a bunch of coworkers and friends who are more of the casual Star Wars fan. When they say they are worried of what Disney will do I just point to what they've done with Marvel. I loved the reboot and what they did with reintorducing the characters. I wasn't as put off by the second movie as most. It wasn't reusing Kahn that bothered me as much as all the homages to Star Trek II. I also had no trouble with Alice Eve disrobing but that's another topic. I did like having us introduced to Carol Marcus. In interviews it already looks like they are trying to not repeat the mistakes of the second trilogy. They are building sets and models. There are rumors flying about sites all over Europe being used for shooting plates. Iceland is only the most recent. I know plenty and would consider myself one. I also know tons of causal fans. A lot are very worried of what Disney will do to the new trilogy. Most of my casual friends can be put at ease by pointing to Marvel. The former group, not so much. They don't like Abrams just because he did Star Trek. They are convinced that Disney will try and milk the merchandising for all its worth (my irony meter overloads whenever I hear that one). Others are upset with Clone Wars ending prematurely, ignoring that the series was originally supposed to be five seasons then stretched to seven then shortened back to six. Others are mad that their beloved EU is going to get shredded. Most of the bluster will, I think, die off when the movies come out. But Disney and Abrams won't have a big margin of error. They have to knock this first film out of the park or, as I said earlier, the fan base will turn and fast. That means the diehards will stop buying merchandise and will not go back to the theater 13/14 times. That will make it a whole lot harder for Disney to make good on its $4B investment. I think they have made all the right moves, so far. But the real test will be how the first movie is received.

I don't care how good any movie is, in this day of digital downloads and streaming, no one is going to any theater to see a movie 13/14 times.

 

[Twin Dad]

I don't care how good any movie is, in this day of digital downloads and streaming, no one is going to any theater to see a movie 13/14 times.

That was hyperbole. I know I'll be going twice for sure. Once with my geek friends and then with DS right after school.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

my two cents...

i dont' know anything about the writer...but i have to say his points seem completely valid.

it has played out in the movies in the era of franchises and sequels over and over again...

the lord of the rings best installments were the first two...which created a huge haul for the return of the king...which was entirely predictable like the return of the jedi (even if many already knew from the book)

harry potters momentum was carried by the excellent columbus movies

the bourne series built steam and momentum from the first chapter...which was a better film after seeing more

the nolan batman films (in that case dark knight was TOO good...but rises made a nickel or two anyway)...heck, even the first transformers movie was actually a good story...and allowed flaming dog poo to make billions in sequel format.

James bond did it twice....goldeneye was fantastic and covered the crap that followed...casino royal was so good it shielded quantum of ridiculous until they could scratch skyfall out (after 5 years and no funding...not a small feat in hollywood whatsoever)

the phenomenon with pirates of the caribbean may be the best, easiest example

in counter...gi joe was beyond awful...there kill the gravy train (that hurts deep down on me)...the muppets movie i thought was bland...saw the new one and liked it alot more.
but its already a flop....way under projections and wont get back to its budget. so there go the muppets back to the shelf - this time maybe permanently.


as a Star Wars fan cast out into the wilderness by rick the schtick mccallum and his handler Georgie...
i have to say that i hope disney can do it...mainly because they have the resources and the potential cross promotional profits at risk like NO other entity. they have so much to gain that they also have EVERYTHING to lose. mickey and Elsa can't dominate forever...nor can ironman.

I see two viable options:

Abrams is enough of a fan to not settle for anything less than a fantastic popcorn flick...not deep...but lasting fun. he might have to have kevin smith be his editor to ensure QC. Doesn't have to be The Dark Knight...but can't go anywhere near "revenge of the fallen"

option two...what i'm rooting for...
is that they get ballsy and take the films back to an adult tone like empire or most of return of the jedi...
take the calculated gamble that dumbing it down for moronic 15 year olds is not the way to go...and the franchise will better be served by doing a basis film to build off of...
i think Batman Begins is the perfect model for that. great, underated, but really impactful with the core and new fans that leads to something fantastic. now warner brothers is strangling it with Bennifer...but hey, morons are morons.

Star wars doesn't have to be that dark/serious...but it cant be "evil fluff" either.

That approach would really kiss the patooties of that +/- 40 age bracket...who just also happens to be the demographic who are quickly starting to HAVE ALL THE MONEY...as is the circle of life.

i have alot of faith...i just don't think theres anybody stupid enough...not even bob cheap suit...to make walmart isle 12 the focus of this whole ridiculous multibillion dollar plan...

well...there's one...and he got bought out. so he and spielberg can get to work on "indiana jones and the dragqueen's riddle"...
where he survives a nuclear blast by wearing panties in an oak armoire cabinet this time.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

That was hyperbole. I know I'll be going twice for sure. Once with my geek friends and then with DS right after school.

amen, my druid brother...

 

[akadada]

One thing is for certain, if the films take place after the original trilogy, there probably is no good way to bring all the characters back together that would be easily accepted by the die-hards of the fanbase. Plus, I'm not sure how compelling of a story it would be (though I never read the Zahn books).

Although it would be really interesting if they took an approach similar to what Netflix did when they re-booted Arrested Development, and focus on stories based around just one character, with some appearances/interactions with a few other key characters. Although they will inevitably have to introduce some new blood into the series somewhere, and that would be a good way to go about it - by letting the known characters usher them in.

However, I am glad that Disney owns the franchise now, because frankly, I haven't been happy with any decision George Lucas has made since the mid-90s. To this day, the only copies of the original trilogy that I own are from the 1994-95 VHS re-release of the movies. That was also the very last time Han shot first, and there were no gratuitous CGI additions where they weren't needed.

Please read the Zahn books; it is wonderful time spent. Heir to the Empire.

I agree that Lucas should be out; I have faith in Disney to resurrect it (or destroy it of course). Jar Jar and Ann-ie were a hot mess.