The new "Star Wars" trailer

I'm sure most of us saw it last night. And although I know there's been some discussion of this movie on other threads, it seemed like this was an event worthy of a standalone.

I thought it was entertaining. Besides being a really bad movie, "The Phantom Menace," I think, suffered because it was largely unrecognizable as a movie from the "Star Wars" franchise. Now that we're picking up where "Return of the Jedi" left off, I think a lot of people - myself included - are going to feel a lot more invested because there will be enough familiar elements to anchor us. Last night, we already saw Darth Vader's helmet, Tie Fighters, X-Wing Fighters, the Falcon, Stormtroopers, and, of course, at least three beloved characters from the original three movies.

I think there's always a risk here of the franchise being crushed under the weight of its now very hefty mythology. Even after three movies, the galaxy far, far away seemed overpopulated to excess. But I also feel like this is coming about 20 years after it should have. As much as I don't love the fact that there are no original ideas in Hollywood, I think a second trilogy with this set of characters would have really been the better choice over the prequels.

 

For anyone else, besides me, who did not see it last night but would like to:

 

I actually bought tickets last night to see it in IMAX.

 

I did, too. I'm optimistic about it, mostly because I think JJ Abrams will get it back closer to what it was before the prequels.

That said, I still don't really know much about the expected plot of this one. I've tried to steer clear of too much online speculation, relying just on what I can glean from the trailers. So it sounds like this one takes place in a time when Jedis and the Dark Side are so far in the past that they are almost myths?

 

Epi 7 is predicted to take in $615 million in its first weekend worldwide. Yikes.

 

I'm the same way and I'm also optimistic about JJ Abrams influence on it. The guy is just a hell of a filmmaker and this is right in his wheelhouse.

I'd love to know what the advanced sales are after, say, a week.

 

Any 40-something wants to walk through the door with their kids and get the experience their parents' got back in the 1970s.

It's part of the reason why Frozen was so successful; parents who were raised on princesses that make them go nuts now have princesses for their daughters.

The same is for all these comic book movies...

I have no idea if the new Star Wars is PG or not, but I hope it is. Guardians of the Galaxy is PG-13 and I really wish he didn't use the "dick" joke, because it might be PG without it, and I could watch it with my daughter pretty soon.

 

LOL, white people.

 

James Earl Jones just laughs at these morons #morans

 

For continuity purposes is the black guy Lando's son? A Jedi, too? Is the girl Luke or Leia's daughter? A Jedi, too?

As this takes place anywhere from 20-30 years after Episode 6, Leia would have had plenty of time to learn the ways of a Jedi. Luke said his sister knows the ways of the force in an earlier trailer.

 

Did the trailer give away something or am I just reading too much into this? There is a guy who is sort of like Vader pining over a figure of Vader and did I hear him say something to the effect of "finish my father's work?"