Today the Thor: Ragnarok International Trailer was released. Thoughts: I wonder how much of a role Dr. Strange is going to take on in the movie. It looks like he may be more integral than first thought. I still love Cate Blanchett as Mistress Death. She's going to be awesome, especially if she becomes Thanos's love interest. Finally, will Thor die by the end of this movie or will he continue on to Infinity War? Can't wait for November 3rd. May the Force Be with You.
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![]() This morning on Twitter, reputable Twitter user @crazyclown124 asked Rian Johnson and Mark Hamill if the rumors were true that the next Star Wars VIII trailer would drop on October 9th during halftime of the Cowboys-Cardinals game on Monday Night Football. Hamill actually responded, hinting that it might just happen. Exciting to say the least. Do we need another The Last Jedi trailer, though? I've talked at length with my students about how bad a movie will be if you see the movie trailer and it essentially gives away the entire plot of the story. The Twittersphere has been inundated with posts about Lucasfilm's brilliance in not releasing another trailer to give away more plot points. Even though I would LOVE another trailer, I worry that it might give away too much, including the shocking reveal that supposedly will show up in this story similar to the "I am your Father" reveal in Empire. Do we need another trailer or can we be content waiting another 85ish days? I, for one, can if it means the movie will be that much better. I guess we'll have to wait until October 9th to see. May the Force be with you. ![]() There's multiple theories going around Youtube about Rey losing a limb in The Last Jedi, which makes sense considering the movies parallel each other and both Luke and Anakin (The Chosen One Archetype) lose arms in The Empire Strikes Back and Attack of the Clones, respectively. So, will Rey lose a limb in Star Wars 8 and will it be by lightsaber? Lucasfilm and Disney have already shown a penchant for paying homage and showing parallelism in The Force Awakens so why not now? The Force Awakens is basically A New Hope with a different cast of characters (which, hopefully, is purposeful and I believe that it is). Droids given important information. Droids discovered by The Chosen One on a desert planet. Person takes droid to more knowledgeable sage. Sage sends person on quest. Droids reveals crucial information. Weapon of Mass Destruction revealed. Weapon of Mass Destruction attacked and destroyed in spite of overwhelming odds. You get the point. So Rey WILL lose a limb. How? Will she lose it to Kylo Ren's lightsaber? Will she lose it to Snoke? Will Snoke have a lightsaber? In Empire, Vader cuts off his own son's hand, whereas in AOTC, Dooku cuts off Anakin's hand. If Disney follows suit, then a dark force user will cut off the Chosen One's hand. Kylo, then. It would really add to the drama if Kylo ends up being the one to cut off her hand, yet she convinces him, ala Luke convincing Vader to come back to the light. Especially if they fall in love. Can't wait to find out. May the Force be with you. Star Wars Series #12: JJ Abrams announced as the new director of Episode IV and Release Date Changed9/12/2017 Today, Lucasfilm announced that JJ Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode IV and changed the release date to December 20, 2019. Both announcements are unexpected, but will have significant impact on the trilogy. Rian Johnson was originally approached to direct Episode IV when Colin Trevorrow was let go, but decided against directing the final chapter of the saga. Johnson's work on The Last Jedi has been lauded as masterful by Kathleen Kennedy, the braintrust at Lucasfilm, as well as the various actors in the film. Johnson would have been a masterful choice considering he also knew the direction he was taking The Last Jedi and would have been able to seamlessly transition the two films. I was rooting for Johnson for his reputation from The Last Jedi as well as his down-to-Earth personality. I'm content with Abrams, especially knowing what he brings to the table, but he must approach the final installment as redemption. Although a wonderful movie, The Force Awakens has fallen under scrutiny for its lack of originality, as well as some of its character development (or lack thereof). I'm excited about Abrams directing if he addresses the issues pundits had with TFA by creating a work that stands completely on its own. His job will be a difficult one. JJ Abrams's The Force Awakens mimicked other iterations too completely and had some head-scratching moments, like when Poe survives the crash on Jakku, but never comes back for BB8 or when Rey hugs Leia instead of Chewbacca, who had a much more emotional connection in the story. Abrams will have to fix these issues, as well as create an emotionally fulfilling final chapter to the Skywalker saga. Episode IV must tie up loose ends and make sense, while still remaining action-packed and interesting. He must figure out all of these things while making sure the acting and visual effects are great. I'm skeptical, but not as skeptical as I was with Trevorrow at the head. Maybe this is why Rian Johnson declined the opportunity to direct Episode IV. Here's to hoping that Johnson's directing in The Last Jedi basically forces Abrams to make good decisions in Episode IV. Star Wars: Episode IV was originally slated to be released in May of 2019. Star Wars Series #11: How Leia failed they galaxy and why Ben Solo turned to the Dark Side9/10/2017 ![]() The night I walked out of the theater after watching Star Wars: Episode VII, one of the many questions I had was "Why wasn't Leia a more prominent figure in the galaxy after what she'd done in Episodes IV, V, and VI?" Watching her in The Force Awakens, I couldn't help but think that she seemed more broken than ever before, even after all she'd been through. Today, I finally got me answer. My favorite Star Wars author since Disney purchased Lucasfilm has been Claudia Gray, the author of the New York Times bestselling series A Thousand Pieces of You. She has written Star Wars: Lost Stars, Star Wars: Bloodline, and Leia: Princess of Alderaan. I've read Lost Stars (it's my favorite novel of any of the new canon) and been meaning to read Bloodline for awhile now. Today, I finished it and loved it. It is heavy on dialogue and politics, but what it lacks in action, it makes up for in drama. There is no moment more drama-filled than the vote for the First Senator to be elected to lead the senate almost 20 years after the Battle on Endor. Having been a popular leader since that time because of her acts of heroism as a leader of the rebellion, the galaxy is in need of uniting politically and the Populists make Leia as their choice. Right when the vote is about to be cast, one of Leia's friends in the Senate, Ransolm Casterfo, betrays the truth of her father to the Senate. Leia is shocked, believing that nobody besides her inner circle (Han and Luke) knew that Vader had been her and Luke's father. Casterfo, still disbelieving, asks Leia if, in fact, Vader was her father. Courageously, Leia doesn't deny the truth in spite of what might happen as a result. The Senate, unwisely fearful of the Second Coming of a tyrant, show their disapproval and denounce her as a candidate immediately. In the aftermath, Leia goes back to her room and sends a message to her young son, Ben Solo, who she'd been waiting to tell at the right time and place. I absolutely loved this moment because it both shows how human Leia is, as well as how strong she is a character. She probably made a mistake not telling the rest of the galaxy that Vader was her father and could have even feigned ignorance if she had been totally forthcoming almost immediately after Endor. In fact, I could probably write an entire post on her reasons for why she DIDN'T tell anybody about Vader. Even more interesting is the idea that Han and Leia never told Ben because they wanted to protect him. He would have been ridiculed in school and in public, especially as a child, and probably didn't need to know because he wouldn't have understood. Having said that, finding out that your grandfather was a genocidal maniac and a Sith Lord as a still-developing teenager probably didn't improve Ben's chances of rising up above his past and becoming the Chosen One of his generation. He probably grew sullen and brooding because he felt his parents hadn't been honest about his grandfather's legacy (or lack thereof). It's possible this moment birthed the Kylo Ren we see in The Force Awakens. Yet, Leia is fearless in the moment of (possibly) one of her greatest trials and tells the honest truth about her past even though she understands the consequences. Returning to her quarters, she is vilified by her retainers and disrespected by her political allies. She is in pain, having to relive old wounds and I would have totally let it slide if she had lashed out at her attackers. Instead, she shows them respect and love and immediately goes to work trying to communicate with the people that need to know the most. What are the implications for The Last Jedi? We know why Leia isn't a strong leader in the galaxy. We understand why Leia hasn't found happiness in her own life and who she is as The Force Awakens begins. We now know why Ben is so broken as a youth and why he doesn't have a good relationship with his parents. We also know why Ben idolizes his grandfather so much, seeing as he'd never been taught about him when he was younger. Most importantly, we see a possible redemption arc for Kylo Ren as he'd probably never been whole after finding out this truth about his grandfather. ![]() Today, Lucasfilm announced they've let go of Star Wars Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow. I'm concerned, but not because I think that Episode IX will suffer as a result. Lucasfilm has now had issues with EVERY director since the new films have come out except for Rian Johnson. JJ Abrams didn't have issues with Lucasfilm, but The Force Awakens had some real issues; Gareth Edwards basically just went along with what he was told by the end of Rogue One and the first anthology film had to go through extensive reshoots in order to survive the editing process; the directors for the upcoming Han Solo anthology movie, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, were recently let go because they had conflicting ideas about the film, thinking that it was going to be a comedy; and now Trevorrow. Ron Howard, who hasn't really directed anything of note in the last 25 years, is now filming the Han Solo anthology. The question now is why is Lucasfilm not using Rian Johnson, the director for the upcoming Star Wars movie The Last Jedi, to direct ALL of the movies, especially considering how much the cast loves and respects him and how positive the prescreenings have been. It just makes sense. Here's to hoping Rian Johnson gets the gig (and that Ron Howard pulls a rabbit out of his hat). May the Force be with you. Today the second trailer for Star Wars Rebels Season 4 dropped at a Star Wars Rebels Con panel in Canada. Watch it (if you haven't already) so we can talk about it. There were some pretty interesting moments in Star Wars Rebels Season 4, Trailer 2:
It's obvious that Ezra will play a large role in the fourth and final season, especially since I think that we'll see the Rebels try to liberate Lothal. At Star Wars Celebration, Taylor Gray, who voices Ezra Bridger, says that Ezra will have a profound experience in Season 4 that will change his life. Will he turn to the Dark Side? Will he fall in love with Sabine? I believe that Ezra's profound experience will impact how we see the original trilogy and, perhaps, the new trilogy. I can't say how, but I believe that it will be another seminal moment in the Star Wars canon. Here's why: I can't get away from the first line of Rebels Season 4 Trailer 1, where Hera says Rebels is the "story of a boy who was lost and a girl who was broken." That line has changed the way I watch and think about the show and I wonder if the line is a misdirection or a clue pointing to the true purpose of the story. Recently, I watched a Youtube video arguing why Rebels is a terrible show and doesn't add anything to the Star Wars saga. If Rebels is about to show us its relevance to the rest of the Star Wars story, it would be a misdirection of epic proportions since many don't see merit in the show right now. I still believe that this story could be Rey's parents origin story, but even if it's not, I believe we'll see something huge this Season that will blow our minds. I can't wait. Season 4 premiers October 16 on Disney XD. May the Force Be with You. NOTE: Language in the video below. |
AuthorThree-time Spartan Beast. Utah Jazz fan. Cougar. Aggie. Pioneer. Colt. Teacher. Auror. Earthbender. Ranger. Jedi. Hero of the Lance. Guardian of the Galaxy. Archives
December 2017
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