A name it has - Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (Er, no spoilers...)

Oh damn...

Sounds like they are doubling down on the "grey" side of the force vs. strictly light vs. dark. Which is quite promising!

It's time for the Jedi to end ________

Come on, you know that's not the whole line.

I think it's kind of amusing that, after Rogue One, anyone thinks even half of those scenes are even going to appear in the movie.

Posting trailer from the original source to scratch a pet peeve itch

edit: adding Star Wars Show livestream

Poe Dameron keeps getting his X-wings blown up. He needs to find better parking spaces.

BadKen wrote:

Poe Dameron keeps getting his X-wings blown up. He needs to find better parking spaces.

Did you notice it was parked between two A-Wings? Hooray new(er) fighters, capital ships, and walkers!

BadKen wrote:

Poe Dameron keeps getting his X-wings blown up. He needs to find better parking spaces.

Which leads to new X-Wing Lego sets with different color schemes*.

*Possibly criticism, but then again I have both of them...

I would buy Poe's new X-Wing in a color scheme that didn't remind me of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Maybe it's the whole a new Star Wars movie every year thing, but I feel like getting hyped over this trailer in April is like getting hyped over a Christmas commercial in April.

jamos5 wrote:

Sounds like they are doubling down on the "grey" side of the force vs. strictly light vs. dark. Which is quite promising!

This is the theme across all current media. They're definitely going for the "Dark Crystal" ending.

Maq wrote:
jamos5 wrote:

Sounds like they are doubling down on the "grey" side of the force vs. strictly light vs. dark. Which is quite promising!

This is the theme across all current media. They're definitely going for the "Dark Crystal" ending.

Haven't they always been heading that way? They've talked about balancing the force since I don't know when.

garion333 wrote:
Maq wrote:
jamos5 wrote:

Sounds like they are doubling down on the "grey" side of the force vs. strictly light vs. dark. Which is quite promising!

This is the theme across all current media. They're definitely going for the "Dark Crystal" ending.

Haven't they always been heading that way? They've talked about balancing the force since I don't know when.

It was talked about a lot in the prequels...but it wasn't really a thematic element so it ultimately felt like it wasn't really addressed. I blame Lucas, though the tight focus on Anakin's fall dominates most of the other themes. In a way, the original trilogy was about what it means to be a Jedi, and the prequels are about what it means to be Sith.

On the surface, the original trilogy positions identifies the dark side with evil, and the light side with good. From this point of view, the Jedi seem to view the dark side as a corruption of the Force: the light side is its peaceful state, the dark side is the disruptions of passions and attachments that lead to fear, hate, and suffering. (Luke encounters a vision from the dark side and goes to help his friends, etc.)

The Clone Wars show touches on some non-Jedi/Sith approaches to the Force. Some were definitely light side or dark side, but a few were explicitly neutral. Rebels has a few more.

Now, there's an interpretation of order vs. chaos, where bringing the Force into balance means eliminating the chaos. That fits with the idea that the Jedi were trying to bring about harmony in the galaxy by reducing the influence of the dark side. But the Sith aren't particularly chaotic. In fact, the Empire is Order contrasted with the Rebel's Chaos. (Both trilogies are order vs. chaos, but which side is which flips.)

The most prominent distinction between the Jedi and the Sith is external vs. internal. The Sith draw their power from inner passions, using them to make their will manifest. Whereas the Jedi control their internal struggle and listen to the external Force flowing between every living being. Roughly, Jedi listen to the Force, the Sith try to control it.

Only roughly, because Yoda's training of Luke is explicitly about learning to control the Force, but by taking the slow, patient path rather than the quick and easy path. During the fight on Bespin, Vader explicitly attempts to get Luke to embrace his anger and hatred. (The Jedi in the prequels do this through radical lack of attachment: I can see an argument that is itself a rigid shortcut, though I'm not sure the films engage with that idea.)

From an external point of view, there's probably something to be said about the cod-eastern mysticism '70s philosophy of the originals, the more cynical '90s turmoil of the prequels, and the '10s everything-is-more-complicated-than-it-looked of TFA/R1.

In a lot of ways, though, the new-era Star Wars films are more nuanced than the stereotypical shades-of-grey stuff that got thrown around a lot over the past decade or two. They're not the Objectivist Superman of Man of Steel, or the everyone-is-terrible of Game of Thrones.

Looks good looks good. Day one for me (of course)

What if Luke turns out to be like Kreia from KOTOR 2? Could be interesting. I hope the movie has budget/time for a better ending, though.

The Last Jedi on Four Exclusive Vanity Fair Covers

IMAGE(http://media.vanityfair.com/photos/59231a5834765321e4a46479/master/h_1440,c_limit/star-wars-cover-2017-VF-01.jpg)

IMAGE(http://media.vanityfair.com/photos/59231a58b8f9287f73a38dc9/master/h_1440,c_limit/star-wars-cover-2017-VF-02.jpg)

IMAGE(http://media.vanityfair.com/photos/59231a5824c2cd2a5fc9254e/master/h_1440,c_limit/star-wars-cover-2017-VF-03.jpg)

IMAGE(http://media.vanityfair.com/photos/59231a58fd4ee7289c420a7b/master/h_1440,c_limit/star-wars-cover-2017-VF-04.jpg)

They're all pretty great, but Leia's is definitely my favorite.

Who is that with Poe and Finn?

manta173 wrote:

Who is that with Poe and Finn?

That's BB8.

Spoiler:

I kid, she's a new character for TLJ.

manta173 wrote:

Who is that with Poe and Finn?

3rd wheel, obviously.

Stele wrote:
manta173 wrote:

Who is that with Poe and Finn?

3rd wheel, obviously. ;)

Or 2nd sphere?

I gotta say, that picture with Ridley and Hamill amazes me. Mark Hamill has the perfect look for an elder Jedi master. Just perfect.

(So perfect that Skywalker doesn't even want any more elder Jedi masters to exist, if the trailer quote is to be believed...)

Mark Hamill Has a Big Issue With Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi

Likewise, after reading Rian Johnson’s script for The Last Jedi, Hamill said, “I at one point had to say to Rian, ‘I pretty much fundamentally disagree with every choice you’ve made for this character. Now, having said that, I have gotten it off my chest, and my job now is to take what you’ve created and do my best to realize your vision.’

Hamill noted that he has the utmost respect for Johnson and The Force Awakens’s director, J.J. Abrams, and is pleased with how both films have turned out. He just wanted to be heard.

I read that today, too, and while I can understand the author feeling like it is a bad sign for the movie, I'm not sure I agree. It could have been a simple matter of Hamill thinking that Luke would have gotten angry and jaded, alone for all this time, but the script calls for a Luke that is at peace with his place in the galaxy (or vice versa). Either way, as long as this movie is more than a remake of The Empire Strikes Back, I'm pretty sure I'll be happy.

Arise thread, and in case you missed it, the sequel to Episode VIII lost Colin Treverow as director but today just signed J.J. Abrams. All the lens flare!

Ugh

Rat Boy wrote:

Arise thread, and in case you missed it, the sequel to Episode VIII lost Colin Treverow as director but today just signed J.J. Abrams. All the lens flare!

He is fine. Not spectacular but I don't doubt the movie will be solid.

farley3k wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

Arise thread, and in case you missed it, the sequel to Episode VIII lost Colin Treverow as director but today just signed J.J. Abrams. All the lens flare!

He is fine. Not spectacular but I don't doubt the movie will be solid.

I'm more concerned about his writing than about his directing. I mostly don't mind his directing. (Minus the really dumb portrayal of the superweapon destroying multiple planets...I can think of a half-dozen better ways to frame that off the top of my head. J.J. has no sense of scale.)

Gremlin wrote:
farley3k wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

Arise thread, and in case you missed it, the sequel to Episode VIII lost Colin Treverow as director but today just signed J.J. Abrams. All the lens flare!

He is fine. Not spectacular but I don't doubt the movie will be solid.

I'm more concerned about his writing than about his directing. I mostly don't mind his directing. (Minus the really dumb portrayal of the superweapon destroying multiple planets...I can think of a half-dozen better ways to frame that off the top of my head. J.J. has no sense of scale.)

Or travel time. Hit a button and you're there. A minor gripe, but still.

I don't mind Abrams in this case. He'll be better than Treverrow.