*SPOILERS* Question about the Solo movie!

[Darth Tepes]

for me it simple came down to I am not a huge fan of Han Solo.  The Force and its users are who I care about in the SW universe. This new direction seems to want to focus majorly on "Normies".  One reason the old EU was popular is it gave equal time and resources.  You had books about the Boba and other Bounty Hunters, Books about the Jedi and Sith and some about Rogue Squadron.  Pick your poison so to speak. But now in the animations, comics, books, video games and even to extant the films..The Force is being pushed further back.

[StoryDtechtive]

for me it simple came down to I am not a huge fan of Han Solo.  The Force and its users are who I care about in the SW universe. This new direction seems to want to focus majorly on "Normies".  One reason the old EU was popular is it gave equal time and resources.  You had books about the Boba and other Bounty Hunters, Books about the Jedi and Sith and some about Rogue Squadron.  Pick your poison so to speak. But now in the animations, comics, books, video games and even to extant the films..The Force is being pushed further back.

I can’t argue with that. Watching The Clone Wars and seeing some of what the Jedis Do using the force, I’ve repeatedly said, Why aren’t they doing that in the movies?

[Samhain138]

I thought I didn't want to watch Solo, then my wife made me.  I don't regret seeing it, it's a fun movie.  Especially if you go in blind to spoilers.  It'd be a shame if it doesn't get a follow up. 

[Darth Tepes]

Let me make a clarification, I am not saying Solo is a bad film, especially since I haven't watched it yet. Me not going to see it came solely from my disinterest in the story.  I didn't think Rogue One was a bad film.. just unnecessary.  Maybe its just the circles I ran with and people I talked to...but no one I knew wondered about who stole the Death Star Plans or what Han was like in his younger days.  But the stories of the Jedi and Sith when they numbered in the 1000's, the surviving Jedi being hunted down and slaughtered by Vader, Luke rebuilding the Jedi Order...these were the stories people wanted to see.  I just feel they have wasted time, resources and fans good graces.

[Taegin Roan]

The prequels told the story of Palpatine's rise to power, Anakin's fall and the destruction of the Jedi...Necessary IMO.  But Han's backstory I never considered vital.  The whole point was Han was a scoundrel and never did anything worth noting until he fell in with the Rebellion.

I agree with you. To me (and to SW fans) the story of Anakin's fall is very necessary. However, in terms of the original trilogy, each one was essentially a standalone movie that connected to the others. They all had a beginning a middle and an end. But they also completed an arc between the three of them. The prequels were not necessary for the understanding of what was going on in the universe (part of what makes the movies so good). Had Lucas left it at RotJ, everyone would have been just fine. However, because he did the prequels, fans are super happy. We never needed them, but we are sure glad that we got them.

actually it came out in May (just about 2 weeks after Infinity War if I remember correctly) That's why I think it bombed. (I may be mistaken though)

This too.

[StoryDtechtive]

Taegin, you hit the nail in your analogy of the originals. Though the trilogy was planned, each of the films had a strong structural integrity of their own. And as I said my post about the new movies, most of the key problems stem from their structural problems. They are following a structure, if we were to get technical and lay out the key plot points, but combined with the less than stellar character development—the boat is not only taking on water, but the crew isn’t even bailing because they’re too hung up on their internal woes. Which makes the conflict look like more of a pissing contest than combat. Aside from the scene fighting those red guards—which was nice. But you have the hero and the villain taking on the same role because neither has a real identity of their own.

[Darth Tepes]

I agree with you. To me (and to SW fans) the story of Anakin's fall is very necessary. However, in terms of the original trilogy, each one was essentially a standalone movie that connected to the others. They all had a beginning a middle and an end. But they also completed an arc between the three of them. The prequels were not necessary for the understanding of what was going on in the universe (part of what makes the movies so good). Had Lucas left it at RotJ, everyone would have been just fine. However, because he did the prequels, fans are super happy. We never needed them, but we are sure glad that we got them.

This too.

People were not satisfied after ROTJ though..that is what truly gave rise to the massive EU's popularity.  To put it as simply as possible...these 2 anthology films were answering questions that no one was asking.  When the announcement came that they would be making stand alone films every comment I read mentioned either Obi-Wan, Vader, Boba or the Old Republic.  But they give us Rogue One...hell the fact it was a decent film made it kind of worse... Imagine if Mads Milkklson and Donnie Yen were Jedi Survivors and the movie was about them being hunted by Vader.

[StoryDtechtive]

People were not satisfied after ROTJ though..that is what truly gave rise to the massive EU's popularity.  To put it as simply as possible...these 2 anthology films were answering questions that no one was asking.  When the announcement came that they would be making stand alone films every comment I read mentioned either Obi-Wan, Vader, Boba or the Old Republic.  But they give us Rogue One...hell the fact it was a decent film made it kind of worse... Imagine if Mads Milkklson and Donnie Yen were Jedi Survivors and the movie was about them being hunted by Vader.

I totally agree with you, DT. There are many more marketable ideas for stories the fans would love to see. I’ve wondered if some of it was contractual stuff, or just poor continuity choices, I.E.: Vader is going to used in Rogue One, therefore we need to see how all comes together before we can use him in another film.

Sound ridiculous? It is ridiculous, but it happens...and sometimes for the pettiest of reasons behind the scenes we never get to hear about.

Real life example: DC Comics is currently working on a Batman story in his own title where he goes to Japan in that storyline. Meanwhile, someone delivers a proposal to do a Batman mini-series that would be the coolest story idea to come across their desk in a while. Two things can and have prevented such great stories from ever seeing print.

1) Someone in charge of continuity, who has decided to be a stickler for keeping the DCU straight decides since Batman is going to be in Japan for this 4-6 issue story they’re currently working on, there’s no way they can do that story because this new story would be taking place in Gotham City—and the character can’t possibly be in two places at once. And the other people sitting around the table nod and say, “That’s right. We don’t need any more messy continuity to clean up. We’ve just rebooted the entire line because of the last mess!” And they walk away from the entire idea without even giving a thought to how they might just date this one shot story as happening a year ago between two other stories. And they won’t put it on the back burner once it’s shot down either. Not unless they are unanimously overwhelmed by the idea. Which rarely happens unless the proposal comes from someone who will guarantee them sales. Foolish? Yup.

2) Even more foolish is the editor who the writer proposed the story to just doesn’t like him. He missed a deadline once maybe and some bad mojo got spread about him, true or not, ballooned up by playing post office as those rumors might be, someone somewhere said we aren’t going to work with this guy any more. And the idea is either turned away, or worse, they take the barebones of it and give it to someone else who will do a watered down version which is similar, but not too similar to what the original proposal was.

Sadly, no matter how many good ideas might be blowing in the wind, there’s always that handful of people who decide what flies and what doesn’t.  The guards at the gate can sometimes be fans, but often have no clue as to being creative themselves. They just repute themselves as having an awesome sense of what will sell and what won’t—based on a boatload of personal biases and/or a reputation for getting good numbers.

In the world of looking at what we enjoy as fans, and the tricky waters to navigate getting the right people involved with any large franchise, or corporate run entity, are quite often worlds apart. Which is what ultimately leads to the gaps as we are currently experiencing between what we would all love to see, and what actually gets green lighted.

[Darth Logos]

People were not satisfied after ROTJ though..that is what truly gave rise to the massive EU's popularity.  To put it as simply as possible...these 2 anthology films were answering questions that no one was asking.  When the announcement came that they would be making stand alone films every comment I read mentioned either Obi-Wan, Vader, Boba or the Old Republic.  But they give us Rogue One...hell the fact it was a decent film made it kind of worse... Imagine if Mads Milkklson and Donnie Yen were Jedi Survivors and the movie was about them being hunted by Vader.

Better still,.....what if they were being hunted by Starkiller? I think Mads would have made an excellent General Kota, and Donnie could have done the motion capture of Kazdan Paratus. Then the name Galen would have been properly placed.  

[Taegin Roan]

Better still,.....what if they were being hunted by Starkiller? I think Mads would have made an excellent General Kota, and Donnie could have done the motion capture of Kazdan Paratus. Then the name Galen would have been properly placed.  

When I first saw Donnie, I was hoping he would've been Kota, but alas, he was not. Mads would've done a great job too though.

[Darth Tepes]

When I first saw Donnie, I was hoping he would've been Kota, but alas, he was not. Mads would've done a great job too though.

One of the reasons RO Irked me...  You get Donnie Yen, one of the most talented and badass Martial Artists around (even in real life...he once put 8 men in the hospital and broke Mike Tyson's finger) put him in a Star Wars film...AND DON"T GIVE HIM A LIGHTSABER!!

[Darth Logos]

One of the reasons RO Irked me...  You get Donnie Yen, one of the most talented and badass Martial Artists around (even in real life...he once put 8 men in the hospital and broke Mike Tyson's finger) put him in a Star Wars film...AND DON"T GIVE HIM A LIGHTSABER!!

IDK. I kinda liked the Zatoichi approach they took, they just didn't employ it enough.

[Darth Tepes]

IDK. I kinda liked the Zatoichi approach they took, they just didn't employ it enough.

Could still be a blind Jedi like a Miruluka, Kota or Kanan.  Hell, even Saber-Canes are canon.  Now that you mention it...a Lone Wolf and Cub Star Wars adaptation would be awesome.

[Darth Logos]

Could still be a blind Jedi like a Miruluka, Kota or Kanan.  Hell, even Saber-Canes are canon.  Now that you mention it...a Lone Wolf and Cub Star Wars adaptation would be awesome.

I thought the cane premise was BS. Yoda got by just fine with his gimer stick, and his saber clipped to his belt.

And a what now?

[Darth Tepes]

I thought the cane premise was BS. Yoda got by just fine with his gimer stick, and his saber clipped to his belt.

And a what now?

Lone Wolf and Cub is a Manga from the 70's that was (of course) adapted into six films.  Its about a Samurai who was the Shogun's Executioner.  His family is murdered, except for his one year old son, and he is framed in a plot to kill the Shogun.  He is given the opportunity to commit Seppuku but instead kills them men sent to see it carried out and he and his son go on a path of revenge.