Star Wars Episode VII?

We've never seen Jar Jar's dead body, so ....

 

I wouldn't look to the books for answers.
Whatever fiction has been published since the prequels came out is not mainstream enough to be considered "canon."
Disney isn't putting its new billion-dollar investment on a bunch of hack novelists whose work was derived from other people's much brighter imaginations.

 

Supposed to be somewhat underwhelming. This teaser is just to start people wondering, and I already have dozens of questions. Can't wait to see more. And the Falcon, X-wings and TIE fighters? I am all-in. Also got chills when the score hit and the Falcon showed up.

 

The shot with the X-Wings was pretty cool, too. Still, a teaser can leave you excited or disappointed. That last bit is what I found exciting. That, and the release of a teaser makes the upcoming film seem more real. I still remember all those years when we were told Return of the Jedi was going to be the last. Even though the three prequels were disappointing overall, I still want to see more.

 

It got me excited. New stormtrooper helmets, a new light saber, updated vehicles. I wanna buy some toys! But Solo looks friggin OLD!

 

My larger point is not to expect the cute Brit actress on the very cool speeder to be Jaina Solo, daughter of Han and Leia.

 

Maybe that is part of why only parts of it were exciting to me. I've seen pictures of some of this stuff and read much of the information that is out there so far. For example, they announced long ago that much of the expanded universe would be ignored. Those things were considered canon when Lucas was running the show, but apparently they did not want to enter the new films with the burden of that much continuity, which includes well over 100 books just among those set after Return of the Jedi. Some of it is pretty good. Some is crap. There's just too much of it to start digging into in the movies.

For those who aren't familiar with the expanded universe novels, here is a list, but I'm not sure if it is even complete.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_Legends_books

 

I haven't followed anything really since the last films, other than widely reported news about actors and such. Haven't seen any of the artwork or speculation. I just hope this story isn't too similar to the first trilogy. Sure seems to have a lot of similarities. Especially if you read this breakdown. But that could be done on purpose to fool us. And the X-wing pilot sure does look a little evil.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/11/28/star-wars-trailer-force-awakens-deep-dive/

 

I've only read a few of the expanded universe (the Timothy Zahn stuff, which I enjoyed), but I'm glad they announced they were discarding that stuff as "canon." I don't care about the new trilogy living up to any legacy other than that developed by the original trilogy.

I love Abrams' affinity for practical filmmaking (as opposed to Lucas's weird lust for creating films in one room with digital effects) and I think that's what will make this trilogy better than Episodes I-III.

As OOP said, I can't wait. I already told my wife that my birthday present next year is a Star Wars date night with dinner, the movie and a BJ. Sailbarge Leia bikini is still in negotiations.

 

The funny thing is Lucas relied quite a bit on practical film making as well as groundbreaking special effects technology in the original trilogy.

One reason Abrams' Star Trek movies worked so well, especially the first one, is that he found a way to shed a great deal of continuity. Not all of it, but most of it. Dumping the expanded universe stuff helps him do something similar with Star Wars. I'd be a lot more concerned about how this will turn out if he wasn't involved.

 

Agree totally. I understood Lucas' desire to create a new way of filmmaking with the second trilogy, but to this day, the original trilogy holds up better because the practical way it was filmed. He revolutionized filmmaking with the original trilogy, but relied too heavily on the special effects in the second trilogy.

I was excited when Abrams said he planned to work practically whenever he could, and the trailer enhances that excitement for me.

 

Make sure the bikini doesn't ride up in back.
You don't wanna get chafed.