The Beginning of the End

So, it looks like we've finally reached enough distance that the retrospectives on the "Lucas Era" of Star Wars are coming in. This piece and the piece that it mentions are both really interesting examinations of the broader structures of Lucas's Star Wars tenure.

A man in his late 60's early 70's not a star wars fan? NOOOO, that's not true, that's impossible! :mep:

Most people his age haven't seen the trailer or care too. In another 5 to 10 years we will all be saying he has become one with the force. Hard to understand what retired means at our age, but think about a job you left 5 - 10 years ago. Do you still care what goes on now that you aren't a part of it or will never be a part of it again?

Yes the new stuff won't have the same vibe or heart as the old movies. Those exist in a moment in time and that time has past and you have moved on. The new stuff will get the marvel treatment and be about as good as that stuff. No you won't love it as much as you did the other movies because you are now a old fuck who won't love any movie as much as you did when you were a kid.

Look at the new stuff as exactly that, something new. A new experience and not trying to relive something that already happened and is over.

Oh, believe me, what I like about these two pieces is that they *aren't* reflexively critical of Lucas and his work, or of the new post-Lucas stuff.

I'm mostly amused, though, at the new periodization of the RL history of Star Wars, into a Lucas-era and a post-Lucas-era. It'll be interesting to see what sort of perspective we get on Lucas and his work over the next five or ten years.

I suppose you could call it the "Golden Age" of Star Wars, it's like comics a reset was going to happen some day....all of these things happen now a days especially in this kind of media.....Disney will begin the next age soon enough....

I haven't seen the trailer nor care to. You calling me old Arch? =P

Well you are a man, and grumpy might as well complete the trifecta.

Why you even care about all that crap Kevin Anderson wrote I'll never understand. I am happy they flushed all that crap down the toilet. Yeah, there are a few gems from the old expanded universe that are truly good and they are still good cannon or no. They weren't going to be made into movies anyways, so I am happy the new content won't be tainted by all the other crap out there.

Start fresh and make it good. At worst we have another EP1 and more Kevin Anderson crap, so same old same old. They don't exactly have a high bar to over come here.

I don't care for a fair amount of the EU. But it's a hell of a lot better than teenage rebellious Mandalorians, old rejected ship designs, and T-bar lightsabers.

I'm glad you are going to enjoy it. I just don't see any scenario where I would. So there is no point in bothering.

O Star, you are such a conservative, holding on to the past like that. I have no idea if I will or won't like the new movie. I am however, keeping an open mind. It may in fact suck. I am not expecting greatness, but we haven't had that in over 30 years. I do expect to be entertained enough not to walk out of the movie theater.

And when did you get older and grumper than me Star?

Ha! I don't know. *Harumph* Get off of my lawn. Goats. *Grumble*

Star Wars is going to increasingly take place as an inter-generational phenomenon, Kirby. My wife already deals with this in her teaching, as she has students in middle school whose first exposure to Star Wars was the prequels, and students in elementary school whose first exposure to Star Wars was The Clone Wars TV series. They're going to have very different perspectives on Star Wars as they grow older. In our mid-20s, my wife and I are members of the last generation who will have experienced and enjoyed Star Wars prior to the release of Prequels.

I'm sure I won't enjoy the future movies as much as I enjoyed the past ones; the future ones will not be as good as the originals, and I'm at a point in my life where I'm unlikely to enjoy new things as much as those I first experienced in my childhood. At the same time, I worry about living in a world where I am unable to share my joy in the original movies with future fans (say, my yet-to-be born children). Being able to communicate with them, being able to share with them why the original movies are so awesome, involves some attempt on my part to experience and enjoy what they experience and enjoy, if only so I can relate to them and help them grow.

It'll never be as good as the originals, but I'm not sure it has to be for me to enjoy it on some level.

(Though rest assured - my children will see the original trilogy first, as God intended).

Amen!

I appreciate your point of view A'dun as always. I don't have kids though, so I don't need to watch the new movies. The problem is, I contend with the manner in which Disney did it. A compromise could have been reached, but one was not even attempted. If they aren't willing to give it the effort, I'm not willing to open my wallet.

Now, while I won't watch the movies that doesn't mean I can't kill whatever imperials are in the games. If there is any story, spacebar is a wonderful thing. My love of the guild's camaraderie will override my distaste for the content. The new movies and books however? I'll pass. I'm not going to waste time doing things I won't enjoy. I'll leave that to the rest of you.

Star, there was always cannon, which was the movies and then there was the EU, which was what was put aside. Note that is put, not pushed, aside. The compromise which they won't reveal until later, is to use some of the source material from the EU in the new content.

They do this with their comic book movies all the time. They don't, thank god, do the comics verbatim. Of course there are people out there that think those comic books are fine literature and hate the movies because they change things. Those same people, if they were political, would belong to the tea party and would have actors run around in spandex like a bad 60's TV shows.

I look forward to seeing Admiral Thrawn in the new movies. He is such a great character you know he will get used although the story would be change around him to fit into the new timeline. The boat already sailed a long time ago to make the Thrawn trilogy into movies when the actors got too old. So what can be done instead? And if they don't use him? Well those are still good books and was a good read at the time.

Whether I like the new stuff or not is going to based purely on the quality of the new material. I am just glad they have a captain at the helm of the ship and are going to be creating new content. The alternative was just to let star wars die with Lucas.

The worst case scenario is the movies are as good (or bad) as the prequels and they carry on with the standard of quality the EU as already set. And Star if you refuse to watch and read all that stuff, then who out there is actually going to like that crap?

Never say never, Kirby. Though let me say that I share your trepidation about the new material. I've enjoyed Rebels thus far for what it is, but there are days when I am convinced that the new movies can't be anything other than crap. I'll have a better idea a year from now, I'm sure

On the specific point of a reconciliation with the Legends EU, the possibility (as Arch points out) is still open. I struggle to think of how such a reconciliation could take place in a way that is interesting and not simply confusing. However, I live to be proved wrong.

One book. One simple book explaining that the "time space force explosion" was created by Darth Vader farting (or some other pseudo science) and this is new Disney universe is another time line. Done. I'd be on board. It's the complete and utter disregard for the fact that for decades they tried to maintain a cohesive timeline. Yes, it had a few small flaws (mainly from Clone Wars and Lucas) but overall it was a big united story. That is all I would need to give it a shot.