May the Fourth Be with You
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, today is May the Fourth, and it is Star Wars day! A few years ago this article would have simply been a nice tribute article, however, seeing as the franchise has been bought by Disney and is set to be revitalized with this year’s The Force Awakens opening worldwide this December, we at the newspaper decided it would be a nice way just to recap everything that has been going on with Star Wars so that anyone who possibly feels confused about the announcements that have been released can get caught up on what’s what. Now, as a big Star Wars fan myself, even I get a little overwhelmed with the amount of news coming out about what Disney plans to do with this franchise and what they are currently in the process of doing as you read this article, so I hope that this clears the air for some people. When Disney bought the rights to Star Wars back in 2012 for a whopping 4.6 billion dollars, they knew that they would soon be able to pay that off with new movies, Star Wars merchandise, television shows, etc., but what they also knew was that they could breathe life into a franchise loved by many and make new content that would be more in the vein of the original trilogy. I am of course talking about the prequels and how they disappointed many people, myself included. While those movies do have their defenders, the people who grew up with them, there’s no denying the fact that after those films came out, Star Wars seemed to become rather static as George Lucas really had no idea what to do with them after the prequels since he did not feel like doing more. However, signing off the franchise to Disney does imply that he understands that in his hands, Star Wars was going nowhere, and this has led to the massive resurgence of the esteemed series we have seen in the past couple of years. Not only will there be a new trilogy of films, there are also going to be spinoff movies called the Anthology series, detailing events that take place outside of the storyline about the Skywalker family. The first one is called Rogue One, which will show what went into obtaining the Death Star plans that drive the plot of the original 1977 film. On top of all of that, most Star Wars content outside of the movies, a couple of select novels, and the Clone Wars TV show prior to the deal with Disney are not canon anymore, meaning they are no longer considered part of the official story of Star Wars. Dubbed as Legends, this is a collection of stories that were once called the Expanded Universe, but seeing as they are not canon anymore, there’s nothing that will restrict any writers from adhering to previously set rules established in some obscure Star Wars novel written in the ‘90s. Now, the team that’s running Star Wars now has said that they will cherry pick certain elements from Legends to use in future content. and seeing as there was a lot of great stuff in the Expanded Universe such as the Thrawn and Darth Bane trilogies, this is a great idea in my opinion. Talking more about canon, everything produced after the deal with Disney is considered an official part of the story, and several books have already been released that tie in with the new canon. There is an upcoming book called Aftermath that will tell the events that happen directly after the end of Return of the Jedi, and it could be a good novel to get better context about what’s happening in the new movies, although it is not essential to understand the story. There is also a new TV series on Disney XD called Rebels, which details the formation of the Rebel alliance in the original trilogy. Despite being a 3D animated show, it is said to have some dark themes, and is geared toward all age groups. To talk a little bit more about canon though, there are several video games made before the deal with Disney that take place in an era called The Old Republic, the setting of which is thousands of years before the events of the movies, and seeing as there is no content in them that would restrict any writers of future Star Wars stories since it takes place so far back, there are rumors that Disney is looking to actually officially canonize it. It’s strange since it has not been said to officially be part of Legends either, so… what’s going on? Seeing as a character in the new movie coming out this year named Kylo Ren has a mask that is very similar to a character seen in The Old Republic, in addition to rumors about said character being a relic hunter, there is speculation about The Old Republic being canonized in the new film. Of course, we really know nothing about what is going to be going on in the new movie at this point so that’s all it is at this point: speculation. Moving on from the confusing headtrip about what is considered canon and not canon in Star Wars now, we should of course be talking about the nitty gritty of what everyone wants to find out about: the new movie. For years, people didn’t know if there would be another set of Star Wars movies to sink their teeth into, and seeing as the prequels, being prequels, did nothing to drive the story forward, it looked pretty grim for a while. I mean, did you see what happened in those movies!?
Me-sa your worst nightmare! Now bend to the will of Lucas, crushed dreams, complete failure, and stupid toys… Now, we have a new slew of films coming out in the next few years! Considering the longevity of this franchise, there are serious possibilities of episodes X through XII; it may seem like a lot of movies, but with the fresh talent coming on board, this is a viable possibility. Of course, Episode VII hasn’t come out yet so we can’t get too crazy lest we just focus on what’s coming next instead of what we actually have, but I just wanted to throw that out there. We have a new cast, new stars, new crew, new stories, new everything! Of course, I am looking forward to all of the excitement of that classic Star Wars action, but I’m excited to meet all of these new characters introduced to us so that we can fall in love with them like we did the original trio and their band of misfit rebels. Going into this movie, know that the rebels and the empire have changed, evolving into the Resistance and the First Order. You’ll learn this from the opening crawl that is characteristic of most Star Wars stories, but it has been said by the team in charge of Star Wars now that there will be a definite influence from WWII in terms of the way the two factions are presented, and seeing as that has always been the case with the original trilogy, that was exciting for me to hear. Springing off of that, for the new characters in the film, we have Finn (played by John Boyega), a stormtrooper who turns to the Resistance after something happens to him, and it is widely believed that he will be the main protagonist of these new films. Newcomer Daisy Ridley will play Rey, a woman who is said to be a scavenger - she finds something that the First Order desperately wants, which leads to her joining Finn. Capping off the new trio that will be focused on in Episode VII is Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, a man who is said to be the best pilot in the galaxy and is sent on a mission by a certain princess. Interesting… There are a few villains that have been confirmed, such as Kylo Ren who I mentioned earlier, but also someone called Captain Phasma, speculated to be the chrome trooper we see in the trailer. There are also rumblings about a character named Darth Plagueis, mentioned in Episode III, being the main antagonist of this new trilogy, but anything can happen at this point so we just don’t know. Of course the old crew is back, sans Lando apparently, but with all that’s going on in this film, just from those two teasers that have been put out at this point, I think that’s very easy to forgive. In addition, we have a new droid called BB-8, who wheels around on a droid and is actually practically done with no CGI, apparently. If you don’t believe me, check this out: https://youtu.be/ABzjUf3E_0c Incredible, right? And if you watch the video the whole way through, they talk about using a lot of practical effects in the movie, in further contrast to the prequels, which had most of the special effects done on a blue or green screen. Suffice it to say, I am super excited for the future of Star Wars, and what I have written is still not enough to cover everything that is going on with this series in the future, or even right now as a matter of fact. As a big fan of Star Wars, I could not be happier with the way the franchise is moving forward, as it is going places that are exciting, unknown, and completely fresh and new. If you want to know more about what is going on with Star Wars, I recommend that you watch AMC Jedi Council, which is a YouTube show that covers everything Star Wars, with new episodes airing every Thursday. The guy who runs that show is Kristian Harloff, someone who is probably one of the biggest Star Wars nuts I know of who is treading the line of being a huge fan and having a dangerous, dark obsession with the series. Of course, I’m kidding about that last part, but he is still a huge fan and if you want to know more about Star Wars, AMC Jedi Council is the show for you. So, with that dump of news and clarification, let me impart these words of farewell. If you want to stay up to date on everything this blog puts out, just follow The Titan Times on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and don’t be afraid to leave a comment down in the comments section below. I hope you all have a fantastic day, Titans, stay strong, and remember that the summer season is upon us at last, so May the Force be with you all. Good day, and goodbye!
