Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

[The Romulan Republic]

Could "Finalizer" be the Star Destroyer's class name rather than ship name?

[Mange]

There are now Databank entries over at SW.com covering The Force Awakens that could shed light on this: [url=htttp://www.starwars.com/databank/first-order-s ... -finalizer]StarWars.com Databank Finalizer[/url]

[Anacronian]

They're toys. I'd be wary of reading too much into any of it. For a long time the Lamda shuttles were known as "Tyderium shuttles" because that's what the one in RotJ was called. And I wouldn't read too much into the SD having the one name or that shuttle being "Kylo's shuttle" any more than every X-wing belonging to Luke Skywalker because "Luke's X-wing" was undoubtedly a thing in various toylines.

Prune face will forever be Prune Face!! :p

[Adam Reynolds]

There are now Databank entries over at SW.com covering The Force Awakens that could shed light on this: [url=htttp://www.starwars.com/databank/first-order-s ... -finalizer]StarWars.com Databank Finalizer[/url]

The SD.net databank has traditionally been absolute crap. They are after all the source for the 12.8 km Executor as a compromise between 19 km and 8 km.

[Mange]

There are now Databank entries over at SW.com covering The Force Awakens that could shed light on this: [url=htttp://www.starwars.com/databank/first-order-s ... -finalizer]StarWars.com Databank Finalizer[/url]

The SD.net databank has traditionally been absolute crap. They are after all the source for the 12.8 km Executor as a compromise between 19 km and 8 km.

You mean the SW.com databank! Yes, it hasn't been great but the Databank is the only place for much of the official info right now.

[RogueIce]

There are now Databank entries over at SW.com covering The Force Awakens that could shed light on this: [url=htttp://www.starwars.com/databank/first-order-s ... -finalizer]StarWars.com Databank Finalizer[/url]

The SD.net databank has traditionally been absolute crap. They are after all the source for the 12.8 km Executor as a compromise between 19 km and 8 km.

But as far as background fluff goes, they'd be pretty spot on. Maybe wrong on technical details 95% of Star Wars fans don't give a crap about, but as far as what the ship is and its place in the galaxy? I'd say the SW Databank knows what it's talking about.

The names may be simplified ("Rebel Medical Frigate" anyone? Though I guess after the Purge it might as well be, unless Neb-Bs have shown up in broader roles already Looks like it already has.) but the fluff is probably pretty good.

As for this case, they call it a Star Destroyer of the First Order, so take that as you will.

[The Romulan Republic]

Apparently their will be a trailer for Rogue One at the end of The Force Awakens:

http://www.ibtimes.com.au/star-wars-epi ... ry-1467141

There are reports that the end of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will provide a teaser to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” While including a post-credits video is not the usual style of the franchise, “Episode VII" could feature something as big as a trailer this time. [Spoiler alert!]

Screen Rant reports that “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” directed by Gareth Edwards, is still in the middle of principal photography. Disney Pictures reportedly has more plans for the $4 billion they invested into Lucasfilm, aside from launching a sequel trilogy. Stand-alone projects called “Star Wars Stories” are also set to be made, which will focus on various stories other than the main plot.

There are talks that “Star Wars: Episode 7” will have a teaser after the credits are presented at the end of the movie, based on a report by Schmoes Know. Specifically, it will be about “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” The film’s producers have yet to confirm whether this is true.

It should be noted that such changes would be different from how the first six movies were marketed and made. Considering how other film franchises have provided post-credits teasers with good results, the “Star Wars” franchise may have decided to use the same effective approach.

Teasers after the credits generally offer a hint of what’s to come in the next instalment, according to Cinema Blend Some fans expect that they might find some details about “Episode VIII” at the end of “The Force Awakens.” However, “Rogue One” is set in the past, between the events of “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope.” The story focuses on agents of the Rebellion stealing the plans of the first Death Star. The teaser, if real, may either present an official trailer or a clip from “Rogue One.”

Paramount and Lucasfilm recently agreed for the latter to suspend its “Rogue One” marketing efforts because of title similarities with the former’s “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation,” which was released on July 31.

“Rogue One” will launch on Dec. 16 while “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will be released on Dec. 18.

In the meantime, “Star Wars” fans should take the recent news with a grain of salt until an official confirmation from Lucasfilm is out. More news and updates on the upcoming movies are expected in the coming weeks.

Given that Disney owns both Marvel and Star Wars and that having something after or during the credits is virtually a Marvel trademark, this makes some sense.

[Mange]

Filming of Episode VIII was due to have started yesterday, but has been delayed by bad weather. There are information in the article that might be regarded as spoilers (specifically a character that returns for VIII): Irish Examiner

[Lagmonster]

Bear in mind that a character returning isn't a sign that that character doesn't die, given the existence of Force Ghosts and flashbacks.

[Adam Reynolds]

Bear in mind that a character returning isn't a sign that that character doesn't die, given the existence of Force Ghosts and flashbacks.

Spoiler

It is likely that Luke only has a very minor role in the film, falling into the Yoda role of only appearing in the sequel. Han seems to fulfill the Obi-Wan role in the first movie of acting as the mentor to the new characters. Including the part about sacrificing himself to save them.

[Adam Reynolds]

IO9 has a new outline of post-ROTJ events. Not sure how accuate this is:
http://io9.com/everything-we-know-about ... 1729549100

Also not sure what I think of the political story we see here.

[the atom]

Does anybody know if Wong has any plans to update the main site after the movie comes out?

[Darth Tanner]

IO9 has a new outline of post-ROTJ events. Not sure how accuate this is:
http://io9.com/everything-we-know-about ... 1729549100

I don't like the idea of Leia being a general , she had shown previously no military leadership skills, or that Han/Chewie just leaving everything to go crime fighting like Shaggy and Scooby Do!

Its pretty minimalist that after a year of defections and minor engagements the Alliance and Empire can only amass fleets smaller than at Endor for a major offensive and Ackbar is pretty much the only military force in the galaxy! It makes even less sense they for some reason choose an irrelevant planet to attack and wipe each other out over. Also unless the Imperial infighting destroyed them all or they all defected the Empire only had two executors when there were a lot of command ships at the time of Endor?

The New Republic seems just as incompetently lead as in the previous EU deciding to retire 90% of its armed forces whilst still fighting a galactic war... at least planetary armies are a thing, its not like dissolving your ability to respond to a Galactic Empire will lead you to be engaged and destroyed piecemeal.

Also why on earth would the Republic accept a peace treaty when worlds are still being enslaved and yet the military ability of the Empire to fight has been wiped out?

Also the 'wellspring of the darkside' seems like a crappy fantasy McGuffin! Five internet dollars the big bad will be fought to the death over it in episode 9 ending the dark side forever!

[Adam Reynolds]

I don't like the idea of Leia being a general , she had shown previously no military leadership skills, or that Han/Chewie just leaving everything to go crime fighting like Shaggy and Scooby Do!

Leia did have an obvious rank on Hoth, but she seems to have given it up by Endor in that she serves under Han. Though Han should have stayed a general, he could have even leveraged it into a political career postwar and he and Leia could have been a political power couple.

Its pretty minimalist that after a year of defections and minor engagements the Alliance and Empire can only amass fleets smaller than at Endor for a major offensive and Ackbar is pretty much the only military force in the galaxy! It makes even less sense they for some reason choose an irrelevant planet to attack and wipe each other out over. Also unless the Imperial infighting destroyed them all or they all defected the Empire only had two executors when there were a lot of command ships at the time of Endor?

You could rationalize it as the fact that the Empire was undermiliterized relative to the planets under them. It would explain why they were so desperate to build a second Death Star.

The New Republic seems just as incompetently lead as in the previous EU deciding to retire 90% of its armed forces whilst still fighting a galactic war... at least planetary armies are a thing, its not like dissolving your ability to respond to a Galactic Empire will lead you to be engaged and destroyed piecemeal.

Again, if the planets already had strong militaries, it would make sense that the federal government might not have as much of one. They might use a militia system similar to what the US did up until the 20th century.

Also why on earth would the Republic accept a peace treaty when worlds are still being enslaved and yet the military ability of the Empire to fight has been wiped out?

That doesn't make much sense anyway one looks at it.

Also the 'wellspring of the darkside' seems like a crappy fantasy McGuffin! Five internet dollars the big bad will be fought to the death over it in episode 9 ending the dark side forever!

Sadly I suspect this might just be the case. Especially with the obvious Kylo Ren -> Knights of Ren crap. Spoiler

I wonder if Kylo's master Snorke(originally with the working name Uber) isn't actually Force sensitive. From the trailer we hear the line "have you felt it master?" I wonder if the master was bluffing and couldn't sense anything in the Force. Kylo wasn't powerful enough to know the difference until later. That would be an interesting twist on the master-apprentice relationship. The master could get by through intelligence and planning rather than Force powers, in a similar manner to Thrawn. It would certianly be different. The second movie could then feature a conflict between the two, with the heroes trying to defeat both.

[Simon_Jester]

Leia's military rank is a tricky thing. The Rebellion, as an underground movement, would not necessarily bother to make clear divisions between 'civilian' and 'military' leadership. So it may well be that at times, Leia took on a leadership role in planning a military operation, while at other times she found herself working as a propagandist, envoy, or political agitator.

Assuming the New Republic military descends directly from the Rebellion, Leia may well have 'inherited' a considerable amount of credit for successful military operations, even if she did not play a primary role in bringing those operations about. And given her relatively high political standing within the Rebellion, it is easy to imagine her being appointed to a position of senior military command by the New Republic's senate, just as ancient Greece and Rome routinely gave supreme command of large armies to successful politicians.

[Typhonis 1]

Or her rank is beureacratic in nature. Think about it, you still need people to procure supplies and support for the operations. Someone to ensure the troops at the front have what they need to do the job. Recruiting, supply, survivor of Alderaan. She could be a rallying point. She was a senator and some of the work a general does IS political. However that's my two cents, I could be completely worng.

[Adam Reynolds]

Or her rank is beureacratic in nature. Think about it, you still need people to procure supplies and support for the operations. Someone to ensure the troops at the front have what they need to do the job. Recruiting, supply, survivor of Alderaan. She could be a rallying point. She was a senator and some of the work a general does IS political. However that's my two cents, I could be completely worng.

That is what she did for the Rebel Alliance, she never had any given rank beyond Princess. Why would she suddenly need a new title to keep doing the same job? Though I suppose that could be part of the process of legitimizing the military.

Personally I thought it would make sense in that era if Han kept his rank. Leia would be off dealing with the politics of the new Jedi Order and they could be something of a political power couple.

[Knife]

Now that the old EU is out, may just be that Leia has her 'rank' as honorary as the daughter of Bail Organa of Alderaan and the rebels at Hoth are the Alderaarian cell. By ROTJ, when multiple cells get together for the DS strike, her honorary rank means little to say the Mon Calamari cell, or the Planet XYZ cells, etc...

[Galvatron]

Why do we expect Leia's rank to make any more sense than Lando's or Han's or Jar Jar's?

[Typhonis 1]

Heck for all we know the girl , whom is force sensitive, could be Luke's daughter.

[Adam Reynolds]

Heck for all we know the girl , whom is force sensitive, could be Luke's daughter.

I'm wondering if that might be the case. There has to be some reason that they are concealing her parentage in promotional material. Though it still seems odd that they cast an actress who looks like am awful lot like Carrie Fisher.

[RogueIce]

Leia does have some kind of rank in RotJ:



That badge is entirely consistent with the "rank plaques" the other Rebel officers had, and her outfit does appear consistent with the style of the Rebel uniforms, although her color scheme is unique from what I can tell. Or I just can't spot anyone with that combination in the images I've found.

Of course we have no idea what those badges represent, but she does appear to have an officer's uniform during the briefing.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Its pretty minimalist that after a year of defections and minor engagements the Alliance and Empire can only amass fleets smaller than at Endor for a major offensive and Ackbar is pretty much the only military force in the galaxy! It makes even less sense they for some reason choose an irrelevant planet to attack and wipe each other out over. Also unless the Imperial infighting destroyed them all or they all defected the Empire only had two executors when there were a lot of command ships at the time of Endor?

<snip>

Also why on earth would the Republic accept a peace treaty when worlds are still being enslaved and yet the military ability of the Empire to fight has been wiped out?

This could be justified by interpreting the "ability of the Empire to fight" specifically refers to the fact that they aren't able to launch major offensive operations (as both a combination of battle losses and the subsequent defection of various units, either to the New Republic or Moffs declaring personal fiefdoms), but have enough reserve/regional/assorted forces left to mount a successful defense. This interpretation is supported by statements in the linked article, which describes the fact that various imperial governors essentially used their forces to fortify their own territories instead of forming battle fleets.

Also, not sure where you are getting the notion that the fleets are smaller than at Endor, considering the article makes absolutely 0 mention of fleet size or composition, except to note that there was only a single super stardestroyer.

The New Republic seems just as incompetently lead as in the previous EU deciding to retire 90% of its armed forces whilst still fighting a galactic war... at least planetary armies are a thing, its not like dissolving your ability to respond to a Galactic Empire will lead you to be engaged and destroyed piecemeal.

The article makes it clear (at least to me), that Mon Mothma's decision in effect outsourced the military forces of the New Republic to its various members/client states. That's a little different than an outright demilitarization. While certainly not the wisest move given the circumstances, there is an inherent political logic to it. One might imagine that many powers would only decide to switch sides and join the Alliance conditional on them maintaining their autonomy.

[Adam Reynolds]

One random thing I have just discovered that was bothering me is that Rey's staff isn't a lightsaber or anything exotic. It is simply a cheap weapon that someone living on Jakku with no resources can afford. Spoiler

Apparently she was left on that world by her parents and was waiting for them to come back for her. If she is indeed Han and Leia's daughter, there must be some reason they left her there. Jakku apparently makes Tatooine seem like a picnic by comparison. She also apparently lives inside the hulk of an AT-AT.

To answer another question mentioned above as to the state of the galaxy: Spoiler

Apparently Snoke repeats Palpatine's sucess and manipulates the Senate into doing nothing about the First Order until they directly attack the Republic. This reminds me of how the Mandalorians were successful in KOTOR. Leia then seems to form the independent Resistance as a result of the failure to do anything in the Senate.

The Senate largely falls apart after the failure to deal with the First Order and the realization that all is not well after the desolation of the Empire.

EDIT: It also was indicated that the First Order was equivalent to the Nazis hiding in Argentina and forming an alliance.

From here

In other news, a full trailer is set to debut on Monday. Who knows what we will see here.

[Mange]

The theatrical poster has been revealed over at the OS: Star Wars.com