New Star Wars: Episode 7 Rumors. More on Mara Jade, the Star Wars Canon and Michael Arndt Working on Episode 8?

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We received some more tips from the same source who confirmed that there’s some truth in the Mara Jade rumor posted here a few days ago. Hit the jump to find out more on Jade, what’s next for Michael Arndt and more…



First just to clear some things up. After we posted the Mara Jade rumor from the comments section we were contacted by one of our sources who confirmed that there is indeed some truth in it. Then we changed the title of the article from “speculation” to “rumor”. After that the source who we will call from now on “JediDigger” (by his request) shared with us TCW-Rebels-Episode 7 connection through the Yoda arc.

Now the same source shared some clarifications on the Mara Jade rumor and also discussed some other interesting bits surrounding the upcoming Star Wars movie.

Some of the rumors come from discussions between people inside Lucasfilm and it’s licenses. They are production people, writers and so on, but surely nothing is set in stone. The latest bits about Jade came out around Lucasfilm as a reaction to the article we posted here. At least that’s what we were told.

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So according to JediDigger:

Right now they’re looking at using the basic descriptions of EU characters with different names. Luke’s wife will follow the same template as Shira Brie/Mara Jade. Red hair, Green eyes, attitude etc.

The same with the kids of the big three.

Fans should not expect to see Kyle Katarn, Corran Horn or Cilghal, but characters who are very much like them.

This can not be made clearer, the post ROTJ EU launched in 91 is dead.
No story from Outbound flight forward counts. 


That’s why Bob Iger said they would use the 17,000 character for inspiration for new characters.  Shira Brie and Mara Jade are the templates for Luke’s wife/Love interest.

 Jaina will be the inspiration for the Solo daughter, Jacen for the Solo son and Ben for the Skywalker son.

Most of the new characters in the new continuity are based on characters from the old continuity.

So essentially they are taking out characters from the Holocron with the EU names being covers for the characters they match, and adjusting them for the ST and giving them new names. Since Disney is worried about fans expecting movie characters to have gone through the same things as their book counterparts. 

That’s why we won’t see Mara Jade’s name in Rebels or the ST, but instead we will see a replacement resembling Jade in many ways with a different name and see her character’s development.

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JediDigger also pointed out that he heard about this code name rumor yesterday but back in September Jason Ward from makingstarwars made a pretty accurate speculation with one of his articles. Check it out:

Speculation: Are Star Wars Episode VII Characters Getting Code Names?

If the code name rumor is true and Shira Brie and Mara Jade are the prototypes, then in the new continuity we will finally meet the love of Luke Skywalker’s life. A character George Lucas has had since the end of Return of the Jedi.

By the way the code name rumor also gains some credibility especially after the latest Korriban – Moriband name issue with the new TCW bonus content.

 
JediDigger also confirmed the rumors we’ve heard before that the change of Michael Arndt was due to a change in the story direction. Arndt script was based on the Solo kids as main characters with smaller roles for The Big Three. After Abrams and Kasdan took over the script, J.J. convinced them to go with Ben (or however they call him) since he fits the Skywalker narrative. And if you’re going to have Ben, then you need his mother alive so that the audience can get to know her.

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Also according to JediDigger Arndt was not fired as some other reports suggested. He’s moved on to Episode 8. This really could explain why an Oscar winning writer such as Arndt has not been already snatched up by other movie producers and studios. He still doesn’t have a next project. And really with so many upcoming Star Wars projects (sequel trilogy, spin-offs, TV series and so on) Disney really wouldn’t want to miss on such a great writer as Arndt.

Something else interesting is that the unification of the Star Wars canon was made by the request of Disney, Kathleen Kennedy and Howard Roffman. Roffman is best known for his work as head of licensing at Lucasfilm. In early 2012, Roffman transitioned to the role of Senior Advisor, passing the baton to Paul Southern, who had worked for Roffman for 15 years. Later that year he was asked to return full-time to help manage the Star Wars franchise. Remember Kinberg, Hidalgo and Chee have been working on the ST, Spin offs and Rebels. Everything at Lucasfilm is now firmly connected.

There you have it. Until there’s an official confirmation from Lucasfilm or Disney treat these as rumors and always take them with the regular grain of salt. 

Thanks to JediDigger for the info. 

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

Born on April 24, 1980.

Val Trichkov (Viral Hide)

Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

180 thoughts on “New Star Wars: Episode 7 Rumors. More on Mara Jade, the Star Wars Canon and Michael Arndt Working on Episode 8?

  • January 30, 2014 at 12:02 pm
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    “if you’re going to have Ben, then you need his mother alive so that the audience can get to know her.”
    ..No thank you. I’d rather it’s explained that she died or she left or something. Maybe she turned evil. I don’t want to see Luke with a partner. It would be like seeing old-ben or yoda with a partner. It just doesn’t feel right.. Leave the relationship stuff to Han and Leia

    • January 30, 2014 at 6:26 pm
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      Because we needed Luke’s mother alive so we could get to know her in Episode IV. Oh, wait…

    • February 1, 2014 at 2:04 am
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      So you are ok with Luke having a child, but not a wife? She has been around as a character longer than Ben, so not sure what logic you are using here. There have been very few stories in the past decade that didn’t involve her. If this was twenty years ago I would agree he could play as a solo character, but there is no reason to have him be a hermit. If nothing else, lets establish how happy he is in the first movie so if/when she dies later it will be more dramatic.

  • January 30, 2014 at 12:39 pm
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    “Disney is worried about fans expecting movie characters to have gone through the same things as their book counterparts.”

    That makes a lot of sense, and it’s actually something I’d never considered. I’ve been hoping they’d at least ditch the names if they used EU characters, but that’s because some of them are such common real-world names (Jason and Kyle? Are they gonna stop off for sushi and Karaoke Night on their way to save the galaxy?). It hadn’t occurred to me that using the exact same EU characters with their exact same names would get people expecting them to have the same backstory as what they had in the EU books.

    And to incorporate all of that backstory (or at least to account for it somehow) would hamstring the ST creators to a tremendous degree. They wouldn’t have nearly as much leeway to come up with new stories and characters if they were bound by the characters (if not all of the events) of the EU, but then using the exact same characters from the EU would have EU fans expecting to see the books onscreen and probably getting rather aggro if they don’t. Easier to change things up while keeping certain character or environment elements.

    (Then again, this latest rumor could be a load of space hooey, so…) ;^)

    • January 30, 2014 at 3:54 pm
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      That all depends on how they handle stuff in Episode VII. For all you know, they could kill off Luke, Han and Leia and Mara Jade and the kids and other Jedi are left alive to carry the movies.

      I’d watch that.

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:35 pm
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      Yeah, if they used the exact names, people would expect to see the books themselves, non-book readers would feel confused.

      This way, we can still see a female Han Solo kick ass.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:30 pm
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      Not really. Audiences aren’t stupid, they’ll know a lot has happened since ROTJ just by looking at Luke’s face. People do soft-reboots of characters all the time just look at the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers.

    • January 31, 2014 at 12:02 am
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      We really need an announcement about what exactly is happening from the EU. Could it be like the Ultimate Marvel Universe/616 divide?

      But the media don’t care about the EU, just the films.

  • January 30, 2014 at 12:51 pm
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    “…in the new continuity we will finally meet the love of Luke Skywalker’s life. A character George Lucas has had since the end of Return of the Jedi.”

    This doesn’t sound right to me. IIRC, Lucas has always scoffed at the idea of Luke finding a partner and having children. I’m pretty sure Lucas wanted Luke to live out his life under the Jedi code (ie, no emmotional commitments).

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:36 pm
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      He wrote that Jedi stuff after his divorce. He wrote VII’s outline as he was engaged again…

  • January 30, 2014 at 12:58 pm
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    Change character stories etc i’m fine with.Killing off two of the best star wars names ever with Jaina and Mara is just inzane ! And Korriban is gone ?? Well if they are killing off the EU THEN FUCK YOU DISNEY AND CO !!!

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:34 pm
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      YEA I AGREE!!! if your gonna keep their same personalities why not just keep their real fucking names!?!?

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:05 pm
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      At this point, they have no “real names.” The Thrawn trilogy was Timothy Zahn’s interpretation of what comes after ROTJ, with a rough idea of what Lucas originally had in mind. It’s no more canon than any of the other EU material. It’s really for Abrams and Kasdan to decide. Whether their names change or not, it’s the plot and character development that really matter here.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:22 pm
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      True character development is key in this but what kind of development do you think we will see? I mean we already know what happens to there now non-canon counterparts. will they follow the same character development and personalities as they do in the books?

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:28 pm
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      Unfortunatly, no one can accuratly predict those details at this point.

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:40 pm
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      I don’t think they are going to retcon Korriban and annihilate a huge percentage of the pre-rotj EU. SWTOR is still going in that era, at the very least.

      Well I love the post-ROTJ canon as much as anyone, but it is kind of… completely… impossible to keep it AND make a movie. At least Luke won’t become a Machiavellian, cold-hearted or control-freaky over the jedi, like he has in the recent books.

    • January 31, 2014 at 2:36 am
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      dont change shit like that, just dont do it it disney…

    • January 31, 2014 at 5:36 am
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      can people please be civil on this site (you do know they are reading everything posted here) there is no reason to write “F**K YOU”

      Try to be supportive instead, this is the movie(s) everyone has waited for since ROTJ, you can´t go ballistic on every little rumour detail, that is not a good way to show appreciation for the people working hard to make the movie.

      It is not up to us to decide what will be in it, George Lucas had ideas & outlines for the ST looong before the EU. Don´t you want to see what was originally planned?

    • February 3, 2014 at 1:38 am
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      “..This is the movie(s) everyone has been waiting for..” Wait what? No I’m dreading these films. An as for seeing what Lucas “originally” planned, Star Wars would’ve been awful. Yeah, Han Solo frog-man and Luke Starkiller the 65 year old cyborg sound great.

      On the subject of keeping EU stuff, anyone who’s not an asshole could save everything pre-Pellaeon-Gavrisom treaty *MOSTLY* intact, as the films are, supposedly about the Solo&Skywalker kids as Jaina and Jacen were only like 10 at the time and I doubt JJ’s going to make the mistake of having little kids be in Star Wars again. Disney changing characters names but keeping the same general templates would just piss fans off more then anything, better they exist in ST world then not at all. I’m not one of those people that want them to turn a book into a movie nor do I expect them to be able to change absolutely nothing, but fingers crossed for the best case scenario only screwing over the Vong War and having the films roughly follow the fall of Jacen Solo.

    • April 23, 2014 at 8:55 pm
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      ^ I agree that Jaina, Jacen, Anakin and co is a good idea and that they should scrap the Vong war.

      But if you think about it like this you will see that if they stray from EU only begining at the Vong War there would be no returning to EU- What was it that started Jacen’s turn to the dark-side? The death of his younger brother, which would not happen if the Vong War ceases to exist. therefor the Darth Caedeus arc would cease to exist as well.

      if this happened i would be very pleased as the introduction of the Vong to SW is like the single blast that blows up the death-star.

      PS-Given that this movie is around 35 ABY (After Battle Yavin for non obsessed fans)or 30 post ROTJ- Jaina and Jacen would be older teens not 10yr olds.

  • January 30, 2014 at 1:05 pm
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    Maybe KK&JJ should go to SW events and slap kids in the face named after jacen and jaina and tell em sry you no longer exist…..

  • January 30, 2014 at 1:19 pm
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    this is how the new story will go “Luke, after falling in love, has had an awakening. After experiencing a touch from the darkside at the hands of Darth Disney, Luke learnt the forbidden technique of force fuck, which in turn produced him a son. Luke now continues his quest to expand his knowledge and power to force fuck the entire galaxy”

  • January 30, 2014 at 1:43 pm
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    Moriband… not Korriban? Sigh, hopefully they put more effort into Mara’s new name… can she still be an agent for the Emperor codenamed Jade atleast, please? I like they she’ll still be the same arc type, she was always a great foil to Luke and and insanely strong female character… plus now we don’t have to worry about the MJ jokes on the plus side.

    Oh well, I can adapt to new names… especially if they’re 95% the same characters (at introduction) I’ve adapeted to countless name changes to superheroes and such before in other verses, I can do so here too.

    • January 31, 2014 at 2:26 am
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      Agree.

      Star Wars can really make a difference by having more than one female character. Leia was a huge boost to women. Padme was alright, until episode III, where she was a disservice to women. We NEED at least two female lead characters, and you won’t find a stronger or more defiant woman than Mara.

    • February 23, 2014 at 2:23 pm
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      Barf

  • January 30, 2014 at 2:02 pm
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    I realy like this rumor

    This can not be made clearer, the post ROTJ EU launched in 91 is dead.
    No story from Outbound flight forward counts.

    So sweet. besides why tell a storry that has been told.
    Please let twilda swinton have a big role in the movie.

    • January 30, 2014 at 3:59 pm
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      “besides why tell a storry that has been told” – That’s my feelings as well. I didn’t get into the PT as much because I already knew pretty much how things were going to end up. I always felt that a ST is much better than a PT because of the unknowns.

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:57 pm
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      Again, agreed. Star Wars is a saga that strives on the elements of surprise and anticipation. How can that be achieved if the story has been told before? I’d really rather not see Star Wars turned into LOTR. I don’t want to know what happens until I’m in the theater experiencing the story for myself.

    • January 30, 2014 at 6:14 pm
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      Seems like a good compromise to me. The fans that have followed the stories all along get to keep the characters but there will be a new story for everyone. Now we’ve just got to hope that the story is any good. The rumor that JJ consulted with Zahn (possibly multiple times) and the confidence I have in characters like Tara Sade and Syle Datarn has actually given me hope going forward.

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:44 pm
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      This follow-up rumor is the best case scenario, as far as I am concerned as an EU fan. Books don’t always translate well to film (especially bad ones, like the post- NJO books). And knowing what is going to happen in a film inside-and-out takes a lot of the fun away.

  • January 30, 2014 at 2:39 pm
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    I have never understood what’s so special about “Mara Jade”. Dumb character. Dumb name. End of story.

    • January 30, 2014 at 2:48 pm
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      I always thought the artwork made her look pretty badass and the name mara jade is pretty badass too. I have no idea what her character is even like because I’ve never read anything from of the EU, yet she seems pretty interesting. What’s so dumb about her???

    • January 30, 2014 at 2:53 pm
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      I suggest reading the Thrawn trilogy. The ST will most likely be barrowing a lot of concepts from those books. It’ll give you the most accurate idea of what comes after ROTJ as far as the continuation of the Solos, Skywalkers and the NJO is concerned. I highly doubt the Vong will be involved in the ST, however, no one can be too sure at this point.

    • January 30, 2014 at 3:07 pm
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      If you’ve neverunderstood whats so great about Mara Jade you’re definitely missing something. Awesome character, awesome name. Quit being such a hater.

    • January 30, 2014 at 3:48 pm
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      I agree that her name could be better, but at this point it really doesn’t matter to me as long as the characters and plot are developed well aren’t cut and pasted from the Thrawn trilogy or other EU series.

      • September 4, 2014 at 6:52 pm
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        “Zahn picked the name “Mara” very deliberately, with the Hebrew word “Mara” meaning bitterness. Also, one of Zahn’s dictionaries had “discarded woman” as a meaning for Jade. Thus, the name Mara Jade was born.[ ” – wookieepedia. with her role as the “Emperor’s hand” this fits perfectly.

        Mara Jade is a beloved character for over 20 years; from novels to comic books she has a loyal fan following. Just because she did not spring from the mind of G. Lucas doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be apart of the film universe. while “the powers that be” were dormant in the ST canon, many writers were inspired by the Star Wars universe to create the EU. Zahn is my favorite because of Mara Jade’s creation, because the Heir to the Empire Trilogy is SO well done. Thrawn is a great Villain and it’s a shame we couldn’t have had these films as the 1999 release from Lucas.

        If Mara Jade isn’t in the films as she was in the books, I will be sorely disappointed! from these rumors, it seems I should prepare for disappointment again.

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:05 pm
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      The Thrawn trilogy were good books. I did like the Mara Jade character. However, for the movies, which should be considered true, concrete canon, I believe that a new story will be written and will borrow from the EU. However, following the EU is not a requirement. I

      On a side note, everyone seems to be dissing Disney. I’m sure they’re doing this for the money. However, if it weren’t for Disney, there would be no Episode 7 on it’s way. I applaud them for finally bring to the theatres what I’ve been waiting for since ’83. If it were still completely in Lucas’ hands, we’d be getting nothing but rehashed, EDITED versions of the movies we love.

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:18 pm
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      I completely agree, @Rebel Scum. I’ve never really had a problem with the idea of Disney taking over rights to my favorite franchise of all time. It’s not like Mickey and Donald are going to be in it just because it’s Disney; they respect the fact that the worldwide fanbase takes Star Wars very seriously and will not stand by and watch the saga crash and burn. That, I believe, is why they handed the job over to Abrams. They know he’s going to give the fans and movie-goers as a whole what they want in a new Star Wars film.

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:45 pm
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      I am inclined to think he is just a film purist trying to troll us.

    • January 31, 2014 at 12:01 am
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      ^ which is still better than a trolling Star Wars fanatic.

    • January 31, 2014 at 3:07 pm
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      Who’s trolling? My goodness. Some people just have different opinions and like to express those. If someone has a different point of view than you do that does not make them a troll. A troll is someone who pops in and says “F you Star Wars fans, you’re all nerds!”

  • January 30, 2014 at 2:49 pm
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    This is precisely what I’ve been mentioning on passed threads, only to have so many butthurt fans accuse me of “bashing” the EU. If this is really how Rebels/EpVII is going to be laid out (using EU character concepts, but creating something new out of what already exists), I say that’s a great way to satisfy OT and EU fans alike. PT fans have gotten so much new material since the turn of the century and they can deal with broadening their horizons a bit. The purpose of a SEQUEL trilogy is to focus on what happens next. Yes, that does mean carrying classic OT characters over (at least for EpVII), but it also means seeing how the generation that comes after those characters will combat the new opposing forces and carry on the Star Wars legacy through another three movies. I’m not sure exactly what’s so bad about that; seeing as how they’re turning something that’s been loved by the world for decades into something fresh that we’ve never seen before, that will also be partially familiar to dedicated fans of the franchise while offering new surprises and twists to continue entertaining us. With that all being said, what reason do any of you have to say the ST will be shit, without sounding like a self-centered prick?

    • January 30, 2014 at 3:11 pm
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      Definitely. I don’t lile the idea of changing names though. Thats kind of stupid. Keep Jaina and Mara Jade and Ben at least. Dont mess with those 3.

    • January 30, 2014 at 3:45 pm
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      Personally, I could care less about the changing of names, as long as the story doesn’t reflect the exact events in the Thrawn trilogy. Whether or not the names are changed, the movie will still kick ass if the plot is structured well.

    • January 30, 2014 at 3:51 pm
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      I think the idea behind changing the names would be, as Viral Hide suggested, to not create expectations in the mind of EU fans that the ST stories are going to reflect EU events.

      IMHO, this isn’t a bad idea at all. We’ve already seen a lot of posts here from fans who insist that the ST must take the entire EU into account, including that whole “Chewbacca was crushed by a moon” scenario. In that sense, the EU could serve as a huge distraction from whatever the ST crew comes up with if the new characters are all named for their EU counterparts but the stories don’t follow EU events.

      Hell, the PT often made mincemeat out of established backstory elements from the OT films (changing Obi Wan’s mentor from Yoda to Qui Gon Jinn, Anakin having no actual relationship with Owen Lars, contentious or otherwise, etc.) and that was distracting enough. I can see the ST production team not wanting to go there at all with the EU.

      That’s assuming, of course, that there’s any substance to this rumor. But it does make a good bit of practical sense in terms of the freedom for Abrams and company to tell a fresh new story.

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:17 pm
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      I agree that it’s a good idea to change the names. You cannot have an original story line if you just act out the EU. I know the EU has a lot of good stories and concepts, but in order to tell a new story, you will have to burn some bridges with the EU. This all just rumor, anyway. It could turn out that none of the EU is used. It could be that Luke never married and had kids. We don’t know. That is one of the cool and exciting things about the PT, unlike the ST.

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:20 pm
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      I think you may have gotten those mixed up.
      “That is one of the cool and exciting things about the ST, unlike the PT.
      “**

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:34 pm
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      Yep, ST and PT were switched. Thanks for catching my error!

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:43 pm
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      No problem, and I agree with you 100%.

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:48 pm
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      As someone who religiously read 100% of material released between ROTJ and NJO, and a most of the NJO, and liked most of that, I don’t want to see films of those. A film is a film first; Catching Fire shows that a film can be better than a book.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:57 pm
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      Boy, DopeyJoe is really quick when it comes to making sure nothing good is said about the PT, even if the compliments were given by accident.

    • January 31, 2014 at 2:21 pm
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      “Boy, DopeyJoe is really quick when it comes to making sure nothing good is said about the PT, even if the compliments were given by accident.”

      At least I’m adding more to the conversation than popping in to bash the opinions of others on a Star Wars fan blog…

  • January 30, 2014 at 3:08 pm
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    At this point I’m open to anything. I found out recently that the prequel fans are actually quite numerous. Apparently a lot of young kids watched those awful movies and now have nostalgia tied to them. Making them “classics” ugh. At least in their minds. So they can’t be completely ignored… if that’s the case I don’t even care what happens regarding EU.

    All I want is a decent storyline with real character motivations set in the SW universe. If that involves R2’s with rockets and renamed EU characters… FINE. Just make it awesome and not a bunch of nonsensical contradictory crap!

  • January 30, 2014 at 3:52 pm
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    I’m hoping this rumor is true. Love the idea of getting rid of all the EU that came before and “starting fresh”. It was convoluted and for the most part inconsistent. Can’t wait for LFL to release the official canon! I do have reservations about this being true though based on the comment that Luke’s wife is a character that Lucas has had since ROTJ. I would much prefer that Luke never marry or have a love interest, and sticks to the Jedi code. Always hated the idea that he “settled down” and had a family. Not the Jedi way.

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:32 pm
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      I think there’s a good argument to be made that the old Jedi way did not end up serving the order particularly well, and that Luke would be wise to not simply pick up where the old Jedi order left off.

      The Jedi order as it was in the Republic years developed some blind spots that ended up proving fatal to them. First, they were unable to spot a Sith Lord who was operating right under their noses. Now, personally I found this to be more a matter of bad writing on Lucas’ part than anything deliberate, but since it’s movie canon it’s certainly up for discussion in terms of how it would affect the post-Empire Jedi order.

      The Republic-era Jedi were part of a large, complex and ultimately corrupt bureaucracy where you had Jedi Masters isolated in a high tower “discussing matters in committee”. I think an argument can be made that the fact that they were somewhat detached and isolated from the world around them may have contributed to certain assumptions on their part that Palpatine exploited in order to hide in plain sight. It never occurred to the Jedi that the Sith threat might come from within the Senate, and even when they learned that the Senate may be under Sith control, they STILL didn’t take the “who benefits?” line of thought and consider that the Chancellor could be the problem.

      In other words, the Jedi order had become so institutionalized that they didn’t have the perspective to spot the source of the rot that they were all smelling.

      Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the old Jedi order never learned how to deal with basic human interpersonal relationships. In fact, they seemed to deliberately run away from the concept rather than learn how to incorporate their understanding of the Force into a deeper understanding of emotional connections. They took children from their families before they had had much chance to emotionally bond with their families, and then they spent the rest of their lives avoiding emotional connections with other beings as though it were a point of honor to do so.

      This had two effects that led directly to the order’s own destruction. First and most obviously, Anakin Skywalker never learned how to incorporate his feelings for his mother and for Padme into his deeper understanding of the Force because the Jedi Code forced him to hide those feelings. And ultimately, that’s what Palpatine used to turn him to the dark side.

      Along those same lines, though, the prohibition against Jedi marrying and having families of their own ensured that each Jedi’s family line died with him or her. This (if we’re going to go with Lucas’ rather cheap cop-out that Force sensitivity is purely genetic, based on “midichlorian” levels) resulted in there being far fewer Jedi in the galaxy than were needed to meet the threat of the Separatists, and it made it that much easier for Palpatine to eradicate them.

      That being said… why would Luke simply re-establish the old Jedi order with the same fatal flaws that doomed the original order? Seems more logical to me that he would bring a new perspective to the whole thing that took the failures of the past into account and tried to prevent them happening again. And that would certainly involve taking a more healthy, worldly approach to dealing with the issue of human emotional relationships than the old Jedi did.

      (Just my two cents…)

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:55 pm
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      People DO NOT GET the jedi don’t marry thing. Two important points:

      1: Lucas wrote ‘jedi don’t marry’ because he was going through a divorce and disillusionment with romance.

      2: The theme of the prequels was corruption. Corrupt business, corrupt government, corrupt JEDI ORDER. Not marrying, and forcing people to hide love, was part of the problem that starting fresh should be free of.

    • January 31, 2014 at 9:54 am
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      JEDI were like MONKS! A religious order of protector of the peace and justice all devoted to THE FORCE!
      Just immagine Ben Kenobi in his retirement on Tatooine with wife, sons, grand sons…

      And Luke the LAST of the Jedi, the one that still has to learn so much about the Force, that still has to defeat the rest of the Empire, that has to rebuilt a New Repubblic, rebuilt a New Jedi Order, find force-sensititve people around the galaxy… With a wife, a son, etc…
      This is ridiculous!
      This is SW or a soap opera?
      J.J., what are you doing to SW? Why are you changing the original story-line?
      I have bad feeling about all this.

  • January 30, 2014 at 4:43 pm
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    Here’s something to think about: In both trilogies, a wise, older Jedi is killed. Will Luke be the next in line for the new movie? How would that make you feel? Luke is one of my favorite all-time characters and it would really be an emotional, heart-ripping out of my chest moments. Much more than Obi-wan and Qui-Gon just because we went through an entire trilogy with Luke before this one. It’s been said that the ST characters are handing it off to the new generation for the later two movies in the trilogy. It certainly looks like this is a real possibility. To be clear, I’m definately not pulling for it.

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:55 pm
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      Seeing as how the OT is primarily based on Luke learning the truth about himself and his joruney to becoming a powerful Jedi knight, I can see the ST killing him off sooner or later, simply because it’d be an easy tear-jerker and he could still show up in the other films as a force ghost. I really wouldn’t have a problem with some of the OT characters being killed off, as long as it’s done in a way that fits well with the story and truly makes sense. If anyone’s going to die in the ST, I’m almost certain it’d be Han.

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:59 pm
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      As bad as it is to kill off one of the most beloved characters ever, I don’t think I would mind it if they killed him off. ONLY if he died in an extremely heroic way that doesn’t make him seem like a whiney little brat like he was in ANH. I hope he becomes the wise old figure we saw in Ben and Yoda in the OT but just like them he would have to be brave and go into his demise head first like ben did.

      That being said does anyone else notice how whiney the Skywalker men as teenagers are? I really hope Ben Skywalker or whatever they decide to name him doesn’t complain as much as Anakin and Luke did when they were teens

    • January 30, 2014 at 4:59 pm
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      You probably get Harrison Ford’s vote for that.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:02 pm
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      Another storyline could possibly be Luke’s search for Jedi around the Galaxy. There were no other Jedi, as far as we know, at the end of ROTJ. Perhaps in his search he finds a Sith, instead? Just throwing out ideas, here. The search for Jedi would be a parallel to his father’s search for him in ESB.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:10 pm
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      ehhh I can see where your going with the search for jedi thing @rebelscum but remember yoda said that after he died the last of the jedi you will be. so maybe he’s not looking for more jedi but training them when one of his pupils, lets just say Jacens counterpart, turns to the dark side? or maybe that will be the plot of Episode VIII?

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:12 pm
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      It’d be a bit of a pointless search if Yoda was very clear that after he died, Luke would be the last of the Jedi. I like the idea of having him train Leia in the 30 years between ROTJ and EpVII and beginning to train the children during the later years of that gap. That way, the threat could present itself by Yoda vaguely speaking to Luke through the force, warning him of the danger at hand. The thought could fester in Luke’s mind, continuously troubling him for weeks, knowing there’s unrest in the galaxy and not being able to pin point where it is, when finally, the threat strikes brutally and Luke’s fears of underestimating his former masters warning will result in a brand new war ensuing.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:18 pm
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      Good thinking. Or how about Luke feels a disturbance in the Force or has a vision like he did in ESB. Luke has shown before to rush into things and goes looking what he felt or what was in the vision. I know he probably mastered not rushing into things before ROTJ but maybe he’s not got it completely out of his system. We all fall into old habits from time to time. So Luke rushes to find out what it is and is in trouble again (like in ESB) and Leia comes to bail him out, again. Just shooting off the hip for fun.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:21 pm
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      Remember, it’s also been 30 years since the fall of the Empire. I think it’s reasonable to assume that Luke’s personal search for potential Jedi apprentices probably happened quite awhile ago, and that whatever version of the Jedi order he’s re-established has begun to take hold and perpetuate itself.

      So yeah, I think the issue here is going to be that Luke finally loses an apprentice to the dark side of the Force. Possibly his own son. It would make sense that Luke’s son might have a rather skewed view of Anakin’s ultimate return from the dark side, and think that this means that it’s possible to use the dark side judiciously without losing oneself to it. Luke, of course, would know better – but of course, fathers cannot always convince their sons of this.

      Lots of emotional and dramatic potential in a story like that, and an interesting mirror image to what came before.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:24 pm
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      Isn’t it cool we can speculate on this? The best thing is is that we really don’t know. It’s like a roller coaster ride you’ve never seen or been on before. Great times to be a Star Wars fan.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:31 pm
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      very true Rebel Scum, even though I know most of the EU fans and authors are probably really pissed off that their characters and stories will no longer be read and considered true, it is fun to not know whats going to happen. I just hope we don’t get another Phantom Menace and kill off both the PT and OT fans interests in the ST, Rebels and beyond.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:38 pm
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      Those certain EU fans should really get the rod out of their ass. Star Wars is not something read first then seen on screen like LOTR was, its all about not knowing what’s going to happen and it’s been that way since the 70’s.

    • January 30, 2014 at 6:04 pm
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      Han will for sure, probably early on in 8 or 9

    • January 30, 2014 at 6:29 pm
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      I’m not sure why the EU authors would be “pissed”. First off they got paid and secondly it sounds like their characters will survive. Given that they’re making a sequel trilogy that seems like about as much as they could hope for.

      For the record I’m thrilled about this news and I’ve read (and will continue to read) the EU material that I enjoy. It’s all fiction anyway, the quality of the story is what’s really important. Today is probably the first time I’ve actually found anything encouraging about the sequel trilogy.

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:58 pm
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      Some things are better buried. Anakin Solo was conceived as “lets repeat the prequel trilogy, yay I don’t have any original ideas!!!” Not a problem anymore. Chewbacca was killed, because someone who can’t speak is a massive waste of page-space. Not a problem anymore. A young woman who is basically a female Han Solo, but can use the force? Easy money.

    • January 31, 2014 at 7:20 am
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      “because someone who can’t speak is a massive waste of page-space”

      HAHAHAA, someone should write a book about chewbacca with all the pages filled with a lot of GRAAWWWLS & groowwls & no explanation to what he is saying, except Han saying: “you said it chewie” or “yeah i know” 😀

  • January 30, 2014 at 5:09 pm
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    One thing that confuses me about this story is in the last year, since Disney bought Lucasfilm and announced the sequel trilogy, licensing has signed off merchandise with EU character names in imagery. Last year Her Universe got the rights and began producing apparel with Mara Jade and Jaina Solo images, Kotobukiya produced a Mara Jade and Jaina Solo bishoujo statues and Hasbro produced a Mara Jade figure in the last six months with packaging identifying her as Luke’s wife. I’m confused why these products would be approved in light of the recently rumored plans.

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:12 pm
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      @anonymous Jan 30,5:09- where did you hear that from? do have a link to a page we can see?

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:03 pm
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      The rumor he is speaking of is this article. There is no new story in this comment, duh.

      Fans, especially female fans, demanded this stuff, and so Disney supplied it. Marvel is Disney’s boys franchise. Princesses is disney’s female franchise. And now, Star Wars is for BOTH, like The Hunger Games, thus, they are trying to build up the female fan-base.

    • September 4, 2014 at 7:44 pm
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      I received one of those Action figures as a gift from my sister(bought from the Disney Store, funny enough). Why? because my sister knows that Mara Jade is my favorite EU character! Not because she is Luke’s Wife (although I felt that could be the only result after reading the heir to the empire trilogy. and was pleased when it came about) She is strong, she is a fighter, she is complicated. extremely devoted, has a toughened exterior, yet she is a warm and compassionate individual. she has strong defenses about letting anyone into her heart, and Luke was the only one to bring her back to the light A small way in which she showed Skywalker her love for him was through the playful nickname which she constantly called him—”Farmboy”.(this would be nice to see in the movies, much like lois lane calling Clark “Smallville”, from Smallville)
      PS on the back of the action figure package is says she marries Luke Skywalker!!

  • January 30, 2014 at 5:20 pm
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    I hope it’s true.

  • January 30, 2014 at 5:25 pm
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    http://www.heruniverse.com/mara-jade-tee.html

    This is the shirt being sold. I would think licensing would have had to have signed off on these products. So, I’m not sure if its an issue of the right and left hands being unaware of what the other is doing.

  • January 30, 2014 at 5:40 pm
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    So besides the trolling going on, does anyone have any theories as to why those products were released and are continuing to be made available?

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:42 pm
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      Money!

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:42 pm
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      could be to please the EU purists and make money?

    • January 30, 2014 at 5:44 pm
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      For the same reason that the EU books are in print, perhaps? Because people want to buy them?

      (I’m just spitballin’ here, mind you…)

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:08 pm
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      Disney wants to build up the fanbase, not hurt it. By giving fans what they want, and will PAY FOR, they have nothing to lose.

    • January 31, 2014 at 12:13 am
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      understand these project were decided a long time ago…and we just now, from over a year ago when Disney bought SW…have just now had a script finished.. so no one was for absolute sure what was going or what was staying…just the other day came the call for just what is going to be canon .factories that turn these figures out, clothes, statuettes, etc. take time to line up behind the products being made from a decision from weeks or months ago…and in the end money…i personally think they should keep the EU going on a separate time line, just like X Men, Uncanny X Men, One Shot X Men…leave the EU as a stand alone timeline for the fans that enjoy it, just don’t connect it to the movies, leave it as a “what if ” situation…

  • January 30, 2014 at 6:11 pm
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    No No NOOO! I do not want to see Luke wife!!!
    JJ you do not have the right to change the ORIGINAL story arc planned by the makers GL himself!!!
    I do not like this. Mara Jade/ Luke wife is the WORST thing ever happend in SW

    • January 30, 2014 at 6:35 pm
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      To most fans she’s a very popular character, give her a chance. And actually he does because that Lucas guy sold the franchise.

    • January 30, 2014 at 6:57 pm
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      I am wondering myself if they are still going to have Wedge and his wife. I guess I will have to see but I am cool with them Keeping Kyle Katarn and Just changing his name.Although I think Katarn is still a cool last name

    • January 30, 2014 at 8:28 pm
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      You clearly missed George Lucas being interviewed in 1988 saying Luke would have a romantic interest in Episode VII. Being that Heir to the Empire was released in 1991 and Timothy Zahn spoke to Lucas personally before writing the book its very likely the character Arc Type that Mara Jade was is indeed the character Lucas wanted to hook with Luke.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:11 pm
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      Jedi don’t marry was corruption. The theme of the prequels was corruption.

      And just because you can’t be bothered to read books, doesn’t mean characters in those books are garbage. Read them and find out.

  • January 30, 2014 at 6:32 pm
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    Awaiting to see how the EU is retconned. Maybe at some point in the far flung EU future a choice has to be made to save the galaxy, but the price is wiping out decades that came before it.

    • January 30, 2014 at 6:37 pm
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      NO, we don’t need a “JJ special”. The EU just never happened as described previously. The characters will surive under rhyming names though under the Great Compromise of 2014.

    • January 30, 2014 at 7:10 pm
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      AnonymousJanuary 30, 2014 at 6:37 PM
      Who are you to say what the enormous, ever-growing Star Wars fanbase does and doesn’t “need?”
      Your opinion does not determine the decision making process of the film makers.

    • January 30, 2014 at 7:58 pm
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      Lucas himself played fast and loose with his own backstory from his own OT films when he wrote the PT scripts.

      Why, then, would the ST team worry about keeping everything in the new films consistent with dozens of EU books of widely varying quality? I see no reason why Abrams and company would bother retconning the EU in their movie.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:15 pm
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      One of Lucas’ rules is that there is no traveling back in time; destiny precludes it. Part of why the post-NJO books sucked, was because they broke that rule just to deliver fanservice to prequel fans.

      Agree with Dekka. Lucas has contradicted himself dozens of times. No ship that small has a cloaking device? Changed his mind. Leia knew her mother? Changed his mind.

    • January 31, 2014 at 12:16 am
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      i dont want to retread old ground too much, but yeah, decades of EU thrown out the window, just like Marvel being dusted to have the torch handed to Dark Horse…and now back to Marvel. business decisions do not rely on art or canon or anything other than where the most money lies…

    • January 31, 2014 at 5:48 pm
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      dopey, why would you need to retconn the EU? We, I or whoever don’t need things that don’t make any sense. And I’m sure film makers listen to you BTW.

    • January 31, 2014 at 8:30 pm
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      “dopey, why would you need to retconn the EU? We, I or whoever don’t need things that don’t make any sense. And I’m sure film makers listen to you BTW.”

      This statement should be copied into an elementary school grammer book for the definition of irony.

  • January 30, 2014 at 7:00 pm
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    The Korriban thing kinda makes me mad though Moriban sounds stupid. Now that is a pointless change. Korriban sounds way more like the world that tombs the Sith lords

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:17 pm
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      Remember, this is a post-ROTJ wipe, not the whole EU.

      If they actually destroyed Korriban, the entire foundation of the Pre-films EU would be annihilated.

    • February 1, 2014 at 11:52 pm
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      And also, there is still SWTOR on the sight. Thay can’t destroy one of its most important planet’s name.

  • January 30, 2014 at 7:42 pm
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    Posts like “fuck this” and “fuck that” will be deleted immediately. I know that everyone likes to fuck but this doesn’t add anything to the story. 🙂

    • January 30, 2014 at 8:01 pm
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      (Groping in vain for a “like” button…)

    • January 30, 2014 at 8:02 pm
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      I agree no need for such things. I don’t know why people can’t just articulate their arguments at least have some sort of opinion to give.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:29 pm
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      Can I post the opposite? All of the alleged inside source stuff sounds epic.

      The Korriban thing is another issue. If they are keeping those continuity-hounds on, and the retcons are mostly for the Post-ROTJ continuity, than it makes no sense. Korriban is the foundation of the pre-films EU. SWTOR is still going with it as the origin of the sith. So, either this planet is just the origin of the dark side, or where the Legions of Lettow or whatever formed their organization, or the ENTIRE EU, sans- stuff set between films, is being bulldozed.

  • January 30, 2014 at 7:43 pm
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    Lumiya was one of my favorite characters from the Marvel Star Wars Universe. It would be great to see a character that resembled her.

  • January 30, 2014 at 8:00 pm
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    This might be the news that let’s me stop thinking about all of this and get through the next 2 years without obsessing too much. I could deal with losing lots of the EU from a certain point, but they really should keep a core intact. At the very least the Thrawn trilogy, the Rogue Squadron books, and the Solo kids. This is a little disheartening.

    • January 30, 2014 at 8:14 pm
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      If they do keep any material from Thrawn, Rouge Squadron or anything along those lines, I feel much will be changed when carrying it over to the ST. They’re not going to carbon copy the exact story from the books. That’s just not the way Star Wars has worked over the years. Why would they change that now? In other words: “why tell a story that has already been told?”
      This is not a franchise like Lord of the Rings or the Hunger Games and I don’t believe it ever will be, despite the fact that the EU has a large fanbase.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:31 pm
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      How about integrate TTT into the films? How about make Rogue Squadron into a TV show?

      The books won’t magically dissapear. So, I see no down-side.

    • February 3, 2014 at 2:54 pm
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      The stories told in the books should stay as they are, same with the video games. The time has come for something brand new to come from Star Wars; a new threat, a new line of heroes, a whole new adventure. That doesn’t mean they need to chuck all of the old characters, we definitley need some transition for continuity purposes, but I want to see on-screen something that will surprise me and keep me interested in the new trilogy.

    • May 20, 2014 at 10:24 pm
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      Anyone who has read the books can attest to the fact that picking up right where they left off would have been perfect. The argument against it is that they want a clean slate to move forward from. Well it’s not a reboot so where’s the clean slate. Moving Forward from either point is entirely possible without need to contradict what happened in the novels, or should we choose to believe that you can’t introduce new characters and a new story arc ever, simply because some things happened beforehand. I wish they would have chosen to leave the novels intact, and move forward from there, it’s exactly or at least damn near exactly where they left off. I think the move to Ignore the EU as opposed to simply starting afterward will most definitely alienate many fans needlessly. That being said, I’m still looking forward to a new Trilogy and then some!

  • January 30, 2014 at 8:01 pm
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    If Mara Jade is in the new movies, I hope she’s as curvaceous as the fan-depictions make her out to be 😉

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:34 pm
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      Reminds me of that MostCommonSuperpower or BigBratoFill tropes! I just hope she doesn’t wear that cat-suit, and look like she’s 20 when she’s 50 or whatever, kicks my suspension of disbelief.

  • January 30, 2014 at 8:22 pm
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    This is JediDigger. I never said anything about rhyming names. I said different names and histories, but they’d have the essence of the character. I choose to keep my identity a secret to protect my friends. They love their jobs and I don’t want them to lose them.I live in Los Angeles and I stay close to the actual workers. Not agents, publicists or lawyers. I work in the creative field.

    • January 30, 2014 at 8:25 pm
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      Thank you for the clarification, JediDigger. You know how one misinterpretation of information can be blown out of proportion on sites like this. We all appreciate your input!

    • January 30, 2014 at 8:32 pm
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      Thank the maker… no rhyming names is a very good thing. Could you at least say if you heard the Mara Jade arc type new name… and if you did does it sound cool? No need to reveal the name… that could leak who you are.

    • January 30, 2014 at 8:45 pm
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      “I’M Jedi Digger, and so’s my wife!!”

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:42 pm
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      JediDigger, since you are posting here, and hopefully more in the future, I suggest you get a new google account. It’s anymous and free (I did it this morning so I would not be anonymous anymore) and we could all know who it is authentically. Anyone could post as anonymous and claim to be JediDigger!

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:35 pm
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      Every other person who posts here is anonymous. I don’t believe for one instant that this is him.

  • January 30, 2014 at 8:38 pm
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    JD here the names are under tight security. of course this is still a rumor.
    Any new rumors I hear go straight to Viral.

    • January 30, 2014 at 8:41 pm
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      Better to do things that way, seeing as how there are quite a lot of dingbats on this blog that wouldn’t hesitate to steal the name “JediDigger” and post false information.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:37 pm
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      This is totally real and not someone looking for attention.

  • January 30, 2014 at 10:51 pm
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    This could be an awesome direction for Star Wars. Use the EU stories but change the characters around. Think about it people, a new trilogy incorporating the Thrawn trilogy with Dark Empire. Episode 7 is the platform to introduce Thrawn, the Empire, and all the characters we know. We get to meet the big 3’s kids and lay the groundwork for their future challenges. Then Episode 8 & 9 could be a re-in visioning of Dark Empire with Thrawn trilogy elements. It would give a Disney a great opportunity to re-introduce the Emperor, clones, and really give Luke a great story arc. Maybe his son is seduced by the dark side and he is forced to fight him. A story like that would serve as a great bridge between the original trilogy and the disappointment that was the prequel trilogy. I know the article didn’t mention Dark Empire but I remember reading a Ian McDiarmid rumor some time ago about returning to Star Wars.

    • January 30, 2014 at 10:59 pm
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      While at this time anything could possibly be added to the ST, I highly doubt they’ll choose to barrow direct plot points that have been seen in the EU. You can continue believing whatever you choose.
      Ian McDiarmid has said numerous times that he’s completely done with Star Wars.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:40 pm
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      I don’t think they will re-use the emperor, besides some kind of legacy like an apprentice.

      Since they aren’t adapting any particular work, I wouldn’t be surprised to see ELEMENTS of Dark Empire. For instance, having another planet-destroyer would be a lame re-tread, but a factory that builds robots autonomously? Genius!

    • February 3, 2014 at 1:56 am
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      You want Dark Empire to stay in canon? I love those comics, I really do, but they’re schlock.

  • January 30, 2014 at 11:07 pm
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    I don’t believe the new movies should be influenced by anything from the EU. It should be blank canvas far as CANON is concerned. Only reason the EU was allowed to be written was because Lucas in his mind believed there would never be a sequel trilogy made after the OT was finished.
    Alas this was not the case and yes all this EU material was written but they came up with the whole levels of canon system in case something like this happened.
    EU can and will be overwritten by Canon…plain and simple so better get used to that otherwise you best not go see the new trilogy.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:41 pm
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      And Lucas didn’t integrate Courascant from the EU, or Quinlain Vos, or anything. Oh wait. He did.

    • January 31, 2014 at 12:19 am
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      actually EU integrated Corascant from an earlier Lucas script…Timothy Zhan simply gave it a name, but the planet wide city was from Lucas…

    • January 31, 2014 at 2:14 am
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      A lava planet, you mean… Aayla Secura is straight from the comics, and in two movies and TCW.

      Lucas does tend to make up things as he goes. According to Lucas, Voodoo dolls are a force power. As well as the ability to summon cybernetic body-parts. It’s in TCW, and he talked about it on a late show.

    • April 10, 2014 at 1:31 am
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      I’m sure the EU had no influence on the centrality of Boba Fett to the story either.

  • January 30, 2014 at 11:30 pm
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    Fine, erase it, just leave the big 3. No name changes neccesary.

    Mara Jade
    C’mon, she’s got it all. The first Star Wars character to have a purple Lightsaber. Used to be an Imperial and the name ROCKS. People are used to it, please dont change it.

    Jaina Solo
    Awesome girl, a perfect mix of her Mother and Father and a beautiful name.

    Ben Skywalker
    It makes obvious sense why Luke would name his son Ben.

    The rest I don’t think most people care about.

    • January 31, 2014 at 12:40 am
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      Agreed! Keep these Three names LFL, these three are bigger than all the rest and will cause fanboy/girl rage to no end for changing. I’m will to compromise on the others, even if that means Corran and Kyle get name changed (cries inside)… and don’t argue otherwise since no matter what you say people will still argue it was still that character with a name change, since from their point of view it will be the truth.

      I love the idea of EU being used but changed and adapted… but Batman has had countless versions and retellings yet he was never not Bruce Wayne. Changing the name, especially on the big EU 3 is just setting yourself up for fan rage.

      Thrawn had a clone though… so renamng him could always be the clone instead.

    • February 2, 2014 at 12:05 am
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      I absolutely agree. At least for Mara Jade and Jaina Solo there’s no necessity to change their names. I’m so used to them, and I think they are really awesome names.

    • February 3, 2014 at 11:08 pm
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      When I named my daughter Jaina I didn’t realize how upset she’d get that her name didn’t show up in any stories or movies like her sisters (Emily). I’ve read her the Jedi Academy books and she loved them. When she found out they were making more Star Wars movies her first questions was “will Jaina be in them”. I PRAY to the JEDI they don’t change that name.

  • January 30, 2014 at 11:46 pm
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    A lot of this report sounds like a fantasy for EU fans. Look at the Full of Sith’s latest podcast where they talk about rumor credibility. When a rumor pans out, it comes from a trade website; otherwise, it get confirmed by multiple rumor sites trading notes.

    As much as I like what is being said, this seem like a SuperShadow attention getter Hoax.

    Regardless, destroying Korriban would mean that the entire EU would be getting bulldozed, NOT just the post-ROTJ stuff. Mortiband could just be significant in other ways, though, or just another name for the same planet.

    • January 30, 2014 at 11:49 pm
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      So confused! Lol

    • January 31, 2014 at 1:48 am
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      Basically, after listening to their podcast, this rumor doesn’t have much credibility. Other rumors have been sat on by several websites, and then someone is the first to release it, and then others say they heard it too.

      This isn’t the first set of rumors like this. JediMasterSQL, from JediNews.co.uk, is just like this, and just as shoddy. He said that Dark Horse is going to be associated with many more Star Wars products in the future. So, he’s pretty solidly debunked. And he hasn’t been featured since he was debunked…

  • January 31, 2014 at 1:15 am
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    I don’t think this makes much sense. I expected the post-ROTJ EU to be thrown out because there’s no way to keep it all canon (and really, it’s all a mess to begin with, in my opinion), but I was hoping they would keep the characters themselves.

    However, Disney’s ‘worries’ of the audience expecting the movie characters to go through the same experiences as their book counterparts throws me. They certainly don’t expect it with the Marvel movies. Captain America is still Steve Rogers. The Hulk is still Bruce Banner. The Marvel movies just take the characters and put them in a new story, just keeping the origins of those heroes.

    The audience could perfectly accept a Ben, Jaina, Jacen and Anakin who have lived very peaceful lives, rolling their eyes at their parents’ war stories, until the bad guy comes in and sweeps them all up into conflict. And the only background needed for Mara Jade is hinting at she used to be an Imperial and worked for Palpatine. Seems simple enough to me.

    • January 31, 2014 at 1:33 am
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      I love it. Couldn’t have worded it better. Someone please send a copy of that to Disney.

    • January 31, 2014 at 1:50 am
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      Give something to the EU Fans (other than a “likeness”) and something to the OT/PT Fans (original story). Compromise.

    • January 31, 2014 at 1:56 am
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      Would they be the same characters living peaceful lives? All four of them have seen pretty heavy conflict from young ages. Especially Ben.

      What about the Monomyth and Hero’s Journey? No struggle, no story.

    • January 31, 2014 at 4:56 am
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      Not sure what you mean by “no struggle, no story.” At the start of any Hero’s Journey, the main character is a ‘blank slate,’ so to speak. As they progress through the plot of the story, they change, much like Luke changed from ANH to ROTJ. Luke’s life consisted solely of the farm and little else until Artoo came along.

      Likewise, I completely expect Jaina, Jacen, Anakin and Ben to have fairly normal lives at the beginning of Episode 7 or something to that effect. That might not have perfect lives, but their lives shouldn’t be too eventful (certainly nothing like what happened to them in the books).

      As for being the same characters, well, no, Jaina certainly wouldn’t be a war hardened Jedi, Jacen wouldn’t be a dark sider or whatever else happened to him (I haven’t read any of Del Rey’s books). If Episode 7 is the start of Jaina, Jacen, Anakin and Ben’s Hero’s Journey, then of course, they’ll be different characters because Episode 7, their Hero’s Journey, hasn’t started yet. They can’t be characters who have survived wars or whatever Del Rey has done up to now.

      But to me, to me, when I think of Jaina, Jacen and Anakin, I think of someone who loves flying and takes after her father, someone who loves jokes (and the odd one out since he doesn’t have the same Solo/Skywalker passion for flying or mechanics!) and someone who’s struggling with the actions of his grandfather. And those are characters who can start a Hero’s Journey. Honestly, I feel like Anakin’s situation is perfect for a Hero’s Journey! Trying to be a Jedi, but struggling with his grandfather’s legacy, that sounds like a perfect start for a Hero’s Journey.

    • April 23, 2014 at 9:35 pm
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      This is honestly one of the only Comment/Theory/Suggestion thread that i haven’t become frustrated with.

      i completely agree with ^ as far as how i see the characters. and if they keep the basic they went to the new Jedi temple to train during their teen years,but they dont go into detail- the YJK (Young Jedi Knights- My Favorite part of the EU) series could still be cannon. I don’t really care much if they change some details about the kids lives. Go ahead make Ben closer to their age, sure make a few changes to the early post 5aby EU.

      Honestly I really just want the solo kids and their Friends to be the same people as they were in that earlier portion of the EU that i read in 3rd grade. I don’t care what happens in the movies as long as they don’t all die and become as evil and warped as they do in the later EU.

      I see this as a chance to correct the wrongs of the later EU authors, to make it so that there is even a bitter sweet ending for those fans that fell in love with those characters while they were still in training and before, rather than the tragedy that befalls the family after the children are knighted according to EU.

  • January 31, 2014 at 2:33 am
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    Disney should just put it to a vote amongst Star Wars Fans.

    • January 31, 2014 at 2:26 pm
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      Chaos would ensue. The world would be thrown into total anarchy.

    • January 31, 2014 at 3:28 pm
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      Human sacrifice dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!

  • January 31, 2014 at 7:22 am
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    So how does this rumor mesh with the canon committee? Why have a canon committee if you’re going to ditch nearly every piece of the EU?

  • January 31, 2014 at 7:37 am
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    what does everyone think about maybe the spin off movies being about the sith? perhaps maybe about darth bane? he was pretty much one of the most badass sithlords around

  • January 31, 2014 at 10:17 am
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    The Luke “wife rumor”, if true, is a terrible thing.
    And it is mainly due to J.J. decision to change dramatically the ORIGINAL STORY line that the creator of the saga has developed. And this, is already a TERRIBLE mistake.

    I start to believe that JJ is a very bad choice.
    SW needs a director that can bring the GL vision to reality, improve it, not change or alter it.
    SW need a more humble and SW & GL respectful person, not an egocentric SUPERSTAR (and mediocre director) that likes to collects franchises and 1000 tv productions each years.

    Moreover, the new script has less time to be developed, the movie has been postponed, and never the less movie has a reduced time to be shoot, produced etc…
    A long series of errors and mistakes.

    But are we joking!?!!? Luke with a wife and a son?!? When we have Han & Leia already there? Leia son’s do not have Skywalker blood in their veins? Luke is the last of the jedi, he has to devote his life to know the force, rebuilt the order etc…
    It is clear in the prequel… Compassion!

    If ST as it seems will not reflect the original GL storyline, to me, Episode 7 it will be on par of EU.

    • April 23, 2014 at 9:39 pm
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      Face-Palm at that large contradiction and utter nonsense you just stated despite how eloquently you provided it.

  • January 31, 2014 at 10:39 am
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    it seems to me that most EU fans is from America & UK (I´m from europe) -Many of the EU books is only available in english & is only distributed via special import in some countries, or you have to special order them yourself. The english is to hard for a lot of people

    If you count all star wars fans in the world, the American fans is not even 50% & of the American fans not all are EU fans. There are many star wars fans who hardly even knows that the EU books exist, so why should they care about what the EU fans are “demanding” they are not as large of group as they think they are.

    It would be interesting to see how big percentage of the worldwide star wars fans that don´t know anything about the EU or don´t care/like it

    PS. i wrote MOST EU fans, of course there are people around the world reading/loving the books, but i think most of them are American & you are not in majority & LFL/Disney are not catering to your needs, they have a whole world of fans to think about.

  • January 31, 2014 at 1:08 pm
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    it sound to me like what they are going to do with star wars pretty similar to what they did to lord of the rings/the hobbit, taking ideas possibly from EU and changing them. i’m a huge EU fan, pretty much read all the books and yeah i am gutted that it appears like they won’t use any of the stories. BUT, i am glad that they are doing another movie what ever the incarnation will be. i myself am more concerned with how the acting/dialog is as in my opinion the acting/dialog between the characters for most the prequels was cringeworthy. GL’s directing skills to me seemed a little bit poor. i enjoyed JJ’s reboot of star trek and have faith that he will do a good job no matter what the story will be.

  • January 31, 2014 at 2:00 pm
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    I am ok with them wiping out all of the EU post Jedi, however, Mara Jade should be the only thing kept from the EU…and maybe Admiral Thrawn. Mara Jade is the best character created outside of the canon and would love to have her in the new film, with her name. There’s no point having her in the movies with a different name if she is going to look like her and act like her. I have read a tonne of the EU books and I wouldn’t care if she didn’t have the exact same character development as long as the personality and name would be the same. I’m sure many would think the same way.

    • April 23, 2014 at 9:47 pm
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      According to REBELS rumors she will be accepted as cannon and have the same back-story and name as in the EU and will appear in both said show and the upcoming movies.

      I agree that she is ONE OF the best things about the EU but disagree that they should scrap the whole thing as the pre-NJO books are some of my favorite books ever read and this is coming from a person who reads for hours a day and has read over 1000 books.

  • January 31, 2014 at 3:13 pm
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    Is the new Star Wars movies destined to be hated by two factions and loved by the others? My point is that there’s PT fans, OT fans, and EU fans here that express strong opinions about how they think the new trilogy should go. Any news of the EU being abandoned, and the EU fans (not all of them) state they won’t go to such an abomination. Anytime some rumour is that CGI will be heavily used, and the OT fans get mad (I’m an OT fan myself and do believe too much CGI is a bad thing). PT fans get mad if anyone has the opinion that the PT sucked.

    My question to all of you is: Is there a happy medium? Or do we see on yahoo ratings the new Star Wars movie with a 3 out of 5 stars rating because 1 out of the 3 factions love the film and the other 2 factions hate it?

    • January 31, 2014 at 3:19 pm
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      I believe that Disney’s goal is to make the ST and Rebels series that very medium.

    • February 2, 2014 at 12:20 am
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      I think JJ and company will do what they can to please the most of the fans, and will put something for everyone.

      Real scenes, environments and effects for the OT fans, good cgi enhanced lightsaber battles for the PT fans, and characters hinting at the books for the EU fans.

      I think everyone is gonna have problems with something, but that’s the best they can do.

  • January 31, 2014 at 7:48 pm
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    Everyone of course is entitled to their opinion but haters gonna hate. PT, OT, EU…it doesn’t matter. If you like any one of these you’re going to watch Episode 7 no matter the story, characters, actor, director, or whatever. Only after watching the movie should one be able to critique it.

  • February 1, 2014 at 1:57 am
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    Mickey Suttle runs starwarsnewsnet.com. The fake rumor mongerer known as Super Shadow

    • February 1, 2014 at 2:19 am
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      cannot believe that guy is still around after 15 years! i remember at one point all of his stuff got pulled down during Ep2 if i remember correctly…i laughed when one of his blogs touted he was the ‘first to figure out the SW formula for filming’…as in how they all start off with crawls, have a spaceship in the opening scene, etc….in other words everything that anyone over the age of 2 noticed immediately…

    • February 1, 2014 at 8:00 am
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      Really? I didn’t know my name has changed. The rumors here are as many as on any other Star Wars fan site. So I don’t see your point.

  • February 1, 2014 at 11:05 pm
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    I’m taking this with a grain of salt. A grain of salt larger than the total sodium intake of the entire north American continent. A grain of salt large enough to embalm a million Egyptian pharos or salt every field on earth. A grain of salt bigger than the diameter of sub-Saharan Africa. A grain of salt so large it effects the gravitational pull of the earth.
    A grain of salt so large that a thousand death stars couldn’t do more than scratch its metaphorical paint.
    (Hum.. that escalated rather quickly but I think got my point across. Basically I’m skeptical.)

    • February 2, 2014 at 3:06 am
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      Sure, but where in the world would you get a potato large enough to cut fries big enough to do it justice?
      Are you a dealer in exotic super sized spuds?
      Perhaps we are speaking of metaphorical fries to go with my figurative grain of salt? In that case yes please you magnificent B@$terd. I don’t have anything to eat this massive grain of salt with and I cant stand to let it go to waste so I keep licking it. Now I’m badly dehydrated and have high blood pressure, metaphorically speaking of course.
      Perhaps I’m taking this analogy too far? probably.

  • February 3, 2014 at 12:28 pm
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    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
    I feel a disturbance in the force.
    Movie making in the 70’s was poetic…now a days it’s just good profiteering.
    Lets all just wait for December 2015 and see what will come.

    In the end…It’s Star Wars. And let´s just live with the fact that the OT is gone and we will never like anything Lucas films tosses at us. Let’s be happy our kids have a chance to have a star wars…not the prequels!

  • February 7, 2014 at 3:40 pm
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    UPDATED: Another strike against the credibility of this rumor that comes from one, and ONLY ONE site, unlike the rumors that actually turn out correct.

    • February 7, 2014 at 3:57 pm
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      The credibility of the source will be tested by the article I’m preparing for Tuesday with the latest JD rumor…

  • February 28, 2014 at 11:32 pm
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    HEY DISNEY i didn’t spend a tone of euros buying novels and spending hours and hours of reading only to having you messing up the things and destroying the expanded universe. I have bought all the video and dvd copies i saw the movies 100 times but i will not go to the theater even once if you change Mara or Ben or Jacen or anyone…and with me i know 10 more who will do the same…..

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