J. J. Abrams Talks About the First Order in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

New First Order shot from TFAWith all the atrocities that the Galactic Empire carried out in mind, one must ask: why would anyone in the Star Wars Galaxy want to work with the remnants of the Galactic Empire – or rather, the First Order? The Los Angeles Times asked this very question to director J. J. Abrams, and he provided an interesting explanation.

 

From the Los Angeles Times:

L.A. Times: The earlier movies, the first movies, things were good and things were bad. The Force was good and the Empire was bad. But now in today we live in a more gray area. I’m curious, 30 years after the fall of the Empire, why would someone want to start a First Order? Why would someone want to associate with the dark side when it’s corrupted everyone that it’s touched?

J. J. Abrams: Exactly, these are the questions aren’t they? Yes, I couldn’t agree with you more. I do think the sort of obvious answer is that the Force has a light side and a dark side. It’s not just one thing. It’s not just that the Force is good, the Force is … it can be a very dangerous thing. It can be a very seductive thing. I think that the story clearly requires a conflict of some sort. And so if people were rejecting the dark side somehow entirely it would be a hard thing to figure out what we would be up against. It was part of the, what felt like an authentic and true inevitability of what might of happened in the years post Jedi.

LAT: Are there people that are Empire deniers? Usually in these fallouts there are these weird groups that arise out of the eventual end of a war?

JJA: You mean who makes up the First Order, basically? Is that what you’re asking me? Obviously, you’ll see the movie to understand it, but I will say that the interesting thing for me, is the history of these characters is these films, is the history that we know. So they’re aware of what’s come before. And there are, I would argue, those who feel like what the Empire was doing was righteous and had something not gone wrong, as we all know it did, they probably would have succeeded. And it might be worth trying again.

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Based on J. J.’s answer, it looks as though the movie is indeed going to try and explore a more “gray” look at the traditional good-versus-evil conflict of the series, and the movie will indeed shed light on the problems that the Galaxy has faced since the Galactic Empire fell. We’ll be able to see exactly what Abrams is talking about four months and one day from now.

 

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Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

278 thoughts on “J. J. Abrams Talks About the First Order in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

  • August 17, 2015 at 11:40 pm
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    Cool… so there might be light side Jedi’s serving in the first order I wonder?

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:15 am
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      I feel like I keep coming back to this exact problem. What gray area could there possibly be? Are we supposed to honestly believe that the guys who want to resurrect the empire, and dress like space nazi’s are in a “grey area”? Thats silly.

      • August 18, 2015 at 2:11 am
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        The grey area is around the temples… Luke Skywalker actually 😉

      • August 18, 2015 at 2:12 am
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        If you think about it the Empire just wanted to rule over the galaxy and keep it in order. And railed against those who would “corrupt” that viewpoint. It’s no different to modern day America, and many people taking part in that experiment see themselves on the right side. The Rebel Alliance “could” be compared to the likes of the IRA or even Al Queda.

        Depends on your point of view, as Obi Wan might say.

        (Yes I know the comparisons are extreme, but then viewing American foreign policy from Vietnam onwards I’m not so sure, only the “good side” of that argument are just as bad or worse, but they have their reasons.)

        • August 18, 2015 at 2:14 am
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          Well said.

        • August 18, 2015 at 7:30 am
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          Poorly said.

          American foreign policy in Viet Nam was meant to prevent the south from falling into communist hands. Unfortunately, drug addled activist adolescents back home didn’t support the effort.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:36 am
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            Poorly said. The rebels are nothing like the terrorist of today. Terrorists kill innocent people, dictate how people should live there lives and want to destroy peace and respect in the world. Stop comparing, I’ve heard this before and its scary.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:12 pm
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            Tell that to the 5.6 million innocent Stormtroopers aboard the Death Star who were drafted into military service.

            [Not that I think IS can compare to the Rebel Alliance, because they are doing a whole lot of disturbing things the Alliance doesn’t, but it DOES have something to do with points of view and all that.]

          • August 18, 2015 at 12:07 pm
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            Sounds like someone drank the Cool-Aid. Hippies didn’t destroy the war effort, the war effort destroyed itself. It was an unsustainable war fought for poorly defined reasons (“domino-effect something something mumble”) that threw away an entire generation in a meat-grinder. You can’t win a war when the goal is murky and the strategies range from horrific (Vietnam’s various bombing campaigns, burning of villages etc.) to inept (invade Iraq/Afghanistan, then fortify inside a select few cities instead of chasing the opposite side).

          • August 18, 2015 at 7:51 pm
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            Yes — hippies caused the U.S. to lose the war in Viet Nam. And ever since all of southwest Asia has been nothing but trouble. Communism remains the most serious threat to freedom loving people across the planet. All because of long-hairs who hate America.

          • August 18, 2015 at 10:07 pm
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            Everyone hates america except americans. Whats sad is that there so locked in there own ignorence that they dont even know it. Have a nice day y’all.

          • August 19, 2015 at 5:34 am
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            And yet, In the same breath they say they hate America they sign up for citizenship.

            Think about that one…

      • August 18, 2015 at 2:18 am
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        The only silly thing is to reject an idea outright simply because you lack the critical thinking skills to leave the tiny box you live in.

        • August 18, 2015 at 3:52 am
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          I can’t speak to the First Order, but as far as Jedi’s are concerned… I could totally see how a Jedi could be persuaded to think they are doing something good, even if they might be working for the 1st order.

          I don’t think there will be first order Jedi… but I could see Jedi fighting for the resistance doing bad things without realizing it… perhaps entering that grey area.

          I’m not sure how nuanced this film will be, but there are many times where someone feels like they are doing the right thing, with perhaps even the most admirable intentions, but in some way it could be considered “evil”.

          While I’m not religious in any way, (actually anti-religious)… in my temper on 9/11 I was quick to think that the terrorists who carried out an attack really should have had no reason to do so. While I think what they did was still evil, I could see what they don’t like about America. Our fascination with obnoxious/ shallow pop culture, and conflicting values which in their society would be taboo. In some ways I agree with their assessment… even if I can’t stand Islamic regimes. In the end I think both ways of life are vacuous… & I could easily see how something we might do & think is right in this generation could be looked down upon in future generations.

          For example… slavery was a common practice less than hundreds of years ago in the U.S., people really only started having moral qualms about it around the time of the revolution.

          • August 18, 2015 at 6:52 am
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            Your point is interesting, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call the US Military evil.

            Where things started obviously going wrong was Vietnam. Now they DID have a good reason to defend the South Vietnamese, Russia and China both wanted Vietnam to be their bed-buddy and to join their communist cause.
            And before you call me some anti-commie idiot, I’ve lived in China for 12 years, my family knew church-members who disappeared mysteriously, my mom was stalked by the town of Changchun for our first 3 months, I’m possibly one of the last Westerners to see Kashgar before it was ripped down and turned into a tourist trap. Hell, I went without Youtube or Facebook for the entire first decade of the century, and even Gmail was iffy.

            NSA’s got nothing on China as far as I’m concerned, because at least the NSA leaves your internet going at an unhindered speed.

            The Americans did not have any SOLID reasons prepared, they themselves didn’t really think it through – hence America giving up.

            Call Nixon an ass, say the military commanders were FUBAR,
            but don’t say the South Vietnamese did not deserve defending. Remember there were people there that WANTED to continue their family businesses, that WANTED to be allowed political individuality, hard as it may be to grasp, Americans are not the ONLY ones who hate Communism – the most ironically named Dictatorship currently running.

            I know this is off topic, but I refuse to concede that America is Satan, America is not evil, it’s blind. VERY Blind.

            And the rich fat-cat, who organized a religious hate-cult that other sects of Islam call crazy, and decided to kill thousands of Americans because reasons, is somehow sympathetic here??

            America is blind for pulling out and leaving Al Qaeda / ISIS free reign.

          • August 18, 2015 at 7:38 am
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            There’s nothing idiotic about being anti-communist.

            Today’s schools and colleges only teach the philosophy and golden promises of socialism.

            What they don’t teach about socialism, is its historical reality.

          • August 18, 2015 at 10:51 am
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            Actually, you seem to fundamentally miss the historic reality of socialism. Know this, just because someone calls something socialist, doesn’t make it so. In addition, the reality you speak of has more to do with the implementing of socialism, or the lack thereof. You see, Marx misjudged you. He thought the people couldn’t be placated with stuff. The powerful want to provide just enough to just enough people to stem of economic revolution. They buy elections, circumvent laws, etc. but none of that should matter in a Democracy, but the powerful have people tricked into thinking their vote doesn’t matter. And even then when things shift in the favor of the working class, they try things like suppressing the vote. The U.S. Doesn’t have to be in debt, in fact, most of our debt is owned by people. The wealthy have never had it better. After the Reagan, Bush, Bush, massive tax cuts, we see nothing but massive wealth transfer to the top. We could easily pay for our social programs, but instead allow those who have way too much gain even more.

            Socialism doesn’t end stratification, it evens the playing field. It realizes society isn’t about just the lucky, successful, etc. Stratification is a necessity, but inequality on the scale we see it, it’s immoral and we don’t have to have it. Those who work hard, event, start businesses, etc., of course they should see rewards. But those rewards should come at the expense of society has a whole.

            But again, Marx misjudged the ability of the powerful trick others into thinking they are getting what they deserve. In reality, what’s good for society is everyone is healthy, educated, well fed, and reasonable quality of life.

          • August 18, 2015 at 1:37 pm
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            Trust me, the Chinese Government has no intention of helping the People whatsoever. They use “The Cause” to steal and murder and gather everything for the 1%. It’s like capitalism on acid.
            And from what I can tell, Putin has pulled the exact same shit, effectively declaring himself King for the forseeable future.

            The problem with Communism is that it’s run by humans [usually 2 people] – which means the “take everything for myself” dick-level is turned up to Eleven. As opposed to the US which at least tries to pretend to be for the people’s benefit, because the US has a greater “Freedom of Religion and Speech” sort of mission that eclipses the whim of one guy. Communism has no such control because the whole idea is HUMAN logic [e.i, one asshole is your king, for real]. US quasi-helps people KEEP their distance from gov’ment [that is, until Obama happened].

            Communism is all fine in some guy’s office, but the real world is run by assholes. No matter how much change there is there will always be an asshole in charge.
            Communism is not asshole-proof, and so that’s where assholes get free reign. Chairman Mao = opprotunistic asshole. Stalin = Opprotunistic Asshole.

            Sure, Ben Franklin had problems, but he had Democracy to slow him down.
            Communism? You’re in charge = You get all the good stuff.

            You want an example? How about the Kim Family’s massive video-collection and personal movie theater in a country that bans everything for everyone else?

            Saying “well, it’s nice in theory” doesn’t account for the thousands of people that have died over this bullshit.

            At least in America, we’re legally allowed to be pissed off when the Secretary of State gets an embassy killed.

            Allowed for the moment at least…

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:20 pm
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            The ideology of Socialism has been responsable for approx. 130 million deaths in the 20th-21st Centuries, more than the total of all other religious ideologies in history combined and the bloodiest terrorist group currently in existance is the Tamil Tigers, of Marxist ideology.

            The problem is that Socialism justifies all this in the name of “equality”, but effectively what we end up with are regimes like Stalin’s, or like modern-day China and North Korea.

            Capitalism is bad, I am not arguing that, but I do believe that, long-term, the poorest person in a modern capitalist democracy (with a social security safety net of health care, education etc.)is far better off than in a Communist or even highly socialist society. This is because highly socialist societies always end up becoming non-productive so, in the end, there is no wealth to share…

            And I honestly believe the argument that Capitalism is bad because there is inequality of wealth is basically based on envy, what really matters is how much wealth the poorest person in society has (not how much less he has than the richest person)

          • August 18, 2015 at 9:48 pm
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            Tim, you are the one who doesn’t understand the true nature of socialism. You criticize Reagan, and the two Bushes for much of all the accrued debt. Tax reduction policy actually lead to increased revenues into the U.S. Treasury, and significant GDP & job growth. Check the government’s BLS website’s history on job creation. They have charts that track that progress (1940-present).

            The problem is that the government spends too much money. Both John F.Kennedy and Clinton understood the benefits of reducing taxes (Clinton, with Repubs reduced cap gains taxes). As for the national debt, the Obama administration’s Keynesian spending policies accrued more debt (adding almost $9 trillion) than all of the other U.S. Presidents combined. The government can’t spend its way to a robust recovery. That requires the private sector to thrive. Perhaps you should start criticizing Obama’s policies for a change.

          • August 19, 2015 at 1:12 am
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            I assume you’re referring to the historical reality of Scandinavia, right? With populations who consistently rank among the highest in terms of standard of living?

          • August 19, 2015 at 9:44 am
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            Socialism does work for a while if you have an unlimited supply of oil ie. Norway. Venezuela was also that way once…

          • August 18, 2015 at 9:37 am
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            I don’t like how America is suddenly the unofficial police force of the world. We failed in Iraq mainly because the Iraqi people didn’t ask for us.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:02 am
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            We failed in Iraq because our goal isn’t policing. It’s profit. The U.S. Military is fueled by a Military Industrial Complex. Every War since Korea has made people billions. The powerful wealthy have much to gain from war, selling the gov. Weapons of all stripes.

            If your businesses is based off of selling weapons, then you’ll lobby for conflict. The investors in these businesses are so often connected to those who are war Hawks.

            Not all wars are simply for that reason, but we’d be in a lot less of them if not for the profit driving motive.

            Not so shocking is the fact here is another instance of a industry government should run. The same gov we vote for should be researching, developing, mass producing, and using the weapons. Not only would it safe money from the middle man, it would also kill one large driver of U.S. Conflict.

            And the excuse they use is then the U.S. would lose money on tech they don’t use, like private investors. Sure it would happen, but the private companies are not going out f business. They’re bringing in billions from these conflicts.

            President Eisenhower (former WWII General) warned this would happen. Look it up, he warned of the Military Industrial Complex.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:32 pm
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            To profit what? Money? That’s so naive as an argument. As if they would need “money” to be powerful. As if something as “democracy” would stop them creating wars. As if the civil battles along the century in Africa, killing more than both WWs, is not worthy of intervention but a tiny “capitalism wannab” South Vietnam is worthy of salvation.

          • August 18, 2015 at 7:36 am
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            The 9/11 terrorists were not upset with our pop culture. They are upset with anyone who does not convert to Islam. The recent proliferation of beheadings demonstrates this.

            Slavery was abolished in America through the 13th Amendment in 1865, 150 years ago.

          • August 18, 2015 at 9:56 am
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            I think you guys completely misunderstood what I wrote. Of course there are lots of reasons why Islamists hate America, and not all of them hate it for the same reasons. I was talking specifically about the hijackers, who lived in America & told their families about what they dislike about our culture. I’m not going to detail about all the reasons an Islamic fundamentalist would hate America because it’s a Star Wars forum & no one’s going to read 30 paragraphs.

            What I said about slavery is that around the time of the revolution it was still a morally condoned practice by most. There were definitely people who opposed it, but of course the issue wasn’t settled until the civil war. My point was, at the time very “moral” people had no qualms about it. They were “good” people that didn’t know what they were doing was evil.

            However… the very same things we complain about ISIS doing… we did not long ago. Lynchings were still being carried out through the 60’s. Mind you, when America was a “civilized” country.

            Well anyhow… this is Star Wars we are talking about… I was trying to explore the issue of Moral grey areas. Lucas was into philosophy & no doubt pondered these same ideas… I believe He’s even said that ANH was in part an analogy for the Vietnamn war. Lucas has made his political views very clear… and no doubt his ideas were considered in writing TFA… I’m sure JJ shares those same views.

          • August 18, 2015 at 12:07 pm
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            From the moment when Jesus said all men are equal in the eyes of God, and people began to accept that, there has been no moral grey area about slavery. Already in the 15th Century (when the African slave trade was in its infancy), the Spanish empire (otherwise known for it’s atrocities in the New World) under Isabel banned slavery from the outset on clear Christian moral grounds. There was no doubt from a Christian point of view that it was wrong. Western society is built on Christian beliefs and in that respect, even atheists like yourself are “Christians” in that you believe that all people are intriniscally equal: poor, rich, women, the sick, etc. This was a revolutionary idea that basically started with Christianity. Modern secular humanism has adopted 99% of the “DNA” of Christianity – since before that being “good” was equated with being strong and being “bad” was equated with being weak (basically as per Nietsche’s ideas)- however, now that Western society has killed God we have to decide if there really is “bad” and “good” or just “weak” and “strong”/”sick” and “healthy”. For example a serial killer like Fred West who kidnapped random young women and sexually tortured them for hours before killing them, is he “evil” or just “sick”? Since we have killed off God, we cannot say he was evil (as this concept now makes no sense) but rather he was simply mentally ill. By the same token, without a God, love is just a series of chemical reactions in your brain (remember that the next time you are playing with your kids)

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:25 pm
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            Jesus also said that the Old Testament is still the law. So which is it?
            Slavery OK, slavery not OK?

            Matthew 5:18-19 RSV
            Luke 16:17 NAB
            Matthew 5:17 NAB
            2 Peter 20-21 NAB
            Mark.7:9-13
            Matthew 15:4-7
            Matthew 5:27
            1 Peter 2:18
            John 1:17
            John 10:35

            And yes, “evil” is a cartoon concept. You can apply “Evil” to, say, Sauron, or the Emperor Palpatine; in real life, there is a scale going from “insane” to “normal”.

          • August 18, 2015 at 6:53 pm
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            “There was no doubt from a Christian point of view that it was wrong.”

            No it wasn’t… actually in the bible there are many verses that speak about how a slave must respect his master & not run away. The Medianites & others were enslaved by celestially ordained genocides in the 1st testament. These are the verses slave handlers & many in the south referred to in justifying their actions. In the time period we are referring to… most people didn’t even consider people of color to be human… at most sub human.

            Well at this point I can see you have an agenda as you are arguing about things I never touched upon. I wasn’t even trying to start a debate. I am just outlining Lucas’s views as he said this is what the ST was all about… the moral grey areas.

          • August 18, 2015 at 10:44 pm
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            Aras Volodka, it seems you are only giving half the story. The Midianites were idolaters, and often led Israel astray to worship their gods. They also not infrequently rendered the Hebrews tributary, and oppressed them. Here is the full story.
            http://christianthinktank.com/midian.html

            Plus, many in the abolitionist movements of England and America in the nineteenth century were Protestant evangelical Christians. And they viewed slavery as being fundamentally inconsistent with the historic Christian view of man’s creation and redemption.
            http://www.reasons.org/articles/how-come-the-bible-doesnt-condemn-slavery

          • August 19, 2015 at 12:52 am
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            “Aras Volodka, it seems you are only giving half the story.”

            I find it amusing that you cite the acts of totalitarian regimes in faulting socialism as the cause for their heinous acts… yet at the same time you’re somehow trying to justify a celestially ordained genocide. You should watch “the act of killing”… a genocide that America supported just within the last few decades… where you can see the actual murderers re-enact their crimes.

            I never argued there weren’t Christians that utilized religion to deem slavery as immoral (but please feel free to continue putting words in my mouth)… all I’m saying is that there were many Christians who used it to justify their actions… that’s irrefutable. & this brings me back to my original point.
            OK I’ve said everything that needs to be said, can we please just acknowledge history so we don’t have to get into a pointless pissing match?

          • August 18, 2015 at 1:44 pm
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            I know where you were coming from, I was more talking to everyone else.
            This stuff just pisses me off,
            Sorry for choosing your thread to dump my social frustrations,

            your original point is cool,

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:23 pm
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            Which is why it is so infuriating that in 2015, people still live by the bible or any other similar type of crap “holy” book instead of being good for the sake of one’s humanity.
            Even if it *was* a divinely inspired or even divine holy text why base your life on the moral codes of a society two thousand years in the past?
            The bible is the fundament on which slavery was excused, and the bible (or quran or whatever) is used today to excuse bigotry, especially in the US and the Middle-east.
            You definitely, unequivocally, find better moral guidelines to life in STAR WARS than in religious texts. Religious texts lead to hate and suffering, delusion and diminished open mindedness.

          • August 18, 2015 at 3:13 pm
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            If there is no definite moral truth (ie. God), then “good” and “evil” are nothing more than words and, as you aptly put it, are great for defining fictional characters but have no other value whatsoever in modern society. In this respect, stating that “being good for the sake of one’s own humanity” has no meaning as “good” lacks any kind of definition (and in fact even the word “humanity” implies some kind of an all encompassing moral code). I agree that Star Wars (at least the OT) is a very good moral guide, teaching that revenge and anger lead to hate, but it is obviously a very “Christian” message at least in the broadest sense of the word

          • August 18, 2015 at 3:44 pm
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            Sorry, accidentally reported your comment UnGod. That was not my intention, sorry.

          • August 18, 2015 at 3:46 pm
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            oops, forget to sign my name, above comment is from me, leopoldo

          • August 18, 2015 at 8:50 pm
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            “If there is no definite moral truth (ie. God), then “good” and “evil” are nothing more than words and, as you aptly put it, are great for defining fictional characters but have no other value whatsoever in modern society.”

            That’s a very arrogant thing to say. Morals are a tangible part of our reality, no spiritual origin is required to determine a harmful action is “wrong”. I’m done with your religious agenda & all this nonsense about biblical technicalities/ historical revision.

            Lucas is a Cafetarian as far as his religious beliefs go… lets not do the “Star Wars is Christian” thing. He’s cited various religions & *mythology* (not coincidentally) as his inspiration for Star Wars.

          • August 19, 2015 at 10:02 am
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            I actually do not have a religious agenda (believe it or not!), I certainly do not take anything the bible says at face value. I do believe the Christian philosophy (not religion) is absolutely at the heart of everything modern Western society believes and despite a common belief that secular humanist atheists and Christians are opposites, my feeling is that they share 99% of the same beliefs, and those came from Christianity. I don’t know if Jesus Christ was a God but I do think he said things that were consistent with a message that God who is love, would want to send us. At the end of the day, if there is a God, he must be love and truth. If there is no God, there is no such thing as love (just chemical reactions in your brain), and there is no truth (everything becomes subjective, not objective). When you look at your kids, are you really able to believe that love is just a bunch of chemicals in your brain?

            Please note from the above that I myself have my doubts about whether a God exists.

            What I do find small-minded are people who are 100% sure that a God does not exist. Equally arrogant as someone who is absolutely sure that one does.

            My comments about the OT were simply that the premise of hate and revenge leading to the Dark Side seems, to me, very much derived from Christian philosophy. Sorry if that made people unconfortable…

          • August 19, 2015 at 7:14 pm
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            “I actually do not have a religious agenda”

            Well you do seem to have some sort of agenda, with out of no-where comments about the Chinese & “What I do find small-minded are people who are 100% sure that a God does not exist. Equally arrogant as someone who is absolutely sure that one does.”

            Except that you can count yourself among them. Are you going to tell me that you aren’t 100% sure that Zeus doesn’t exist? That same logic can be applied to any god, because just like Zeus, every god was created for the purpose of finding an explanation where none could yet be found.
            To the contrary, the concept of God is small minded, a place holder for those who lack the imagination or ingenuity in finding practical explanations for this Universe’s existence. If there is an ethereal origin to existence, it will no doubt be far more fascinating than anything a human could conceive of.

            To infer that Chinese society is the way it is due to lack of religion is ridiculous. China isn’t a mono cultural nation, it’s a country comprised of some 30 regions each with their own dialects & social customs. This was actually in large part why the Japanese had such an easy time with their invasion of China… the Chinese army literally could not communicate with itself. Now…compare this with WWII era Europe, where Christian Einsatzgruppen, wearing belts that read “Gott mit uns (god with us) as they massacred thousands of children like the one you cited.

          • August 18, 2015 at 9:48 pm
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            Hi Leopoldo, thanks for arguing politely (I don’t know if I came across as rude, which I sometimes tend to do because religion).

            When I speak of “humanity” I speak of being human, which is a very defined thing – it is being us. And for us to thrive, for civilization to take steps forward, it is in our best interest to behave nicely to each other; condone violence and encourage debate. All this I can think all by myself while being as godless as they come.
            In other words, I do not need a god to think thoughts that can be considered as “good”; that is, not wanting to hurt other people, for example.
            Better example (I suppose): While the god of the bible doesn’t even bother to make room for a commandment in his oh-so-impressive list of ten (!) commandments to say “Thou shalt not rape”, *I* know that it is wrong. I don’t need a character from a two-thousand year old mythology to tell me rape is bad.
            In the end, you can only argue that some benevolent god wants me to be good to people, and therefore I am a peace-loving fellow. And if that is the argument, it is an argument based on nothing at all. Especially since the god most people think of as God kills the ENTIRE POPULATION OF EARTH on a whim (minus one family) and thusly has no MORALS himself.

            Maybe it’s Yoda. Maybe it’s Odin. Maybe it’s Zeus. Maybe it’s Ganesha, what do I know. If there is some spiritual force guiding me, then I know nothing of that force and no one else does. And no one can see it, hear it, smell it, touch it, sense it. It is as if … as if it just isn’t there. Weirdest thing

          • August 19, 2015 at 10:15 am
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            Yes, this is the argument that we have an innate moral compass independent from the need for a God and I agree that there are many situations where it could be easy to argue that. Any sane person automatically knows rape is wrong (we don’t need a 2000 year old book or anybody else to tell us that) but I think there are grey areas where it is not so easy, for example, abortion (who’s rights should be defended, the baby’s or the mothers??) and there are many other examples, I think. Furthermore, I personally cannot believe that the same innate moral compass can be present “just because” in all human beings. As an example, I would say the concept of the value of individual human life is very different in China (which obviously has no Christian cultural history). There, traditionally, the good of society as a whole has been more important than the individual, thus killing a bunch of people for the common good was not really frowned upon, it was accepted. Recently a 2-year-old girl in China was run over by a truck and as she lay wounded, dying on the sidewalk, something like 23 people walked passed her in the course of a couple of hours without even looking at her… Would that be possible if we all automatically know right from wrong?

            In any case, I know this is off topic and not really Star Wars related so I’ll stop now.

          • August 18, 2015 at 4:48 pm
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            Well “slaves” in Israel back then are not necessarily what you might think of, compared to, say, the Black slaves in the US.

            In Israel they considered a slave as more like a servant to which the Masters were held accountable for the Slave’s treatment, as well as measures by which the Slave could exit slavery after 7 years if they so chose [all of this is explained very precisely in either “Numbers” or “Deuteronomy” [the two are kind of boring so I don’t remember, but trust me when I say IT GOES INTO DETAIL, like LEGAL detail.]

            So you may be thinking slave i.e. southern antebellum when in Hebraic law slavery was more like the servants in Downton Abbey, constricted, but entitled to decent living standards and healthcare, plus the aforementioned 7 Year rule in which the slave is legally entitled to a career change if they so chose – some of which didn’t.

      • August 18, 2015 at 7:36 am
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        The German Nazi Party had all the best and coolest looking equipment and outfits. That’s why the dark side draws more people in today. No one likes that cowboy Han Solo shit any more.

        • August 18, 2015 at 8:41 am
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          The Nazi Party drew support because of a charismatic leader who posed the Jews as a scapegoat for the decline in Germany, and promised to return the country to its former success and who was also a very skilled speaker who made powerful political allies and eventually gained enough influence to intimidate adversaries within the country into falling in line. It was not because they had the coolest gadgets and wore trench coats and favored half mustaches.

          • August 18, 2015 at 10:31 am
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            Just Like Trump. (Changing Jews to Mexicans)

      • August 18, 2015 at 3:57 pm
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        a big empire, I’d imagine a lot of people just saw the safety and security, especially human people. The emperor wasn’t everywhere and they can’t have been ruthlessly oppressing every planet, or at least not too much.

    • August 18, 2015 at 6:35 am
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      There has been an awakening…have u felt it… Between the dark side and light.

    • August 18, 2015 at 2:08 pm
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      You mean like the Imperial Knights in Star Wars Legacy? That’d be awesome!

      Also… I believe we haven’t got confirmation yet that Kylo Ren is ACTUALLY on the side of the First Order, am I right? He’s not been seen associating with them barring a few stormtroopers…

    • August 19, 2015 at 10:40 pm
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      I’m figuring that Kylo Ren (and maybe even the whole Knights of Ren order) might not be as evil as the Sith.

      Unfortunately, the Dark Side is like a drug, and it slowly corrupts those who use it. I personally don’t believe that “grey” Jedi are possible, due to the Dark Side’s spiritual decay.

  • August 17, 2015 at 11:42 pm
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    And Jakku is Tatooine.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:50 am
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      I know, right. Totally misleading,

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:21 am
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      It’s not happening.

      • August 18, 2015 at 9:45 am
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        The problem here is that some Americans don’t give a sh*t about history out of their frontiers. You only care about the cool armors from middle age, but you don’t go further than that. That’s why you are so close minded on this. Europe, the place this movie is particularly inspired by, has changed names of cities and countries several times, and each time this happens, the city/country is considered a new one.

        It’s so freaking evident that you’ve got a teaser poster for the movie with two representations of Jakku in it: twin suns beside Finn, and a sunsetting with a moisture vaporator. So now it’s not only JJ Abra!d who lacks imagination: Drew Struzan is as uninspired as him, having to use a moisture vaporator to illustrate the new planet.

        • August 18, 2015 at 2:30 pm
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          “NO….I AM YOUR HOME PLANET.”

          “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!”

      • August 18, 2015 at 7:25 pm
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        Is that why Jakku has two suns? because it is not tatooine? why would they add another desert planet that has two suns in the movie when they already have tatooine? are you saying it is impossible for Luke to have gone back to tatooine and caused the cataclysm on tatooine as rumored very early on?

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:30 am
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      The audience would go CRAZY with that reveal. It’d definitely top the Vader-is-Luke’s-father moment. And Disney is so dedicated to this subterfuge that they’ve actually packaged all their toys with the name “Jakku”. It’s absolutely brilliant.

      • August 18, 2015 at 2:04 am
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        I think they would have to do a lot better than that to top Vader is Luke’s father. What that would be, I’m not sure, but if Jakku is Tatooine (which it is not), I really doubt that would have the kind of generational impact that the line, “No, I am your father.” had on those who were around for the OT.

        P.S. Pomojema, you’ve got to stop interacting with these crazy ‘Jakku is Tatooine’ types. If you ignore them, they just might go away.

        • August 18, 2015 at 2:18 am
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          Was my post not sarcastic enough? I need a sarcasm font.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:56 am
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            The post WAS sarcastic enough, however sadly even I wasn’t sure, purely down to the inane level of nonsense found in this comments section sometimes, lol.

          • August 18, 2015 at 7:49 am
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            Yup, a sarcasm font would have been helpful. When I reread your post now, I get the sarcasm. Originally though, all I got was the ranting of another Jakku denier.

        • August 18, 2015 at 10:03 am
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          But it’s not a surprise thing, or a revelation. Is just a normal setting in history and the only mystery is why Tatooine was renamed. LFL and Disney has given you clues enough to understand this is Tatooine renamed.

        • August 18, 2015 at 12:29 pm
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          Just imagine the dramatic scene where Kylo Ren has just sliced off Rey’s hand, and she is clinging to the edge of an abyss …

          KYLO: Don’t make me destroy you! Luke Skywalker never told you what planet you grew up on …

          REY: He told me enough! He told me my home planet is called Jakku!

          KYLO: No! TATOOINE is your home planet!

          [Rey and the audience GASP in absolute shock!]

          REY: No! NO! That’s IMPOSSIBLE!

          KYLO: Search your feelings, you know it to be true!

          REY: No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!

          [Oh yeah, that would be the greatest twist ever, hm?]

        • August 18, 2015 at 2:30 pm
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          “NO….I AM YOUR HOME PLANET.”

          “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!”

    • August 18, 2015 at 6:09 am
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      While I don’t think for a second that Jakku is Tatooine, the possibility would not be without historical merit. Countries are often re-named after conquest, so why wouldn’t the same thing happen to planets?

      Tatooine is (apparently) a rather defenseless backwater planet, so it seems as though it could fall to an opposing faction easily….not to mention the fact that some people might find this planet strategically and “mythologically” important (what with it being Vader’s origin).

      Something to consider. But no, I don’t think it’s Tatooine 😉

      • August 18, 2015 at 9:32 am
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        Constantinopla was the setting of the decisive battle of the Roman Empire. After it, it was renamed Istanbul.

        • August 18, 2015 at 9:42 am
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          Then explain why the empire would want tatooine. Didn’t Luke say something like “if there’s a bright side in the galaxy you’re the furthest from it?” Isn’t tatooine the place overrun by gangsters? Why is it overrun by gangsters, oh yes, because there is no law and order.

        • August 18, 2015 at 1:46 pm
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          So, the Rebellion took over Tatooine and decided to name it Jakku for religious reasons, do I got that right?

    • August 18, 2015 at 11:15 am
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      Umm, why is it so hard to believe there are two planets with binary stars. There are hundreds of billions of stars in a galaxy, depending on size. In a galaxy there are probably billions of binary solar systems. Why don’t Starwars fans here seem to even entertain this idea.

      I am a geek, I like Starwars, and Astronomy. I assumed many starwar fans would be the same. Either way, it is Jakku. It makes no sense for them to use Tatooine. A third young overages Jedi found on the same planet. Disney, J.J., Lucus Arts, one of them would be wise enough to say, no way.

      • August 18, 2015 at 2:54 pm
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        From an astronomy point of view it’s indeed perfectly right what you say. From a film perspective is absurd to create a new planet which is represented in the first official poster as a desert planet with moisture vaporators and a binary sunset.

        • August 18, 2015 at 10:15 pm
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          Yes, this ^
          It doesn’t make sense to
          a) Create a new planet that looks exactly like old planet, down to the exact look of moisture vaporators, buildings, spare parts lying around, two suns
          b) see a

          Yes, binary systems might be the norm in the universe, but in film making this is not a sound decision – ESPECIALLY when the film in question is a sequel to a series of films that have always portrayed extremely different environments in each movie, and each environment being the only kind of environment shown on a planet.*

          *
          Yes, they diversified a bit by having Naboo combine several geographical features (lakes, mountains, cartoon plains, waterfall cliffs), but even when Geonosis was another desert world, they made sure to use design that differentiated it from Tatooine; Geonosis was more rocky, had these hive-like structures.. (and even then, there’s a transition between Tatooine and Geonosis were the audience got confused)

          And while the general audience most likely won’t know that Luke Skywalker’s home planet is called Tatooine (they don’t watch a Star Wars movie once a month or binge-watch a trilogy for fun on a sunny day), they will still remember Luke Skywalker growing up on a desert planet, and be all like, “Hey, that’s where Luke came from in the originals!”
          “No, it’s Jakku.”
          “Jerk who?”

          I can’t stress enough how terrible a decision it will be if Jakku = Jakku while looking like Tatooine.

          (assuming we are seeing twin suns on the poster)

  • August 17, 2015 at 11:45 pm
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    so like ‘grey jedi’ ?? I wonder if the ‘sith’ therefore make a comeback – I hope so…

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:21 am
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      maybe more of the dark jedi’s

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:45 am
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      Obi Wan was grey.

      • August 18, 2015 at 1:10 am
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        Well there was an extra that was cast (forgot his name) as a Sith-General so….. Maybe, But then again that guys character could possibly be apart of the knights on ten so who knows

  • August 17, 2015 at 11:46 pm
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    George always said the third trilogy would not be so black white but shades of grade and ambiguous morality.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:49 am
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      Yep fifty shades.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:52 am
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      Shades of grey and ambiguous morality.

      Kind of like the liberal, quasi-moral world we live in today 😉

      • August 18, 2015 at 10:37 am
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        If you want to live in a more conservative culture, there’s nothing stopping you from moving to the Middle East.

        No, you Conservatives piss and moan about how people in this culture choose to embrace their liberties, but you would hate living in a Theocracy under someone else’s religion just as much as any Liberal would hate living under yours.

        • August 18, 2015 at 10:50 am
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          The irony is liberals constantly tell people how to live. Except instead of doing it with robes and pamphlets, they do it with millions of dollars worth of entertainment laced with their personal politics and age old propaganda tactics created by Sergei Eisenstein, manufactured “social outrage” also known as soft censorship to quell independent thought in more insecure minds, and useful idiot volunteers on the internet to peer pressure the more stubborn folk.

          • August 18, 2015 at 4:53 pm
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            George Lucas called. He said we’re getting off topic.

  • August 17, 2015 at 11:54 pm
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    “The Force was good, the Empire was bad.” LOL Los Angeles Times is so stupid :facepalm:

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:06 am
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      Lol

      there’s literally a dark side of the force.

  • August 17, 2015 at 11:54 pm
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    While the empire in 4-6 is reminiscent to nazi Germany, I believe the formation of the first order will be similar to that of Russia’s Soviet Union.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:01 am
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      Great historical pull. I wonder if they are going for a Resistance East Germany/First Order west Germany. (Sorry if i mixed up the good side from the bad side. My history is not very good outside of American history. But I digress.) JJ and CO did say a one time the galaxy was in a bit of a COLD WAR between the two sides.

      • August 18, 2015 at 12:29 am
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        Yea if there going for the gray scale distinction between good or bad, then the Soviet Union is a perfect example. Although the gray scale can be applied to all perspectives, none is more profound than the conflict between the U.S. and the USSR.

        • August 18, 2015 at 12:36 am
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          Red was the soviet unions colour.

        • August 18, 2015 at 3:58 am
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          Nope, no grayscale here. I was born on the “other side” of iron curtain and me and milions of people sharing my memories can attest – Soviet Union was evil, period. It was purposefully built on terror and injustice. No matter how much Americans love to hate themselves, there’s a fundamental difference between Washington and Lenin.

          • August 18, 2015 at 4:29 am
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            Amen! I love how so many “Americans” just love to whine and bemoan what’s wrong with America. Or to buy into every conspiracy there is out there. Especially involving how corrupt America is. People are corrupt period but there’s definitely a huge difference between the democracy America has been, and the horrible regimes we’ve taken part in ending.

          • August 18, 2015 at 7:50 am
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            They don’t teach that reality in today’s schools and universities.

            The tendency today is to romanticize the Soviet Union.

            Very rare is the modern student who has heard of the word gulag, or read about the Holodomor.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:17 am
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            I’m not sure where you went to school. But I didn’t experience no such thing.

      • August 18, 2015 at 12:35 am
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        There is no American history.

        • August 18, 2015 at 12:40 am
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          I’m not directly mentioning U.S. History from colonial till present day. Clearly, the U.S. represents freedom and a democratic-republic, while the Soviet Union represents central control and socialism (communism). Both are fighting for what they believe is the right way to govern the world.

          • August 18, 2015 at 1:38 am
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            Why don’t people get this. Socialism is a social and economic system structured based off of social ownership as the means of production, with a co-operative economy, owned by society. The U.S. Was largely influenced by this. Social security, Medicaid, the military, police forces, public education, public transportation, etc. are all socialist ideas.

            For communism, is a social, political, and economic ideology and movement cased off the idea that a communist society is best, where common ownership is the means of production. Everyone tries to chip in to the overall system according to ability.

            The U.S.S.R. wasn’t ever really communist, and never socialist. Although it had parts of all of it. It was authoritarian.

            The U.S. is a Democratics Republic, whose had progressive reforms over the years have created a hybrid capitalist/socialist economy. Throughout the U.S. most prosperous years, where we grew out economy into the worlds strongest and became a superpower, the U.S. Implemented many socialist ideas.

            In the years since Reagan, we’ve shifted back into the more earliest Adam Smith capitalist ideas. Not surprisingly, this has corresponded with the largest transfer of national wealth to the top few in hundreds of years. Inequality is growing at rates not seen since the 19th century.

          • August 18, 2015 at 1:54 am
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            K

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:10 am
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            By saying “K”, you’re basically admitting you’d rather stay ignorant.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:57 am
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            I think the “K” response is to get back to the topic at hand. We didn’t sign up for a history lesson / opinion… unless you can apply it back to topic. Create parallels for us, demonstrate how the characters fall into place with regard to your lesson. Just to be fair, I’m not bashing, because I’m intrigued with your thoughts.

          • August 18, 2015 at 4:05 am
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            The comment was intended for those who know their history, if you are uninformed about it you won’t be able to interpret it and understand the opinion.

          • August 18, 2015 at 6:04 am
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            And there are other places for such discussions. …after all this is a star wars news forum.

          • August 18, 2015 at 8:05 am
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            While the quick summary of Socialism vs. Communism is great. America by no means has shifted towards a more capitalist nation. Sure, it is the number one most capitalist nation in the world still. But, with all of the social programs implemented such as the Affordable Care Act and keeping the Welfare programs as well as the social security. How can this be construed as shifting towards a more capitalist state as a whole?

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:32 am
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            I’ll tie it into Starwars. But first, He’s right, it was intended for those who can understand. And the U.S. has shifted towards more capitalism. But I didn’t say shifted to capitalism. What does pure capitalism look like. The communist leadership in China has moved towards capitalism too.

            Our social programs are lagging, while Walk Street, Big Businesses, and all “free market” entities are doing better than ever.

            Are we pure capitalism, no. There is no such thing. Adam Smiths ideas were borrowed from, thankfully we didn’t co-op them completely. Anyways, tie it to Starwars I will.

            The Empire isn’t a pure socialism regime, no more so than the Rebels. Both owned their jeans of production.

            The Empire bought clones, and contracted jobs. It also built its own fleet. This makes them very much like the U.S. in certain ways.

            Also, the Empire was a collection of planets that backed an authoritarian power. It has that in common with the U.S.S.R. Once in the empire, it was next to impossible to break away.

            I imagine the First Order is a leftover faction of the Empire. Many people thrived under the Empire’s heavy hand. It’s the only way The Emperor could keep the massive body of worlds together.

            But just because the have Nazi overtones, doesn’t make them a socialist regime.

            And just because Nazi’s were socialist, doesn’t mean socialism is bad.

            Bazi socialism actually did very well for the German people. They went from a horrible economic mess to a booming economy.

            Too bad they had a madmaneader, and leadership that had other plans. Because they took that booming economy and used it to wage a World War. Not to mention genicide.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:19 am
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            Actually, it was a response to what he said. Any place is a good place to correct misinformation.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:46 am
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            Tim, having militaries and police forces are not socialist ideas. And the Soviets were the very flower of communism and socialism.

          • August 18, 2015 at 8:11 am
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            Tell that to Che Guevara.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:41 am
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            Larry, the military has many socialistic parts. The VA, the fact it’s government run, etc. it’s not a privately contracted military, or a private police force.

            And the U.S.S.R. were communist in name. They were never socialist.

            Socialism/communism are sociological ideals, not types of government. Marx was a social scientist, amongst other things like a philosopher. Durkheim was basically the father of socialistic thought.

            The idea that we could use our economic might to serve the many, instead of the few, well that is awesome.

            These ideas were popular, for obvious reasons. Everyone was poor and working in horrendous conditions.

            The leadership in the U.S.S.R. and other places co-opted these sociological ideas to gather backing. Once they were in power they used other methods of keeping it.

            I suggest you take a vacation to the Netherlands. Take a gander at the evils of socialism. While your there, look for some junk cars, or guns. The police won’t bother you, they have jobs that call for helping you.

            Take a look at the things there government is working on. Plastic roads to help the environment. These are mods, so you just pull a piece out and replace.

            They have a government that is doing big things. That’s socialism.

          • August 18, 2015 at 3:58 am
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            You are interpreting it incorrect. You have to look at it intelligently, logically, and critically; which, you clearly are not doing.

          • August 18, 2015 at 5:51 am
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            Tim, historically speaking, the U.S. became the richest nation on earth because of entrepreneurial capitalism, not socialism. Capitalism is not perfect, but it beats all the others. It has lifted more poor people out of poverty than any other system. Plus, you stated we’re a ‘democratic republic’. The correct description is that we’re a constitutional republic with democratic ideals.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:44 am
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            That’s simple not true. We became that way because we, as in our government, created an environment for it to happen, and we were huge on the international stage.

            We built railroads, highways, etc. police forces, local gov.

            Every nation has big businesses that create uber wealth. That’s nothing new.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:15 pm
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            Tim, in my opinion you are incorrect. Government doesn’t create/build anything. It takes money from taxpayers to have others build roads, bridges, etc. It’s private enterprise, both small and big, that has made us rich over the centuries. Sure there is some national socialism when big government and big business get in bed with each other, but the primary focus for our wealth has always been innovative, aggressive individual(s)entrepreneurs that have lead the way. Many of them starting with nothing. Yes, they did build that. It’s apparent that we are going to have to agree to disagree with each other on economics. No problem with that.

          • August 18, 2015 at 7:52 am
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            Sure.

            And my tumor was never really cancerous.

            It was much more nuanced than that.

          • August 18, 2015 at 8:53 am
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            The problem with socialism and communism is that they both require far too much government involvement to leave room for even the smallest resemblance of civil rights and the basic liberties that are given in a democracy.

          • August 18, 2015 at 9:28 am
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            To shift back to Star Wars… The old republic was a democracy and we saw it transform into a completely different entity overnight. No doubt the political scene will be vastly different from that of the OT after these 30 years.

      • August 18, 2015 at 12:56 am
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        “I wonder if they are going for a Resistance East Germany/First Order west Germany. I digress, JJ and CO did say a one time the galaxy was in a bit of a COLD WAR between the two sides.”

        Are you suggesting that the Galaxy has been divided and half the planets renamed? Wait,…who have you been talking to..

      • August 18, 2015 at 7:43 am
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        Well, historical footage can be found online of people desperately trying to escape East Germany over the Berlin Wall, to get to West Germany. In some cases, they would jump out of 4 storey windows from buildings that were right next to the wall. All the while risking being shot by East German guards.

        What might that tell you about who the bad side was?

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:54 am
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      “While the empire in 4-6 is reminiscent to nazi Germany, I believe the formation of the first order will be similar to that of Russia’s Soviet Union.”

      Now don’t get all Crystal Skull on us..

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:44 am
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      what I love about the intErnet comments section of stuff is that suddently everyone becomes a historian, or an astrophisician when it comes to the movie gravity.

      • August 18, 2015 at 2:13 am
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        Or the ‘Proper Use of the English Language Police’ (intErnet).

      • August 18, 2015 at 2:21 am
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        An astrophisician?

        A doctor in space?

    • August 18, 2015 at 7:04 am
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      Soviet Union killed the Nazis. so…

      I’m sticking with Sidious = Kaiser Wilhelm
      Kylo = Hitler.

    • August 18, 2015 at 7:47 am
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      The Soviet Union was created through the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, during which collectivists seized all private property for the state by force, and also engaged in torture, and mass killings. Read up on the Red Terror.

      I don’t see that happening in the Force Awakens, but I could be wrong.

  • August 17, 2015 at 11:56 pm
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    I pondered Palpatine’s comment, “from a certain point of view” for a gray area of the empire / dark side. However, the destruction of Alderan was a pretty clear view of evil. Whether or not there were sympathizers of the rebellion on Alderan or not, the utter obliteration of a civilization is nothing short of evil.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:02 am
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      From a certain point of view 🙂

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:41 am
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      “From a certain point of view” was just bad writing from George Lucas.

      • August 18, 2015 at 1:12 am
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        From a certain point of view. 😉

        … and not a view I hold to be valid.

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:42 am
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      Dang it, now I’m fired up politically.

      Like what Christopher Columbus did to the new world inhabitants. Like what the U.S. Government did to Native Americans.

      For your analogy to stand, the U.S. at least at one point was predicated off if pure evil. Which isn’t something I’d exactly argue against. We did exterminate entire people, in the name of preserving the Republic.

      • August 18, 2015 at 5:40 am
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        Tim, exterminate an entire people, really? Then why have so many Native Americans served in the Armed Forces and contribute to overall society in a positive manner? And, I’m part Cherokee Indian. America had its sins, but we have the type of government and people that,over time, correct those wrongs. Historically,our sins pale in comparison to the sins of other major powers.

        • August 18, 2015 at 11:46 am
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          You do realize there were hundreds of different tribes of Natives, right. They were not all one people. No more than we and Canadians are one people.

          • August 18, 2015 at 11:41 pm
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            Tim, yes, I am aware of other tribes. You think I wasn’t? You should know that the Indians were killing and enslaving each other long before the Europeans came to this continent.

      • August 18, 2015 at 5:47 am
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        The difference being that America eventually evolved, apologized and made amends with what it did. Something the Empire/Order would almost assuredly never do.

        • August 18, 2015 at 11:50 am
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          Make amends. well, the so did the Germans, I guess we are absolved of those crimes.

          I’m not sure how we made amends. Given them some small plots of land back.

          There is no making amends.

          And mostly, we don’t even acknowledge it happened, as you can see from some of the comments on what I said.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:02 pm
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            At this point, I do not believe America is guilty of hate.

            It’s guilty of laziness. like, turned to eleven – laziness.

            However, if America gets off its ass, it can change. Like how America suddenly decided to give a damn about WWII when they got hit by pearl harbor.
            America is lazy enough to allow cruelty, but it is not itself evil.

            This is what separates America from ISIS.
            Americans are not actively hunting down every single Indian, but we haven’t made up for the past either.
            Whereas ISIS is actively hunting down every. single. non-Muslim. person. RIGHT NOW. NOW they are killing people RIGHT NOW.

            And here you sit saying that Americans are just as bad? America has been truly evil in the past and we’ve done a shitty SHITTY job making up for that, but at least we have a moral compass that would work if we opened our eyes and DID SOMETHING.

            America as a nation is evil by laziness,

            ISIS or Nazism is evil BY DESIGN. ON PURPOSE.

            That is the distinction.

            [But seriously, the Native Americans should really be given some slack already! WTF USA??!]

      • August 18, 2015 at 5:49 am
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        you’re still doing it now, think about it…

      • August 18, 2015 at 7:13 am
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        Everyone was struck by how Evil the Death Star was because it represented the Red Threat of nuclear war [a valid fear BTW],
        But now I’m almost wondering if Lucas was hinting at Hiroshima?

        IMO the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the elephant in the room as far as US’s morality.
        Everything else; Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, I support at least their motivation.
        But bombing a civilian city with a Nuke was evil. But here’s the thing, recall how many civilians died in Okinawa – by Japanese troops. The Japanese had proven that they’d rather throw their entire family off a cliff than admit defeat.
        Did America have any “better” alternative? I kind of shudder trying to imagine them storming Tokyo. The argument that the nukes saved lives is kind of valid, but it’s scary that we got to that point in the first place.

        The Nuclear Bomb was necessary, but evil. One that we forever more have avoided at all costs.

        For the record though, more people were killed in the fire-bombing of Tokyo than in Hiroshima.

      • August 18, 2015 at 7:56 am
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        What the U.S. Government did to Native Americans was bring civilization and modernization.

        Remember, Native Americans were not the idyllic neolithic arboreal hippies that Hollywood likes to portray them as. They were brutal warriors, who warred amongst themselves for centuries long before Columbus ever arrived.

        • August 18, 2015 at 10:57 am
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          “Remember, Native Americans were not the idyllic neolithic arboreal hippies that Hollywood likes to portray them as. They were brutal warriors, who warred amongst themselves for centuries long before Columbus ever arrived.”

          There is conflict in the history of all cultures. Funny how the people who believe your version of the story forget the savagery of their own culture’s history to justify demonizing someone’s else’s.

        • August 18, 2015 at 11:52 am
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          You know how many genicidal acts were committed in the name of bringing society to people. Unbelievable.

          Conflict in every nation.

          Hello, they were here for thousands of years, what gave us the right to bring anything to them.

          Not to mention we used one of the earliest forms of chemical warfare against them.

          Talk about revisionist history.

    • August 18, 2015 at 3:23 am
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      Yeah, but that always felt more like Tarkin and MAYBE palpatine behind that one. I always felt like those 2 were the bloodthirsty killers and the rest of the empire was just a bunch of well meaning people who wanted order in the galaxy trapped behind the leadership of a madman. Think about it…we rarely see stormtroopers or random imperial folk do anything but follow orders, some reluctantly…only the higher-ups ever seem to show joy in cruelty

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:00 am
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    Seems to me that JJ doesn’t know what he is talking about and didn’t know how to answer that line of questioning.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:04 am
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      To be fair JJ is a man of secrets and he may not want to give to much away and by answering his question it might spoil plot points of the movie. Or… JJ is clueless and has no idea what he is saying

      • August 18, 2015 at 12:08 am
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        I’ll go with clueless.

        • August 18, 2015 at 12:17 am
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          Fair enough clueless it is lol

        • August 18, 2015 at 12:19 am
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          but only because I am a trolling ass.

          Trolololololololol!

          • August 18, 2015 at 12:22 am
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            Have you found any yet?

      • August 18, 2015 at 12:24 am
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        Everything JJ does and says, and has the cast do similarly, is to keep the real plot of TFA secret. Dec 18th will fly in! (if you go with the flow, that is)

        • August 18, 2015 at 1:57 am
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          Do you think that after watching TFA the plot will still be a secret.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:25 am
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            Sense not make! Is obvious the answer not?

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:51 am
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            Not with JJ.

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:03 am
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      You don’t sweat it out in a room with Larry Kasdan for a year and not know what you’re talking about.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:03 am
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    “Grey.” Also known as when bad people do bad things for “good” reasons.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:16 am
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      OR good people doing bad things for good reasons…Essentially you are right, I would say…

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:27 am
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      Of course the ends don’t justify the means so it’s still pretty dark here.

      • August 18, 2015 at 12:31 am
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        The Prince.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:28 am
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            You sound like jimminy cricket

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:03 am
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    I seem to recall reading that George Lucas’ sequel trilogy would have focused on a sort of morally ambiguous story, where “good” isn’t always necessarily “right”. I’m glad that idea is still being kept in play as Kathy and Lucasfilm move forward 🙂

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:12 am
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      Kind of like hiring Trevorrow….badapp bump

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:10 am
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    “…those who feel like what the Empire was doing was righteous and had something not gone wrong, as we all know it did, they probably would have succeeded”.

    So… The First Order blames Luke Skywalker for turning Darth Vader and causing him to betray the Empire leading to its downfall and are coming hard after him so “there will be no one to stop us this time”?

    Either that or they’re building an exhaust port-less Death Star III…

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:06 am
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      Does the first order even know that Vader turned back? I mean, three men entered that room, only one came out alive and not dying. My first thought would be that Luke killed both Vader and the Emperor.

      • August 18, 2015 at 1:20 am
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        Clearly that evil Jedi ambushed Lord Vader with a band of rebel assassins and attacked poor, unarmed Emperor Palpatine! It’s a repeat of that savage attack by those traitor Jedi on the Republic all those years ago.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:14 am
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    What JJ described there basically confirms what I’ve suspected for a few months now.

    The Empire we knew in the OT was more reminiscent of the German Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm (draw comparisons such as him pushing out Bismark, who created a delicate balance with the other European powers, going to war and then losing but not accepting they were defeated).

    The First Order is confirmed as an imperial remnant. The Third Reich was formed rather easily by taking the disheartened and impoverished German people and convincing them that they should have won, but other forces…inside forces…we’re their downfall.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:32 am
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      I disagree, if the theme is grey scale, then the third reich will be incorrect because it truly represents evil.

      • August 18, 2015 at 7:19 am
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        The German people were grey.
        Lots of Germans were just trying to feed their families – thus the Nazis were allowed to happen.
        The Nazis were the black inks that made the Germans grey.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:40 am
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      Except the Kaiser had virtually had all power usurped by Ludendorf and Hindenberg by 1916, and it was more the German people themselves who refused to accept defeat in 1918, as their forces had never been defeated on German soil. It was that general resent that Hitler was able to play on, blaming the Jews and Communists for the failure to win. The harshness of the Treaty of Versailles (the allies’ biggest blunder) did the rest for him.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:16 am
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    They are building a transwarp beamer so that you don’t need space craft to travel from one planetery system to another, makes perfect sense

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:16 am
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      Actually [spoiler caution] this takes place in a completely different Galaxy.

      • August 18, 2015 at 1:28 am
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        Do ya think? with ol JJ any thing is possible he doesn’t follow any rules or laws, maybe it’s a cross universe,franchise mixer upper thingy ma jig beamer, makes sense.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:27 am
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    who cares about this bullshit, JJ should spill some real info on wether or not there are practical effects utilized in the movie or at least how did it feel to work with the amazing and talented group of people, the cast and crew is.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:29 am
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    Am I the only fan who now wishes that it was Tatooine that got detonated instead of Alderaan?

    If I read one more: “Jakku MUST BE Tatooine, just because”, I might go off like father Skywalker in the Tusken Raider camp.

    /End Rant.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:34 am
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      Exactly. I don’t even see the payoff of a reveal like that. It would just be stupid.

      • August 18, 2015 at 1:20 am
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        About as stupid as having a planet so similar.

        • August 18, 2015 at 1:22 am
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          Pretty much lol

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:23 am
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      Then we’d be reading an endless number of Takodana MUST be Alderaan comments.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:42 am
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    I’ve always loved the stories that accepted and played on the fact that plenty (one could probably say the majority) of Imperials saw the Empire as a Good thing. A body that brought order and civilization to parts of the galaxy that otherwise would’ve still (to their eyes) suffered in anarchy.

    Granted we, the overarching, almost omniscient viewers, know that the Empire was evil and did lots of bad stuff but even watching the movies as a kid I couldn’t accept the idea that Every Single Dog Faced Grunt or Pilot or Procurement Officer said “AHA! I’mma be a bad guy!” and signed up for the Imperial Navy. It had to have seemed like an appropriate, dutiful thing to do… from a certain point of view.

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:11 am
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      Yep, I’m now beginning to believe that the central motivation for most members of the “First Order”, will, interestingly enough, be about “order”: they believe that the galaxy needs an absolute authority to be stable and peaceful, and that anyone who threatens said authority must be crushed mercilessly if their authority is to maintain control. Occasionally you’ll see people defending real-world dictators by saying that while they might be assholes who sometimes do nasty things, they at least keep their countries stable rather than collapsing into chaos and anarchy that would make life even worse than under the dictator. I imagine that if TFA really is going for a more “morally grey” tone, it’ll give at least some credence to that aforementioned idea by showing the post-Empire galaxy as a chaotic and unstable place.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:45 am
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    I’d ask him [and am surprised no one has asked him] about whether there is a romantic element within the film(s). That would give us major insight about the characters.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:57 am
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      Earth, wind, fire, and ice they are the only elements JJ knows about.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:48 am
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    Essentially Luke, Han, Leia and co were terrorists. They were even mentored by a “crazy old man” from the desert, pure Bin Laden before the fact, then came the Empire’s 9/11 when these terrorists and religious fundamentalists (the “force”) blew up the Empire’s biggest building by flying planes into it killing huge numbers of innocent civilians going about their daily business.

    A lot of people can’t have been happy about that so no wonder there’s a First Order.

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:00 am
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      Innocent civilians going about their daily business such as destroying an entire planet which had no military.

      • August 18, 2015 at 1:06 am
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        You have to view it from the eyes of those on the Empire’s side. Firstly, the destruction of Alderaan (only actual use of the weapon against a planet) may have been heavily covered up, at least the reasons why. Heck, even find a way to blame it on the Rebellion and scare the bejeses out of everyone. Anyways, it depends on the view. Were the nukes used in WWII justified? Depends on who you speak to.

        • August 18, 2015 at 1:14 am
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          Tarkin specifically explained in two scenes that if combined explains that Alderaan was destroyed to instill fear in the galaxy to keep the systems in line. They wanted everyone to know that if you misbehave, the Empire will completely wipe you out of existence. That’s peace through terror. There is no justification for that.

          • August 18, 2015 at 1:27 am
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            But the Death Star was probably destroyed before they could make it public, so they could have made a cover story since their ultimate weapon was space dust. A big stick is only effective until it snaps into a little twig.

          • August 18, 2015 at 1:37 am
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            Space dust and big sticks sounds like something Gandalf would use.

          • August 18, 2015 at 1:36 am
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            .

          • August 18, 2015 at 1:36 am
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            He wasn’t looking for justification.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:09 am
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            Yes, he was.

          • August 18, 2015 at 2:18 am
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            No he wasn’t, Tarkins aim was to rule by terror, keeping the systems in line using fear.

          • August 18, 2015 at 5:33 am
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            I know Tarkin didn’t care about justice. My comment on justification was directed to the fans looking to justify the empire’s actions and I thought likewise the “he” in your reply to me was referring to the Anon I was responding to.

          • August 18, 2015 at 7:55 am
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            Apologies.

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:03 am
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      Good point. I know there’s the joke about thinking about all the innocent stormtroopers that were killed, but essentially it has some basis. Those stormtroopers would have had families, families that might have seen death rosters listing their name or received notification from the Empire. It would be easy to radicalize a good portion of the populace with such measures.

      • August 18, 2015 at 1:16 am
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        They should have jumped ship and joined the Rebellion. They chose not to.

      • August 18, 2015 at 4:31 am
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        Innocent stormtroopers? Maybe that’s why their aim was so bad… they didn’t really want to kill anyone.

        • August 18, 2015 at 7:25 am
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          then the ST’s would have surrendered on Endor patrol duty, instead of running off in a badass forest-bike-chase.

          Maybe THAT’S what Palpy meant when he said “my BEST soldiers”, best = loyal?

  • August 18, 2015 at 1:33 am
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    Pretty sure JJ is just saying that many systems in the galaxy felt that the Galactic Empire was a necessary evil to maintain order…and pretty sure the Imperial Remnant and its splinter factions maintained that sentiment that carries through into these new films. Then we see Finn, who obviously didn’t fully understand just how evil these jackbooted thugs really are until he was ordered to slaughter innocent villagers.

    • August 18, 2015 at 6:13 am
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      Lens flare, I’ll assume your snide remark about the U.S military is due a heavy evening of drinking. The sins of other armies (Russian, Chinese, Japanese, German, for example) far exceed those of the American army.

      • August 18, 2015 at 7:37 am
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        Your country has been hijacked, the people who fought in WW2 didn’t fight for what is in place now, hell they even refer to it in movies today, “They told me we won the war, they didn’t say what we lost” Steve Rodgers AKA captain America.

        • August 18, 2015 at 8:00 am
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          Captain America is a fictional character.

          • August 18, 2015 at 8:15 am
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            But the remark in the movie is valid.

          • August 19, 2015 at 12:07 am
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            Well, lens flare, that’s just your opinion.

          • August 19, 2015 at 12:25 am
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            No, your God given rights are being eroded away, you freedoms your liberties are being pulled from under you and you think this is my opinion, WAKE UP! these are facts.

  • August 18, 2015 at 1:35 am
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    i think a good comparison would be the war in Iraq and the post war situation there. If the Iraq under Saddam’s reign was “the empire” en the allied forces where “the rebellion” what would happen if that rebellion overthrows a dictator ? its not all and they lived happely ever after..well we all know what happened no ? instability… other fractions fighting to take over the power….

    • August 18, 2015 at 1:43 am
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      Me thinks people are looking to deeply into things that are just not there.

      JJ doesn’t know.

  • August 18, 2015 at 1:55 am
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    Christie was born in 1978, Driver and Gleeson in 1983. Assuming their characters are of similar age, they never actually lived under Imperial rule themselves. (Well okay, Captain Phasma would have been age 7 and the others age 3 when the second Death Star was destroyed.)
    So maybe after Endor there wasn’t just peace and freedom in the galaxy, but also chaos and political instability. This would mean, that these people had to grow up in rather complicated times and over the years became weary of this frustrating situation. This could explain, why they sympathize with an Imperial past they only know from tales (just like we do). The Empire must seem to them like an almost magical land of peace and order.

    • August 18, 2015 at 8:02 am
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      Many (too many) younger people who did not grow up in Nazi Germany are now Neo-Nazis, or skin heads.

  • August 18, 2015 at 1:55 am
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    This conversation with JJ is very intriguing but really isn’t giving us a clear and straight answer which I’m okay with. I want to walk into the cinema in December and be totally knocked back with surprise. I just hope JJ doesn’t try to top the Darth Vader being Lukes father reveal from ESB. It’s impossible for that reveal to be topped at all for future movies in general.

  • August 18, 2015 at 1:59 am
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    This conversation with JJ is very intriguing but really isn’t giving us a clear and straight answer which I’m okay with. I want to walk into the cinema in December and be totally knocked back with surprise. I just hope JJ doesn’t try to top the Darth Vader being Lukes father reveal from ESB. It’s impossible for that moment in film history to be topped. It’ll go down as the best reveal of all-time. It seems like there are definitely surprises and reveals that are to come but I just pray they are genuine when they occur and pure. Not forced.

    On another note. Ever since I heard the title, “The Force Awakens” announced, I’ve had this incredible eerie vibe from it and I think that is intended by JJ and Co.

    (Sorry for double post)

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:01 am
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    I thought it was kind of interesting that Rey’s character seem to be both straddling the light and dark side of the teaser poster released at D23.

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:10 am
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    My prediction is this: The Knights of Ren are a new evil entity completely separate from the Sith.

    I believe that the Sith won’t play much of a part in episode 7 because since the death of Palpatine, the Sith has lay mostly dormant. The First Order is made up of remnants of the Empire and it’s strings are manipulated by Snoke, the leader of the Ren.

    This is where Luke comes in. Leia is seeking the help of Luke to defeat Snoke and the Knights of Ren Ren. Since Luke will realize that the Jedi and Alliance cannot defeat Snoke and the First order, I believe luke will do this by summoning the help of Darth Plagueis, who isn’t really dead, just locked away in a tomb somewhere (read history of Plagueis). I believe Luke and Plagueis will have an epic lightsaber duel before Plagueis relents and joins forces with the Jedi order, which will result in an epic battle in episode 9. This will bring peace to the galaxy once and for all.

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:11 am
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    what a dumb interviewer. we all know nazism is bad, but there are plenty of neo-nazis today

    • August 18, 2015 at 3:58 am
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      Great find! This is really confusing because the back’s description makes it seem like the rebels…or should I say RESISTANCE is completely the underdog, a small glimmer of hope against the BIG BAD first order. Most of the marketing up to this point made it seem like after endor it was a even fight, or a cold war between a weakened empire and a snowballing rebellion. The description on that box feels literally like the opening crawl for a New hope with a search-replace for empire and Rebels… Hope I am wrong…

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:29 am
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    Great news this past week/weekend sw7n! seriously, I visit this site multiple times a day–you guys are appreciated. cheers

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:42 am
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    I believe that Kylo Ren and his order are a remnant of Darth Vader’s inquisitors. That’s why they appear in Star wars rebels. And they were a kinda cult of Darth Vader. That’s why they revere him so much. They are after the one jedi who according to them killed Vader. And soon they will figure out that it was Luke Skywalker and that he is Vader’s son which would cause more intrigue.

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:46 am
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    What if all is backwards and luke is influencing kylo ren and snoke, rey?

    • August 18, 2015 at 2:51 am
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      That idea has already been discussed 🙂
      It could be but unlikely.:-)

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:50 am
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    Luke is a last possibilty at a sith. He starts to turn enticing kylo but realizes he is wrong before it is too late. He turns kylo ren to the dark side.

    • August 18, 2015 at 7:30 am
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      What, like a “No, I am his Master” sort of moment? sounds lame,

      • August 18, 2015 at 8:17 am
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        Arise Lord Bates.

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:52 am
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    So would this tie in with the “I will finish what you started” quote that appears on the upcoming makeup line?

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:54 am
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    Unorthodox constructed lightsaber is a trademark for the inquisitors 🙂

  • August 18, 2015 at 2:57 am
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    Kylo being active student of Luke knows he was Vaders sons but doesn’t tell him. Know does LUKE know h is the son of Han and Leia.

  • August 18, 2015 at 3:01 am
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    Rey is going to be sydows daughter the kenobi granddaughter and the new Luke. Finn is a new Jedi and the stable Jedi whereas Rey is enticed at times and Finn keeps her stable with her desire for more power.

    • August 18, 2015 at 4:06 am
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      Yet it’s finn who desires the sabre?

  • August 18, 2015 at 3:04 am
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    Perhaps the twist is that Vader’s father is revealed and he isn’t a product of midichlorian. His father is Darth Plagueis grandfather of Luke and Leia. xD

    • August 18, 2015 at 3:13 am
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      That’s the worst! Lol I know your joking but please stop! Lol

    • August 18, 2015 at 3:17 am
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      Yes! And like Anakin, there is good in him. Plagueis will join forces with the Jedi.

      • August 18, 2015 at 4:46 am
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        I would disagree but you dom’t seem to work for Fox films, Bryan Singer or Olivia Muun which is okay in my book

        • August 18, 2015 at 7:47 am
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          Huh?

    • August 18, 2015 at 8:34 am
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      Vaders father was Yoda, every one in the galaxy knows this.

  • August 18, 2015 at 3:41 am
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    It’s good to see JJ not giving anything away until people watch VII. I believe Rey is not related to Han or Leia. Doesn’t make a lot of sense they wld put their children into hiding since the Emperor and Vader were killed. I do however, believe Rey is the twin sister of Kylo Ren. Perhaps their parents were loyal to the Emperor and died fighting the Rebel Alliance. This could explain why Kylo is obsessed with Vader. He feels compelled to revenge their death.

    Luke disappearing and hiding in seclusion us a story in itself. JJ was seduced by Kennedy after she asked him one simple question “who is Luke Skywalker?”. In ROTJ Luke never wore jedi-like attire. He was in all black. This to me has always seemed significant. Lucas was also a master of disguise for the OT. Was he telling us that Luke was unknowingly serving the darkside by trying to execute the Emperor? Remember Luke never wanted to fight Vader and made an attempt to kill Palpatine before Vader stopped him. In a way one could think Luke may have served with Vader if the Emperor was out of the picture. Luke began down the path toward the darkside. I like to think he secluded himself in an effort to stop his transition.

    Since VII is a all new canon by itself it’s hard to see what direction all of this is going. I’m not claiming to have any inside knowledge but I have a lot of fun guessing whwe the story will take us.

    • August 18, 2015 at 4:48 am
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      Why did they cast twins that are 8 years apart in age? I know Hamill and Fisher were 5 years apart, but why cast those to be so far apart? Maybe they are siblings that were born years apart?

    • August 18, 2015 at 5:11 am
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      Nope. Rey is a Solo.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:51 pm
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      Rey is central to the plot of this movie. There is a strong connection between her and Han Solo. Why is Solo letting her fly in, and later take control of the Millennium Falcon? What is their relationship?

      Believe her staff is pivotal to the story. That’s no ordinary staff. How did she come to possess it? Did she find it? Was it handed down to her? Did she build it? Is it a relic that Kylo Ren is after?

  • August 18, 2015 at 4:16 am
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    I think your shades of grey will exhibit itself inThe New Republic/Resistance also… There is a reason the resistance exists, perhaps the NR is not what the Legacy players thought it would be, perhaps they have committed atrocities of their own on the way up.

    • August 18, 2015 at 4:32 am
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      My theory is that the New Republic is not necessarily bad but too weak, ineffective and/or unwilling to directly oppose the First Order. Thus perhaps the Resistance is a splinter group of the New Republic (possibly made up of people living in the part of the galaxy that the First Order is directly threatening) which is unsatisfied with the NR’s inaction and take it upon themselves to fight and defeat the FO before they become too powerful.

      • August 18, 2015 at 5:58 am
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        And this is why [kinda spoiler] Finn witnesses something [remembering we’re in a grey universe] on the fringe of morality/a tipping point that awakens him to the true nature of the Order, thus prompting him to get the hll out of there.

      • August 18, 2015 at 6:29 am
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        With regards to the New Republic…do we even know it exists? Little mention as of late and no marketing/product leaks of ships, vehicles, soldiers, etc. I have seen Lego and figure leaks of many factions, but none that are New Republic related.

        • August 18, 2015 at 7:43 am
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          Yeah, I’ve also considered the possibility that the New Republic is no longer around by the time of TFA, but to be fair, what you mention could also be seen as possible evidence that the New Republic is just a cowardly, impotent organization that is afraid to confront the First Order militarily.

        • August 18, 2015 at 8:45 am
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          Correct me if I’m wrong but thus far the only mention I’ve heard of the New Republic in new canon was by the battlefront developers in regard to them being in the battle of Jakku. Not sure if they were generalizing, had an earlier draft of the script of if the new republic is truely a different thing then the resistance.

  • August 18, 2015 at 5:50 am
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    I dont think he answered the gray area thing at all. Besides, I always hate “gray areas” in movies because regardless of the relativist creed, morality is NOT gray. The fact that both sides think they are right and the other one is evil doesnt mean morality is gray. The existence of moral dilemmas, of different moral values that enter into conflict and you have to choose between whats more important, to the point where either choice may cause suffering…this is not “proof” of moral relativism. This is just a moral dilemma. Relativism is just really bad and lazy philosophy. And this problem was actually addressed in the prequels. It was Palpatine who thought “good is a point of view”, and that position leads to what it leads: to achieving your goals no matter the consequences. What Yoda was trying to tell Anakin and afterwards to Luke was exactly the opposite.

  • August 18, 2015 at 5:54 am
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    Not sure JJ Abrams comments amounted to anything. Surely the First Order is just the reduced Empire with a new name?

    It’s no different to Microsoft updating Windows every few years. New name, same software.

    I doubt there is any gray area. I doubt Disney want to portray the First Order as misguided good guys! LOL Star Wars is about good vs evil, not good vs not quite evil. I think JJ Abrams is just replying to silly questions that make no sense.

    • August 18, 2015 at 8:02 am
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      Good point, this is Star Wars and I wish it was all as complicated a story as every one is trying to make it out to be,but the PT are very political and that is why I like them.

  • August 18, 2015 at 5:54 am
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    I dont think the grey area is really with the light side or the dark side of the force, its more with the peoples of the galaxy. Im sure there were plenty of systems that benefited greatly when the empire was in power. After the fall, those systems’ economy would have suffered & the regular people living there would naturally be upset by lack of options. So the children of those systems would jump at the opportunity to join the First Order in hopes of bringing back prosperity to their home lands. Also, there are a lot of people who are naturally just drawn to power over others and the dark side of life so there would be no shortage of people signing up.

  • August 18, 2015 at 6:20 am
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    Shades of grey eh? I wonder how much the popularity of Game of Thrones has influenced the new Star Wars script. Before that show came along, you really didn’t see that type of character writing style in fantasy and sci fi. I for one love that they are possibly going in this direction. After the destruction of the Death Star there are going to be a lot of wives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, etc. who are going to be severely pissed off about losing their loved ones. Add to that the people in the galaxy who thought the Empire was keeping order and bought into their ideals. It wouldn’t be too hard for some charismatic figure to spin the rebels into religious terrorists and make Vader/Palpatine sympathetic figures. What I would love is to have civil wars between opposing factions on both the sides of the Rebels and First Order vying for power and starting alliances on both sides to win their bids for supremacy at all costs. It could really make for an amazing trilogy and beyond

  • August 18, 2015 at 6:23 am
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    At the beginning of episode IV Luke wanted to “forward his application to the academy early.” Exactly which academy do you suppose that was? Ding Ding, why the Imperial Academy of course. Most people will embrace a corrupt and evil government over the anarchy of no government at all. It’s simply a matter of the evil you know being less than the worst evil you can imagine.

    • August 18, 2015 at 6:33 am
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      No it wasn’t. Luke despised the Empire and states something of the sorts a few times before leaving Tattoine.

      • August 18, 2015 at 8:07 am
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        Luke didn’t hate the Empire until Ben started telling him bits of the actual history behind it. Until then he was clueless and thought the Empire was the greatest thing since laser sliced bread.

        The Academy was the Empire. The Rebellion was far too rag-tag at this point to have a formal training academy.

        • August 18, 2015 at 11:09 am
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          Luke Skywalker: Look, I can’t get involved. I’ve got work to do. It’s not that I like the Empire; I HATE IT, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now… It’s all such a long way from here.
          https://youtu.be/tpJnMVKO6Vo?t=3m36s

    • August 18, 2015 at 7:20 am
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      This is where JJ had fun with this movie. The academy Luke talked about had to have been an Imperial academy. The rebellion had no resources like the Empire. Star Wars Rebels has said to be the link between OT and the new canon. And what academy did Ezra infiltrate? The Imperial Academy. I agree with you completely. Luke is darker than what we realized in the OT. He is a decedent of the most powerful Sith Lord of all time. Luke wasn’t even the one who brought balance to the force. It was Vader/Anakin. This movie will show a very different side to the Jedi. By the end of the movie more people will be cheering for Kylo than Finn or Rey.

      • August 18, 2015 at 12:05 pm
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        Thousands of good kids without a fighting bone in their body join their nation’s military every day. They’re called poor kids. They live in awful places, and generally don’t have any other option available besides just accepting the bad situation they were born into. Luke didn’t have to love the Empire to want to go to the Imperial academy, he just had to hate the Empire less than he hated living on Tatooine. Remember, he sold the most valuable thing his family owned to get off the planet, and it wasn’t nearly enough to pay the fare. Kinda explains why stormies are such bad shots, they never signed up thinking that they wanted to kill anyone, they just wanted to escape the hole they were born in. Rich kids go to the naval academy.

  • August 18, 2015 at 6:34 am
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    I think everyone is overthinking the shit out of this article.

    • August 18, 2015 at 7:42 am
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      I agree, this is a JJ helmed project.

    • August 18, 2015 at 8:08 am
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      Heh, you should attend film school.

      • August 18, 2015 at 9:54 am
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        Lets talk about practical effects. It’s been 10 minutes since Disney last mentioned it…

        • August 18, 2015 at 5:21 pm
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          ..and it’s been 2 minutes since someone bitched about it…

  • August 18, 2015 at 7:28 am
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    “So they’re aware of what’s come before. And there are, I would argue, those who feel like what the Empire was doing was righteous and had something not gone wrong, as we all know it did, they probably would have succeeded. And it might be worth trying again.”

    Sounds like the sad and horrific story of socialism.

    • August 18, 2015 at 10:46 am
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      I think you mean fascism..

    • August 18, 2015 at 11:49 am
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      Not just of socialism, of everything where humans are involved.

  • August 18, 2015 at 8:52 am
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    Abrams already seems to understand how to do things in a way that feel familiar, and yet at the same time, new and fresh. JJ has mentioned, in interviews, that there are certain elements that a Star Wars movie has in them that make it a Star Wars movie. If you think of those kinds of things in more abstract terms it makes sense. Star Wars trilogies usually begin on a desert planet. Jakku is visually similar to Tatooine just like Kylo Ren is visually similar to Darth Vader. Instead of revisting what has already been done, Abrams is playing off the visual “phrases” of the original in a similar way to how a music composer will do many variations on a theme. For example, think of all the variations on the Force theme that John Williams has composed over the years. For all Lucas’ claims of the PT being “like poetry” and “rhyming”, I don’t think his attempts at rhyming ever really worked. There was just too much going on. Abrams, so far, seems like he’s got a pretty solid understanding of the basic, abstract elements of Star Wars and a creative vision for how to play off of them in fresh ways.

    Plus, revealing that Jakku is Tatoonie, without good story reason, is just fan service.

  • August 18, 2015 at 10:48 am
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    Maybe the Knights of Ren is Luke’s attempt to start an order that combines the the dark and light sides of the force, the grey side of the force!

  • August 18, 2015 at 11:42 am
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    Just because the galaxy now refers to it as Jakku doesn’t mean it wasn’t previously named Tatooine. Who knows, in 30 years time the territory could have easily been lost by the Hutts. It may have been lost because of Jabba’s death. We’ll find out in December. But I’d rather find out that it’s Tatooine under new management than find out that desert planets are becoming some sort of Star Wars trope.

    • August 18, 2015 at 12:09 pm
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      A Galaxy has more than 209 billions stars, and billions of binary stars. Is it so hard to believe that there is two desert planets with two stars.

      Even though that isn’t what was on the poster.

      • August 18, 2015 at 8:46 pm
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        No,there could be millions of desert planets but it shows lack of imagination or laziness.

  • August 18, 2015 at 11:43 am
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    one cannot know the true nature of the force without knowing the Dark Side

  • August 18, 2015 at 11:59 am
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    Sorry about the politics, but I’ve watched for weeks while right wingers sullied up this site with nonsense about the liberal agenda to Starwars films.

    Really, it’s so horrible to have a woman and black lead character. Know your privilege!

    So the right wingers love to blame liberals, even on this site. I felt this was a good day to shake some down.

    Look, get over it. Star Wars was in bad need of a strong women character. Not one that would need to be saved by a guy. But a lead character.

    And it needed a minority character.

    It’s getting both. It bothers you all, bad. I can tell. And I love it

    With a women running the show now, expect more of it. Things are changing, and for the better.

    As a white male, I say it’s about time.

    Yes, it’s an agenda. And it should be. Because left up to the powerful few, these things would never change.

    Even the empire has strong women leaders.

    • August 18, 2015 at 2:07 pm
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      Really? that’s what this is about?

      oh, everyone hates those guys. why didn’t you just say so?

      what I don’t understand is why Right = Racist.
      totally unfair :/

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:29 pm
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    I’m in the UK and I say to all the US, stop putting your country down. Without you and democracy we would not be doing this, you wouldn’t be able post your comments, Star Wars wouldn’t exist, this website wouldn’t exist. People forget this. I know that doesn;t answer for the bad thats happened in the past but there is a reason you have the right and educated to express your views and undertsand other cultures, this doesn’t happen everywhere.

  • August 18, 2015 at 12:37 pm
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    If JJ stopped kissing the elephant in the room, which is essentially that political opinion and moral alignment are not necessarily linked, good for the franchise.

    IIRC, it took old SW a Kyp Durron and a Sun Crusher to even slightly address the topic, and the writers did not really know what to do with it.

    …Personally, I am mainly interested in how the Han solo movie will address the topic. Han was a baaaad man before he met Luke and Leia.

  • August 18, 2015 at 5:33 pm
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    okay, so jakku is in the battlefront game and on the toys but….. The leaked toys also show finn and rey without their surname, still jj confirms that they definately have surnames, i almost believe that all that leaking is part of the mistery box, even the jakku naming, otherwise the toys would also present rey and finn’s real names like kylo rn and poe dameron. A percentage of me still believs tht tattooine is the planet in the movie.

  • August 18, 2015 at 5:43 pm
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    Wow…i have no idea how I went from reading this article to reading comments about America, China, Vietnam and Al Queda…

    Anyways…STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS ahem…

    I can see plenty of gray area in this galaxy. Perhaps the First Order is nothing like the Empire? Perhaps when the Emperor died and the Empire tightened their grip on power as to not let everything go to shit that is exactly what happened? There was chaos and confusion. Rumors people could never know were true or not and the Empire’s motives could have been manipulated. The Empire could have also split into different groups due to various leaders of high stature disagreeing on things…maybe even some of those groups weren’t as bad but wanted to maintain order and also a presence so they kept the uniformity?

    This could introduce MANY gray areas. We know Luke and Leia were most likely the only jedi left in the galaxy, but we also know that the Force has been around for hundreds of thousands of years and it connects everything and binds the galaxy together, therefore there probably are plenty of force sensitive beings in the galaxy. Perhaps some of them don’t even know it? Perhaps some of them study the old jedi teachings but have no teacher? Perhaps some of them seek out sith artifacts to learn more about the force since there’s no jedi left to teach? Perhaps some are just possessed of nothing but emotions and the dark side has completely consumed them without even realizing it? And perhaps some of them have heard of Luke and Leia and/or the fall of Darth Vader and the Emperor and they found Luke? Perhaps Luke has found force sensitives and has begun teaching a new jedi order or even a completely new reimagining of the order but something different?

    All of these things could lead to plenty of potential gray areas. Some of them could have viewed the First Order as a sect of the Empire that disagreed with the way the Empire ran things and believes their goals are more justified? Perhaps the dark side influenced them to join regardless of whether they are actually evil and they believe they are doing the right thing? Perhaps the Resistance broke off from the New Republic because the New Republic exiled them for extremist behavior? Or perhaps the New Republic was more aggressive than the previous Republic due to fear of losing their hold on the galaxy once again…and they became the First Order so the Resistance broke off? There are so many possibilities and to compare the First Order’s troopers to Nazi’s is just being closed minded to the possibilities….All the world’s governments have uniformity and some sort of powerful presence somewhere, so why automatically compare the new troopers to Nazi’s? I’d say that the storm troopers from the OT were more like Nazi’s but who knows what drives the First Order? It’s been 30 years since the fall of the Empire or the beginning of the decline of their hold over the galaxy so anything is possible. We already know Kylo Ren is a complex character who thinks of himself as a hero so maybe he isn’t such a bad guy after all? Maybe Kylo Ren has just been heavily seduced by the dark side and with really nobody to show him otherwise he has just been on a downward spiral and hasn’t even realized it because he is so manipulated by the First Order and/or the Knights of Ren and/or the First Order that he legitimately believes he is doing the right thing for the galaxy and its inhabitants?

    I guess we’ll find out in December..

  • August 19, 2015 at 7:50 am
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    I’m trying to think of a convincing reason why Han and Leia would have their kid hide on Jakku. Rey is likely a Solo, but it would have been nice to see the kids of the Solos/Skywalkers grow up without turmoil.

  • August 19, 2015 at 10:53 am
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    This being a popular website, obviously some people will hijack discussion threads for propaganda. Just ban some IPs, so we can all discuss Star Wars please.

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