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:: A trilogy of fan-fic set after Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and inspired by George Lucas' historical draft concepts ::
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| December 2014 |
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Episode VII teaser trailer characters identified !
30th December 2014 |
Early in December, Star Wars fansite MakingStarWars reported on Entertainment Weekly's scoop revealing character names for those seen in the Force Awakens teaser trailer ! LFL/Disney presented the media website with mock trading cards, 'aged' in the style of the cards from the 70s and 80s.
The trailer character names, in order of appearance, are as follows :
John Boyega - Finn : the unmasked stormtrooper in the desert, who, rumours say, has defected from his Imperial cause following a village massacre by his fellow troops ; however, other reports suggest he might be a 'special ops' trooper, or even an infiltrator now escaping.
Rolling ball droid - BB8 : reports point to this multi-purpose droid belonging to the heroine, played by Daisy Ridley ; the '8' shape of the droid very appropriate to its designation, which, to my 'ear' seems quite 'feminine' ?!
Daisy Ridley - Rey : the heroine, who begins the story on a desert planet - possibly Tatooine - before embarking on her 'hero's journey', with rumours indicating that she's the daughter of Han and Leia ; and this fact, coupled with the location, throw up many more questions of course, with the main answer being that she's hidden on the desert planet for her safety.
Oscar Isaac - Poe Dameron : the X-Wing pilot ; but as yet we do not know if he's a lead character or a secondary one such as Wedge Antilles or even a minor support such as Episode IV's Red Leader.
Adam Driver - Kylo Ren : The red-blade broadsabre wielding black-cloaked mystery character ; many confusing rumours contrast and combine with this character who is clearly the villain - or one of the villains. The actor's identity was confirmed by a credit listing, there is a location photo of apparently Driver in X-Wing pilot suit at a Rebel Base, and the suggestion is that he's Han and Leia's son.... who presumably is seduced to evil....
With rumours suggesting that Ridley and Driver may be young Solos, then would Ren and Rey be the alliterative pairing that matches Luke and Leia, the Legend-EU's Jacen and Jaina, and, to a lesser degree, Anakin and Amidala (a pairing I've always thought was George Lucas' original plan before the name Padme became more popular). Like Finn, their surnames are notably absent. The question then remains, what is 'Kylo' ? Is this a title (such as an Alderaanian title), is this a pre-name, is this a new Sith moniker ??
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With the publication of Episode VII's title as The Force Awakens many fans have been pondering what exactly the title means and how it fits into the context of its story. Recalling the other episode titles, we have :
The Phantom Menace - the unseen threat to the Old Republic, and the Jedi Order in particular... Darth Sidious.
Attack of the Clones - the oddest of all the titles, temporally-speaking, as it alludes to the ultimate 'attack' of the soldiers for and against their host Republic following this episode, and all the ramifications that brings ; but it represents the genesis of the cloned troopers and the start of the galactic wars, secretly instigated by Darth Sidious.
Revenge of the Sith - the eventual conquest over the Jedi Order by the Sith, achieved partly by the once-heroic Anakin Skywalker, the Sith order having previously believed to have been eradicated "a thousand years before".
A New Hope - the offspring of Anakin Skywalker finally coming of age and beginning to lead the rebellion against the Sith Empire.
The Empire Strikes Back - with their primary fearsome weapon destroyed, the Imperial Empire moves quickly to retaliate against the growing rebellion.
Return of the Jedi - Luke Skywalker finally defeats his father and the Emperor, Darth Sidious, and ensures the Light of the Jedi Order can begin to return to the Galaxy.
And now we have The Force Awakens, which obviously implies the Force, that galactic energy field, 'awakening' in someone or something, or even of the Force itself - the midichlorians or the Whills - awakening. Does this mean that one or more characters find themselves attuned to the Force ? Or if something becomes more receptive, like a relic or shrine or weapon or place... like Dagobah's cave ? Rumours suggest that the Force itself has become more 'potent', notwithstanding characters finding their calling ; other reports hint that, since Luke's victory on the Second Death Star, the Force has been 'dormant', and now, about 30 years later, it resumes its presence, let alone become even more potent.
... And in fact, it's this last point that I find the most intriguing. As co-author of our own virtual edition sequel trilogy, hosted on this site, we took the Episode III production rumours as inspiration and proposed that Anakain's slaughter of the Jedi Younglings 'cursed' the Force and the Galaxy, and resulted, after Luke and Leia's birth, in no new Force-sensitives being born..... so that when, in our story, Luke comes to resume an academy of Jedi Knights, all students are older than he and his twin sister. Ultimately, it is Leia's actions that resolve the 'curse', and 'allow' newborns to Force-attuned again.
Therefore, I now wonder, humbly and excitedly, whether we as fan-authors have unwittingly and coincidentally discovered the same creative inspiration as Lucas, Abrams, Kasdan, and Arndt. Confirming that we have been 'on the same page' creatively-speaking, is it now the case that, after a generation or so has passed since the Battle of Endor, and since Order 66, The Force Awakens will present to us a galaxy where there are few or no new Force-sensitives, and that, unlike our concept of a 'curse', the Force itself AWAKENS within the galactic citizens, and presumably for its own survival.... ??!
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Over the course of a week, a 'spy' uploaded a wealth of material to the Reddit server community purporting to be describing the context, characters, and plot of Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens. Although one publication (page 3) turned out to be very likely a fake, the rest of the five pages of material read as an exciting and spell-binding adventure with family dynamics and treachery and good intentions falling foul.
Obviously, one can but await nearly 12 months to find out if any of this released information is true...!!
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| For our Virtual Edition of Episode VII : Plague of Doom, the Alliance attack against the secert Imperial gas factory on Kessel continues ! |
| Jedi Elder Master Sieg Lettow deftly targets several enemy TIE fighters. He directs a rookiee Jedi student whilst evading his own enemy fighter... |
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| Lettow skims low over the stoney surface of Kessel, and then, thrusters firing, sharply climbs back into the sky.... |
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| The dogged TIE pilot belatedly realises the trap he has fallen into, and throws his arms up in alarm.... |
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| The TIE fighter crashes spectacularly into the stoney floor ! |
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| You can see the VE artwork in the 'Kessel' art gallery as well as in the online illustrated story, and you can discuss this in the forum here ! |
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| Nathaniel Reed, 30th December 2014 |
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