The Prophecy And in time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as : THE SON OF THE SUN. And he shall bring Balance to the Force. "Journal of the Whills, 3:12"
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November 2019
A plethora of trailers and TV spots for The Rise of Skywalker 30th November 2019
A multitude of TV spots and a few BTS / legacy homage videos appeared promoting The Rise of Skywalker. Many show the same scenes or new cuts of existing scenes that we had already seen, but there still exist some new and varied nuggets that are intriguing !
A brief shot of six 'Knights of Ren' on a cliff butte escarpment on a desert planet, presumably Passanna.
Rey & Kylo facing off against each other in the ruins of the Emperor's throneroom in the ruined Death Star II ; also the two are seen on the cobbled streets of what is believed to be Kijimi.
Wheeled speeder bikes for stormtroopers, that seem to flip up at the back to help eject the 'jetpack troopers' into the air !
A new space monster in a green-hued enviroment ; also a fiery red space environment.
Shots of Rey and Poe separately taking the pilot's seat of the Falcon.
The Falcon flying inside a superstructure, within a blue-grey ambience, possibly one of the Star Destroyers seen in the blue-grey 'nebula' or 'atmosphere'.
A cream tunic hooded Rey standing in front of Kylo Ren's crashed and burning TIE Silencer fighter, the locale remarkably similar to the verdant Ahch-To island.
Rey leaping from a Star Destroyer hangar bay, with Kylo Ren standing behind her, across the open bay doors to the lowered boarding ramp of the The Falcon.
More of the stark white environment revealed where Rey and Kylo strike down the black plinth that holds Vader's melted helmet.
A Behind-The-Scenes video showing what appears to be actor Warwick Davies in an Ewok costume !
And then there's this iconic image, Leia holding a lightsabre ! Now, since its design isn't so clear in the trailer, the question I think is whether it is her father's and brother's lightsabre.... or one of her own design ??
Director JJ Abrams has hinted that the trailers so far have given very little away and much of the movie is yet to be revealed. Certainly, such repetition in TV spot and trailer material seems to confirm this. The recycling of imagery is starting to get a little frustrating, but I for one am still keen to not be too spoiled by new imagery no matter how much I may crave it !!
In a recent interview, writer-director revealed a little of the conversations he had with George Lucas during the pre-production for TROS, as well as critical reaction to the ST. Confirming that he and co-wrtier Chris Terrio approached this final story as not only ending the Sequel Trilogy but also the nine-part Saga, Abrams acknowledged the 'subversion' present in The Last Jedi and was himself surprised by how dark Luke was taken ; the confirmation that a strong female character was always going to lead this trilogy ; the hint that the origin of Rey's mysteriously preternatural powers would be resolved ; his gratitude towards George Lucas and his acknowledgement of Lucas' criticisms of Disney and the ST, and listening to what Lucas felt was important overall to the Star Wars story and trying to incorporate those elements into TROS.
After a flurry of reports that the final runtime for The Rise of Skywalker could end up being the longest of all the Star Wars movies (at nearly 2 hours 40 minutes), director JJ Abrams confirmed the film was locked at 2 hours and 21 minutes.
With a matter of weeks to go until the release of Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my thoughts and hopes for this final instalment. I have followed most - but not all - spoilers, and have an inkling as to what we will see and where the story will go. However, on the back of Episodes VII and VIII, there are things I'd hope to see addressed :
An explanation for how Maz Kanata came to be in possession of Anakin's lightsabre ; to a lesser extent, how Lor San Tekka knew Leia and how he had the missing map piece.
A backstory for Snoke, his powers and his position in what was essentially a new Imperial Empire ; also his influence on Ben Solo (before or after the padawan broke away from Luke's Academy ; and his relationship to Leia and Han who seemed to have known him more than just a name and a figurehead.
A clear explanation for Rey, her powers, and any direct connection she may have to the Skywalker-Solo line (or even to Palpatine !) ; as I've indicated before, the way Episode VII was presented to us in regards the heroine in a "family saga", the cinematic and narrative tropes implied she would be significantly part of that family - if she isn't, then it's akin to promoting, say, the Harry Potter films from the perspective of Ron or Hermione.
A sense of the political structure of the Galaxy could be useful, considering only the New Republic's mobile senate was destroyed on Hosnian Prime, and even if that then had wiped out all sense of galaxy-wide administrative structure, what is the First Order's relationship to Galactic control ?
The justification and plotting to allow Palpatine to survive his 'death' on the Second Death Star.
An explanation that retains any semblance of Death Star II remains, and puts them in sizeable chunks on a planetoid that isn't the Endor Moon.
A depiction of Leia's Force powers, and explanation for the apparent 'stagnation' of these abilities in favour of a political / military role.
The fate of Leia Organa-Solo, knowing that primarily the only material available of the deceased actor is relevant deleted scenes - will there be a clear finality to the character's life, or will she be left to 'stare off to the horizon' ?
Equally, the fate of the droids Artoo-Detoo and See Threepio, and of Chewbacca the Wookiee, since, although they are only supporting characters, if this episode is to indeed wrap up the 'Skywalker Family Saga', then will they be killed / deactivated / destroyed, or will they too wander off on their own paths at the end of the story ?
Any nods of homage back to the Prequel Trilogy ?
Will there be any creative input from George Lucas and to what extent ?
Will there be any porgs in the Millennium Falcon ??!
Following my disappointment with The Last Jedi, I wouldn't want these thoughts listed above to tarnish any enjoyment or appreciation for Episode IX.... but the way the Official Sequel Trilogy has been presented to us in an apparently haphazard and non-linear way - in tone, character, and plot - I feel that it's only fair to end the story with as many questions resolved as possible.
In November, the exclusive video presenting the evolution of the classic Stormtrooper design that was shown at the San Diego Comic Con in July was published online. Although frustratingly brief and not entirely comprehensive, it's still a great summary of most of the designs, plus an insightful commentary from the likes of designer Doug Chiang and Writer-Director Dave Filoni.
In mid November the first of the live-action TV shows opened on the new Disney+ streaming service. Overall, The Mandalorian appears to have been a massive hit across the fan community in the few territories where the online service has begun ; the UK officially receives the content at the end of March 2020. Episode 1 closed with the cliffhanger reveal of the bounty, a 'fifty year old child', of the same species as Yoda !
Most fansite commentators are indicating that this, known officially as 'The Child', is a 'gift' from Lucas to Filoni and Favreau finally allowing LFL to explore more of the Grand Master Jedi's species. It's certainly caught the imagination of fan and audience alike !
The writer of the new TV series following Obi Wan Kenobispoke recently regarding the challenges of the new show. Hossein Amini indicated that, unusually, this story could be set over a period of time, from Episode III to Episode IV, and thus allow for an insight into the rise of the Empire ; such a longer time frame might well lend itself better to a six-part TV series, rather than a more concise two hour movie. Obviously, the character will have been personally affected by the consquences of Order 66, the loss of his friends, and his self-imposed exile. The writer thrives on stories of internal as well as external conflict, so that may well shape the story to come for the old Jedi Master. Amini says he was first involved with the original director of the movie, Stephen Daldry, but that the core of the story may have already been in place. He also confirmed he had been involved with the project for about two years, about the time that many SW projects were affected by SOLO's theatrical performance.
Promoting his new memoirs of life behind the golden mask, actor Anthony Daniels chatted with fellow SW puppeteer Brian Herring on stage at the London Literature Festival. He talked about the challenges of the suit as well as working with his unspeaking robotic co-star Artoo Detoo, working with different directors, and his thoughts on the Saga and the conclusion. He gives acknowledgements to the original sculptor Liz Moore, and insights on how he had to learn to express and move with such limitations of the robot suit ; he notes his frustration about the secrecy of his identity as an actor following the release of Episode IV ; the impact of greenscreen, ILM, and CG, and specifically Jurassic Park, leading to the Prequel Trilogy ; returning 'home' to Carrie and Harrison. And he hints at future See Threepio projects.....
In the illustrated virtual edition of Episode VII : Plague of DoomLando leads his friends and the other freed slaves to the cellblock command centre. Their intention is to break in and free the remaining slaves. Leia suggests that she can call on the Force to create a distraction inside, which might give them an edge to help their surprise attack....
For my virtual edition Episode X 'The Riddle of the Pirates', I have now written a scene explicitly introducing the seven year old Solo twins, Gana and Corsa. They are getting ready to leave their Jedi Academy outpost on Kashyyyk in the company of Chewbacca and See Threepio, and have just bade farewell to their grandparents, Kura and Connie Solo.
