It's a tricky situation where you can't really win either way. Regardless of how you decide, the result will be criticised by someone. Jedi stealing babies would be called cruel, Jedi not teaching them would be called reckless.

I think the Imperium of Man had the better idea when it came to these things...

Imperium of Man having a good idea=Impossibility.

Yeah telekinesis is something that has always (even in the EU) required training in the Force. It's not like Harry Potter magic where you suddenly "manifest" an ability. Latent Force sensitivity for the exceptionally gifted showed itself in passive ways, like with Anakin's "quick reflexes" as a child.

EDIT: also, nowhere am I aware of legal requirements forcing parents to give their children to the Jedi Order in any era. That sounds like anti-Jedi propaganda.

Yeah I remember one case in Legends where a mother gave her Force Sensitive daughter to the Jedi and than later decided she wanted her daughter back though it was implied she was really just wanting fame, money, or both. Also one where a non-Force Sensitive employee at the Jedi Tempe had a Force Sensitive baby and the Jedi fired him, apparently without making any effort to help him find a new job though I might be remembering wrong there, once he gave them his son. But I don't recall anything saying the law required parents of discovered Force Sensitive babies to give them to the Jedi. If there was such a law I don't think I want to know how they treated most Force Sensitives they found who were too old for training.

Also one where a non-Force Sensitive employee at the Jedi Tempe had a Force Sensitive baby and the Jedi fired him, apparently without making any effort to help him find a new job though I might be remembering wrong there, once he gave them his son.

Nope, not wrong here. This was in the (amazing) Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter book.

Honestly IMO given that all or almost all of the dangerous Force abilities require training to use it wouldn't be that reckless to not train them.

That's why I specifically mentioned the low probability - but a risk still remains. Jedi and Sith are not the only Force users in the galaxy; there's (again, in the EU at least) a host of other Force "religions" in the galaxy, often way more primitive. So much so that their users think the Force is some sort of shamanism or arcane/divine magic, hence the use of fetishes or ritualised gestures, spells, etc.

But this also means that somewhere, some time, somebody must have discovered that stuff out of pure accident.

Just like the very first Jedi.

Everything one can learn must first be discovered by someone.

Also one where a non-Force Sensitive employee at the Jedi Tempe had a Force Sensitive baby and the Jedi fired him, apparently without making any effort to help him find a new job though I might be remembering wrong there, once he gave them his son.

Nope, not wrong here. This was in the (amazing) Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter book.

In the end, Maul kills everyone

I love that book but haven't read it in a while and couldn't remember for certain if the Jedi had actually tried to help the father get a new job or if they had just fired him and left him to his own devices though I think it was the latter.

They just fired him. That led to his hatred of the Jedi Order and anything Force related. I-5YQ was the best character in the novel. I really like the Coruscant Nights series that came from this novel too.

Yeah I thought so. That shows IMO both just how far the Jedi had fallen by that point, and how corrupt the Republic had become. The former because IMO with their influence and prestige it would have been easy for the Jedi to contact someone within the Republic government and arrange a good job for him but they just tossed hm to the side once they had his son. The latter because them doing that in a just system would be a slamdunk wrongful termination lawsuit a lawyer on their first day of law school should be able to win with ease..

Heck, the jedi don't do this in the movies or the Clone Wars. In The Phantom Menace yoda specifically states they won't train Anakin because he is too old.

True, but not being able to train a ... 9 year old boy? Then their training system needs a serious overhaul. Anakin by that point could read and write, and the Jedi Order had several Padawans just as old as him. Putting him into one of those classes were the pupils help each other with their studies should be managable.

Or do i better NOT know what they teach these kids till that age?

Yeah I thought so. That shows IMO both just how far the Jedi had fallen by that point, and how corrupt the Republic had become. The former because IMO with their influence and prestige it would have been easy for the Jedi to contact someone within the Republic government and arrange a good job for him but they just tossed hm to the side once they had his son. The latter because them doing that in a just system would be a slamdunk wrongful termination lawsuit a lawyer on their first day of law school should be able to win with ease..

Possibly the best episodes of the TCW are those where Asoka Tano is wrongfully accused of murder. Whilst investigating the initial bombing at the Jedi temple she and Anakin go to the home of one of the workers and when they come to the apartment, Asoka makes the comment "I would have thought working for the Jedi paid better". It's a subtle little line but it both captures the Jedi's privilege and Asoka's growing awareness of it.

Heck, the jedi don't do this in the movies or the Clone Wars in The Phantom Menace yoda specifically states they won't train Anakin because he is too old.

Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen evidence of the Jedi taking babies by force (I'm so, so sorry).

However, I'm sure there's a lot of pressure and encouragement to give a child who is selected up to them. In AotC, Watto is certainly impressed that Anakin has become "a Jedi no less" and they're accorded religious status in many places. I imagine for most parents it would be like the UN council turning up and telling them their child could be a future part of the elect. (Or perhaps for Americans the NFL). Most parents would see it as a great opportunity for their child and (a) would want that for their kid and (b) wouldn't want their kid working at a desk 9am to 5pm somewhere hating them because she could have been out fighting with a laser sword.

Of course there are areas of the galaxy where the attitudes to the Jedi would be different. But I got the impression from when Qui Gon Jinn found Anakin in Ep I, that these are the places where the Jedi probably wouldn't be auditioning children as often anyway. They certainly missed the most powerful Force wielder in centuries for some reason.

True, but not being able to train a ... 9 year old boy? Then their training system needs a serious overhaul. Anakin by that point could read and write, and the Jedi Order had several Padawans just as old as him. Putting him into one of those classes were the pupils help each other with their studies should be managable.

Or do i better NOT know what they teach these kids till that age?

They really should have made Anakin a bit older in the films. Maybe fifteen. He'd have been less annoying in the first film (sorry to the actor) and this part would have made more sense.

Heck, the jedi don't do this in the movies or the Clone Wars in The Phantom Menace yoda specifically states they won't train Anakin because he is too old.

Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen evidence of the Jedi taking babies by force (I'm so, so sorry).

However, I'm sure there's a lot of pressure and encouragement to give a child who is selected up to them. In AotC, Watto is certainly impressed that Anakin has become "a Jedi no less" and they're accorded religious status in many places. I imagine for most parents it would be like the UN council turning up and telling them their child could be a future part of the elect. (Or perhaps for Americans the NFL). Most parents would see it as a great opportunity for their child and (a) would want that for their kid and (b) wouldn't want their kid working at a desk 9am to 5pm somewhere hating them because she could have been out fighting with a laser sword.

Of course there are areas of the galaxy where the attitudes to the Jedi would be different. But I got the impression from when Qui Gon Jinn found Anakin in Ep I, that these are the places where the Jedi probably wouldn't be auditioning children as often anyway. They certainly missed the most powerful Force wielder in centuries for some reason.

Well, if we would need another reason to put the EU into a legendary catagory then there is this!

The Jedi Council turns away the most powerful force sensitive kid ever and basically tells him to "go home" they don't think it a risk that others might get their hands on him or force him to stay, they just turn him away.

How does this match the force-using baby stealers other outlets have presented the Jedi as being?

True, but not being able to train a ... 9 year old boy? Then their training system needs a serious overhaul. Anakin by that point could read and write, and the Jedi Order had several Padawans just as old as him. Putting him into one of those classes were the pupils help each other with their studies should be managable. Or do i better NOT know what they teach these kids till that age?

They really should have made Anakin a bit older in the films. Maybe fifteen. He'd have been less annoying in the first film (sorry to the actor) and this part would have made more sense.

Yeah, IIRC the original movie script had him at 14 years of age, which just makes WAY more sense in many ways.

Well, if we would need another reason to put the EU into a legendary catagory then there is this!

The Jedi Council turns away the most powerful force sensitive kid ever and basically tells him to "go home" they don't think it a risk that others might get their hands on him or force him to stay, they just turn him away.

How does this match the force-using baby stealers other outlets have presented the Jedi as being?

The jist of the discussion here, though, is that the Jedi haven't actually been portrayed as such in the EU. Excepting, of course, in-universe anti-Jedi propaganda (like among the Zeison Sha, and in the post-Order-66 Empire).

Well, if we would need another reason to put the EU into a legendary catagory then there is this!

The Jedi Council turns away the most powerful force sensitive kid ever and basically tells him to "go home" they don't think it a risk that others might get their hands on him or force him to stay, they just turn him away.

How does this match the force-using baby stealers other outlets have presented the Jedi as being?

The jist of the discussion here, though, is that the Jedi haven't actually been portrayed as such in the EU. Excepting, of course, in-universe anti-Jedi propaganda (like among the Zeison Sha, and in the post-Order-66 Empire).

Oh, pardon me! I have been misreading things then...

Yeah, IIRC the original movie script had him at 14 years of age, which just makes WAY more sense in many ways.

Agree. I also wanted the adult version to be taller, beafier, and sport a beard. Much more initimidating and would have felt better once he slips to the dark side. I have a hard time imagining Hayden Christensen in the suit at the end of Episode III. For example, I have an easier time imagining a young Hugh Jackman inside there. A younger Hugh Jackman would have rocked in the, "I killed them all!" scene.

Yeah, IIRC the original movie script had him at 14 years of age, which just makes WAY more sense in many ways.

Agree. I also wanted the adult version to be taller, beafier, and sport a beard. Much more initimidating and would have felt better once he slips to the dark side. I have a hard time imagining Hayden Christensen in the suit at the end of Episode III. For example, I have an easier time imagining a young Hugh Jackman inside there. A younger Hugh Jackman would have rocked in the, "I killed them all!" scene.

I think Hayden Christensen had a reasonable physical build for the part. He manages successfully to loom over Obi Wan and Palpatine and has the sort of build I would imagine Vader to have as a teenager. I feel quite sorry for him really as with another director who knows - he might have been quite good in the role. I mean when Ewan McGreggor and Natalie Portman come across as 'average' in a film, there's something not quite right.

Hugh Jackman would have been about 31 at the time Ep I was being filmed if IMDB (and my sums) are right. If you want slightly younger ones that might have been good, Jake Gyllenhall would have been about 18 at the time of filming and is the same height as Hayden Christensen. And we know he can act (though not as well as his sister!)

Heath Ledger was actually slightly taller than Hayden and had a fairly decent build. And he could act the socks off most of his contemporaries. I think he would have been about twenty-one at the time of filming so would have worked fine for a slightly older Vader.

An off the wall pick which probably everyone would disagree with (much like they were against Ledger as the Joker until they saw him), would be Matthew Goode. He played Ozymandias / Veidt in the Watchman movie. I heard some odd comments from people when that film came out about how it looked silly to have him beat up the guy playing the Comedian. They clearly only see what they expect to see (clean cut polite person vs. hairy gruff person) rather than what is actually there. He is 6'2 and if you look at his body in that film, he is in rather terrifying shape. And I suspect he could convey a dark, angry undercurrent very well.

I always got the sense that Lucas wanted James Dean for the role, but...

I would like to know how exactly do they expect people to get excited about "New Canon" when they can just say "whoops, nevermind" and rip the rug out from under everyone again in another 20 years.

I think I am done with the books. I would probably feel different if they went through all the canon and assigned what happened and what did not instead of just pretty much throwing it all in the toilet so they can pick and choose. It is pretty different with the different Marvel Universes. The COMIC is the main universe, so the movies are more like a retelling or reboot (kind of like the Ultimate Universe comics). However in Star Wars, the books and comic are support. Since they are invalidated it seems more like just crap now. I may follow the comics (less time consuming), but I may never read a Star Wars book again.

I would like to know how exactly do they expect people to get excited about "New Canon" when they can just say "whoops, nevermind" and rip the rug out from under everyone again in another 20 years.

I think the whole idea is that, with the new canon, they're getting all their ducks in a row so that they'll never have to do that. Everything from here on in is in. Even future screenwriters will be bound by what comes in the new novels and comics.

That appears to be the intent, anyway...

I'm REALLY upset that KOTOR is not canon now. I loved those stories and characters. Shadows of the Empire too.

I would like to know how exactly do they expect people to get excited about "New Canon" when they can just say "whoops, nevermind" and rip the rug out from under everyone again in another 20 years.

Look on the bright side - if you don't like the new Disney canon, you can look forward with hope that you will like the next new canon more. Or maybe the one after that.

Just at the moment we have several major televisual adaptions of Sherlock Holmes. There are the Guy Ritchie movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. The BBC Sherlock show. The US Elementary one where Watson is Lucy Liu. In the past we have had the Basil Rathbone ones and ones with Jeremy Brett. There are a whole bunch of Russian Sherlock Holmes movies that are very famous there but no one here has ever heard of.

This is what we do with stories. We tell them over and over again, with each new teller of the tale adding their own spin. How many versions of Robin Hood have you seen? How many different King Arthurs? And almost all of them have something interesting in them, even if they are not your favorite version.

True enough. Though, as much as I have criticised that approach in the past due to my personal appreciation for consistency, I think 40k's "it's all equally optional" is more fair both to the source material as well as to the fans. At least there you don't suddenly have a previously officially embraced interpretation of the setting relegated to 2nd class "legends" overnight, whose contents will now not only be contradicted by a few movies, but also a new series of novels and other supplemental material.

Furthermore, Games Workshop's "pick what you like" policy would also seem to be a closer analogy to that example of Robin Hood, King Arthur, etc, than what Disney is attempting now: a dis- and replacement of the old with the new, rather than coexistence. That is what really concerns a lot of people, I think. That, and all the eagerly awaited yet recently cancelled EU products that may now never see the light of day.

I'm assuming there will be quite a lot of people who will have difficulties "making the switch", so to say, or who may even end up not buying into this retconned universe at all. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out in a few years. Though, even in a worst case scenario, the Expanded Universe will live on in the minds and memories of its fans, and it has grown enough to potentially supply us with material to read for many years to come. In a way, it's like we now get to choose between two settings, and pick the one we like most. That is a solace we ought to keep in mind.