Just watched RotJ with my kids, and something occurred to me.

What if the first spinoff, "Rogue One", featured the first Rogue killed in action? Officially of course, he died before Rogue Squadron was formed, but he and the other members of Red Squadron who died at Yavin are considered to be the first Rogues and were posthumously recognized as such.

I'm talking about Jek Porkins, of course. Just how cool would it be, to have an action packed space-fighter movie that features the Sabacc master and peerless pilot who just couldn't quite hold it.

Now THAT is a movie worth seeing. And for those of you like me who just didn't get enough Porkins in the original.

I really just hope we get Star Wars flavored top gun

Love that video!

I really just hope we get Star Wars flavored top gun

With a female main character. That's the key bit we need to add in. We basically need Starbuck in an A-wing for pretty much the whole movie.

I really just hope we get Star Wars flavored top gun

With a female main character. That's the key bit we need to add in. We basically need Starbuck in an A-wing for pretty much the whole movie.

Dear God no...Female pilot, yes, Starbuck...NO.

I really just hope we get Star Wars flavored top gun

With a female main character. That's the key bit we need to add in. We basically need Starbuck in an A-wing for pretty much the whole movie.

Dear God no...Female pilot, yes, Starbuck...NO.

That's fair. She doesn't need to chomp cigars and slurp down alcohol to be a female pilot character.

As long as the woman isn't cast just because she is a woman.

But let's skip that, I don't want to be dragged in the gender war that is waging in the US. .

As long as the woman isn't cast just because she is a woman.

But let's skip that, I don't want to be dragged in the gender war that is waging in the US. .

Well let's hope the men weren't cast just for being men? That'd be a pretty lame casting call, frankly.

I really just hope we get Star Wars flavored top gun

LI-GHT SPEED JUMP TO THE DANGERZONE!

I'd rather Rogue 1 focused mostly on Wedge and how he builds Rogue Squadron than on Porkin's personally (I would love it even more if it played off of the X-wing series, get Corran, MIrax and our favorite Gand) that way if it was successful they could do a sequel "Wraith 1" and we get to see those guys and their shenanigans as a Star Wars comedy

There could be a cool scene with someone flying a speederbike down a runway.

I hope we get a Star Wars flavored Top Gun, but with better dogfighting sequences. Top Gun had some neat scenes, but they're nearly all chase scenes, with very little actual maneuvering. I wish we could see a fast-paced, exciting version of History Channel's dogfights, but with Star Wars ships. That'd be epic.

I'd rather Rogue 1 focused mostly on Wedge and how he builds Rogue Squadron than on Porkin's personally (I would love it even more if it played off of the X-wing series, get Corran, MIrax and our favorite Gand) that way if it was successful they could do a sequel "Wraith 1" and we get to see those guys and their shenanigans as a Star Wars comedy

Wedge has long been one of my favorite characters. It would be nice to have him in it. Maybe playing the role of the fatherly IP to the hotshot female lead.

To be brutally honest, casting is generally done not just with men in mind, but with white men. The reason is that overseas minority and female lead characters do not perform as well at the box office. It's a shame that this is true, but it is true nonetheless.

Rogue One could be an opportunity to buck this trend, and just find a powerful actor/actress. It has enough name recognition and draw from Star Wars to overcome bigotry, and is different enough from the main story arc to allow creative room for the lead to be whatever they want. Frankly, it would be at least as satisfying to see the lead go to someone who doesn't have the look of a body builder (male) or porn star (female), so Jek Porkins is as good a suggestion as any. I officially nominate my favorite, Paul Giamatti, in the role of Jek Porkins. If he could costar opposite Marissa Tomei, I would be in heaven.

Regardless, I just hope it's a good movie. With Lucas gone, it is unlikely to turn into a negative stereotype filled garbage heap, I just hope they don't overcompensate and turn it into a bland PC snooze fest. Time will tell.

To be brutally honest, casting is generally done not just with men in mind, but with white men. The reason is that overseas minority and female lead characters do not perform as well at the box office. It's a shame that this is true, but it is true nonetheless.

Rogue One could be an opportunity to buck this trend, and just find a powerful actor/actress. It has enough name recognition and draw from Star Wars to overcome bigotry, and is different enough from the main story arc to allow creative room for the lead to be whatever they want. Frankly, it would be at least as satisfying to see the lead go to someone who doesn't have the look of a body builder (male) or porn star (female), so Jek Porkins is as good a suggestion as any. I officially nominate my favorite, Paul Giamatti, in the role of Jek Porkins. If he could costar opposite Marissa Tomei, I would be in heaven.

Regardless, I just hope it's a good movie. With Lucas gone, it is unlikely to turn into a negative stereotype filled garbage heap, I just hope they don't overcompensate and turn it into a bland PC snooze fest. Time will tell.

Casting calls are notoriously bigoted in Hollywood, like how olive-skinned, dark-haired Katniss Everdeen (how she is described in the books) led to a "caucasians only" casting call. Really Hollywood? Really?

That being said, I think the time has come for a female lead in Star Wars. The prequels were pretty sexist in my opinion, and the first movies weren't much better. Leia was a cool character, but I felt like her strong punk side was wiped away after ANH.

Isn't it more likely that Rogue One takes place in the TFA time frame by the way?

And as long as they write a role and find the right actor or actress to fit, who cares if it is a man or a woman?

Isn't it more likely that Rogue One takes place in the TFA time frame by the way?

And as long as they write a role and find the right actor or actress to fit, who cares if it is a man or a woman?

I don't know, maybe because other than Starbuck from the new Battlestar Galactica, there have been no female fighter pilot leads in any movies ever? Or how about because Star Wars hasn't had a single female combat pilot in any of the movies? How about because girls like me grew up having to watch boys do all the things we wanted to do on TV and in movies, with the knowledge that we weren't legally allowed to do it in real life either (women couldn't be fighter pilots legally in the USA till I was 13)? There is a freak load of horrible damage that needs to be undone pronto.

And if none of those reasons is good enough, how about variety being the spice of life?

Isn't it more likely that Rogue One takes place in the TFA time frame by the way?

And as long as they write a role and find the right actor or actress to fit, who cares if it is a man or a woman?

I do, personally. I prefer to see diversity in media, and frankly things have been really racist, sexist and homophobic in pop culture - especially when it comes to action, fantasy and science fiction TV/films - until the last, say ~10 years. it's improving, but more improvement is really needed.

I'd like to think that there's good odds Rogue One will have a female lead.

Isn't it more likely that Rogue One takes place in the TFA time frame by the way?

And as long as they write a role and find the right actor or actress to fit, who cares if it is a man or a woman?

I don't know, maybe because other than Starbuck from the new Battlestar Galactica, there have been no female fighter pilot leads in any movies ever? Or how about because Star Wars hasn't had a single female combat pilot in any of the movies? How about because girls like me grew up having to watch boys do all the things we wanted to do on TV and in movies, with the knowledge that we weren't legally allowed to do it in real life either (women couldn't be fighter pilots legally in the USA till I was 13)? There is a freak load of horrible damage that needs to be undone pronto.

And if none of those reasons is good enough, how about variety being the spice of life?

And because I'm on a little bit of a hysterical feminist rant now, I have to add that to this day, I can't join the US military and serve in the infantry, in tanks, in submarines, in the special forces - the list goes on and on. Women are so clearly second-class citizens in this country it is frankly shocking considering how open-minded we all think we are.

Isn't it more likely that Rogue One takes place in the TFA time frame by the way?

And as long as they write a role and find the right actor or actress to fit, who cares if it is a man or a woman?

I don't know, maybe because other than Starbuck from the new Battlestar Galactica, there have been no female fighter pilot leads in any movies ever? Or how about because Star Wars hasn't had a single female combat pilot in any of the movies? How about because girls like me grew up having to watch boys do all the things we wanted to do on TV and in movies, with the knowledge that we weren't legally allowed to do it in real life either (women couldn't be fighter pilots legally in the USA till I was 13)? There is a freak load of horrible damage that needs to be undone pronto.

And if none of those reasons is good enough, how about variety being the spice of life?

Do you want a woman starring in the movie because it is right for the story or do you want a woman because she's a woman, no matter the story?

This thread started as such a light hearted, fun sort of thread....

Isn't it more likely that Rogue One takes place in the TFA time frame by the way?

And as long as they write a role and find the right actor or actress to fit, who cares if it is a man or a woman?

I don't know, maybe because other than Starbuck from the new Battlestar Galactica, there have been no female fighter pilot leads in any movies ever? Or how about because Star Wars hasn't had a single female combat pilot in any of the movies? How about because girls like me grew up having to watch boys do all the things we wanted to do on TV and in movies, with the knowledge that we weren't legally allowed to do it in real life either (women couldn't be fighter pilots legally in the USA till I was 13)? There is a freak load of horrible damage that needs to be undone pronto.

And if none of those reasons is good enough, how about variety being the spice of life?

Do you want a woman starring in the movie because it is right for the story or do you want a woman because she's a woman, no matter the story?

I want a woman starring in a movie written for a woman to be starring in it. Wouldn't that be a nice change of pace?

Honestly, it kind of floors me that you don't get why it matters. If Rogue One has a male main character, it's pretty much just another military scifi story added to the list. If it has a female main character, it's a game-changer for the genre and for the brand as a whole. And maybe for our culture a little bit too.

This thread started as such a light hearted, fun sort of thread....

Sorry.

Do you want a woman starring in the movie because it is right for the story or do you want a woman because she's a woman, no matter the story?

Personally, I'd be quite happy with a deliberate female lead because they want to write one with a female pilot. I think we can all agree (maybe?) that there's certainly no shortage of angsty male pilot stories out there already. The world doesn't need another one of those.

Isn't it more likely that Rogue One takes place in the TFA time frame by the way?

And as long as they write a role and find the right actor or actress to fit, who cares if it is a man or a woman?

I don't know, maybe because other than Starbuck from the new Battlestar Galactica, there have been no female fighter pilot leads in any movies ever? Or how about because Star Wars hasn't had a single female combat pilot in any of the movies? How about because girls like me grew up having to watch boys do all the things we wanted to do on TV and in movies, with the knowledge that we weren't legally allowed to do it in real life either (women couldn't be fighter pilots legally in the USA till I was 13)? There is a freak load of horrible damage that needs to be undone pronto.

And if none of those reasons is good enough, how about variety being the spice of life?

Do you want a woman starring in the movie because it is right for the story or do you want a woman because she's a woman, no matter the story?

I would hope for a female lead so we might eventually reach a place where any given casting call for a given film has roughly even odds for male or female leads (and, eventually, *** leads, visible minority leads, transgender leads, etc). We'll never reach that place if culture just assumes that the male lead ought to be the default.

EDIT: ...Why is the 'G' of LGBT a banned word???