I don't think Han is coming back. The guy is 73 years old, doesn't like Star Wars much, and I doubt he'll need the paycheck.
Episode VIII is scheduled for 2017, Episode IX is scheduled for 2019 and I don't think they already filmed everything

It would be a huge risk to keep Harrison Ford on board just to please old fans of the series. IMO the main reason we saw so much of him in Episode VII (and so little of the other 4 (Leia, Luke, C3PO & R2D2) was because they planned to kill his character off and make this movie a sort of last goodbye to the fans of his character Han Solo.

I half expected Chewie to die too (and the falcon in a blaze of glory), but am glad he didnt. That character is also much easier to replace with another actor if the need arises (sorry Peter). The character Chewie doesn't look that old. With an average lifespan of 400 years, Chewie would be around 230 now, so still many years ahead of him.

We love the old characters, but Disney wants to attract a young audience for years to come, hence the young newcomers. We've got 5 new main characters (Rey, Finn, Poe, BB8, Ren) and some new returning side characters (Hux, Phasma?) plus the old group. That's simply too many characters to keep track of in a 2,5 hours movie and give each of them some credit.

We barely saw Leia, Luke, C3PO & R2D2 and they were just in episode VII for linking the new trilogy to the old and attract the old crowd who want to see their former heroes once more on the big screen. I do expect to see much more of those 4 in episode VIII and I see most room for Luke & Leia. Unfortunately R2D2 has been made rather obsolete with the introduction of BB-8 (2 funny astromech droids is a crowd (remember Chopper vs the imperial astromech droid)), so I fear his (and C3PO's) role will be rather small. I think it's a bit of a shame because C3PO and R2D2 have been a very dominating pair in the other 6 movies.

So I expect more old-time characters to die in future movies just to make room for the new ones.

I half expected Chewie to die too (and the falcon in a blaze of glory), but am glad he didnt. That character is also much easier to replace with another actor if the need arises (sorry Peter).

They did experiment with younger actors for ROTS, but apparently that didn't work out. Apparently, Mayhew moves in a characteristic way.

I half expected Chewie to die too (and the falcon in a blaze of glory), but am glad he didnt. That character is also much easier to replace with another actor if the need arises (sorry Peter).

They did experiment with younger actors for ROTS, but apparently that didn't work out. Apparently, Mayhew moves in a characteristic way.

Chewie dies in the (no longer canon) EU.

Authors, Y U pick on Falcon crew?

I half expected Chewie to die too (and the falcon in a blaze of glory), but am glad he didnt. That character is also much easier to replace with another actor if the need arises (sorry Peter).

They did experiment with younger actors for ROTS, but apparently that didn't work out. Apparently, Mayhew moves in a characteristic way.

Chewie dies in the (no longer canon) EU.

Authors, Y U pick on Falcon crew?

Because people are already kind of sick of the clown-parade of tons of skywalkers.

and solos. tons of solos.

Good riddance.

p.s. but Chewie died like a badass. it takes a moon to crush such fluffy plot armour!

I half expected Chewie to die too (and the falcon in a blaze of glory), but am glad he didnt. That character is also much easier to replace with another actor if the need arises (sorry Peter).

They did experiment with younger actors for ROTS, but apparently that didn't work out. Apparently, Mayhew moves in a characteristic way.

Chewie dies in the (no longer canon) EU.

Authors, Y U pick on Falcon crew?

Because people are already kind of sick of the clown-parade of tons of skywalkers.

and solos. tons of solos.

Good riddance.

p.s. but Chewie died like a badass. it takes a moon to crush such fluffy plot armour!

I think most of the Vong series sucked, but that part was a cool way for a main character to die. Getting crushed by a moon after saving your best friend's son and a bunch of refugees is a pretty heroic way to go. Also it added some issues between Han and his(then) son Anakin. Oh well the EU is gone. We'll have to wait to see how they kill Chewie in Episode 8.

Yeah, I forsee Chewies death in 8 too. Not happy about that and hope I am wrong. Doubt I am wrong.

I don't think Han is coming back. The guy is 73 years old, doesn't like Star Wars much, and I doubt he'll need the paycheck.

Episode VIII is scheduled for 2017, Episode IX is scheduled for 2019 and I don't think they already filmed everything

It would be a huge risk to keep Harrison Ford on board just to please old fans of the series. IMO the main reason we saw so much of him in Episode VII (and so little of the other 4 (Leia, Luke, C3PO & R2D2) was because they planned to kill his character off and make this movie a sort of last goodbye to the fans of his character Han Solo.

I half expected Chewie to die too (and the falcon in a blaze of glory), but am glad he didnt. That character is also much easier to replace with another actor if the need arises (sorry Peter). The character Chewie doesn't look that old. With an average lifespan of 400 years, Chewie would be around 230 now, so still many years ahead of him.

We love the old characters, but Disney wants to attract a young audience for years to come, hence the young newcomers. We've got 5 new main characters (Rey, Finn, Poe, BB8, Ren) and some new returning side characters (Hux, Phasma?) plus the old group. That's simply too many characters to keep track of in a 2,5 hours movie and give each of them some credit.

We barely saw Leia, Luke, C3PO & R2D2 and they were just in episode VII for linking the new trilogy to the old and attract the old crowd who want to see their former heroes once more on the big screen. I do expect to see much more of those 4 in episode VIII and I see most room for Luke & Leia. Unfortunately R2D2 has been made rather obsolete with the introduction of BB-8 (2 funny astromech droids is a crowd (remember Chopper vs the imperial astromech droid)), so I fear his (and C3PO's) role will be rather small. I think it's a bit of a shame because C3PO and R2D2 have been a very dominating pair in the other 6 movies.

So I expect more old-time characters to die in future movies just to make room for the new ones.

I agree that Han isn't coming basomehow even mentioning the real world issues with Harrison Ford, how could the character? Even if somehow a light saber through the heart and a fall into a bottomless pit somehow didn't kill him and he clung to life, how did he get off Starkiller Base before it blew up. If Chewie didn't get him(which he didn't) who did? Some random First Order guy? "Let me grab this old washed up Rebel Hero." Didn't happen. I barely believe that Ren and Phasma got off. No, Han Solo is gone. He might show up, in a flashback, force vision, etc. But as far as in the flesh, nope.

Yeah, I forsee Chewies death in 8 too. Not happy about that and hope I am wrong. Doubt I am wrong.

I actual don't think they gonna bump off chewie. I'm betting this is the new adventures of Rey and chewie in the millenium falcon.

My guess is TFA (and 8th aswell) is the transitional piece and from 9 on it's Star Wars the next generation with Rey, Finn, BB8 and Chewbacca.

Yeah, I forsee Chewies death in 8 too. Not happy about that and hope I am wrong. Doubt I am wrong.

I actual don't think they gonna bump off chewie. I'm betting this is the new adventures of Rey and chewie in the millenium falcon.

My guess is TFA (and 8th aswell) is the transitional piece and from 9 on it's Star Wars the next generation with Rey, Finn, BB8 and Chewbacca.

you're guessing for a 4th trilogy?

Yeah, I forsee Chewies death in 8 too. Not happy about that and hope I am wrong. Doubt I am wrong.

I actual don't think they gonna bump off chewie. I'm betting this is the new adventures of Rey and chewie in the millenium falcon.

My guess is TFA (and 8th aswell) is the transitional piece and from 9 on it's Star Wars the next generation with Rey, Finn, BB8 and Chewbacca.

you're guessing for a 4th trilogy?

Disney's evil plan was for a movie each year (probably a bit to ambitious) but yeah I think they are going for more than nine movies.

I don't think Han is coming back. The guy is 73 years old, doesn't like Star Wars much, and I doubt he'll need the paycheck.

Episode VIII is scheduled for 2017, Episode IX is scheduled for 2019 and I don't think they already filmed everything

It would be a huge risk to keep Harrison Ford on board just to please old fans of the series. IMO the main reason we saw so much of him in Episode VII (and so little of the other 4 (Leia, Luke, C3PO & R2D2) was because they planned to kill his character off and make this movie a sort of last goodbye to the fans of his character Han Solo.

I half expected Chewie to die too (and the falcon in a blaze of glory), but am glad he didnt. That character is also much easier to replace with another actor if the need arises (sorry Peter). The character Chewie doesn't look that old. With an average lifespan of 400 years, Chewie would be around 230 now, so still many years ahead of him.

We love the old characters, but Disney wants to attract a young audience for years to come, hence the young newcomers. We've got 5 new main characters (Rey, Finn, Poe, BB8, Ren) and some new returning side characters (Hux, Phasma?) plus the old group. That's simply too many characters to keep track of in a 2,5 hours movie and give each of them some credit.

We barely saw Leia, Luke, C3PO & R2D2 and they were just in episode VII for linking the new trilogy to the old and attract the old crowd who want to see their former heroes once more on the big screen. I do expect to see much more of those 4 in episode VIII and I see most room for Luke & Leia. Unfortunately R2D2 has been made rather obsolete with the introduction of BB-8 (2 funny astromech droids is a crowd (remember Chopper vs the imperial astromech droid)), so I fear his (and C3PO's) role will be rather small. I think it's a bit of a shame because C3PO and R2D2 have been a very dominating pair in the other 6 movies.

So I expect more old-time characters to die in future movies just to make room for the new ones.

I agree that Han isn't coming basomehow even mentioning the real world issues with Harrison Ford, how could the character? Even if somehow a light saber through the heart and a fall into a bottomless pit somehow didn't kill him and he clung to life, how did he get off Starkiller Base before it blew up. If Chewie didn't get him(which he didn't) who did? Some random First Order guy? "Let me grab this old washed up Rebel Hero." Didn't happen. I barely believe that Ren and Phasma got off. No, Han Solo is gone. He might show up, in a flashback, force vision, etc. But as far as in the flesh, nope.

Maybe that pit led to the trash compactor. soft landing when he fell onto Phasma. He tells her it's time to leave and she carrys him with. Nah, he gone.

Ok, so I just saw TFA for the third time, and at this point, I'm pretty sure the person who dropped Rey of on Jakku was...Kylo Ren. He was cutting the crap out of that computer panel, but then was calming down until the officer mentioned there was a girl and he flipped out and choked the guy. He knew who she was. I think that for whatever reason he couldn't bring himself to kill her when he and the knights of Ren killed the rest of the Jedi(she was his sister/cousin, she was to powerful, he was struggling with the lightside,etc) and instead dropped her off with the junk dealer on Jakku, so she wouldn't spoil his plans. I think he used his considerable mind powers to "force persuade" her to "wait for her family" and that is why she is compelled back to Jakku so much.

Totally unrelated, but another theory I just came up with is that Rey is actually a relative of Palpatine(watch her lightsaber duel and ask yourself who she fights like) and from the fallen Empire, hence the British accent, like Hux.

Ok, so I just saw TFA for the third time, and at this point, I'm pretty sure the person who dropped Rey of on Jakku was...Kylo Ren. He was cutting the crap out of that computer panel, but then was calming down until the officer mentioned there was a girl and he flipped out and choked the guy. He knew who she was. I think that for whatever reason he couldn't bring himself to kill her when he and the knights of Ren killed the rest of the Jedi(she was his sister/cousin, she was to powerful, he was struggling with the lightside,etc) and instead dropped her off with the junk dealer on Jakku, so she wouldn't spoil his plans. I think he used his considerable mind powers to "force persuade" her to "wait for her family" and that is why she is compelled back to Jakku so much.

Totally unrelated, but another theory I just came up with is that Rey is actually a relative of Palpatine(watch her lightsaber duel and ask yourself who she fights like) and from the fallen Empire, hence the British accent, like Hux.

I like the Ren theory. It would explain a lot.

But I'm pretty sure she's Rey Skywalker.

I read that Kylo calls her "cousin" in Disney Infinities.

(oops continuity team)

Ok, so I just saw TFA for the third time, and at this point, I'm pretty sure the person who dropped Rey of on Jakku was...Kylo Ren. He was cutting the crap out of that computer panel, but then was calming down until the officer mentioned there was a girl and he flipped out and choked the guy. He knew who she was. I think that for whatever reason he couldn't bring himself to kill her when he and the knights of Ren killed the rest of the Jedi(she was his sister/cousin, she was to powerful, he was struggling with the lightside,etc) and instead dropped her off with the junk dealer on Jakku, so she wouldn't spoil his plans. I think he used his considerable mind powers to "force persuade" her to "wait for her family" and that is why she is compelled back to Jakku so much.

Totally unrelated, but another theory I just came up with is that Rey is actually a relative of Palpatine(watch her lightsaber duel and ask yourself who she fights like) and from the fallen Empire, hence the British accent, like Hux.

It's possible you're right, but I still don't think Kylo knew who she was. As you said, he flipped out before he even heard about her. He was angry enough that the map to Luke barely slipped through his fingers due to a traitorous stormtrooper. Learning that he also had an unknown enemy getting between him and Luke tipped him over the edge.

As for Rey being related to Palpatine, ick... I've heard that theory before, and I really don't like it. Fighting styles and accents are learned, not inherited. Maz practically comes out and calls Rey Luke's daughter, and I don't see how she could have a stronger connection to Anakin's and Luke's lightsaber than Kylo unless she was Luke's daughter. Again, it's possible you're right, but I don't like plot twists just for the sake of plot twists.

Ok, so I just saw TFA for the third time, and at this point, I'm pretty sure the person who dropped Rey of on Jakku was...Kylo Ren. He was cutting the crap out of that computer panel, but then was calming down until the officer mentioned there was a girl and he flipped out and choked the guy. He knew who she was. I think that for whatever reason he couldn't bring himself to kill her when he and the knights of Ren killed the rest of the Jedi(she was his sister/cousin, she was to powerful, he was struggling with the lightside,etc) and instead dropped her off with the junk dealer on Jakku, so she wouldn't spoil his plans. I think he used his considerable mind powers to "force persuade" her to "wait for her family" and that is why she is compelled back to Jakku so much.

Totally unrelated, but another theory I just came up with is that Rey is actually a relative of Palpatine(watch her lightsaber duel and ask yourself who she fights like) and from the fallen Empire, hence the British accent, like Hux.

I like the Ren theory. It would explain a lot.

But I'm pretty sure she's Rey Skywalker.

I read that Kylo calls her "cousin" in Disney Infinities.

(oops continuity team)

That would explain why he was so cautious about a girl on Jakku standing up to the FO, and why he wanted to kidnap her over retrieving the droid.

I've seen the infinity figures. any good? They really let it slip in game? lol

(He doesn't actually call her cousin, that was an error with some stuff)

Also Infinity is oddly fun.

Ok, so I just saw TFA for the third time, and at this point, I'm pretty sure the person who dropped Rey of on Jakku was...Kylo Ren. He was cutting the crap out of that computer panel, but then was calming down until the officer mentioned there was a girl and he flipped out and choked the guy. He knew who she was. I think that for whatever reason he couldn't bring himself to kill her when he and the knights of Ren killed the rest of the Jedi(she was his sister/cousin, she was to powerful, he was struggling with the lightside,etc) and instead dropped her off with the junk dealer on Jakku, so she wouldn't spoil his plans. I think he used his considerable mind powers to "force persuade" her to "wait for her family" and that is why she is compelled back to Jakku so much.

Totally unrelated, but another theory I just came up with is that Rey is actually a relative of Palpatine(watch her lightsaber duel and ask yourself who she fights like) and from the fallen Empire, hence the British accent, like Hux.

I like the Ren theory. It would explain a lot.

But I'm pretty sure she's Rey Skywalker.

I read that Kylo calls her "cousin" in Disney Infinities.

(oops continuity team)

I guess that would confirm she's Luke's kid

It's possible you're right, but I still don't think Kylo knew who she was. As you said, he flipped out before he even heard about her. He was angry enough that the map to Luke barely slipped through his fingers due to a traitorous stormtrooper. Learning that he also had an unknown enemy getting between him and Luke tipped him over the edge.

As for Rey being related to Palpatine, ick... I've heard that theory before, and I really don't like it. Fighting styles and accents are learned, not inherited. Maz practically comes out and calls Rey Luke's daughter, and I don't see how she could have a stronger connection to Anakin's and Luke's lightsaber than Kylo unless she was Luke's daughter. Again, it's possible you're right, but I don't like plot twists just for the sake of plot twists.

Ren was flipping out, but then he calmed down enough to say, "anything else?" And that's when the officer mentioned the girl. Then Ren flips out again and force grabs/chokes him and says "what girl?" I think he definitely knew her and was afraid it was his cousin.

I was mostly joking about Rey being related to Palpatine. I am almost sure she's Rey Skywalker. And I also hate plot twists for plot twists sake.

That would explain why he was so cautious about a girl on Jakku standing up to the FO, and why he wanted to kidnap her over retrieving the droid

Exactly!

Since i'vejust spread misinfo in here I better clean up.

I googled around and...

Ok, sounds false. Or at least a kind cover up, but can we not spoil things that were not in the movie. /head desk bang

No need to apologize again. I just hope others don't jump in.

• Leia did steal the show in every scene she was in. She didn't do much, but she was incredibly authentic.

Interesting, I thought she was the weakest.

She reminded me a bit of my grandmother who fled from WW2, which was very convincing to me. And odd. Can't even really explain why, but she just felt real.

I should preface this by saying I liked it,

GL's strongest talent is the world/universe creation and building he did create the sandbox that is the star wars universe , and for all his faults with the prequels i think the film missed that aspect . In his recent comments where he said he wasnt a fan of their approach for episode 7 he said they wanted to do a retro movie ( which explains the ANH similarity complaints) where he prefers to be always doing new ships world's etc and expanding the universe.

This is only the first movie while it may be more of a retro perhaps the next 2 will take things in a more different approach

To be fair, I think George Lucas's statements need to be taken with a grain of salt. He has always been bitter when people like something other than what he did. See stubborn refusal to release the original films in good quality.

This is only the first movie while it may be more of a retro perhaps the next 2 will take things in a more different approach

I think that's the key thing that most people are missing. Everyone is judging this movie as though it's all there is. It's fair to judge A New Hope that way because they didn't know if they would get to make another one after that, but Force Awakens is meant to kick off a new trilogy of movies. As such, it had two goals:

1) buyback the faith in Star Wars that many people lost during the prequels, and

2) get people invested in the new generation of characters.

They accomplished both. The striking thing about Force Awakens for me is not how similar it is to A New Hope but rather how significant its differences are in contrast to those similarities:

1) Instead of a dominant Empire squashing a tiny Rebellion we have a desperate contingent of First Order extremists lashing out at a government that betrayed them; that's far more terrifying.

2) Instead of a padawan/knight fighting back against a master we have two powerful apprentices fighting over the Skywalker legacy; that kind of rivalry is not something we've ever seen in Star Wars before, and I think it's fascinating.

3) Instead of the dark side fighting an overwhelming light side (prequels) or the light side fighting an overwhelming dark side (originals) we now have a light side and dark side that are equally matched with both struggling to gain the upperhand. Not only is that something new to the franchise, but it's a fulfillment of things that have been hinted at since the prequels that strengthens the overall narrative.

So going back to what you said, the world building will come in the other 2, actually 5, movies that are on their way (how quickly everyone forgets about the anthology movies). Force Awakens needed to take a break from world building to double down on the characters and narrative, and I think the numbers prove that Disney made the right choice.

Though, the first two Anthologies are pre-OT, so they won't be adding much to the post ROTJ universe. And based on what is rumored to be the other Anthology films, I don't think we will be getting many post ROTJ for a while.

I should preface this by saying I liked it,

GL's strongest talent is the world/universe creation and building he did create the sandbox that is the star wars universe , and for all his faults with the prequels i think the film missed that aspect . In his recent comments where he said he wasnt a fan of their approach for episode 7 he said they wanted to do a retro movie ( which explains the ANH similarity complaints) where he prefers to be always doing new ships world's etc and expanding the universe.

This is only the first movie while it may be more of a retro perhaps the next 2 will take things in a more different approach

The Nostalgia Critic had an interesting point concerning this: After how badly the prequels are seen today the new team first had to prove that they could make a Star Wars movie. They did this without taking big risks or an advancing story. this movie merely sets the scene. Sure the destruction of Starkiller base is significant, as is Hans destiny, but the really big stuff still has to be coming. Now that they established that they can make a Star Wars movie they will show us new things.