Yeah, Martial Arts Asian Dude seems like he could be a bit of a tired cliche, which is sad considering Star Wars has been doing better with this stuff recently. If there's any universe where an Asian actor could potentially play any random cool character it should be Star Wars, so I hope they get more opportunities soon rather than just comic-book cutouts. At least we've still got Commander Sato and the Admiral dude in TFA.

Aside from that, it does look pretty good and I like seeing all the familiar things with a slightly grittier tone. Seeing more classic Star Destroyers alone will be worth the price of admission, since the TFA wasn't as cool as I'd hoped, and the updated ATATs seem really well done. Just having them move and target a bit more quickly ups the threat level without having to change their design. The red glowy lights were maybe a tad Cylonesque though.

Not sure what to make of the characters, but they did so well with TFA that I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I'll definitely miss Kyle and Jan.

The subtitle though, "A Star Wars Story," is pretty lame.

By lore, the Imperial Guards had heavy blaster pistols on their belts in addition to their vibrostaff.

But then there's a lot of things that are in the lore that just get thrown out in the films - i.e. stormtrooper armour being roughly equivalent in protective power as wet paper maché, when actually it's supposed to save a lot of lives. Otherwise why bother??

Regarding the presidential bodyguards, yes they have pistols in their belts, but i'm pretty sure that most people who tried to fight them hand to hand wouldn't enjoy the experience either.

Don't see me any samurai swords here. Hmmmmm.

No Samurai swords, but I can GUARANTEE that they have extendable batons... I was at a Presidential Speech once & some idiot decided to rush the stage. They couldn't shoot into the crowd, so they flicked those batons out & commenced the beat down until he quit resisting.

Rey Katarn sounds splendid.

The force is strong in your family. Morgan had it, Kyle had it and you have this power too.

Then you'd have to explain who those people are as Rogue One is not tied directly to the Skywalker saga

If (not)Kyle Katarn and (not)Jan Ors hook up, its not a stretch to think that the 2 could be the parents of Rey. It would also explain why Rey was possibly trained so young as a Jedi. A former Imperial(double?) agent and a future Jedi Master would make for a fearsome child. Hell, what if (not)Kyle Katarn is the student of Luke who falls to the dark side and turns on Luke? Katarn did fall in the Jedi Knight series, after all.

Jup and the battle between Mara Jade and Kyle Katarn is my favorite boss battle of all time. No spoilers.

Rey Katarn sounds splendid.

The force is strong in your family. Morgan had it, Kyle had it and you have this power too.

Then you'd have to explain who those people are as Rogue One is not tied directly to the Skywalker saga

If (not)Kyle Katarn and (not)Jan Ors hook up, its not a stretch to think that the 2 could be the parents of Rey. It would also explain why Rey was possibly trained so young as a Jedi. A former Imperial(double?) agent and a future Jedi Master would make for a fearsome child. Hell, what if (not)Kyle Katarn is the student of Luke who falls to the dark side and turns on Luke? Katarn did fall in the Jedi Knight series, after all.

You can't expect though, that people follow all the movies, and if you make a reference to characters from another movie in the main trilogy...

Katarn fell, Luke fell, is there a jedi who doesn't fall? .

This is Disney building a second MCU based on Star Wars. We will see tons of cross references for sure, because that concept is money printing machine. They even adapt the concept of the "in between" movies to introduce characters better, which allows them not to waste time in their main series.

He could be trained in the ways of the echani, the same ways of the royal guards. Could ever be an ex royal guard.

Jarnor Cax.

That is Emperor Jarnor Cax for you, and he gets killed by Kir Kanos.(damnit your methode failed me) Kis Kanor.

Oooh, maybe Kyle will become Kyle Otarn. After taking a blaster shot to the knee he takes over logistical operations for the Rebellion and New Republic. During the course of his duties, Kyle O. befriends a young boy who keeps getting left on his own and getting into trouble....

Re: question of why modern soldiers train with melee weapons?

Ever see Starship Troopers?

Who needs a knife in a nuke fight? Sir?

http://m.imgur.com/gallery/o9ewG1Y

Yeah, Martial Arts Asian Dude seems like he could be a bit of a tired cliche, which is sad considering Star Wars has been doing better with this stuff recently. If there's any universe where an Asian actor could potentially play any random cool character it should be Star Wars, so I hope they get more opportunities soon rather than just comic-book cutouts. At least we've still got Commander Sato and the Admiral dude in TFA.

Aside from that, it does look pretty good and I like seeing all the familiar things with a slightly grittier tone. Seeing more classic Star Destroyers alone will be worth the price of admission, since the TFA wasn't as cool as I'd hoped, and the updated ATATs seem really well done. Just having them move and target a bit more quickly ups the threat level without having to change their design. The red glowy lights were maybe a tad Cylonesque though.

Not sure what to make of the characters, but they did so well with TFA that I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I'll definitely miss Kyle and Jan.

The subtitle though, "A Star Wars Story," is pretty lame.

Donnie Yen is one of the most popular chinese actors right now, and if you want to reach the Chinese market, what better way then casting Donnie Yen. Unfortunately, you dont cast Donnie Yen for his character acting, you cast Donnie Yen for some badass martial arts. However, Jedi are basically ripped from Samurai, so Donnie shouldn't be too out of place, look at Darth Maul aka Ray Park. But yeah, get Donnie Yen, but also get a couple Asian actors to just fly a rebel transport or something like that Y-Wing guy in RotJ, but a bit more screentime

Why would anyone train in martial arts at all today when we have guns?

Because it's a hobby, because it keeps you fit, because it's part of your culture, because you like it, because you want to compete in it...

People in Star Wars just get to ALSO use it in combat situations when they can.

Shooting weapons is also a martial discipline in its own right. If shooting were so easy everyone would be a sniper and there would be no terrorist bombs. You have to have proper sight alignment, trigger control steady grip. It is more than just pointing and pulling the trigger like any FPS game.

But Fox news assured me video gamers were murder simulators, they wouldn't lie surely.

Yeah, Martial Arts Asian Dude seems like he could be a bit of a tired cliche, which is sad considering Star Wars has been doing better with this stuff recently. If there's any universe where an Asian actor could potentially play any random cool character it should be Star Wars, so I hope they get more opportunities soon rather than just comic-book cutouts. At least we've still got Commander Sato and the Admiral dude in TFA.

Considering the fact that Jedi are essentially Samurai-Monk-Wizards, its not surprising at all that they've finally included an Asian martial-artist. And I know ****-well you didn't just call Donnie ******* Yen "Martial Arts Asian Dude".

I'm sorry, I was wrong to phrase it that way and didn't mean it referring to Donnie Yen, I just meant the character type! Like by putting him in that role and styling his costume, the staff, and all that in a certain way they can just drop him in without actually developing his character. Like I could see martial artist playing a kick-ass commando or something, which would also utilize a lot of the skills and also allow for more individual acting. I guess I'm just worried he's going to drop in, be serene, impart some wisdom, save the squad perhaps, and then go on his way rather than being a character who gets to develop over the course of the movie. *edit* Just saw that he's also in the publicity photo that looks like it's in the base, so hopefully my fears are unfounded.

It's a good point about the inspiration for Jedi, but it's at least a little more subtle there, at least initially in that no one thing looks quite like a direct adaptation of a particular artifact, excepting Vader's mask I guess.

I want to see more of Jiang Wen's character. He really interests me and has what looks to be a flame thrower?

Re: question of why modern soldiers train with melee weapons?

Ever see Starship Troopers?

Who needs a knife in a nuke fight? Sir?

http://m.imgur.com/gallery/o9ewG1Y

More like "Ever see Starship Troopers the anime?" Yes, there was one and it was pretty nice.

**** it, Disney! Taking all my money every December for the next five years now? Let's just hope that FFG puts out more SW movie stuff for their games. Will we see a new Imperial Assault base set? More pilots/ships for X-Wing?

Why would anyone train in martial arts at all today when we have guns?

Because it's a hobby, because it keeps you fit, because it's part of your culture, because you like it, because you want to compete in it...

People in Star Wars just get to ALSO use it in combat situations when they can.

Shooting weapons is also a martial discipline in its own right. If shooting were so easy everyone would be a sniper and there would be no terrorist bombs. You have to have proper sight alignment, trigger control steady grip. It is more than just pointing and pulling the trigger like any FPS game.

This.

Shooting ain't easy. Even in short distances it can be a challenge. Nobody can just be given a weapon and told, "You point it at them and shoot" because there's several functions to take into account.

Sure, reloading is a button push in a video game... But let's take a handgun for example.

Mag release, extract magazine, replace magazine, unlock slide (Given that it's already back- and it should be.). That's all part of reloading. Now, I can do a full reload in just about three seconds- and believe me when I say that's not exactly fast but somebody untrained is going to take a lot longer to reload.

Rifles are a little different. Though the principles remain about the same. Still different motions you have to practice.

And hell, once you're out of ammo? Dude, sorry but you're out of ammo. Nobody's got time to do a full mag load in a heavy situation. You run dry, you run dry. (Don't... like, throw your magazines around the field though.)

That's also why I like revolvers, by the way. You can load a couple rounds faster and easier than you can sans-mag with a semi auto. (Actually, you really can't in a semi-auto. Not realistically/easily that's for sure. I mean you could but seriously come on.)

But yeah.

Firearms are not idiot sticks. They're complicated machines that require finesse and care to use properly. Same goes for every weapon, honestly.

Plus: Melee weapons don't jam

Nope but you arm does get tired and blades do dull while clubs do crack.

Really, any soldier should be proficient with a rifle, sidearm, knife and hand to hand.

Those are all four very necessary skills, the latter two, you're never too sure when they'll come in handy but you'll be glad if you do need and get to use them, rather than just saying "huh well it's over lol".

Really, any soldier should be proficient with a rifle, sidearm, knife and hand to hand.

Those are all four very necessary skills, the latter two, you're never too sure when they'll come in handy but you'll be glad if you do need and get to use them, rather than just saying "huh well it's over lol".

Actually this thread reminds me of the scene in Aliens when the marines have to give over their ammo...

"What do you expect us to use, man? Harsh language?"

Edited: typo

Really, any soldier should be proficient with a rifle, sidearm, knife and hand to hand.

Those are all four very necessary skills, the latter two, you're never too sure when they'll come in handy but you'll be glad if you do need and get to use them, rather than just saying "huh well it's over lol".

THIS.

Actually this thread reminds me of the scene in Aliens when the marines have to give over their ammo...

"What do you expect us to use, man? Harsh language?"

Edited: typo

To be fair, little else they had would work anyway.

What color is that crashed T-65? What do we know about Poe's heritage?

In the Star Wars: Shattered Empire comic, he was conceived during the Ewok celebration (imagine getting it on with "Yub-Nub" playing in the background). His mother was a Rebel A-wing pilot who flew into the Death Star II, and his father was an infantry grunt who helped blow up the shield generator on Endor.

SPOILERS for that comic:

After the war they move (back?) to Yavin to raise their son Poe there.

What color is that crashed T-65? What do we know about Poe's heritage?

In the Star Wars: Shattered Empire comic, he was conceived during the Ewok celebration (imagine getting it on with "Yub-Nub" playing in the background). His mother was a Rebel A-wing pilot who flew into the Death Star II, and his father was an infantry grunt who helped blow up the shield generator on Endor.

SPOILERS for that comic:

After the war they move (back?) to Yavin to raise their son Poe there.

Poe was already born at the Battle of Endor. He is mentioned in the following issues, which is only a few days afterwards.

I know it's a teaser, but this was pretty disappointing for me. More characters they've made up out of nothing that I don't care about, centered around Rey 2.0. As someone who grew up reading the X-Wing novels and immersed in the Rogue Squadron games, I was foolishly hoping for Top Gun in Space with the legendary crew, Wedge, Wes, Hobbie, etc.

I mean at least the cinematography looks good, and we're likely to get some neat ships out of it. This minis game is the only Star Wars thing I care about anymore anyway. On the positive side, there's no way this can be as bad as TFA. Hopefully Donnie Yen kicks some ass in this.

They've been clear from the start that this wasn't a rogue squadron movie like that.

That's too bad. Banking off the popularity of Rogue Squadron by using Rogue like that is misleading.

Only if you believed they were making and marketing this movie to a very small and defined group of people who actually know about the 'Rogue Squadron' books/comics/games; as opposed to the wider-movie going public who will watch a Star Wars film but have no knowledge of the EU.

Wait, the white caped imperial officer: how are we talking about him being anyone other than Tarkin?

Because he's clearly not?

Tarkin had the good sense and restraint not to wear such a silly cape.

Really, any soldier should be proficient with a rifle, sidearm, knife and hand to hand.

Those are all four very necessary skills, the latter two, you're never too sure when they'll come in handy but you'll be glad if you do need and get to use them, rather than just saying "huh well it's over lol".

THIS.

Actually this thread reminds me of the scene in Aliens when the marines have to give over their ammo...

"What do you expect us to use, man? Harsh language?"

Edited: typo

To be fair, little else they had would work anyway.

Beg to differ... "Nuke the place from orbit... it's the only way to be sure."