Abrams says:

Rey’s parents are not in Episode VII. So I cannot possibly in this moment tell you who they are. This is all I will say. It is something Rey thinks about too.

http://makingstarwars.net/2016/04/reys-parents-arent-even-in-star-wars-the-force-awakens/

He later clarified and said that Rey didn't discover her parents in Episode VII, which we already knew.

Plus this is the guy who insisted Benedict Cucumber totes wasn't playin Khan in nST2, no really guys I swear!!!

He's also the guy who said the story process on Into Darkness was not a good thing for him and that the hiding the ID of Kahn was a mistake.

“The truth is I think it probably would have been smarter just to say upfront ‘This is who it is.’ It was only trying to preserve the fun of it, and it might have given more time to acclimate and accept that’s what the thing was.”

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-trek-into-darkness-problems/

Somehow I doubt Disney would be interested in replicating decisions their director says didn't work and led to a Star Trek sequel making less money. Color me the skeptic.

Abrams says:

Rey’s parents are not in Episode VII. So I cannot possibly in this moment tell you who they are. This is all I will say. It is something Rey thinks about too.

http://makingstarwars.net/2016/04/reys-parents-arent-even-in-star-wars-the-force-awakens/

He later clarified and said that Rey didn't discover her parents in Episode VII, which we already knew.

Plus this is the guy who insisted Benedict Cucumber totes wasn't playin Khan in nST2, no really guys I swear!!!

He's also the guy who said the story process on Into Darkness was not a good thing for him and that the hiding the ID of Kahn was a mistake.

“The truth is I think it probably would have been smarter just to say upfront ‘This is who it is.’ It was only trying to preserve the fun of it, and it might have given more time to acclimate and accept that’s what the thing was.”

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-trek-into-darkness-problems/

Somehow I doubt Disney would be interested in replicating decisions their director says didn't work and led to a Star Trek sequel making less money. Color me the skeptic.

The problems of STITO weren't really centered on the "secret" of who Cumberbach was playing. The entire movie was a hot mess.

The problems of STITO weren't really centered on the "secret" of who Cumberbach was playing. The entire movie was a hot mess.

And nobody with 2/10th of a brain in their head was fooled by the "I'm not Khan. No really!" thing anyway.

Abrams says:

Rey’s parents are not in Episode VII. So I cannot possibly in this moment tell you who they are. This is all I will say. It is something Rey thinks about too.

http://makingstarwars.net/2016/04/reys-parents-arent-even-in-star-wars-the-force-awakens/

Luke's sister "wasn't in" Ep IV, either.

And since Abrams is trying to be just like Lucas with these movies... (insert troll face here)

Just to clarify MaxKilljoy's statement...

I could care less about who's who's Daddy at the minute, the A-wing picture is over there.

I could care less about who's who's Daddy at the minute, the A-wing picture is over there.

The A+ wing if you will.

Maybe a Bneutral Bomber will bring balance to this equation.

Maybe a Bneutral Bomber will bring balance to this equation.

Uh, isn't this the Spoilerrific Super Duper Rogue One Megathread? Why are we talking about Rey and fighters in Episode VIII?

Make a separate Spoilerrific Super Duper Megathread for that stuff, and let's talk more about the apparent gun-cane that the maybe-Grand Admiral is rocking.

Uh, isn't this the Spoilerrific Super Duper Rogue One Megathread? Why are we talking about Rey and fighters in Episode VIII?

Make a separate Spoilerrific Super Duper Megathread for that stuff, and let's talk more about the apparent gun-cane that the maybe-Grand Admiral is rocking.

Did we get on the topic of Rey because the inane speculations about her parentage came up here too?

So, new starfighters in the movie:

The TIE Striker

The U-Wing

U-Wing, not Ewing

(subtitle: That Magnificent Bastard J.R. Ewing from Dallas)

So... interesting... movie takes place before the original trilogy, deeply involved in the events of ANH, but... "new" vehicles.

Hmmm.

Is it just me; or does the Rebel fighter remind anyone else if the starfighters from the 80's Buck Rogers series? (Can't get image inserts to work from my phone, or I'd include one.)

Egads! You're right - I was trying to figure out where I had seen that design before. . . .

Not an exact match, but close enough to trigger a synapse deep in my 10 year old brain.

Exactly. Just enough to say, "Hey...that looks familiar." Coincidentally enough, I was recently considering "borrowing" the design for a campaign, myself.

That U-wing Transport DOES look familiar..

Also, like Buck's Thunder Fighter.

I dub thee the U-Wing...

Also its obvious Rei is the secret love child of R2D2 and Jar-Jar Binks...

I wonder what role the TIE Striker is meant to fill? With its wing configuration, it looks like it would work better in an atmosphere than regular TIEs, but that's never been floated as a serious concern in the movies before.

So... interesting... movie takes place before the original trilogy, deeply involved in the events of ANH, but... "new" vehicles.

Hmmm.

And why not? Practically every episode of TCW had a new vehicle.

So... interesting... movie takes place before the original trilogy, deeply involved in the events of ANH, but... "new" vehicles.

Hmmm.

And why not? Practically every episode of TCW had a new vehicle.

Despite the dissonance in the technology, that bugged me less, because of the time gap and distant locations and whatnot.

This movie could literally take place the week before the start of ANH, and is very much tied into the events of that movie.

I admit that it's a subjective thing.

Despite the dissonance in the technology, that bugged me less, because of the time gap and distant locations and whatnot.

This movie could literally take place the week before the start of ANH, and is very much tied into the events of that movie.

I admit that it's a subjective thing.

To be honest, though, the scope of A New Hope is REALLY tiny. All the technology on the Imperial end is tied to one very specific location; the Death Star. The Devastator was sent from the Death Star's escort group, the TIE's that chase the heroes during their escape to Yavin came from the Death Star, and the TIEs that defend the Death Star came from ... the Death Star. One could reasonably assume that the Imperial craft we saw (especially the TIE/LN) was the starfighter we saw because it was the "best" model of anti-ship fighter of the fleet. The new TIE striker may serve as a scout/fast attack fighter or atmospheric assault fighter that had no purpose in the confines of A New Hope because of the limited engagements of that movie (basically anti-starfighter engagements exclusively).

With the U-Wings, it could be that there weren't many of them left; after all the X-wing was the standard craft for a reason; it was newish and fairly robust a fighter.

It's a huge, huge galaxy out there. I see no problems with some hitherto-unseen technology showing up in new material. The only way it would really break immersion for me is if the new vehicles/ships/whatever were so awesome that you'd have to ask yourself "why isn't everyone using this all the time?". But I hardly think that's the case with a new model of TIE - it's not as though there's a shortage of variants already.

I like the design of the enforcer droid: It looks like it shares some design elements with the EV9D9 series.