I'm actually excited, as my favorite EU is the old WEG stuff that merely fills out the universe rather then writes the story. So its got a chance to survive.

Thrawn is the thing I have the most mixed feelings about. I liked the villain and most of the story elements, but not the continuity changing events, and it set up so much of the later EU that its unlikely to survive. And Mara is the character I loved until I hated her. Would love to see her kept but in some more independent fashion that frees her from the heroes of Yavin. Having her run around in rebels a bit, but not present in the films would make me happy.

I like Thrawn though I honestly don't see how people can complain about Stackpole favoring or overpowering Corran Horn and not make the same complaint about Thrawn being favored or overpowered. Honestly I don't see what tying Thrawn to the Battle of Derra IV, which eventually led to the Empire discovering Hoth, plus the early missions of the Executor, and Baron Fel's first doubts about the Empire was supposed to accomplish besides make it look like the early GCW Imperial admirals other than Thrawn couldn't accomplish anything more complicated than going to the bathroom properly. If the reboot hadn't come I bet he would have somehow been tied to the battle at Deep Space Besh, the second battle of Ord Biniir, and the Battle of Milvayne in time

I liked Thrawn when he first appeared. IMO, the Empire of the Hand is where the tale of Old Red Eyes jumped the shark.

I had a discussion with some friends a couple nights ago about Thrawn.

The biggest problem with the character was that too many authors mistook Thrawn's tactical genius for him being infallible to the point of bordering on omniscient. Timothy Zahn did a very good job (I think) of showing that this was not the case, and that Thrawn, much like Sherlock Holmes, was intelligent enough to make tactical decisions based on the quality of information he had and his study of a species' mindset, but at no point was Thrawn every all-knowing, and he did make mistakes; not huge, glaring ones, but lesser errors that ultimately lead to bigger problems that he couldn't have foreseen and finally lead to his downfall. Heck, the fact that he didn't twig to the changes with the Noghri is proof enough of that (but at least he appreciated how artistically done it was at the end).

It's similar to the issues that writers had during the 90's with how to portray Luke Skywalker or Force users in general prior to the prequels. In some stories, Luke bordered on being a physical god, while in others his displays of Force prowess were much more low key and more in keeping with the notion of being psionics (prescience, telekinesis, telepathy, and the like) rather than full-blown magic.

Some authors "got it" and understood how to use Thrawn as a character, while others didn't and made him into a Mary Sue-level villain.

The TIE fighter wings ARE a little shorter, as the McQuarrie art, which is inspiring the visual look, had them shorter. Think of them as TIE version 1 (you must unlearn what EU you have learned).

They are supposed to look like early toy TIE fighters.

In the same way, these

are Imperial personnel carriers based on these toys:-

I suspect Filoni and co have very fond memories of their action figures.

The TIE fighter wings ARE a little shorter, as the McQuarrie art, which is inspiring the visual look, had them shorter. Think of them as TIE version 1 (you must unlearn what EU you have learned).

They are supposed to look like early toy TIE fighters.

In the same way, these

are Imperial personnel carriers based on these toys:-

I suspect Filoni and co have very fond memories of their action figures.

That is seriously cool. I can't wait to see what else this show has in store, though I have to admit that I'm now slightly disappointed that the Rebels screencap doesn't have Stormtroopers bobbing around awkwardly in the "pouches" on the sides

http://hqdesktop.net/wallpapers/l/1920x1080/29/star_wars_death_x_wing_ralph_mcquarrie_tie_fighter_1920x1080_28387.jpg

Here's a pic that predates the toy. While the references to the toys are great, Filoni has stated the visual aesthetic is based ob McQuarrie's work.

Anybody know what ship that is at the beginning, carrying TIE Fighters?

It's a modified Gozanti Cruiser:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gozanti_Cruiser

Interesting. The Rebels naval recruitment poster is intriguing too due to the presence of smaller Star Destroyers, or Star Destroyer shaped vessels which clearly are not Venators. i wonder if they are making Victories canon, if those are the Class II Frigates, or perhaps a completely new model.

Check out that McQuarrie lightsaber

Loved the trailer. The gozanti cruiser imperial refit looks so badass, and it seems that inquisitors are not just about hunting down force users but other dissidents, such as rebels, as well.

I really like the line:

Troopers focus your fire on.. on the Jedi?

The imperial seemed really surprised.

Found a pic from the Disney Store Hasbro Sneak Preview report and it clearly says "Rebels Obi-Wan Kenobi." Probably as close to an official confirmation as we can get. I wonder if they'll get the Clone Wars voice actor back to reprise the roll?

I wonder if they'll get the Clone Wars voice actor back to reprise the roll?

They probably will, but I kinda hope they don't. That guy's delivery was one of the very few things I didn't like about the Clone Wars.

Okay. Just watched the trailer. It is brief so I could be wrong... But did I just see that they gave a female Mandalorian character pink armour?

Okay. Just watched the trailer. It is brief so I could be wrong... But did I just see that they gave a female Mandalorian character pink armour?

She's an artist. Self-expression, etc etc.

Interesting. The Rebels naval recruitment poster is intriguing too due to the presence of smaller Star Destroyers, or Star Destroyer shaped vessels which clearly are not Venators. i wonder if they are making Victories canon, if those are the Class II Frigates, or perhaps a completely new model.

Those look like more imp classes, just farther away from the camera. Victories are based on concept art though, so its totally possible they'll make an appearance. They aren't non-canon yet anyway, and its unlikely any new canon will remove them, simply because there's no need to do so...

Interesting. The Rebels naval recruitment poster is intriguing too due to the presence of smaller Star Destroyers, or Star Destroyer shaped vessels which clearly are not Venators. i wonder if they are making Victories canon, if those are the Class II Frigates, or perhaps a completely new model.

Those look like more imp classes, just farther away from the camera. Victories are based on concept art though, so its totally possible they'll make an appearance. They aren't non-canon yet anyway, and its unlikely any new canon will remove them, simply because there's no need to do so...

Possibly but the smaller seeming destroyer on the right looks like its only slightly more distant than the big one and not nearly far enough to justify the size difference, and IMO the same is true of the one on the left. Though it is definitely more distant than the right it doesn't seem to be far enough away to justify the difference in size compared to the big one. We'll see though.

Okay. Just watched the trailer. It is brief so I could be wrong... But did I just see that they gave a female Mandalorian character pink armour?

She's an artist. Self-expression, etc etc.

Hmmmm. Well I shall wait to see an actual episode before judging. But the first reaction I have seeing it is that the creators went: "she's a girl, put pink on her armour!" Makes me want to ask if she's a pwincess, too.

We'll see.

Okay. Just watched the trailer. It is brief so I could be wrong... But did I just see that they gave a female Mandalorian character pink armour?

She's an artist. Self-expression, etc etc.

Hmmmm. Well I shall wait to see an actual episode before judging. But the first reaction I have seeing it is that the creators went: "she's a girl, put pink on her armour!" Makes me want to ask if she's a pwincess, too.

We'll see.

Not quite that bad, but close enough I agree.

On the bright side, as an artist (and from a technical animation standpoint) having her repaint her armor mid season is no big deal. So if it bothers enough people it can just change.

I'd be more offset, but the crazy physicist rancher I work with love bragging about her pink guns... all of them.

So pink is wrong because "girly" things can't be badass. Got it.

Why doesn't anyone mention her obsession with explosives?

Given this thread length it's pretty clear attention is focused on this show. Whatever reservations I personally may or may not have, it seems like until it has a season under its belt, it's a little early to judge it by trailers or concept art. Even if it stumbles at first it will have the financial backing to be able to find its feet. I doubt they want the show to be panned by fans and critics so whatever happens even if it did have issues I'm sure they will be responsive.

I liked the trailer well enough because...and this may seem shallow...they dirtied it up quite a bit. Lots of new textures to show grit, grime, and wear. Earlier views were too "clean", and I was worried they were moving away from Lucas' "lived-in" universe.

As for the pink, looks just fine to me. In Victorian times pink was considered a "strong" and masculine colour, and little girls wore blue. People need to get over their narrow cultural predispositions and not try to read too much into the aesthetic. All the costumes and tats and face paint by all the characters in the movies and TCW should indicate that pretty much anything goes.