technology (read: IMAX 3D).
Why It’s Interesting: On a story level, it seems Star Wars
7 will basically attempt to retell much of the same story
as the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope, only in
modern context. Behind the scenes, it seems Abrams is
doing much the same thing: taking a lot of old material
(like original costume, vehicle, and character designs
by iconic Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie),
and attempting to balance it with modern filmmaking
techniques (CGI). What’s going to be interesting is seeing if A) Abrams can achieve the sort of balance between classic and modern that he’s aiming for, and B)
If Abrams hits his mark, will audiences appreciate that
balance more than the CGI-rampant prequels. As for the
story: There are already some who feel the setup for
Force Awakens is too close to that of A New Hope. Will
Abrams’ nostalgia prove to be a detriment, if audiences
come away feeling like they’ve seen a New Hope remake?
THE OLD CAST IS BACK (FOR NOW)
One of the biggest things that Star Wars 7 has going
for it is the nostalgia factor. J.J. Abrams has definitely
used the magic and goodwill towards the original Star
Wars movies to slowly but surely rekindle the spark in
older fans, while luring new fans to the theater. And
fostering that nostalgia has meant bringing back those
who inspired it in the first place: the original Star Wars
cast. Episode VII won’t just bring back the big heroes
like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison
Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) – even the original actors who played side characters like Chewbacca
(Peter Mayhew), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2
(Kenny Baker) are coming back to the screen. Why It’s
Interesting: Seeing old friends come back to the screen
is always nice – but if an era of remakes and reboots has
taught us anything, it’s that in some ways you never truly
can go home again. It’ll be interesting to see how actors
like Hamill, Ford and Fisher – who have all aged gracefully and actively within the biz – do, stepping back into
their most iconic roles. It will also be interesting to see
how long they hang around; from health issues (Mayhew) to fading concern with the limelight (Hamill, Fisher), this could be one final “passing of the torch” moment
for the Original Trilogy players, before leaving Episode
VIII and Episode IX to some new heroes.
THE NEW HEROES ARE DIVERSE (BUT FAMILIAR)
The Force Awakens may feature the classic Luke-LeiaHan trio, but it will also introduce a new heroic trio into
the mix: Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and
Poe (Oscar Isaac). Finn starts out as a stormtrooper
who defects from The First Order and ends up wielding a lightsaber; Rey is a scrap scavenger on the desert
planet Jakku who falls in with Finn; and Poe is a hotshot
pilot in The Resistance. However, even though Finn,
Rey and Poe are new characters in the Star Wars saga,
there’s a definite tweaked and remixed similarity to original Star Wars heroic trio and their character arcs.Why
REPORT
It’s Interesting: Aside from once again raising the question of whether The Force Awakens is trying too hard to
emulate A New Hope, the casting of this primary trio is
not without note: Boyega is black, Ridley is female, and
Isaac is Guatemalan/Cuban; Girls actor Adam Driver
(white) plays the villain, Kylo Ren. The diversity of the
principle trio is noticeable enough to have sparked a
Twitter campaign, #BoycottStarWarsVII – for those who
feel the film is pushing an “anti-white agenda.” In terms
of the characters (not the people playing them): it’ll be
interesting to see if rumors of these new characters possibly sharing lineage with some of the OT characters
turn out to be true.… And of course, we’ll need to see if
these new leading actors actually hold their own headlining the beginning of new a Star Wars trilogy.
BIG TALENTS PLAY SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
This is nothing new for the Star Wars saga, but it’s good to
see that in modern times, the brand is still strong enough
to draw in a number of top-talent actors, even for supporting roles. The Force Awakens will feature the likes of
Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings) as evil Supreme Leader
Snoke; Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) as militant Captain Phasma; Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o (12
Years a Slave) as Force-sensitive Maz Kanata; Domhall
Gleeson (Ex-Machina) as the mysterious General Hux
– and even screen icons like Warwick Davis (Willow)
and Max von Sydow in as yet-unrevealed roles. Why
It’s Interesting: It’s good to see that the Star Wars name
still has enough pull to draw some of the biggest icons
and/or newest talent in the business – even for smaller
bit roles. However, what’s interesting is seeing the sort
of names being featured in the film – Serkis, Christie,
Gleeson in particular – and the looming question of how
big of a role each of them may play in this new Star
Wars trilogy. The Force Awakens may not feature them
in major arcs – but then again, we didn’t meet major OT
characters l Z