Star Wars: Episode 7 - Teaser Thoughts

Do you approve of the new lightsaber?

  • Yeah, it looks super cool!

    Votes: 8 24.2%
  • I hate it

    Votes: 4 12.1%
  • I'm not sure yet, depends how they rationalize it

    Votes: 17 51.5%
  • Don't care

    Votes: 4 12.1%

  • Total voters
    33

MistaAnderson

Terrarian
You can change your Poll Vote after voting. This makes it easier incase you change your mind after reading this post.

I just saw the new trailer for Star Wars: Episode 7.

For the most part, I have been sceptical to the idea of Disney getting their hands on Star Wars. I just never trusted their "free" mindset to respect the series for its lore and expertise regardless of popularity.

For those of you who haven't seen it, here it is:

Here's how I reacted to the trailer:

Initially, I was not surprised by the Storm Trooper guy. I didn't realize that all storm troopers were clones of Jango Fett, but it seems to be a trend in the series to steal storm trooper costumes, and there are a few videos that suggest that the new storm troopers would not be clones of Fett.

The rolling robot felt to taste, I really like it and have honestly wanted something like this for quiet a while. R2D2 was just too slow and impractical for mobility. I love this robot, and would like to see how it works.

The part with the storm troopers was no surprise, didn't fill me with any excitement, it just indicates more typical storm trooper mash, which I am not a fan of. I'd like every enemy to be powerful and respected, I like duels and have seen far too many dummy storm troopers to take them seriously. They're non-characteristical and all look the same, not to mention the fact that in every Star Wars movie, I feel like a hundred guns pointed at you in the middle of a war doesn't matter if they're wearing a white suit.

I'm also a fan of the Podracing, and having played Star Wars: Racer on PC in the past, I was a little bit hopeful at the sight of the woman on the pod-like vehicle. It didn't amaze me to any extent, but its sound effect got to me. I like Star Wars' slightly "over the top" unique and characteristic sounds, despite them often being unrealistic. The sound of this vehicle got my hopes up that they'd not try to modernize Star Wars too much with the sound effects.

Of course, I unconditionally loved the X-wing scene over the water, there's nothing cooler in a movie than that.

Seeing the Millennium Falcon felt slightly exciting, but there is one scene I'd like to address last.

The lightsaber

First off, you can tell that the individual was most likely evil, not just because of the voiceover, but also due to their style and lightsaber color.
But the lightsaber design itself.. made me cringe.

I'm always interested in more lightsaber variants, and there are already a ton of different lightsabers in Star Wars, more than presented in the movies.
But this design struck me as particularly inconvenient.


My two first thoughts were, how on earth is that hilt gonna help you? Obviously, since there is a significant chunk of metal sticking out of it before the laser actually starts, your enemy would probably just slice right through that hilt, destroying the laser emitter. Unless, of course, the lightsaber metal is "saber-proof", which, at the time, I wasn't sure any lightsabers were.

And the other thought was, even if that hilt were to be practical, swinging that lightsaber around would be tedious as hell, a lot of maneuvers and flexibility would be tossed out the window, because you would cut yourself on that hilt. You would basically require an expert wielder, and even then their movements would be significantly limited - so much, that opponents with greater flexibility would gain an advantage, which is completely against your interest.

So why the new hilt? Is this really just because Disney wants to prove their worth and innovate? Probably. I have no faith in Disney, but who knows, maybe they know what they're doing. Or maybe they have some quazi-explanation that you can almost accept if you're not a geek and see plot holes with it.

I also thought, maybe you could just place the hilt below the actual beam. That way, you'd get the benefit of a beam that isn't longer than the hilt, so the chances of cutting yourself are small, as the hilt would hit you first - and the hilt would not be dangerous to touch from your side. It would also not get chopped to bits, so no breaking.
Alternatively, the hilt could encase the beam for even more protection. Which is what Colbert seems to suggest further below.

Regardless, a V-shaped hilt seemed much more efficient, but it should have a metal guard that was 90 degrees and not V-shaped, to properly stop your hand before the V-shaped part of the blade. This would be a heck of a great blade, without providing much danger to oneself.

The title at the end was in classic Star Wars fashion, which is good, it indicates that at least they're not trying to destroy the Star Wars feel.


However, I did some research on the lightsaber. I'm gonna link you to the sources, and then spell out my so-far opinion on the subject.
After that, I'd like your opinions on the subject.


By the way, apparently there was a competition related to UNICEF that lets a fan be in the movie.
Info here at the end of the video:
The contest has already been completed, apparently.

Not knowing too much about Star Wars lore myself is kind of a shame, given how I have every Star Wars game on Steam, I love the series, seen all the movies and so on.
I suppose this is because I saw them so far back, when they were still relevant, that I've forgotten most of it.

Jango Fett not being the model for clones anymore seems logical, given how according to Kim Horcher, he is infact very old.
If you were to clone directly from DNA, that should be no problem, but I'm not sure how cloning works in Star Wars, so at the very best, I must say I'm unsure as to what's the logic here.
There are many possible explanations to the black guy being in a storm trooper suit, but he doesn't look like a villain, so there's that.

When it comes to the lightsaber, that is probably the most important part of the video.

Different lightsabers have different specialities. As you can see from the video showing them off, there are plenty of variants, and there are also ones not shown there, like the ones that have a V-shape hilt, except only on one side. That video addressed only the most prominent lightsabers, and I think there are other characters in the comics that use hilted lightsabers.

More to the point, if the hilt was actually fireable as a projectile, that would make all kinds of sense and make the weapon extremely useful. Alas, I doubt this is the case.

If Colbert is right, the design works in terms of encasing the actual beam, and the beam is not emitted from the actual quillons. But there is no way to say if this is true.
I sincerely hope it is.

Since they went with the T-shaped variant and not V-shaped variant, I'm thinking this blade would be better for cutting an opponent's hand as shown in the crossguard demonstration video with real swords. It is hella potent for offensive maneuvers, better than the V-shaped variant in some ways, but less defensive in others. One being that a V-shape would more efficiently trap an enemy sword and prevent it from moving sideways and around to you.

I sincerely hope that maneuver is the intention of this guard. But I also hope it has more of a use than that. If that is not the case, and the weapon does not withstand guard cutoff, either via the Colbert-way or an uncuttable metal, I'm gonna be very disappointed. The most likely explanation I think is that the metal is simply lightsaber-resistant. According to the source videos, some are, however not all.

Had this not been Disney, I might have had more faith. But Disney's not too dumb ever, so I'm curious as to where this will go.

Share your thoughts!
 
I'm a fan and I'm glad to have more Star Wars stuff on TV/the big screen so I'm quite looking forward to it. I am slightly sceptical of the disney influence too, there's obviously a good chance these new movies could turn out crap, but I'm willing to wait and reserve judgment until I've seen the end results, as it could turn out great as well. I've been watching and enjoying the new Star Wars Rebels animated tv series they've made, so that gives me a bit of hope at least. Plus I'm one of the people that believes that Star Wars being out of George Lucas' hands is a really good thing.

The trailer looks pretty cool, doesn't give too much away but it's great seeing things like X-wings and the Falcon, gives you a bit of that nostalgia and excitement.
On the black stormtrooper thing, I don't really get the what all the fuss is about. Like @Dragon said, there are many ways to explain why some don't look like Jango. The Empire could easily recruit people from loads of different planets to sign up instead of just using clones, or it could be a guy who took out a stormtrooper and stole his suit much like Luke and Han have done previously.
I'm quite excited to find out more about the new sith character the trailer teased as generally the sith have always been my favourite characters... BUT... the lightsaber does look kind of silly and gimmicky to be honest, as if they're trying to come up with "cool" styles or designs just for the sake of it and to be different. Can't go wrong with the classic single blade, basic hilt lightsabers of old IMO!

So yeah, overall I'm intrigued and quite excited for it and hope it meets/passes expectations, however I am also fully prepared to be disappointed.
 
Everyone is forgetting the difference between the CLONE Trooper and the STORMtrooper. The clone troopers are the ones that were made in the likeness of Jango Fett, not the stormtroopers. The stormtroopers were simply soldiers of the Galactic Empire. So personally, the guy at the very beginning, to me, is probably a stormtrooper. But of course he very well could be someone that just stole a suit.

Also I'm not going to be someone that picks from a teaser trailer piece by piece, because that's only what it is, a teaser. As fun as it can be to speculate, I'm just going to wait until the full trailer comes out to really think about what to expect. For now, I just think the teaser is really cool. I actually like the lightsaber design, the part with the Millennium Falcon gives me goosebumps, and I can't wait to see what else is in store. I think J.J. Abrams will do a great job.
 
Everyone is forgetting the difference between the CLONE Trooper and the STORMtrooper. The clone troopers are the ones that were made in the likeness of Jango Fett, not the stormtroopers. The stormtroopers were simply soldiers of the Galactic Empire. So personally, the guy at the very beginning, to me, is probably a stormtrooper. But of course he very well could be someone that just stole a suit.

The clone troopers went on to become stormtroopers after order 66 was carried out. Same guys, just given a new name.
 
Well, it's Abrams and the guy who did the script work for empire strikes back and return of the jedi who are working on this. It's not like it's just Abrams alone.
 
I have watched and enjoyed Star wars, empire strikes back, and return of the jedi. Didn't see the phantom menace. Spaced out through most of attack of the clones. I'm sure you can notice a pattern here. What do I think about this trailer? "Oh great they are making another one. Maybe if I don't pay attention to it, it will go away. "

I begin to lose interest in a show the longer it goes on (in this case gets dragged on because it makes money), and sudden harsh changes do not help. I don't react well to "Lets make some changes to *update* this movie!" or random stuffed in bull:red:. Which leads me right into WHY DOES THAT LIGHT SABER HAVE A CROSS GUARD. The period means it's rhetorical.
 
Episodes 1-3 were just f*cking awful. Honestly, while I'm not too sure I approve of another movie in general, I do at least hope that it leaves the franchise on a good note, unlike the prequels. Besides, it could certainly be worse....

 
Oh...it's awful..it's awful! The blaster effects literally sound like they were taken from the original star wars movies and repeated over, and over and over. The narrator sounds like a 14 year old with a mic and some basic audio tools, and overall things don't look good. I hate disney.
 
I still don't get why people hate George Lucas. I saw the movies back in the day when they were still relevant, thought they were fine.

I'm rewatching SW now tho, starting with the oldest first. First half of Episode 4 watched so far, gotta say.. I'm not too happy with the script, nor the acting performances, but then again I'm cutting this old movie some slack, so.. who knows. I'll make a better verdict when done with the series.
 
I still don't get why people hate George Lucas. I saw the movies back in the day when they were still relevant, thought they were fine.

I'm rewatching SW now tho, starting with the oldest first. First half of Episode 4 watched so far, gotta say.. I'm not too happy with the script, nor the acting performances, but then again I'm cutting this old movie some slack, so.. who knows. I'll make a better verdict when done with the series.

The reason people hate George Lucas is because he took an amazing series, his own, no less, and butchered it with eps 1-3. Worse, still, he continues to make money off the merchandise for those films. If you re-watch eps 1-3, or better yet, watch the Mr. Plinkett reviews of said movies, you'll understand.
 
Episode six never needed a sequal! This will be a disaster for sure.

Why would it be a disaster? Star Wars has one of the biggest fan followings (or whatever you wanna call it) of any movie franchise. Even a tiny teaser trailer gained 50+ million views in a matter of a week or two. I'm pretty sure this movie will gross a TON of money at the end of this year because people just like sequels, regardless if it's really necessary or not.

Take the crap Transformers movies for instance...Extinction grossed over 1 billion despite it being an awful movie, and that's because it's a sequel. Star Wars will be no exception, except unlike Transformers it's going to be an awesome movie.
 
Disney will most likely ruin it if you ask me. They've been going in a beeline for the money ever since they started buying out popular franchises.
 
In my opinion, Stars Wars didn't need a sequel... the ending of Star Wars Six was good enough, and there was nothing hinting at the fact there would be 'future evils', and a sequel coming out after so long just feels out of place. The evil person in the trailer will probably turn out to be some Sith badass, especially seeing Lightsaber duels are becoming more and more... better, as the series progresses.

The damn T-shaped Lightsaber just ruins everything. Based upon how swords go, you'd be THINKING the weapon would at least give it some strategical advantage, which is might, but from the way I see it, the only way you're getting anything out of that is by... maybe, MAYBE getting close enough to your opponent to sorta just 'sideways slash' them. Not only would that be a complete waste of your time, because if you have the opportunity to do THAT, you just might as well go for your basic Lightsaber slash with the longer blade, but they would probably lose their arm in the process, and maybe their head (because whoever they're duelling will totally sit there and let them awkwardly slash them with their little cross handle).

It could be used as defensive purposes, but really, this weapon would do way more hurt then it would help. Chances are, we're just going to be met with a scene at the end of the movie whereas this new villain person 'accidentally' hurts itself with its own weapon, and ends up killing itself, in a 'comedic Disney ending lolololol'.
 
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The new lightsaber seems cool but yes, uneasy looking. I would love to see a new feature of the lightsaber that ties in with the new 'handle sabers'. I think that maybe the user could move those parts separately, and 'throw' them using the force, it's like a knife but futuristic. This is just an idea but it would be pretty cool to see it in the movie!
 
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