Star Wars

[Forresto]

I was just watching a really fascinating documentary about the US atomic Bomb program focusing on post Hiroshima and Nagasaki era nuclear weapons during the 50's. No one including the military fully knew what to do regarding these weapons and how they worked. It was a scary unknown. Especially fascinating was the internal war that sparked up between the US Army and Navy over what effect atomic weapons would have on shaping the future of the Military. At the time the air force was a part of the army so there was lots of talk on whether the Navy would become obsolete since army planes possessed the ability to level cities? I re-watched ANH and that is literally the argument going on during the conference room scene between the imperial fleet admiral and the commander of the Death Star.

It made me think that seeing the Imperial side of this story would be awesome and perhaps a more interesting part of the movie. First of all they don't seem to have tested the superlaser yet so really the Imperials don't know what the Death Star is actually capable of. Theoretically they do of course but only certain people would know that. It would cause division and internal fighting between branches of the Imperial military in terms of what it's purpose is, how will it effect what parts of the military get how much support and supplies (basically spending), and who controls it. In fact this could actually explain a major ongoing joke and plot device in Star Wars.

What if during the construction of the Death Star this division and competition between the various branches of the Imperial military to get leverage over the other, along with the general obtuseness of military bureaucracy, allowed for the glaring structural and defensive weakness that is the thermal exhaust port? A station as big as the Death Star would require a massive work force to build, even with slave labor they would still need to pull from the various Imperial forces to ensure quality control. If there was a divide as i've mentioned, and they showed something like this in Rogue One, it could perhaps explain why the Death Star had the weakness it did.

Edited April 8, 2016 by Forresto

[Oky]

I'm of the fanbase that hopes Rey and Jyn aren't related to anyone we know of currently. The whole Star Wars universe doesn't have to be one big extended family that does all the stuff. There should be other heroes that operate in different roles in the rebellion.

Agreed. Not everyone of importance in the galaxy needs to be related and it would defeat the purpose of making a movie separate from the main saga if they try to connect it like that. This is their chance to do something new and different and having the plot revolve around the Death Star is really the only connection this film should have to the main saga.

She reminds me a lot of Kyle Katarn, fittingly. Especially since it appears she might have been Imperial at some point?..

I think that might just be a disguise to infiltrate the Empire, but who know.

I was just watching a really fascinating documentary about the US atomic Bomb program focusing on post Hiroshima and Nagasaki era nuclear weapons during the 50's. No one including the military fully knew what to do regarding these weapons and how they worked. It was a scary unknown. Especially fascinating was the internal war that sparked up between the US Army and Navy over what effect atomic weapons would have on shaping the future of the Military. At the time the air force was a part of the army so there was lots of talk on whether the Navy would become obsolete since army planes possessed the ability to level cities? I re-watched ANH and that is literally the argument going on during the conference room scene between the imperial fleet admiral and the commander of the Death Star.

It made me think that seeing the Imperial side of this story would be awesome and perhaps a more interesting part of the movie. First of all they don't seem to have tested the superlaser yet so really the Imperials don't know what the Death Star is actually capable of. Theoretically they do of course but only certain people would know that. It would cause division and internal fighting between branches of the Imperial military in terms of what it's purpose is, how will it effect what parts of the military get how much support and supplies (basically spending), and who controls it. In fact this could actually explain a major ongoing joke and plot device in Star Wars.

What if during the construction of the Death Star this division and competition between the various branches of the Imperial Branches to get leverage over the other, along with the general obtuseness of military bureaucracy, allowed for the glaring structural and defensive weakness that is the thermal exhaust port? A station as big as the Death Star would require a massive work force to build, even with slave labor they would still need to pull from the various Imperial forces to ensure quality control. If there was a divide as i've mentioned, and they showed something like this in Rogue One, it could perhaps explain why the Death Star had the weakness it did.

Interesting theory. There was actually an episode of Star Wars Rebels recently (The Honorable Ones) that gave an idea of how much in the dark most Imperials were kept about the construction of the Death Star and the proceedings surrounding it. The Empire wiped out the entire population of Geonosis in order to keep the Death Star a secret, and even though the Imperial Agent in that episode knew about this genocide, he had no idea why it was executed or what was being built there and was too afraid to ask questions.

While I wouldn't expect too much insight into the bureaucracies of the Empire in this film, it would be interesting to at least get a glimpse of it.

[ChiefPie]

MTV interviewed Daisy Ridley and she says that she already knows who Rey's parents are. She also mentions the Jyn-Rey rumor and I think she practically said they weren't related.

[Jbricks]

MTV interviewed Daisy Ridley and she says that she already knows who Rey's parents are. She also mentions the Jyn-Rey rumor and I think she practically said they weren't related.

Best that they aren't. The whole, "I'm related to you!" reveal doesn't have all that much impact anymore, IMO (in fact in a Star Wars movie it would seem like a gag), and without that there's not a point in connecting character across movies. I can't think of any /good/ reason for Jyn to be Rey's mother.

[Jedi-Bendu]

Last week I interviewed Creature Effects Supervisor Neal Scanlan! I have just put it online @StarWarsAwakens.nl; the Dutch Star Wars community: https://www.starwarsawakens.nl/interviews/exclusief-interview-neal-scanlan-creature-effects-supervisor-the-force-awakens/

[Forresto]

Love it, my favorite part of Star Wars is the aliens and creatures so the fact that you got this interview makes me very happy I like the story about the sandflies and the honey. I guess my one criticism of Force Awakens used to be that there wasn't enough of the original aliens but after reading this i'm okay with them not doing them for TFA. If I was him I think I would want to be free to create new creatures and not be trapped in the past too much. I do hope they include more of the original aliens in the rest of the trilogy though, even if mixed with new ones.

Great interview Bendu!

[Jedi-Bendu]

Thanks for the compliment Forresto!

[Junior Shark]

Another awesome interview! The sheer number of physical aliens and droids (and the diversity among them) made for TFA is awe-inspiring.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Junior Shark

[CMP]

I've actually been re-watching Force Awakens since it came out from blu-ray and I actually managed to spot an old alien type in Maz's cantina. In the fly-by shot there is a split second on the side of the screen where you can see an Ithorian.

[Umbra-Manis]

I've actually been re-watching Force Awakens since it came out from blu-ray and I actually managed to spot an old alien type in Maz's cantina. In the fly-by shot there is a split second on the side of the screen where you can see an Ithorian.

According to the visual dictionary, they couldn't even leave that guy as an Ithorian. He's a closely related off-shoot species.

[xboxtravis7992]

I was just watching a really fascinating documentary about the US atomic Bomb program focusing on post Hiroshima and Nagasaki era nuclear weapons during the 50's. No one including the military fully knew what to do regarding these weapons and how they worked. It was a scary unknown. Especially fascinating was the internal war that sparked up between the US Army and Navy over what effect atomic weapons would have on shaping the future of the Military. At the time the air force was a part of the army so there was lots of talk on whether the Navy would become obsolete since army planes possessed the ability to level cities? I re-watched ANH and that is literally the argument going on during the conference room scene between the imperial fleet admiral and the commander of the Death Star.

It made me think that seeing the Imperial side of this story would be awesome and perhaps a more interesting part of the movie. First of all they don't seem to have tested the superlaser yet so really the Imperials don't know what the Death Star is actually capable of. Theoretically they do of course but only certain people would know that. It would cause division and internal fighting between branches of the Imperial military in terms of what it's purpose is, how will it effect what parts of the military get how much support and supplies (basically spending), and who controls it. In fact this could actually explain a major ongoing joke and plot device in Star Wars.

What if during the construction of the Death Star this division and competition between the various branches of the Imperial military to get leverage over the other, along with the general obtuseness of military bureaucracy, allowed for the glaring structural and defensive weakness that is the thermal exhaust port? A station as big as the Death Star would require a massive work force to build, even with slave labor they would still need to pull from the various Imperial forces to ensure quality control. If there was a divide as i've mentioned, and they showed something like this in Rogue One, it could perhaps explain why the Death Star had the weakness it did.

Why haven't I responded to this yet; its a really good theory. I imagine most info on secret projects climbed up to the highest ranks, but at lower levels I doubt people would have known. Whats to say that new stormtroopers and navy troops on the Death Star knew that they were on a planet destroying base until it was actually used? Its not like the security guards had to know... And unlike Starkiller base there was no "outside" where troops could watch the explosion. They were probably confined a mile deep into the structure guarding prisons and what not; not know what was happening when the base fired its laser except that "its shaking in here!"

The now non-canon novel Death Star also hinted at a small civilian population stationed on the base, operating shops, cafeterias, cantinas, and what not. So I highly doubt they would have known what was up on the Death Star until they got news of it blowing up planets. The Imperial mentality is probably definitely a "need to know" basis type thing.

[Artanis I]

But when a storm trooper who worked in sanitation knows that those red comets were actually republic planets being destroyed by a big laser planet, and detailed inside info on how to sabotage the base the "need to know" theory loses a bit of weight

[Junior Shark]

But when a storm trooper who worked in sanitation knows that those red comets were actually republic planets being destroyed by a big laser planet, and detailed inside info on how to sabotage the base the "need to know" theory loses a bit of weight

They're talking about the Death Star, not Starkiller Base.

[xboxtravis7992]

Maybe the First Order has more hubris? When the Empire fired the Death Star in AnH, it's not like they had the entire base staff lined up to watch it while Tarkin was giving a speech. The First Order on the other hand...

[Junior Shark]

Maybe a lack of hubris? The Empire is self-assured, confident. The First Order needs to show off its junk and parade around. It's the Star Wars equivalent of North Korea (except the FO is actually dangerous ).

Could someone please make a Kylo Ren/Kim-Jong Un meme? They are both trying to live up to their grandfathers, they are both too big for their britches.....

[xboxtravis7992]

Maybe a lack of hubris? The Empire is self-assured, confident. The First Order needs to show off its junk and parade around. It's the Star Wars equivalent of North Korea (except the FO is actually dangerous ).

Could someone please make a Kylo Ren/Kim-Jong Un meme? They are both trying to live up to their grandfathers, they are both too big for their britches.....

Hmm, I like the North Korea analogy.

But I wonder why blowing up the Hosnian Prime system was seen as "destroying the New Republic." I mean if the Republic is even half the size of the Republic in the Prequels it is still a pretty big group. Sure all the "federal" leaders are dead, but surely planetary and local system government remains in place. I furthermore doubt that the ENTIRE Republic fleet was at Hosnian Prime at the moment; I would assume their forces were spread across the galaxy, and assuming there is a chain of command somebody has taken control of it. I wonder if Episode 8 will have "The Resistance" becoming part of the larger Republic fleet remnant and push back against the First Order. It would be weird if they didn't show up to join the Resistance to take revenge on the First Order. And if they did show up; it would be a great chance to finally see what a Gen-3 Y-Wing and a Super Modern Mon Cal Cruiser would look like...

Still even if the Republic fleet is grouped with the Resistance for Episode 8; I hope they loose. I don't want Episode 8 to be a cookie cutter copy of Empire Strikes Back (kind of how The Force Awakens took a LOT from A New Hope); but I hope they loose a big fight (like in Empire) to keep dramatic tension going in the new trilogy.

[CMP]

Hmm, I like the North Korea analogy.

But I wonder why blowing up the Hosnian Prime system was seen as "destroying the New Republic." I mean if the Republic is even half the size of the Republic in the Prequels it is still a pretty big group. Sure all the "federal" leaders are dead, but surely planetary and local system government remains in place. I furthermore doubt that the ENTIRE Republic fleet was at Hosnian Prime at the moment; I would assume their forces were spread across the galaxy, and assuming there is a chain of command somebody has taken control of it. I wonder if Episode 8 will have "The Resistance" becoming part of the larger Republic fleet remnant and push back against the First Order. It would be weird if they didn't show up to join the Resistance to take revenge on the First Order. And if they did show up; it would be a great chance to finally see what a Gen-3 Y-Wing and a Super Modern Mon Cal Cruiser would look like...

Still even if the Republic fleet is grouped with the Resistance for Episode 8; I hope they loose. I don't want Episode 8 to be a cookie cutter copy of Empire Strikes Back (kind of how The Force Awakens took a LOT from A New Hope); but I hope they loose a big fight (like in Empire) to keep dramatic tension going in the new trilogy.

C-3PO outright says that without the Republic Fleet the Resistance is doomed.

The First Order don't seem as nearly as widespread as the Empire, and I don't think this New Republic is (was) much bigger. Just picture Hosnian Prime as the Coruscant of the New Republic - imagine if Coruscant had gotten blown up in Episode II. That's most of the Jedi in the Galaxy, the entire galactic government, and whatever army they had pre-dating the clones gone, in an instant, and that's not even counting whatever damage the economy would've taken as a result.

[Junior Shark]

In Aftermath, Mothma says she wants to cut down the New Republic armed forces to discourage future conflict. This could mean that the New Republic fleet could have been even smaller than the Rebel fleet, which means it all could have been stationed in the Hosnian system. This and its increased pacifist role give little reason for the fleet to be deployed.

The effect the destruction of the Hosnian system has depends upon how centralized the New Republic government was. I can think of arguments for centralization and de-centralization.

[Starrocks923]

Could there possibly be a bigger power in the universe we haven't seen yet, such as an alien empire? The New Republic was certainly small, as is the Resistance and the First Order. It's almost like another war happened in between the formation of the New Republic and The Force Awakens...

[Junior Shark]

Could there possibly be a bigger power in the universe we haven't seen yet, such as an alien empire?

The Chiss? Say what?

Just kidding, I think that's pretty unlikely. And I don't know why you think the New Republic is small- all information we have so far indicates that the NR was at least as big as the Empire and Old Republic, if not bigger- in Aftermath it talks about systems joining the New Republic that were not a part of the OR or Empire. We've just seen a small bit of the NR. The First Order is based in the Unknown Regions, where neither the OR or Empire had jurisdiction.

Edit: Actually, there are some Imperial remnants not a part of the FO after RotJ. How big they are in TFA is unknown. In any case, it's unlikely they took a significant portion of the Empire's systems.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Junior Shark

[xboxtravis7992]

The Chiss? Say what?

Just kidding, I think that's pretty unlikely. And I don't know why you think the New Republic is small- all information we have so far indicates that the NR was at least as big as the Empire and Old Republic, if not bigger- in Aftermath it talks about systems joining the New Republic that were not a part of the OR or Empire. We've just seen a small bit of the NR. The First Order is based in the Unknown Regions, where neither the OR or Empire had jurisdiction.

Edit: Actually, there are some Imperial remnants not a part of the FO after RotJ. How big they are in TFA is unknown. In any case, it's unlikely they took a significant portion of the Empire's systems.

Wait so there are other Imperial remnants not part of the First Order? So some crazy old Moff on his system with an old Star Destroyer and a few volunteer stormtroopers at his command; trying everything he could to not join the New Republic or the FO? Sounds like that would be a fun story to explore someday...

Anyway, I just find it odd to think of the entire Republic demilitarizing so much to the point that their last military remnants were all located in the Hosnian System. But; if there was some uber-pacifistic attempt at peace I can imagine a government making a stupid move such as that. Surely though there had to be some sort of small police force or military. Star Wars has lots of threats from pirates to the Hutts; I doubt the New Republic went so pacifist they didn't have at least some troops deployed to combat those forces. And if there were small fleets policing Hutt borders; then when Hosnian Prime fell those fleets would have been the NR's remaining military.

Or even if their military was small; the population of the NR must be HUGE. Surely the Resistance could go on a post-Hosnian Destroyed recruiting spree and recruit thousands if not hundreds of thousands to join their military. I mean if the First Order could build such a huge army from the freaking Unknown Regions then surely thousands in the galactic core will rush to the Resistance to avenge Hosnian Prime. The fact Leia was able to build a decent sized force using war surplus and overly patriotic citizens shows that the New Republic has plenty of resources to aid a future fight. Heck, even if it is just a couple hundred more pilots in war surplus T-70's, T-65's, and BTL-Y's. Old sources suggested that the Rebel's had a recruiting spike after Alderran and the Battle of Yavin in the OT; and that was when the people joining them were citizens of the Empire. It should be a lot easier for the Resistance, seeing that joining them would not be an open rebellion against the government, but instead fighting a foreign foe.

Edited April 18, 2016 by xboxtravis7992

[Forresto]

I think it would be amazing if there was an Imperial Remanent left with classic star destroyers and imperial style and the Resistance had to go to them for help. Sort of like the allies teaming up with the Soviet Union to fight the Nazis, a much bigger mutual threat that needs to be taken care of. Imagine the nostalgia factor as well as them already making OT stuff for Rogue One. Story and thematically it would set up a rather sticky predicament for the Resistance because of course the Imperials in manner probably aren't too different. In fact the Imperial Remanent while smaller would be even tougher since those left are the cream of the crop, especially in fanaticism.

I think the best aspect of the prequels in retrospect is that the quote on quote bad guys are the under dogs and not the people we are supposed to be rooting for. It would be interesting if this whole trilogy the First Order are the underdogs and not the resistance and the latter get cocky.

[Junior Shark]

Anyway, I just find it odd to think of the entire Republic demilitarizing so much to the point that their last military remnants were all located in the Hosnian System. But; if there was some uber-pacifistic attempt at peace I can imagine a government making a stupid move such as that. Surely though there had to be some sort of small police force or military. Star Wars has lots of threats from pirates to the Hutts; I doubt the New Republic went so pacifist they didn't have at least some troops deployed to combat those forces. And if there were small fleets policing Hutt borders; then when Hosnian Prime fell those fleets would have been the NR's remaining military.

In the canon novel Before the Awakening, Poe's job as a New Republic fighter pilot is patrolling spacelanes to deter pirate activity. I think this may speak to the great advancement of fighters in the Star Wars universe, and may help explain the lack of capital ships. If fighters become super powerful, then who needs to invest money in big, unwieldy battleships?

[CMP]

I hope we see some new ship designs personally, or at least more modified versions of old ones. Something you can't fault the PT for is stuffing every single scene full of stuff you want to look at, especially when it comes to ships and vehicles, so seeing nothing but TIE Fighters and X-Wings in Force Awakens was a disappointment. Where the hell did all the Y-Wings go?

[rollermonkey]

C-3PO outright says that without the Republic Fleet the Resistance is doomed.

Really? Really?

REALLY?

Are you going to take the word of the most pessimistic / hyperbolic droid this side of Marvin in HHGTG?

I mean, half his lines are about how they are all doomed.