The Big 3 at Comic Con!

No matter what else happens, we will at least still have this kiss. So in case you didn't realize, last night was the Star Wars panel at Comic Con in San Diego. There was some talk about what might be shown, though my feeling had always been that nothing major would be revealed, nor would we be getting that new trailer that had been discussed, and I was correct about that. There was enough talk though about an appearance from Harrison that I actually did believe that would happen, but it is just awesome that he finally was there. First, that he looks great (he'll look even better once his hair has a chance to grow back, but at least you can barely notice the new scar on his forehead) and second, Harrison Ford was just on stage talking about Star Wars. Not only that, but in what appeared to be a genuinely favorable light. When is the last time Harrison Ford really talked about Star Wars? And not in a jokey way like arguing with fake Chewbacca on Jimmy Kimmel. And when was the last time he appeared somewhere with Carrie? This is just amazing.

The thing I think most of us here will be interested in will be this behind the scenes reel that they showed. For those of you being careful, it does not seem spoiler-y at all, but if you would rather not see any visuals of the characters, including seeing Han and Leia (separately) in full costume, do not watch. But for the rest of you:

It's Leia! It's Han in the Falcon! It's... mostly nothing super interesting we haven't seen before, but still!  Also, it is suddenly dawning on me, does anyone else find it weird that with all of the big reveals and everything, we haven't heard from Threepio yet?

And here is the video of the complete panel from last night. I honestly haven't even watched the whole thing yet, I only skipped ahead to when Carrie shows up, followed by Mark and then Harrison.

I'm sure I'll watch the rest later but I had to skip to the important stuff first. Harrison even expresses gratitude that he did not again have to say anything about navicomputers again. I remember reading a long time ago how much he hated that line, and I can't say I blame him.

All in all, nothing really new here, just giddy excitement, which is kind of what I needed right now.  It really is just incredible that we are seeing this happening. Even the actors seem excited about it, not that you'd expect different from Mark and Carrie, but still. I did like how Harrison said about returning to the role, "It should've felt ridiculous." And he's right, it probably should've. Yeah, let's go back to a role you first played nearly 40 years ago and dress up in a similar outfit and fly the same ship and hang out with the same Wookiee. Even as a huge Star Wars fan, that does, in fact, sound pretty ridiculous. He assures us it's not, though.

Just as the final dagger to my heart as far as showing me just how much I missed out on by not being there last night, after bringing together Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker for the first time in a bazillion years, they then took all of the panel attendees to an outdoor concert of Star Wars music and fireworks, also providing every one of them with a lightsaber. The evening also included the stars again, and Harrison walking out using a toy lightsaber as a cane as he pretended to limp across the stage. Seriously, typing that sentence made me feel like I had entered some sort of parallel universe, but I have video evidence that proves this is true:

Seriously, much of this just feels like it was a dream. If you had told me before all of this Disney stuff was announced that this kind of thing would be happening, I would've bet you every dime I had and every bit of future income I might earn (which, I guess admittedly isn't really that much money, but still) that there was no way in the world we would possibly see things like that. I've never been so happy to be wrong.  Well, maybe, for now, because later if we find out the movie sucks I might wish for the time before this happened. But for now at least I'm excited.

What do you guys think? Of course I love how happy they all seem to be hanging out again, and who doesn't just absolutely love the fact that Harrison kissed Carrie. Also notable was Harrison apologizing to Mark for the fact that it turned out Carrie was his sister. It's just so fun to see them all getting into it again. Damn it, now I want them to be in Episode VIII as well just so we can see more of this stuff.

Okay, enough fan gushing. I'll just lave you with one last picture of Han and Leia.

EDIT: One more photo, because this one made me so happy.

Han Solo Spin-off Movie Officially Announced

This sort of falls under the category of "not really news" to me, since I'd fully expected this for a long time, but now it has become "official."  http://www.starwars.com/news/christopher-miller-and-phil-lord-to-helm-han-solo-anthology-film?linkId=15374280

What does everyone think of this?  Personally, my first thoughts are that I really don't even want to think about any further Star Wars movies until I find out what happens in Episode VII, at which point I can more adequately decide how much thought or consideration I need to put into these other films. If Episode VII is terrible or takes things in a direction I'm not happy with, I will be a lot less inclined to give much mental energy to any other movies, because I'm going to expect to be woefully disappointed. Of course there is the possibility, however remote, that I get fully engaged and sucked right back in, at which point I can go back to worrying about all these new movies.

If I do give myself the opportunity to think about this, again I'm, sadly, left with mostly negative thoughts on the idea. First and foremost: NOBODY wants to see anyone but Harrison Ford playing Han Solo. I honestly think that even whatever actor gets cast in this role, no matter how good for his career it might be, will still kind of secretly wish that Harrison could somehow go back to 25 and play this role himself. This is one of the most iconic roles in cinema history, and much of that is because Harrison Ford completely embodied that role. He WAS Han Solo in such a way that I don't think anyone can duplicate. And would we want him to? I'm wondering even how it will be approached. Whether we'll be left watching some young actor spending 2 hours doing his best Harrison-as-Han impression, or if he will try to make the role his own. I almost hope for the latter, but at the same time, then do we really accept him as Han? This just seems like a no-win situation.

Another thing I don't like about it is that I've actually always kind of preferred that Han's past be left shrouded in a bit of mystery. I don't necessarily want to know exactly what happened in his youth, how he grew up, what happened to his parents. While I enjoyed reading those things in the AC Crispin Han Solo trilogy (mostly enjoyed - Bria excepted) I actually feel like something is taken away from the character a little bit if we know everything about his past. Sure, little things like how he got the Falcon, or how he met Chewie might be fun to watch, but I don't know if I want them to try and work backwards and fit all of the puzzle pieces into what made him what we saw in the original trilogy.

Lastly, similar to my worries about the new movies furthering the story compared to the now-discarded EU, I worry that they will give him a back story that I don't like and would rather not see. To explain further, it is sort of like how I worry they might change Han and Leia's relationship in the new movies. We have all spent years complaining about COPL and how we wished it didn't exist, but it's quite possible we will wind up hoping that we could go back to a time in which that is exactly what happened to Han and Leia, because at least at the end of that horrendous book, they did, in fact, get married. And then they stayed married. And in this case, for years we also complained about Bria Tharen and how much we hated her. It is entirely possible that this new movie might give us a new background (random wife from the comic, anyone?) that will make us very much wish we could have Bria back. At least Bria had the decency to die before Han met Leia! 

I'd be really curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this. I fully admit it makes me sad that I'm not simply jumping for joy at every Star Wars announcement, but I am only left worrying for all of the worst possibilities. You would think that I would be excited about all of these Star Wars movies coming out, but I really haven't been at all. You can even go back to the first mention on the blog of Episode VII nearly 3 years ago, I wasn't excited then, either!  And I'm still not sure if I should be. 

In brighter news, apparently there will be some Episode VII fun at Comic Con this weekend, so let's hope that brings some good news.

Six Months to Go...

Star Wars Episode VII opens six months from today. This seems like an eternity and a blink of an eye all at once. Consider the fact that it was October 30, 2012 when we first found out that Disney bought Lucasfilm and would be making Episode VII at all. Then it was over a year later before they gave us the release date. And yet another several months, barely more than a year ago, before they even officially told us that the movie would include Han, Leia and Luke. So I suppose when we think of it that way, and how long we've waited already, (do we include the fact that it has been 32 years since ROTJ came out?) six months isn't very long.

So, what do we know for sure? Well, not a ton. There are plenty of other sites that can fuel your rumor fire, but I'd like to continue to keep this a safe place and stick with official news that has been completely confirmed by Lucasfilm. I still go back and forth from being incredibly scared of gut wrenching disappointment, and being super excited for what we might get to see. I have now seen the trailer on the big screen three times, including today on IMAX 3D which just made it that much more amazing. I keep getting flashes to what it is going to be like in 6 months, sitting in that seat, waiting to see this movie finally, after the last one came out when I was in preschool, and I seriously get choked up just thinking about it. I think I'm kind of going to be a mess when it is finally time to see it, although it is a small comfort being pretty sure I will be far from the only one.

I'm still really concerned about the status of Han and Leia's relationship in this movie. I'm going to be devastated if they are split up. I don't know either way on this one, so this is not a spoiler, I'm just concerned about what they could do with these two. It makes me feel like we have only six months left of writing good fanfic of them being happy together before it all potentially gets shattered. So, if any of you want to go forth and write some good stuff while you can, please have at it!

How are you guys feeling six months out? I said this to someone else, but this is such a strange time right now. I mean, with the exception of the prequels, which kind of don't count because they were such a huge disappointment, and each movie made it worse so I think we were all kind of beaten down enough to not be too hopeful about subsequent movies (I don't think I even cared to see Revenge of the Sith the first possible show I could, because it didn't matter that much to me), this is the first time in a very long time, and for some of us the first time ever, we are sitting here in anticipation of seeing a new Star Wars movie, one that tells us what has been happening with Han, Luke and Leia. We don't know what is going to happen, I'm personally avoiding spoilers like my life depends on it. I want to go into it with fresh eyes and be surprised, even though part of me is scared to death that it will all be so terrible I'll have been better off having mentally prepared myself for the awfulness before actually going in. In six months we'll laugh about how excited we were for these little trailers that don't show us much of anything.

It will never be like this again. After this movie we will have a much clearer picture of where these movies will be headed, we will know if there are certain things we need to be worried about anymore, we will have a good idea of whether or not we will be disappointed like the prequels or if the situation is drastically improved. I also doubt that there will be nearly as much anticipation because so many of these questions will already be answered, even if we won't know the exact direction further movies will go. I guess in some way that will be a relief, not to have to worry about a lot of things. At this point I don't care in the slightest about Episode VIII or the new Rogue One movie, I just want to know what happens with this one. But I guess also knowing all of those things will probably take some of the magic out of it that we are experiencing now. Well, magic and gut wrenching fear, but hey, whatever.

If This is True....

...then I think I officially quit Star Wars.  This was brought to my attention today: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/marvels-star-wars-comic-introduces-799833 so do you think that there is anyone in the history of Star Wars fans that thinks this is s good idea?

There is an awful lot of wild speculation going on right now. If you read what it is all based on, we don't even know if it is true or she is lying or there is something more to it than simply Han was married to someone else. No matter what, I don't see this as good news. And basically now I've decided that whatever possible thing they could do to ruin my favorite aspect of Star Wars, they are going to do. And probably even worse than I could've imagined.

Seriously, why? Just to be as different from the EU as possible? Because the world has turned out to be a far more cynical place and you're going to wreck this FANTASY story by making everything all dark and "real" so the bad guys always win and love doesn't exist?  Yes I realize I sound a little dramatic right now but I am really hating this news. Especially since yesterday I had been feeling especially hopeful about this movie. I'm done now. I'm expecting to hate a lot of things about it.

Now again it is possible that it is a misunderstanding or she is lying and this is all a clever ruse designed to send us fans into a tailspin with some expert misdirection, and really everything is fine. But I've started to find it dangerous to feel hopeful about any of it now. Pretty soon I'm going to be relegated to the fact that the best love story in Star Wars is between Artoo and Threepio.

This movie was supposed to be a good thing, now I just want Bria back.

Looks Like Harrison is Finally Out and About... and Flying!

And he's even smiling. After over two months of being virtually completely MIA after his plane crash, he has finally been spotted out and about, first driving earlier this week, and now in the photo above on his way to pilot his helicopter!  I'd say he is looking pretty good. I'm quite relieved to see him walking around just fine and appearing to be his usual, fit self. So, whether the reports of his broken ankle and pelvis were true or not (widely reported, but never deemed "official) he seems to be getting around just fine now.

He does appear to be wearing hats all the time, though. Makes me wonder what his forehead is looking like after the incident that clearly involved some deep cuts up there. But at least the rest of his face still looks good. 

So nice to see him appearing back to normal. Now I can stop worrying about him succumbing to his old age because of this accident. He looks just fine.

Happy Anniversary, The Empire Strikes Back!

On this day 35 years ago (wow) Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was released in theaters. It is really, really shocking that it has been that long, and I might have to go ahead and say that this is my favorite movie of all time. There is so much awesome in this movie. Although admittedly, when pressed for time, I will skip the Luke and Yoda parts.

You know what is crazier when you think about how it's been 35 years? This film is also the last time we saw Han Solo pilot the Falcon.  Think about it. During all of ROTJ, he never gets behind the controls of his first love. No wonder he wasn't himself in that one.

Not much else to say here, but feel free to discuss this film's amazingness, memories associated with seeing it, moments you may want to see referred back to in Episode VII, whatever you want. I've been watching this movie basically since I started watching movies at all. I do not remember a time in my life before I saw it. Just such a great movie and the reason all of us are here on this blog reading and talking about this stuff at all right now.

Just For Fun: Scenes You Would Love to See But Would Never Actually Be in Episode VII

It seems we have rekindled the fire and brought back some blog posters. So I thought it might be fun to pose a little question and get some fun conversation going and this idea popped into my head. What are some scenes, moments, story lines, whatever, that you would love to see in Episode VII but will probably almost definitely not actually see? I'm looking mostly for Han and Leia specific but you can include other characters as well. 

For example, I think it would be awesome if they sort of re-created their first kiss, Leia is in there working on the Falcon and Han comes in and of course the memories are sparked and they share a kiss, and then presumably follow it up with other fun things they couldn't last time.  Now, clearly this would never be in the movie, because it is complete fan service and would in no way move the plot forward, but it's fun to think about. 

So, what else do you think would be fun to see on screen? You can include things that you actually think could happen, but I thought it could be fun to think up scenarios that they'd never put in the movie.  You know, while we still have hope and aren't entirely sure what they are doing with these guys yet.  Again, no spoilers!