The Star Wars Thread

[Skummy]

I only ever saw the one with Darth Maul, so I hope Darth Maul returns.

Actually, Darth Maul is indirectly responsible for a Star Wars argument I had that really annoyed me.

Now, I love Star Wars. Barely a week goes by without me and at least one of my friends reciting at least part of the "My friend doesn't like you..." bit from A New Hope, or at the very least cutting off anyone saying "I'll be careful" (or "I'll be" anything, really) with "you'll be dead!".

The thing is, I can accept that the original movies are silly. They're just as riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies as the prequels, and have just as many un-necessary characters and stupid comic relief. But I loved them so much as a kid that I can't not enjoy them, even if half of that enjoyment comes from making fun of them.

But anyway, despite all their flaws, there's actually some pretty solid storytelling there, albeit of a very basic story. But you know who the important characters are, and what their relations are to one another.

But in Phantom Menace, you know nothing about Darth Maul. Maybe that's the point. But then, when he comes to fight Obi-Wan in a big Lightsaber duel, it's staged as if that's the logical point the whole movie's been working towards. But I didn't give a shit, because I don't know who this guy is, and why we should be scared of him, or why we should care that this fight is happening.

I put this suggestion to a friend of mine, an obsessive Star Wars fan, and he's like "ah no, man, Darth Maul's awesome! He killed a million Jedi in the Battle of Plinkyploo and he's feared throughout the Yogabbagabba system" or somesuch shit.

Literally every reason he could come up with to care about this character came from the expanded universe; novels, spin-offs, whatever. Most, if not all, of which will have been written after the movie anyway. But he saw no problem in this. Personally, I shouldn't have to do months of reading and research to get enjoyment out of my silly escapist fantasy movie.

Also, replace Darth Maul with "Boba Fett" for much the same argument, a million times.

And while we're pulling directors names out of our asses, I want to see the David Lynch directed Star Wars movie we never got with Empire

[Mick]

I only ever saw the one with Darth Maul, so I hope Darth Maul returns.

Well, good luck with that. (Y)

[Benji]

Maul has made his return numerous times in expanded material. Fuck, even Emperor Palpatine himself has. It's not that much of a stretch in a film about weird ghosts and psychokinetic abilities, where a man who was burned all over by lava survived, and Maul just fell down a large shaft and was never seen again in the main films.

[Skummy]

Wasn't Maul brought back in the Clone Wars series anyway?

I will say again, though, that Expanded Universe doesn't count.

[Benji]

Wasn't Maul brought back in the Clone Wars series anyway?

I will say again, though, that Expanded Universe doesn't count.

They don't, the films are the key franchise, the expanded universe is just that - an expansion, it can (and should) be twisted and ignored as the main series needs. Still, as I say, it's not a stretch.

[Mick]

Maul's been brought back so many times in the expanded universe, it's like he's Jimmy Snuka. "Ohhh, we have a Hall of Famer for you to wrestle!" And it ends up being Jimmy Snuka. That's the level Maul's at.

[Benji]

I can just see it now: "Ben Skywalker, you will go one on one with... DA' UNDERTAKA' DARTH MAUL!"

[Skummy]

Wasn't Maul brought back in the Clone Wars series anyway?

I will say again, though, that Expanded Universe doesn't count.

They don't, the films are the key franchise, the expanded universe is just that - an expansion, it can (and should) be twisted and ignored as the main series needs. Still, as I say, it's not a stretch.

I know it's not really a stretch - after all, it is a fantasy story - but I don't know if looking to the expanded universe as an example of things that "could" happen is the best way to do things. In the main series, while "Force Ghosts" exist, I don't think there's a single instance of a character coming back from the dead. In the novels, it happens every other week.

[Benji]

As I said, he doesn't need to come back from the dead. His body was never seen, and Vader survived being covered in lava, so it's not much of a stretch for Maul to have survived a big fall.

[Skummy]

Again, in Darth Maul's case, he's already "back", so it's a moot point anyway >_<

[Mongrel]

I only ever saw the one with Darth Maul, so I hope Darth Maul returns.

Actually, Darth Maul is indirectly responsible for a Star Wars argument I had that really annoyed me.

Now, I love Star Wars. Barely a week goes by without me and at least one of my friends reciting at least part of the "My friend doesn't like you..." bit from A New Hope, or at the very least cutting off anyone saying "I'll be careful" (or "I'll be" anything, really) with "you'll be dead!".

The thing is, I can accept that the original movies are silly. They're just as riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies as the prequels, and have just as many un-necessary characters and stupid comic relief. But I loved them so much as a kid that I can't not enjoy them, even if half of that enjoyment comes from making fun of them.

But anyway, despite all their flaws, there's actually some pretty solid storytelling there, albeit of a very basic story. But you know who the important characters are, and what their relations are to one another.

But in Phantom Menace, you know nothing about Darth Maul. Maybe that's the point. But then, when he comes to fight Obi-Wan in a big Lightsaber duel, it's staged as if that's the logical point the whole movie's been working towards. But I didn't give a shit, because I don't know who this guy is, and why we should be scared of him, or why we should care that this fight is happening.

I put this suggestion to a friend of mine, an obsessive Star Wars fan, and he's like "ah no, man, Darth Maul's awesome! He killed a million Jedi in the Battle of Plinkyploo and he's feared throughout the Yogabbagabba system" or somesuch shit.

Literally every reason he could come up with to care about this character came from the expanded universe; novels, spin-offs, whatever. Most, if not all, of which will have been written after the movie anyway. But he saw no problem in this. Personally, I shouldn't have to do months of reading and research to get enjoyment out of my silly escapist fantasy movie.

Also, replace Darth Maul with "Boba Fett" for much the same argument, a million times.

And while we're pulling directors names out of our asses, I want to see the David Lynch directed Star Wars movie we never got with Empire

So you want him back so they can expand on his backstory this time? I think we can agree on that, Skummy!

[Benjamin]

Waitaminute.

What happened in the Battle of Plinkyploo?

[Colly]

Wait til 2015 and find out.

[Jimmy]

I loved Darth Maul as a kid. He was the fucking coolest.

I mean, double ended Lightsaber! That was awesome.

[Nick Adams]

Yeah, until somebody pointed out that a double-bladed lightsaber actually doesn't let you do half of the stuff that an actual bo-style staff is supposed to let you do. Still, the makeup job was awesome.

[Jimmy]

I was five when it come out. I wasn't too bothered about logic, I just thought it was cool.

[Matt]

I, for one, can't wait for this. I'm fairly confident that Disney will do a good job with the franchise and I really don't buy into this "ZOMGZ UR KILLING TEH STAR WARZ" shit. For me, as good as the films were, it was as much about the Star Wars universe that had been created and the original films were just one story arc that took place in that universe. I'm not saying Episode VII should be set millions of years in the future, but there's no reason for it to be a direct continuation of Episode VI which is what a lot of people seem to be up in arms about. Hell, as long as they're good films (unlike the prequel trilogy) then I'd be happy to see them make 50 Star Wars trilogies.

[LUKIE]

I have mixed feelings about this. Lucas is a fool who gets more credit then he ever deserved, so Star Wars falling out of his hands is probably a blessing in disguise if it was to ever continue. In saying that... Disney? Disney live-action movies border on horrendous for the most part. If they were to do something with PIXAR, that is also not a good thing, since PIXAR is as overrated as a 20 foot penis.

The best thing that could come of this would be a fantastic traditional animation film somewhere along the lines, but I am dreaming if that was to ever happen. Here's hoping for some "once-every-four-years Disney brilliance"!

[Skummy]

The film isn't going to be made by Disney, though. It will be made my LucasFilm. LucasFilm just happen to be owned by Disney now. People are reading too much into the Disney aspect - this isn't Disney buying the rights to Doug, this is them acquiring another company, which will still operate as normal.

[LUKIE]

Without George Lucas. This is probably the most important thing.

No George Lucas = good thing.

But Disney now have the franchise. They can do whatever the fuck they want with it.