Film - Star Wars VII: May the Thoughts be With You

With the film now out, here's a reminder of what Steve's teenage son, Kraig Taylor-Bryant's, thoughts were on how it might turn out, from way back in the summer...

Firstly, before I get any criticism on how negative I’m being on the new Star Wars film, let me tell you that when I first saw the Star Wars VII trailer I was ecstatic! However, before I saw it, when I first heard about the film, I was both ecstatic but also curious as to when it would be set (which we now know of course) and how it would fit in with the Star Wars timeline.

If it will or not is still unknown because it has been mentioned that the new film will not focus on the Solo children or Luke being married and having children in the timeline (in the comics Luke’s wife Mara was killed but he did still have children). They could have made it work if they say either that they do still exist but they have just moved onto different lives or they could have an appearance in the film in a small way or there could be a small plot twist of one of the main characters in the film ends up being one of the children. But what would really annoy me is if they are saying that, since they took control, those characters don’t exist at all, because they do in the comics and they are part of Star Wars history. Another thing to bear in mind is that, in the comics, Chewbacca was apparently killed near the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, although there is a possible chance he survived (however unlikely) and Han did look young when it happened, but the trailer shows he is still alive in the new Star Wars. If they can somehow explain how he survived then it would make sense but they can’t just push it aside and say it never happened. They also said that, during their filming, no-one could make any more expanded universe comics or books which could be a good sign that they don’t want to mess with the timeline, considering that, during the filming of one of the original films (4 or 5), Luke and Leia went on an adventure and ended up being very romantically involved, which couldn’t be part of the history (only exception) because, as you know, Leia and Luke later discover that they are brother and sister.

The Empire returning as “The New Order” is another idea which I am unsure about. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the new armour is insanely good, but the Star Wars films seem to have a habit of things or people not dying. Think about Jar Jar Binks (I know, I’m making prequel references) in the battle of Naboo when he ran away from most things and through all of it he didn’t die. Even when holding onto the barrel of a armoured droid tank he survived. It was like Lucas was trying to punish us. Darth Maul is another one who probably should have died. It’s ridiculous to think that he got cut in half and fell down a hole and survived. In the original films too, Luke Skywalker, if you re- watch Return of the Jedi, you see that it takes Luke several seconds to force his lightsaber into his hand on the sail barge before he starts fighting, during which time he could have easily been shot. This could also easily be said for Han and Leia and how lucky they seem to be when they run into Imperials.

Anyway, back to my original point about The Empire. I would have preferred a new enemy as well as the new Sith Lord, such as the Yuuzhan Vong or even a completely new enemy we hadn’t encountered yet but no, they brought back the imperials. Fair enough that the droids weren’t a popular enemy for the original fans but I think a new enemy is needed for a new trilogy.

However, if the Empire has been rebuilt from ashes and they are not just survivors in new armour then I do think the new film could be good, as long as Abrams has played his cards right and kept the true history of Star Wars in mind.

Image - IMDb.