The sound of Vader breathing, over short clips of our characters and planets from IX.

Cut to black.


*KOOOOOORRAAAAHHHHHH*
Knights of Ren

*MATAAAAAAAHHH*
Kylo Ren at Vader's Castle

*KOOOOOORRAAAAHHHHHH*
Luke using the force

*RAAAAHTAAAHMAHHHHH*
Rey igniting double-bladed lightsaber

*Duel of the Fates music kicks in*

Quick cuts of the Knights of Ren wrecking shop, Kylo Ren marching with stormtroopers, a huge space battle, and Rey and Kylo fighting on Mustafar.


STAR WARS: [TITLE HERE]



This is what it sounds like when nerds cry.

redline248 said:

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If Rey does have a double bladed lightsaber, I don't want to see it until she ignites during the movie while I'm sitting in the theater.

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Totally agree

Urban Ag said:

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Belton Ag said:

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I'll be in LA in August. Text me your address and I'll come crash at your place. We'll hang out and you can introduce me all kinds of celebrity chicks. Make sure you stock your fridge up with lots of Natty.

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That me reminds of something. Back in 98 me and this guy I worked with in Dallas were out in LA for the week. We're driving back to the hotel and he says hey, you want to go out with me and Vince Vaughn tonight? This guy went to high school with him in Chicago and liked to name drop that all the time. So I'm like hell yeah I'm in.

So about an hour later we're in the hotel bar having beers and his phone rings and my friend says Vince is pulling up. So we walk out and Vince pulls up in some convertible with Callista Flockhart in the passenger seat. My buddy looks at me and says "I didn't know she was coming, I better ask Vince if it's cool if you come too". So he walks over and they bro hug and all three of them light up cigarettes and are talking. Then my buddy looks back at me and shakes his head "no" and they drive off. The end.

Cool story bro.

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Pass.

Sine poena nulla lex.

She has to be what? Mid 50s now? Ally McBeal was a long time ago. She cleans up just fine.

Wood

Exactly one week from this very moment we will be watching the Episode IX trailer.

So good.

Him waving to Kylo gets me every time.

https://www.slashfilm.com/how-star-wars-episode-9-responds-to-the-last-jedi/

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...finally, it was resolving nine movies. While there are some threads of larger ideas and some big picture things that had been conceived decades ago and a lot of ideas that Lawrence Kasdan and I had when we were doing Episode VII, the lack of absolute inevitability, the lack of a complete structure for this thing, given the way it was being run was an enormous challenge.

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I am excited about how they approached this one.

Other things Abrams noted:

Quote:

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I wasn't supposed to be there. I wasn't the guy, ya' know? I was working on some other things, and I had something else that I was assuming would be the next project, if we'd be so lucky. And then Kathy Kennedy called and said, "Would you really, seriously, consider coming aboard?" And once that started, it all happened pretty quickly. The whole thing was a crazy leap of faith. And there was an actual moment when I nearly said, "No, I'm not going to do this." I was trepidatious to begin with, getting involved, because I love Star Wars so much and felt like it was . . . . It was almost, on a personal level, a dangerous thing to get too close to something that you care that much about.

And yet, with Force Awakens, I feel like we managed to introduce these new charactersfor some people, new actors and continue a story in a way that I thought had heart and humanity and humor and surprise. Though of course I'm aware that there are critics of that movie, it felt to me like we dodged a bullet. Like we got in there, we got to do something. And I left loving Star Wars as much as I did when I got there. Like, somehow, it was on a personal, selfish level something I was really happy to have done. Not just excited about doing but happy to have done. And to ask to have that happen again, I felt a little bit like I was playing with fire. Like, why go back? We managed to make it work. What the hell am I thinking?

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Quote:

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I feel like we've gotten to a place without jinxing anything or sounding more confident than I deserve to be I feel like we're in a place where we might have something incredibly special. So I feel relief being home, and I feel gratitude that I got to do it. And more than anything, I'm excited about what I think we might have.

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https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2019/04/j-j-abrams-on-episode-ix-chris-terrio-and-bringing-a-beloved-saga-to-a-satisfying-end.html

Was that another article?

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Quote:

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While there are some threads of larger ideas and some big picture things that had been conceived decades ago and a lot of ideas that Lawrence Kasdan and I had when we were doing Episode VII, the lack of absolute inevitability, the lack of a complete structure for this thing, given the way it was being run was an enormous challenge."

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This is still something that bugs me. You're talking about the biggest media franchise on the planet, and there was no structure?

(And that's not on JJ, that's entirely on Kennedy.)

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I've said this before, but I think it all stems back to Bob Iger and that initial announcement, which was in 2012, where he said the first movie would be out by 2015. I think even he's admitted that he shouldn't have pinned a date so early, but he did so for the stockholders, and that ticking clock then put a strain on the whole endeavor, one he wouldn't budge from because of the stockholders. Kennedy wanted to push... Abrams wanted to push... but no dice. If Iger didn't give a date in that initial announcement, they could have taken another year with Abrams and Kasdan to develop the entire trilogy. Not that they would write it all, but they could have at least laid out the groundwork, involved the story group more, etc.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Was that another article?

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Oops, forgot to link. It is added above.

Flashdiaz said:

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while that may have contributed, why didn't they involve the story group and come up with a structure for Ep 8 given what was written in 7. They could have righted the ship then. Instead they gave the next director no framework and free reign. From a business standpoint where there are millions at stake with the franchise and theme parks, it boggles my mind that they didn't get more involved with the story and create a framework or direction.
I"m all for creativity and taking things in new directions but some fundamentals should have been laid out.


Regardless, that's history and here we are. I'm glad JJ is back. While TFA wasn't the most original story, it had a Star Wars feel to it and it didn't piss me off. Bring it home JJ!

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While I agree in theory, that's a double-edge sword. Giving the next director free reign and no framework is what helps you land a better director. And perhaps in this case, they would have been better off just hiring a writer for Episode VIII and THEN a workman like director to just come along and film what's on the page (as they did with Ron Howard with Solo) , but given the time constraints, that probably wasn't ideal. For whatever reasons, they felt they needed a single writer/director "visionary" to come and knock this thing out, and giving that person prerequisites and constraints and beats he/she had to have hit would have diluted the quality of writer/director who would have taken on such a job. And yes, it could be argued that Johnson clearly wasn't up to the task in the first place, but until TLJ, he was (and still is) a pretty revered filmmaker. So I at least get where they were coming from. Once this whole franchise reboot was in motion, there was no stopping to figure it all out. Johnson was writing his script well before TFA even hit theaters.

TCTTS said:

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(Apologies for the fat-fingered emoji)
I think they mucked it up regardless of how IX turns out. It isn't that I'm dismissing the idea of them doing a great job with IX under the circumstances, it's that "under the circumstances" means IX will necessarily be constrained by what they did in VIII.

So, "mucking it up" to me means keeping it from being what it could have been. VIII placed on artificial ceiling on the third trilogy, one which may be felt even in future Star Wars films set after IX.

Well sh*t.

I don't know... I'd say I'm 50% convinced that this just might be it, the theory that explains everything.

And while it IS only a theory - and a batsh*t insane one at that - when you actually look at all the evidence presented - some aspects more convincing than others - it somehow ultimately makes a ton of sense, is in line with already established themes and plot devices, and actually really does explain...

... why Rey's parents were such a mystery but turned out to be "nobodies."

... why Rey is from a planet nearly identical to Tatooine.

... and why Rey basically already knew how to harness the Force, pilot ships, etc., without training.

That said, while the threads linked to below are pretty convincing in and of themselves, there's one fact above all that really stands out. We talked about it a decent amount on this board back in the day, but remember how there was that big rumor from an incredibly trusted source that TFA was supposed to open with LUKE'S SEVERED HAND - clutching his lightsaber - falling from space and ultimately landing in the sand on Jakku? This was literally one of the first rumors reported about Episode VII, that everyone rightfully thought was nuts. And while I don't think the rumor was 100% accurate accurate at the time, a lot of info has come out since then that has indeed confirmed that some version of that basic scene/conceit WAS part of the original plan/opening. Which has always seemed so odd to me... but now would perfect sense.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how this would affect all the thematic stuff from TLJ that we've been discussing recently (that bloodlines don't matter, etc.), and I'm pretty sure it blows all that out of the water, which is somewhat disappointing, but at least would do so in a unique and unexpected way.

So, without further adieu, if you have no qualms about potentially being spoiled, check out the theory below, which is gaining a decent amount of traction online. And please, if/when discussing it here, use spoiler tags since there's a chance this could very well be the mother of all spoilers. The only reason I'm posting it here is because it's just so crazy that I can't see Abrams & co actually going through with it... but again, it also weirdly makes too much sense for them NOT to...

PART I

PART II

PART III

Hmm. Well that would be one creative way to undue Johnson's Rey lineage story. We'll see.

What's everyone's %' on each of the following?

Rey is nobody
Rey is a Skywalker (either Han/Leia's or Luke's daughter/clone)
Rey is a Palpatine clone
Rey is a Kenobi
Rey is a reincarnation of Anakin / the Force