By: Justin Marsh
Well, let's face it...Star Wars fans knew they were going to get news this week, they probably just thought they’d have to wait a while longer. There will be Star Wars at the D23 Expo Saturday of course but first, the new issue of Entertainment Weekly is chock full of new information on Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
So the question remains....What do we know and what's new now?
(((THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW! IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW MORE STOP HERE!!!)))
Well let's see, For a long time, it was not in any way clear as to who would play Kylo Ren until director J.J. Abrams revealed back in June what many suspected. The villain of Star Wars: The Force Awakens would be played by Adam Driver. This is a rumor we’d heard for a while but now it has been officially confirmed. The film’s main villain, is just like us and is obsessed with the man who was once Anakin Skywalker. "[Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film," Abrams said. We also learned that he was allied with The First Order, a remnant of the Empire that remains a fearsome threat to the galaxy and its denizens. In the photos, he is seen flanked by their stormtroopers, striding with intense purpose through the smoldering ruins of a once peaceful village on Jakku.
As to what he want's or what his mission is? That much still basically remains unclear, although he seems to be a big time Vader obsessive, with an appearance influenced by that dark lord of the Sith who met his demise long before Ren’s birth. "The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask,” Abrams tells EW. Once thing we can say here that has been established is much like Darth Vader wasn’t his real name, Kylo Ren is not the real name of the man under that evil mask. According to Abrams, “He is a character who came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a group called the Knights of Ren,” Abrams said.
What are the “Knights of Ren?” That, Abrams would sadly not give his comments on. But writer Lawrence Kasdan did tell us he’s a character wholly unique to the franchise. “I’ve written four Star Wars movies now, and there’s never been a character quite like the one that Adam plays. I think you’re going to see something that’s brand new to the saga,” Kasdan said. According to Kasdan, “He’s full of emotion. No matter how we express ourselves in the world, whether we hide it and act very calm or whether we’re very out there and demonstrative, everybody’s roiling with emotion. And you want your characters to be that way, too. Then they have to deal with their emotions as best they can, with what they are.”
And as for his weapon next to the force? Abrams did in fact confirm what many had suspected for quite some time now: It's a tool that was crafted all by his lonesome. Abrams told us "The lightsaber is something that he built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character." Expanding on that, the director says the character isn’t as fully formed as Darth Vader was when we met him. Much like the saber, he’s still a work in progress. Abrams also had this to tell us about Kylo's mask as well: “The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask,” Abrams said. He’s obsessed, remember?"
Now so to speak of Lightsabers, Is this the Clone War made lightsaber of the late Anakin Skywalker and does it have a fitting purpose within the film? Well that is still yet to be announced really. We do know that for a fact this lightsaber which is handed to Princess Leia in the trailer is, Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber. The one Obi-wan Kenobi gave to Luke Skywalker, and that Anakin himself separated from Luke when they battled on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back. As for who it will be passed on to is yet to be established.
A single question made J.J. Abrams do the film....J.J. Abrams famously turned down the job directing The Force Awakens, until Kathleen Kennedy said to him, “Who is Luke Skywalker?” Meaning, who is he now, thirty years later. “He said, ‘Oh my God, I just got the chills. I’m in.’ I mean, it really was almost that quickly,” Kennedy said.
When Abrams came on board, there was no formal story for the film in place. Several people (Michael Arndt, Simon Kinberg, Lawrence Kasdan) were working on it, but it was a very blank slate during the time. “[They] had just been hypothesizing and throwing out a bunch of what-ifs, but there was no story in place,” Abrams said. “It was, without doubt, a formidable assignment. There were so many options and so many paths that could be taken. Even when we were in debate — and sometimes it was frustrating and heated — it was always thrilling, because it seemed almost everywhere you looked there was something potentially extraordinary, which felt very much like the DNA of Star Wars itself.”
But what we know now is certain...George Lucas has definitely influenced the film!
Though he has no direct role in the making of The Force Awakens, producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said he did have a strong influence. “George spoke often about that tension in everybody between what’s good and bad. He always felt that it was easier to be bad than good,”she said. “I’m not sure all people would agree, but I think that that’s always an interesting conflict to explore. So that’s a big part of the themes inside of Episode VII.” said io9.
Now what exactly have we learned and established about the light side and the dark? Both sides of the Force see themselves as heroes.
Abrams threw us an interesting quote in the article when talking about the motivations of Kylo Ren. "I think that there are two sides to the Force. Both sides, arguably, would see themselves as the hero of their story, and I think that applies here." This much as always been very clear when it comes to the light and dark side of the force, but I think it would be great to see this conflict more in the next 4 months.
Now, this the MAJOR question to everything that everyone's going to wanna hear. Will J.J. Abrams in fact direct Episode's VIII and IX? It does not look very certain. Directer taking Abrams place for Episode's VIII and XI looks more in favor of Rian Johnson taking the seat for Episode VIII. But more importantly, many are wondering if Abrams will return for Episode IX, tentatively scheduled for release in 2019. He won’t. “No, I’m not going to direct Episode IX, as much as I am deeply envious of anyone who gets to work with this group of people on the future movies,” he said.
As for what might happen in Episode IX, Kennedy said they have general beats of where this trilogy will go, but that the details are still being worked out. “We know where we’re going, but only in the broadest sense,” she said. “When Rian came in and started writing his script, he started from scratch, other than knowing what we had done in Episode VII and projecting out where it was going. He then sat down and put pen to paper, and it’s 100% him.”
Be sure to like us on our Facebook page Nerds Of The Force for more updates and awesome fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment