With the much anticipated release of Star Wars Episode VII merely a month away, people all over the world are becoming giddy with excitement. Some people are awaiting this with incredible eagerness, while others offer a much more sceptical approach, still remembering the crushing disappointment that arrived with the release of The Phantom Menace and what that meant for the franchise.
“Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you have constructed.”
In 1999, millions of voices cried out yet were suddenly silenced due to the devastating discontent following the release of The Phantom Menace, and the subsequent ‘completion’ of the saga with Episodes II and III. Many believe that this magnitude of misery will not be repeated, and that Disney will learn from the mistakes made by LucasFilm in the past. There has been much press coverage throughout the build-up highlighting that the filmmakers looked at what made the original trilogy shine, and the prequels flop, and will build upon those foundations, such as a focus of the characterisation and the story arcs combined with a priority of practical effects, not an over reliance on green-screen and CGI. This all sounds like they’re taking this films back in the right direction, but we are yet to see the outcome of the final product.
“Who’s scruffy lookin’?”
When the deal for Disney to purchase LucasFilm and subsequently produce more Star Wars films was announced there was a very mixed response from fans. Some eagerly anticipated further instalments into the franchise, others not so much, focusing on the failure of the prequels, and also the involvement of Disney. Many feel that Disney’s brand would not be compatible with the Star Wars franchise due to their inherent family-friendly nature and apparent distaste for edgy material, however many feel that their involvement and success with Marvel puts that fear to rest.
The current stream of released material from the film in trailers and TV-spots has many people more and more agitated for this film’s release, yet Disney and LucasFilm have done a marvellous job of keeping many aspects of the film under wraps. Most of what we know about the film so far comes only from speculation and apparent ‘leaks,’ meaning that there is still a large amount of content yet to be uncovered when the film is released. This has provided much anticipation for the film (the bit that sold me was hearing the adaptation of William’s original scoring of Han and Leia’s theme providing the backdrop to a frantic dogfight between the Millennium Falcon and a lone Tie-Fighter). Despite the many justified pessimistic feelings towards the film, there is definitely no lack of excitement surrounding it. The announcement of the new trilogy in tandem with three whole other ‘anthology’ films shows the studios’ faith in their development teams to produce the goods (in that it is a big risk signing on for 5 subsequent films if the first one turns out to be mediocre at best). This level of backing from the studios provides me with an overwhelming feeling of promise in that they think they have a formula fit to win back the hearts of the fans, and that is enough to get me excited for the upcoming instalments into this beloved franchise.
Matt Bolland
Image: Lucasfilm/Buena Vista Pictures