The Old Vs. The New (Rant)

So all that know me, they know that one film(s) that can define me is Star Wars. Even with the prequel trilogy, this saga has brought great happiness into my life. So you can only imagine the great swell of joy that I received when I heard the news of a sequel trilogy, Episodes VII, VIII, and IX.  Of course, there is also that fear that this is going to go horribly wrong. One good thing that is shining through is that George Lucas has decided to let a new generation of directors and writers take control. What this basically means is that he heard the fanboys cry of how badly he did with the prequels and doesn’t want any more heat (just this writers’ opinion). But with the good, comes the bad…He sold Star Wars and most of Lucasfilm to DISNEY! (Doesn’t Disney own enough of the world already!?) Another good is that we are getting a director that wanted to direct a Star Wars film, J.J Abrams. Which in turn parted ways with his main writer, Michael Arndt (isn’t that bad?). This is rumored to be because of the ol’ Simon and Garfunkel “artistic differences” ploy. Arndt wanted to bring the offspring of the original trilogy’s trio of heroes, however Abrams wants to bring the three front and center.

Here’s the thing…as much as I love the choice of Abrams to direct this movie, I am inclined to prefer what Michael Arndt wanted. Abrams has brought back a culture in Star Trek basically back from extinction and did it with flare (no pun intended). He did it with the classic characters, i.e. Kirk, Spock, Scotty, etc., but does lightning really strike twice? Abrams went back in time and almost “rebooted” this franchise with young actors, new story, and even incorporated an original actor. But if you notice the key phrase there? Rebooted. Sorry Trekkies, but Star Wars does not need to be “rebooted”. So Abrams is asking to bring back three actors/characters that have been put on the shelf, at least on the big screen, for almost 31 years. Harrison Ford is the only actor that has brought life to the screen since Return of the Jedi and he is 71 years old. I just don’t see him running around with a blaster and his trusted co-pilot very much. Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher aren’t better off either. Hamill has done a lot of voice work, most famous for The Joker, and Fisher has been MIA since the mid-90s. I personally will not support ANYONE else in the roles of Luke, Leia, and Han. Plus, wasn’t this what Lucas said from the beginning? This saga is about the Skywalker family. Three generations of Skywalkers, starting with Anakin. Bring on the kids, I say.

In the midst of all of this, there have been some casting rumors that I, quite frankly, am excited about. First is the rumor of  Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, Battleship) having a meeting with Abrams (http://www.thewrap.com/star-wars-episode-vii-jesse-plemons-breaking-bad). I would be very interested to see if he is cast to become Ben Skywalker, who is Luke’s son. Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings) is also rumored to be an Imperial commander. Also, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class, 12 Years A Slave) is rumored to have talked to Abrams. No actor has been mention for this last rumor, but they are supposedly looking for  a 20 something mixed race or African-American woman. This rumor was accompanied by the reason being Obi-Wan has a granddaughter.

Let us start at the beginning… Plemons does kind of look like Hamill so my bet is going with Ben. This would be awesome because Ben is a great character in the books. My only problem with this is that in the books he is faced with some of the same internal problems we have seen in the film saga. They would have to change this. Second, Weaving as an Imperial commander…Love this, if true, because what better character actor to play yet, another villain. Weaving has built a nice career on that side of the Force, why stop now? Thirdly, Fassbender being included in this film would just has awesome as Weaving. I could see him as a Force sensitive. Of course I would love to see him wield a green or blue lightsaber, but a red one would be just as good. I think he would bring a distinguished presence, sort of like Sir Alec Guinness did in the original. Now the rumor of Obi-Wans granddaughter? NO! This will go against everything the Jedi Master stood for. You want some sort of essence of Kenobi? Bring his ghost back, just use Ewan McGregor.

I have said from the beginning that the new trilogy should focus on Han and Leia’s twins and Ben. Bring up the kids, passing the torch in a way. Let the original actors bow out gracefully. Obviously the droids need to be in the new trilogy as well because it isn’t Star Wars without R2 and 3PO.

Here is where I would like to hear what you guys have to say. Please let me know what you think of what Abrams is doing or what you think of the casting rumors. Heck, who do you think should play certain roles or who do you think they should bring back?