SW Force Awakens - Review w/ spoilers (Don't read until after you see it)

[ZooCougar]

I thought they nailed it with Rey. She looks the part, being a woman, that only adds to the underdog aspect that is required of the character. Plus, she's been fending for herself her whole life as scavenger so she is more street smart than Luke. I honestly didn't even consider the fact that she was a woman until I saw this thread.

The character that was maybe a little implausible to me was Finn. He seemed more like a character that was recently abducted by the First Order than one that suddenly had an epiphany that they were evil while on a mission with a bunch of other crack Stormtroopers. Even still, it was OK though. The jokes about him working in sanitation and the quip about the trash compactor were just exceptional writing.

 

[Palatine]

At (or near) the beginning of the movie the Rae character is rummaging through a junk yard picking up spare parts.

It's an analogy for what JJ Abrams did. He rummaged through the previous movies picking up parts and reusing them.

 

[UCFBfan]

Me neither. I saw that on DVD at the insistence of my oldest daughter, who promised I would like it. She was right. It was a very good movie imo. I have not seen the third, but akin to our discussions here, I thought the second one was a lot like a rehash of the first.

I know this sidetracks the convo here but read the books. They are far and away better then the movies. Haven't seen either part of Mockingjay but was neutral about both of the first two movies

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Doesn't change the fact that girls deserve to have folk heroes as well. Star Wars doesn't sell on being realistic. Because b!tch-made Luke had no business saving anyone or anything. Wake up. Nerds who fantasize about saving the universe, who built the franchise, are at best on the same level as girls wishing on the same. Star Wars is not a simple macho "action" series. It's a Hero's Journey, which transcends sex and the surface level content of sword fighting and shooting guns; and you're simple if you don't see that and fail to applaud a female lead.

Odd that some fans complain that Rey can't be the lead character because a 'girl' can't be as strong as 'boy' while, at the same time, have no issue with Yoda's ability to kick arse. Without the Force, Rey would crack Yoda's head open in less than 30 seconds with her staff. I believe the Force fully embraces the 'size matters not' concept, which can be applied to skin color, gender, size, alien species, etc.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Odd that some fans complain that Rey can't be the lead character because a 'girl' can't be as strong as 'boy' while, at the same time, have no issue with Yoda's ability to kick arse. Without the Force, Rey would crack Yoda's head open in less than 30 seconds with her staff. I believe the Force fully embraces the 'size matters not' concept, which can be applied to skin color, gender, size, alien species, etc.

Every Jedi literally relies on magic to not get their asses kicked at every turn. Oh but we can't have a chick do that. She'd get destroyed in seconds in real life.

 

[junglehusky]

Every Jedi literally relies on magic to not get their asses kicked at every turn. Oh but we can't have a chick do that. She'd get destroyed in seconds in real life.

Sorry to divert the topic but this is making me go back to how Order 66 was dumb. Here's a bunch wizards with heightened senses and telekinetic powers and they get shot down by a bunch of grunts.

A better way to do it would have been to have all the Jedi at the temple when Anakin / Darth Vader went on his rampage. Instead of just killing younglings he'd take on all of the Jedi Masters at once - and win.

It irritates me much less in the fantasy and comic book genres. Not only is it not new to them because adolescent boys dream of hot girls in tight pants that act like men, so it seems less forced, it is less forced there. After all, a woman with super power this or wonderful power that can kick the crap out of men. It's when I see it in the action genre that I roll my eyes and get annoyed. Sorry, but small, good looking ch-cks can't beat up adolescent boys. One punch from a dude, and Ms. Frasier goes down. It's why we teach boys not to hit girls . . . .

The sexes are different. It's ok. Just like it's okay for a vampire Kate Beckinsale to run around in skintight leather kicking the crap out of dudes.

As far as the new trope of the kickass female lead goes, I do think it's getting a little stale (Hunger Games / Divergent / Fifth Wave etc etc), but it's better than telling girls that their role in the world is to sit in one location and wait for a male character to do all the action / story development. Princess Leia put a small dent in that old Hollywood trope, so did Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor but it was still decades before it finally ended. The Bechdel test still applies to many scripts.

And all this stuff about "oh it's not realistic" --- Rocky was not realistic. John Wayne wouldn't last long in the Old West. Steven Segal would get his ass kicked in a street fight. Every 80's action hero would die in the first 2 minutes of a real gun battle. Hollywood is not realistic.

 

[intlzncster]

And all this stuff about "oh it's not realistic" --- Rocky was not realistic. John Wayne wouldn't last long in the Old West. Steven Segal would get his ass kicked in a street fight. Every 80's action hero would die in the first 2 minutes of a real gun battle. Hollywood is not realistic.

But there are certain things where it's tough to suspend your belief enough to enjoy a movie. If I'm watching an adult movie and an ordinary kid starts kicking a bunch of trained mercenaries arses, I'm just like, "this is stupid".

When you step out of reality, ie give women, kids or whatever 'The Force' or magic, then it makes much more sense. And is easily digestible.

It also has to do with other situations too. For instance, I thought Fury was amazing for most of the movie, especially depicting life in a tank. But then they got to scene where the crew in a broken down tank defeats an entire SS Panzer division, and I'm like, this is dumb. It could have been a much, much better written scene and made the movie overall a tour de force.

 

[Deadrody]

Just saying in general

Doesn't change the fact that girls deserve to have folk heroes as well. Star Wars doesn't sell on being realistic. Because b!tch-made Luke had no business saving anyone or anything. Wake up. Nerds who fantasize about saving the universe, who built the franchise, are at best on the same level as girls wishing on the same. Star Wars is not a simple macho "action" series. It's a Hero's Journey, which transcends sex and the surface level content of sword fighting and shooting guns; and you're simple if you don't see that and fail to applaud a female lead.

Please do not respond to a post of mine and then include a quote that says "You're simple if you ... fail to applaud a female lead"

I have no problem whatsoever with a female lead and not one word I've posted in this or any other thread would indicate otherwise. The fact that you see the need to use the term "b!tch made Luke" and then expect to be taken seriously is hysterical, to say the least.

My issue is centered entirely around people that complain there aren't enough of whatever - female leads, minority characters, etc - and then expect the existing cast of writers, directors, and producers to create them. By all means, if you fancy yourself a writer or director, get to writing that screenplay or book with a female lead surrounded by nothing but minority characters. Nobody else is under any obligation to cater to YOUR preferences anymore than anyone else's.

The fact of the matter is, the people making TV shows, movies, video games, whatever are chasing dollars and nothing more. If there were actually a tremendous market for what SJWs clamor for, they would already be making them.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I thought they nailed it with Rey. She looks the part, being a woman, that only adds to the underdog aspect that is required of the character. Plus, she's been fending for herself her whole life as scavenger so she is more street smart than Luke. I honestly didn't even consider the fact that she was a woman until I saw this thread.

The character that was maybe a little implausible to me was Finn. He seemed more like a character that was recently abducted by the First Order than one that suddenly had an epiphany that they were evil while on a mission with a bunch of other crack Stormtroopers. Even still, it was OK though. The jokes about him working in sanitation and the quip about the trash compactor were just exceptional writing.

Agreed. The movie was fine. Rey was fine as the lead. She's cute but looks athletic and capable physically. Works for me. Hell if it had been a guy, it would be even more like IV, and it was a little too similar already. Use of the force clearly isn't limited to men, or even humanoids.

I didn't get any feel that it was trying to hard to be inclusive. I actually thought that Finn provided an interesting contrast coming from the Stormtrooper armor. The idea really, is that you just don't know who is in that armor. We saw Luke and Han use that against the Empire before, now with Finn we are left thinking, who else do they use as stormtroopers? It added to the believability of the character. Unlike the clone wars, these guys are not clones...they are individuals.

All in all it was a lot of fun, which is what Star Wars is supposed to be. They needed redemption after I-III.

 

[ZooCougar]

So is Snoke actually Darth Plagueis?

Reddit seems to think so.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starwarssp...led_comparison_of_snoke_and_plagueis_musical/

 

[DarthGrumpy]

So is Snoke actually Darth Plagueis?

Reddit seems to think so.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starwarssp...led_comparison_of_snoke_and_plagueis_musical/

Another fan rumor is Snoke is Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starwarssp...6n/supreme_leader_snoke_is_grand_moff_tarkin/

 

[FeedTheDove]

If we're starting to post reddit theories, here is my favorite. I was so pumped up after reading it, but it's just not going to come true...

https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheorie...force_awakens_theory_rey_is_not_who_we_think/

Also watch:

A couple of parts in the movie that stood out to me that could "support" this theory.

• When Rey is being interrogated by Kylo, she reaches into his mind and blurts out, "You're afraid. That you'll never be as powerful as DARTH VADER." She says it with such emphasis that it almost seems like she wants to say, "You'll never be as powerful as ME."
• Rey putting on the Republic pilot helmet at the beginning of the movie... doesn't Anakin do this in episode 1? Or something similar with another helmet? Maybe I need to rewatch it..
• When Rey channels the force during her duel with Kylo and starts beating the piss out of him. The entire sequence of her kicking Kylo to the ground and just glaring over him like she owns him just screamed Anakin to me. It's also a definite exposure to the dark side.
• Who is Kylo talking about when he says "it IS you" during his duel with Rey.

I don't particularly agree with the part that Snoke is Palpatine.

As time passes it seems more unlikely that this will happen and that Rey is actually just Luke's daughter. Originally, to me, it just seemed like the movie was too obvious in wanting you to think Rey is Luke's daughter... but maybe that was their way of revealing it. If this theory SOMEHOW comes true, I will absolutely lose it in the theater.

Side note: Rey is amazing. I honestly don't think anyone else could have played this role. Daisy Ridley absolutely NAILED it... in her first major film. Kylo is an amazing character as well. Can't wait for Episode 8.

 

[CL82]

Sorry to divert the topic but this is making me go back to how Order 66 was dumb. Here's a bunch wizards with heightened senses and telekinetic powers and they get shot down by a bunch of grunts.

A better way to do it would have been to have all the Jedi at the temple when Anakin / Darth Vader went on his rampage. Instead of just killing younglings he'd take on all of the Jedi Masters at once - and win.




As far as the new trope of the kickass female lead goes, I do think it's getting a little stale (Hunger Games / Divergent / Fifth Wave etc etc), but it's better than telling girls that their role in the world is to sit in one location and wait for a male character to do all the action / story development. Princess Leia put a small dent in that old Hollywood trope, so did Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor but it was still decades before it finally ended. The Bechdel test still applies to many scripts.

And all this stuff about "oh it's not realistic" --- Rocky was not realistic. John Wayne wouldn't last long in the Old West. Steven Segal would get his ass kicked in a street fight. Every 80's action hero would die in the first 2 minutes of a real gun battle. Hollywood is not realistic.

Disagree re Segal, he had skills back in the day. I'm pretty sure he holds black belts in multiple disciplines.

Regarding Order 66, that's part of the prequel narrative that needs to purged from the SW "cannon" IMHO. IIRC, in the original book, Vader hunts down and kills the Jedi. That would have been so much better. Vader once turned, could have used the force to cloud his intentions and to defeat the Jedi, one by one. Could have been a great movie.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If we're starting to post reddit theories, here is my favorite. I was so pumped up after reading it, but it's just not going to come true...

https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheorie...force_awakens_theory_rey_is_not_who_we_think/

Also watch:

A couple of parts in the movie that stood out to me that could "support" this theory.

• When Rey is being interrogated by Kylo, she reaches into his mind and blurts out, "You're afraid. That you'll never be as powerful as DARTH VADER." She says it with such emphasis that it almost seems like she wants to say, "You'll never be as powerful as ME."
• Rey putting on the Republic pilot helmet at the beginning of the movie... doesn't Anakin do this in episode 1? Or something similar with another helmet? Maybe I need to rewatch it..
• When Rey channels the force during her duel with Kylo and starts beating the piss out of him. The entire sequence of her kicking Kylo to the ground and just glaring over him like she owns him just screamed Anakin to me. It's also a definite exposure to the dark side.
• Who is Kylo talking about when he says "it IS you" during his duel with Rey.

I don't particularly agree with the part that Snoke is Palpatine.

As time passes it seems more unlikely that this will happen and that Rey is actually just Luke's daughter. Originally, to me, it just seemed like the movie was too obvious in wanting you to think Rey is Luke's daughter... but maybe that was their way of revealing it. If this theory SOMEHOW comes true, I will absolutely lose it in the theater.

Side note: Rey is amazing. I honestly don't think anyone else could have played this role. Daisy Ridley absolutely NAILED it... in her first major film. Kylo is an amazing character as well. Can't wait for Episode 8.

There is another on that postulates that she is Obi Wan's grand-daughter. In some cases, they say both Luke's daughter and Obi-wan's grand-daughter.

Yet another says she is Kylo's brother, Han and Leia's daughter. I'm not buying that really.

In either case, many suggest that she was trained in Luke's Jedi academy, then as it fell apart was hidden, and had her memories wiped. Hence he rapid proficiency with the force...she's already been trained as a Jedi.

Agree Daisy was well cast. Likable character...much more so than Luke ever was.

 

[FeedTheDove]

There is another on that postulates that she is Obi Wan's grand-daughter. In some cases, they say both Luke's daughter and Obi-wan's grand-daughter.

Yet another says she is Kylo's brother, Han and Leia's daughter. I'm not buying that really.

In either case, many suggest that she was trained in Luke's Jedi academy, then as it fell apart was hidden, and had her memories wiped. Hence he rapid proficiency with the force...she's already been trained as a Jedi.

Agree Daisy was well cast. Likable character...much more so than Luke ever was.

Yeah i've heard the Obi Wan grand daughter theory as well. That jives well with the force vision where we hear Obi Wan say "Rey, these are your first steps."

I do think Rey was training at the academy with Luke when the Kylo Ren massacre happened. Here is my personal theory regarding this:

Kylo killed everyone at the academy, but he couldn't get himself to murder poor, helpless, little Rey. He had too much light in him. So, ashamed with his actions, he hides her so that no one will ever find out about his moment of weakness. That is why when a "girl" is mentioned in helping thw droid escape from the order, he loses it. "WHAT GIRL..?" He's petrified. He can't take his failure from the past coming back to haunt him. She's a constant reminder of why he will never be Vader. Then the moment during the duel... "It IS you" he says.

I don't know, I'm going to have to get the DVD as soon as it comes out.

 

[Ts5034]

I hope one of these theories about Snoke is true. I think that will be so much more intriguing and make a lot more sense than if he was just a random guy with no connection to the past events/films. I guess one of the reasons why I left the theatre a little disapointed was because of the unanswered questions like who Snoke is? And why does Rey have these powers of the force with no training? These questions will obviously be answered over the next 2 movies so after I see the whole story, I think I will appreciate The Force Awakens a lot more.

 

[John]

It also has to do with other situations too. For instance, I thought Fury was amazing for most of the movie, especially depicting life in a tank. But then they got to scene where the crew in a broken down tank defeats an entire SS Panzer division, and I'm like, this is dumb. It could have been a much, much better written scene and made the movie overall a tour de force.

Fury was a wasted opportunity. By the time I forced myself to the end of that movie, I was literally thankful it was over. I kept hoping it'd get back on track, but it just got worse and worse. It started off so strong, and then went over a cliff (101% agree about the SS Panzer division thing).

 

[tzznandrew]

I do think Rey was training at the academy with Luke when the Kylo Ren massacre happened. Here is my personal theory regarding this:

Kylo killed everyone at the academy, but he couldn't get himself to murder poor, helpless, little Rey. He had too much light in him. So, ashamed with his actions, he hides her so that no one will ever find out about his moment of weakness. That is why when a "girl" is mentioned in helping thw droid escape from the order, he loses it. "WHAT GIRL..?" He's petrified. He can't take his failure from the past coming back to haunt him. She's a constant reminder of why he will never be Vader. Then the moment during the duel... "It IS you" he says.

I don't know, I'm going to have to get the DVD as soon as it comes out.

Yes. I thought the same thing here.

Rey: she was trained, right. That's the only thing that makes sense. She was trained as a jedi and then had her memory wiped. Perhaps she was more powerful than Kylo Ren and that's why he turned on the jedi--petulance. But, he didn't kill her. He couldn't. Probably because she is related to him and he still had good in him. So he dropped her on Jakku and wiped her mind. Aside from her being Luke's daughter, that's my big guess.

I'm more open to her not being Luke's daughter a month later, though.

 

[intlzncster]

Disagree re Segal, he had skills back in the day. I'm pretty sure he holds black belts in multiple disciplines.

Regarding Order 66, that's part of the prequel narrative that needs to purged from the SW "cannon" IMHO. IIRC, in the original book, Vader hunts down and kills the Jedi. That would have been so much better. Vader once turned, could have used the force to cloud his intentions and to defeat the Jedi, one by one. Could have been a great movie.

Yep, Seagal got into the movie business BECAUSE of those skills.

 

[intlzncster]

In either case, many suggest that she was trained in Luke's Jedi academy, then as it fell apart was hidden, and had her memories wiped. Hence he rapid proficiency with the force...she's already been trained as a Jedi.

Agree Daisy was well cast. Likable character...much more so than Luke ever was.

Luke was a complete ninny. I think that helped in contrasting his transformation though. He went from Naivety to Wisdom. You know, I don't think we as an audience were ever supposed to like Luke. He represents the struggle within all of us. Respected, but not liked.

 

[intlzncster]

Kylo killed everyone at the academy, but he couldn't get himself to murder poor, helpless, little Rey. He had too much light in him. So, ashamed with his actions, he hides her so that no one will ever find out about his moment of weakness. That is why when a "girl" is mentioned in helping thw droid escape from the order, he loses it. "WHAT GIRL..?" He's petrified. He can't take his failure from the past coming back to haunt him. She's a constant reminder of why he will never be Vader. Then the moment during the duel... "It IS you" he says.

That is an interesting theory. I'd add to it: perhaps Kylo and Ren ARE brother and sister, and this is why Kylo spares her. Kylo hides her away on a desert planet, in relative poverty, hoping she'd just fade away into history unnoticed. As you say, he is ashamed of his weakness, and when he has an opportunity to make up for it, he does so by killing Solo. Thereby exercising his demons (weakness), so to speak. Just a thought.

 

[intlzncster]

That is an interesting theory. I'd add to it: perhaps Kylo and Ren ARE brother and sister, and this is why Kylo spares her. Kylo hides her away on a desert planet, in relative poverty, hoping she'd just fade away into history unnoticed. As you say, he is ashamed of his weakness, and when he has an opportunity to make up for it, he does so by killing Solo. Thereby exercising his demons (weakness), so to speak. Just a thought.

EDIT: oh well, looks like tzz already had this idea.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

There is another on that postulates that she is Obi Wan's grand-daughter. In some cases, they say both Luke's daughter and Obi-wan's grand-daughter.

Yet another says she is Kylo's brother, Han and Leia's daughter. I'm not buying that really.

In either case, many suggest that she was trained in Luke's Jedi academy, then as it fell apart was hidden, and had her memories wiped. Hence he rapid proficiency with the force...she's already been trained as a Jedi.

Agree Daisy was well cast. Likable character...much more so than Luke ever was.

I agree that Daisey did a very good job. Of course, that makes me wonder how good Padme's character in Episodes I - III could have been if Natalie Portman was given a half-way decent script because she is one heck of an actress.

I went into the movie thinking that Rey was Han & Leia's daughter and Kylo was her brother; but, based on the movie, I now am pretty much set that she is Luke's daughter. No way Han & Leia would have not acknowledged her as theirs before Han died. As for being Obi-wan's granddaughter, that's too much of a stretch for me unless we learn that Jakku is actually Tatooine.

I also think she went through training at the Academy and survived. Whoever left her there, wiped her memories and somehow blocked/bound her natural force skills. I think when Kylo tried to mind-probe her, he inadvertently broke those blocks, which would explain how her skills exponentially grew in a 24 hour period. It also makes me think that Kylo was not the person to leave her in Jakku because he would have known about such a block. Instead, he suspects who she is; but, in his arrogance, thinking that he is stronger that her, pushes the mind probe too far and 'awakens' her much to his chagrin and near demise.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I agree that Daisey did a very good job. Of course, that makes me wonder how good Padme's character in Episodes I - III could have been if Natalie Portman was given a half-way decent script because she is one heck of an actress.

I went into the movie thinking that Rey was Han & Leia's daughter and Kylo was her brother; but, based on the movie, I now am pretty much set that she is Luke's daughter. No way Han & Leia would have not acknowledged her as theirs before Han died. As for being Obi-wan's granddaughter, that's too much of a stretch for me unless we learn that Jakku is actually Tatooine.

I also think she went through training at the Academy and survived. Whoever left her there, wiped her memories and somehow blocked/bound her natural force skills. I think when Kylo tried to mind-probe her, he inadvertently broke those blocks, which would explain how her skills exponentially grew in a 24 hour period. It also makes me think that Kylo was not the person to leave her in Jakku because he would have known about such a block. Instead, he suspects who she is; but, in his arrogance, thinking that he is stronger that her, pushes the mind probe too far and 'awakens' her much to his chagrin and near demise.

Natalie Portman is pretty mediocre, but still deserved a better script. The kid playing older Anakin...perhaps the ultimate role is the single worst actor to ever appear in a major film. And he had a bad script. Those three movies could have been amazing really. It's so sad.

I don't buy the Han and Leia daughter thing either. And I don't think anyone is going to be anyone else reincarnated...that's just a cop out ploy. I don't think it's a huge stretch that Luke had a child with Obi-wan's daughter. It would explain her strength with the force. She's stronger with the force than Kylo.

 

[FeedTheDove]

This is a little off-topic, but I just finished listening to The Force Awakens novel audio book. I thought it would be interesting to point out some details of the book that were not included in the movie. If you're strictly a movie person and don't want to pay attention to the books, then I would stop reading now.

- This is inferred during the movie, but we find out that Snoke has been around for a long time, definitely dating back to the original trilogy.
- Snoke tells Kylo that the reason that Kylo is Snoke's most valuable student is because he is able use both the power of the dark side AND the light side.
- The novel explains how Poe survived the crash. I won't go into the details, but some people probably didn't like how he just shows back up in the movie with no explanation.
- Plutt tracks Rey down and sees her at Maz's castle. When he tries to take her back with him, Chewwy rips his arm off.
- Leia doesn't show any support for the new Republic.

Here are two key ones in my opinion:

- After Kylo kills Han, rather than feeling stronger because of his actions, he feels even weaker, like something wasn't right. This just adds fuel to the fire to the conflicting character that is Kylo Ren. He has so much light in him still, and I can't wait to see how his character will develop.
- When Rey is kicking Kylo's a** after she channels the force during their duel, she hears a voice in her head say "Kill him." The voice is not specified in the novel but I think we are supposed to believe that it is Snoke's voice.

I'm sure I am missing some other scenes that are included in the novel that aren't in the movie, but those are the ones that stuck out to me. If anyone has read the novel that wants to add to this list, that would be awesome.

One other thing that I thought would be worth pointing out which might mean nothing at all, but also might mean a whole lot is the voice actor for Snoke. In the audio book, Snoke's voice sounds a HELL of a lot like the emperor's voice. The way he emphasized certain syllables was definitely reminiscent of Sidious. I was sitting there like "am I listening to the emperor talk right now?" I'm not a supporter of the theory that Snoke is palpatine, but I thought that was very interesting.

 

[intlzncster]

This is a little off-topic, but I just finished listening to The Force Awakens novel audio book. I thought it would be interesting to point out some details of the book that were not included in the movie. If you're strictly a movie person and don't want to pay attention to the books, then I would stop reading now.

I've not read the books, but would probably like to, so I'm not reading your post (thanks for the warning). Couple of questions though. I heard previously the distinction between Cannon and non-Cannon books. What's the difference? Who writes the actual true dead to rights works. Are they worth it if you've already seen the movies? Which ones should I read? Note: I don't want to spoil future movies.

I could google all of this, but I don't want to accidentally happen on any spoilers. So I'd prefer not to do so. Cheers.

 

[tzznandrew]

I've not read the books, but would probably like to, so I'm not reading your post (thanks for the warning). Couple of questions though. I heard previously the distinction between Cannon and non-Cannon books. What's the difference? Who writes the actual true dead to rights works. Are they worth it if you've already seen the movies? Which ones should I read? Note: I don't want to spoil future movies.

I could google all of this, but I don't want to accidentally happen on any spoilers. So I'd prefer not to do so. Cheers.

Everything--books, video games, etc.--was canon before Disney bought it. The stories had gotten crazy complicated, and so they turned all those to "Legends." Which means they don't count. Now Disney hires out authors to write the books and they do count.

Authors and screenwriters still can from the "Legends," but do so more randomly. Sometimes a character from "Legends" becomes "canon" because of the movies or TV shows. One of the ancient Sith characters has all sorts of now non-canon stories about him, but he was referenced in the Clone Wars cartoon, so he's canon now. The inquisitors were non-canon "Legends," but then made canon by Rebels.

 

[intlzncster]

Everything--books, video games, etc.--was canon before Disney bought it. The stories had gotten crazy complicated, and so they turned all those to "Legends." Which means they don't count. Now Disney hires out authors to write the books and they do count.

Authors and screenwriters still can from the "Legends," but do so more randomly. Sometimes a character from "Legends" becomes "canon" because of the movies or TV shows. One of the ancient Sith characters has all sorts of now non-canon stories about him, but he was referenced in the Clone Wars cartoon, so he's canon now. The inquisitors were non-canon "Legends," but then made canon by Rebels.

OK, so what should I read? And don't say everything, because I need some focus here. And in what order should I read them?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

FYI...Just saw a posting on official ages of the new main characters at the time of the Force Awakens

• Rey = 19
• Finn = 21
• Kylo = 29
• Poe = 32
• Hux = 34

Interesting that Rey is the same age as Luke on a New Hope and Anakin in Attack of the Clones. Also means she was 9 when the Academy fell and Kylo was 19 when he turned.

PS - Any catch that the release date for Episode XIII has been moved from May to December of 2017?

 

[FeedTheDove]

OK, so what should I read? And don't say everything, because I need some focus here. And in what order should I read them?

Honestly, this is the first star wars reading material that I've taken part in, so I'm sort of with you here. I know the new comic books are Canon, but don't know what other reading material is Canon. I've been thinking of starting to watch Clone Wars and then Rebels. I've heard positive things about both.

PS - Any catch that the release date for Episode XIII has been moved from May to December of 2017?

Yes, and I was about to cry when they announced it. Twitter responses were hilarious though.