What To Expect In The New Rogue One Trailer

With the Star Wars Celebration taking place in London this week, we will get another look at Rogue One.

This Friday on ABC a one hour special titled  “Secrets of the Force Awakens” will air and at some point in that broadcast we will get a look at the next Rogue One trailer.

But what will we see?

Besides the storyline of Resistance efforts to steal the Empire’s plans for the Death Star, there’s very little known on what exactly we can expect.

The first trailer gave us some epic shots of awesomeness and some new characters, but besides that we’re still very much in the dark.

Before I continue I want to first say that Disney is the absolute best at keeping movie details under wraps until the films are released.

For instance, with The Force Awakens we all had no clue what was going to happen.

I would expect the same with RO.

Before you start to think of what will be seen in the next trailer, it’s important to see the parallels with TFA.

The second TFA trailer was released last in April 2015 during the Star Wars celebration in California.

As you can see, the trailer had almost nothing of substance.

Normally I would suggest the same thing will occur with RO’s next trailer but you know what? I don’t think that’s the case.

With the TFA, things were different. We all knew the six Star Wars movies like the back of our hands.

We were searching and craving for any little snippet of picture time that showcased our favorite characters and vigorously searched far and wide for any plot twists.

That’s exactly why the trailers for the movie were so vanilla. They were released knowing that the public would eat up anything Star Wars related.

But as I said earlier with RO, there’s very little known information on what is to come.

That brings me to my next point. Because there’s a real lack of knowledge, I fully expect to see something mind blowing, something that we will be talking about for months to come.

What could that exactly be?Maybe more screen time for the man in the white cape?  What about a demonstration of sheer might from the Empire? Or maybe an appearance of Darth Vader!?

All of these possibilities would be pretty epic but the last one is what I’m hoping for.

But on the realistic side of things I’m not sure exactly if that would really happen.

Would it make sense for RO to show their biggest and most popular character in only the second trailer?

Honestly I’m not sure.

With TFA, probably the biggest takeaway was the deformed helmet of Darth Vader and the hearing of Luke’s voice.

Looking back that was pretty major considering Kylo Ren is Luke’s nephew and the second trailer clearly foreshadowed that pretty big nugget with Luke’s line of “The Force is strong in my family.”

It’s almost a sure bet we will see something similar in this trailer with RO considering that Disney is very high on symmetry.

But think about it. What else do you want to see in RO that has not been mentioned before.

I know what I would want and that’s an appearance of the Emperor.

It would definitely make sense. With the amount of resources the Empire sunk into the Death Star and the amount of importance it holds for them, you would expect the top man to be around right?

I do believe Palpatine will be in RO but my one concern is I’m not sure if he will be in the second trailer or even the third.

It might be showing your cards too early and when it comes to Star Wars, rookie mistakes like that are never made.

You ever see a trailer for a movie like a Marvel Comics superhero flick where it feels like it’s 35 minutes long and by the time it’s over you’re almost under the impression that you just saw all the good parts??

Yea well Star Wars doesn’t have that ridiculousness…

Star Wars decision makers do it right and something they are absolutely famous for is not revealing anything too important.

I do believe RO is a different animal because it is so new but I wouldn’t be that surprised if we do see something pretty spectacular in the trailer since I’m sure they’re wanting to build up the buzz.

In the end, what will we see?

Main characters of other previous films? Possibly.

Parts of intense fighting scenes? Probably.

Could their be some hints leading to something major? I fully expect it.

 

All I know is I’m excited for Friday.

RO will be fantastic and I just can’t wait to learn more.

-Sith Pacify out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initial Reaction on The Force Awakens

Happy Holidays everyone!

It’s been a while since my last post but I assure you, I have returned.

I wanted to give everyone a good 10 days before I wrote anything TFA related just to ensure I didn’t spoil anyone’s experience with the movie.

So, lets dive into it.

Initial Reaction

Like many devote Star Wars fans, I saw the movie on opening night.

I was beyond excited and it was heartwarming to see this again…

As I watched the movie, I was attempting to mentally piece together the plot, what was to come and decipher everything I was seeing.

Instead, I found myself losing out on the main point, taking everything in and enjoying it.

After the movie ended, honestly I was not completely impressed.

I thought of The Force Awakens as average to slightly above.

If I were to rate the movie I would have given it a 2 1/2 stars out of 4 and if I was feeling rather generous, maybe 3 out of 4.

But honestly, I think the loss of a certain character had me feeling down.

To put it more bluntly, I was devastated.

I’ve written here before that I expected Han or Luke to die but to actually see it is well, heartbreaking!

I left the theater that night shaking my head.

I was upset that one of the greatest characters in movie history was no longer with us.

This might be a little pathetic but it almost felt like I lost a close family member!

Nonetheless, there are other distinctions throughout the movie that made me question TFA.

Now I’m an extremely optimistic person and I have unconditional love for Star Wars but to put it modestly I wasn’t all that impressed with the soundtrack either.

The main theme song for the movie that we hear in the third trailer was absent and I thought that was a big swing and a miss by JJ Abrams.

That song provided emotion, intrigue, fear and wonder.

With it being left out, things felt rather different.

But none of these differences come close to the major problem I had with the movie…

WHY IS LUKE BARELY IN THE MOVIE!?

Hear me out here…

I understand the story line very well.

I understand the point of his absence.

I also understand how his disappearance plays into the plot.

But it still brings me back to this…

Luke IS Star Wars.

Without having him in the movie without a doubt hurt its appeal.

Change of Heart

After thinking things through over the next couple days, something extraordinary happened.

I was craving to see the movie again.

What’s more, I was repeating lines throughout my days and reminiscing the awesome scenes that the movie brought us.

I was warming up to the movie!

Four days later, I went back to the theater and re-watched The Force Awakens.

At the end of the viewing, the results were exceedingly different.

I fell in love with the movie!

And you know what did it for me?

THIS GUY

Kylo Ren is rapidly moving up the board in my mind of most favorite villains in Star Wars.

I loved EVERYTHING about this character….everything.

The fact that his talents with the force were so intensely powerful yet so underdeveloped and raw is prophetic and powerful, figuratively and literally.

When Ren stopped Poe’s shot in mid-air…I was literally speechless!

I have never seen a more awe-inspiring and astonishing use of the force.

That whole scene was pure brilliance.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the repeated use of the force for interrogation purposes.

That was awesome and a very cool feature..especially when Rey flipped the script on him.

As for his lightsaber, it’s easily my favorite lightsaber throughout the Star Wars franchise.

The best way I can describe it is pure crackling energy that looks like the surface of the sun as flames are leaping about.

It’s fantastic!

He also has the option of activating the blade and the hand guards at once or the blade and then the hand guards.

That was a feature that I thought was very unique and great.

But above all, what I like about Kylo Ren the most is his voice.

Similar to his Grandfathers’, Ren’s voice is evil-sounding, bizarre and fear-inspiring.

JJ Abrams hit an absolute home run with the aesthetics of Kylo Ren.

I would give his character an easy 10/10 in creativity, the gravitation towards him and sheer awesomeness.

His personality was spectacular as well.

As I’m sure he is supposed to, his mannerisms were very similar to Anakin.

What jumps out at me the most is when he fights Rey and Finn near the end while he’s injured from an earlier well placed shot from Chewie’s bowcaster.

As Ren engages Finn in lighsaber combat, he repeatedly smacks his right side which is dripping blood.

I though that was awesome.

What that says to me is this guy is a warrior who doesn’t allow any distractions to tarnish his chances in achieving what he believes is his.

It also screams how much he delves into his emotions.

Ren would not allow his opponents the satisfaction of knowing he is injured (even if it wasn’t caused by them specifically) if he didn’t have a fiery personality with unpredictable emotion.

That’s my take on Kylo Ren, one of the most incredible characters in Star Wars.

The Verdict

I will be seeing The Force Awakens again on Monday.

It’s going to be my third time but I think it’s worth noting that this movie must be seen more than once.

Maybe even more than twice.

Look, there are a lot of small pieces that you could easily miss that play a major role in the film’s significance.

I strongly recommend you give this movie another shot, regardless of what you thought of it.

In the end, I have changed my rating and would now give TFA a 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.

The simple fact that Luke wasn’t in the movie till the end prevents me from giving it a perfect 4/4.

But still, the movie was wonderful.

I’ve only scratched the surface on how I felt or what I saw.

Stay tuned for more posts on the review of how my predictions for the movie went as well as future posts on many many subjects regarding The Force Awakens.

May the force be with you.

-Sith Pacify out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finn a Rogue Stormtrooper!?

During the Disney Channel’s showing of Girl Meets World Friday night, we got a new sneak peek of The Force Awakens.

Personally, my biggest takeaway from the information released was regarding Finn.

We’ve heard rumors about John Boyega’s character and why he is wearing stormtrooper armor…

Well, apparently Finn is officially a “stormtrooper gone rogue”.

What’s most interesting about this is the fact that Finn seemingly has the ability of the Force.

I wonder if the Empire had any idea that he was indeed force sensitive when he was a stormtrooper.

If they did, that would make sense since Kylo Ren apparently engages Finn in a lightsaber battle in the third trailer.

Maybe it was Ren’s job to hunt down Finn and to either destroy him or turn him to the Dark Side.

Now that we know Finn was a stormtrooper, it really does make sense that Kylo Ren would come after him.

Let’s take a step back.

The minds and makers of Star Wars love symmetry.

They love for events to come full circle and for closure to be found.

In the first Star Wars movie ever, the hero of the entire saga, Luke Skywalker, dons the white protection of stormtrooper armor.

Of course in this scene, he does so to infiltrate the Empire’s ranks in an attempt to save Princess Leia.

I have to say, originally I thought The Force Awakens would follow this same thought process.

Maybe Finn was to hide in plain sight through the means of stormtrooper armor.

Now that we know that is not the case, we can end the idea of symmetry along the lines of “Luke wore the armor to get around the Empire’s personnel so maybe Finn does too”.

As for the symmetry aspect, it would be foolish to excuse this notion as a whole.

Instead, I am going to go out on a limb here and say Finn will be the savior of this next trilogy.

It just seems like everything adds up for this to take place.

From Finn using a lightsaber, to supposed “main character” status, I think there’s enough here to make an educated guess.

Something else that I find fascinating is the rumors about Rey.

There’s this odd feeling that I have that Rey is a Jedi as well…

Although I don’t have much to back this up and even as I type this I seem to backtrack my ideas but nonetheless, something about her has me wondering if she is to be a Jedi as well.

It would be highly unusual for a Star Wars movie to have two separate characters become Jedi.

I say this because of course it’s still unknown who exactly will be the Jedi out of the two.

But even more than that…

Star Wars likes to have the focus or the spotlight on one character.

For the original trilogy, of course Han Solo was extremely popular and everybody fell in love with Princess Leia but it was clear that Luke was the man.

As for the prequels, Anakin was undeniably the focus.

Now back to The Force Awakens.

I would think that they would go in the same direction and star one character.

So, I’d have to think that that person would be Finn.

But hey, who knows!

We’re five weeks away ladies and gentlemen.

it’s officially time to get excited.

-Sith Pacify out

Where we Stand in the Star Wars Timeline…Right Now

It is currently Friday morning, the 13th of November.

We are four days away from the international launch of Star Wars Battlefront which is incredibly exciting not only because it’s a new Star Wars game (duh) but it will feature a lot of material from The Force Awakens.

In addition to the release of Battlefront, we are exactly five weeks away from Episode VII!

Since my last post, the excitement has seemingly ratcheted up to levels even I was unaware they could reach.

I’ve heard multiple times this week various theories on the events in TFA and how they are to play out.

In addition to the dissecting of the film’s plot, Disney has been working around the clock.

There’s multiple marketing platforms that have been intensely advertising the film which now includes TV.

What’s more, Disney is adding to their flawless marketing campaign by utilizing all of their platforms which is now including TV shows.

It was announced earlier this week that during Friday night’s showing of Girl Meets World on the Disney Channel, there will be a sneak peek of The Force Awakens.

Interestingly enough, this seems to be another audience Disney is reaching out too.

Clearly, the same people watching ESPN’s Monday Night Football will not be watching the Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World.

With that being said, the game plan is obvious.

Disney is trying to reach as many different groups as they possibly can while they spare no resource.

Now, on to Battlefront.

For many Star Wars gamers, this has been such a long time coming.

I can recall Halloween of 2005, the same day Star Wars Battlefront II was released.

After picking up my copy and after trick-or-treating, I fell into a deep state of nirvana as I immersed myself within the game.

Little did I know, it would be 10 long years until the next Star Wars Battlefront game would hit the shelves.

This is much bigger than a highly anticipated game however.

This is a groundbreaking event within the Star Wars community.

I know so many others who were just like me. Who waited and waited, wondering where the next Battlefront game was with no answers.

But all that is in the past now.

As the Grand Moff Tarkin once said, “This will be a day long remembered.”

Come next Tuesday, we finally get to see the next chapter of Star Wars Battlefront which I am extraordinarily excited for.

What’s the most exciting about all of this Star Wars talk is the potential.

With Episode VII coming out and Battlefront being released, just think of what’s next!

A Galaxy of endless possibilities awaits us.

-Sith Pacify out

What to Make of the Japanese Trailer

An international trailer was released this week and wow did it deliver. Very similar to the third trailer that was debuted during ESPN’s Monday Night Football, this one seemed to show different angles of that one.

Showing never before seen interactions between BB-8 and Rey as well as the introduction between Rey and Finn.

What was fascinating and maybe a bit of an Easter egg as well was a new line of Kylo Ren’s, “I will fulfill our destiny.”

He apparently says this as he is huddled over the crushed remains of Darth Vader’s helmet.

Clearly Ren is related to a cause of Vader’s which you could point to the obvious and say the Sith.

However, I don’t know if that’s true.

Think about this, if Kylo Ren was heavily involved with the Sith and was following the Dark Side, wouldn’t he “finish what you (Darth Sidious) started” with the Emperor?

We won’t know for sure until December 18th but I have a theory that makes sense.

Maybe not so much theory as to a hunch but I think Kylo Ren’s following in Vader’s footsteps is referring to turning Luke to the Dark Side.

If he is following Vader and what “he started” than my theory makes a lot of sense.

The clear cut spotlight of this trailer had to be the total awesomeness of Kylo Ren’s saber.

Several scenes had a closeup of the blade which showed a much different weapon than any we’ve seen.

Besides the prong-like hilt, the blade itself looks like an unstable jagged flame with destructive purposes.

The climax of the trailer is when Kylo Ren’s lightsaber is at Rey’s neck.

Honestly, I don’t know what this scene is about but I am unbelievably excited to find out.

This new trailer has generated even more energy among the masses as they count down the weeks to this highly anticipated film.

What’s special about the trailer however is the new material it has brought us yet it has done so with very little information being told.

We really know nothing more, that’s the fantastic part of all this.

As I said earlier, it’s almost like the third trailer but from different view points.

Once again, Bravo Disney, another job well done.

-Sith Pacify out

My Analysis on the Force Awakens Trailers

Last night, we finally got to see the highly anticipated third trailer for The Force Awakens.

So, now that we saw it, what did we think?

The word that comes to my mind when describing the trailer is tantalizing. 

Look I think this was easily the best trailer. It touched on so many facets of intrigue and curiosity for Star Wars fans.

Yet at the same time, it descended us all in an unimaginable deeper mystery.

We still don’t know what’s going on or what is really happening but there are plenty of ideas and rumors out there.

Now I want to compare the three trailers because I think I’ve found some connections.

The second scene in the first trailer has BB-8 desperately rolling away from somewhere or something.

Next you see stormtroopers inside what looks like an Imperial transport ship as the ramp of the vehicle drops down.

The following scene is what makes me see a connection between the trailers…

Rey looks as if she is in a frantic hurry as she rides away on a speeder.

Now fast forward to the second trailer.

It begins with Rey riding the same speeder towards a downed Star Destroyer.

Next I want to jump to last night’s trailer, stay with me here, I think I’ve found a correlation.

In the beginning of the trailer, the second image shows Rey climbing some structure.

The next couple scenes have Rey continue to search this vast room as she appears to be scavenging.

Here’s the connection.

All of these images and scenes came at the same points in all three trailers. It is very plausible to say that Rey was traveling towards the downed Star Destroyer, she goes inside what looks like an old broken down hangar and is searching around.

I think what happens next is the Empire somehow discovers her presence. That would explain the stormtroopers who appear to be unloading for some kind of action.

Well, what if inside that Star Destroyer, there was some kind of ancient artifact that was being transported before the enormous structure was shot down?

It could very well be since Rey looks like she’s leaving in a hurry from the same area in the first trailer as if she is being pursued.

Another scene that could help explain my theory is the fact that the third trailer shows Rey and BB-8 calmly walking throughout the deserts of Jakku.

Now, if Rey and BB-8 were discovered to be doing something that the Empire didn’t want them to do, the scene in the first trailer that I described above fits perfectly into my theory.

What if BB-8 and Rey got separated? It would definitely make sense since the little droid is seen rolling away as fast as he can with the emotion of fear all over in the first trailer.

The next image I want to disscuss is during the second trailer when we see the Millennium Falcon flying into what looks like the old remains of the same downed Star Destroyer’s engine.

Could it be that Han and Chewie somehow also learn of Rey’s presence in the fallen ship and try to rescue her from the Empire’s clutches?

I’m not sure but the stills definitely seem to agree with the theory.

In the third trailer, after the quick image of what looks like a forest being obliterated, you see the Millennium Falcon involved in a dogfight with two TIE fighters.

Of course this is all speculation but hey, who knows. The pieces seem to fit and there’s nothing concrete on what exactly is going on in these scenes at this point.

Now for all three of the trailers, as of right now I don’t see a huge amount of scenes that seem like they could be explained if put together so I won’t go from image to image.

What I was Looking For

On my Twitter account last night after the trailer aired, I listed three things I wanted to see in the trailer.

As you can see, 2/3 of these were fulfilled.

I have a feeling that the character of Kylo Ren is going to be so epic and awesome that his he will inspire future Halloween costumes for years to come.

What made me even more satisfied however was the fact that we got to hear Ren’s voice.

We’ve seen some similarities between him and Darth Vader thus far but the mechanically enhanced voice now just adds even more wonder.

Not to mention the fact that Kylo Ren seemed to be mystified by the crushed and mutilated helmet of Vaders’ as we saw in the trailer.

That was just plain cool!

The next on my list of what I wanted to see was more of the main characters.

This was fulfilled for me as well as we got to see and hear a lot more of Han as he indulged us in a perfect display of acting prowess as he seemingly told Rey and Finn that everything about the Dark Side and Jedi is all true.

I loved that seen. Harrison Ford is fantastic and it gives me chills just thinking about watching him on the big screen once again delivering another A+ performance of Han Solo.

Although we didn’t see much, we did see more of Chewbacca and you know what? What we saw was enough and okay for me.

As for Leia, we finally saw her as she is visibly upset and very much distressed while being embraced by Han.

Honestly, I don’t even want to speculate on what this could mean but for Leia and Han to be this mournful, it can’t be good…

Now, the final part of my list that I hoped to see in the trailer was Luke.

Of course we know that he did not appear or even speak. (like he did in the second trailer)

In addition to not seeing Luke, over the weekend the official Star Wars poster was released and there was one mammoth takeaway from it…THERE’S NO LUKE!!

So before I panic and we all lose our minds, where the heck is Luke!?

There’s no way of knowing for sure but here are some theories…

If he is one of the centerpieces of the film (we all assume he is) and something drastic is to happen to him, maybe they are building up anticipation?

Another theory I thought of is, what if he is somehow mangled and disfigured?

Think about it, we haven’t seen his face in any of the trailers yet and the one figure that could be him is when we see someone touching the dome of R2-D2 with a mechanical hand.

As we saw in the original trilogy, there was a flesh colored appearance over the prosthetic that replaced his right hand but if he was badly injured somehow…who knows?

The figure is shrouded in what looks like the classic Jedi cloak with the hood pulled over to hide the face.

So really I’m not sure, purely speculation at this point.

End Game

So, to sum things up, the final trailer was everything it had to be and more.

It was amazing, it was fantastic and it was really awesome.

Although I didn’t think it could happen, I am even more psyched for the release of this film.

I don’t have much criticisms for the trailer in fact for the whole Force Awakens campaign as a whole I have nothing negative to say.

Disney did everything right to this point and there’s no reason to expect that not to continue.

-Sith Pacify out

The Third Trailer is Among Us…FINALLY!

At long last, Star Wars fans can rejoice as the third trailer for the most intensely anticipated movie of the last decade is set to release in less than two months.

It has been exactly 186 days since the second trailer was released and I believe I speak for everyone when I say…FINALLY!!

The trailer is set to be shown tonight during ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

A couple weeks ago, I predicted that the third trailer would be released during the events at Comic Con in New York CIty.

I thought that the atmosphere would be the perfect venue for such a big moment, clearly I was wrong.

Well, maybe I wasn’t wrong, Comic Con would have still been a great place for the trailer to surface but there’s something else, something that is amazing for all of us.

You see, the fact that the Star Wars decision makers, wherever they may reside (probably Coruscant) would be so bold to partner with a sports outlet means that they are very confident in their product and intend to branch out.

To maximize their advertising reach, Star Wars must reach out to different populations.

In other words, tonight is an attempt to garnish a following from different crowds.

Last year, Monday Night Football was ranked as the most watched cable series for its ninth year in a row…

There’s no reason to think that this year is no different, in fact, I would go so far to say that MNF is even more popular this year.

In 2014, MNF averaged just under 10 million viewers per showing.

Now, factor in the yesterday’s announcement of the trailer being shown during the game tonight and what do you get? A massive joining of fanbases.

I’ve said before, the marketing behind this campaign is phenomenal.

It seems to impress me every single step of the way.

When I expect Star Wars to maximize their potential for attracting more attention, they seem to go against my thinking and go an entire different route.

That being said, that alternate plan of action is even more brilliant than the first one!

Airing the third trailer on national TV during the most popular program in the country is just one of many fantastic decisions Disney has made for the franchise.

Let’s not forget the incredible secrecy Star Wars was able to establish during filming as well.

For something as popular and widespread as Star Wars to have practically zero information or material breached is mind boggling.

Especially in this day and age where almost every person in the civilized world carries a recording device in their pocket, this achievement is remarkable.

So, as we all count down the hours till we get to see the last footage till The Force Awakens is finally released, it is official, the here and now as well as the future of our beloved Star Wars, is in good hands.

-Sith Pacify out