J.J. Abrams wants to take 'Star Wars: Episode VII' back to the series' grittier roots

[Brandon Rhea]

You can have a light tone that appeals to parents and kids and still have things like deaths. Remember, the most kid-friendly film in the franchise is A New Hope, and Luke kills thousands if not millions of people when he blows up the Death Star. Keeping things light and fun is not the same thing as keeping them soft. Things can be as gritty and as dark as they need be, but the worst thing they could do is turn what used to be a fun summer blockbuster and make it all dark and Nolany.

 

[Cainhurst Crow]

Agreed. That would actually be worse then them including a comedic relief sidekick character imo. Would make the film both generic and heavily dated, and that's something I really don't want.

 

[Kaeb]

Movies don't need to be light in tone, they don't need to be dark and gritty, movies need to be smart. That is all. That is ****ing all.

And that is all we need from these films in particular.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

Movies don't need to be light in tone, they don't need to be dark and gritty, movies need to be smart. That is all. That is ****ing all.

And that is all we need from these films in particular.

Which is one of the reasons I’m happy that Lawrence Kasdan is one of the writers. No one, not even George Lucas, understood Luke, Leia, and Han the way that Kasdan did. The tone, feel, and structure of Empire was fantastic. Lots of that was the result of Irvin Kershner as well, but it was all based on a really good script. It was a very, very smart movie. I really hope they go into the mystical feel of the Force again, because Empire captured that the best.

 

[Kaeb]

Kasdan has worked on and written for some absolute stinkers though, so let's not forget that either.

 

[Ten10dix]

Empire was by far my favorite movie out of all six. The scenes on Bespin in particular, especially when the gang meet Vader for tea. That scene is engraved in my mind.

Plus the lightsaber battle at the end was really good. I like the flashiness of the prequels but the emotion of the originals was great (apart from Vader vs Obi, I personally found it quite... Lame? From what I remember anyway). Maybe this time we'll have both flashiness and emotion? That'd be nice.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

Kasdan has worked on and written for some absolute stinkers though, so let's not forget that either.

He did. I'm assuming you're primarily talking about Dreamcatcher? If so, I don’t really hold that against him. That was one of Stephen King’s worst novels ever. That was him trying to get back into the swing of things after his car accident. It never should’ve been a movie.

 

[Kaeb]

He did. I'm assuming you're primarily talking about Dreamcatcher? If so, I don’t really hold that against him. That was one of Stephen King’s worst novels ever. That was him trying to get back into the swing of things after his car accident. It never should’ve been a movie.

Nope. Look at his entire filmography (I wrote an assignment/paper in which he had a small part to play when discussing cultural contributions by otherwise unknown writers. Covering everything from American sensationalism to friggin Icelandic patriotism. That was a hefty assignment.), he's been involved in quite a few turds. Just as Kennedy has, and Abrams has been involved in a few too.

Like I've said before, for every good thing you can find about those involved in these films, a shadow is cast behind them. The gauge is pretty neutral right now, the only thing that could possibly tip it in the right or even wrong direction is some actual content like I mentioned before.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

Kasdan is the one you can draw more optimism from. Unlike Abrams and Kennedy, Kasdan has a Star Wars track record. We know that he’s written the best films of the franchise, and that he understands those characters better than any of the other writers on the franchise. Doesn't guarantee a third good outing for him, but it's a good plus in his direction.

 

[Kaeb]

Kasdan is the one you can draw more optimism from. Unlike Abrams and Kennedy, Kasdan has a Star Wars track record. We know that he’s written the best films of the franchise, and that he understands those characters better than any of the other writers on the franchise. Doesn't guarantee a third good outing for him, but it's a good plus in his direction.

Meh.

You can think about it that way if you like, I'd rather look at his work overall and grade it as such instead of only considering the good. And in that sense, like the others, he's at a strong neutral.

That's if they even end up honouring the final script.