Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII I like the new X-Wing design. It only makes sense that 30+ years after the OT the Rebel Alliance would develop a superior followup to their frontline fighters during the Galactic Civil War. In the real world most nations upgrade their frontline combat aircraft at least once during a 30-year period so it's cool to see that the Alliance shopped around for a new design to keep themselves as well-armed and equipped as possible in the face of post-Vader and Emperor threats.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII The Naboo fighter always looked like it came from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea to me. Like the submarine from that show had escort fighters.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII The idea that the Republic slowly *became* the Empire has been out there since day one. Hell, I'm pretty sure it's spelled out in the original film's novelization. Why wouldn't there be commonalities in what equipment the Empire and Old Republic used? As for the Naboo fighter, while whether one likes the aesthetic or not is a matter of personal taste, the whole point was to show that there was a cultural shift under way and that makes it totally valid IMO. Showing the move away from the elegant designs unique to individual systems and towards the harsh, utilitarian, homogenised and uniform design aesthetic was very much intentional. It ties back to Kenobi's sentiment about "a more civilized age." As for this new X-wing like ship; I like it. Clearly inspired by the early McQuarrie concepts. Can't wait to see them in action. Regarding the comparisons to the Z-95 Headhunter: well...no duh? That ship design was also derived from the same concept art, so the similarities should hardly be surprising. Besides, the closest thing to a canon design of the Z-95 is the one that appeared in TCW, not the EU materials and that looks much more like the early, slender looking study models with the green markings that McQuarrie's artwork.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Perhaps, but the way they did it just felt way too clumsy and obvious to me. Not to mention that watching the OT as a kid, I never would have expected or wanted to see the Jedi flying around in proto-Star Destroyers or bizarre TIE Fighter-inspired ships. It just didn't look like a natural fit at all, and didn't feel true to what they were. Yeah I actually don't mind the sleeker, shinier aesthetic of the prequels overall. That bit of reasoning I actually thought made sense. My problem was just that (except for the Naboo ships) I didn't think many of the prequel designs were all that good.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Since we know what the Imperial fighters will look like ahead of time, I see the resemblance of Jedi starfighters to TIE fighters as symbolic to us in the audience of the Jedi being undermined, corrupted, and made to look like the bad guys. Despite how unsubtle it is, I think it's a nice touch of irony.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII The Naboo Starfighters and the Queen's/Padmé's gleaming personal starships have been my favorite Prequel-era ships for a long time. They stand above all the other Republic and Clone Wars ships and smaller craft in how original and visually appealing they were. I have nothing against the Republic Gunships of the Clone Army or the Separatist craft or ARC-170 Starfighters (a forerunner of the Rebel X-Wings), but they just didn't look as nice nor as interesting.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII I personally like the Venerator class star destroyers, not as iconic as the Imperial star destroyers or as cool as the Victory class Star destroyers, but still a nice looking Clone war era ship.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII ...sorry, I'd just having a hard time picturing how else the designs could have been done. Did you expect them to sneak up and go "BOO!" at the last minute? Yeah, it's no co-incidence RotS opens with Anakin flying something that looks very much like Vader's fighter from ANH. There's also I think a very 'Flash Gordon' type aesthetic going on with those ships, which definitely speaks to the early roots of Star Wars. Another implication of the seemingly artisan made starfighters is that it could symbolise how soft and decadent the Republic had become. Like how the older a civilization gets, the more it's ceremonial military regalia looks less and less like something any sane person would take into battle and more and more like a peacock that got covered in glue and tossed into a cheap jewellery shop. Complete with anatomically accurate bespoke bronzed armour and a stick with a little brass knob on the end. The hard straight lines, mono-chrome pallet and no frills designs of the Empire lie in stark contrast as tightly regimented, purposeful and monolithic. Basically it's storytelling by way or art design.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII I still think the Sith Infiltrator was the best looking ship from the prequels. Criminally underused in the films.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Quantity does not equal quality. You need to check out The Iron Druid Chronicles, they're awesome. Or at least the first one is, that's as far as I've gotten so far. As for the other bits of news, that rumored plot sounds kinda stupid. I like the idea of the main characters having to go searching for a missing Luke, but I don't like that they haven't seen him 30 years. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't mention Leia, and I find it hard to believe that her and Han wouldn't be together. I really like that X-Wing design. It's nice to see that they are sticking close to at least some of the original designs.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator is my favorite Prequel spaceship after the Naboo designs. I remember when the first Hasbro 3.75"-scale ship of the Infiltrator was released in stores the collecting community got very, very excited about it and for good reason. It's a pretty great little design.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII There's a pretty strong design lineage (even though some are by different manufacturers in-universe) between the: - Sith Infiltrator (delta fuselage with spherical rear command pod and canted wings) - Delta-6/7/8 (delta fuselage with bubble cockpit) - Eta-2 (delta fuselage with spherical cockpit pod and canted wings) - V-Wing (delta fuselage with vertical wings) - A-Wing (delta fuselage with bubble cockpit) The Sith Infiltrator and Eta-2 are in the same "family" but lean more toward TIE Interceptors, with the V-Wing has the vertical wing angle of the TIE Fighter, so I don't really see it as outlandish at all.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Going to throw this out there but... Luke Skywalker is now a Sith. Just saying..
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII The Naboo starfighter reminds me of a 1930's Gee Bee plane like in the movie "the rocketeer"
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII The whole prequel trilogy echoes art deco design from the 20's and 30's.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII And the sleeker, more sophisticated and regal ways of life on planets like Naboo before the rise of the Empire left so much of the galaxy sterile, gray and mechanized. Almost everything about the Naboo people speaks of life and of the celebration and harnessing of nature.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Well regardless of the need or justification for the designs used in the prequels, I'm very happy to see a return to the dirtier, clunkier, and beat up world of the OT again. For me it's just the absolute ideal look for the SW universe, and the one that is the most fun to see and explore.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII One of the charms of the Millennium Falcon has always been that it looks like it's been through a supernova and out the other side and has scorches, carbon scoring and grime plastered all over its outer hull. Just like a real-life interstellar spacecraft probably would after a few years prowling around in deep space. The ship has character.