Since we're just a week away and both the promotional side is ramping up intensity, along with the chances of spoilers (to say nothing of the likelihood of leaks!) I thought I'd start up the spoiler thread now so at least we're out in front of it all. Vanity Fair article 'Star Wars: The Rebellion Will Be Televised'
I'm so damn excited about this show. I've been waiting for years with all of the speculation and the rumors and then finally confirmation that we would get to see Ewan McGregor onve again as Obi-Wan, arguably the best thing to come out of the prequels (along with Natalie Portman...albeit only in Episode I, but not her fault!). Next Friday is going to be especially amazing. Not just this show premiering but also the long-awaited return of Stranger Things.
I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiment, but in the same breath I feel as though Hayden gets a bit of a bum wrap. I won't deny I had similar feelings for the longest time, but the more I've watched the prequels (especially RotS) over the recent years, the more I've come to appreciate what he was actually doing. Yeah, the dialogue was awkward and melodramatic as all get-out, but that was a stylistic choice on the part of Lucas. A melodrama was exactly what he set out to make! Yes, Hayden's delivery seems oddly stilted at times, but it suddenly clicked for me a while ago when I finally realised what he was doing: he was matching his cadence and inflection to James Earl Jones! Seriously, go back and watch his scenes from RotS and try and imagine Mr. Earl Jones delivering those lines instead; Hayden is pretty much bang on the dot. As for the weird word choices and flowery turns of phrase: remember that this is a person that spent the first 10 years as an uneducated slave, working in a junk shop, and the three people he looks up to most are a Queen/Senator, a Monk, and a Senator/Supreme Chancellor. He's ashamed of his peasant roots and insecure about his education, and probably limited literacy. It's as if the way he speaks sometimes is just how *he thinks* and educated person speaks. So honestly, I think if anything I'm interesting in what Hayden will do on the show than Ewan. I already know Ewan is great and I've seen him in a whole bunch of stuff over the years. Hayden on the other hand still feels oddly like an unknown quantity. A rematch with Vader wasn't what I initially wanted for this show, but I'm curious to see how it plays out regardless. That said I feel like that's a "last 2 episodes" thing and most of the conflict will be with Third Sister. Indeed subtracting a decade from the actors age indicates she was likely a contemporary of Ahsoka, Trilla, Cal and Caleb/Kanan. Likely fought in the Clone Wars and from what we saw in the trailer, probably knew Obi-Wan. I'm curious if her Master was anyone we know, or if she was a Knight by the time of Order 66. Side note: who wants to place odds that we're in for ANOTHER Order 66 scene?
Yeah, I've always gotten the sense that Hayden was a better actor than what we saw because of poor dialogue and directing (and being forced to do it in front of a green screen for most of the time) which gave him a really bad rap, not unlike Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart thanks to Twilight. Unfortunately, unlike those two, I don't think I've ever actually seen any of his work outside of Star Wars so I don't know what he's really like as an actor (I have heard good things). Oh, that is a good way of looking at it. I hadn't really put much thought into it but those are some good points. And I definitely hadn't noticed him trying to emulate James Earl Jones. I don't know if I'll ever watch those films again (the last time I did was just after watching Clone Wars for the first time a couple of years ago and I was still very meh on them) but I'll try to remember this if I do. That's always fun to see. That would be a cool way of giving Third Sister some depth to her characterization.
I honesty haven't seen him in anything else. I vaguely recall him being in a quasi-super hero thing after Star Wars call "Jumper" I think? All I know about it is that it didn't do all that well.
So their grand story is that Leia is kidnapped and he needs to go and save her? That sounds awfully familar.
I’m surprised they put this up so early. Unfortunately I have to wait a few more hours before I get the tv to myself. Ugh.
When Leia said that her father is going to rescue her it’s going to be Vader I bet. Surprised Maul wasn’t the kidnapper. Seems like something he would do.
The Inquisitors would be much more interested in him. In killing him. Working with them wouldn't make a lick of sense.
Yeah but Maul at this time is in charge of a crime syndicate. He could have ordered people to get her to draw Kenobi out, for the same reasons she has.
It's Kenobi. Maul isn't trusting that to any lackeys, it's the one thing you can absolutely be certain he'd do himself. See also, a few years later during Rebels. I'd also point out, given Kenobi's reaction when Maul threatens Luke, that if Maul were in any way involved in a plot against Leia, he'd be dead years too early. Also, that would be a very different show. This one is about the Inquisitors trying to draw out Kenobi, not Maul.
Holy shit, young Leia is the second coming of young Anakin, except I think Jake Lloyd might actually have been a better child actor. Her writing is especially terrible, she is speaking dialog that I legitimately think is more for a young teenager then a 9-10 year old, and it comes off as feeling prequel levels of bad sounding dialog. All the scenes with Kenobi that don't include Leia are great, while everything that includes Leia makes me wish I was watching Episode I instead, since at least it had the excuse of George Lucas being a terrible writer/director to explain why it was so fucking annoying. Its like I'm watching those horrendous straight to video Ewok movies. Also, the 3rd Sister is easily the worst adult actor on the show, I legitimately don't know how she got cast in anything, she's like a block of wood came to life. I don't know what to think about this show so far overall. I'm loving Kenobi himself and the story around him, but the precocious kid stuff is just fucking terrible.
I just despise Inquisitors and their stupid helicopter lightsabers. They’re terrible characters. Making Maul the person that draws him out which leads to Kenobi coming and destroying his criminal empire is a more appealing story for me. Anyway I’m sure Kenobi will kill them in no time and we can get on to Vader.
Tem Morrison as a Clone Trooper. Just not any of the ones you were hoping for. At least so far. Tiny Leia is channeling her mother something fierce. And it's clearly personal for Third Sister. Curious what her backstory is. This is a great start, overall. I suspect we all called the ending of the second episode when we heard there would be two eps this first week. But it still gets the blood pumping. Very much looking forward to this. So, you'd rather watch "Maul gets his butt kicked by Kenobi, loses everything, part however many," even though everything that really needs to be said about the relationship between the two has already been said? More power to you, I suppose. I love Maul, but anything they do with the character moving forward needs to be Kenobi-less. Rebels already closed out that chapter in the most perfect fashion, and I just don't see what else can be done that adds anything to the story. But there has always been a beat missing between Kenobi and Vader. We see where it starts, we see where it ends. But each has a line of dialogue in the OT that just doesn't fit anything we see in the PT. (Vader's "Obi-wan once thought as you did." We never see any evidence of that. And Kenobi's "He's more machine now than man, twisted and evil." How does he know that? Last he saw Anakin he was being char broiled on Mustafar.) This is a chance to plug a gap that was just hanging there, waiting.
Well that explains why it isn’t Jason Issacs. I’m surprised she knows that Vader is Anakin. I would have thought that would be a closely guarded secret. That last shot of Vader was fine but that could have been anyone under that makeup. Didn’t really look like Hayden.
I just assumed he knew that by watching the holonet. They do get the news on Tattooine. I understand what you’re saying and seeing that moment was cool, but it’s still not that necessary.
It wouldn’t be Maul because he an Obi-Wan don’t see each other between the Clone Wars and Rebels. You could do it but they couldn’t interact and so what would be the point of bring him in? The actress playing young Leia is the most adorable little actress since the girl who plays Judith on the Walking Dead.