[Bryan See]

Oh, gorgeous this Star Wars film is since The Force Awakens... :D

[Scourge of Ages]

Well it is certainly gorgeous. I'm excited for Star Wars again! Also: nostalgia russsshhhhh.

[zookeeper]

Too bad it's a prequel so you already know more or less what's going to happen. Kind of takes half the excitement away.

[Luis Dias]

I don't think it does. I mean, in every Star Wars movie you know the baddies are going to lose. Is your experience wronged because of this knowledge? No. We know that the Bothans will get the plans of the Death Star into Leia's hands.

What we don't know is what, hopefully, the writers of this movie will focus on, meaning, the path and fate of the characters they are creating for the movie. Will the protagonist die? "Many bothans died ...." Who is going to survive or not? Who is going to grow through the movie and who is not? What kind of growth will it be? What kind of arc will the characters go through? All we know is that a piece of info gets to Leia. We know nothing about these new characters's future.

Unlike the other prequels, where we knew pretty much where Obi Wan, Anakin, Luke, Leia, Palpatine, Yoda, etc., etc. would all end up. They could still have written a good trilogy out of it, even with all that handicap. But here, there's no such handicap. It's all in the dark! I love it.

Also, the title clearly suggests there's the possibility of being a "Rogue Two" movie if this one succeeds. I'm way more interested in this movie than the "young Solo" or the "Bobba Fett" movies (are those even going to be made?), which have no actual sense of mystery to them, do they? We know the characters. Do we really need those movies? I think this movie is going in the interesting direction: it's a vast galaxy, it must have far more interesting stories than just "the central one".

[The E]

Small correction: Bothans only died getting the plans of the second DS. Presumably, no Bothans were killed here.

[Phantom Hoover]

the bothans only died the second time round because by then people had figured out that they were all spies

[zookeeper]

I don't think it does. I mean, in every Star Wars movie you know the baddies are going to lose. Is your experience wronged because of this knowledge? No. We know that the Bothans will get the plans of the Death Star into Leia's hands.

What we don't know is what, hopefully, the writers of this movie will focus on, meaning, the path and fate of the characters they are creating for the movie. Will the protagonist die? "Many bothans died ...." Who is going to survive or not? Who is going to grow through the movie and who is not? What kind of growth will it be? What kind of arc will the characters go through? All we know is that a piece of info gets to Leia. We know nothing about these new characters's future.

Sure, that's the other half. I just like it much more when I don't know what the ending of a movie (plot-wise) is going to be, and that's something that a tie-in prequel can never offer.

Of course, it doesn't affect how good the movie is, especially on subsequent viewings, but it does make it less exciting for me. Enjoyable character arcs and all that are great, but the possibility that a movie might have those is something that never factors in to how excited I am about seeing it.

[Grizzly]

Too bad it's a prequel so you already know more or less what's going to happen. Kind of takes half the excitement away.

Well, not really? You knwo that Leia eventually gets her hands on the Death Star plans, but all the stuff leading up to it is unknown.
For all you know they might die!

[StarSlayer]

New Order is best Order.

While its a little sad Kyle Katarn is probably getting redacted by this, the premise has a lot of potential and I dig seeing the Imperial hardware even the earlier iterations of the AT AT and such.  Hopefully they make the best out of having Donnie Yen and don't fall prey to the typical western shaky**** camera work for filming martial arts.  Seriously the first idiot that implemented that filming method in a fight scene needs to get bludgeoned with a kali stick.  It also warms the cockles of my heart to see insecure dweebs whingeing about two Star Wars films in a row having female leads.

[Det. Bullock]

New Order is best Order.

While its a little sad Kyle Katarn is probably getting redacted by this, the premise has a lot of potential and I dig seeing the Imperial hardware even the earlier iterations of the AT AT and such.  Hopefully they make the best out of having Donnie Yen and don't fall prey to the typical western shaky**** camera work for filming martial arts.  Seriously the first idiot that implemented that filming method in a fight scene needs to get bludgeoned with a kali stick.  It also warms the cockles of my heart to see insecure dweebs whingeing about two Star Wars films in a row having female leads.

Well, Katarn was widely ignored to begin with, there was another game made later where the spy that got the rebel plans was a Twi'lek and before him the plans were stolen byt hijacking a secret imperial satellite network (X-wing).

[Luis Dias]

Sure, that's the other half. I just like it much more when I don't know what the ending of a movie (plot-wise) is going to be, and that's something that a tie-in prequel can never offer.

But when does that seriously happens? A trailer comes up with a movie like The Avengers and you get to see the villain and his plans to conquer Earth, while the heroes are stuck on some kind of problem to deal with. Well, gosh, are you really suggesting you don't know how that movie will end? For reals, 95% of the movies' ending out there are totally predictable. Take any heist movie. You obviously know the heist is going to be made successfully. But the ramifications, you don't. The characters and what happens to them and what they choose to do you definitely don't. But the heist itself? Come on, that's a given.

And that's the perfect analogy. This is a heist movie. We know therefore that the heist is going to be made, and that would be true even if we didn't know anything else but it being a "heist movie". But we know nothing more about it. Because the only thing we know is that a piece of info passes to another person. As far as "spoliers" go, that's nothing. You don't know **** about what happens to the real important things in the movie, which are their characters and the underlying themes that they try to express (things like contradictory elements such as how to deal with trust and rebellion at the same time, for instance. How to trust a spy, and a million other such kinds of themes, etc).

[zookeeper]

Sure, that's the other half. I just like it much more when I don't know what the ending of a movie (plot-wise) is going to be, and that's something that a tie-in prequel can never offer.

But when does that seriously happens? A trailer comes up with a movie like The Avengers and you get to see the villain and his plans to conquer Earth, while the heroes are stuck on some kind of problem to deal with. Well, gosh, are you really suggesting you don't know how that movie will end? For reals, 95% of the movies' ending out there are totally predictable. Take any heist movie. You obviously know the heist is going to be made successfully. But the ramifications, you don't. The characters and what happens to them and what they choose to do you definitely don't. But the heist itself? Come on, that's a given.

Sure, in many if not most movies the broad strokes of the ending are predictable, but to my excitement it makes a big some difference whether I know them or not (or think I know, if you prefer). I can see myself being excited about a heist movie even if it's predictable that the heist succeeds, because I know I don't really know it, leaving some room for imagination and uncertainty. But I'd always be less excited about a heist movie prequel which tells the origin story of the heist movie character(s).

And that's the perfect analogy. This is a heist movie. We know therefore that the heist is going to be made, and that would be true even if we didn't know anything else but it being a "heist movie". But we know nothing more about it. Because the only thing we know is that a piece of info passes to another person. As far as "spoliers" go, that's nothing. You don't know **** about what happens to the real important things in the movie, which are their characters and the underlying themes that they try to express (things like contradictory elements such as how to deal with trust and rebellion at the same time, for instance. How to trust a spy, and a million other such kinds of themes, etc).

Well, I don't expect to be able to analyze myself comprehensively enough to explain the exact psychological mechanics of why I don't get very excited about stories where I already know the endpoint (more or less). It just feels more pointless overall, more like connecting the dots instead of having potential to go anywhere, and perhaps mainly it feels like the story is subservient to whatever it ties into in a way that sequels don't.

If I'm excited about seeing a movie, my imagination is focused on speculating about the plot, what's going to happen and where things will go. If I know where it will go, then there's less room for my imagination, and thus less excitement.


P.S. And, again, this is just about excitement. Nothing to do with how good the movie is when/after you actually see it.

P.P.S. I haven't seen nor want to see The Avengers, and I do think trailers often give away way too much plot. I find that movie experiences are always elevated by knowing less beforehand.

[Dragon]

I don't think it does. I mean, in every Star Wars movie you know the baddies are going to lose.

Guess ESB doesn't count as a Star Wars movie, then. Sure, they do lose eventually, but the movie itself ends on a fairly grim note.

[NGTM-1R]

Guess ESB doesn't count as a Star Wars movie, then. Sure, they do lose eventually, but the movie itself ends on a fairly grim note.

Not...really? It's actually quite hopeful. I mean, let's be honest, ESB was the Empire trying to sink the Rebellion. They failed. Miserably. They didn't get a majority of its troops, or its major leadership figures, or its greatest hero. They got Han, who is personally important to the characters but not a pivotal Rebellion figure by any means.

[MP-Ryan]

It also warms the cockles of my heart to see insecure dweebs whingeing about two Star Wars films in a row having female leads.

AMEN.

[Luis Dias]

Well I'm not one fond of having fun out of insecure brats... I just hope the protagonist is better written than Rey though. Neither a Mary Sue nor a comeback to millennial emo obnoxious entitled heroes is all I ask.

I do long for old time silly well meaning and naive but strong heroes... Supergirl is a good recent example of this. Luke was another.

[Dragon]

Not...really? It's actually quite hopeful. I mean, let's be honest, ESB was the Empire trying to sink the Rebellion. They failed. Miserably. They didn't get a majority of its troops, or its major leadership figures, or its greatest hero. They got Han, who is personally important to the characters but not a pivotal Rebellion figure by any means.

Sure, looking at the bigger picture, it works out that way, but SW isn't really about the bigger picture. As far as the main characters are concerned, they lost Han (pretty much the "soul" of the team at that point), Luke lost his hand and got his ass kicked by Vader, their base was destroyed and another friend of theirs turned out to be a traitor. Empire did win in ESB, but the fact that it's not as total a victory as they'd like keeps it form being a complete downer.

[Bryan See]

And it fell in ROTJ, and re-emerged as the First Order in TFA, where Han Solo is brutally murdered by their son, Kylo Ren. Then it's Leia to fall.

[MP-Ryan]

Well I'm not one fond of having fun out of insecure brats...

When it comes to people whining about things as idiotic as the gender of the protagonists, they're fair game.  See also the recent idiocy over the new Baldur's Gate expansion.

I just hope the protagonist is better written than Rey though. Neither a Mary Sue nor a comeback to millennial emo obnoxious entitled heroes is all I ask.

  Have you watched a Star Wars film?  Rey is the best-written primary protagonist to date.  Luke might as well be Gary Stu.  Anakin's an obnoxious brat and much the same.  Rey at least has a little freakin' depth and maturity.

[Scotty]

MP-Ryan before we continue the discussion I'm going to need to hear your definition of "Gary Stu".    Luke is cocksure, impatient, and quick to anger (much like Anakin, which I'm sure is a coincidence given Lucas's quality of writing in the prequels), and disappoints Yoda multiple times with his failures.  He's handily defeated by Vader in ESB.  His accessory to the Rebels' victory at Endor is tangential at best.

We agree on Rey being the best-written protagonist in Star Wars to date, but give audiences around the world for over forty years some credit.  Luke is genuinely likable (as opposed to that being an informed characteristic), has several character flaws, and makes significant mistakes but learns from them.

EDIT: For comparison, take a look at a proper Mary Sue: Honor Harrington, main protagonist of the series of the same name by David Weber.