Watch Star Wars Episode VII's First Official Trailer Right Here

[Johnny Novgorod]

Thoughts.

- CGI in practically every shot. CGI Falcon? Ugh...
- Opening shot made me think it was a parody trailer.
- Benedict Cumberbatch?
- Stupid light-saber.

And that John Williams can sell pretty much any movie with that theme. Yep, that bit alone at the end sold it for me.

 

[shadowmagus]

Wasn't that Benedict Cumberbatch doing the voice over?

Is this a good time to reveal how much I dislike the Star Wars films? Or, will that just lead to torches, pitchforks, and awkward conversations about what is to be done with my dead body?

Nope, no awkward conversations about what is to be done with your dead body. It will be put in giant wicker Greedo and burnt as an offering to the gods to restore Han shooting first.

I cannot tell, as the narrator never tried to pronounce the word "Penguin."

No! Not the Bees! Not the Bees! Wait. . . are there bees in the Star Wars universe?

For those of you complaining about the LightSword (As I think it should be called), just remember...

Spoiler: There have been other lightsabers that looked cool at first, until you realized how dangerously impractical they are.

Indeed, the Light-Staff used by that one dude in Episode I was not only impractical, but insanely dangerous. Virtually all forms of staff fighting require the wielder to move their hands actively up and down the staff as they strike and block. This allows for a much wider variety of strikes and prevents the hands themselves from being targeted by the opponent. That being said, this light-sword's guard looks like an even better way to kill yourself. . .

This reaffirms my idea that the light-sword was created by someone with no real prior knowledge of the Force or Jedi. Now, how he would have created a lightsaber is beyond me but if someone had no knowledge of the aforementioned things, that is how I would expect them to construct a lightsaber.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Oh look! There is another black guy in the Star Wars universe aside from Lando and Mace Windu!

 

[DeaDRabbiT]

It looks interesting, and they can't really go anywhere but up from here due to the prequel series.

I'm not sure. That lightsaber broadsword made me absolutely cringe. It's quite possible to do worse than the prequel series.

Why? I have to know why the cross guard lightsaber makes you or any one of the apparently thousands of weirdos that can't just "enjoy" something, cringe.

I mean why did Darth Maul use a double bladed lightsaber? Why do these films have to conform to a singular vision of what's right for the universe?

I mean if sith lords are always as a rule so few in number, wouldn't you think a bit of flare was in order? I think the crossguard adds a neat fantasy element to the sci fi nature of the film. Also (if I may) I think a sith that wields such a dangerous weapons as a preference and hasn't already killed himself with it, is a scary foe indeed.

I'm so glad that I'm not so super emotionally invested in something that I can't tolerate change and with that inability, ruin the things I love.


***Hard Stop***

That girl on the speeder, beautiful. I hope one of the Hutt's get their "hands" on her.

 

[raankh]

I'm realizing that after Episodes 1-3 they can pretty much sell me anything. But I'm pretty sure Red Leader died

 

[kael013]

Meh. Kinda a letdown. Cheesy narration that tells us nothing the title hasn't covered, what seems like very amateurish acting (yeah, we only saw 2 seconds worth of actual people, still seemed like something out of a fan film), apparently all spaceships are running on speederbike repulsors, and for no reason, here's a stupid little droid (seriously it was a soccer ball with a tiny R2 head hovering above it. What possible function does it serve!?). And what was with that lightsaber? While a laser hilt sounds awesome it'll probably be more of a hindrance since you're more likely to stab yourself than the enemy with it - though as mentioned above there have been other user-dangerous lightsaber designs before so this isn't too bad.

I'll admit the low flying starships made for some cool scenes though.

 

[Drakoorr]

You know, when I first saw the lightsaber w/crossguard, I groaned a bit too, but thinking about it it's actually quite reasonable for the same reasons as real swords having had crossguards, only more so because there's no gauntlet in the galaxy that will save your hand from a lightsaber. Hell, I'm pretty sure that's how Grevious lost at least one of his hands when fighting Obi-Wan, maybe the Sith are learning. And on the topic of daft designs, I reckon whoever thought of lightsaber nunchucks wins the gold medal. Pretty sure those were a thing in the expanded universe.

 

[ObiwanDS]

Pretty awesome teaser trailer, but was anyone else disappointed at the lack of Episode VII being in the actual title...?

 

[Lagslayer]

The more I hear and see about this movie, the more I think it's gonna suck. The new aesthetic looks like they are trying to be super grimdark, at least when they aren't doing stupid silly shit like the soccer ball droid thing. Even the iconic Millenium Falcon and X-Wing look darker and edgier. It also looks like they are using physical props just so they can say "Look! Physical props! It's just like the days of the original trilogy!", without any care as to what those using those props actually means (those shots still *looked* like 90% CGI). It also seems to have a lot of the mystery box thing going on.

Just think, in a couple years, everyone will be reminiscing about the good old days of the prequel trilogy.

 

[Nimcha]

Pretty cool. I hope they're not going to go too far with the nostalgia-fanwank, but it looks alright so far.

I'm not nearly as excited as I was a year before Episode III released, but I'm looking forward to more.

 

[Jimalcoatl]

I started watching this without reading the article. I fully expected the article to say it was actually a fake fan-made trailer. I am now significantly less interested in the new SW movie.

 

[ChildofGallifrey]

You know, when I first saw the lightsaber w/crossguard, I groaned a bit too, but thinking about it it's actually quite reasonable for the same reasons as real swords having had crossguards. . .

Except you can actually touch a real crossguard without cutting off parts of your body. That's what everyone's gripe is with the design: Angle your wrist slightly wrong, and you're missing an arm.

 

[Chessrook44]

You know, when I first saw the lightsaber w/crossguard, I groaned a bit too, but thinking about it it's actually quite reasonable for the same reasons as real swords having had crossguards. . .

Except you can actually touch a real crossguard without cutting off parts of your body. That's what everyone's gripe is with the design: Angle your wrist slightly wrong, and you're missing an arm.

Yes I can see the logic behind the design of it. Lightsabers can't be stopped by metal or other material, so logically another lightsaber could stop it.

HOWEVER.

Energy shields can ALSO stop lightsabers. It would be a lot safer to make a metal crossguard with an energy shield projected around it.

Less flashy though. Which is probably why they went with the lightsaber design.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

It kinda just looks like any other indie college star wars fan movie? Like nothing jumped out at me. Its cool and all, but it looks like just another Star Wars movie.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Just think, in a couple years, everyone will be reminiscing about the good old days of the prequel trilogy.

I'd say it's genetically, existentially, and metaphysically impossible to make a worse Star Wars film than Phantom Menace... and the other two didn't exactly measure up to anything, either.

It's a teaser trailer - and I am teased. Job done.

And yeah, the lightsaber design is dopey, but the lightsaber as a concept is just a terrible idea for an 'actual' weapon. They look [and sound] fucking cool, which is all that matters in Star Wars. When things try to make sense in that universe (Midiwhatnows?), that's when things fall to pieces...

The original trilogy is what it is (perfectly critic proof), the prequels are best left forgotten, and now we live in an era of uber franchises - some of which can be excellent. So colour me excited. I do hope Abrams or the other producers were pointed in the direction of, say, KotOR I and II, because those are arguably still some of the most interesting treatments of Jedi and the Force, presenting Jedi as veritable ticking timebombs, where power's burden was almost too much for anyone to handle - something to be feared by the normal folk around the galaxy, not simple paragons and lawkeepers.

Will we get a film like that? Probably not, but elements of those ideas would be great.

 

[Somethingfake]

I wont shred it to rags, but neither will I get my hopes up about the film over a teaser, something that's not meant to really reveal anything.

Personally, the only time I'll pass judgement on the film is when/if I see it.

 

[elvor0]

Also, is it /just/ me, or does the film quality of that trailer feel a bit...amateur? A very good amateur, but not of the quality you'd think Abrams would have avilable. I dunno, maybe he's attempting to make it low fi on purpose for dem nostalgia feels.

I think it felt very 'Star Wars'. Part of the charm of the original trilogy, in my opinion, was the somewhat rough around the edges cinematography. I mean, this is the only 'professional' film franchise I know of that manages to make those Windows Movie Maker screen wipes work. This teaser felt appropriate to that style.

It was also made in the late 70s and early 80s. The film quality isn't low grade as part of an art direction, it's just old. When it came out, it was absolute cutting edge. And it's not like it was thrown together by a lesser studio, at the time it had a team made up of some of the biggest names in movie production and special effect.s

You know, when I first saw the lightsaber w/crossguard, I groaned a bit too, but thinking about it it's actually quite reasonable for the same reasons as real swords having had crossguards. . .

Except you can actually touch a real crossguard without cutting off parts of your body. That's what everyone's gripe is with the design: Angle your wrist slightly wrong, and you're missing an arm.

Yes I can see the logic behind the design of it. Lightsabers can't be stopped by metal or other material, so logically another lightsaber could stop it.

HOWEVER.

Energy shields can ALSO stop lightsabers. It would be a lot safer to make a metal crossguard with an energy shield projected around it.

Less flashy though. Which is probably why they went with the lightsaber design.

My girlfriend tells me that the metal Vibroswords are made out of are also capable of deflecting lightsabers. Wiki seems to confirm, but dunno if they need to actually be vibrating. That would work fine as a design I feel, a regular metal hilt.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Hmm, 's okay.

Too many black screen cut-aways for my taste.

Ironically the Phantom Menace reveal trailer was the hypest shit, so maybe that means this new Stars Wars is actually going to be good. At least we'll have a more competent director at the helm this time. Still, they could've done a better job at creating a hype inducing trailer, this just felt like a bunch of dailies cut together.

 

[Chessrook44]

Just think, in a couple years, everyone will be reminiscing about the good old days of the prequel trilogy.

I'd say it's genetically, existentially, and metaphysically impossible to make a worse Star Wars film than Phantom Menace... and the other two didn't exactly measure up to anything, either.

Four words: Star Wars Christmas Special.

 

[The Bandit]

Is this a good time to reveal how much I dislike the Star Wars films? Or, will that just lead to torches, pitchforks, and awkward conversations about what is to be done with my dead body?

Yes, this is the perfect time. Everyone who came here to watch the Star Wars trailer and talk about the Star Wars trailer really, really wants to hear how different and special your opinions are. Please, continue.