ILM employees sign NDAs regarding Star Wars Episodes VII, VIII, IX

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Cool! I hope GL does make them. I've enjoyed every Star Wars flick so far so three more would be a charm.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I don't have the problem with Lucas that some people do...but I swear, if he makes these movies and they aren't based on some of the GREAT novels I'll be angry. Of course, he'll just ignore the books if he does make them...so I guess I should prepare.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

If he did the Thrawn trilogy I could handle that. It was pretty good. The NJO is a steaming pile of horse dung though. There is nothing about it that make me feel, "this is Star Wars". Tatoo freaks with more piercings than your average nu-metal singer, with masochistic complexes ain't SW in my mind. But you know he won't pay the slightest bit of attention to that stuff.

I used to frequent some Star Wars BB's and I got so tired of hearing fans whine becuase he did something that went against the books, and how in thier mind "canon" was what the NJO or whatever novel said. For example, Mara Jade tells Skywalker that the Emperor cut off Vader's hand as punishment for the first Death Star debacle. Not true, Count Dooku cut it off so that is one part of Zahn's work invalidated. I don't think GL would even consider those stories when doing 7-9. I know Lucasfilm has said that everything that doesn't have the infinities logo on it is canon, but GL will ignore and invalidate what he wants to. He won't let E4-6 events get in his way, what makes anyone think he will pay attention to a novel?

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

If he did the Thrawn trilogy I could handle that. It was pretty good. The NJO is a steaming pile of horse dung though. There is nothing about it that make me feel, "this is Star Wars". Tatoo freaks with more piercings than your average nu-metal singer, with masochistic complexes ain't SW in my mind. But you know he won't pay the slightest bit of attention to that stuff.

I used to frequent some Star Wars BB's and I got so tired of hearing fans whine becuase he did something that went against the books, and how in thier mind "canon" was what the NJO or whatever novel said. For example, Mara Jade tells Skywalker that the Emperor cut off Vader's hand as punishment for the first Death Star debacle. Not true, Count Dooku cut it off so that is one part of Zahn's work invalidated. I don't think GL would even consider those stories when doing 7-9. I know Lucasfilm has said that everything that doesn't have the infinities logo on it is canon, but GL will ignore and invalidate what he wants to. He won't let E4-6 events get in his way, what makes anyone think he will pay attention to a novel?

Exactly...doesn't bother me that much(heck, I'm GLAD we have an actual background for Boba Fett now) but if he were to completely invalidate a series of books I couldn't take it.

I doubt the Thrawn Trilogy could become books, if only because the actors are just too old now. NJO is a possibility age wise for the actors(and I enjoy the series far too much), but there's such a huge gap and its so long that there's no way to make it a trilogy. Besides, I know that Harrison Ford has said many times that he wouldn't come back to Star Wars if he was asked to.

So that leaves about 1 book series...and a very good one at that. The X-Wing books. Those would be GREAT movies. Sure, not the same as the Thrawn Trilogy, but they're some of the best written Star Wars EU stuff out there.

 

[Desdichado]

That's one thing about Lucas that I do like; he ignores the continuity established in the novels and comics. Sure, there's a gem or two among them, but for the most part, they are so execrable that I've avoided the entire shebang anymore.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

That's one thing about Lucas that I do like; he ignores the continuity established in the novels and comics. Sure, there's a gem or two among them, but for the most part, they are so execrable that I've avoided the entire shebang anymore.

I've found it to be the opposite...they're great books in general(at least the post RotJ ones) with a few bad apples here and there.

 

[Desdichado]

What are some of the ones that you'd consider good and bad? I like the Zahn books well enough, which lead me leaping into another set which I disliked intensely (can't even remember which ones they were.) I haven't read any NJO books, but the very premise of the seems, as Flexor says, very anti-Star Wars in feel. There was one I read about a padawan doing her trials on Coruscant and running across Darth Maul that wasn't too bad, although it wasn't too good either.

On the comics front, I really like the Darth Maul trade paperback, and the Crimson Empire ones as well, but others, particularly the Sith Wars series, barely even resemble Star Wars at all, and that only in that they have lightsabers and use a few recognizable proper names like Sith and Jedi. The Knights of the Old Republic game, while obviously not either a book or a comic, was more Star Wars like than most of either.

All in all, I'd say the EU does more harm than good; frankly, the hit/miss ratio from my small sampling of it isn't any better than the last two movies Lucas has made, if not considerably worse.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

So that leaves about 1 book series...and a very good one at that. The X-Wing books. Those would be GREAT movies. Sure, not the same as the Thrawn Trilogy, but they're some of the best written Star Wars EU stuff out there.

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks, and all that, but wow...

The X-Wing books were the final straw that threw me off the books completely. Personally, I thought they were the worst tripe amongst a giant, stinking pile.

The only enjoyable books I've ever read that actually felt like Star Wars were Zahn's. But I'm willing to lose those if it means the rest will be wiped clean from the continuity. Despite my minor gripes with the prequels, Lucas' movies still feel like Star Wars, which most of the novels don't. So, I'll take more movies, please.

Unfortunately, I would guess that subsequent chapters of Star Wars will be set far enough in the future that they won't invalidate the novels completely. Which is a shame.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

What are some of the ones that you'd consider good and bad? I like the Zahn books well enough, which lead me leaping into another set which I disliked intensely (can't even remember which ones they were.) I haven't read any NJO books, but the very premise of the seems, as Flexor says, very anti-Star Wars in feel. There was one I read about a padawan doing her trials on Coruscant and running across Darth Maul that wasn't too bad, although it wasn't too good either.

On the comics front, I really like the Darth Maul trade paperback, and the Crimson Empire ones as well, but others, particularly the Sith Wars series, barely even resemble Star Wars at all, and that only in that they have lightsabers and use a few recognizable proper names like Sith and Jedi. The Knights of the Old Republic game, while obviously not either a book or a comic, was more Star Wars like than most of either.

All in all, I'd say the EU does more harm than good; frankly, the hit/miss ratio from my small sampling of it isn't any better than the last two movies Lucas has made, if not considerably worse.

The books I've really not liked are Courtship of Priness Leia, the Black Fleet Trilogy(probably the most horrible books I've read in a long time), Plant of Twilight, and parts of the Jedi Academy Trilogy. I don't really mind any of the others.

Zahn's books are just great(though I like Spectre of the Past and Vision of the Future better than the Thrawn Trilogy) but I've found that I really did enjoy the X-Wing books if only because it was such a different feel than the rest of Star Wars. Always liked the pilots, anyway.

 

[CrusaderX]

If 7, 8, and 9 ever get made, they'll most likely be stories about the next generation of Skywalkers, since the later episodes would have to flow with the previous ones, and Episodes 1 through 6 are all about the Skywalkers. Stories such as the Thrawn trilogy and the X-Wing books just wouldn't fit into this structure.

In the books, Luke & Mara have a son named Ben, and Han & Leia have twins Jacen and Jaina, as well as a son named Anakin

Spoiler

who later dies, because LucasBooks didn't want Anakin Solo to be confused with Anakin Skywalker

Whether or not the films will have these same offspring or not is uncertain. I could see Lucas going either way.

Though before any sequel movies, rumor is we'll be getting a live-action TV show set between III and IV. That, hopefully, could be good.