I have a bad feeling about this.

[Commando]

Wait... there was a book first? I thought it was birthed as a screenplay.

I remember hearing that the movie was going to loosely follow the book, which was probably a good idea as it kept the nerds (people that actually read Star Wars books) guessing and also gives them something to complain about. It also kept anyone from spoiling the movie too much before it came out.

Aren't there dozens upon dozens of Star Wars books that go into the future as well as tell the side tales of the lesser characters?

Huh? No. The book is a novelization of the screen play and wasn't released until the day the movie came out, and only in electronic form to avoid publisher spoilers that would inevitably happen. Hard copies aren't available until like mid January.

I have listened to the audiobook now, having devoted a good chunk of my break driving, and there is some pretty cool stuff I thought could have stood to stay in the movie (I think Saint posted an article detailing some of this):

Spoiler for book content:

1. Poe's escape from Jakku- maybe a bit redundant and spoils his comeback later, but cool at any rate since he's one of the better new characters. 2. Finn throws up back on board the star destroyer in reaction to the carnage he witnesses on Jakku. A bit of 'realism' never seen in Star Wars. 3. Extended dialogue between Snoke and Kylo-- talks about Kylo Ren's origins as coming from a pure Force background-- both dark side and light side. Also warns against being seduced by the light like Vader was, which led to his 'undoing' as it were. I thought that was a cool convo. 3. The A-hole junk shop owner follows Rey & company back to Maz' castle via a tracker in the Millenium Falcon. When he is about to shoot Rey w her own blaster (after she can't properly remove the safety when she pulls it on him), Chewy snatches it away from him. He then insults Chewy and is treated to his arm being ripped out of its socket and thrown across the bar, landing in the middle of a table of aliens playing a game. 4. During Rey and Kylo's light saber fight at the end, Finn is hit across his chest rather than back, and Rey defeats Kylo and has a chance to land a coup de grace, at which point a dark voice in her mind instructs her to 'kill him' 5. After Kylo kills his father, he feels weakened, rather than strengthened by the act that held the promise of making him stronger than ever. 6. There is detailed mention of the starkiller tech, which is basically a storage of 'dark matter' energy. The kill shots travel through 'sub-hyperspace' and the planet is undone when the containment facility is compromised and the energy itself goes big. 7. At the end of the Rey/Kylo duel, Hux comes to scoop up Kylo, at the order of Snoke after he is defeated. This hits a note from Revenge of the Sith when Vader is scooped up. There are other things, like an extended chase sequence on the starkiller base, which are pretty unnecessary, but some of the stuff I would have liked if they kept.

[Commando]

You folks upset about one big physics problem, knock it off. You are making me laugh. There is something that defies the basic laws of physics about every ten seconds in these movies. Also, consider the fact that they have unbelievable technology yet they fight 1980's-style aircraft dogfights, complete with 1980's era aiming systems in the cockpit and slow guided missiles. Also, the WW2 era spaceship battles with laser bullets and cannons that do only minor damage. No automated aiming systems? Haha. Then they completely ignore space-time issues. They walk around in ships when there is no gravity. They go from outer space to big open docks on space ships and voila! no problem with the vacuum of space. Oy vey.

And that is the tip of the iceberg. It is, by definition, an alternate universe. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Amen. It is also, by definition, a fantasy-- NOT science fiction. It's a samurai movie w a fantasy setting. The selective eye rolling is killing me- stop being dummies.

[creekster]

Creekster, I am sorry that I engaged in some friendly internet banter in this thread. I apologize to anyone who might be offended that I was metaphorically laughing at them. I will try to better follow your example going forward.

And please let me know if there are any other differences in our behavior that you would like to correct.

Correct differences in our behavior? What does that mean? Please, banter away.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Amen. It is also, by definition, a fantasy-- NOT science fiction. It's a samurai movie w a fantasy setting. The selective eye rolling is killing me- stop being dummies.

Oh boy, here we go. Brace yourself!

[wuapinmon]

Oh boy, here we go. Brace yourself!

[Commando]

Spoiler for unbelievably continuing the conversation on the dumb storyline:

I don't remember Vader having as much power as this new kid. Why didn't Vader just extract the location of the rebel base from Princess Leia in Episode IV? Not sure the kid should be begging his dead Grandpa to show him the power of the dark side - he may have already eclipsed him.

Luke also seemed way behind this new chick in understanding/using the force even after starting his training with Kenobe and Yoda.

Spoiler for theory:

Anakin was always extremely powerful-- much, much, more than Kylo Ren, by the way, but his power was manifest in different ways. We don't see him exercise any dark side powers (like the patented force choke) until the original trilogy anyway. Kylo Ren, on the other hand, has been a disciple of an ancient Dark Side user for approximately 15 years and was formerly a student of Luke Skywalker as a youngster as well. And when he's supplicating Vader to show him the power of the Dark Side? I believe he's struggling against the light, which is a major theme in this movie. He's looking for strength, not "power."

Why didn't Vader extract info from Leia? Either he didn't have that power, wasn't trained in mental manipulation, or Leia was resistant to those effects, being latently strong in the force just like Rey was.

Also-- how did Rey obtain her knowledge of the Force? My guess is directly from Kylo Ren's brain when he tries to penetrate her mind and inadvertently gets his mind explored. Up until that point she displays zero Force skill or knowledge. She's raw, but picks up some telekinesis and mind manipulation, which are both Kylo Ren Specials.

[Jeff Lebowski]

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Better than I had expected going in.

Spoiler for spoiler:

I felt real sadness when Han Solo died.

[Pelado]

Spoiler for some help with movie issues:

There are some differences between the book and the movie that shed light on some of the issues with the movie--including the sun-sucking planet. http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-11-bigges...e-v-1749329046

Spoiler for continuing to talk about silly storyline:

Even that article talks about how stupid the sun aspect is:

Okay, so Star Wars plays very loosely with the “science” part of its “science-fantasy” genre—parsecs, anyone?—but even by the franchises’ most egregious standards, the way Starkiller Base works in the film is quite frankly ridiculous.

It’s still ridiculous in the book, but it makes way more sense. Instead of slurping on stars like they’re hot, plasma-laden smoothies, Starkiller Base is powered by dark matter, which seems like a much more sustainable source of energy. In the film, when the base’s weapon fires, it shoots a single beam of energy across hundreds of thousands of miles... that then somehow inexplicably splits into 5 separate, pre-targeted beams to blow up the Republic Capital world Hosnian Prime, its four moons, and the New Republic’s fleet.

It’s really stupid.

[YOhio]

Do you guys think Star Wars people have to go to the bathroom?

[All-American]

Do you guys think Star Wars people have to go to the bathroom?

Yes, as evidenced in episode I.

[YOhio]

Yes, as evidenced in episode I.

What happened in that one?

[All-American]

What happened in that one?

Jar jar stepped in bantha poop. Also, the dialogue was crap.

[Moliere]

Huh? No. The book is a novelization of the screen play and wasn't released until the day the movie came out, and only in electronic form to avoid publisher spoilers that would inevitably happen. Hard copies aren't available until like mid January.

Huh, I remember reading an article a couple months ago that seemed to know quite a bit already about Kylo Ren and others in the movie and it seemed like the author was piecing together bits from a book or a couple of books. Maybe the author was instead piecing together rumors

[Commando]

Huh, I remember reading an article a couple months ago that seemed to know quite a bit already about Kylo Ren and others in the movie and it seemed like the author was piecing together bits from a book or a couple of books. Maybe the author was instead piecing together rumors

There have been lots of spoilers that have been cobbled together mostly from reports from rogue gaffers, etc. on-set, shooting locations, costuming, etc. It's actually quite impressive how accurate they have been. For example, Mark Hamil and Daisy Ridley returned to Skellig Michael a few months ago, which fired up reports that episode VIII is already underway, and where it probably begins. There were further reports from boatmen, etc. that they were shooting in murky, stormy conditions on purpose as per the demands of the script. Also, there were some drone pics last year of the resistance base with someone who looked like Adam Driver in x-wing pilot gear, which set the rumor mill on its side.

As for the main characters, limited information came out around the time of the first full-length trailer about the characters, and JJ Abrams himself has been one of the main people releasing info. For example, at SW Celebration when the 2nd teaser was released he explained that the planet they're on isn't Tatooine- it's Jakku, and that it was the site of one of the last Empire/Rebellion battles, etc etc etc. Also, don't forget the action figures and other toys that came out in September, which all have a little bio on the packaging. That's where most of the "official" info came from.