New Star Wars Episode VIII trailer - and it looks awesome!!

[HMS Invincible]

Yes. That story is from January 2016, and sales were already starting to go down then, were not particularly impressive throughout 2016 as Rogue One failed to really translate to toy sales, and continued to fall in 2017. They wanted a mainstay toy that will keep selling year after year, not a flash in the pan that would be forgotten a few months after the movie was in theaters.

Hence the creation of Space Hamster.

Maybe I'm biased towards robots, but I liked bb8. =( The trend towards cute animals instead of awesome robots makes me sad.

[Olinser]

Maybe I'm biased towards robots, but I liked bb8. =( The trend towards cute animals instead of awesome robots makes me sad.

Oh don't get me wrong, there was nothing WRONG with BB8, I mean the design was kind of ridiculous but no more so than any of a dozen other droids in the universe. His thumbs up with the lighter was by far the funniest moment in the entire movie.

But they had clearly intended him to be the 'mascot' character of New Star Wars, and while he was relatively popular he didn't have staying power, the most popular toys quickly went back to the mainstays like the Millenium Falcon and R2D2.

So now they're trying again with a new character. I pray he's not as bad as Jar Jar, although that's admittedly a VERY low bar.

[Peelee]

That's fair, my mistake.

It's cool. It's surprisingly easy to forget that Star Wars basically invented modern merchandising, especially for those of us who were born afterwards and have never experienced anything else. Also, sorry if I was a bit abrasive towards the end.

Didn't Lucas specifically envision the marketing empire of Star Wars and contracted for all the marketing rights to the franchise before even making A New Hope?

If that was true, in a way the marketing came even before the movies...

But turns out it isn't. According to this interview with Lucas's lawyer, they got the marketing rights while contracting for Empire Strikes Back. The sequel rights were the one thing Lucas wanted even before A New Hope. Also, according to this, Fox still has certain rights to Episode IV but nothing else thanks to the deals. Who knew.

Fox still holds the distribution rights to the first Star Wars, IIRC. I think theres an agreement to turn them over to Disney either this year or next year.

[pendell]

Oh don't get me wrong, there was nothing WRONG with BB8, I mean the design was kind of ridiculous but no more so than any of a dozen other droids in the universe. His thumbs up with the lighter was by far the funniest moment in the entire movie.

But they had clearly intended him to be the 'mascot' character of New Star Wars, and while he was relatively popular he didn't have staying power, the most popular toys quickly went back to the mainstays like the Millenium Falcon and R2D2.

So now they're trying again with a new character. I pray he's not as bad as Jar Jar, although that's admittedly a VERY low bar.

I'm still trying to get my head around this. When I was seven years old watching Star Wars for the first time in the theater, R2D2 was my favorite character. BB-8 didn't do anything for me -- but then, I saw him for the first time at age 45, not 7.

But it was more than that. R2D2 had *spunk*. He made rude noises at Threepio. He tricked Luke and went wandering off into the desert in search of Obi-Wan. While he didn't really say all that much , he came across as a bit of a deadpan snarker. I liked him.

You know what other droid I liked? K-2SO from Rogue One. He spoke recognizable English but he seemed to hit all the hi notes of what a star wars droid could be -- he combined R2's maintenance droid get-the-job-done approach with Threepio's eloquence. My favorite droid of the series. BB-8? What was ze except a rolling machine?

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Tyndmyr]

Maybe I'm biased towards robots, but I liked bb8. =( The trend towards cute animals instead of awesome robots makes me sad.

BB8 was fine, but K-2SO is the best modern SW droid. He routinely was my favorite one present whenever he was on screen, even though he didn't get a ton of screen time.

That said, I'm unlikely to buy a toy of either. Not really the target market for such. Space Penguin may very well work out fine.

[Chen]

BB8 was fine, but K-2SO is the best modern SW droid. He routinely was my favorite one present whenever he was on screen, even though he didn't get a ton of screen time.

That said, I'm unlikely to buy a toy of either. Not really the target market for such. Space Penguin may very well work out fine.

I agree that K-2SO is the best SW droid, but that's from an adult perspective. R2 or BB8 would certainly appeal more to children who are the targets for the whole toy thing.

[Tyndmyr]

I agree that K-2SO is the best SW droid, but that's from an adult perspective. R2 or BB8 would certainly appeal more to children who are the targets for the whole toy thing.

I'm not sure? The whole "a toy for children must be based on a somewhat childlike character" doesn't seem to hold up.

At least, not if the billion Vader and Skywalker toys are any guide.

[The Glyphstone]

According to a video I watched, Space Penguin is officially called a Porg. Unsure if species or individual name.

[JoshL]

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Porg
From what we know so far, Porg is the species.
I don't know if theyre really sentient, but they are adorable. I am pro-whimsy, and therefor pro-Porg.
Also, my girlfriend collects penguin things, and grew up on Star Wars as much as I did. I expect I will be feeding the Disney merchandising machine quite heavily this holiday season!

[Peelee]

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Porg
From what we know so far, Porg is the species.
I don't know if theyre really sentient, but they are adorable. I am pro-whimsy, and therefor pro-Porg.
Also, my girlfriend collects penguin things, and grew up on Star Wars as much as I did. I expect I will be feeding the Disney merchandising machine quite heavily this holiday season!

If you like it, more power to you! Hope you and your girlfriend get the best Porg stuff.

[Olinser]

----Hope you and your girlfriend get the best Porg stuff----

Was that sarcastic? Because in my head that sounds really dirty.

[Peelee]

Was that sarcastic? Because in my head that sounds really dirty.

It was not.


....and now that's all I can think about too.

[SuperPanda]

We are the porg. Your financial and creative distinctiveness will consent to service us. Resistance is futile.

[Psyren]

Yes. That story is from January 2016, and sales were already starting to go down then, were not particularly impressive throughout 2016 as Rogue One failed to really translate to toy sales, and continued to fall in 2017. They wanted a mainstay toy that will keep selling year after year, not a flash in the pan that would be forgotten a few months after the movie was in theaters.

You're making a whole lot of assertions with a whole lot of nothing backing them up. Particularly the ones where you know what "they wanted."

Hence the creation of Space Hamster.

You're assuming they wouldn't have added another "cute marketable pet" whether BB-8 did well (which all the data suggests it did) or not.

[Bobb]

The big Han WTF moment for me was the bowcaster. Seriously, he never fired it? How long has known Chewie again??

Han fires the bowcaster prior to that scene in the very same movie. @3:22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlWc_IBBfGY



And when he asks for it he's interrupting a shootout to take Chewie's only weapon in said shootout so he can "try it out."

[Psyren]

Han fires the bowcaster prior to that scene in the very same movie. @3:22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlWc_IBBfGY



And when he asks for it he's interrupting a shootout to take Chewie's only weapon in said shootout so he can "try it out."

"Try it out" - and his subsequent exclamation of "I like this thing" - suggest that he had not done so prior to the events in TFA. Sure he tried it earlier in the movie but it doesn't seem he had done so prior to that (or if he had, that Chewie was unaware, otherwise that wording would be unnecessary.)

[Bobb]

Rathrar scene is before the temple scene.

Han literally tries it out before the scene where he asks to try it out. Did you watch the clip?

[The Glyphstone]

Inconsistent continuity? In MY Star Wars? Perish the thought, really.

[Psyren]

Rathrar scene is before the temple scene.

Han literally tries it out before the scene where he asks to try it out. Did you watch the clip?

Did you read my post? "Prior to the events of TFA" meant the movie as a whole.

[Lethologica]

The likely-intended reading is as follows:
-Han had not tried the bowcaster before TFA. (In Legends canon Chewbacca was constantly tinkering with his bowcasters and making new ones, so this can plausibly be amended to "Han had not tried this bowcaster before TFA.")
-During the Rathtar attack, Han grabs the bowcaster out of necessity when Chewbacca is hurt, and is impressed by its power. (He looks at the weapon and says "wow" after checking on Chewbacca.)
-During the fight on Takodana, Han remembers the bowcaster and proactively asks Chewbacca for it. Han's reaction to its efficacy here is confirming his prior initial impression--"I like this thing!" is a comment on Han's overall impression of the blaster, including when he used it during the Rathtar attack.

The intent is that Han asks for the bowcaster because he remembers using it. The confusion arises because to viewers, Han could equally have asked for the bowcaster because he's seen Chewbacca use it effectively, since they're longtime partners, but Han's reaction is somewhat incongruous with someone who's used to Chewbacca using it effectively. The storytelling could have been tightened up to avoid this confusion, but since there is a consistent explanation, it's a minor point.

[Peelee]

In Legends canon Chewbacca was constantly tinkering with his bowcasters and making new ones, so this can plausibly be amended to "Han had not tried this bowcaster before TFA."

In Legends canon, couldn't the bowcaster not be fired by anyone without incredibly strength to begin with? I'm adding nothing to the discussion here, just noting that they changed the bowcaster some (assuming I'm right).

[Keltest]

In Legends canon, couldn't the bowcaster not be fired by anyone without incredibly strength to begin with? I'm adding nothing to the discussion here, just noting that they changed the bowcaster some (assuming I'm right).

It depended on the bowcaster. The heavier ones yes, but the lighter ones could be wielded by normal sized and strengthened people.

[hamishspence]

It may have been the pulling back of the string, rather than the pulling of the trigger, that required the great strength (in the absence of an automatic mechanism).

[Bobb]

Did you read my post? "Prior to the events of TFA" meant the movie as a whole.

huh. So you did. I guess I just don't understand why there's still a question.

Not having tried it before the movie doesn't matter when he is shown actually trying it in the movie before asking to try it later in the movie.

[Psyren]

huh. So you did. I guess I just don't understand why there's still a question.

Not having tried it before the movie doesn't matter when he is shown actually trying it in the movie before asking to try it later in the movie.

It matters because (at least by my understanding) they were friends for years and years before TFA began. It's just a bit hard to swallow that it never came up before now.

The likely-intended reading is as follows:
-Han had not tried the bowcaster before TFA. (In Legends canon Chewbacca was constantly tinkering with his bowcasters and making new ones, so this can plausibly be amended to "Han had not tried this bowcaster before TFA.")

That's significantly more believable, yeah. Headcanon accept.