There is little doubt that people are excited about the new Star Wars. Whether you can't wait to see what new space adventure we get to go on or you dread the further desecration of your childhood memories you are one of literal millions that wait with baited breath for J.J Abram's take on a galaxy far, far away. Such passion can and will be very divisive and interestingly enough along roughly the same lines.  So what is it we really want? What is it that we really fear?

5) A New Villain 

Hope: The original trilogy provided us a slew of legendary villains. In ANH we were introduced to a chilling retelling of the SS in Grand Moff Tarkin, the mind behind the Death Star and a 'fear of retribution' political strategy to keep the systems of the galaxy in line. We were also introduced to Darth Vader who really didn't come to his own until ESB. In Empire Strikes Back, Vader took center stage as he mercilessly hunted down, tortured and crippled the heroes we had fallen in love with. Finally we got the Emperor himself. A cackling madman who was so powerful he didn't even bother with a lightsaber. Darth Maul gave off a palatable cool factor as did General Grievous when we first saw him in the Clone Wars Mini Series. Star Wars is fertile ground for interesting and iconic villains and it should be interesting to see what comes next.

Dread: Anyone remember Count Dooku? How about every instance of General Grievous after his introduction in the mini-series? What about Asajj Ventress and Durge? How about Maul dying like a punk and the Emperor being made to look a fool? Remember Nute Gunray and all of the other Separatist leaders? True, Star Wars, has had some nice villains but that was a long time ago. The new stuff has been by turns embarrassing or pathetic either in the characters themselves, the role they serve or how they meet their end and with Disney overseeing it all, this will likely continue.

4) A New Story

Hope: The sky is literally the limit for what can be created in Star Wars. The Expanded Universe is filled with amazing stories be they the establishment of the Rule of Two by Darth Bane, to fighting the insectoid Killiks. There's even a race that shoots people's souls at their enemies. From the Chiss to the Zabrak there is just such a massive plethora of potential story ideas the possibilities are just staggering. Considering where RotJ left off we could easily have a series of films about Leia and Mon Mothma attempting to create the New Republic as Han and Luke continue working with Admiral Ackbar as they hunt down and dismantle the remenants of the Imperial Navy and liberate worlds from oppressive Moffs. Why not a film about how alien species are just DONE with humanity after a generation of the Empire's racism? SO MUCH ROOM FOR WIN!

Dread: We already know we aren't getting what we should be. What new story could be as amazing as the Thrawn Duology? Why didn't we do films about the rise and fall of Darth Revan? The Mandolorian wars? We could have even done Young Jedi Knights but the official word has been that nothing from the Expanded Universe is being done. That means we get something totally new and written from the ground up now that Disney is overseeing the project with George Lucas still on as an advisor. The big three actors (Ford, Fisher and Hammil) have already been cast back in leaving us with EU characters far too old to do the best of the EU story lines. The new stuff that we keep getting is almost universally crap. From the prequel trilogy onwards we have done so much ret-conning of already established and interesting lore that I could write an entire article series about just that. When you enter a diner and are given a cheesecake you do not insist on making yourself some eggs in the kitchen instead. We are fearful that we are going to get again what we keep getting from our Star Wars. Crap, but with just enough entertainment and nostalgia that we don't light the torches and dust off the pitch forks.

3) George Lucas isn't here

Hope: While Mr. Lucas is still technically on board as an advisor he doesn't have any real power over the finished project and that is a wondrous thing. Just look at everything he has ever done. The first Star Wars film's original edit (as done by Lucas) was a horrid mess. The hired editor at the time argued and pleaded with him to make major editing changes if only to liven up the emotion in any particular scene. Lucas fired that guy, did the editing as was suggested to him, and we had a masterpiece. Episodes 5 and 6 were directed and edited by people who were not George Lucas. The dialogue and the plot was made by people who were not Lucas.

His removal from his own series has only ever been a good thing because the more people listen to him the more idiotic things get put into the work. Look no further than Jar Jar Binks and I quote Georgie boy here: "Jar Jar is the key to all this, because Jar Jar is a funnier character than we've ever had before. If we get Jar Jar working, everything else falls into place." He pinned the success of the prequels on the annoying gecko that was filling a role in the films that never needed to be filled. 

With George in the corner playing with crayons we can finally have stories that are good. People continue to compare the new Star Trek with the good Star Wars and with Lucas gone we may actually get that. A film that has well done characters, performances, as well as story rather than something that rides on imagination and spectacle. 

Dread: He is still there people. George has this uncanny ability to just keep showing up and messing up projects. He was partially involved in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and look what happened there. Even the Expanded Universe has suffered under his minimal involvements. The Hand of Thrawn Duology was a great work in the EU but it was written at a time when Lucas didn't much care for the novelizations of his works. After it and the rest of the EU really started taking off he became more involved. The New Republic series was fun but it really could have been fantastic. The books started with the death of a main character and looked like they were going to seriously upset the balance of power. That the new generation would finally be taking the reins for themselves and there would be lasting change. 

But that never happened. The only characters that were ever at risk again were characters that only existed in the EU. Some of these guys were around from Young Jedi Knights and then just killed off whenever the reader needed to be reminded that they should care. Beyond the initial character death anyone else you see in the movies was going to be safe and sound. It destroyed the tension and interest that was set up in Vector Prime. Why? Because the writers working on the project had to literally beg Lucas to kill each person they needed dead. This has continued to this day into the Fate of the Jedi books and beyond. Luke, Leia and Han are essentially immortal and R2-D2 is still popping around, If that man is around, he'll find a way to make his own special "improvements" to whatever he's looking at. No doubt that J.J. Abrams is a good director but is he a strong director? Will he be able to tell Lucas and the producers to their faces "Shut the hell up, I'm doing this right."? 

2) A Return to Practical Effects

Hope: We want Peter Jackson like blending of practical and special effects. We want new Star Trek like work where there are actual sets. We want what we had with the original trilogy, a blending of models, camera work, timing and computers to give us an experience that we can actually be immersed in. In all three films of the Prequel Trilogy there were only ever two sets that were shot on and even they were just recreations of the same older set. The rest was pure green screen and it is telling. None of the actors are sure where to look, there's no reaction to environment, no clever use of camera angles because there is nothing to shoot against. Unless you are doing an animated film, having sets and practical effects lets your actors immerse themselves in the world and give a better performance. 

Dread: Star Wars is a far more imaginatively rich environment when compared to other projects this director has worked on. While the muppet and rubber alien suits were good enough in the Prequel Trilogy they look kind of goofy now. Look no further than Nute Gunray to get an example of what I'm talking about. To make great costumes takes time and money, two things that this Star Wars project does not have in abundance. It would be far cheaper to CG left right and center and that's what we're worried about. This new trilogy is not about telling a story the fans want nor is it about artistic merit it is another money button to be pushed and nothing more. If they can make it look better for cheaper so that little kids will think it's cool and keep coming back to watch it they will do just that.

1) We Want it Fun Again

Hope: Star Wars was my life for many years but even I admit that it hasn't been actually enjoyable since the release of Episode 1. While I've spoken well of the Clone Wars Mini Series earlier in this article I don't dismiss its massive faults. Bland voice acting, action so far above anything we get in any other medium it removes us from what we are watching, the irritating leaps between story lines. we want that wonderment from the original trilogy back. We want the simple fight between good versus evil again rather than trade disputes and people wanting to break away from a corrupt government. In short, we want our childhood back so we can enjoy it again for 2 hours before reality reasserts itself.

Dread: What was, no longer is. While it's fine to pine for what we enjoyed as youths it would be folly to ignore what is now enjoyed by today's youth. We need to understand that these films are a cash grab and are targeting the youngsters. As such we'll likely get what we keep getting, spectacle without substance. The level of character building that we had in lightsaber battles in the original trilogy has long ago left the Star Wars universe. We'll likely just get another bit of eye candy. In and of itself this wouldn't be so bad but for the fact that we know and have seen greatness from this same franchise. 

So where do you stand?