1/6 NEXT Hot Toys STAR WARS Figure...?

[TheDucky]

It'll still never have the kudos of being the 'Original', because that's set in stone barring time travel anomalies. lol

In 1999 The Phantom Menace barely even felt like it was related to Star Wars. The memory of the disappointment is as vivid now as it was 22 years ago. Angelic little Annie, Jar-Jar's slapstick, the ridiculous Rogers. The latter also cast a dark shadow over much of The Clone Wars. (Whenever Battle Droids were featured the series might as well been titled, The Clown Wars!).

It was another six years until the ending of The Revenge of the Sith finally began to harness the spirit of the originals.

While the Sequels went off on a PT kind of departure, Rogue One, Solo and finally The Mandalorian have been gradually reining the franchise back under control with stories in keeping with the originally envisaged expanded universe.

I'd like to believe that it's the likes of The Mandalorian keeping Star Wars relevant and popular, rather than the PT which truly felt like Lucas had forgotten what Star Wars used to be (a politically motivated cliffhanger serial), or was actually intent on remaking it as something different (a politically motivated comedy).

Are you seriously trying to say the OT is better simply because it was first?

Geezus.

The PT has a following, like this delusional guy you are trying to have a rational conversation with. But guys like him will never understand how popular Star Wars was at it's peak and that the only reason it remains insanely popular to this day is the OT. Some people are so far behind they actually believe they are winning.

Star Wars wasn’t that popular in the 90s due to the OT… It remained popular because of the EU content.

Star Wars remained popular in the 00s because of the PT, toys, video games, books, comics mostly from the PT.

Star Wars remained popular in the early 10s because of The Clone Wars, toys, video games, books, comics, mostly from the PT.

Star Wars died October 12th, 2012.

Star Wars was reborn November 19th, 2019.

Star Wars became the most popular thing in the world because of The Mandalorian. It continued with one of the greatest animated projects of all time with the Final Season of TCW. It continued with The Mandalorian Season 2.

The OT is no where to be found for the last 20 years. It remained popular not because of the OT, but because of the success of non-OT stories.

Yeah, no **** none of it would be possible without the OT, but to act like it is the reason Star Wars is still popular is laughable. Nobody is talking about the OT. It is all PT, TCW, BB, Mando.

I see it as it's supposed to be a different era really, in the PT you have a bunch of Jedi and Clones running around doing whacky **** with a democracy, but most of them die and it's 20 years later under what's basically a space Nazi regime. The tone was different because the galaxy changed as a whole.

Exactly. These OT purists can’t even grasp this.

The OT, by contrast, was a far simpler story of good vs. evil in line with the cliffhangers that inspired it. In those early pulp serials the limit of economics would be Nazi saboteurs blowing up factories and disrupting the transport network on American soil as a means of highlighting the stakes for the heroes.

It's other problem, which often besets prequels made too long after the originals, is that the technology sometimes looks slicker and more advanced than the future.

Oh, and not to forget the embarrassingly bad dialogue. lol

Almost like the 70s vs 00s were completely different times with completely different feels in film….

Golly geez a film in 1999 isn’t the exact same as one in 1977!?!?

You are free to like the PT all you want but the below statement is the delusional part.

They said “right now.” And right now the PT, TCW, BB, Mando are more popular.

You don't need to seek validation for liking certain things, or create your own echo chamber.

You can't change history. The OT came first and will always be superior, because without it, or the "old boys", there wouldn't be a PT or TCW.

The OT was Lucas' homage to his childhood inspirations. Everything else is either an homage to an homage, a reboot, or simply a vehicle to transmit other messages.

That is such a cringe illogical argument. cavemen were better humans because they came first!

Like my god man. Let me guess, you are better because you are older too?

 

[TheDucky]

Hmm, let’s see.

The Mandalorian - Global Phenomenon

Clone Wars Season 7 - Praised as one of the greatest animated seasons ever with the critics giving it perfect scores.

The Mandalorian Season 2 - Global Phenomenon

Bad Batch - One of the top streaming shows of the last few months, critically praised, fans love it.

Toys - Majority based on TCW, BB, Mando.

PT - Clear revival and renewed interest thanks to TCW, Ewan and Hayden returning broke the internet, hugely popualr on social media sites with ages of 5-35.

What exactly has the OT done again these last few years??? Gather dust on Disney+? Live on in poorly written comics?

Heh.

 

[Asta]

Are you seriously trying to say the OT is better simply because it was first?

Geezus.

No, that wasn't the purpose of the argument.

For that matter, the PT was just badly made.

If The Phantom Menace had been the first ever Star Wars film I doubt it would be any more famous than Spacehunter.

Almost like the 70s vs 00s were completely different times with completely different feels in film….

Golly geez a film in 1999 isn’t the exact same as one in 1977!?!?

Simply that none of it would exist unless the OT had caught the imagination of fans.

Everything since is an offshoot, and is lesser by definition regardless of it's intrinsic values.

The PT was a mostly cringe worthy attempt to recapture the success of the OT.

The ST was a mostly cringe worthy attempt to use Star Wars for other purposes.

The Mandalorian is an homage to the best of Star Wars, which is largely the OT.

 

[TheDucky]

No, that wasn't the purpose of the argument.




Simply that none of it would exist unless the OT had caught the imagination of fans.

Everything since is an offshoot, and is lesser by definition regardless of it's intrinsic values.

The PT was a mostly cringe worthy attempt to recapture the success of the OT.

The ST was a mostly cringe worthy attempt to use Star Wars for other purposes.

The Mandalorian is an homage to the best of Star Wars, which is largely the OT.

The PT was a successful attempt to create a new era of Star Wars. New time period, new designs, etc… It never wanted to be the OT and George didn’t make it to be.

The ST was a failure at trying to recapture the success of the OT (along with an agenda) as seen with it’s blatant copying of story and design. Total rehash failure.

The Mandalorian is a successful successor to the spirit of the OT and to a lesser extent PT.

 

[Asta]

If The Phantom Menace had been the first ever Star Wars film I doubt it would be any more famous than Spacehunter.

Yes, think on that.

Take a trip down fantasy lane.

Imagine how it would've been if everything we had now was based on The Phantom Menace having been released in 1977.

We would know 'Star Wars' by the slapstick of Jar-Jar, the comical (Saturday morning cartoon style) Battle Droids which the heroes could slice and dice to their hearts content, the angelic little boy hero, and its poor dialogue.

A closer analogy would actually would be The Black Hole, rather than Spacehunter. Or, closer to home, the two Ewok live action movies, which were the beginning of the lesser offshoots.

Would there have even be a sequel to The Phantom Menace?

Maybe, but it'd probably have gone straight to video.

 

[sithocan]

Why did those guys who grew with PT love it more than OT? Because they watched OT first or because they watched PT first?

 

[Dave_W]

The greatest scene in Mando was the return of an OT character. Kenobi will be interesting because it feels like it will be a mix of OT and PT.

 

[matticus]

Is there even a big demand for a ROTJ Han?

Yes. When was the last time we got an OT Han in his own suit? 11-ish years ago.

 

[Asta]

This was the first photo from Star Wars that I recall seeing (or at least the one that imprinted itself on my brain):

This is really where it began. The hairy bigfoot guy and the two 'Stormtroopers'.

Something so new, strange and amazing!

I loved the look of the helmets and armour, and the design is still so evocative.

My earliest memory of Star Wars is the 'Star Wars Weekly' comic, and I always assumed this was a poster from the first issue. However, on checking a digital copy it was actually the back page of issue #6.

The spelling and grammar of the caption leaves a bit to be desired. lol

 

[hardytrash]

Why did those guys who grew with PT love it more than OT? Because they watched OT first or because they watched PT first?

I watched both the OT and the PT as a kid and I just generally prefer the story, era and aesthetic of the Prequels really. Nostalgia plays a huge part in all of this too, similar to the old boys with the OT, but wth supplementary material like The Clone Wars and now The Bad Batch, it's just unmatched in mine and all of my friends in the same generation's opinion !

 

[greygoose]

View attachment 535544

The spelling and grammar of the caption leaves a bit to be desired. lol

Read it in Don LaFontaine's voice. Reads much better.

 

[Star What?]

I believe a Star Wars figure is due this week and I'm still hoping for a General Kenobi figure. C'mon Hot Toys, break it up a bit.

 

[Asta]

Star Wars wasn’t that popular in the 90s due to the OT… It remained popular because of the EU content.

Star Wars died down in 1985, and Kenner stopped producing action figures.

West End Games began publishing Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game in 1987, and up until 1999.

I loved RPGs and still have a load of the books and supplements.

The EU novels took off again in 1991 with Heir to the Empire, and seemed to continue non-stop throughout the 90s.

I still have a load of them too.

Kenner released their die cast Action Masters figures in 1994, and in 1995 the action figures themselves returned.

So, while there was a decade without action figures (85-95), Star Wars wasn't actually unpopular throughout that period.

 

[greygoose]

Anyone on here own the original Kenner first 12 MOC?

 

[Star What?]

Why did those guys who grew with PT love it more than OT? Because they watched OT first or because they watched PT first?

I can only answer for myself. I believe that most of the individuals that like the PT over the OT just grew up with them. It is just like me, a child that grew up with the original three. Sure there are some that grew up with both and just happen to like the PT more than Lucas' original, and that's alright. It comes down to personal taste.

Lucas originally made the OT as a way for one to escape, like when he would go to a daily matinee.

See below what George mentions about his movies :



In the end, whether you are young or old, it is personal preference and though I may disagree with some things, I can learn to respect some things.

Lets all agree though that the ST was trash.....just joking, just joking.

My favourite Star Wars movies in order :

The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars
Return Of The Jedi
Phantom Menace
Rogue One
Revenge Of The Sith
Attack Of The Clones
The Force Awakens
Solo
and Rise of Skywalker and Last Jedi are a tie for the least favourite.

List your order FREAKS. I know some have done it already, but it is still interesting.

 

[hardytrash]

1. Revenge of the Sith
2. Siege of Mandalore
3. Rogue One
4. The Phantom Menace
5. Empire Strikes Back
6. Attack of the Clones
7. ROTJ
8. ANH
9. Solo

The Sequels are non-canon to me so no point in including them but I swore I would never watch TLJ again in my lifetime after I walked out of that movie. Even when I show my future children Star Wars I simply won't include those movies out of pure principle lol.

 

[Star What?]

The Sequels are non-canon to me so no point in including them but I swore I would never watch TLJ again in my lifetime after I walked out of that movie. Even when I show my future children Star Wars I simply won't include those movies out of pure principle lol.

Yeah, the sequels are a hard go for me and funny thing is, I had high hopes for Ryan Johnson after watching Looper, but TLJ just kiiled all character development for me.

 

[Asta]

Lucas originally made the OT as a way for one to escape, like when he would go to a daily matinee.

This was his prime motivation.

As a kid he was thrilled by the matinee cliffhangers that he watched repeated on television (as had Spielberg, hence their collaboration on Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Initially he wanted to remake the Flash Gordon serials, but couldn't get the rights. Lucky for us, because he was forced to create his own universe instead!

Star Wars was the recreation by an adult of what it was like to be a child again. Except he went far darker with his vision. Children can have morbid imaginations, but there are things that adult film makers wouldn't generally depict for children during Lucas' childhood (or in the older serials he was watching).

So the adult Lucas indulged a childish morbidity with the chopping off of limbs, the smoking remains of relatives, a neck snapping villain, a torture droid...

Fast forward to 1999 and the violence is toned down, and the comedy ramped up to another level. Violence is limited by replacing living beings with droids that can be sliced and diced by the heroes.

The difference between 1977 and 1999 is quite stark, especially if you imagine replacing the former with the latter.

I just can't imagine that a 1977 The Phantom Menace would've had the same lightning in a bottle effect that 1977 Star Wars had. The one thing in its favour is the pod race, which was the single most stunning sequence in the film. But there's a lot of film and story hanging on that one great sequence.

The Prequels get a lot darker as they progress, but TPM set an unfortunate tone with the Battle Droids. If Lucas had made them all as menacing as the Super Battle Droids (because warbots were to be feared as per Han Solo and the Lost Legacy), and toned down Jar-Jar, I'm sure that a lot more of the "old boys" would've warmed up more to the Prequels.

The lead up to the release of the film was an exciting time, but the film itself was a shocking let down.


The list:

The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Star Wars
Solo
Rogue One
Revenge of the Sith
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
Rise of Skywalker

 

[greygoose]

@Star What?
ESB
**Sneaking Mando in here. Non-film but I enjoy it so much.
SW
ROTS
ROTJ
RO
Solo
TPM
TFA
AOTC
TLJ
TROS =

 

[ProtocolD]

These crazy arguments remind me of similar ones on youtube. The 90s were the best, say people who were young in that decade. The 80s! say older people. The 70s! The 60s! And on it goes, and no one stops to think how coincidentally the best decade is always the one in which they were young. And as someone said further up, this is basically the same thing for the most part.