Episode IX: Spoilers and Rumors

McSweeney's wrote:He will thank you for being in his life. He just can’t talk to his guy friends this way, after all. But you get him. You’re so close, you’re practically soulmates, he muses. It just didn’t work as a romantic thing, you know? But this whole you listening to his problems a lot as he keeps the specific parts of the relationship with you that he wants, and replaces the rest with new people really seems to work for him. So thanks for being there. You’re a really good friend. His best friend.

snufkin wrote:
His fatal mistake in TLJ was being selfish and thinking that he could have both his power grab and a partnership/relationship with Rey. The choice between the two is very much which type of (moral) person he wants to be and it's already clear he's realized on some level that he made the wrong choice. She dumped him not just because of the "I can help other people you're loyal to but that doesn't suit me b/c I want you to myself" but his choices would mean he's the type of man she could never be with, selfish. So going forward, whatever they write has to show him either going full on into the bad decisions he's made (which was Vader's whole jam) because it gave him what he actually wanted, power. Or he's going to have to contend with the "too much of his father's heart in him" and decide what type of person he's going to be, selfish or selfless. The latter is the only way things can ever resolve with Rey.

As for Renperor, man I just cringed my first viewing because I was surrounded by parents who'd brought their children of different ages to watch and it was like the most uncomfortable family fight ever. Like I've yelled at at least one of my uncles the same way Ben did because there's bad blood between the two of us. But the whole thing was hilarious if you think about the Hoth sequence in ESB is basically two siblings having their a**hole estranged biological father showing up at their place determined to talk to them because he needs something from them. Like how is Ben any different than Vader in doing the same exact thing because he's p**sed at his mother, he's angry that his girlfriend dumped him and cut him off but is still friends with his mother (basically she took the side against him), and then the uncle who used to jerk him around as a kid shows up? If the First Order has a Board of Directors, they should fire him stat for messing up that ground assault because it got turned into personal business.

snufkin wrote:@Dar-ren19 Oh I'm hoping that JJ takes full advantage of the delicious workplace drama/rivalry between those two finally coming to a head with Snoke gone and Ben's dirty little secret that he killed the boss and seized power because of "the gurl" he keeps capturing and then mysteriously losing. Hux already tattled on him once already for botching their original mission because Kylo instead snuck said girl into his quarters


(Notice how he mouths "shoot!" when Hux turns up to rat him out)

There has to be a plot point in IX where Rey is targeted because Ben lied about her killing Snoke, Hux suspects something more is going on, he's forced into making a choice (the gurl or the power), and we get Hux and Rey finally meeting (betcha he says "the girl I've heard so much about" to her).

snufkin wrote:@Dar-ren19 He also gets that split second wistful look in his eye at that moment where you can tell he's thinking about Rey because Snoke brings her up. @ISeeanIsland gets credit for spotting him saying "shoot" as one of those moments where you can see Ben peeking out from under the whole Kylo persona.

ISeeAnIsland wrote:

DeeBee wrote:Hi Everyone, now we've all seen TLJ and are looking toward IX, I thought I'd raise some information revealed back in 2015 for discussion and to check if anyone has thoughts or updates..

Back in August 2015 Lucas film trademarked two non-canon star wars names: 'Valara' & 'Mon Destra'
Unless I've missed it, neither were referred to in TLJ... Maybe they will be in IX? Have either of these characters shown up in new Rebels? or any of the canon books maybe?  I can't see anything online about them..

I found this old article about the trademark which includes brief mention of what these names referred to in the EU.
http://www.slashfilm.com/valara-saar-lucasfilm-trademarks/

This is an interesting read now that we've seen TLJ! Interesting speculation about what it could mean- so I thought others at this point might be interested too

If Valara was a force user, wannabee Jedi - I wonder.. could she be a potential KOR in IX? total speculation here.. lol..

Edited to add: Just found a more recent article about 'Valara' & 'Mon Destra'
Star Wars Post Exclusive: Lucasfilm adds to Valara and Mon Destra Trademarks

maybe they are not new characters.. maybe they are new planets? lol.

@DeeBee

FWIW, during the "spoiler drought" leading up to TLJ, we had a lot of fake leaks. A lot of the fake leakers chose "Mon Destra" and "Valara" to be names of characters or planets. (I believe several fake leaks had "Valara" as the name of Laura Dern's then-unnamed character.)

I have no idea if these names will have any relevance for IX, but I wanted to mention to the newbies here that when we're going through our spoilers drought for IX, if various trademarkings leak, expect those names to turn up in fake leaks for IX in some capacity.

AhsokaTano wrote:Woah! yes it could be . I too have been catching up on the comics last few days ( we’ve had snow cause travel chaos!)and think the kazerath device will play a part . All these references to time now throughout Star Wars films , books etc take on new meaning after rebels world between the worlds . It opens many doors now as to how Star Wars could go. When I saw the episode ( online as not available in Uk yet)it reminded me of the magician’s nephew and also the film interstellar. I think it’s possible that rey and kylo have been there “ in their dreams “ ie why they both don’t sleep and why rey on anch to says “i know this place from my dreams”. I think that it’s possible that’s how they know each other but like Polly and Diggory they don’t remember. Maybe the kazerath device is a way to open the world between the worlds ? Whatever it’s purpose I reckon it’s important .

rawpowah wrote:@DeeBee To backtrack on Han's death would make TFA essentially meaningless imo. And it would seem like a cop-out and an attempt to pander to OT fanboys who are angry Han died. It's possibilities like this that make me hate time travel in narratives, because it's just so easy and convenient to retcon everything.

DeeBee wrote:

AhsokaTano wrote:Woah! yes it could be . I too have been catching up on the comics last few days ( we’ve had snow cause travel chaos!)and think the kazerath device will play a part . All these references to time now throughout Star Wars films , books etc take on new meaning after rebels world between the worlds . It opens many doors now as to how Star Wars could go. When I saw the episode ( online as not available in Uk yet)it reminded me of the magician’s nephew and also the film interstellar. I think it’s possible that rey and kylo have been there “ in their dreams “ ie why they both don’t sleep and why rey on anch to says “i know this place from my dreams”. I think that it’s possible that’s how they know each other but like Polly and Diggory they don’t remember. Maybe the kazerath device is a way to open the world between the worlds ? Whatever it’s purpose I reckon it’s important .

@AhsokaTano

So true!! It's quite mind blowing when you stop and think about it.

Brace yourselves - with this new element of time travel - and seeing how it was used to save someone's life - I wondered... Is part of Kylo/Ben's redemption in IX going to be travelling through time to save Han Solo's life???!!!!
Whoa. Just Whoa.

BenRey wrote:

BenRey wrote: