Star Wars ‘Revenge of the Sith’: ‘Titanic’ in Space
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James Joyner | Friday, March 18, 2005 |
Star Wars creator George Lucas, foreshadowing his plan to suck the last bit of life out of the franchise, announced that the final film in the series will be a “tearjerker” — a “‘Titanic’ in space.”
Lucas calls new ‘Star Wars’ a titanic tearjerker (Reuters)
Director George Lucas had a message for fans as he previewed a glimpse of the final tale in the billion-dollar “Star Wars” film franchise: leave the lightsabers at home, but don’t forget the tissues. “It’s not like the first one. It’s more emotional,” said the director of the upcoming space adventure “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” which arrives in theaters May 19. “I describe it as a ‘Titanic’ in space. It’s a real tearjerker, and it will be received in a way that none of us can expect,” he told theater owners at the ShoWest convention.
ShoWest is a major gathering of movie theater owners in the United States and a launch pad for Hollywood’s summer movies. Film studio 20th Century Fox teased a packed house here with the first six minutes of “Revenge of the Sith,” marking the first time the scenes had been shown to audiences.
Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) wage a furious fight against their adversaries in a battle of deadly spaceships. In this episode, Skywalker becomes the notorious Darth Vader.
Lucas and the promotional clip did not divulge much about the “tearjerker” love story. But Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman), who married Skywalker in a secret ceremony witnessed in the last movie, plays a key role. If Lucas’s comparison to “Titanic” is to be believed, there must be heartbreak in “Revenge of the Sith” because 1997’s tale of the doomed ocean liner stirred audiences with its tale of an ill-fated affair between characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
Fans might have hoped for an action-packed drama explaining how Anakin Skywalker becomes the leader of the Dark Side of the Force. Of course, this might just be an elaborate ruse on Lucas’ part to make fans happy if the movie is short of the worst film they’ve ever seen. After all, a week ago Lucas was telling us that this was an incredibly dark and scary movie unsuitable for children. While I have not seen (and never intend to see) ‘Titanic,’ that’s not my impression of that movie.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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It may resemble the real Titanic more than the movie, if the last few installments were anything to go by.
While I have not seen (and never intend to see) 'Titanic,' that's not my impression of that movie.
You are a smart man James, very smart. You'd be better off watching Robot Monster.
Well, I cried after Episode I because it sucked so bad, so I may well sob after III as well.
(On the other hand, I *still* get genuinely weepy-eyed when Leia and Han exchange their "I love you" / "I know" before he goes into the carbon-freeze in "Empire." I would not expect any normal person to share this response.)
I really think Lucas should let somebody else actually write his scripts, the movies would probably have been much better.
About the only thing better about the current spat of Star Wars movies is that the light saber fights are more exciting. The writing however sucks. I also think there is almost no way around me skipping this one, since my son will be determined to go.
Well, presumably this means Amidala gets a nice death scene.
We saw what the death of Anakin's mother did to him in Ep. II; I figure the death of Amidala will plunge him further into despair and evil.
This could tie into Lucas' description of Anakin making a deal with the devil. It could be that he makes his deal in an attempt to save Amidala's life, but he is tricked, and she dies anyway.
I do agree with the talk about how the lifeblood of Star Wars has been drained by these movies. However, I feel like I have to see it through, having come this far.
""It's not like the first one. It's more emotional"
My keyboard is more emotional than the first one.
James, you really should see the second half of Titanic: the special effects are great. It's the definitive sinking of that ship.
Just to help denise, the scenario she spins cannot occur. In Return of the Jedi, Leia tells Luke about their real mom, the one he never met. This means she survives far past the birth of the twins. And remember, the fact that there were twins is something Vader does not know about until Return as well. So their birth has to occur after he has turned evil. As such, the only version of denise's scenario which could be possible is if Amidala's death is faked.
Given the latest trailer, which shows Anakin being seduced by the Emperor to the Dark Side, and Anakin's growing interest in 'that which he cant learn from a jedi', I suspect the turn is going to occur because of his allegience with the Emperor and in response to the 'treasonous' actions of the jedi.
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