For all of you who aren't giant nerds of Western stuff, J.J. Abrams has
been officially named the director of the new Star Wars movies. He's
also the guy who (mostly) successfully rebooted the Star Trek franchise
and brought us Lost, Alias, and Cloverfield. And I don't know how I feel about this, or rather I'm doubtful about this.
I
have come to terms, due to his deal with Disney/Marvel, that Joss
Whedon cannot write and direct the new Star Wars movie. I have
grudgingly come to accept this. It makes me a little sad, considering
that Serenity and Firefly are leaps and bounds better
than the Star Wars prequels, but I can console myself with Avengers 2
and him dabbling with the rest of the Marvel Movie verse that isn't in
control of 21st Century Fox or Sony. (And I found out that Scarlet
Witch and Quicksilver can be part of an Avengers movie as long as
they're not called "mutants", which also makes me happy because I love
me some Scarlet Witch as an Avenger.) Not to mention there's the
S.H.E.I.L.D TV show in the works too, which could be really cool (bonus
points if Dum Dum Doogan makes regular appearances).
Anyway, enough fanwanking of Joss Whedon, because I could do that for hours on end.
Let's get back to J.J. Abrams, Star Trek, and Star Wars.
Back
in the day, and still somewhat, "Trekkies" and Star Wars fans were at
odds about who's beloved franchise is better. The rivalry is epic in
the nerd community, and while its calming down, it's still pretty
heavy. I like both franchises, I grew up with both of them. My parents
met because of Star Wars and I grew up watching "Star Trek: The Next
Generation" and nursed a huge crush on Riker (and him voicing Xanatos on
Gargoyles really didn't help that either because mrrow). And
comparing Star Trek and Star Wars is like comparing apples and oranges.
Sure they both take place in space, but that's sort of where the
similarities end.
Star Trek is more grounded in reality. It's
more cerebral. There's real science behind how things work. Plus the
common theme of Star Trek is Exploring Strange New Worlds Without
Fucking With Them aka The Prime Directive. Star Trek is all about
discovery, exploration, and science. There's no magical forces
out there; anything that could be considered "supernatural" like Odo
the Shape Shifter, Kingon Strength and the Betazeds' mental abilities
can be rationally explained.
Star Wars on the other hand is more epic fantasy. There's a magic like entity out there called the Force that gives people amazing powers. There are Jedi Knights
that use light sabers to protect the innocent. There's a giant evil in
the Empire and the Emperor that needs to be defeated and by damn it
we're redeeming Darth Vader as well. Star Wars is all about Good Vs
Evil and the Journey of the Hero be it Luke or Anakin, even though I
don't consider the prequels canon, but that's not the point right now.
J.J. Abrams is good at "cerebral". Look at the first few seasons of Lost
and the new Star Trek with its time travel and the like. He can handle
that very well. However Star Wars is something else all together.
Star Wars is an adventure. It's about heroes and heart while Star Trek
is about the mind. Abrams proves he has the mind, but does he have
heart?
Not to mention the hard core nerd in me thinks that
directing both Star Trek and Star Wars is blaspheme. It's okay to be a
fan of both, I am. However one should only be allowed to work in one
universe and not both.
Now he could prove me wrong and blow us
out of the water, but right now I'm skeptical and hope that Abrams
follows Whedon's advice about "Han-ing" up the new movies. Because
every good hero needs a rogue to balance him/her out and keep him/her on the straight and narrow.
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