This isn't relevant to the discussion of the new movies (but the title doesn't specify that). I thought I'd share with you my unusual experience in re-watching the original Star Wars films a little while ago.

On my flight back from England last month (which consisted of two legs of 7 and 9 hours each) they had all 6 previous films on the view-on-demand in-flight entertainment. It had probably been about 9 years since I last watched the films (I was obsessed with them in highschool but I'm not big on rewatching the same films over and over again). Anyway, technically I could have watched all 6 but the first leg was overnight and I did want to *try* get some sleep. In the end I just watched the first three.

I started playing A New Hope as we were taking off and can now conclude that there are not many experiences better than watching the opening back-story scroll up the screen to the epic music of Star Wars while on a plane which is accelerating and taking off. Ideally you want to try this at night and it is an added advantage if you're at a window seat from which you can see the awesome sight of London (or some other major city) lit up at night (I've never seen London from the sky at night and it was incredible - I even had to pause Star Wars for a bit just to enjoy it). As we ascended, I could imagine us eventually ending up outside the earth's orbit and really in outer space. One of the things that stuck me so much watching it for the first time in 9 years, is how young the main actors looked. When did they suddenly become younger than me?!!

After the first film finished I tried to sleep for a bit and listened to a Sherlock Homes audio drama (audio is nice when you can't sleep on a plane 'cause at least you can close your eyes). I think I dozed a bit because I'm not entirely sure what happened in the middle of the story. (I should probably add that I was already a bit out of it when I got on the plane, since I'd only had 5 hours sleep the night before and was stressed and exhausted from packing - but also have a terrible record for being able to fall asleep on an aeroplane).

After a ridiculously early "wake-up" by the plane crew, and a two hour stop-over in Dubai, I got on my second flight and started watching Empire Strikes Back. The fatigue was really getting to me by this time and although I still couldn't really sleep, I closed my eyes from time to time and had fits of dozing off. It was all a bit bizarre because all these alarm-sounds and shooting and crashing and emergency shouting were going on in the film and I kept half-thinking the alarm sounds were on the plane. Turns out it's a bit dangerous listening to Star Wars on a plane while half asleep.

Eventually I realised this wasn't working and gave up trying to watch (I think they brought us something to eat about this time - we'd crossed four time zones and were now heading back across another two, so I and they were thoroughly confused at to what time of day it ought to be). In the mean time, I'd discovered that the plane also had available a South African film I've been wanting to see for ages (it stars Katie McGrath from Merlin) and I've never seen it available anywhere so I decided to watch that after I'd eaten. When that was finished, I went back to the part of ESB where I'd stopped paying attention and finished it. Again I was struck by how young the actors looked.

After some other meal (I was now approaching over 30 hours without having had any real sleep) I looked at the time left before we landed. There was just enough to get through Return of the Jedi but they often take our headphones and/or start playing announcements on our screens up to half an hour before we land so I probably wouldn't make it though. I decided to start it anyway and for the first time the actors looked more the age I usually picture them (how many years were there between Ep IV and VI?) Since I knew I wouldn't make it through the whole film I skipped over a few sections (especially the Ewok chase-scene). I succeeded in getting to the end before they gathered our headphones. I'll have to keep rewatching the prequels for another occasion.

And that, my friends, is the story of what happens when you watch Star Wars at 30 000ft while confined to a small area and half asleep.

Congrats Ajnos (By the way there is six years between SW IV and SW VI 1977 and 1983 respectively.)The Star Wars saga are my favorite movies. Wish the long flight airline I took nearly two years ago had them (I checked). By the way if you watch Episode VII you quickly realize how old the actors really are. Except Mark Hamil (Luke) I think they made him look older.

Yeah, they probably did make them older, because Kylo is Han and Leia's son and he's what.......in his thirties? Late twenties? I don't know I just read that somewhere. Just a random note, sorry for butting in.

Yeah, obviously in ep VII they are their real age now (almost 40 years older than in A New Hope). But my point is, last time I watched eps IV to VII, Leia, Luke and Han were still older than me (i.e. The characters based on the ages of the actors when it was filmed were a good few years older than me). This time watching eps IV to VI, they they actually looked younger in that film than my current age. Especially in A New Hope. In addition, the age they were in Return of the Jedi is the age I expected them to look in all the original films which is why their youngerness (yes I want to say "youngerness" not "youthfulness") in A New Hope was so startling.

But basically all to say it made me feel old :p

Cor, I read on the internet that there was supposed to be 32 years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Which would mean Kylo Ren was born a few years after Return of the Jedi if you are right. (And called Ben Solo) Late twenties seems to allow for more time for marriage and birth than early thirties. Anjos when I watched the original trilogy I too was younger than the actors and now I am a bit older. But seeing them in SW VII did much to change my view on their age 😀 . Looking forward to May 2017 when they are scheduled to release Episode VIII.

I think that Ben Solo/Kylo Ren was born a year after the Battle of Endor (or Return of the Jedi), at least according to Wookiepedia.

Jagee, I cheked and the information is based on a tweet. As I said if he is the age of the tweet says that leaves little time for marriage and birth (although possible). Maybe his birth year isn't offical yet though he might be born at that time. In the comic series Aftermath they weren't married yet. In fact if you check the same website under Leia Organa you see that she didn't marry until after the Galactic Concordance about a year after the Battle of Endor (These things are still in the works) Anyways thanks for the info.

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I SAW TFA LAST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!! IT WAS SO EPICCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!

Give me a few days to mentally calm down for me to be able to actually talk about it. 😉

I saw all of them now. What do you want to know? 😆

Jaygee I was going to ask you if you had seen it. Good for you. Who favors that Rey and Finn should fall in loved with each other and who thinks that they should not? Personally I would really like to see those two kiss in episode VIII or IX for the first time. Neither of them seem to have had time for romance in their former way of life. Finn being a storm trooper for the First Order and Rey a scavenger living hand to mouth. I really like when Finn asks something like, "Do you have a boyfriend there (Jakue)?" Sorry if I spelt the planet wrong. I wonder if that betrayed his interest. Also Han much later saying, "Alright save the kissing for later." Once again this may not be an exact quote.
Rey is a fascinating character. But SW VII could have done with less references to episodes IV, V, VI like hide your vital information in a droid to name just one.

Yeah, I think they should fall in love. 😉

I'm in favor of Rey/Finn, but I think that they should take their time and fall slowly.

Agreed Lucy Took slowly otherwise we will be like "When did those two fall seriously in loved with each other?" Plus if everything happens in episode VIII there won't be much to tell in episode IX :). And who would want that? In my quotes from the movie I was just wondering if the two weren't starting to fall in loved (especially Finn) but I might be wrong in that since a lot of this movie is still guess work. Like who is Rey waiting for? I'm almost sure it's her parents or at least her mother. But of course we aren't told.

I think it's her parents, but her mom's dead and her dad thinks Rey's dead, but he found out differently when she showed up and handed him his old lightsaber (aka Team Skywalker 😉 ).

Theories, theories there seems to be more theories than anything else in this story. I agree that by now Rey's mom is probably dead (otherwise she would have brought her daughter back home by now). And I agree with the possibility that she might be Luke Skywalker's daughter. (I know someone who would shout NO about now.) But all we have to go on is a teaser where Luke says, "The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power too." Not much to go on (although I believe it still is enough).