I wonder if the Leia space scene could have been inspired by Marvel Star Wars #52, in which Imperial Officers fed up with Vader choking their fellows, try to assassinate him?
http://bullyscomics.blogspot.com/2015/09/365-days-of-star-wars-comics-day-252.htmlImmediately after seeing TLJ, I was sitting with my wife and we were discussing the movie. I was explaining why I didn’t like the Poppins Leia scene, and I told her about this amazing moment in the old comics where disgruntled officers were trying to assassinate Vader by opening an airlock behind him. I was saying how awesome it was that he used the Force to steady himself against the airflow, then marched step by step back into the ship - how this would’ve been a better way to handle it than the floating through space/doorknock thing.
And here it is! Nice one!
I’m seeing that Mary Poppins thing all over the darn internet. I don’t recall Julie Andrews being violently blown out into space and almost dying. Did Walt cut that after the test screeings?
Or is this some clever viral marketing for the MP sequel? 😉
Sorry, I assumed we were on the same page here. My bad!
The ‘Mary Poppins’ thing is entirely down to the fact that the scene looks silly. We all know that Star Wars is entirely non-scientific (sound in space, earth-conditions on planets of all sizes etc etc) but there is still a (subjective) sense of plausibility even within this ‘silly’ universe.
A good example is the Ewoks. The Ewoks somehow cross a line for many people. Star Wars is jam-packed with cutesy animals and weird creatures made of rubber and a tall guy in a monkey suit - so why single out the Ewoks? Well, they cross a line. They’re teddy bears! We’re suddenly watching Paddington in Space rather than simply adding yet another exotic creature to the Star Wars lexicon. It’s a subtle thing, and a subjective thing, but it’s a thing.
I don’t know how plausible Leia’s space walk is. For all I know her survival in that moment (Force aside) is entirely scientific. But it looks ridiculous. It takes me out of the film because I start questioning it - “hang on, does that even make sense?”. Yes, it’s a universe where muppets lift X-wing fighters with a gesture, but somehow this moment is a mood-killer.
In the comic book you mentioned, Vader grabs a handhold as the airlock opens, calls upon the Force, and slowly rights himself against the winds rushing past him. It’s a great scene for Vader - gives him an almost ‘Terminator’ vibe and demonstrates his power. But as I write this I’m kind of realising that the same scene with Leia in Vader’s place probably would’ve looked dumb too. Ultimately I wish they’d either let her go in that scene or just not done that scene in the first place.