TMBTM said:

I'm not excited in the sens that I do not try to catch all the spoilers like when Episode 1 was made. But I have hopes that it will be good. And I'll probably see it hopening night (or just after) just because I prefer watching it with a bunch of fans rather than in a room full of people texting on their Iphone or talking about something else during the screening...

I'm the exact opposite. I had no interest in Ep III, but went to opening night anyway just to keep the ol' streak going. With the excitement and energy in the theater, I kind of fell victim to the "group think" thing, and left thinking "hey, that wasn't that bad." Upon later, more objective viewings, I was "yeah, it's pretty lousy."

I do like the point that was brought up about how the ST is viewed as a part of the SW film franchise versus just a new top-tier sci-fi/fantasy IP. I'm not sure at this point whether the SW moniker is more or less influential on my anticipation. What other original properties coming out in the future are interesting? While I'm definitely a jaded SW fan, there's not much else to look forward to that isn't some sort of sequel or adaptation. Channing Tatum with dog ears? No thanks.

I still kind of wish GL was involved in some minor capacity (perhaps extremely minor). Kind of like how Arnold Palmer makes golf courses. He might tell them to put a tree here and a bunker there, but otherwise he just shows up for the opening ceremony, smiles, cuts the ribbon, takes a piss in the bushes, and leaves. The architects, engineers, and other skilled people do 99% of everything, which is how it should be.