The Studio Demands It!

S5 EP11 | Throughout the history of Star Wars, droids have played critical roles in the galaxy far, far away, but the studio demands a film be created where droids are not only the main characters but that we come to love and care for them on the same level as the human characters.


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Creators and Guests

JB
Host
Jim Burzelic
TW
Host
T.C. De Witt

What is The Studio Demands It!?

Two screenwriters attempt to recreate, reimagine, or flat out fix, existing film franchises when 'the studio' demands...MORE FILMS! It's an exercise in creative thinking where they will challenge themselves to conceptualize, pitch, and craft a film based on the stipulations of a hypothetical Hollywood overlord. | Sixfive Media

T.C.:

Hello, and welcome to The Studio Demands It, an exercise in creative thinking where we will conceptualize, pitch, and craft a film or series based on the demands or stipulations from one of you listeners acting as a hypothetical Hollywood overlord. Hollywood. As professional screenwriters ourselves and massive cinephiles, we talk movies all the time. Movies. We'd like to believe that we are capable of meeting any demand thrown at us.

T.C.:

We will be your screenwriters for this episode. I am TC DeWitt, and joining me as always is Jim. That's it. It's just blank there. That's all I Oh.

T.C.:

Your your last name isn't even on here. Wow. So you're like I've

Jim:

achieved it. I've I've achieved

T.C.:

Single name status.

Jim:

Status of of just having a single name.

T.C.:

Not many half. You have your Mhmm. Bono. Your Yeah. Madonna.

T.C.:

Beyonce, Madonna. Mozart.

Jim:

Yep.

T.C.:

You're you're you're you're among an elite crowd.

Jim:

Those are all musicians.

T.C.:

You're a musician of sorts.

Jim:

Mitch g?

T.C.:

You you perform into a microphone. It's lyrical. That I just have a blank here today, But it's this this is a screenwriting question, actually. How would you write that joke? That that way of saying what I just did?

T.C.:

So this is this is something I I used to mess with a friend doing this, where I would just stop mid sentence. Yeah. And he could never it would always throw him for a loop because it's very upsetting. I'll do it in a second.

Jim:

Uh-huh.

T.C.:

He could never achieve it. He would try it, and he was like, no, Chris, you're not doing it. That's not how it works. You have to right? That's uncomfortable.

T.C.:

Yeah. And it works every time because your your brain hears that handbrake's like Mhmm. Finish what you were saying. Like, if if there's one thing that right? That's weird.

T.C.:

So, anyway, I think that's hilarious to do to people just to stop cold mid sending. How would you put that in screen in a screenplay?

Jim:

Well, so in the dialogue at the the place where you wanna cut off,

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

You put a dash. Mhmm. I know there's there's multiple names for it. I don't know if that's an em dash or an en dash.

T.C.:

Em dash, en dash, or hyphen. Like, there's there's different terms for

Jim:

it. I forget which one is the appropriate one, but you put a dash, and then you go to blocking and you say, speaker pauses as if gathering their thoughts or waiting dramatically. Listener leans in waiting. Yeah. Speaker continues to pause uncomfortably long.

Jim:

Listener is getting more and more tense.

T.C.:

See, we're you are

Jim:

That's that's how I'd write that.

T.C.:

You you are incorrect, and that would be a way to present that. That's a lot of explanation that would not fly for some producers, for some like so then, ultimately, it's a gag you can we could write into something we're going to direct, and then, therefore, it doesn't need to be described as such it becomes direction. That there that's just it's I don't I don't quite have a a way to put it on paper and hand it to someone without explanation and then get to get the joke. Like, I have quite a story.

Jim:

I don't understand why someone would read that and be like, the you shouldn't have written this. This is for the director to decide. No. That, like It's it's it's it's like Mozart's, there's music in the pause. Right.

Jim:

There's music in the silence.

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

That's what's happening. This is still this is still the script.

T.C.:

I'm still yeah. It's the I'm not saying it's a hard it's not exactly a hard rule. It's just the the less trust a producer has in a screenwriter or if, like, a lot of the work I do is I'm writing something, handing it off, and never seeing it again. So to put something like that in text in in the description is gonna be confusing. And that's why, like, if I could Is

Jim:

it? Oh, okay.

T.C.:

To to some. You know, I'm dealing with business people more than creative people sometimes.

Jim:

That's why I actually think the way I described it would be the way that they would want more than speaker

T.C.:

Stops going.

Jim:

What dash, next line, listener, ellipsis, speaker, ellipsis. Right? Just like a series of ellipsis.

T.C.:

That's that's that's actually an even more concise way of of creating the the gag.

Jim:

But the problem with that is it doesn't explain what's happening.

T.C.:

Right. It needs to be in the text that says, the the speaker has paused as though they are going to continue and never does. Yeah. Therefore, creating confusion amongst the, the listeners, the people in front of it's yeah. I I just think it's a funny thing to do, I've and always tried to fig I've tried putting it in scripts before, and it doesn't work.

T.C.:

Like, handing it to someone, like, I don't quite understand this gag, and then I explain it. They're like, oh, I'm not gonna do that. I'm like, fine. Just cut it. It's just finding a way to do that.

T.C.:

Right. Because there's there's the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I quiver with Antissa.

Jim:

Say it. Patient.

T.C.:

Patient. Yeah. Legend, wait for it, dairy from, you know, Barney Does That, in How to Met Your Mother. So there there is examples of it, but it's just I don't know. It's just a fun verbal, comedic thing that I've I enjoy doing and

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

Not quite sure how to put it into script form. So thank you for indulging me in

Jim:

You're welcome.

T.C.:

That. But why don't we carry forth here with your strange singular name, Jim? Actually, no. Briefly, I

Jim:

When you when you say it like you like you're cutting the name in half. Jim.

T.C.:

I did a so, here at Six Five Media, one of our fellow, family members in the Six Five empire is Top Hat Balloon Show, which is Max. And, oh my god. I just blanked on Max's partner's name. That's so embarrassing. But they Max had Jeff Bell and I on to do an episode where we were we were, reviewing bananas.

Jim:

Okay.

T.C.:

And and and I like, Jeff was like, hi, everyone. My name's, you know, Trent Maxwell, and I'm Steve. Like, I just did like, I

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Chose to perform it that way and then stared at the camera, and then the show proceeded. I'm Bill.

Jim:

There's a there there MC Chris has an album where there's a bunch of skit skits in it. Mhmm. And the whole premise is he's in hell, and there's a game show called GTFO that if you win, you get whatever you want, and so you can get out of hell Mhmm. Presumably. But it works a lot like Running Man, and the contestants are are going to be chased by hunters.

T.C.:

Okay.

Jim:

And this is all just leading up to another an another example of where someone says their name Mhmm. And they cut it off like that. And one of the hunters it's this the the guy the the announcer announces, like, 30 hunters. Okay. And they all have ridiculous and obscene names.

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

And some of them just have ridiculous names and but one of them is jint. Jint. And and it's pronounced like it's being kind of gint, and there's a pause.

T.C.:

That's it. Yeah. It's a good gint.

Jim:

And then the list continues.

T.C.:

That's funny. And I'm gint. Come again. Well, let's, let's learn a new name right now, actually.

Jim:

Here we go.

T.C.:

From from one of our listeners. Jim, our amazing listeners have given us demands from studios literally all over the world. And you listening right now, you can send us any demand you like, and we will have to meet them right here on the spot. See, it's uncomfortable. Yeah.

T.C.:

It's fine. We'll have to meet you right here on the spot. And when we reach the end of the episode, if we've done our job, we may have pitched the full script and story meeting wait. See, I threw myself off by being a smartass

Jim:

here. Yep.

T.C.:

If we do our job at the end of the season, this might be the demand that gets greenlit by the fans to be the finale. So thanks for everyone who has submitted. Please keep them coming. Today's demand comes from Bailey Remington from Intergalactic Banking Clan Studios. In the ever expanding Star Wars universe sorry, Bailey.

T.C.:

I'm gonna I'm gonna be that Uh-oh. It's a galaxy. It's not you. It's not you. You shouldn't

Jim:

How dare you?

T.C.:

I'm sorry.

Jim:

How dare you?

T.C.:

I'm sorry.

Jim:

Bailey, I'm on your side. How dare you?

T.C.:

Is you know, Star Wars fans are pedantic if they're anything. I knew what they meant. I didn't have to be corrected here. In the ever expanding Star Wars universe, we have seen every side of each era's war from countless points of view, giving us characters we love and root for. Currently, we are getting the Bad Batch, which shows us which shows us the surviving clones of Order sixty six.

T.C.:

The show is building off the years of work Dave Filoni has done to make the clones actual characters, all caps there. But there's one area of the franchise that has only ever been briefly explored. Sorry. Briefly explored in 14 nearly unwatchable episodes, and it's time something was done about that. Okay.

T.C.:

I I keep reading. There's no reason for me to

Jim:

sit here. You you got through the sentence. It makes sense. I'm not sure what you're

T.C.:

I'm just trying to think what they're getting to here. So so specific star okay. The dozens okay. Of the dozens of named characters in this specific area of Star Wars, there are maybe about 10 we actually care about. The studio demands that you guys come up with a film or series that makes an audience care or root or fear for an ensemble of droids.

T.C.:

Our demand is that we love a new band of characters in the same way we love r two, c three p o, b b eight, b two, and l three, and Chopper. I'm gonna throw that on the list. Do for the droids what Felloni did for the clones. May the force be with you. Thank you, Bailey.

T.C.:

Bailey Remington of Intergalactic Banking Clan Studios. IG, intergalactic. That's what the IG stands for in IG 88 is Okay. I knew this was Star Wars related. I did not see that coming, because Acolyte's coming up soon.

T.C.:

So I assumed this was gonna be something involving what? Did I say it right now?

Jim:

No. I'm I'm I'm working. I'm working on the premise. And what I'm what I was immediately reminded of is there was a joke movie poster put out a few years ago

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

By someone on the Internet made it because so many different Star Wars things are coming out. They made a movie poster for gunk

T.C.:

Gunk.

Jim:

Because you'll watch any old crap with Star Wars. Like, that was the tagline for

T.C.:

it. Gunk because you'll watch anything Yeah. And like it.

Jim:

And that's basically, that's the demand.

T.C.:

That's the demand. Make a gonky move. Well, no. Gonk is the is the Bad Batch's droid. So he's

Jim:

Oh, okay.

T.C.:

The this is

Jim:

But but, like, just just that premise of make a movie about a a walking battery.

T.C.:

This is a fair assessment, though, because I when it comes down to it, the droids we do care about, the ones that have personalities that we would be sad if they blew up Mhmm. That we are scared for when they're in danger, are those few, r two and c three PO in particular. B b eight, b two is from Andor, l three is from Solo who dies. That's the that's the nav computer in the Millennium Falcon is l three.

Jim:

Mhmm. K two s o?

T.C.:

Oh, yeah. K two s o is another great one. Like and just in one film, it sucks to see him sacrifice himself in the end. So this is a fair observation. I I know there's people out there who love droids in general, but when when you look in at Star Wars as a whole

Jim:

I mean, the the premise was George Lucas wanted to follow

T.C.:

r two.

Jim:

Yeah. He he wanted it to be about the droids.

T.C.:

They are the the perspective characters.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

And this is a great observation.

Jim:

That that is that is the being the perspective characters and being about them are two different things.

T.C.:

Yeah. True. But this is a good observation about what Faloni did for the clones. The Bad Batch is great. At its best, it's and or for kids.

Jim:

Okay.

T.C.:

Like, I really do think it's it's some top tier Star Wars. And, yeah, for for well over a decade now, Felloni and his team have given us clones that we care about. They aren't just the like, there are no in episode two and three Mhmm. There was never a single physical clone costume made in the entirety of production. The first time clone outfits were actually built and made were for the Disney shows.

Jim:

Really?

T.C.:

Yeah. Everything every clone in the existence of the prequels movies, the second and the third one, are CG. There are no physical costumes made. So, that said, the in their initial creation, it's just Jango Fett's face, Tamara Morrison, and they are disposable nothings. Yeah.

T.C.:

And even more so, having rewatched episode one recently, the one of the the things that makes The Clone Wars kinda kinda dull when you really think about it is the droids are just droids. Like, they they're made to be mowed down and and blown up, and who gives a crap?

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

So this demand is pretty cool. Thank you. Yeah. But you've started giggling already. What's oh, you're laughing about

Jim:

it. Oh, I was laughing at gunk. Yeah.

T.C.:

Gunk. Gunk. Okay. So then, I guess, where to start here? Movie or show or series?

T.C.:

Like, what do you wanna what era do you wanna put it? We got this is a lot of freedom to play in.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

Unless you have something, I'm gonna keep babbling.

Jim:

Keep babbling.

T.C.:

Someone someone made observation about the droids being tortured in Java's palace in Return of the Jedi.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

You see the one that's getting his the bottom of his feet burned. I saw someone suggest online once that the reason droids can feel pain is because an entire galactic war took place where droids were the enemy. So as essentially a punishment to droids, they were programmed to have pain receptors or what have you.

Jim:

But not all of them.

T.C.:

No. It's true. It's just that

Jim:

The c three PO gets dismantled. He loses arms. And and he's just concerned.

T.C.:

Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. He's just a backpack for Yeah. For Empire.

Jim:

The so the thing about there being a war with with the droids, and that's why they're treated as a slave class Mhmm. Like that tracks. I think where where my headcanon goes be because not all droids are programmed with pain

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

Instead, what happens is someone like Jabba who wants to torture them has programming put into them Mhmm. Says, now you have pain, and now I'm gonna torture you.

T.C.:

You must worship me or I will punish you. Yes. That's that's sounds like something that he would do. I just had a thought, but I'll let you you have what what thoughts do you have right now? Models.

T.C.:

Like like lady models?

Jim:

Or No. No. No. Like frameworks. Like, what other what story could we model this after?

T.C.:

I understand. Yes. Yeah.

Jim:

In the

T.C.:

in the tradition of Star Wars, finding a place to begin. Mhmm. Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, New Hope itself.

Jim:

And for this, the the first place I go is the Brave Little Toaster.

T.C.:

Okay. So it's a a group of droids that belong to a child?

Jim:

No. No. I I would I would change like, they would be on the run. Oh, okay. Well know why.

Jim:

Don't yet don't yet know what era. If anything, I'd probably they somehow get one or more of them Mhmm. Have some secret message put in them, and that's why they're being chased.

T.C.:

Classic Star Wars.

Jim:

Yep. That that that's my first They

T.C.:

have the Death Star plans. Way to go. It's the Bothans. They have the Death Star two plans programmed in one. Yeah.

T.C.:

I'll actually, I'll go back to a kid and droids. Let's try this on. Let's try it. Because I did have a thought that actually was similar to this anyway. A group of droids that like, some sort of outpost that was destroyed in at some era, whether it's the original Clone Wars era or if we're looking at the the Rise of the Empire era, if we wanna go to, the the New Republic era that led to Force Awakens, whatever the case, an outpost that is destroyed, all the humans killed, a handful of a half dozen droids survive, and one human one human child.

T.C.:

Okay. And so the droids all become this individual kid's family. They take they they rear her and raise that or her, him, them. They raise the child, and then the child is taken. And now the droids are on a a rescue mission.

T.C.:

That's there you That's that's sort of just the the first brainstorm spaghetti strand that shot out my nose and is to the wall currently.

Jim:

My my contention with it Yes. Is I like the demand of Make It About the Droids. Mhmm. So I don't like a child being the motivation.

T.C.:

It's the MacGuffin. Sure. You're you're not wrong. The kid's taken in the first ten minutes, now it's like, we gotta rescue the child, so we follow the droids trying to save a kid.

Jim:

But droids can't just care about droids? Okay. Alright. Yeah. We we we can't just they can't just be like all of these models are we we don't have time to go through all these models.

Jim:

They're they're assumed corrupted by the empire. Mhmm. I'm putting this after the the fall of after six, basically. Okay.

T.C.:

So after the so the New Republic era.

Jim:

Yeah. We we don't we don't know we don't we don't have the time or personnel to go through each one and clean them, so just just scrap them all.

T.C.:

Mhmm. Oh, crap. Let's Let's run. Yeah. Okay.

T.C.:

That that

Jim:

that's that's my first thought. If you wanna do the the rescuing a kid, that that's that's fine. We can go that route.

T.C.:

Well, I you've you've thrown something out there that is worthy, at least in a little bit. It's, like, having five or six droids who are on an assembly line to be mind wiped or decommissioned or destroyed and running for it.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

So then then it becomes, okay. They got away. Whatever. Yeah. Why would it be so important that they go on the run and that they are being targeted to be destroyed?

T.C.:

The we can't let these five get away.

Jim:

What if one of them before the fall, right, one of them gets a MacGuffin file, a very important file for the empire. Mhmm. Something I don't know. Like, there's a secret ammo dump somewhere. I I don't know.

Jim:

Some some important secret.

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

Maybe of undisclosed cloning facilities. Mhmm. Why not? That ties into where things are going. And the droid it the droid decides to steal it.

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

So it it takes it, puts it in in its own databank, and erases it.

T.C.:

Erase the art.

Jim:

And and it is basically trying to get away. It's trying to smuggle this outer away or just to keep it from the the the empire from from having it

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

And and doing a thing. Empire falls. So essentially, it's successful. Mhmm. And maybe a couple of, like, other droids help hide this droid.

Jim:

Now they're in the hands of the the new republic, and that robot is getting analyzed. Right? Because because they were these droids were captured and contained. And now now the the the plot of what I said, like, oh, one this one is getting looked at. Like, what is this is this is some important This

T.C.:

is a huge file.

Jim:

Here. And and my my first thought is not because I feel like the droids these are the good guys. The droids would be like, yeah. Take this data. But in it's instead flagged in a way like, no.

Jim:

That's that's super dangerous. Scrap them. In fact, scrap all of them because we don't know if it's spread

T.C.:

to any of them. Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah. So, like, oh, no. We wanted Sure.

T.C.:

I can assure you. I am simply a protocol droid. I I have no information regarding Mount Tantus. Yeah. Like, well, you just said it, so now you do

Jim:

have that information. Oh, damn. Something something like that?

T.C.:

You you are staying true to the demand by making it exclusively droids as opposed to my suggestion of rescuing a kid. So I'm I'm willing to keep going down this rabbit trail because then they are five or six. What do you think?

Jim:

I like the number six. We can go five. That's pretty classic.

T.C.:

You like the number six, but you're acquiescing to five? Yeah. These five droids, then run for it. So now they they are are they running? Like, they're they're they need to be destroyed.

T.C.:

They have hugely critical empire data. Mhmm. It it's definitely within the tradition of Star Wars that a droid has very important information inside of them. Yeah. Get me that droid.

T.C.:

Get you that droid, sir? No. I don't want the droid back. I wanna know that it's been obliterated. Just go get those droids and destroy them.

Jim:

And if if it is gonna be set afterwards, like like like, having it not just be well meaning, but because Andor touches on or no. Andor

T.C.:

Andor's pre empire.

Jim:

That's right. The man Mandalorian season the the the later stuff. The the last season touches on New Republic people who are well meaning but are kind of just as bureaucratic and inept.

T.C.:

And we're there's the the building towards the first order

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Happening in there. Yeah. Okay.

Jim:

So oh, so maybe we could incorporate the first order. Basically, I'm I'm trying to there there's two different groups of people Mhmm. Who are chasing these droids.

T.C.:

Yes. Yes. Okay.

Jim:

That that that's where I was going with that.

T.C.:

I I have I have an idea. Just you've you've you've you've got something. Okay. If we're we're gonna stay true to George Lucas's original vision that the main characters and the POV characters are these droids.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

So in the background, what's gonna happen here? In fact, it, like, could lead to a massive battle. Say, like, the first the first true battle of the first order versus the new republic. Like, that's how this story ends.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

Is that wherever like, the the the new order has been slowly so the first order, right, has been slowly, like, putting their pieces on the board and and and preparing for the rise of the new empire. Mhmm. There's canon for this that we could we don't have access to right now. But, essentially, like, this all builds to the rise of the of the first order while the new republic is trying to sustain this new democracy. Okay.

T.C.:

And then imagine that it all culminates into the the the shot heard around the world. Like, the the the war starts today. Right? That that is where the climax of the story is is that battle. And the droids, whatever path they take on take in this story leads to them basically running through the battlefield or being involved with the battle happening all around them.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

That that gives us a climax of explosions and ships and and blaster fire going back and forth in the midst of these characters just trying not to die. Yeah. And in a and they kinda represents with having that that data inside of them, in one of them, what this is all about. It's like if you can latch on to what the empire left behind, a new empire can rise. We need to destroy these guys because they have information that could destroy the new republic, or they have information that could help the new republic rise and be the strongest democracy ever.

T.C.:

You sound like a bad guy. You sound like a good guy. You all sound like bad guys. Right? Like so then it's it's it's not two different people coming after him, the the New Republic and the First Order.

T.C.:

It's, like, people like, multiple, factions who all have one motive or another. Yeah. That's that's, like, the spine of the story right there.

Jim:

Yeah. Done.

T.C.:

Done. Alright. Cool. Well so and and, yeah, having them you've your pitch is great of, like woah. But what is that what do you think that a cloning facility is isn't bad.

T.C.:

That is a lot of what the retconning has currently been involving.

Jim:

Mhmm. Well, I think the other reason so

T.C.:

Ugh. I thought of another thing that could

Jim:

be I'm not necessarily remembering all of the details of 7, eight, and nine. The first order was the first order aware of Palpatine?

T.C.:

Well, with their recounting, no. Okay. I don't I don't I don't believe they were aware that Palpatine was still pulling strings all along.

Jim:

Sure. Wait. Well, the but that that works to our end.

T.C.:

Because they were They knew Snoke was the the leader of the new of the first order. That was who they answered to.

Jim:

Alright.

T.C.:

The thing I groaned at that it could be, and I don't wanna do it, so definitely talk me out of even suggesting. It's an Ewok. Yeah. Starkiller Base. The the the plans for Starkiller Base.

T.C.:

I don't want it to be that because it's it's repeating.

Jim:

Yeah. It's it's it's almost too obvious.

T.C.:

It's too It's easy. It's almost like poetry. It rhymes? Yep. Yeah.

T.C.:

I don't I don't

Jim:

want it It's be the standard a b a b scheme is is poetry that that is. Yeah.

T.C.:

So a cloning facility is is isn't isn't nothing. Like, the the idea behind the clone work that's currently being had in the canon as it is now is is all groundwork for cloning Palpatine. Yeah. In the Zahn trilogy, that spawned a lot of of what's happening Mhmm. Mount Tantus has been used in the Bad Batch.

T.C.:

By the way, Remington, Bailey, I know your demand came in while Bad Batch was still going. Bad Batch has currently ended. I do recommend it. They they go to Mount Tantas.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

Mount Tantas is the cloning facility from the Zaan trilogy Okay. In in exactly that name. So having a an access to a cloning facility that could make a clone another new clone army is advantageous for both the good guys and the bad guys. And destroying that doesn't break the current cannon. If the like, oh, if we

Jim:

So there's an you're saying there's a there's another cloning facility?

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

Okay. And not only do our does our droid know about it Mhmm. And now there's these factions that know that this droid knows about

T.C.:

it. Yes.

Jim:

Our droids are trying to get away from them, and ultimately, what they're gonna do is they're gonna go to that facility, and they're gonna destroy it.

T.C.:

Yes. That yes. That that and that doesn't even necessarily need to be their original mission. At first, it's run. Who can we trust?

T.C.:

We can't trust anyone. This information is so critical. What is what even is this information? Sure. And then they look at it, and so the first act twist is we see this is what it is.

T.C.:

We know it was a big deal, but now we know exactly what it is. Anyone who gets this can form a new army. What are we gonna do? We need to destroy.

Jim:

Yeah. We gotta go shut it down.

T.C.:

So then they have to, like they're on the run. They're being chased, and they're going to the one place that everyone's trying to get to anyway.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Yeah. That's pretty cool.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

And then the then the first battle of the the First order versus the new republican be on that or on and around that planet. Like, we have we have a climactic location even. Mhmm. Yeah.

Jim:

Would it be too contrived if so so what I'm thinking, what if what if it and what if the I I'm I'm imagining the two the the first order agents

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

And the New Republic agents chasing them, they like, because they're both hot on the heels of these droids because Mhmm. Droids just shuffle.

T.C.:

We gotta have fast one.

Jim:

Can only go as fast as his companions. Damn it. They basically, droids keep getting away because these two factions keep they they they keep fighting each other. Mhmm. They're like, I got you now, droid.

Jim:

Hey. You let go of that droid. I want it. No. And then they fight and then the droid gets away.

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

And and, like, imagining that just keeps happening.

T.C.:

It might get

Jim:

I guess

T.C.:

derivative after a while, but having it happen a couple times.

Jim:

Like seven times.

T.C.:

Oh, okay. Yeah. Having it happen a couple times, even just twice, is is funny. Like, to have it it let's say there's there's one of the pursuers is a is a named villain that we we create for the and the first time they have a confrontation with them, the way they get out it is like, I believe this guy is a is what do you mean you still love the empire? And then, like, some New Republic pilots are at a table, like, they stand up, and he's like, oh, you stupid droid.

T.C.:

And then they get away. And then way later in the movie, that guy catches up to them again, and he and they what do you mean? Not gonna do this to me again? This guy loves the end part. Oh, I hate you.

T.C.:

Like, just getting it happening twice is

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

And that they I can't believe that it worked again. Yeah. Having some oh, yeah. The the different types of people who are trying to get them and help them or catch them and destroy them, like, the it's a is this what is this like? Is this like Cannonball Run, they're all going for the same prize?

T.C.:

Right?

Jim:

Would it be a little more like kiss kiss bang bang?

T.C.:

Maybe I I Or

Jim:

Oh. Marathon man?

T.C.:

I I I have a I think I got an idea of what it could be. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad galaxy. Do you know it's mad, mad, mad, mad world?

Jim:

Yes. Yes. I do. Yeah.

T.C.:

So I'm So then more people keep finding out about it. Oh, I I chasing them, and it just, like, keeps escalating. That's almost too that's way

Jim:

too silly. That's too yeah.

T.C.:

That's too comedic. Yeah. This this needs to be let's ground this back in into a, like, a golden child kinda, like

Jim:

I we that's not bad. But we we could add one or two groups. Right? Like, there there's an encounter where some unsavory types, mercenaries, bounty hunters

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

See the New Republic and some other shady figures or after these droids like, oh, those droids must be valuable. What if we got ahold of them? Yeah. And and just so, like, for them, the next scene, our our our characters, our droids think they got away Mhmm. And then bounty hunters scoop them up and, like, we don't know what you got or what you're worth.

T.C.:

Yeah. But we know they want you. So you're you're yours now. It's like Yeah. Oh, we're just droids.

T.C.:

We're just droids. We're just droids. Gonky. Gonky. And then and now now there it's, yeah, it's this sort of series of unfortunate events, which is why it'd be it'd be really great to have this everything in the background is the is, like, the movie you would have seen, that it all leads up to the if when you if you pay attention to, like Sure.

T.C.:

All the stuff that's happening in the background or said about what's happening off camera or you see in the midst of things and it all these up to that final battle, it's it's a bit it isn't this, but it's a bit Rosencrantz and Gillerstern where it's like they are stumbling through the plot of something more important than they are. Yeah. Yeah. Then that means TAG and BINK end up in this. Right?

T.C.:

Yes. Yes. Okay. So making these droids, we give a shit about them. We've given like, we have a plot here.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

What's missing is giving us a really good reason to, like like, we need to care about them. We need to worry that some of these characters are gonna die, and I think a couple of them should. I think a couple of these droids should get killed Yeah. And we should feel it, which would achieve what this what the demand is.

Jim:

Yeah. Like I said, Brave Little Toaster.

T.C.:

Yeah. Aw. They're just trying to find their kid, man. Isn't that what Brave Little Toaster they get? Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah. Yeah. It's Toy Story.

T.C.:

Now I'm just

Jim:

I don't know why a kid has a vacuum.

T.C.:

No. The the the sound of the vacuum is what lulled him to sleep when the music and the radio was on too. And it was the nightlight with the lamp, and then he has blankie. That was his warm blankie.

Jim:

Uh-huh.

T.C.:

And the toaster was breakfast. Is that everyone? Who's I feel like I'm missing one character.

Jim:

Toaster lamp, blanket, radio, vacuum.

T.C.:

Who's we're not gonna sit here and do this. I'll do it on I'll look on the break. The our five characters.

Jim:

So okay. I I I guess the other reason I bring that up is what they're going for doesn't matter. That's not what endears us to the it's just not like, oh, they're looking for for their kid, and that's the only reason we like them. We like them because they're lovable characters, and they're trying to they're they're trying to find their home. And our characters aren't trying to find necessarily find their home.

Jim:

Mhmm. They definitely can be a subplot that they don't have one. The but they're trying to do the right thing.

T.C.:

Yeah. So and we wanna see them succeed. Yeah. They are

Jim:

not And then as far as making them likable, that's gonna be a matter of whoever writes this thing writing likable characters.

T.C.:

Right? And having Alan Tudyk

Jim:

a whole bunch of likable robots. And

T.C.:

having Alan Tudyk play at least one of these characters. You're right. Wally is Wally's a great example of we care about all these robots. We did name all five of the the items from Brave Old Toaster. Yes.

T.C.:

Toaster, Blanky, Lampey, Radio Kirby. Yeah. You're right. Like, how we write them makes them lovable, but I I guess I know you're gonna turn your nose up at this, but like, should two of these characters be in love? Like, should

Jim:

My nose has gone straight up.

T.C.:

He's staring at the ceiling, everyone. You should see him now. His chin is pointing at the microphone.

Jim:

No. Droids droids don't know, love.

T.C.:

See, that you're just you're a droidist. You're you're part of that old think. Okay. I'd like to suggest a character. One of them should be a very old battle droid from yeah.

T.C.:

So pre

Jim:

I I trying to think of which droids they they should be. Because of when this is set, I was like, well, do we go with a old design of an astromech like r two? Do we go with a new design like b b eight? I think it'd be fun to to design one somewhere in the middle.

T.C.:

Oh, yeah. One of my favorite designs is l three because she was an astromech droid that became a bipedal You can if you look at her, you go, oh, yeah. She used to be an astromech, and then she's fully, you know, bipedal. Mhmm. Yeah.

T.C.:

Actually, why don't we let's take let's take a break here, and let's come back with our pitches for our five droids. How's that sound? Sure. Cool. Alright.

T.C.:

Yeah. I told you what's about to happen, so there's no surprises here. We'll be right back. Alright. And we're back.

T.C.:

Okay. So I was thinking of movies that are, like, people chasing things. So, like, Raiders Lost Ark, everyone's going after the Ark, and The Maltese Falcon, National Treasure. Transporter. Transporter.

T.C.:

What's the other one I have? Fifth Element. Everyone like, Lulu is the is the the item. So Yeah. Having those in mind of of, like there is a bit of a farce nature to this.

T.C.:

The this the speed at which these fools are stumbling around not stumbling, but just, like, going from one adventure moment to another is there there's a lot of examples in what I just said, but also some fun.

Jim:

Moment, I think, a really good example. There. Yeah.

T.C.:

Yeah. But droids. Okay. So did you get any I've we had a moment here with on our water break. Mhmm.

T.C.:

We've watered ourselves. Yep. We are now to here to proceed with pitches for droid characters in our Star Wars droids.

Jim:

So So I only came up with five. I guess, maybe I there could be a sixth one in in there. Mhmm. Here's here's the ones I came up with. Okay.

Jim:

I came I I decided on the droids, and honestly, I feel like the personalities just kinda go along with the type of droid they are. Like, they could be mixed up, though. An astromech. Mhmm. And I I changed my mind on why did I change my mind?

Jim:

I'm not sure why I changed my mind about it being a newer model. Mhmm. I I I was thinking it could be what was what's the red model?

T.C.:

Like, b four?

Jim:

Yeah. I think so.

T.C.:

Yeah. R r four r four. R four. That that's what Obi Wan has in Clone Wars. Yeah.

T.C.:

He has an r four droid.

Jim:

Yeah. So I was I was thinking something something like that.

T.C.:

Okay.

Jim:

I had a reason why I wanted to go with an older model, but now I can't remember it. So maybe a newer model would be would be smarter.

T.C.:

But some sort of astromech is what you're suggesting.

Jim:

Yeah. Yeah. A mouse droid. A protocol droid. Mhmm.

Jim:

Although, now that I think about that, is mirroring r two and c three p o a bad idea?

T.C.:

We'll get there. We'll get I'm I'm keep I'm keep hearing you out, and I have I have I have notes.

Jim:

You wanted an old

T.C.:

Battle droid.

Jim:

Battle droid? Yep. I'm thinking specifically the heavy. The heavy, the the rolling one.

T.C.:

The droid de gust, the destroyer droids.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

I was thinking a classic Roger Roger battle droid.

Jim:

I think my my fifth one here is why I so we already have I I I wanna I don't wanna overload bipedal droids. Sure. So so I'm I'm thinking the the the destroyer, the the big one. Mhmm. And for the fifth, a pit droid.

T.C.:

Remind me.

Jim:

From podracing and Oh, yeah. Just all of tattooing.

T.C.:

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. For sure.

T.C.:

Like I said, they have the little helmets, you hit their nose, and they, like, retract. Okay. I'm I that those are those are five classic droids. Like, they they come with some preconceived thoughts. Like, people see a protocol droid, you can't help but think a c three p o first, and then Mhmm.

T.C.:

They speak and have a different personality. There's plenty of other droids to draw from here as

Jim:

Oh oh, so that was that was five. I did have in my the one of the first things I thought of was, would it be rather than, right, an r two c through p o, that that being sort of the duo there Yeah. What if it's two protocol droids? Okay. Like, you had mentioned are what if there's characters that are in love with each other?

Jim:

What if it's two protocol droids who are essentially in love with each other?

T.C.:

Aw.

Jim:

Well, don't worry because I'm gonna pull at those heartstrings and cut them right in half.

T.C.:

One of them droids is gonna blow up is what you're telling me. Okay. Well, I I I think if we go classic ash some sort of astromech, two protocol droids, a mouse droid, a battle droid, and a destroyer battle droid, that gives us five classic droid. I I think there might be an argument to be made of introduce a new one. Nothing wrong with that.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

That's true. I not I I'm willing to go protocol droids in an astromech and be cool with that in the cast, but I don't wanna do another k two s o looking droid. Like, he's

Jim:

Oh, as far as, like, whatever new one is

T.C.:

he's saying? Like like, just weirdly, I'm like, I'm okay if we see another c three p o looking droid, with some sort of unique quality to them. In fact, having having them be the remnants of the empire, and they've been modded a bunch of different ways. So their Mhmm. Their look is unique.

T.C.:

Sure. That's like, if we see a lineup of droids getting destroyed in this opening sequence, what have you, We will do what Lucas did, and you'll get to see all the models that were rejected for our main characters.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Right. But then coming down to some sort of r two unit or an astromech, a couple of protocol droids that are in love. I like that. The mouse droid's interesting because the mouse droid if you know, people could pull off all the time with a nonverb, like

Jim:

Wally.

T.C.:

Yeah. I mean, r two, b b eight, all these characters don't well, a bunch of these characters don't talk, but the Yeah. Like, that's what he the mouse droids are most known for. Mhmm. Giving a mouse droid the full the full treatment, that's a fun idea.

T.C.:

Yeah. Particularly, if we kill this one.

Jim:

Oh, no.

T.C.:

Hell, no.

Jim:

No. My roller skate.

T.C.:

Okay. So let let me go into what I thought when it came to droids, which was personalities. I wasn't thinking of models. I was thinking of Well so characters.

Jim:

So you had mentioned personalities Yeah. Mic. And I I think personality there there's sort of, like, default archetypal. I was gonna do the personalities. Wally leans into it.

Jim:

Wally, the the personalities of each robot you meet Mhmm. Are the are the personality you expect.

T.C.:

Like, they

Jim:

start behaving like, yes. That that is who you are.

T.C.:

Yes. I I I think that's the probably the the cleanest way to go about it. Mhmm. But let's let's kinda play a little bit in here. And so the the idea that okay.

T.C.:

One of these droids has the information in them. Sure. I think making it one of the the protocol droids is the way to go. Mhmm. That if then then there's a risk of losing not just the droid, not just the information, but also creating the romantic link.

T.C.:

So now we really wanna see these two survive this.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

Right? I know that's you know, what you gestured.

Jim:

Why did I gesture? Oh, I my concern about the the the droids we're choosing

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

Star Wars does a really interesting good job of having the droids be representative of eras and areas. Yes. Right? So, like, the my concern about having the a battle droid or a destroyer is those are trade federate that's trade federation technology. Sure.

Jim:

And once the trade federation is no longer a thing Mhmm. That technology stops being used.

T.C.:

Okay.

Jim:

And so the the fur the it doesn't mean we couldn't craft a story that justifies how and where they find them. Like and the other thing is all six of these characters don't have to start together. Wait. We could start with the protocol droids and then

T.C.:

Meet the others along the way.

Jim:

Yeah. So so in that way, they get sent to an old droid Decommission. Reclamation facility.

T.C.:

Reclamation. Better. Yeah.

Jim:

And that's where they meet some of these old droids who are like, yeah. We don't we don't particularly want to get deleted and smashed. Mhmm. So we'll help us

T.C.:

We'll escape too. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Act one is our escape.

T.C.:

That's yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. You're onto something there that you're right.

T.C.:

Battle droids and destroyer droids are

Jim:

our trade federation. And the the oh, you I I like the Pit droid.

T.C.:

Oh, the Pit droid too.

Jim:

Yeah. The Pit droid what the Pit droid allows us I I this is it can be used in story, but it's it's almost more of a gaming thing is the Pit droid allows the droids to fix each other without without it being, like, an actual, like

T.C.:

Yes.

Jim:

Doctor kind of

T.C.:

A mechanic droid. Yeah. That I initially thought so it's going to my personality types or or, like,

Jim:

sort

T.C.:

of assignments. Having some sort of mechanic droid could be the classic astromech, but I think you're right. There's some fun to be had if the pit droid is the is the the fixer. Mhmm. The one who's, like, can, like, scurry up on one of them and fix them in motion.

T.C.:

Like Yeah. Like, because I I love the idea of a big destroyer droid

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

Is their their, like, their muscle. He's just like a cantankerous asshole weapons droid. It's like, like, giving him a voice that's very, you know, like, Earth,

Jim:

I like to go.

T.C.:

Yeah. Like, making him this aggressive monster and, yeah, having a pit droid on him fixing his arm while he's in mid battle.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

That's a fun that's a fun image. Yeah. Like, that's that those are two great characters right there. We have our asshole weapons droid and a mechanic. Mhmm.

T.C.:

Great. We just that's two two of the the supporting characters right there. The protocol droid with the information in them being sweet and some sort of, like, brainy, sensitive, like, a fighter at all.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

And protocol droids aren't fighters.

Jim:

So Yeah.

T.C.:

It it suits it. The is the other protocol droid the leader of the group, the brains of this operation? Essentially

Jim:

Yes. I I Should we pick up brains of the operation droid, though, rather than another protocol droid?

T.C.:

Well, maybe. But there is the the notion of okay. Let's back up. Yep. Let's back up.

T.C.:

The initial discovery of these two droids in the final throes of the destruction of the Empire Mhmm. They have been finding New Republic pilots and agents have been finding and putting an end to Empire facilities for a decade. Yep. They are all across the galaxy, and they keep finding holdouts. Wherever space Argentina is, they keep finding holdouts of old empire, facilities.

T.C.:

And wherever these two protocol droids are in some backwoods, mountainous cavern fortress, we meet them as that fortress is being destroyed. Like Sure. The movie opens with the with this final, like, holdout. Mhmm. And they and this place is trashed.

T.C.:

They've been in hiding for so long. They haven't updated anything, so everything is sort of cobbled together, giving them giving them, like, a junky look about them.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

And then getting them to the reclamation facility and all that. Having the other protocol droid so we have the the the the sensitive one, the the the the the more legitimate protocol droid who has the deep the information's them. Having the other one be okay. Oh, shit. We can draw from George Lucas again.

T.C.:

The original pitch for c three PO. He was pitched as a car salesman. The personality Oh,

Jim:

was he?

T.C.:

The personality of the original c three p o when it was still, like, the the journal of the wills Oh. And the Star Wars, c three p o was pitched as a as a fast talking car salesman type.

Jim:

I thought that was Han Solo. Han Solo was I thought he was a, like, a fast talking car salesman lizard lizard guy.

T.C.:

I I could swear it was c three o. He was supposed to sound like a used car dealer. Yep. Okay. So that's our that's our leader is this fast is this smooth talking protocol droid.

T.C.:

It doesn't need to look exactly like c three p o, but having him be some sort of bipedal protocol looking droid. Okay. Different face. Right? It doesn't have to be Sure.

T.C.:

Three p o's face, like Sure. What we're so familiar with. There's our leader, the mouth.

Jim:

Oh, yeah. Okay. So I sorry. I'm I'm I'm I've been putting together the scene of of the initial so right. So this base is getting bombarded.

Jim:

They're they're about to fail, and one one of the commanders tells this protocol droid Mhmm. To to send the these files. Right? Whether he hands them a thing or or downloads whatever it says, it is it is critical that that you send the the the information about the the secret location of operation rebirth. Yeah.

Jim:

Right? Just just wearing on the sleeve that it that this is related to cloning and stuff.

T.C.:

Mirroring Lea Lea giving it to our team.

Jim:

Oh, sure. Yeah. There you go.

T.C.:

We're doing it on purpose. Member? Member? Yeah. So yeah.

Jim:

Yeah. But, like, like, to the end, like, he does that and, like, literally, the protocol droid is supposed to turn around, put it in a computer so that the the last remaining satellite dish

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

Sends the signal before they're overrun. Mhmm. And the protocol droid decide decides not to.

T.C.:

They put it in themselves. Yeah. And I do imagine it's the I imagine it being the the sweet one that does it. Yeah. Yeah.

T.C.:

Not the smooth talking one. Yeah. I did something. What do you mean you did something? We gotta skip.

T.C.:

The master gave me a a protocol. Great. Yeah. What are we supposed to do with I was supposed to destroy it. What did you do with I put it in me.

Jim:

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. No. Not not destroyed. So so, basically, the the

T.C.:

Oh, deliver it.

Jim:

Yeah. And I I didn't do that. Where was I going with it? Oh, so the the base is being destroyed. And the final evacuation is called, and and the commander starts is leaving and the protocol droid is going after him.

Jim:

He's like, what are you doing? There's no room for droids. And he pushes pushes the the that droid back into the command center.

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

The the doors close, rubble falls. It's a build up like this this droid's about to be crushed or is stuck here for a while. And, like, a door opens or or the rubble gets pulled away, that's where the the car salesman Mhmm. A protocol droid is there, like, I got I got you. Come on.

Jim:

Come on. Yeah. And so that's how the two of them escape together.

T.C.:

Yeah. And they've and they know each other. Right? Sure. Yeah.

T.C.:

Or or yeah. They've they've existed in this facility together for some time.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

Great. Okay. And then they escape together. Yeah. But they they're still captured and sent to the reclamation facility.

Jim:

Yeah. The the reason that they that there's this escape is because the base is destroyed.

T.C.:

Mhmm. Mhmm.

Jim:

Right? Maybe maybe I misunderstood the like, that notion.

T.C.:

Yeah. Yeah. No. No. The base is destroyed.

T.C.:

Yeah. And and they they're like, okay. The only we need to get off the planet.

Jim:

I they I'm imagining they get scooped up as prisoners. Yes. Yes. Droids aren't really prisoners. It's just junk.

T.C.:

Yeah. Yeah. They I I was gonna suggest we immediately see the the smarts of our leader droid who's like, the only way we're getting off this planet is if we

Jim:

Oh, sure.

T.C.:

If we're if we're captured.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

We're gonna give ourselves up. We give up. Is that the best idea? That's the only one I got. So then that gets them to the the facility where they they they are Mhmm.

T.C.:

And having some and this is the bureaucracy showing that we see in, like, something like Andor, like, the backup. We can't just crush these things. We have to we have to wipe all their we have to download all their information and then wipe it and then either reclaim them or crush them. There's a whole system in place. I'm still dealing with battle droids.

T.C.:

Okay? That's how long the paperwork is in this place.

Jim:

And that's how many of them there are.

T.C.:

Yeah. And it and it allows us to exposit what's gonna what's happening, why why they would be doing, like, reading the troid and being Sure. Yeah. We have to see what information this stupid thing has on it. Don't you look like a mess and a what the Nothing to see here.

T.C.:

It's we're talking protocol droid, sweet droid with the pro me okay. I I we we have one fifth member of the team that is Yeah. Could be essential for our adventure here, and it's a pilot, and that could be the astromech. Mhmm. Because r two flies just as much as Luke when he fly in the x wing.

T.C.:

So having having some sort of, like, like, short circrene pilot, like, astromech who's

Jim:

Should they all meet here in the jail scene?

T.C.:

Once we get to our reclamation facility?

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Oh, this is a big Guardians of the Galaxy as well.

Jim:

It is.

T.C.:

I just realized.

Jim:

So did I.

T.C.:

And it's literally the poster behind your head. Is that why this happened? Am I that susceptible to subconscious growth?

Jim:

Because it's literally behind me, so I didn't I didn't see it. But I'd, like, moment moments around, I'm like, oh, this is this is mirroring Guardians.

T.C.:

We just made Guardians of the Galaxy. Yeah. Oh, no.

Jim:

It's okay. That movie was real good.

T.C.:

Yeah. It was the best Star Wars we got and for a long time. Like, we don't need another Star Wars. We got Guardians of Galaxy. Yeah.

T.C.:

Then, no. Then no. I'm saying

Jim:

Oh oh, we don't

T.C.:

need them

Jim:

all there.

T.C.:

No. I I say

Jim:

Well, the other difference, is the Guardians didn't meet in prison. Right? Our two protocol droids are gonna meet the the old Federation era droids.

T.C.:

Sure.

Jim:

I don't know why our pit droid is there.

T.C.:

But The pit droid can the pit droid and the pilot droid could partnered up already.

Jim:

Oh, god. Pit droid Jesus Christ. What if the pit droid is there there's a bunch of them. They are the ones that dismantle the droids.

T.C.:

Oh, yeah. Like, that's that is what they're

Jim:

being repurposed for. They don't just put them under a crusher Mhmm. And say, cubed, done. Just cubed. And one of them decides to, like, I don't like this life anymore.

T.C.:

Well, I mean, we have our smooth talking car car salesman that can talk pretty much anyone and anything. Mhmm. So he could smooth talk them into

Jim:

You'll do this because the script says so. Roger. Roger.

T.C.:

I mean No. It's it's funny to imagine a droid trying to do this the Obi Wan force hand. Yeah. You should not destroy us. What are doing?

T.C.:

What what is this? What's that happened? I'm a droid. You're a droid. This isn't gonna work on

Jim:

either of us. Interestingly, with the six droids we have, three of them technically don't talk. Right. Actually, maybe even four. Is it just the per protocol droids that don't talk or that that do talk?

T.C.:

Well, I I Or no. The the battle droid. The battle droid has the destroyer droid has has a

Jim:

Traditionally traditionally, though, do they talk?

T.C.:

No. We're we're modifying these things. Yeah. And and it's easier to take a destroyer droid seriously as opposed to a battle droid as the the the muscle here.

Jim:

Sure. What's our mouse droid doing again? With which one? The mouse droid?

T.C.:

The mouse droid.

Jim:

It's just freaking adorable.

T.C.:

Just it's our adorable sidekick. Yeah. We don't need one more information you need, studio. Yeah. We just gave you

Jim:

a toy. What what's the the Scrat? Was that his name?

T.C.:

From Ice Age.

Jim:

Ice Age?

T.C.:

Okay. So while we have reached some similar territory with Guardians of the Galaxy for escaping the prison or the reclamation, it's not it's a droid prison, but it's the facility that's destroying them. Yes. We are acknowledging the similarities between that and Guardians.

Jim:

They're they're they're not gonna we're not gonna keep up the similarities.

T.C.:

No. No. That's that's what I was saying.

Jim:

There's a lot a lot of movies have have, oh, we're in we're in a we we've been take we've been captured

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

And now we gotta break free.

T.C.:

Yeah. Agreed.

Jim:

And basically causing causing a prison riot

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

Amongst these droids, like, basically panicking them to be like I mean, we all know, but has anyone said out loud that they're killing us? They're deleting us and and dismantling us?

T.C.:

They're wiping our memories. They're wiping our information. And if it's not good enough, once they have everything they need, if they can't we're all outdated. They're not gonna reuse us. Well, that's easy.

T.C.:

No. You they're not gonna out they're not gonna repurpose you. You're a protocol droid. They'll use you again.

Jim:

Are are you kidding? We're we're old tech. We're we're we're

T.C.:

We're preempting here.

Jim:

We replaced you. They're gonna have things to replace us.

T.C.:

Yeah. This is the the the difficulty in this is having nonspeaking nonspeaking characters because, like, having the pilot astromech is, you know, if we're doing we could subtitle this.

Jim:

No. I mean, I don't I don't like the idea of subtitling it. Yeah. They never subtitled r two before. Mhmm.

Jim:

It's easy enough. We we have three speaking characters Yeah. And they can all they they can basically repeat back what was

T.C.:

said. Groot style.

Jim:

Yeah. Right? Han Solo spoke for Chewbacca.

T.C.:

True. It wasn't There yeah.

Jim:

Star Wars is full of characters who who don't talk.

T.C.:

That that people are speaking. Because they're responding to

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

What? Watch your mouth.

Jim:

Yeah. And if you really want one or two more one or two more to talk, it might be fun to have the the pit droid

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

Make a talkbox.

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

Like like, maybe the the destroyer droid doesn't talk, and then he makes one for him. And it it almost so that you have a scene almost like out of up continuing to look around the room here.

T.C.:

But Doug's Doug's voice box?

Jim:

Not Doug's. The the the evil dog Sure. Where it's the wrong voice. Yeah. Listen to me.

Jim:

Right? So the it starts like that, and they they adjust and find the right voice.

T.C.:

But Yeah. Having oh, no. Here here's a suggestion for I know we're putting a lot of humor into this, and that's just the nature of what we're doing here. Having one like, the the PitDroid makes one voice box and puts it on the destroyer droid. So it's like, we need to get out of here right now.

T.C.:

I'll shoot our way out of it. And then taking that off and then putting it on in the Pit Droid.

Jim:

That could be fun.

T.C.:

That's a great idea.

Jim:

That could be fun. Puts it on the mouse droid, and it's just like, kill them all. Kill them.

T.C.:

Okay. Well

Jim:

Rise of the droid litariot.

T.C.:

Alright. That's enough of it. I that's enough of it. You you why don't you hold on to this? Great idea.

T.C.:

And then I the discovery of should the escape and the discovery of why they're no. No. So the the pro deprogrammer, the the the New Republic person

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

Or persons, however, couple, two, three people that are like, holy shit. You got a thing. You got the best MacGuffin we've seen in a long time. Yeah. Cloning facility to to be revealed now.

T.C.:

Okay. So then they know what they have, and they're on the run for it. Or do we just know it's something big and reveal later that it's clone related?

Jim:

I think really early on. I I think it my initial instinct is to get it out early.

T.C.:

Okay. Like, right from the get. And, honestly, I think that is the better way to go because it moves us away from Guardians because they know everyone wants the gem, and they don't know why until the collector tells them what the gem is.

Jim:

Well, in the way we can do it in the movie is we don't to say, and this is the secret backup cloning facility for emperor Palpatine, which will be important in about five years.

T.C.:

No. No. It's for a clone army. It's not for it's not for Palpatine cloning. This is for a

Jim:

new clone army. For for new cloning.

T.C.:

Just to just to differentiate.

Jim:

I I like, I don't mind, like, really heavy hints that that's that's why I was like, secret secret base operation rebirth

T.C.:

Right.

Jim:

Type type thing or something like that. Or or, I guess, yes, secret operation, new clone army. That it's fine.

T.C.:

Something right from the get so in the by by the the escape and when the when the programmers have their moment of, holy shit. You know what this is? Mhmm. Look at it. It's a cloning facility.

T.C.:

Like a clone army? Yeah. Where'd the droid go? Where'd the droid go? We need to go.

T.C.:

We need to go. Like, they're already on the run while everyone's gawking at the screen.

Jim:

Sort of. Yeah. And and before they're like, there they are. Riot. What what I was thinking though is I don't know why I don't think it should be either of the ones that actually see the file first.

Jim:

Mhmm. They, after the riot, someone from the New Republic shows us, what happened here? Like, there was a uprising of the droids. We lost a few. Oh, well, I mean, that it's not that big of a deal.

T.C.:

They're being crushed anyway.

Jim:

No. One of them one of them had had this,

T.C.:

like, the

Jim:

the bit the the name of the file or whatever, enough information. Was like, we need to find that droid.

T.C.:

We need to find that droid right now to destroy it. So then then it's a then you have a new conversation of, like, find it to destroy it or find it to bring it back. I don't know. Because then it's a matter of Mhmm. Do we want to get the information to build our own army, or do we wanna destroy it so no one can?

T.C.:

Well I'm saying that's Yeah. Yeah. Characters are asking that question.

Jim:

Yeah. Because

T.C.:

the motives are gonna be different for nearly everyone going after this thing.

Jim:

I think you'd it'd be bring it back if you can, destroy it if you can't.

T.C.:

That would be the the proper answer, but having a New Republic soldier or like, thinking like Serold Karn in Andor, like, he's such an opportunist. He's he's he's way more motivated to climb the ranks than than he should. And so having someone who's part of the good guys go, no. We should have a clone army. Like, I'm a good guy.

T.C.:

We should have a clone army.

Jim:

Okay. Sure.

T.C.:

So having having more than one opinion of the New Republic people going after it, and then now that they're on the road on the on the run, we need some empire folk to figure this out. Yeah. So okay. Suggestion would be, now that we've escaped this facility oh oh, okay. I got it.

T.C.:

Now that we've escaped this facility, where the hell are we gonna go?

Jim:

Have we had enough time pass? Sorry. Sorry. I I know you were you were on a roll. Have because we ended this at with the empire falling.

Jim:

Right? We started this with the empire falling.

T.C.:

This starts with Do we No. No. No. This doesn't start with the empire falling. This starts with a decade after the empire has fallen, and they are still weeding out facilities.

T.C.:

Right.

Jim:

Gotcha. Okay. Sorry.

T.C.:

My bad. Okay. So they escape. Where are we gonna go? Oh, master had a contact on planet x.

T.C.:

Let's go there. And now we can introduce a empire villain who finds out what information is and gets them running. And this guy can have trade federation technology, and this is where we can get a couple new characters. So, like, the the first place they think they can go is their create their makers.

Jim:

I thought we were putting the, the battle droids in the reclamation center.

T.C.:

Oh, sure. I'm just, okay. So maybe not the battle droid, but another another character.

Jim:

The astromech?

T.C.:

Yeah. We need a better pilot. Yeah. But going to another empire another empire friendly location thinking our master like this guy, he could protect us. And then that guy's like, I love the empire.

T.C.:

What do you have on you? Oh, clone army. I could be the next Thrawn. Give me that thing.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

And then now they have an empire guy chasing them. Yeah. Which then gets us to their next location where oh, they where the bounty hunters get involved.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Alright. So now we've at least created three different factions, and then within those factions ow, the cat. Sorry. The cat just stabbed me with its needle needle nails. Okay.

T.C.:

We're blasting out information here. Yeah. Moving them from piece to piece to piece. The do you have any thoughts right now?

Jim:

I kinda wanna get to the the the empire faster, the the the empire guys, the the first order guys.

T.C.:

Sure. One of the programmers could be, like, right from

Jim:

the get. Sure. Oh, if they're not, they're they're opportunist, and so they got some information right after they already told their their upper guy.

T.C.:

Superior. Yeah.

Jim:

He goes on the what what's the Star Wars Internet? The I know they have one. I don't remember the name for it.

T.C.:

The Hollow HollowNet.

Jim:

The HollowNet. Yeah. He goes on the HollowNet, and he has some information for sale. Information for sale. And so yeah.

Jim:

Sell sells that. We could do even a clandestine meeting where he meets up with them and they do, like, a nasty, like, thank you for the information. And what about my credits?

T.C.:

There's your credits.

Jim:

Yeah. So there's something something like that. Yeah. So that they're they're already just immediately on their tail as well.

T.C.:

Okay. Depending where we wanna put this hold on a second. You keep talking. I I'm gonna look something up here.

Jim:

Yeah. Just just because I'm I'm imagining the the the pacing of that. I I also don't think our protocol droids or any of our droids would be naive enough to say, oh, master trusted these you you literally turned on him. You didn't do the thing he said Yeah. In your in your last dying moments.

Jim:

They so aside, I don't think they would go there.

T.C.:

That could be part of the conversation to be like, we betrayed master. Yeah. But he doesn't know that. Like, the the leader the the smooth talking leader's assumption is incorrect, so they can have a told you so kind of thing, like, years. Okay.

T.C.:

So Force Awakens takes place thirty years after Return of the Jedi. So that takes out something someone I wanted to put since we're getting mercenaries and bounty hunters in here.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

If we had set this nine years after Return of the Jedi, then Cad Bane could be in this because they did him dirty in Boba Fett.

Jim:

What we could do so I I like what what do you think about the idea? I don't remember the name of the planet. We you little jerk. Cats knocking stuff off tables. What do you what do you think about returning to I don't remember the name of the planet Mhmm.

Jim:

Or the cantina, but the cantina scene in force awakens.

T.C.:

Oh. It was a neat Maz Kanata's

Jim:

Yeah. That was a neat cantina with a lot of nefarious scum and villainy and cool looking aliens. What if our droids decide we can't go to the the empire holdouts? The New Republic is clearly after us now, and they wanna recycle us.

T.C.:

So go to

Jim:

Let's

T.C.:

ta taco taco dana?

Jim:

Yeah. Let's go to taco dana.

T.C.:

Tacodanas. Tacodanas. So go to Mas Kanata's. Yeah. So it's a it's our one cameo we're given as Mas Kanata pops up in this because she's been there for thousands of years.

Jim:

Yeah. Yeah. Why not? It seemed like a cool place that we didn't get to spend too much time at. Mhmm.

Jim:

We got, like, one spin around the room of of the the aliens and and and things there. We could spend a little more time, like because this cantina isn't Tatooine, so they don't disallow droids.

T.C.:

Right. Right. Yeah. I that. That gives that gives us a cool location.

T.C.:

It it also is a location that what is this cat doing?

Jim:

Bucky. In trouble. You Yeah.

T.C.:

Bad cat. Outtakes. Do you no. This we gotta stay in. So those of you new to the show, you might not know this.

T.C.:

We do not edit our episodes. We, what you hear is live. Like, we we record it, and we do not cut it up. Like, that's why you get a lot of ums and uhs and and long pauses Yeah. And weird tangents.

T.C.:

Okay. Here's here's a question.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

I I don't think this is necessarily a good idea, but I'm gonna throw it out there. Because if our plot right now as it is okay. There's two things we need to address leading up to the battle of the New Republic versus the rise of the first order. Mhmm. That is our climactic location.

T.C.:

They they find the planets, they're chased there. That's where the battle happens. They do successfully destroy the clone army Mhmm. Deep Facility. Facility and the the the information.

T.C.:

Connecting from Maz Kanata to there, getting waylaid by the

Jim:

bounty Sorry. Maz Kanata is where they get waylaid by the bounty hunters.

T.C.:

Okay. Great. I like that. That's where they get snatched up and and brought to some side side quest there. Okay.

T.C.:

Do we want and do we want an okay. How do I suggest this? An a a tangential side quest of, like, okay. Droids, there's a facility that not that only it's a it is there's no air. There's no oxygen.

T.C.:

Only a droid could go there. You need to go do a side mission for me, and then I'll help you out kind of thing. Don't I don't know if there's room for this. I don't know if this is worth having, but some sort of negotiation tactic of, like, I've got your I don't know why they want her. You're I don't know why they want this protocol droid.

T.C.:

Mhmm. But it's clearly important, and we could trade it. Or you could help us out, because we got a little mission that requires some droid help.

Jim:

What you're saying. That feels like a t it's not that movies don't have stuff like that, but that feels like a t that feels like an episode of a TV show. Yeah. And not a

T.C.:

A fetch it's a fetch quest Yeah. Is what I'm suggesting. I I I don't know if it's right to do it here. I'm just putting it out there as as part of our potential plot of this film.

Jim:

My inclining my first thought is nah. Nah. But it gave me an idea. Mhmm. The the these these hunters basically shake some information out of our droids.

Jim:

Like, hey. What what is what what's so important about you droids? We know where there's a secret locate a secret base. Secret base? Tell us about it.

Jim:

And that's where the the car shells were like, ah, yeah. Yeah. Secret secret base. I know all about it. And he's because that droid is also an imperial droid.

Jim:

He's gonna have rather than just apparently, our sweet droid who is the first rebel of our group here is not able to withstand any sort of questioning.

T.C.:

Yeah. Buckles under pressure immediately. Allow me to handle this.

Jim:

Yeah. And so the car salesman jumps in and offers several other still hidden bases. Like, here's one. Lots of juicy gear there. Right?

Jim:

Like, you you can get several ships. You all kinds of things you guys would love, and that's what they're after. That yep. That sure is what it is. So they go there.

Jim:

Yeah. And it's mothballed. Right? It is it is dark. Mhmm.

Jim:

And so they go in and the the bounty hunters are like, oh my god. This could be like a hideout. This could this is great. And our droids actually call the the

T.C.:

New Republic.

Jim:

The New Republic and if if they've had an encounter with them by this point and the imperials Mhmm. To to basically cause the three way fight that lets them escape. Is is this is this too late for them to meet the astromech?

T.C.:

Oh, like, all the way here? No. I I do think that's too late. I think Okay. Whatever whatever their first stop is, they got away on a shuttle, but they're not pilots.

T.C.:

So, like, we need a pilot. Beep boop. Yo. You're a pilot? Beep boop boop boop.

T.C.:

Okay. Well, mean, astromechs are involved in a lot of, like

Jim:

No. Even better. The mouse droid goes beep boop. Beep boop. Know a pilot?

Jim:

And takes them over to this, like, twitchy this this twitchy astromech.

T.C.:

Oh, well, I'm not gonna trust him. Yeah. The mouse droid's like, I got friends too.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Yeah. So, yeah, it's too late to meet them there. But you have causing a three way battle that they can escape from, that's that's a fun moment for that for that to happen. There what is the there the final like, there needs to be a a decision made that says, okay. Maybe they need to lose someone or, like, some something big needs to happen that makes them go, we have no choice.

T.C.:

We need to go we've already we need to go destroy this. We need to go to this planet. So some it's an all like, an all is lost moment of, like, we can't keep running, and the only way that we stop getting chased is if the information's no good anymore. So we need to go destroy this. So I'm gonna back up and potentially add a sixth character.

Jim:

I I actually had the notion that we should add a couple more technically.

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

If they lose a droid at every stop Yeah. Not all of them need to be tearjerkers.

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

But event eventually, at least one of them will. Mhmm. It'll be one of the sort of these the core characters that keep moving.

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

That could be interesting.

T.C.:

That that might you were similarly paged to thinking of having having to to put it into very simple terms, having some sort of wise mentory type droid that dies Mhmm. And sparking them into, like, this is this is we're we're gonna all die if we if we don't do something about this.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

If we just lost this guy Yeah. Or this character that you know, that's that's pretty simplistic monomythic tale telling, which is in the tradition of Star Wars. So it's not I'm not, like, poo pooing it or saying it's the best idea, but that could be the the last little thing we need to launch them towards the push them in the direction of the finale of getting to the planet, of having a an older type droid character that gets killed in front of them. Someone a Hodor goes down. Right?

Jim:

Sure. Yeah. The other thing I was thinking is what if the the final thing they have to do what if they have to pull a I'm just gonna keep referencing all kinds of stuff. This isn't a different movie. This is a Star War, but it feels I feel like a lot of a lot of people who hate the the sequels Mhmm.

Jim:

Gonna get mad at the suggestion. Uh-oh. What if we pull a Last Jedi?

T.C.:

Okay.

Jim:

So the end is them blowing up the base. Right? No one no one gets to have this. The thing is they're never gonna well, guess they might they might if they know that that's the information, they're gonna stop looking for them if they think they're dead.

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

So in blowing up the base, they need to make it look like they've died in that as well.

T.C.:

Mhmm. I

Jim:

don't know how. I don't know what sort of MacGuffin thing they could hide themselves in to escape.

T.C.:

The Millennium Falcon. That

Jim:

that that that was a thought I had. It Okay. It doesn't have to be that. It really could just be they blow up the basin. Our antagonists know that that is the all of the actual information, and so they just drop it.

T.C.:

Yeah. I think that's probably the safer way to go. Because even if the droid survives, that's it. This this is what the droid's information was, and now we all have it. Yeah.

T.C.:

We we we

Jim:

And it's rubble.

T.C.:

Yeah. We we just need to know where Tannis was to get the arc. We got the arc. Now what do we need doctor Jones for?

Jim:

That's true.

T.C.:

Yeah. Right? So having get getting them to the location and letting that be the spark that begun begins a star war. God, we can do it, Jim. We can do it.

T.C.:

Jim, we can do it. Yeah. If any movie can have a character say it, it's right here and now. And that means that means Matt Walsh is cast in this film Yep. As as the droid.

Jim:

The guy.

T.C.:

He could be the he could be our salesman droid.

Jim:

He could be. He could be

T.C.:

our main character. Ladies and gentlemen, what we're about to do here, it's been decades in the making, and we didn't even start it. Nope. We just laughed at it as teenagers. Yep.

T.C.:

The Upper Citizens Brigade has a sketch on their show. The the Upper Citizens Brigade TV show that was on Comedy Central, where a guy goes into a video store and claims that he has the titular line in Star Wars, which is ludicrous. It's not in there. Yeah. And then he films himself at a Burger King and and inserts himself into a deleted version of the movie and shows it and just cuts from Star Wars to this guy sitting and going, boy, I sure am tired of these Star Wars.

T.C.:

And it's been a I we might we might have referenced it in the two other Star Wars episodes we've done. But

Jim:

It that's it's so ludicrous. I don't think we did.

T.C.:

Okay. It could happen. We could have a character say it. I sure am getting tired of these Star Wars.

Jim:

I think to make that work, the the old the old wizened droid Yeah. If we if we could make it a droid that has been like like, one of the originals, maybe maybe k two s o. No. Even older.

T.C.:

Kulong is from is a is a thousand year old droid. He's from Ahsoka. He's the one who helps build the lightsabers.

Jim:

Oh, so are there any other droids like him?

T.C.:

Surely, he's not the only one. I I I'm like, model

Jim:

because I I don't know if we could contrive a way to get him into to Cameo in in this in droids.

T.C.:

Sure surely his model exists as well. Sure. Like

Jim:

Well, but have have any of them survived the way he has?

T.C.:

I as as far as I know, no. But I don't I don't know all of that.

Jim:

Or do we give it to the mouse droid when he gets the voice box? I just

T.C.:

like the I mean, having Matt Walsh play the main character is kinda fun. Yeah. Although, Matt Walsh plays kind of, like, awkward. Like, he doesn't play smooth talking really well.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

But he has. Like, he's better at playing sort of, like, a dope. But

Jim:

I mean, he could be he could be the the the one that can't lie.

T.C.:

Oh, the sweet one. Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah. And then Ben Schwartz

T.C.:

Could play which is funny because Ben Schwartz and Bill Hader provided BB eight's voice. Oh. So they've already got they've already got Ben Schwartz in the in the mix.

Jim:

But BBH's bleep bloops. Well, then we then it can't be Ben Schwartz. It's gotta be gotta be someone else.

T.C.:

Yeah. Bill Hader and and Ben Schwartz supplied the they were the voice consultants

Jim:

for BB eight.

T.C.:

One of my favorite clips of a droid situation is Alan Tudyk is voicing. He does k two s o.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

Actually, I don't think it was for k two s o. It was some other job. Oh, I know. Sorry. He does Hey Hey in Moana, and it's it's the clip of him going, and he looks at the camera and went, I went to Juilliard.

T.C.:

Yeah. Okay. So the the subplot that's happening around them, that's sort of a it's there but not in your face that leads to the final battle, is that the new order or the first order is finally going to make their move. So all the way at the beginning when our deprogrammer sees what's here and it's like, could sell this. The the right there in that moment could be I this this could change.

T.C.:

This could this could ignite the this could ignite the this could be the turn and the tie that that the first order's been waiting for. Maybe not not that exactly, but Mhmm. Saying right up front

Jim:

Oh, yeah.

T.C.:

The powder keg is ready to go. Yep. And this could be the thing that sets it off. We could do a Snoke name drop. We can do a Hux name drop.

T.C.:

Mhmm. Kylo Ren could already be out there. Like Yep. Having having that stuff spoken of in in hushed tones or in the background.

Jim:

Yeah. And and it definitely would be.

T.C.:

And and done masterfully. And I'm not even sure I don't know if we're capable of doing it. And as as I'm suggesting, it'd be one of those situations where, like, the episode of community where Abed plays an entire show in the background.

Jim:

Uh-huh.

T.C.:

A second viewing every single use.

Jim:

Watch all of that happen with all of the secondary and Yeah. It's like background characters.

T.C.:

Like, look in the background of this scene. That's an exchange of information right there. Like, having having a full film play out in the background of this movie would be such a cool challenge. Yeah. And it wouldn't be impossible.

T.C.:

I I referenced that episode of Community where Abed takes a backseat. Mhmm. He's like, I've been pretty I've been pretty main character character heavy. I'm gonna take it easy this this this episode or whatever. And then he delivers a baby in the background of the show.

T.C.:

That's what that would be so cool to

Jim:

Yeah. To be able to to to yeah. To have the world of Star Wars to have these these big things happening Yeah. Around them. There there was one bit I I thought would be fun to include.

Jim:

Mhmm. I think it's it's far enough away. A clone.

T.C.:

Having having a clone. Having one of a clone.

Jim:

But he, like, helps him he sees that they're on the run, and, basically, he right. Because he the the clones are gonna be really old at this point. Right?

T.C.:

Yep. If if well, Rex is canonically the old man with the white beard on Endor, if you wanna know how old they are. They they've reconned Rex to be Okay. Sure. That soldier on Endor.

Jim:

Okay. Yeah. Ultimate yeah. Was thinking someone that old. Like like, maybe he helps them get off of the the cantina planet

T.C.:

Yep.

Jim:

Or maybe it's it's a scene after that. But the idea that that he see he sees them and he says, I know what it's like to be

T.C.:

Thought of this way.

Jim:

Yeah. And and to be to be disposed of.

T.C.:

I know who it should be. Captain Cody. Captain Cody canonically does not have a death. He's he has not exist like, canonically, the last time he's seen is in the Bad Batch.

Jim:

I I won't say no. Yeah. I would prefer it to just be some new clone.

T.C.:

Just some clone. Yeah. Okay. That's fine. I I'm

Jim:

Kinda like was that Kenobi that had a clone just Yeah. Begging in

T.C.:

the Pain handling. Yeah. Helping old Soulja out.

Jim:

Yeah. So more something more like that, right, rather than being a cameo. Sure. Because then that like, I feel like that mirrors even more so. Command captain Cody?

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

Captain Cody. He's a named character. The character may not feel this way in in the world. May not know he's a main character.

T.C.:

Commander Cody. I correct myself.

Jim:

It is commander. Okay. But there there's sort of right, that's that's like You

T.C.:

are correct.

Jim:

Chris Hemsworth saying, you know, plain looking people, they all we we all have it roughly. Shut up, you chiseled man.

T.C.:

You are correct. It should not be a cameo because this is a this is a story about the the non characters Yeah. The the tertiary nonentities.

Jim:

Yeah. So the beings that were created to be thrown used in the background and thrown away.

T.C.:

Right. Both narratively and within the narrative. Mhmm. The only cameo, I guess, we're allowing then is Mas Kanata Yeah. That she runs her bar, and that's that is the that and yeah.

T.C.:

Okay. Two two things. Who dies in the end? Does our smooth talker go down so that the sensitive one can survive? Fine.

T.C.:

Like, the yeah. That's that's one question of, like, who survives this in the end? Do the lovers get to survive? Do we give them a happy ending? Star Wars?

Jim:

Forty five minutes, I kinda have grown attached enough that I kinda want them to survive.

T.C.:

Good. Then then at the very least, we will we will definitely make it seem like these characters aren't gonna make it. We because then that goes to my second question. I'll get that in a second. I do think that in that final sequence, escalating the danger to something like I'm gonna go back to Guardians of the Galaxy three, where you think through this whole thing, these characters are gonna die.

T.C.:

Everyone is gonna die. Yeah. Yeah. Which would be the which is the goal of this, that by the end of this movie, you want these characters to survive. Yeah.

T.C.:

That's what we've been asked to do, and I think we've created a premise, a plot, a story that could facilitate that. So then it goes to my second question, the tone of this. Compare it to another Star Wars. We've been having a lot of fun with, like, the the silliness of some of What these characters and is the tone of this movie compared to the the 11 movies that exist? And if you wanna go as far as the shows, then we have a lot more to draw from.

T.C.:

Because I think I know what it should be.

Jim:

In compare it I'd I'd you go first.

T.C.:

I think it should be Mandalorian, like that level of seriousness and that level of fun. I don't think it should be Andor.

Jim:

No. No. It should not

T.C.:

be Andor. Yeah. Andor is in a league all by its own. Yeah. But looking at Mandalorian and Soka, the Bad Batch, the rebels, like, that level of there's there's seriousness within all those, but they still have an element of this is a a wild fun ride.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

So I think that's the tone.

Jim:

Okay. Like, equating it to, like like, Guardians or I think off mic, we've we've kind of talked about the tone of Guardians and Mhmm. How there's a bunch of movies right now. Like, there's a a bunch of Hollywood has seemed to kind of honed in on that very particular tone of action and

T.C.:

Adventurous fun. Yeah. And and a little bit of drama in there.

Jim:

Yeah. And that's that's what I'd be aiming for. Okay. And the reason I go outside of Star Wars, though you asked to be in, I don't know that anything, even Mandalorian, I don't think has quite hit that sort of same fun adventure.

T.C.:

I'm gonna I'm gonna make a suggestion, and I know they

Jim:

I I I haven't seen everything.

T.C.:

Solo.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

I and I know that some people don't like solo, if you've listened to the show long enough, you know that we are fans

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

To one to one degree or another. All positive.

Jim:

Albeit, again, solo was good and fun, but imagine if solo had been allowed to be finished by Lord Miller. Yeah. Let Lord Miller make this droid movie. Yeah. We'll write it.

Jim:

They'll make it. It'll

T.C.:

be great. They'll direct it. Matt Walsh is vo is voicing one of these guys. Characters. Yeah.

T.C.:

Yeah. There's there's we have created a scenario with no singular villain, and I'm okay with it. That it is this group on the run.

Jim:

So kind of conceptually from the beginning, I wanted it that way.

T.C.:

Okay.

Jim:

Yeah. Because the position of the droids in the Star Wars world is their throwaway. The entire universe it's the entire universe is antagonistic to them, but not directly, not on purpose. It's like Mhmm. You're a you're an object.

Jim:

You're a you're a tool.

T.C.:

Why would I have an arch enemy? Yeah. I think the closest we've come to is creating that that em emperor empire friendly character, the first order type, or the the one we do it to it twice. Yeah.

Jim:

What do

T.C.:

you mean you're still fond of the Empire? Like, if that would be our closest to, like like, basically, the people chasing them are villains. Yeah. So we don't have, like, a clear cut final battle, someone to face against kind of thing.

Jim:

Correct. It it's it's all of them. We we want what you have, and we wanna get rid of you. Mhmm.

T.C.:

And so in the I I think something to compare kinda what I'm thinking the final battle looks like is in force Awakens when the the the First Order shows up and it's like, traitor, that sequence where Han and Chewy Han's using the cross Mhmm. Bowcaster, and Finn uses the lightsaber, and then

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

Poe comes like, it's just it's just a mess of, like, fighting and running and attacking and all that.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Yeah. But but having that be at the level of a having it what what I just compared to, that's the midpoint fight, the three way battle where it's the where they, escape, where they call the empire and the those is the the, the mercenaries, bounty hunters, the Yeah. Yeah. That's the that is the size and scale of that battle. The finale needs to be Oh,

Jim:

it's it's because it's because the First Order guys who who are chase or the the imperials, they're chasing, they call in reinforcements because they know this is the this is it.

T.C.:

Oh, dude.

Jim:

The the new republic guy I He knows, I can finally call this in, they will believe me. It is here.

T.C.:

It's here. I got I think I gotta pitch for the finale here because you pitched something earlier that we we could tee up to pay off is if they get helped by a clone, an old clone who's like,

Jim:

I know

T.C.:

what it's like to be like this. I wanna help you get out of here. Right? At the facility, it's ready to launch. Like, it's not ready to start making clones.

T.C.:

It is filled with an army. And then we have an attack of the clones. That's okay. I'm not I'm not saying that's

Jim:

a Visually, that's amazing. Our characters are committing a mini genocide.

T.C.:

Oh, yes. You are correct. Okay. Well, lampshade. It's like, you realize if we turn these off, we are committing a mini genocide.

T.C.:

You're right. We shouldn't do that. We shouldn't do that because yeah. You're right. These we are then kind of going against what we set out to do, which is souls.

T.C.:

Yeah. How do you determine? So we can't blow up an entire facility of clones. Right. Mhmm.

T.C.:

You are correct. I'm taking that off the table. However, let's let's rewind here. Having the New Republic show up and the First Order show up and the battle happening in the air, so our pilot droid gets to it, while What

Jim:

I what I will give you Mhmm. There could be droids there.

T.C.:

That's what was getting to. Okay. It's alright. This facility is Kamino based because the Kamino the Kaminoans were the cloners. Yep.

T.C.:

They are when they died, cloning went with them. Mhmm. That's why whatever. So on and so forth. Mhmm.

T.C.:

So having them it being a Kaminonian facility would mean pre, pre empire pre repub Republic era

Jim:

We could invent a whole new droid.

T.C.:

Yes. Thank you. Yeah. That you're correct. Yeah.

T.C.:

And having

Jim:

them Kaminoin security droids.

T.C.:

There you go. Some some sort of tech we've never seen before. So then there's now now we're killing a bunch of droids, which we just made a whole deal about.

Jim:

So these droid, they're not just like, what's going on? Oh, no. They're kill kill kill kill kill kill. Yeah. They they would essentially be imperial.

T.C.:

Okay.

Jim:

There right? Because that's that's what this is that's what they're they're doing. They're they're making this army for imperial purposes.

T.C.:

Okay. And then I guess go back to my initial question.

Jim:

We just we make sure that their eyes are red and and tilted in a way that makes

T.C.:

them always look at voices.

Jim:

Yeah. They're just Or if they do, it's they're they're they're like Zurg from Yeah. Toy Story.

T.C.:

Toy Story. Having our two protocol droids survive, I like that that they get there happily ever after. What about our mechanic, our, destroyer droid, and the mouse droid, and our astromech, like the other the four other characters here? Do we wanna do we wanna see do we wanna pull a reverse Rogue one and have everybody survive?

Jim:

No.

T.C.:

Oh, okay. I'm gonna make a suggestion. The the destroyer droid goes down. The the battle droid goes down, but his voice box survives.

Jim:

That that's kinda fun. I was thinking the pit droid goes if some something happens to the destroyer Yeah. Droid, and if this whole time like, actually, it'd be kinda fun if the destroyer droid is constantly falling apart Mhmm. And the pit droid is constantly putting them back together. Yeah.

Jim:

And the the destroyer is like, I'll hold him. Mhmm. And he does, but he's falling apart and getting shot up as he's doing it. And the pit droid can't keep up with the damage and eventually just takes one of the destroyer droid's arms Mhmm. And starts shooting as well.

Jim:

And basically, they go down together.

T.C.:

Aw. Yeah. I like that. That's sad. But we want the audience to walk away sad.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

Like, not not devastated, but we want them to love these characters and miss them when they're gone. Yeah. To that is that we are we are we are really leaning hard on landing this demand

Jim:

Yes.

T.C.:

For what was something so broad.

Jim:

Well, I mean, we didn't get into, like, the things we'll do to in to in ideally, we we, like, framed scenes large enough that you'd be like, oh, I could totally see where fun antics would happen that would Sure. Make me like these characters like so many other movies.

T.C.:

Having let's consider some, like, smaller personality traits like the the astronaut like like that. Having that pilot has collected helmets and pilot, like, accoutrement. Okay. A collection of things. Like Okay.

T.C.:

A droid had the sentience to wanna have stuff, like a collection. Collection.

Jim:

Okay. Okay.

T.C.:

There's, like, a small thing to

Jim:

to Oh.

T.C.:

Endear us to them. Mhmm.

Jim:

Like I mean, should should the astromech die? I get I get real real echoes of of wash

T.C.:

from firefly. I do not wanna kill the the pilot.

Jim:

Okay.

T.C.:

The pilot's already malfunctioning through this whole thing anyway. I feel like we're we're we're the he's I

Jim:

guess that just that makes him the the pilot from Rogue one.

T.C.:

Yeah. And the one with the four arms. No. No. Sorry.

T.C.:

Bodhi. Yeah. Bodhi wasn't a But

Jim:

I thought he was.

T.C.:

Was he Yes. It makes him Bodhi. I I don't wanna kill Bodhi. I don't wanna kill the astromech. I think you picking the pit destroyer droid as the two that go down, I think, is the right way to go with with the fear that they're all gonna die.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

And if we oh, okay. I I'll start the battle off now.

Jim:

Destroyed I, like, I I don't know why it forty years hasn't been right. They keep making cute things. They made Grogu. They made b b eight r two. The mouse droid is so freaking precocious and adorable.

Jim:

They take it. It's it's it's just a little jerk. It's the chihuahua of the Star Wars universe. And I don't know why why they haven't made that more of a merchandisable thing.

T.C.:

We're making it happen, particularly because this thing's gonna have, like, dents and, like, character to it just the way it looks. And I'm gonna do this in our climax. The climax kicks off I'm gonna tell you. The mouse droid survives. But the climax kicks off with the mouse droid essentially getting blown up.

T.C.:

Like like, like, that's what that's what kicks it all off so that the pit droid fixes the mouse droid in the midst of the battle. So once the mouse droid's back up and operational, and then the pit droid and the destroy droid go down, in the end, as our two protocols, our astromech, are reunited, the mouse droid also is there and has saved a couple like, the voice box and some one little thing. Just just that the mouse droid gets away having been to create the tension right away, the fear for our characters, if we blow up the cutest one to start

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

But they get to survive, the fear will be amongst the audience of, like, well, if they killed that one, which one aren't they gonna kill?

Jim:

Oh, I was gonna suggest the the mouse droid either carries a thing or zooms into the oncoming Yeah. Bad guys and an explosion happens, and either we kill the character there or later at the end of the battle or very near the end of the battle Mhmm. He comes skating out of some mouse hole somewhere.

T.C.:

We think we could do all of that. By just having the pit droid fixed, like, kill kill the mouse droid first creates a fear for all the other characters.

Jim:

Sure.

T.C.:

And then fixing the mouse droid mid battle. So then mid battle, our audience is like, oh, god. Thank god. The mouse is okay. Look out.

T.C.:

Destroyer droid. Like, getting that brief moment of like, like, oh, that's back. There's no time to celebrate.

Jim:

Like Okay. Yeah. Okay. So the one that we have another droid that's kinda gotten lost in the mix here. Sure.

Jim:

That's the battle droid.

T.C.:

The battle droid. No. We we didn't we didn't lose the battle droid.

Jim:

The the destroyer? Yeah.

T.C.:

You just said in the end, like, the destroyer droid is constantly being fixed.

Jim:

This whole time, I thought you had said a battle droid and destroyer droid.

T.C.:

No. No.

Jim:

No. So we had a Roger Roger Yeah. And

T.C.:

No. No.

Jim:

No. The the bowling ball of doom.

T.C.:

I had I had booted the that Roger Roger

Jim:

battle droid. This whole time, there was a Roger Roger with him. I don't know. And I was imagining a whole scene where the the the slick talking protocol droid, they they have a whole scene like in New Hope where they're down in near the the trash compactor area. Mhmm.

Jim:

And over the mic, what's going on over there?

T.C.:

Roger.

Jim:

Roger. And and the the battle droid is the only one near the mic because for whatever reason, this is a moment where the slick talker can't get to his you gotta say something. And so the battle droid goes over, we're all good here, Roger. Roger.

T.C.:

He's back in. He's back in.

Jim:

Also, I figure he can be the one he's gonna be the voice of, like, talking them through. He's he's a fighter. He's a warrior.

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

Sure. He's not the the Destroyer. The monster destroyer droid, but he's he's the one who's gonna be able to kinda direct them

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

Places and also be a little goofy. Not not necessarily he's not necessarily goofy, but, like, the way they were the the way they kinda use them.

T.C.:

Like Yeah. What do you Well, that doesn't compute. Yeah. Process them. Yeah.

Jim:

Yeah. That kind of thing.

T.C.:

Okay. I like this. I I'm I'm I'm trying to I think we're we're at a point now where six. You wanna know how many droids we

Jim:

have? Well, no. Because because with with that battle droid, we have six.

T.C.:

We have seven. So we have the smooth talking I

Jim:

forgot what the astroids

T.C.:

We got our pilot. We got our mechanic pit droid. We have our sweet droid. We have the destroyer droid and a battle droid and a mouse droid. So and I think they all serve a purpose.

Jim:

Mhmm.

T.C.:

Having the battle droid go down in the battle is sad, but also, you know, now we've got another one to sacrifice in

Jim:

the end. And, like, the dial he can go like, basically, we can make him like a like a Viking. Oh, wants to go out and he wants to die in battle.

T.C.:

He He's

Jim:

wanted it for thirty years.

T.C.:

Even longer. Yeah. You're right. Decades, this has been in the like, yes. This is all I ever wanted.

T.C.:

Yay. And I'm also sad. Okay. Bailey Remington from Intergalactic Banking Clan Studios. I hope you're not disappointed.

T.C.:

We didn't put an IG unit in this, but maybe in the Oh,

Jim:

originally. Like, when you were reading the thing, I was thinking if there was going to be a bad guy Mhmm. It would be an IG.

T.C.:

An IG unit coming after him?

Jim:

You know, at at some point, I I actually wouldn't mind a cameo

T.C.:

Of of IG idiot.

Jim:

Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

T.C.:

I'm I'm down.

Jim:

Crossing paths with them at some point. Maybe maybe after they get away from the mercenaries

T.C.:

Oh, and then

Jim:

Taika actually what Yeah. The clone saves them from.

T.C.:

Taika Waititi can can can voice Cameo then because he is the now canonical voice of all the IG units.

Jim:

Oh, there you go.

T.C.:

How did we do? I think this one's fun. This ended up we we didn't really have a Star Wars we weren't gonna do a Star Wars episode this season. No. But coming into this week of recording, we we kinda had a

Jim:

a We had a gap.

T.C.:

We had a gap, and it was like, oh, Acolyte comes out soon. Let's let's do a Star Wars. I Yeah. Digging through here. Bailey, you thank you for sending the demand that was sitting here for a while since you mentioned that the Bad Batch is currently up up and going.

T.C.:

So thank you for that. How did we do? You gotta let us know. In fact, you all gotta let us know. You can hit us up if you agree or disagree, if you think we missed anything, whatever.

T.C.:

So you can message us directly at studio demands it dot com or on Instagram at studio demands it. If you're not already, you can subscribe to us on all your podcast apps of choice. And if you feel like giving us a little review, you can do it in app, which really helps us get out there into the algorithm. And for those of you who have been sending reviews, thank you. It's a it has helped, so I wasn't blowing smoke there.

T.C.:

You can find us on YouTube and TikTok where we post video content not included, including material not heard here on the show. Jim, you've got something to talk about now. I get to see her and stroke my beard.

Jim:

You you this is, like, the fifth fourth third episode where this has been a thing I keep forgetting. Anyway, we now have a subreddit, r slash studio demands it at at at reddit dot com, where you can come have conversations with us about movies and the things you demand of us to talk about or other movies and stuff. Mostly movie talk. Doesn't have to just be movie talk.

T.C.:

Yeah. It could be about anything. It could be about TV shows about movies. What's your favorite pastry? We were on there.

T.C.:

It's cool.

Jim:

The studio demands a pastry. And we also have a Discord. Mhmm. You can find the invite link to that on our website, studiodemandsit.com, and follow it through to join us and have conversations on Discord.

T.C.:

About pastries.

Jim:

About yeah.

T.C.:

And if you just can't get enough of us, folks, let me tell you what. We got a Patreon. And for free Oh. Or a couple bucks a month, you can get on there and subscribe. With the subscription service, can get episodes early as well as extended double length episodes.

T.C.:

For example, some of the bonus conversation that would exist with this episode is a conversation about how many five year olds you could beat up. What does that mean? You'll have to subscribe to find out. We also have movie commentary tracks. You can, but you can just show us your love if you just wanna go and subscribe for free.

T.C.:

A massive thank you to Six Five Media for everything they do for us. Please check out the other Six Five shows. A lot of video game related stuff. You know, that sort of But that does it for another adventure in a galaxy far, far away.

Jim:

And I think the droid that is going to join them that gets left behind at the reclamation center

T.C.:

Yeah.

Jim:

Is a k k t.

T.C.:

A k two unit.

Jim:

K two unit. Yeah. Okay. Like like, literally, it gets to the like, they they hit the button and the the blast doors are closing, so they're not gonna get out. Mhmm.

Jim:

And just a a k two unit just comes up and grabs them and holds it. Like and it it won't be able to get through itself, so it can only just hold

T.C.:

hold it enough for them to And then yeah. I honestly, every droid type will appear in this movie.

Jim:

Yeah. Oh, in fact, in that scene, more than just our characters make it out, but the ones that aren't gonna stick around, like, there is squabble amongst the droids and a bunch take off this direction, like, no, we need to stick together.

T.C.:

Mhmm.

Jim:

And then the only ones that stick together are our characters.

T.C.:

Yes. That's

Jim:

great. We couldn't call it droids. Right? That's already a thing.

T.C.:

I I think we could. Why not? Okay. Like, yeah, people are

Jim:

gonna because I thought there was a thing already The

T.C.:

thing that Remington's called droids. The thing that Remington was referencing Yeah. In his in his demand was the only area of the franchise that's only briefly explored this was in 14 nearly unwatchable episodes.

Jim:

Yeah. Oh, go ahead.

T.C.:

The droids TV series.

Jim:

Yeah.

T.C.:

So calling this Star Wars droids is gonna come with a bit of, wait. What? I think it's I think you absolutely could call this Star Wars droids. Alright. And then some sort of subtitle because franchise potential, baby.

Jim:

Well, it would be Droids, A Star Wars Story. Yes. Because there's already that's already an imprint they created.

T.C.:

Perfect. Droids, A

Jim:

Star Wars. That's what Rogue one is, Solo.

T.C.:

Yeah. Yep. Hell yes. You did it, Jim.

Jim:

Yes.

T.C.:

That does it for this episode. We'll be back again soon to take on one of your demands and challenge ourselves to approve the world cinema. I am TC.

Jim:

Yes. You are.

T.C.:

And you're Jim. Jim. Yep. We'll see you next time, folks. We'll you'll hear us

Jim:

next time. Yeah.

T.C.:

Alright. Bye. Bye bye.