.As part of the testing process I thought I’d kick off the traditional Star Wars thread.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi series with Ewan McGregor has been confirmed for Disney+ to begin shooting next year.
There’s also been new footage previewed from Rise Of Skywalker, although it’s not online
https://io9.gizmodo.com/new-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-footage-featured-r-1837449069
Sounds like it could be interesting.
Star Wars will likely always make money, it has that level of mass popularity.
Corporately, I expect them to use the ‘below expectations’ line.
In other news, a Doctor Aphra audio production has just been announced. It is adapting and expanding the first arc of Gillen’s Vader series.
Kinda ironic that they paid oh so much more for SW than for Marvel and Marvel’s been printing them money… =/
As much as there is a ‘house style’ to the MCU movies, the Marvel stuff is somewhat more diversified than Star Wars, which helps. If people are not that bothered about the Stark-centric parts they may still enjoy the cosmic movies, or the teenage Spider-Man bits, or the wonderful world of Wakanda and so on. With Star Wars the movies are all built around the same-old Skywalker shit that has been dragging on since the ’70s. I’m all in favour of them at least attempting something fresh going forward to see if it catches on.
I think where Star Wars are concerned, the parks and toys are as important to Disney as the movies, and I expect they’ve been doing fine.
Actually, no… well at least in terms of merchandise SW hasn’t been all that great… I don’t know about the parks, but there’ve been many reports that toys/statues/that sort of thing, for example, are not selling all that much these days…
Edit: Btw, this is an article everyone’s talking about right now… not the first of its kind, but this is pretty blunt:
http://www.rebelscum.com/story/front/Rebelscumcom_Presents_The_2020_Gentle_Giant_Ltd_QA_186744.asp
CW: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters last December and it looks like there are just three pieces up for Pre-Order at this time…those being the Sith Trooper Mini Bust, the Kylo Ren Dreamer Premier Collection Statue and the Kylo Ren Legends in 3-Dimensions Bust. I would imagine there are some very requested characters, especially in the ever popular Mini Bust line, that fans would love to see. Names like Emperor Palpatine, Poe Dameron, Zorii Bliss, Babu Frik, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO and more. Can you speak on when we might see more characters from the final chapter in the 9-film Star Wars Saga?
CT: As I mentioned before, we are working on some, but I have to ask..are you SURE there is lots of demand for these “very” requested characters? The overall demand for busts and SW products is not what it was 10 or even 5 years ago. It’s not just a GG issue either. The brand is VERY strong with The Mandalorian & The Clone Wars and more new content to come, but you all know what the production runs on collector products were in the past compared to now. We would very much love to make more products from the new movie. It’s not like we’re sitting behind our desk wringing our hands thinking how can we stick it to fans and not make busts they want that will make us money…right?? We just, as of yet, have not seen enough fans that would want to buy a bust have that personal affection for some of those new characters that makes sense to justify going to production, but for sure we’re watching it and perhaps as more time passes, fans affection for those characters will grow.
I’m with Dave on Mandalorian. Fun, pretty, well made, but doesn’t really stick with you afterwards.
I think it’d be cool if they bring back Fett (voiced by Temuera Morrison of course) and let him serve as the main villain hunting Mando and Baby Yoda. Mando’s fine but doesn’t really deliver on what’s cool about the character because he’s such a softy.
Disney+ is probably going to get the ‘Obi-Wan’ series at some point, once they figure out what it is (new writers are writing right now) and there’s room for a Rey series, as she’s the only breakout character from the last three films and they need something to keep ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ relevant.
George Lucas planned the original Star Wars trilogy to end on a seriously dark note
It’s weird how many of the things originally considered for Return of the Jedi ended up in The Force Awakens:
Luke went off on his own.
Han Solo got killed raiding an Imperial base.
The Rebellion was defeated.
Leia was left alone to rule over what was left.
And now someone picks up Vader’s old helmet and decides to become a bad guy.
This is one of the reasons I was disappointed that Rey wasn’t Luke’s long-lost daughter. In the original (circa 1980) plans for the Sequel Trilogy, Luke was to have tracked down his lost twin sister (who was not intended to be Leia) and together they w0uld defeat the Emperor in Episode IX. It looked like the Disney ST was going to repurpose these old plot-lines from the original plans for the ST, but instead they just repurposed the stuff we already saw in the OT.
Firing Kathleen Kennedy for not understanding how to put together a sequence of movies coherently would be a good start. The lack of planning ahead before making the sequel trilogy is astounding.
I agree. I still think that the sequel idea was probably the right way to go for the new Disney trilogy (even if opinions are mixed on the quality of the films) as I don’t think the same audience would have been there for a brand new setting without links to the originals.
But with things as they are now I think a clean break is needed to dump the baggage that’s accumulated and get back to the heart of what is appealing about Star Wars.
They’ll always be able to throw in references and easter eggs for the fans to tie back to previous stories but in general I think a fresh approach would be welcome.
Yep. Kathleen Kennedy has had an incredible carrer, but it is mindboggling that she is still running Lucasfilms and producing Star Wars at this point.
I have heard that the Disney higher-ups have tied her hands with regard to creative control over Star Wars, but I don’t think that has been confirmed, and Mickey Mouse plays with his cards close to his chest. I’d say it’s a hopeful sign, but I fear the franchise was mortally wounded with a sequel trilogy so ill-conceived that it damaged the original trilogy retroactively.
At any rate, it’s painfully obvious that Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t really understand what Star Wars is, or how it works, but still micromanages the fuck out of it. She strikes me as one of those dingbat Hollywood executives that Harlan Ellison would bitch about. Or Kevin Smith, when he was writing a Superman script, and Jon Peters had some kind of bug up his ass and insisted that Superman had to fight a giant spider and Brainiac had to fight polar bears.
I think it is unconfirmed, but reports closely after the premiere of episode IX said that the movie that JJ turned in wasn’t the one that was shown, specifically in regards to cutting content to have the movie better adapted to chinese audiences (no ghosts allowed).
In that case the Chinese censors must have had their eyes closed when Luke showed up, and they must have fallen asleep by the end (can’t blame them on that).
At any rate, it’s painfully obvious that Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t really understand what Star Wars is, or how it works, but still micromanages the fuck out of it.
I thought the prevailing theory was the opposite of that? She DOESN’T micromanage enough?
So films like ‘Solo’ and ‘Rogue One’ end up requiring massive reshoots and new directors when the original people are given too little supervision and end up making a huge mess?
I’m sure the three trilogy movies were the work of a committee, to some degree, but Abrams and Johnson stamped their mark on those films pretty hard. You can tell they weren’t the work of the same creative overlord (or lady). The other six Star Wars movies have George Lucas’s fingerprints all over them, whether he directed them or not.
It’s been my experience that 99% of the rumours and accepted knowledge about the Disney era of Star Wars turns out to be bullshit, and most of that remaining 1% is half-truth at best.
Disney+ gets Rise of Skywalker on May 4th.
Bandwidth concerns over the amount of repetitive complaining about it online have not yet been addressed.
I think the sequel trilogy is definitely more committee work than the OT or the prequels.
It is but in truth those were always all Lucas’s babies, even if he had other writers and directors in he was calling the shots. He owned the company and named it after himself.
So it’s definitely more committee now.
It is the interesting dichotomy that Dave’s cartoon parodies. Say with Marvel movies we know Feige calls all the shots as producer and has a hand in everything, does that mean he’s the auteur? There’s also a lot of writer/directors on these films, Abrams, Johnson, Gunn, Waititi, the Russos, so not always as straightforward as it seems.
There’s also a lot of writer/directors on these films, Abrams, Johnson, Gunn, Waititi, the Russos, so not always as straightforward as it seems.
I have a feeling at Marvel those writer/directors have a bit more influence than at Lucasfilm. Could be wrong.
Lucas could definitely have used someone to keep him from going full retard with the prequel trilogy though. So more committee isn’t always bad I guess.
When Disney started planning the ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ parks they were initially going to be based on the original trilogy, and set specifically on Tatooine, rather than the new films and a new planet.
https://insidethemagic.net/2020/04/original-star-wars-land-theme-dan-cockerell-ba1/
Given that the new films haven’t become a cultural touchstone, I wonder if they’ll rebrand the parks at some point? It would be pretty easy. Change some signage, get rid of the greenery and have the Stormtroopers wear classic armour, rather than the new design.
https://www.starwars.com/news/taika-waititi-announce
Academy Award® winner Taika Waititi, who recently won Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit and directed the widely-acclaimed first season finale episode of The Mandalorian on Disney+, will direct and co-write a new Star Wars feature film for theatrical release.
Joining Waititi on the screenplay will be Academy Award® nominee Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917, Last Night in Soho), who received a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year on the three-time Oscar-winning film, 1917.
In addition, Emmy®-nominated writer Leslye Headland (Russian Doll, Bachelorette) is currently developing a new untitled Star Wars series for Disney+. Headland will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for the series, which adds to a growing list of Star Wars stories for Disney’s streaming platform including The Mandalorian, now in post-production on Season Two, and two other previously announced series: one based on Cassian Andor’s life prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and another following the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope.
Waititi is usually good so I hope this is fun, and I’m guessing this won’t be out for several years, so plenty of time to get excited about Star Wars again.
Yeah, I assume this will be post-Thor, so 2023 at the earliest.
Yeah, this is what has to happen I think. Mandalorian still felt very beholden to what had come before but at least it was trying to do its own thing.
It has its faults but it has the right idea, the setting is unmistakably Star Wars but distant enough from the main films.
I’m happy to see them hire a fun director, and he’s worked for Marvel so he knows the ropes of a big studio production, which reduces the chances of this production going to hell.
Finally saw Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
I want my money back.
A day that celebrates Star Wars or a day that mocks people with lisps?
It can be two things!
https://www.starwars.com/news/taika-waititi-announce
Academy Award® winner Taika Waititi, who recently won Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit and directed the widely-acclaimed first season finale episode of The Mandalorian on Disney+, will direct and co-write a new Star Wars feature film for theatrical release.
Joining Waititi on the screenplay will be Academy Award® nominee Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917, Last Night in Soho), who received a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year on the three-time Oscar-winning film, 1917.
In addition, Emmy®-nominated writer Leslye Headland (Russian Doll, Bachelorette) is currently developing a new untitled Star Wars series for Disney+. Headland will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for the series, which adds to a growing list of Star Wars stories for Disney’s streaming platform including The Mandalorian, now in post-production on Season Two, and two other previously announced series: one based on Cassian Andor’s life prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and another following the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope.
Wake me up when it gets as far as having a trailer.
Finally saw Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
I want my money back.
Get in line, pal. But make sure you stand six feet behind the guy in front of you.
I think it’s awesome that Waititi is getting to make a Star Wars movie. I hope it’s truly unconnected to the main series, and takes place after them (ideally).
I can’t wait for everyone to get unreasonably upset by the end result.
You think you’ll have to wait until then?
I think if you listed out the major moans about the sequel trilogy there’s not many about the actual film-making but 90% about the direction of the story and the characters in relation to the OT.
I think that’s true of the first two movies, if not quite so much for the third film which seemed to be widely criticised for the structure and the writing/editing rather than just those soap-opera complaints. The first two are well-made movies in a way that I think the third one isn’t.
The first two are well-made movies in a way that I think the third one isn’t.
Yeah and I’d agree with that. It is too rushed and manic.
Saying that though I’m not sure it was still really where the majority of complaints came in, most of it was centred around the rather random revival of the Emperor and why little of it was explained. Palpatine’s sexy times. Also ‘force teleportation’.
We need a movie about sexytime Palpatine.
You could even call it The Rise of Palpatine.
Some will always be unreasonably upset (we’re talking Star Wars fans) but I think if you do a movie that’s firmly Star Wars in tone but stays away from the main canon you can escape the worst of it.
I think if you listed out the major moans about the sequel trilogy there’s not many about the actual film-making but 90% about the direction of the story and the characters in relation to the OT.
Oh you sweet summer child.
Seems like alot of people are mad at the movies because Rey is a girl. Seems like a dumb thing to be mad about, I mean, my mum is a girl and I’m only sometimes mad at her.
To be fair, a lot of them are mad because Finn is black and Poe is Hispanic too
I actually think that’s a bit overstated. There was a bit of this around the first movies but in recent years I haven’t seen Rey herself singled out for the kind of criticism that the likes of Rose received or that Rian Johnson got for ‘ruining’ all the characters. (Although I don’t really move in those fan circles so maybe there’s a whole network of Reddits about how shit Rey is that I’m not aware of.)
I actually saw a “Rey is a Mary Sue” rant in the wild the other day. In the middle of a bunch of people pretending to not be mad about the cold open and close to the most recent episode of Harley Quinn
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye
Well, that reiterates my point about it being all down hill since 1977.
Quoting for truth 
Seems like alot of people are mad at the movies because Rey is a girl. Seems like a dumb thing to be mad about, I mean, my mum is a girl and I’m only sometimes mad at her.
To be fair, a lot of them are mad because Finn is black and Poe is Hispanic too
I actually think that’s a bit overstated. There was a bit of this around the first movies but in recent years I haven’t seen Rey herself singled out for the kind of criticism that the likes of Rose received or that Rian Johnson got for ‘ruining’ all the characters. (Although I don’t really move in those fan circles so maybe there’s a whole network of Reddits about how shit Rey is that I’m not aware of.)
I actually saw a “Rey is a Mary Sue” rant in the wild the other day. In the middle of a bunch of people pretending to not be mad about the cold open and close to the most recent episode of Harley Quinn
Also, Boyega takes no shit from anyone on Twitter.
It’s strange how the diversity point has exploded for SW since Disney’s takeover.
Then again, I’m certain it’s the same people doing comicsgate and all the ‘anti-SJW’ stuff on videogames, plus Trek: Discovery. It’s the same regurgitated content.
Then again, I’m certain it’s the same people doing comicsgate and all the ‘anti-SJW’ stuff on videogames, plus Trek: Discovery. It’s the same regurgitated content.
Definitely, there’s a whole subset of YouTubers who make thousands per month by stoking the anger of nerds, and when there isn’t an actual controversy they’ll make one up.
Ugh I love the Harley Queen cartoon, but that bit was very lazy low hanging fruit… also, I didn’t appreciate that they lumped in the snydercut crowd with the lazy geek stereotype…
I agree, lazy geek stereotypes deserve better.
I had someone insist I couldn’t like Star Wars because Star Wars is for boys and babies.
I’m not sure whether there’s a need to differentiate boys from babies in that context.
Star Wars is great though! Except when it’s crap, like when the Harley Queen won the podrace 
When was the last Star Wars movie that the fan base didn’t bitch about? Empire?
That was the one by Sophocles, 435 BC. The whole of Athens thought it was pretty good. Skywalker Rex I think it was.
That was the one by Sophocles, 435 BC. The whole of Athens thought it was pretty good. Skywalker Rex I think it was.
I always wondered why Sophocles would use a Latin word like Rex in the title of his film rather than his native Greek word Vasilias, particularly when you consider that Ancient Greece predated Ancient Rome by 1,000 years. 
I mean, I also wonder why, along time ago, they had laser swords.
I mean, I also wonder why, along time ago, they had laser swords.
They didn’t, here.
They did, in a galaxy far away.
Only in the sophoclean sense.
Hell yeah, Temuera Morrison is confirmed for Boba Fett in Mandalorian season 2:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/temuera-morrison-pay-boba-fett-204003645.html
Could have done this in the Rise of Skywalker thread but it’s about more than just that film so…….
What follows is about 2,700 words and there is no Too Long, Didn’t Read version. Get readin’.
So, over the last 24 hours, my wife and I worked our way through the Sequel Trilogy (ST) on Disney+. We both had seen TFA previously, though my wife’s memory of it was hazy, I had seen and disliked greatly TLJ and neither of us had seen RoS. Things of note? My wife dubbed Kylo / Ben as ‘Pouting Twat’ – which he will now be referred to because it’s just too, too fitting.
And RoS? Rarely have I seen a film shoot itself in the knees and feet, kick its own nuts in, punch itself in the head but still, somehow, manages to stagger over the finish line successfully. It can also be said to be the end result of a game of directorial dares, where the director of the previous film practically sets the next one a challenge of how to get out of the mess they’ve left, which is no way to create what is supposed to be a trilogy. And yet…. Of all the films in the ST, RoS was the most successful for conveying the legacy angle that they were perhaps going for from the start. Let’s be honest here, I never wanted a ‘Death Of’ series for Luke, Han and Leia. Harrison Ford has always wanted to off Solo – I disagree, don’t see it as necessary, but we’re stuck with it now. Fisher’s passing did mandate a death because you can’t simply remove a character on that level easily, which Leia was. Even so, RoS did what the previous two hadn’t, in that it tapped the sense of legacy far more successfully, then added Wedge and Lando for good measure. Sure, Wedge was a very brief cameo, true, but it was also a quality one that I really enjoyed.
Just over a year ago, I wrote an article in the wake of the Emperor’s return to Star Wars being let out of the bag, which it had been for a few weeks, arguing that this may well be what the new trilogy really needed. Now, having seen RoS? Well, all was certainly not as I foresaw, but it has worked out rather well. Ian McDiarmid probably can’t believe his luck, a bit part in a film in 1983 later saw him get four movie roles and a good few cartoon guest appearances, all built around one enduring character – the wonderfully villainous Darth Sidious.
Exogol is probably the closest we will ever get to seeing a superbly creepy Sith world on film. Yes, yes, I know Moraband / Korriban turns up in the animation but for film? This is probably it. Fortunately, Exegol is a very well-realised hellhole of a planet that the likes Darth Sidious clearly finds to be very much to his liking. That bit at the start with the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of Snokes in vats makes the point very effectively. The one huge failing? Relegating the Emperor’s return to the opening scrawl and placing said broadcast as part of a special event in Fortnite! That is stupid beyond belief, far better to simply open with it. Or, if they had actually known where they were going, have the Emperor’s return being the cliffhanger ending of TLJ. Yet, even with that self-inflicted wound, the rest of it mostly works.
It is strange that, as of RoS, what we have is a cowed galaxy. That re-ignition that was talked of in TLJ at the end? Didn’t happen. I have a little sympathy for the idea that TLJ gets screwed over here, but on the other hand, given how TFA got done over in turn, it’s also quite karmic. Professionally, it’s no way to make three films that are supposed to work together, as a series, but it’s what we have. Despite that, is it still worth watching TFA and TLJ? I think it still is.
I can’t say I enjoyed that much of TLJ second time around, it’s aesthetically pleasing enough but its entire being is slaved to being a gotcha film. That might work for some first time around, but second, when its tricks are known? It casts a pall over the good bits. Take the Luke sequence on Crait. It’s supposed to be this epic set-piece, and first time around, it is. Second time? You know after this he gets killed off, which stops me enjoying it as much. Similarly the opening battle with the Dreadnaught, you think that’s a win? No, it’s not. On that basis you could have expected TFA to have a cut scene at the end, after Starkiller Base has gone boom, with Leia slagging Poe off for losing so many ships. Talking of TFA, it holds up better – the criticism that it is a OT remix remains true, but it’s a clever remix and one that mostly works. Not that the ST could ever really stop paying tribute to the OT – the salt plains of Crait, the sequence through the planet being nods to ESB and ROTJ respectively. RoS did a prison break sequence that is a clear nod to ANH, but if it’s a successful tribute does it matter? Not really. I had to go looking for the last couple.
For TFA Jakku remains a masterpiece of design, that image of Rey speeding home with a crashed Star Destroyer in the background remains excellent. I also still really like the chase sequence that goes through a crashed section of a Super Star Destroyer that really brings home the sheer size of those craft. That TLJ failed to make the most of the Supremacy is a big missed opportunity – its intro is no match for Vader’s Executor in ESB. It could have been, say a few seconds of it launching Star Destroyers would have worked.
Back to RoS, does having the new trio actually go on an adventure as a trio actually work? Yes it does and it beings back that which the trilogy was seriously lacking. For all that the film was talked of as a fast moving, for some too fast, narrative, I didn’t find it to be as bad as it had been talked of. The Emperor’s return certainly needed more time than it got and, if certain sequences were to have a sense of consequence, then a bit more time before undoing them would have improved it, but overall? It works pretty well. I do still think that my theory / suspicion that I would need subtitles to get the most out of it was proved by it. They also helped TLJ too.
As to the characters? For me Poe had a pretty good reason to be irritated at not being to have Rey on missions. Rey? This is the one film where I thought there was some character progression, although she somehow still can’t tell Finn is in love with her. Someone really should have told Finn that she just ain’t into him that way, move on man. True, there is the Pouting Twat angle to contend with and that remains the big failure here. But the other stuff? Like the telekinesis on a ship followed by force lightning? That was overkill, can’t say amping up the powers to that kind of Starkiller level really works, but that Rey would accidentally trigger force lightning due to getting too mad That worked because up until then getting angry had always been a solution that worked for her, it had had very few negative consequences. Arguably it should have had – I still loathe the sneak attack on Luke for instance, but at least here there was a recognition of it being a problem that needed to be addressed.
The other area where there was far too much plot indulgence was where Pouting Twat was concerned. RoS certainly tried its best to sell me on it, but the bit with Leia didn’t work for me. That this time Kylo almosts gets to kill Rey after two previous defeats also felt like plot chicanery and the bit with Han fell flat too. Can’t say the teleporting of objects between them made much sense to me either. One thing that it did manage to make work, which I was not expecting to go with, is the Dyad concept. Although there the force lightning overkill that followed did undermine it quite a bit. Oh and that last kiss? Farce. In the end they go with a Vader-style redemption-by-death, like its predecessor, it is problematic due to the sheer amount of bad shit said character did while bad.
As a long-time fan, there was a lot to like in RoS. The Unknown Regions, long teased in various stories across multiple mediums, got an excellent pay-off here, with the route to Exegol being suitably nightmarish and the system itself looking supremely fucked up. Exegol itself and the Emperor’s return, especially with that legion of cultists, makes for a very neat Dark Empire homage and, in a way, that overkill force lightning at the end works rather well if considered as a force storm ability. Seeing the comics ideas from so long ago end up on the big screen in new form is rather satisfying.
Of course, a large part of what makes that story work for me is that its Luke who opposes the returned Emperor, risking his soul in the process, until he finally works out that you don’t fight the dark side successfully alone. You always have to have others – an angle RoS really pursues very successfully. Here it is Luke that was searching for the way to Exegol, whose notes give them the key to finding it; Luke who gets Rey out of her hole and later boosts her in the final battle – all of this feels very true to the character. It’s not about personal wins, it’s about winning together. These aspects also link in to the legacy idea, that Rey, Poe and Finn inherit the fight but that they only get to do what they do because of what their predecessors did.
As to the Final Order? That really worked for me. I’m sure for many there were groans as it’s superweapons, again. But from the start that is what Sidious was always about – Death Stars, Starkillers, why not Star Destroyer Planetkillers? True too, the new class is either a psychiatric dream or nightmare, look at the size of those cannons, those throbbing, pulsating members of death…. That’s quite enough Freud for one paragraph.
If you want to know why Sidious was always going for superweapons, watch Rogue One. That film more than any other demonstrates why they were wanted, because they intimidate people into submission. One of the observations made in Dark Empire is that the dark side is all about coercion, all about control and domination. That is exactly what this new fleet of Star Destroyers is all about. The sequence on Kilmiji also shows this in a way few Star Wars films have, with Stormtroopers going door to door to make sure no one gets any ideas.
For all that it raises some really unpleasant imagery, I’m quite certain Sidious’ son was an escaped lab experiment that was never supposed to breed, the whole concept of family being what you make it is one I like. In that respect, Rey taking the name of Skywalker rather than that of her grandfather, sort of works for me. What was less successful was her burying the sabers on Tattooine. That didn’t make much sense and that image with Luke and Leia should have included Han but I suppose they had to end it some way. While I’m talking of things that didn’t work, that montage of falling Star Destroyers failed – in the Exegol system? Sure, but elsewhere? Nope, but kind of fun seeing the Ewoks again.
For all that I’m seeing the line elsewhere that the ST is Kylo’s story, I disagree. After TLJ it could certainly have gone that way, but with this last film, it didn’t. Rey still comes out with some really dopey lines, but it’s limited to a couple of occasions whereas I found it far worse in TLJ. RoS couldn’t entirely ignore what TLJ did, but it was able to tilt it back to where things were heading after TFA. Rey still comes out for me as the lead character of RoS.
Two moments where the subtitles had a decisive impact – the line at the start on Exegol with the voice changing to different characters. On audio alone, I would not have picked up on who was who. Similarly later on, at the finale, with the Jedi ghosting in, I would not have identified everyone in that and would have wanted to. It was quite neat seeing a mix of PT, OT, Clone Wars and Rebels characters turn up. Late in the game? Certainly, but a late successful attempt to tie it all together is better than none. True, I do know the more obscure characters featured in that sequence – which is what made it more effective. Seeing characters that have only existed in comics, animations or books get a bit of big screen recognition is quite cool.
Not that it’s all perfect in terms of coordination – RoS does steamroller other stories, as did TLJ, in a way that’ll see some creative individual go to work to reconcile it all, which ought to be avoidable but movies going to do what movies going to do. In the wider sense there’s a bit more chaos than was expected from the Disney new order, nothing that the fanbase is not used to, prior to Disney there was Lucas, who also could never stop mucking around with it all.
In representational terms, the ST did walk a bit too close to some very hot topics and did not escape being burnt by them. RoS did, however, undo the damage as best it could.
Should Star Wars try to be more risky and innovative? I think there’s space to do that ,but I don’t think a mainline entry is the place to do it. If anything the now ended Anthology films, of which Rogue One and Solo were the first and last, can be seen as a recognition of this. If it gets as far as a trailer, the just announced film by Taika Waititi will be on my hit list of things to watch out for.
Other little things I enjoyed in RoS: The whole idea of a cavalry charge on a Star Destroyer. Pryde’s death scene – they ensure you can see the tiny figure of him, on the bridge, just as it blows up completely. The rebel fleet gathered by Lando turning up at Exegol. The destruction of Kilmiji. Babu Frik. Luke as a Force Ghost. (Not that TLJ is forgiven on that point).
For all that I was, due to its reputation, expecting RoS to finish what TLJ started and bury what remained of my liking for Star Wars – it didn’t work out that way. As someone put it: “A surprise to be sure but a welcome one.” I’m not very good at being a negative fan, I prefer to like rather than loathe and, where I can, work with rather than against things. With TLJ I hit a brick wall where I just could not stay on the positive route, it just did too much damage. RoS managed to pull the teeth out and blast some rather big holes in that wall so I’m back to my usual setting.
So, overall? I like an awful lot of the ST, the problem is those minor aspects that I disagree with cast a long shadow, but for me, RoS did at least try to respond to that shadow cast. Would I have preferred a version where the lives of the OT trio didn’t go completely to crap? Yes, but I pretty much have that in the form of Legends material. Say B / C overall. If they had actually told this story over three films as a cohesive, coherent whole maybe it would work far better, but to borrow another line from a recent film: “It is what it is.”
Next? Have started on Resistance, but may not stick with it. More likely to start on Mandalorian then move on to the final series of Clone Wars.
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