#with dave filoni and rian johnson helping

[fandomrantsandtwittertakes]

[thomas-hobbes-hater]

After seeing Glass Onion last night, another Hollywood masterclass from Rian ‘No Misses’ Johnson, I started thinking about Star Wars again. Because, whatever you think of it, Last Jedi feels like Johnson’s biggest miss, at the very least because it’s relationship to the trilogy it’s the turning point of is an unfocused and inconsistent mess

So this got me thinking: what if he and Dave Filoni had been in charge of the whole thing all the way through?

The bones of a great Star Wars story are already there in the basic set up of the main players, but they constantly get squandered as writers and directors fight over not only the characters but the concept of Star Wars itself. So let’s start there.

Rey: our Luke-alike. Comes from nowhere, is nothing, survives off scavenging the remnants of a collapsed empire. Quintessential apocalyptic survivor type, fits in perfectly with the ramshackle tech of the galaxy far far away

Poe: cocky ace pilot who thinks he can save the world and just loves being a daredevil. A dumb idiot with big plans and ideals and no idea of failure. Great foil for Rey, who is a little more circumspect

Finn: a true original. Our defector stormtrooper. Just such a powerful concept in itself. An escapee from fascist indoctrination, proof that they are not all-powerful as they claim to their insiders. The heart of a possible revolution.

And the old guard: disillusioned by the failure of the defeat of the emperor to actually bring about a new world. Luke goes off to be emo, wallowing in his failure and understanding the depth of change required to free the galaxy but unable to bring it about by his own power. Han, for whom anything other than a life on the run trying to be cool forever was impossible. His is a faded immortality. And Leia, who gets changed a little in my theoretical trilogy but whose failure to create an actually stable New Republic is her chief motivation, what drives her radicality.

All these characters have a relationship to the remnant of hope, represent different attitudes to the New Hope of the original trilogy and a new attempt to eradicate the fascism that the Old Republic had let fester in its complacent liberalism.

After the battle of Endor, the Empire still had its loyalists of course, people who believed not in the Emperor but in the vision of domination he represented. But they are also part of the New Republic senate. So we open with a fragile political situation where the former Rebels can no longer just fight and blow up their enemies, but have to assimilate them into their system somehow, and act which inherently compromises it, which Leia is all too aware of but can’t convince many people it matters. ‘They’ll just die out’ etc.

Snoke: an agitator, a disruptor, a shadowy organiser and figurehead on Empire worlds, spreading an aura of mysterious power. But in the end he’s just some guy, not that threatening in the flesh.

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo: disillusioned with the failing New Republic and Luke’s refusal to get the Jedi involved, he joins Snoke and becomes his hit man.

The story that Johnson was telling in Last Jedi seemed to be about the failure of the Rebellion’s heroes to actually chan he the world. This is because, as individuals, they are just Some Guy. The set ups of these characters for right into that. The heroes are all burn-outs, and people want new ones to follow, but that isn’t going to help. So an authoritarian like Snoke can come in and offer security, and Kylo/Ben can find that appealing. Luke can become an old doomer and Han can vanish and Leia can keep fighting a losing battle.

At the same time, a new Jedi can emerge who wants to know where she’s from, but the truth is she’s from nowhere, she’s just Some Guy. This is her traumatic revelation, her ‘I am your father’ moment. But instead of reconciling a family connection being at the core of things, it’s accepting that there’s nothing special except your very existence. We can see this kind of theming at the end of Last Jedi with the kid moving the broom with the force.

Finn’s whole thing is that he’s also just Some Guy, the ultimate Some Guy really, anonymised into a white suit. But then he reveals that Some Guy can inspire the other Some Guys, and do a stormtrooper revolution or just be an inspiration by his sheer ordinariness.

Poe thinks he’s hot shit, but thinking that fucks up a lot of stuff in Last Jedi, but this arc wasn’t really continued. He’s gotta learn to put his skills at the service of Some Guy, acknowledge that he’s really really good at one thing (flying) but that doesn’t mean that he is or has to be good at others (decision-making).

Where the OT was about figuring out how to fight fascists and imperialists against overwhelming odds and how underdogs can and do win against sheer force and the Prequels we’re about liberal complacency and bureaucratic inaction and the loss of spiritual insight that comes with belief in one’s immortality, this hypothetical trilogy would be about the falsity of heroes, the necessity of collective action and the need to provide life for people, not just images. In shorter terms, the OT is about the Vietnam War and the obliteration the US wanted to visit on that country, the Prequels are about End of History 90s liberalism and it’s uselessness, and the Rian Johnson Trilogy would be about the co option of societal discontent by fascists.

Glass Onion in particular demonstrates that Johnson has a real solid grasp of what makes the current cultural moment what it is, with its rhetoric of disrupting the system as a front for basically just getting as much money and authoritarian power as possible. It’s the easy form of security, and I think Star Wars is a great vehicle to demonstrate other forms of life than hiding behind the walls of your gated community. Anyway, glad those thoughts are out of my head now!

[tljisthegoat]

Lightsaber twirls are just sooo satisfying. Such good eye candy. Can you imagine dual lightsaber Rey with her new lightsaber & Kylo Ren's lightsaber 🥵

She could have her old TLJ hairstyle back (which NEVER should've changed!!!)

Have a mix of her old TLJ outfit & Kylo Ren's outfit because that would look perfect on sooo many levels. Have her go to everywhere Ben has been because of their DYAD connection being so powerful. Have her mourn in solitude but keep putting on a brave face for The Rebellion & The New Republic until she decides it'd be better to abandon a cause she doesn't believe in.

She'll make enemies out of even the most loyal of her friends like Finn, who wouldn't think bringing back Ben at all is a good idea despite him wanting Rey to be okay.

She'll make unexpected allies, like Rose (who'd be her biggest cheerleader), Ahsoka Tano (you know Dave Filoni will find a way to have them meet), and Kreia. Who would be more questionable in terms of morality. Like The Illusive Man in Mass Effect 2.

I'd love to see her make Vader's castle on Mustafar, her secret hideout when she turns to the dark side. I'd also love to see her make Naboo, her permanent home to get away from everything with Ben when all the fighting is over.

She'd take very good care of The Millennium Falcon & make sure to keep Kylo Ren's saber in the best condition possible with her scavenger knowledge. She'd make sure Ben has a beautiful home to come back to.

I'd love to see her be playful & vicious when she's using the dark side. She'd love overpowering her enemies like Kylo Ren. Stabbing them in the chest & hitting them with lightning if she's feeling like making a statement.

Her fighting style would be a mix of Kylo & her own. She'd also use her blaster alot more.

She'd replace her staff with another blaster so she can dual wield both her blasters & lightsabers for the best weapon coverage.

She'd definitely become more interested in learning about The Force & Kreia would be the best Force user that I could believe still lives on in The Sequel Trilogy.

Thrawn definitely seems like he could be a good endgame villain especially if we get to see Reylo vs Thrawn.

Imagine if we got Dark Rey & Ben Solo vs The Rebellion & Thrawn?

Like Dark Rey is fighting The Rebellion while trying to get to Ben Solo who's escaping Thrawn's new empire?

What if Mara Jade comes back into canon to help Rey because she hears that Rey is Luke's padawan?

I'd definitely have Rey assemble a new crew for the sole purpose of bringing back Ben & protecting the galaxy. Like Mass Effect 2 but Star Wars. Now I'm just thinking of a game that would let you play as Dark Rey lol

Anyways, Rey has unlimited potential going forward as long as she's handled correctly.

Rian Johnson should definitely get a chance to make a Reylo show on Disney+

[gffa]

THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY FASCINATING TO ME, because it’s something I think is a huge influence in the way we look at a story--bad faith interpretations. I could sit here and make a case about how Ahsoka says, “In my life, when you find people who need your help, you help them, no matter what.” and point out that she sees the slaves on Kessel and walks right by them, not a single thought for helping them, even though she very much could have. She has physical abilities that could have helped them, even without a lightsaber, she could have broken their restraints, she could have hidden them on the ship and taken off with them.  Yet she never even tries, she just says, yeah, you’d think the Republic would shut this down if they were slaves.  And then keeps on walking. Or with Maul, who is clearly in pain and suffering, she must see it when he screams in terror to JUST LET ME DIE!, yet she never tries to reach out to him.  Even on the cruiser later, she only uses him as a distraction, refuses to give him a fighting chance because “she’s not rooting for him”, that she basically intends use his death for her own escape chance. This is even a parallel to Maul himself, the way he uses the Mandalorians.  “Because Maul—look, he had an Alliance with the Mandalorians and Gar Saxon and he says, ‘Die well.’ Basically, ‘I’ve used you.’  [’You’ve served your purpose.’]  Exactly.  That’s Palpatine, right, when he’s willing to trade out Vader for Luke. It really simply breaks down the dark side of the Force. For me, it’s in you and your actions when you’re afraid, and when you do things to service yourself above other people, and when you have a lack of compassion. ”  --Dave Filoni It is very easy to reach the conclusion that, the way Ahsoka uses Maul, the way he serves her purpose, is her using him, which even Dave himself ties to Palpatine’s tactics, to the dark side, to selfishness, to a lack of compassion. So, why aren’t we jumping on Ahsoka for this?  Why do we cheer her on when she basically says, “Die, bitch.” to Maul?  Why do we feel her frustration and indignation when she sees the slaves on Kessel and does nothing about it?  Why do we feel empathy for her when she refuses to listen to Maul about how Anakin is going to turn, when she could have done something about it?  Why are we sympathetic to her when she doesn’t tell anyone else about what Maul said, even though she was clearly thinking about it during her conversation with the Jedi Council?  Why are we sympathetic to her when she tells Obi-Wan that the people of Coruscant don’t need protection when Dooku and Grievous are attacking, despite what we know they’ve done to other planets, like Mon Cala and Kiros and Ryloth and more? It’s because we understand that Ahsoka doesn’t have to be literally flawless to be sympathetic. Because we understand that she feels torn in other directions, that she’s presented with Shitty Choice A and Shitty Choice B, that she feels her hands are tied, that she realizes that she can’t go rogue in this galaxy because she wouldn’t have the support necessary, that systemic change is the root of the problem/solution and she has almost no power to affect that. We understand that she’s coming from a place of sympathy and we give her the benefit of looking at a situation through her eyes and the choices and limited amount of options before her. And that’s precisely what I argue should be done for the Jedi Order, in the same exact vein.  Why did they join the war?  Why did they have legitimate reason to believe Ahsoka could be guilty?  Why didn’t they go full vigilante against the entire Republic and Separatists?  Why didn’t they have the power and authority that we assume they had? I’ve made a case about bad faith arguments in Star Wars before, how we could do the exact same thing to Din Djarin and Naboo, but we don’t.  How Naboo could be The Most Problematique, if you wanted to make that case in bad faith. And, hey, another example: “Now that they're in galactic obscurity, the Naboo are romanticized, defied. But if you strip away the myth and look at their deeds, the legacy of the Naboo is failure. Hypocrisy, hubris.   At the height of their influence, they allowed Sheev Palpatine to rise to power, to become the Chancellor, to create the Empire, and nearly wipe them out [in Operation Cinder]. It was a Naboo who was responsible for the raising and creation of Darth Sidious.” HOW MUCH OF A HOT TAKE IS THAT?  IT’S OBVIOUSLY BATSHIT. (And, let’s be clear, even Rian Johnson said of Luke’s reasoning in that scene:  "And the truth is, it’s a personal failure.  It’s not religion[’s fault], it’s his own human nature that’s betrayed [Luke].”) So, if we recognize that it’s a batshit take to say Naboo was responsible for the creation of Darth Sidious, that we can recognize that it was Palpatine’s own actions and choices that led to his creation, it stands to reason that we should be willing to extend the exact same logic to the Jedi Order and that, no, they did not create Darth Vader.  The only person that created Vader was Anakin Skywalker himself.

[bluntblade]

Getting to the good stuff in Clone Wars and I can’t help but think...

...that man, if Episode IX had left any real timeskip between VIII and itself and allowed Rey, Finn and Poe to keep growing in between films, we’d have room for a show like this set in the timeskip. 

I know this is my 100th TRoS grizzle on here but hey, I guess I’m committed at this point! And honestly, it just baffles me that we didn’t get something along these lines because it feels like a slam-dunk, at least in business terms. 

They could have just handed it to Dave Filoni (who seems able to jive with just about any era of Star Wars and notably was swapping ideas with Rian Johnson while TLJ was in the works, incorporating a nod to that film in The Clone Wars’ final series). It makes so much sense to me as a money-maker that it staggers me they didn’t do this. Did the Mouse’s franchising instincts break down here?

But the main frustration for me is that I can think of so many story possibilities set during this time. Finn and Poe have gone through some struggles to find a place in the Resistance and grow into a command role, and we could see that paid off as they take on new challenges. Supported by Rey and Rose, you could have them go on a bunch of missions to rebuild the Resistance and begin the fight against the First Order anew.

Without Luke to mentor her, Rey needs to find understanding of the Force in other corners and that could give us a window into the Order of the Whills, the Church of the Force and other such societies. Kylo Ren can likewise be seeking greater power, and that could make for a tour of the Star Wars canon’s most evil places. Just imagine if the glimpse of Kylo on Mustafar had got to be a full episode’s journey, and taken us to, say, Vader’s old fortress like in that concept art.

On the lighter side, it also would’ve been cool to watch Rey settle into the Resistance and find some belonging for the first time. Particularly if it means bringing back Jess Pava and Black Squadron, amping up Kaydel Ko Connix’s role, etc.

Added to that, we can finally get a view of the wider conflict. We could have a peek behind the First Order’s lines as Kylo Ren gets to grips with the regime he’s now heading. Let’s see the industrial base which Snoke carved out in the Unknown Regions to feed their war machine, the brutality with which they’ve seized the free worlds of the Republic and the precariousness of their rule, which they’re so desperate to cover up with a said brutality.

And, most importantly, Kylo and Hux simmering away with politely murderous mutual hatred for years on end.

P.S. I have been scribbling a bunch of fics set during my headcanon timeskip, and have come across a few others, which I’ve added to my headcanon. If anyone’s got other fics of this sort which they’d recommend, I’d love to see them.

[violethowler]

A Farewell To The Clone Wars

Yesterday was the end of an era

After 11 years and 104 days

After a theatrical movie, a novel, a comic miniseries, 8 incomplete story reels, and 133 episodes

After 49 hours and 12 minutes of incredible, heartbreaking, beautifully animated television….

Ended, The Clone Wars have.

I watched all of the existing Star Wars movies on DVD when I was a kid, but I was never particularly enamored with them the way that others are. And then in August 2008, I went to the local movie theater with my grandmother to see an animated movie that – while I didn’t know it at the time – would chart the course of my future for years to come.

While a lot of the general Star Wars fandom looks down on the theatrical Clone Wars movie as weak and lackluster, 11-year-old me loved every minute of it. I’ve been obsessed with animation my entire life, and around 2 years before the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I had just begun to explore the world of animation outside of my childhood Disney bubble, diving headfirst into SpongeBob and Avatar and Codename Kids Next Door. Whenever I saw commercials for an animated movie playing in theaters I would beg my family to take me to see it. It didn’t matter what the movie was actually about, all that mattered was that it was animated and I thought it looked fun.

So, when I saw Star Wars: The Clone Wars in theaters with my sister and my grandmother, I loved it. I enjoyed the movie so much that when I learned there was going to be a TV show following the movie, I was ecstatic. From the moment that the first episodes of Season 1 aired on Cartoon Network a few months later, I was hooked. From the very beginning I refused to miss a single episode. From middle school all the way through high school The Clone Wars became the axis around which almost all of my entertainment consumption revolved.

I started reading more Star Wars books and comics from all over the timeline. The Thrawn trilogy. Darth Bane. Fate of the Jedi. The Old Republic. Lost Tribe of the Sith. I devoured every piece of Star Wars media I could find as this show awakened in me an appetite for all things Star Wars. Whenever my parents asked for gift ideas for my birthday or Christmas, at the top of my list would be the latest season of The Clone Wars on DVD. Every summer I trawled the internet looking for news from Star Wars Celebration or San Diego Comic Con about the next season – trailers, clips, plot details, whatever I could find.

When the show was initially cancelled following the purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney, I was devastated. This show had such a staple of my life that the idea that it wasn’t going to be coming back hurt. As I started looking around at online Star Wars fandom to find someone, anyone, who felt the same way that I did, I discovered #SaveTheCloneWars, and joined the campaign. Through that first year after the plug was pulled, I wrote to Disney asking them to continue the show. I signed fan petitions and made posts on Facebook. It was my first real engagement with the wider online fandom.

Then came The Lost Missions and the Clone Wars Legacy releases – Crystal Crisis, Son of Dathomir, Dark Disciple… Having more Clone Wars stories helped soften the pain of the show’s loss, but the story still felt incomplete. Hearing about future arcs that had been planned for the show only added to the sense of incompleteness, knowing that there were more stories we didn’t get to see. When rumors had begun circulating about an animated Star Wars show set post-Clone Wars, resolving unanswered questions of The Clone Wars was at the top of my wish list for a future Star Wars show.

When Rebels was announced I was cautiously optimistic. I didn’t want to get attached to a new set of characters when the loss of Ahsoka and Rex and my other Clone Wars favorites still felt so raw. After Dave Filoni and the production crew of Rebels posted videos introducing the crew of the Ghost and the core cast of Rebels I reluctantly became more interested, I still was cautious about investing my time in this new show out of fear that it too would be ripped away from me without a proper conclusion just like The Clone Wars was.

So, when the final episode of Rebels’ first season confirmed that the mysterious Fulcrum was none other than Ahsoka Tano I was out of my seat cheering. There were still questions I needed answered about what happened to her after she left the Jedi Order, but the fact that she was there, back on my TV screen once more, was a relief. And when I watched the first trailer for Season 2 a month later, the words “My name is Rex,” made me scream and cry. I was overcome with tears of joy knowing that not only would my favorite Jedi be appearing in Rebels but my favorite Clone Trooper as well.

By the time Rebels’ first season had ended, I was getting ready to graduate from high school and planning where I would go to college in the fall. Taking art electives in high school, particularly a computer art class during the airing of Season 5, made me appreciate just how beautiful the show’s art style was, and when the time came for me to plan where I wanted to go to college, I chose schools that had programs for animation. I had originally wanted to be a game designer because of Kingdom Hearts, but The Clone Wars made me realize that the passion I truly wanted to make a career out of was animation.

I continued to follow Rebels as I went off to college, and by the end of Season 3 – with Maul dead for good, Ahsoka MIA, and Rex and Hondo as the only major Clone Wars characters left on the show – I had gotten attached to the Rebels characters as well. I was just as invested in their fates as I was for those of Clone Wars characters like Rex and Hondo. Season 4 finished airing at the end of my junior year, and the knowledge in the final five episodes that Ahsoka had not only survived her confrontation with Anakin at the end of Season 2 but that she was still alive years after the events of the original trilogy had me crying tears of joy as I went to sleep.

The trailer announcing the return of The Clone Wars had me in tears for hours. Long had I been dreaming of the remaining stories of this show being released in some form. I would have been content with more novels and comics like Son of Dathomir and Dark Disciple, but to have the show return in animated form was a miracle I had given up hope for years ago.

But within the last twelve months, my interest in Star Wars cooled.

I was never the biggest fan of the movies. Revenge of the Sith was my favorite because in the absence of a proper conclusion it functioned as a de facto finale to The Clone Wars. I enjoyed the original trilogy, but they weren’t movies I considered my favorites. I saw The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi in theaters and cried on my first viewing of both films, but on repeat viewings the magic of them faded and I lost interest. While I could understand why other fans liked them, there was a spark that was missing from most of the movies released under Disney that prevented them from really having any staying power for me.

And then The Rise of Skywalker came out and completely shattered any expectations I had that Disney really knew what they were doing with the franchise. Where before I was willing to trust that there actually was a plan because of how precisely Rey and Ben Solo’s arc followed the path of the Heroine’s Journey across The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, now I realize that what I initially believed to have been a carefully planned narrative arc was most likely JJ Abrams planning to set up a conventional Hero’s Journey which Rian Johnson used to try and tell a Heroine’s Journey instead. And even if there was a plan for Rey and Ben Solo that got screwed around by behind the scenes conflicts, there was clearly no plan as far as Poe and Finn and Rose were concerned.

For months after this, I started questioning and doubting my love of all the canon Star Wars media. How could I enjoy anything in the Original and Prequel trilogy eras knowing that all the hard work of dismantling Palpatine’s empire would be undone in order to rehash the same plotline with new characters and no concern given for whether the audience could follow what was happening or why these events and character decisions mattered if they hadn’t read every comic and novel and played every video game connected to this era.

Since the last trailer for the final season of The Clone Wars went up on YouTube, I vacillated between enthusiastically sticking to the shows I loved regardless of my problems with the film saga, and abandoning the franchise altogether and gifting my Clone Wars and Rebels Blu-Ray sets and associated novels to my college friend who had just gotten into Star Wars.

And then ‘The Phantom Apprentice’ Happened.

Ahsoka and Maul’s two-part duel in the throne room and the rafters of Sundari reminded me of everything I loved about The Clone Wars in the first place. The animation. The art style. The music. The attention to detail on every character and in every detail. The tragedy of what was to come. On my third re-watch of the third-to-last episode of Season 7, that was when I realized that despite my problems with the Sequel Trilogy, despite the many flaws in the writing of the Prequel movies, I could never give up on The Clone Wars, or on Rebels. These two shows have meant too much for me to ever walk away from either of them.

I have cried at least ten times in the last five days watching the final two episodes of The Clone Wars. The final of this incredible series was such a gut punch even though I knew what was coming and who would survive. I had and saw so many ideas about what the last episode would include. Would their be a montage of all the Jedi who survived Order 66 as a mirror of the death montage in Episode III? Would Ahsoka and Rex receive Obi-Wan’s recorded message from Rebels warning surviving Jedi to stay away from the temple?

But in the end, none of those things happened. The focus of the episode remained on Ahsoka and Rex. Their escape from the ship. The tragedy of their inability to save the other clones. And ending with a shot of Vader finding the ship some time later, all these symbols of the Republic buried beneath the winds of time as the empire rises. It was bleak and depressing and when the credits rolled I was holding back tears. But looking back on the entire series and the era of the war, knowing what was coming, there was no other way I could have expected it to end. The audience already knows that this is not the end, but Ahsoka and Rex don’t know that, and so the finale of The Clone Wars reflects this. The pain and despair. The tragedy and confusion over what will happen next. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Despite all the movies I’ve watched; the comics and novels I’ve read; the video games I’ve played; very few things in Star Wars canon or Legends have been able to match the magic of The Clone Wars in my heart. I have never truly been a Star Wars fan so much as I have been a Clone Wars and Rebels fan. The novels and comics and movies I enjoy are an extension of my love for the shows, but the shows will always come first. The characters these shows introduced have stuck with me more than any characters from the movies ever has. Clone Wars made me love Anakin and Obi-Wan and Padme and Yoda, but to me, my Star Wars favorites have always been Ahsoka, Maul, Rex, Ventress, Fives, Hera, Zeb, Thrawn, Sabine, and all the rest.

So, I just wanted to say thank you to Dave Filoni, Ashley Eckstein, Matt Lanter, Catherine Taber, James Arnold Taylor, Sam Whitwer, Nika Futterman, Dee Bradley Baker, as well as every single person involved in bringing this show to live for all the hard work and passion you have poured into this series. Your work on this show shaped the person I am today, and I look forward to seeing what you do next.

May the Force Be With You.

[attackofthespaceturtles]

So I follow Jenny Nicholson on Patreon and she recently released a commentary track for Solo. This is the first time I have rewatched Solo since it was in theaters and ... yikes. I think this is the first Star Wars movie I can call truly bad. Like, some of the other ones are severely flawed (Attack of the Clones, I’m looking at you) but at the end of the day at least they added something new to the franchise? Solo does not. It’s a jumbled mess of a film that should never have been made. There’s so much tonal whiplash, the character arc is pointless, and it’s just overall joyless. Would it have been better if Lord and Miller had stayed? Most definitely. The biggest problem with the new Star Wars films and the reason I am worried about the future of the franchise is that Disney is so damn controlling. Everything feels so studio-mandated. I think it says a lot that they have lost FOUR directors over the course of numerous projects. They’re obviously hard to work with. Like, at least the Marvel movies have Kevin Feige helping to give them a direction. Say what you will about Infinity War/Endgame, but I totally believe that those films were planned in depth since like 2013. I read a behind the scenes book about Force Awakens that mentioned how rushed production was and how a lot of it was just kind of thrown together as they went along, and you can tell. I like that film a lot and I think the new cast is stellar, but it definitely plays it safe.

I miss Star Wars being weird. Clone Wars will always be my favorite part of the franchise particularly because how strange and out there it could get. It didn’t always work (did we really need a four episode ark about a bunch of droids and a small frog man?) but when it did, it was outstanding. I miss when Star Wars took risks. Rian Johnson gets it. It’s a shame he couldn’t have directed the entirety of the new trilogy. I think he would have had a chance to plan a little more thoroughly and take things in a very interesting and subversive direction. I hope that his own trilogy turns out well and that Disney doesn’t scare off yet another director by being too controlling.

I don’t really have much of a stake in the Star Wars game anymore aside from my everlasting fondness for Clone Wars, but those are my 2 cents. I hope that Disney backs off and lets directors do their thing. Or, alternatively, hire Dave Filoni as a supervisor like Kevin Feige does for Marvel. That man knows Star Wars better than anyone aside from George Lucas himself. Apparently they learned their lesson with Solo. I hope they lay off of releasing so many films and take more time to actually plan what they’re going to do moving forward.

[benperorsolo]

how do you think they’ll go about bendemption? i want it to happen a lot but i’m at a loss about how they’ll win over the audience, it seems such long odds rn

I guarantee you it’s not really very long odds. Regardless of audience reaction (and tumblr is an echo chamber of antis– people irl seem way more receptive to redemption, or at least neutral), the actual narrative structure of the story makes it frankly hard to imagine how they would responsibly tell a story that keeps Star Wars’ integrity and not do it. 

Also please consider this direct quote from Rian Johnson after TLJ:  

“Are you kidding? Vader was worse than Kylo ever was, I think, and Vader got redeemed.” (x)

So if you’re worried about the creators being afraid to go there, a) they already did with Vader, and b) they’re really not afraid to do it again.

Re: winning over an audience, I’d say they’ve already played most of their cards in TLJ. A basic screenwriting premise is that a story progresses by going through value changes– positive to negative, negative to positive, etc. (Yes, I am stealing this from Robert McKee’s screenwriting book Story.) This prevents scenes from existing with no purpose. For a story like Star Wars, which is not a tragedy or an exercise in nihilism, you don’t introduce value-changing elements into the story for them to come to nothing. At the beginning of TLJ, Rey hates Ben. The audience also hates him. If the story intended for this audience hatred and their perception of his irredeemable evil to begin and end the story, then there was absolutely no reason for TLJ to do anything it did to make Ben sympathetic or even tease his capacity to be a good man. That was already their bid to win over the audience.

Rian echoed this opinion in an interview he gave before TLJ:

“But I don’t think it’s very interesting if the whole story is just ‘Will Kylo get his comeuppance?’ He’s a more complicated character than that and I think he deserves a more complicated story than that. I don’t see the point of trying to get behind his mask and learn more about him if all we’re going to learn is ‘Yeah, he’s just an evil bad guy that needs to be killed.’” (x)

So basically: the elements that TLJ introduced– of Ben having too much of his father’s heart in him, ’Where’s Han?’/immediate cut to Ben, of Ben never really being gone, of Rey having a future with him, of Ben turning, of Ben representing ‘our last hope’, of his real name being spoken by multiple characters thirteen entire times– will come to fruition in some way or another. Otherwise there was no point to introduce them. (Also I would like to note that LF threw cultural heroic icon Luke Skywalker under the bus so that Ben could have a woobie villain origin story. I personally would never sacrifice Luke Skywalker’s pop culture integrity like this for just any random villain who was going to die evil, because…did you see the reaction already?)

From the beginning these details represented narrative promises. It would be a waste of everyone’s time to introduce a villain, have everyone hate him and expect him to continue to be evil, go ‘Wait! He could still be a good guy! His family still loves him! And Rey wants him to come to the light!’ and then go, ‘Double sike! He’s exactly as evil as you thought he was in minute one!!’ What would even be the point. Why did I even continue watching the story after the first five minutes of TFA. The only reason these lines are in doubt is because the movie cleverly didn’t bring them to fruition immediately. What I’m saying in my long-winded way is that this really isn’t a long shot.

So when it comes to audiences accepting Ben’s redemption, I’d say it’s going to be a hard sell for people whose perceptions were not at all changed by TLJ, because TLJ put a lot of effort into changing them. But I think most likely, we’ll have a couple basic things, which are that Ben will not lead the FO during the final charge or even for the majority of the movie, and that he will commit some sort of life-endangering, selfless sacrifice for Rey or the Resistance that almost gets him killed (or does, before he’s resurrected). The ultimate selfless act is laying down your life for others, and that’s what I imagine Ben will have to do, and it’s probably the one thing that audiences will accept besides just having Ben lay down and die– which they won’t do. (It also helps that LF writer Dave Filoni describes the difference of the Dark versus the Light as one of selfishness versus selflessness.)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES EPISODE 10: THE FUTURE OF STAR WARS POST-RISE OF SKYWALKER

(A tricky episode of 12 DAYS OF STAR WARS where I directly talk about the effects of The Rise of Skywalker on Star Wars fandom without talking about the movie itself saving it all for the big SPOILER review finale on Christmas Eve with an epilogue on Christmas Day)

**This is an extremely opinionated episode that I hope does not alienate anyone** So sorry if it does, for those who love the prequels I respect you all. It just wasn’t my thing*

Rise of Skywalker is in reality, ultimately... it’s just a movie. I will not say what I thought about it, whether it was good or bad or mediocre or whatever. I am saving it for the grand finale of 12 DAYS OF STAR WARS and I allow those who have been keeping up with the holiday spirit of 12 DAYS OF STAR WARS to play a guessing game as to whether people think ‘I liked it’ or if ‘I didn’t like it’ I am a guy with opinions on certain things and I don’t like that we live in an age where people have become so divisive over just simply having different opinions. I personally took a break from Star Wars when I was young because the Prequels gave me an obnoxious headache and I didn’t like everything that's Star Wars related when I was younger and didn’t know how to deal with my feelings because I thought as a fan you were supposed to like everything and I thought at the time ‘what if I don’t what if I become ridiculed and bullied or called Not a true fan’. As a child watching Star Wars and when it came to having different opinions on certain things ultimately I discovered was totally normal. I can love Star Wars and I can love the original films, Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars, Legacy, The Mandalorian but I don’t have to like Attack of The Clones for example. You can like or dislike whatever you want and can express your opinion only as long as you are respectful of other people and their beliefs you are allowed to be a fan of whatever you want to be a fan of. It is important to state the facts as to why you feel the way you feel and call it the way you see it without being rude or hypocritical and belittling people. What all of us fans of Star Wars have in common is we love Star Wars and want to see an exciting vibrant future of the franchise we all know and love.

I feel Star Wars should ultimately make the jump to television a la MCU moving to the binge-model for Disney +. Mainly because you have so much time on television than you in film, the entire Star Wars cinematic franchise honestly should only continue on-screen in the format of great prestige binge-streaming television. Even though it destroys the once-in-a-lifetime special experience of seeing a Star Wars film in theaters, it ultimately instead ultimately provides a richer story with deep nuance where you can have more time to delve deep into the characters, their relationships and motivations. With the mainline saga films ending I hope Star Wars takes the jump to strictly television as they have been having tremendous success with Clone Wars, Rebels, The Mandalorian and potentially more shows. In a previous episode of 12 Days of Star Wars I talked about directors/writers I would love to see direct a film or develop/showrun a TV show set in the Star Wars universe and I think it would be awesome for Disney + to bring people like Drew Goddard, Ryan Coogler, Todd Philips, in to make brilliant television and craft brilliant stories set in a galaxy far, far away with the help of folks who get Star Wars like Dave Filoni (who should from the beginning have been involved with the Sequel Trilogy).

There are so many cool ideas in Star Wars that could be fleshed out and made interesting that end up being almost stale in certain films. For example the idea of an Atlantic City casino in the Star Wars universe is a cool idea but ultimately in The Last Jedi the Canto Bight scenes were in my opinion the most boring parts of the entire film. Ultimately, you need people who can execute these cool and interesting ideas and that was a large part of what the last couple of episodes have been about. I’m NOT saying JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson are incompetant directors/writers and can’t execute a story, that’s completely false, they are two of some of the most talented directors in the industry who I love dearly. I don’t love everything they do but they both have done great projects in the past. Ultimately I feel Star Wars needs a larger canvas to tell it’s stories and I think television is the perfect place.

Even though The Rise of Skywalker is just a movie, Star Wars altogether is more than just a movie. It’s a cultural touchstone/phenomenon that matters to millions of us, all for different reasons, individually and we are all entitled to our own opinions and for all of its flaws, we all love Star Wars. That should continue to never end our love for this rich galaxy far, far away and we don’t need toxic fandoms or haters/trolls on the internet telling you to think how they should. As the Star Wars fan community we should end this divisiveness and just have respect for eachother. In America, we have sadly become such a politically charged/divided country where if you don’t agree with someone else you are in a way ridiculed for it and that ultimately goes on both sides of the political spectrum. Over the last couple of years there has been a toxic fandom in the Star Wars fan community dubbed "The Fandom Menace". Who are fans who are extremely unhappy with the current state of the Star Wars franchise who constantly give out increased attacks and the increased negativity about upcoming Star Wars projects. Who bully and harass fans across the internet and it is my own mission as a writer and also as a genuine human being to end this culture of extreme negativity.

Ultimately, with whatever your opinions on the state of Star Wars are, I respect you but ultimately you should NOT harass other people and force them to think the way you do. Everyone is different and thinks about things differently. Objectively and subjectively and no one should ruin another person’s enjoyment of something.

Please for the love of this franchise, let’s end the divisiveness, embrace others and be actual human beings and be friends have conversations and dig deep into the ‘why’ you feel the way you feel and respect why others feel the way that they feel. Remember, everyone we all love Star Wars. We all should have something to bond over. And my last thing I’ll say is (this is just my opinion) Han always shot first.

“For every ending there is a new beginning...”

-LilBitWriter (12/22/19)

[apocalypticmovierp]

‘Star Wars’: Dave Filoni Shadowed JJ Abrams & Rian Johnson To Help Him Learn Live-Action Directing

Of the five “Star Wars” films that have been made since Lucasfilm was taken over by Disney, only 4 directors have been credited (Ron Howard, JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Gareth Edwards). However, when you look at the filmmakers that have been associated with “Star Wars” films, there are 5 more names that could be added to the list of directors brought on by Kathleen Kennedy but didn’t get credit for one reason or another (Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Josh Trank, Colin Trevorrow, and Tony Gilroy).

Continue reading ‘Star Wars’: Dave Filoni Shadowed JJ Abrams & Rian Johnson To Help Him Learn Live-Action Directing at The Playlist.

want watch movies online from The Playlist https://ift.tt/2toZRP8 by via watch movies online via IFTTT

[talkingstarwars]

Let's talk about Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker. Jedi, son, pilot, rebel- now, he's a hermit living on space Hawaii. Exiled, tortured by guilt, we last left our hero moping, literally with nothing to say. Until now. If you're like me, you've watched The Last Jedi trailer north of 40 times. Upon initial viewing, you were left with your jaw hanging open at the line "I only know one truth; the Jedi must end." Then you rewatched it multiple times trying to see if you missed something. (And you've had the time to do so because there is a 99% that you weren't at Star Wars Celebration. I feel your pain.) What does this mean for Luke? What does this mean for Rey? What doe this mean for the future of the Jedi Order? First off, I don't think people should be freaking out as much as they had been at the prospect of the Jedi "ending". Why? Because they won't be. Luke has seen some serious shit. His aunt and uncle were killed, and he saw their burned bodies in front of him. He lost many of his good friends in the fight against the Empire. Both of his mentors died right before his eyes. He found out his dad was a space Nazi. He turned his dad back to the Light side, and subsequently lost him (because, you know, he died.) Then, to make matters worse, he rebuilt the entire Jedi order up from scratch only to have it destroyed by his psychopathic nephew. The same nephew that would later kill Han Solo. So yeah, I guess you could say that the nephew was just icing on the cake. Everything he rebuilt; gone, at the hands of his kin. I guess you could say Luke is a little bummed out right now. Let's think about it for a second; Luke has spent all this time studying the Jedi. He's smart enough to realize the fact that it didn't really work...ever. In all honesty, most of the Jedi in the prequels are the WORST. They sat on their butts all day while occasionally sending Obi Wan and Anakin out to do shit! They couldn't see the darkness growing right under their noses. (Whoa, the Sith we've been looking for is the creepy old guy who happens to know a bunch of Sith legends, has everything fabricated a little too perfectly, and all of the magical space wizards sense something off about him? WOW, WHAT A TWIST! Seriously, if you haven't done any of the "homework" like watching the animated TV show The Clone Wars or read anything on that time period, you'd think the Jedi are seriously horrible at their job, for the most part.) After all, it was partially the strict rules of the Jedi that drove Anakin to the dark. The whole "forbidden to love" rule is BS and Luke knows it; it was love that saved Leia on Bespin, Han at Jabba's palace, and it was love that brought Vader back to the Light. In fact, love- sometimes even romantic love- is integral to being a Jedi. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The advantage of Luke building his own Jedi Order is that he doesn't have to adopt the rules or practices of the old Jedi. But even then, of course, he still lost everything. Ben Solo fell to the Dark Side. So, in Luke's eyes, there must have been something inherently wrong with his system as well. Luke blamed himself for the fall of his nephew, when it wasn't really all his fault. We don't have enough information to analyze the fall of Ben Solo and his transformation into Kylo Ren, but what we do know is that there are plenty of people to blame and Luke isn't the /main/ cause. Still, Luke feels responsible. So, if we see through Luke's eyes; the idea and practice of the Jedi Order always fails. Why continue it if, even when it changes, it all goes up in flames? Now we come to Rey. She's gotten to her hero. He's standing on a rocky ledge (saying nothing) and all of a sudden, when he finally does start to speak, he doesn't want to make you a Jedi. Not exactly the encounter she was hoping for. We know from the trailer that Luke does begin to train Rey. But...how? The most popular theory is that he's teaching more of the "Grey Jedi" path. Maybe, but the director of the film (Rian Johnson) said there was no such thing as a Grey Jedi? Which contradicts the fact that there are canon "Grey Jedi" like Qui Gon and Ashoka (who will get her own live action solo film directed by Dave Filoni, I'm calling it now.) That theory is all well and good, and is backed up by the appearance of what is believed to be the grey Jedi symbol. I can see Rey fitting that ideology. However, I think that a more obvious conclusion can be drawn. That line about the Jedi needing to end comes along very early in the film, after another one of Rey's force visions but before she gets any sort of training. The vision (which is hinted at in the trailer) convinces her that the path of the Jedi is right for her even though it might be tough, but it's the only way to beat the First Order. However, she of course needs Luke's help to take 'em down. So, she convinces Luke that it's time for the Jedi to make a glorious comeback (again) and that it's not time for the Jedi to end. They are the last Jedi (plural), for now.... And, you know, what's more marketable than a Jedi? Why the heck would Lucasfilm/Disney want to change that? The Jedi aren't going away; they may be changing some more, but they aren't leaving. So, those are my ramblings. I love the teaser trailer. I'm excited for December. I'm sure another trailer will come along and make me change my theories all together, but hey, it's more Star Wars!

[marcuserrico]

'Star Wars' Celebration Weekend: Your 2-Minute Recap

Orlando was the epicenter of the Star Wars universe last week, with species from ports near and far congregating to celebrate the franchise. Even for the most ardent aficionados, navigating event as epic as Star Wars Celebration Orlando can be daunting, but fear not, Yahoo Movies has you covered: Watch our quick highlight reel of the fan fest’s biggest moments above.

The four-day party kicked off with a 40th anniversary panel, which featured franchise stars Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Warwick Davis, Ian McDiarmid, and Hayden Christensen (returning to Celebration after more than a decade away), along with two unbilled surprise guests: saga mastermind George Lucas and, making his first appearance at a Celebration, Harrison Ford. The panel ended with a lovely tribute to Carrie Fisher and a live orchestral performance of the Star Wars soundtrack’s greatest hits led by composer John Williams.

While Day 1 looked back at history, Day 2 focused on what’s ahead: The Last Jedi panel re-introduced the heroes of The Force Awakens alongside Hamill (Luke speaks!), newcomer Kelly Marie Tran, and writer-director Rian Johnson, who topped it all off by introducing the first trailer for the upcoming sequel. Afterwards, whole crew spoke to Yahoo Movies to help break down the preview.

Saturday began with a sneak peek at the fourth — and final — season of Star Wars Rebels. Creator Dave Filoni delighted fans at the panel first by wearing an “Ahsoka Lives!” T-shirt — and then by screening the first episode months ahead of its debut on Disney XD. Other big Day 3 panels included the first look at EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II video game and a Disney/Lucasfilm update on the Star Wars Land coming to theme parks in 2019.

The festival wrapped on Sunday with a closing ceremony that gathered hundreds of cosplayers to bid farewell to each other — and start the countdown to 2018’s Celebration.

Read more from Yahoo Movies:

Last Jedi Cast Just as Shocked as You by Luke’s ‘Time for the Jedi to End’ Line (Exclusive)

Lyin’ Luke Skywalker: Mark Hamill Explains Why He Leaks Fake Spoilers

Rian Johnson Explains Weird New Planet in Last Jedi Trailer

Star Wars Celebration: See Leia Cosplayers Salute Their Princess

[jillmckenzie1]

Critic & Son – Star Wars Edition

You shouldn’t expect your kids to be into the same things you are. It certainly wasn’t the case with my father and me. Bill was a World War II veteran, a lover of big band music, and a guy with the kind of effortless charisma that made him likable to everyone he came across.* He was also a casual moviegoer. I remember him laughing himself into a mild asthma attack during The Naked Gun, and I remember us seeing both Goodfellas and The Silence of the Lambs theatrically.

However, I should emphasize he was a casual moviegoer. Did he care about the works of Altman and Kurosawa? Nope. Not even a little. Movies were strictly for entertainment, full stop. For some odd reason, I dove into movies far deeper than he ever did. Along with my desire to visit Loch Ness and my wish to make a pilgrimage to the grave of John Belushi, obsessive filmgoing was one more piece of evidence to my father that his son was defective, perhaps fatally so.

With my son, Liam, things are different. At twelve years old, he’s already developed strong opinions of his own regarding film. In between snickers, the mother of one of his friends told me about Liam critiquing their video library. He’s said, “I love Sonic the Hedgehog, but it’s not a good movie.” He’s a perceptive kid, and like just about everybody else in this time of plague, he’s bored to tears.

For the last couple of months, I’ve gotten numerous comments from Liam that were variations of, “Can I help write a review? Please? Please?” In the interests of familial harmony and for my own physical safety, we’re going to have a recurring feature around these parts  On a semi-regular basis, Liam is going to join me in ranking the top five picks of franchises and genre flicks to you, our discerning readership.** We’ll begin with our Top Five picks for Star Wars Visual Media:

  Liam’s #5 – The Last Jedi: My reasoning for placing this here is that The Last Jedi chose to experiment with the mythos of the Star Wars universe. It made bold moves, took characters in unexpected ways, and had the coolest space fight of all time, even if it came out of nowhere. There could’ve been more brand-safe plays, and a heck of a lot of people disliked this movie for said bold moves, but this is the movie from the sequel trilogy that I re-watch the most.

Tim’s #5 – The Mandalorian: Maybe all this time Star Wars is better suited for television? As the crown jewel (and virtually only series of note) on Disney+, The Mandalorian follows the adventures of a taciturn bounty hunter tasked to take care of an alien infant that’s both Force-sensitive and cute as the dickens. It’s essentially Lone Wolf and Cub with spaceships and blasters, along with some interesting ideas about parenting and nature vs. nurture.

Liam’s #4 – Rogue One: The best way to fill a plot hole is to make a feature-length movie about it! Rogue One is a smart, witty, and brutal Star Wars movie. It introduces a cast of fun and intriguing characters and then kills them off in a variety of ways. It features cameos from C3PO, The Ghost from Rebels, and the best scene of Darth Vader ever, which really makes his next duel look sad in comparison. A solid war film, and the best prequel movie from Star Wars.

Tim’s #4 – Rogue One: For a minute there, it looked like we’d get a series of self-contained Star Wars movies that had nothing to do with the Skywalker Saga. Then Solo killed that idea stone dead.*** Before that happened, we got Rogue One, an honest-to-Tarkin war movie about a suicide mission to swipe the Death Star plans. A game cast and director Gareth Edwards’ intense sense of scale took an idea that was unnecessary and transformed it into an engaging piece of entertainment.

Liam’s #3 – Revenge of the Sith: I know I called Rogue One the best prequel, but it isn’t my favorite. Revenge of the Sith is the movie that makes the prequels feel important. It shows us Palpatine annihilating four separate Jedi Masters, we finally see Anakin become Darth Vader, and we see the decimation of the Jedi through Order 66 in what is, in my opinion, the best half an hour of Star Wars.

Tim’s #3 – The Last Jedi: If I’m being honest with you, I have to admit that I kind of hate the sequel trilogy that kicked off with The Force Awakens. Both that film and The Rise of Skywalker look gorgeous, have fun action sequences, and rely almost entirely on nostalgia to push the narrative forward. The polarizing middle chapter The Last Jedi took big chances, including a grizzled Luke Skywalker who’s given up being a hero due to a moral failing. Writer/director Rian Johnson had very little interest in catering to fans. That’s a good thing, and I prefer having my expectations subverted.

Liam’s #2 – The Mandalorian: In easily the best piece of Star Wars television, The Mandalorian shows us what it is like to be a bounty hunter after the fall of the Empire. We see a cast of colorful characters interact with the bounty hunter, we get Taika Watiti as a murder droid and, most importantly, Baby Yoda. It is breathtakingly beautiful and has some of the best writing in Star Wars.

Tim’s #2 – The Clone Wars: Hey kids! Instead of swashbuckling adventure, how about we spend time focusing on trade disputes and political skullduggery? We all know that the Prequel Trilogy, by and large, sucks. But showrunner Dave Filoni saw through the layer of anti-entertainment. It took some time to get going. Over seven seasons, The Clone Wars managed to make the fall of Anakin Skywalker tragic, managed to turn faceless clone troopers into mostly sympathetic characters, and managed to introduce Ahsoka Tano. She’s Anakin’s apprentice and her journey from an annoying sidekick to a hero with the courage to walk away from the Jedi Order is genuinely mythic.

Liam’s #1 – The Empire Strikes Back: In one of the best sequels ever made, Empire blows the original Star Wars out of the water with how smart the writing is, one of the best lightsaber fights of the series, and causing the heroes to lose by the end of the film. It made Darth Vader into one of the best villains of all time and caused all other Star Wars projects to feel meek in comparison. It’s no wonder that this movie still is one of the most impactful movies even after 40 years since its release.

Tim’s #1 – The Empire Strikes Back: We can all agree that Star Wars is one of the most important movies ever made. Its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, does what most sequels can only dream of doing. It takes everything that works about the first film and makes it better. The action scenes are more interesting, the dialogue isn’t as clunky, and the characters have arcs that are deeper and better defined. We have a hero who makes many, many stupid mistakes, making his eventual wisdom feel more hard-won. We have a plot twist that’s astounding. We have a Harrison Ford performance that’s charming and engaged. What’s not to love?

  *The racist Border Patrol agent that he got fired? Probably not a big fan of my pops. Buy me a beer sometime and I’ll tell you the story.

**Huge credit goes to film writer Drew McWeeny, whose outstanding column Film Nerd 2.0 examined his introduction of classic movies to his boys. It’s excellent writing and I’ve wanted to try something similar myself. His work is well worth paying for and you can buy their introduction to the Star Wars movies here.

***There was talk about a riff on Seven Samurai, in which a squad of Jedi Knights had to defend a small settlement from hordes of Imperial troops. I would have loved to have seen that.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/critic-son-star-wars-edition/

[bluntblade]

Running the series on Clone Wars has been both a blast, and a good experience in terms of getting to properly reconcile myself with Star Wars. For much of the year, following the debacle of TRoS, I was really wondering if there was anything that could lure me back and given that a lot of the fanbros had taken The Mandalorian to their bosom, I wasn’t so keen on that.

Enter Clone Wars. Not gonna lie, initially I was having a real struggle because those first couple of series were pretty rough. But then things clicked, the show got really good and we got to the adventurous stuff. Because this is a series committed to charging forward, with nostalgia as a flavour but never the main ingredient.

It didn’t hurt that I could clearly see points which Dave Filoni pointed Rian Johnson towards when TLJ was in the works, and of the new films only R1 and TLJ come close to the adventurousness that’s at the heart of this series.

Best of all, it’s kinda helped me accept that sometimes the good in Star Wars still bump up against the bad... and that’s OK, at the end of the day. Essentially, the Clone Wars is something in the Prequel Era that I can really enjoy despite the fact that I’ll never like the Prequel Trilogy. 

I now have, along with Ahsoka (who I love as much as I do the Rey of her first two films), Rex and others, versions of Prequel characters whom I can cherish. There’s an Anakin who feels like the man Obi-Wan first rhapsodised about. Mace has that bit more empathy. Maul is suddenly a half-deranged schemer who waxes poetical. And I like them!

So in the same way, I can still keep TLJ and the bits of TFA that I like, and squash TRoS under the multiple strata of headcanon which I’ve built up at this point.

Also, I’ve now spent plenty of time with Plo Koon and that’s been very enjoyable.

Also also, this makes a great jumping-off point for embarking on Fallen Order.

[alexfryerproductions]

My Ranking of Star Wars Films: From Worst to Best

Star Wars: The 40 year old Global Phenomenon. Without the likes of the first film (and Jaws before it) blockbuster films would never have been given more footing, even though most blockbusters of today have fallen below the curriculum of quality. But I digress. For the past 40 years Star Wars has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world, myself included. It has certainly inspired generations of film-makers (three of which have directed the most recent outings).

Self-confessedly, I was a hard-core fan (expanded universe generally) in my younger years until the film-bug got me at the age of 16. Nevertheless, these films have helped me understand the form and craft of film as much as another other classic in general. The film series has had its high points as it certainly had its lows, which is why, given the recent release of The Last Jedi, that I thought I should compile a personal list of films starting from worst to best: 

10.) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) 

Directed by Dave Filoni 

RATING: 2/5

While the Clone Wars television series itself is astoundingly good, the film that started it off however, is not so much. While the film itself can be given a bit of praise for its cinematic feel, character personalities and fun action, the quality just falls short to sloppy animation (which did improve hugely throughout the television series), a weak plot and an inconsistency in tone. Children may have more truck with this one, but the same can’t be said for adults.  

9.) Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Directed by George Lucas  

RATING: 1/5

This is one the worst, if not, the worst entry of all live-action Star Wars films. The problems within this film are infinite, whether it is the terribly written love-story, the overuse of CGI, cringe-worthy dialogue and acting that is so wooden that the characters themselves become lifeless. And top of that, the film is just boring. Its 144 minute runtime, is a result of a storytelling structure that is so dense to the point where there doesn’t seem to be any whatsoever. To make matters worse for the film itself, it is completely dull and forgettable and lacks little to no scenes that are worthy of Star Wars iconography.   

8.) Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) 

Directed by George Lucas 

RATING: 2/5

Now, I am going to be frank and say that this is not as bad as I remember it. I can at least give it credit for being the Saga prequel with the most practical set designs and expanding the Star Wars universe in a very imaginative way. The lightsaber duel is certainly thrilling to watch, even if it may be over-choreographed at times. Nevertheless, The Phantom Menace still stands out as a lackluster film with nearly the same issues as Attack of the Clones following it. Along those similar flaws, there is also a political plot that is visually unappealing and clumsily executed. The film also suffers from a lack of character development, which makes the story all the more weak. And I really don’t need to talk about the character of Jar Jar Binks, who is nothing more than a toy advertisement....

7.) Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Directed by George Lucas 

RATING: 3.5/5

While Revenge of the Sith still follows (yet again) the same stream of issues as the previous two entries before it, they are not as excessive and there is some fun to be had thus making this a more enjoyable and tolerable watch. There are some emotionally powerful moments in the film and it is probably the darkest of the saga films given Anakin Skywalker’s completion to becoming one of the most famous villains of all time and how its executed (which, for the most part, is done well). The relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi is very interesting to follow and Ian McDiarmid’s performance as Palpatine himself is a total scene stealer. Even though it falls short of greatness, it stands tall on the weight of goodness. 

6.) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Directed by Gareth Edwards 

RATING: 3.5/5

The first live-action spin-off film of the current Anthology series is quite daring since it sets itself apart from the Skywalker saga and tells a story of a different group of characters in the Star Wars Universe. Director Gareth Edwards brings a great sense of authenticity to the Star Wars Universe as a result of his brilliant film-making seen throughout the film. The action is chaotic and intense giving Rogue One a great visual style of a war film. The final act of the film is certainly something to behold and is a great lead up to the first film we all know and love. It’s a shame however that the characters are not given a great deal of interaction and development, which is a result of some pacing issues and a script that stumbles in a few a places. Despite these flaws, Rogue One is a worthy addition to the series through its dark and more mature tone and its mixture of old and new elements. 

5.) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) 

Directed by Richard Marquand 

RATING: 4/5 

Considerably, this is the weakest of the original trilogy. And that is pretty much down to its lack of focus on tone and some unnecessary use of some characters (Ewoks anyone?). It doesn’t add much that is new to the table either. Those aside, Return of the Jedi provides a satisfying conclusion to the original trilogy by answering all the questions left hanging by its predecessors, while inserting some emotional and dramatic beats in the process. Although the stakes for the main characters are still levelled at there highest as the ultimate battle between good and evil commences, the film doesn’t lose its sense of fun. 

4.) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Directed by J.J. Abrams

RATING: 4/5

After a ten year hiatus (or technically seven if you count the The Clone Wars) Star Wars was back on the big screen. And boy was it a welcome home present. While the film does have its naysayers in relation to the film’s similar story beats to A New Hope, it can be argued that it was a necessary evil since The Force Awakens needed to feel safe and familiar in order for it to make way for what comes next. Not everything works, however. There are occasions where nostalgia approaches where it is not needed (such as another useless superweapon for instance) and there are some plot convolutions in a few places. That being said, the film rises well above those flaws through introducing a new set of compelling characters to care about, as well as seeing the return of some old friends. At best, J.J. Abrams brings back the magic of what made Star Wars great in the first place. 

3.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Directed by Rian Johnson 

RATING: 4/5

This recent entry has proven to be the boldest yet most controversial Star Wars film amongst audiences (hardcore fans especially). That is what makes it so great. Rian Johnson takes everything we know about the Star Wars universe to not only twist them but question them in the process. Johnson’s direction and writing breaths a whole new life to the franchise itself thereby telling a story that makes the universe more vast, endless and full of countless possibilities for future stories. The film delivers twist, after twist, after twist to the point where this no telling where the upcoming final film in Skywalker saga will go. The performances are a joy to look at and the cinematography is probably the most visually dazzling ever put to a Star Wars film. And finally, our beloved princess Carrie Fisher, is given a great send off as she gives a remarkable final performance, which was filmed prior to her tragic and untimely death in late 2016.  

2.) Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) 

Directed by George Lucas 

RATING: 5/5

We now come to the film that started it all. It goes without saying that Star Wars changed the face of not only Hollywood cinema but film-making in general. From the classic opening crawl, to the iconic space battle sequence, to John Williams’s classic score, Star Wars is hardly the film that anyone is going to forget, whether one loves it or hate it. Above the special effects that have not dated a bit, what makes Star Wars work ultimately is the characters. Without those characters, the special effects become meaningless as does the wondrous settings. It is a story that is so simply told but in the most visually spectacular way possible. It is a fine example of how to put a story before spectacle. 

1.)  Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 

Directed Irvin Kershner 

RATING: 5/5

Prior to this, a lot of sequels tended to be commercial and critical failures. Empire for that matter might as well be textbook on how to do a sequel: Take characters into deeper depths than the first film; Raise the stakes; Insert new elements that works for the story; And above all else: take risks. By meeting those requirements, Empire is far more superior than any other Star Wars film in terms of story, structure, tone, world-building, special effects and character development. However, the real topping on the cake for Empire, is the twists, all of which makes the story and characters all the more compelling. As a result, the film delivers truly one the best surprises in the history of cinema, making this a darker entry to the series. It is for these reasons why Empire Strikes Back is not only the best Star Wars film of all time, but arguably the best sequel of all time.