Hey, folks! Happy holidays! Here’s hoping that everything is going wonderfully with you and yours during this … the silliest season of the year.
There’s been a great deal of online discussion – blogs, vlogs, news articles, etc. – regarding the news that Lucasfilm is intending a soft reboot of the Star Wars franchise taking it in a new direction with the character of Rey Skywalker-Palpatine. For the record, this isn’t exactly the first time this debate has come up – I know I’ve sounded off on it before, frankly – but as the readership comes and goes, I’ve been asked in an email or two what my thoughts on the saga might be. While I’m remiss to go into any great length on the topic, I figure now is as good as any time to sling a few sentences together.
Essentially, I think this all bubbled into a modest frenzy when – as I understand it – someone within the ranks of Lucasfilm let word slip that – as an intellectual property – Star Wars was now firmly in the hands of the aforementioned Rey Skywalker-Palpatine. As best as I understand this, the suits felt that this self-proclaimed Jedi Knight is the centerpiece to any path going forward chiefly because the “Skywalker lineage” truly came to an end with – ahem – Chapter IX: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019). Now, it’s curious that the powers that be are actually choosing to ignore the fact that it was Rey herself who claimed the name of Skywalker, thus continuing (for practical purposes) that saga they claim to be dead, but that’s sorta splitting hairs. I think the underlying point is that Star Wars – as most of us knew it – was over; and the production company was finally positioned to blast off into that galaxy with all-new adventures from this juncture onward.
Of course, many folks online quickly pointed out that the only reason Lucasfilm might logically assert such an opinion is that (A) they killed Han Solo; (B) they killed Luke Skywalker; and (C) they killed Princess Leia … so yeah. It’s pretty obvious that when you expire the core players of an Intellectual Property then all you’re left with is whatever remains. For all practical purposes, it’s pretty easy to grasp why the company believes the future lies with Rey, despite the fact that Chewbacca is still around (so far as we know), as are R2D2 and C-3PO. There was a time when franchise creator George Lucas had even suggested that the only characters who would run through the entire film series would inevitably be the seminal droids, methinks Disney and Lucasfilm aren’t bright enough to realize that might be a better creative choice than Rey is at present, but please keep in mind that I’m just a guy who writes about film on the World Wide Web. What do I know, after all?
As I often do, I’m going to head into the past briefly to try and put a slightly different spin on this controversy. Try to keep up.
There’s been a great deal of online discussion – blogs, vlogs, news articles, etc. – regarding the news that Lucasfilm is intending a soft reboot of the Star Wars franchise taking it in a new direction with the character of Rey Skywalker-Palpatine. For the record, this isn’t exactly the first time this debate has come up – I know I’ve sounded off on it before, frankly – but as the readership comes and goes, I’ve been asked in an email or two what my thoughts on the saga might be. While I’m remiss to go into any great length on the topic, I figure now is as good as any time to sling a few sentences together.
Essentially, I think this all bubbled into a modest frenzy when – as I understand it – someone within the ranks of Lucasfilm let word slip that – as an intellectual property – Star Wars was now firmly in the hands of the aforementioned Rey Skywalker-Palpatine. As best as I understand this, the suits felt that this self-proclaimed Jedi Knight is the centerpiece to any path going forward chiefly because the “Skywalker lineage” truly came to an end with – ahem – Chapter IX: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019). Now, it’s curious that the powers that be are actually choosing to ignore the fact that it was Rey herself who claimed the name of Skywalker, thus continuing (for practical purposes) that saga they claim to be dead, but that’s sorta splitting hairs. I think the underlying point is that Star Wars – as most of us knew it – was over; and the production company was finally positioned to blast off into that galaxy with all-new adventures from this juncture onward.
Of course, many folks online quickly pointed out that the only reason Lucasfilm might logically assert such an opinion is that (A) they killed Han Solo; (B) they killed Luke Skywalker; and (C) they killed Princess Leia … so yeah. It’s pretty obvious that when you expire the core players of an Intellectual Property then all you’re left with is whatever remains. For all practical purposes, it’s pretty easy to grasp why the company believes the future lies with Rey, despite the fact that Chewbacca is still around (so far as we know), as are R2D2 and C-3PO. There was a time when franchise creator George Lucas had even suggested that the only characters who would run through the entire film series would inevitably be the seminal droids, methinks Disney and Lucasfilm aren’t bright enough to realize that might be a better creative choice than Rey is at present, but please keep in mind that I’m just a guy who writes about film on the World Wide Web. What do I know, after all?
As I often do, I’m going to head into the past briefly to try and put a slightly different spin on this controversy. Try to keep up.
It’s been said that a good deal of the success tied to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) was not owed as much to George Lucas as it was his wife at the time, Marcia. While her husband created the universe and shot the first film, many have suggested that his cuts of the feature production needed a great deal of tinkering to make it flow. Precisely how much of these edits were entirely hers remains a subject of controversy, and yet the rumors persist even to this day that A New Hope wouldn’t have been the spectacular start it was without her contributions. I’d encourage everyone to keep this in mind for the purposes of my argument, that being George – when left to his own devices – might not be the best storyteller out there.
Furthermore, it’s also been said that – ahem – Lucas himself was never very pleased with the ‘dark direction’ his saga took in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). No one need take my word for it and do a bit of Googling into the topic; there’s plenty out there in cyberspace including that the creator was unhappy with the film’s downbeat, cliffhanger ending, going so far as to have him suggest that he personally found this second flick a bit boring. Despite the fact that it’s his story (with some obvious additions from those credited in the process), Lucas was concerned that the ongoing storyline was turning away from entertaining “the children,” and he went to great lengths to course correct for the future.
Those of you who follow Robert Meyer Burnett online are probably aware that the pundit and entertainment consumer recently courted a bit of controversy with his suggestion that Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi was a lackluster addition to the franchise. Mind you: in spite of the mild uproar, his statement wasn’t the first time something of this nature has been said. In fact, I can attest to having lived through the theatrical run of the Original Trilogy that there were a great many fans who were disappointed as well. Though the film has a few highpoints (special effects were pretty legendary, and the eventual showdown between Luke, Vader, and the Emperor delivered), its lows were despicably low. Jabba’s Palace was overrun with Muppets. This Jabba didn’t seem all that menacing, frankly. The greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy was “killed” with a pratfall? Don’t get me started on the Ewoks. And three translucent dead guys standing around smiling at the end? Sorry, folks, Jedi wasn’t a great film. In fact, it’s always ranked pretty low on my scale, battling with The Phantom Menace for the bottom spot.
Still, in the wake of Jedi, it became clear what Lucas truly saw as the possibility for the Star Wars universe. While many think that the property was put on hiatus, there were a few items that rolled out not long thereafter, namely (A) The Ewok Adventure (1984); (B) Star Wars: Droids (1985); (C) Star Wars: Ewoks (1985); and (D) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor (1985). Though some of you might argue that Lucas himself has somewhat dismissed these additions from canon, I consider that a storyteller’s distraction from the fact that they’re clearly inferior. Lucas was attached to all of these, contributing in various ways, so much so that I’ll always insist that they, too, need to be evaluated with where the grand wizard at the center thought his audience was. If these installments are indicative of anything, it’s that he wanted to entertain children – or, at least, he provided what he thought children wanted to see – and it isn’t hard to see these same sentiments take shape with a great deal of the humor that would return to Star Wars when The Phantom Menace took to screens in 1999.
Furthermore, it’s also been said that – ahem – Lucas himself was never very pleased with the ‘dark direction’ his saga took in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). No one need take my word for it and do a bit of Googling into the topic; there’s plenty out there in cyberspace including that the creator was unhappy with the film’s downbeat, cliffhanger ending, going so far as to have him suggest that he personally found this second flick a bit boring. Despite the fact that it’s his story (with some obvious additions from those credited in the process), Lucas was concerned that the ongoing storyline was turning away from entertaining “the children,” and he went to great lengths to course correct for the future.
Those of you who follow Robert Meyer Burnett online are probably aware that the pundit and entertainment consumer recently courted a bit of controversy with his suggestion that Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi was a lackluster addition to the franchise. Mind you: in spite of the mild uproar, his statement wasn’t the first time something of this nature has been said. In fact, I can attest to having lived through the theatrical run of the Original Trilogy that there were a great many fans who were disappointed as well. Though the film has a few highpoints (special effects were pretty legendary, and the eventual showdown between Luke, Vader, and the Emperor delivered), its lows were despicably low. Jabba’s Palace was overrun with Muppets. This Jabba didn’t seem all that menacing, frankly. The greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy was “killed” with a pratfall? Don’t get me started on the Ewoks. And three translucent dead guys standing around smiling at the end? Sorry, folks, Jedi wasn’t a great film. In fact, it’s always ranked pretty low on my scale, battling with The Phantom Menace for the bottom spot.
Still, in the wake of Jedi, it became clear what Lucas truly saw as the possibility for the Star Wars universe. While many think that the property was put on hiatus, there were a few items that rolled out not long thereafter, namely (A) The Ewok Adventure (1984); (B) Star Wars: Droids (1985); (C) Star Wars: Ewoks (1985); and (D) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor (1985). Though some of you might argue that Lucas himself has somewhat dismissed these additions from canon, I consider that a storyteller’s distraction from the fact that they’re clearly inferior. Lucas was attached to all of these, contributing in various ways, so much so that I’ll always insist that they, too, need to be evaluated with where the grand wizard at the center thought his audience was. If these installments are indicative of anything, it’s that he wanted to entertain children – or, at least, he provided what he thought children wanted to see – and it isn’t hard to see these same sentiments take shape with a great deal of the humor that would return to Star Wars when The Phantom Menace took to screens in 1999.
My point in bringing this up is that it isn’t hard to see that Lucas – as a storyteller – demonstrated precisely why he probably shouldn’t have been left to his own. As Return Of The Jedi, these various TV offshoots, and The Phantom Menace clearly show, he saw the galaxy far, far away as a bit of comic property with some adventurous tangents involved space wizards and their light swords. If Marcia Lucas truly saved A New Hope and her husband wasn’t happy with The Empire Strikes Back, then it stands to reason that one of the singular aspects to the universe that he got right was its creation: truly vivid tales needed to be spun with the addition of others, and maybe this is the lesson best learned from the Prequel Trilogy.
(Again, folks, this isn’t me ragging on George. I’ve nothing but respect for what he’s done. I’m just saying that the best Star Wars has come when he’s been part of a team and not monopolizing the center seat.)
All of this brings me to this whole Rey Skywalker-Palpatine kerfuffle.
Rey – as a character – just isn’t all that interesting. She’s rather one dimensional – not unlike JarJar but lacking that comic foundation – and fandom for the most part sees her this same way. As a force for good in a galaxy far, far away, there’s nothing wrong with the fact that she’s inspired allegedly a cavalry of young girls to turn to the Light Side: though I saw her more as a space-based Lara Croft in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (a film I’m on record plenty of times stating I didn’t like), I argued that she demonstrated the ability to swashbuckler her way through a feature, but I never found myself wondering what the future might hold for her. Creating her as a flawless whole was a huge mistake: giving her an air of mystery that went undeveloped until the final film probably doomed the Sequel Trilogy in ways too complex to explore, and I’ll leave my complaints at that. It isn’t that I disliked her because that was far from the case: it’s just that I didn’t care about her as a character, so her efforts and adventures just had so little narrative depth.
But given the fact that she’s been hamstrung with being the franchise’s only real survivor at this point, it’s entirely logical that Lucasfilm would see her as the only way forward. Clearly, these aren’t the best and brightest folks working in Hollywood, and I say this entirely based on the best evidence. What else could be the assessment for those who’ve taken one of the world’s most cherished sagas and reduced it to sheer nothingness? Why wouldn’t these suits believe that the only way they can – ahem – return Star Wars to greatness would be to invest in the exact same character they used to derail it? It’s all they know, so I can’t quite fault them despite the fact that I probably should.
While I don’t share their opinion of the ‘best way forward,’ I’ll always grant that they know best what course to plot because that’s what they’re paid to do. But if you wanted Rey Skywalker-Palpatine to be a creation regarded as central to Star Wars so that she could stand shoulder-to-shoulder in pop culture with Darth Vader … with Luke Skywalker … with Han Solo … with Princess Leia … with Chewbacca … with R2D2 … with even C-3PO … then (here’s the big question) why have you literally done nothing with her ever since? Heroes can be born just as much as heroes can be made: if you made her this big, brash champion, then why nothing more since The Rise Of Skywalker ended?
(Again, folks, this isn’t me ragging on George. I’ve nothing but respect for what he’s done. I’m just saying that the best Star Wars has come when he’s been part of a team and not monopolizing the center seat.)
All of this brings me to this whole Rey Skywalker-Palpatine kerfuffle.
Rey – as a character – just isn’t all that interesting. She’s rather one dimensional – not unlike JarJar but lacking that comic foundation – and fandom for the most part sees her this same way. As a force for good in a galaxy far, far away, there’s nothing wrong with the fact that she’s inspired allegedly a cavalry of young girls to turn to the Light Side: though I saw her more as a space-based Lara Croft in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (a film I’m on record plenty of times stating I didn’t like), I argued that she demonstrated the ability to swashbuckler her way through a feature, but I never found myself wondering what the future might hold for her. Creating her as a flawless whole was a huge mistake: giving her an air of mystery that went undeveloped until the final film probably doomed the Sequel Trilogy in ways too complex to explore, and I’ll leave my complaints at that. It isn’t that I disliked her because that was far from the case: it’s just that I didn’t care about her as a character, so her efforts and adventures just had so little narrative depth.
But given the fact that she’s been hamstrung with being the franchise’s only real survivor at this point, it’s entirely logical that Lucasfilm would see her as the only way forward. Clearly, these aren’t the best and brightest folks working in Hollywood, and I say this entirely based on the best evidence. What else could be the assessment for those who’ve taken one of the world’s most cherished sagas and reduced it to sheer nothingness? Why wouldn’t these suits believe that the only way they can – ahem – return Star Wars to greatness would be to invest in the exact same character they used to derail it? It’s all they know, so I can’t quite fault them despite the fact that I probably should.
While I don’t share their opinion of the ‘best way forward,’ I’ll always grant that they know best what course to plot because that’s what they’re paid to do. But if you wanted Rey Skywalker-Palpatine to be a creation regarded as central to Star Wars so that she could stand shoulder-to-shoulder in pop culture with Darth Vader … with Luke Skywalker … with Han Solo … with Princess Leia … with Chewbacca … with R2D2 … with even C-3PO … then (here’s the big question) why have you literally done nothing with her ever since? Heroes can be born just as much as heroes can be made: if you made her this big, brash champion, then why nothing more since The Rise Of Skywalker ended?
No, no, and no: I’m not saying that there should’ve been a Rey movie immediately put into production with the conclusion of the Sequel Trilogy. I’m not suggesting that perhaps even a small telefilm or two or even a limited series could’ve been greenlit. Why not comics? Why no cartoon? Why no comic books? Why no novels? Why no expansion in the toy market? Why not special clothing line? Why let your hero vanish into obscurity in the meantime? Why didn’t the suits realize that they had a good thing when it was there, so much so that they had to keep it going, or is the dirty little secret really that you’ve got nothing, you know you’ve got nothing, and now you’re just grasping at straws for a way to keep the IP alive?
Look: I’ve no problem with seeing ‘the continuing adventures of Rey Skywalker-Palpatine’ become a thing. Mind you: I likely won’t be watching, nor does it seem all that inviting to me. Like The Acolyte, Lucasfilm seems to be operating from a standpoint suggesting that Star Wars is a niche property that only appeals to the LGBTQ+ community, and I’m not a part of that. I gave up on The Mandalorian in Season 3, and, no, I’m likely not going back for the big movie. Ahsoka was mind-numbingly boring. And Star Wars: The Bad Batch? How do you take a show about a squadron of battle-hardened clone warriors and turn it into a show about a little girl? Though that had some good moments, it ended in a place I didn’t care for, so I’m likely done with any forthcoming animated efforts as well. But, hey, go on with that whole Rey Trilogy, and I’m sure it’ll be a big success.
What kinda/sorta defies logic, nonetheless, is the fact that if Lucasfilm and Disney want to court a young female audience, then why not do it with a young Princess Leia Diaries show? Such a project would allow recasting. It would give producers the chance to sell the message of a young, confident woman going out and making the world – the galaxy, even – her oyster, as they say. And they might even get a bit of spillover, meaning that old fans might tune in for the sake of nostalgia at seeing some untold chapters in the life of a character they know and love. If done right, then it could return the IP to the place it was before the Walt Disney Company bought it … and, yet, I can’t imagine that’s a goal these knuckleheads would aspire to.
Dare I say “The Force has left the building” seems to be the mantra for the modern era?
Lucasfilm doesn’t want serious fans – the kind who want good stories without a bit of politics – and, instead, they only want your money.
-- EZ
Look: I’ve no problem with seeing ‘the continuing adventures of Rey Skywalker-Palpatine’ become a thing. Mind you: I likely won’t be watching, nor does it seem all that inviting to me. Like The Acolyte, Lucasfilm seems to be operating from a standpoint suggesting that Star Wars is a niche property that only appeals to the LGBTQ+ community, and I’m not a part of that. I gave up on The Mandalorian in Season 3, and, no, I’m likely not going back for the big movie. Ahsoka was mind-numbingly boring. And Star Wars: The Bad Batch? How do you take a show about a squadron of battle-hardened clone warriors and turn it into a show about a little girl? Though that had some good moments, it ended in a place I didn’t care for, so I’m likely done with any forthcoming animated efforts as well. But, hey, go on with that whole Rey Trilogy, and I’m sure it’ll be a big success.
What kinda/sorta defies logic, nonetheless, is the fact that if Lucasfilm and Disney want to court a young female audience, then why not do it with a young Princess Leia Diaries show? Such a project would allow recasting. It would give producers the chance to sell the message of a young, confident woman going out and making the world – the galaxy, even – her oyster, as they say. And they might even get a bit of spillover, meaning that old fans might tune in for the sake of nostalgia at seeing some untold chapters in the life of a character they know and love. If done right, then it could return the IP to the place it was before the Walt Disney Company bought it … and, yet, I can’t imagine that’s a goal these knuckleheads would aspire to.
Dare I say “The Force has left the building” seems to be the mantra for the modern era?
Lucasfilm doesn’t want serious fans – the kind who want good stories without a bit of politics – and, instead, they only want your money.
-- EZ
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