Few, if any, other franchises have managed to achieve the prolonged cultural relevance thatStar Warshas enjoyed. It has now been almost half a century sinceA New Hopewas released, yet the profile of the original trilogy has only increased, spawning two more trilogies and a host of spinoffs. ThoughThe Rise of Skywalkerconcluded that original story, the Skywalker Saga, nearly three years ago, the franchise shows no signs of slowing down. Even now, a slate of new movies and shows that will be expanding the universe for years to come.
Forty-five years is a particularly long time in Hollywood — enough time for children who were raised on the original trilogy to grow up and become directors themselves, to produce content that testifies to the influence ofStar Warson their own authorship.The Force AwakensandThe Last Jediare, essentially, fanfiction. Despite being incredibly different takes on theStar Warsmythology, both bear certain undeniable hallmarks of fan-made films.
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“This will begin to make things right.” The first line spoken inThe Force Awakenswas interpreted by fans to have a double meaning, and it was taken up as a sort of rallying cry for the sequel trilogy. The prequel trilogy, which had premiered fifteen years earlier, was immensely popular, but it suffered from weak writing and massive discontinuities with the original trilogy. Fans took the line inThe Force Awakensas reassurance that J.J. Abrams would not let technological wizardry get in the way of good storytelling; that midi-chlorians and outrageously-nimble Yoda were things of the past. The world of the prequel trilogy would be the same world that fans fell in love with in 1977,a point which was made in the opening shots of the trailer, with Rey rappelling down into the belly of a familiar Imperial star destroyer. In crafting a new future forStar Wars, Abrams demonstrated a commitment to remembering — and honoring — the franchise’s past.
The Force Awakenshas been accused of duplicating the very plot ofA New Hope, and the characterization is appropriate.From a remote and inhospitable planet, a hero emerges to join the Resistance against an evil Empire, while discovering their own powers with the Force. With the help of a self-interested companion, the hero must grapple with a representative of the Dark Side, while the Resistance attempts to blow up yet another Death Star (in this case, the slightly magnified Starkiller Base). The original heroes have also returned — Han, Leia, and Chewie, as well as R2-D2 and C-3PO — along with the Millennium Falcon, which is possibly the most iconic hunk of junk in theStar Warsuniverse. And, as always, the struggle between light and dark takes center stage: Rey’s journey in the Force pits her directly against Kylo Ren, who resists redemption almost from the start.
The formula does not feel staid, however, as Abrams excels at balancing appeals to nostalgia against novel elements. The Millennium Falcon, for example, reappears in a moment perfectly calibrated for equal humor and thrill.The incorporation of a stormtrooper as a main characterturns a longstanding proto-meme into a compelling narrative. Even the x-wing’s targeting computer is only slightly more advanced than what Luke Skywalker used to blow up the Death Star. It is not an Easter egg so much as an acknowledgement: that forty-five years’ technological progress in Hollywood should not be exploited to undermine twenty years’ technological progress in a galaxy far, far away.The Force Awakensrecognizes thatStar Warsis a subgenre unto itself. By following its conventions, Abrams crafted a movie that was both thoroughly new, and thoroughly recognizable as aStar Warsmovie.
“Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.” Kylo Ren’s line fromThe Last Jediexposed deep divisions in theStar Warsfandom, with members either applauding the statement as a way forward for the franchise, or reviling it as a desecration of the franchise’s history and traditions. LikeThe Force Awakens,The Last Jedirecognizes the conventions of aStar Warsmovie, butRian Johnson uses those conventions very differently than Abrams. In a galaxy where the heroes usually prevail — often by outlandish gambits or elaborate plans — audience expectations can be much harder to deconstruct. Johnson’s approach, then, is almost painfully thorough. He leads viewers down a number of familiar roads, only to confound the plans when characters are on the verge of triumph. Yet what many viewers interpreted as irreverence actually demonstrates a deep commitment to theStar Warsmythology. It’s a realistic acknowledgement that, ifStar Warswould continue to be relevant, it must evolve.
Rian Johnson has proven that he is a master of pastiche, andThe Last Jediis no different. He takes the conventions of aStar Warsfilm and turns them on their head. From Rey’s journey to find her power (and her identity),to Finn and Rose’s extended side questfor the Resistance, to the final lesson learned by Luke Skywalker — every aspect of the narrative begins with a conventionalStar Warsplot. Take, for instance, Kylo Ren’s arc. Like his predecessor, Darth Vader, he fails in his initial mission, requiring oversight by the Supreme Leader, before turning on Snoke to save Rey. Yet instead of a final redemption, à la Vader, he falls back into pettiness and selfish ambition. Instead of being elevated in a predictable enemies-to-lovers plot, he remains as he was before. It is more realistic trajectory for a character who has already been established as petulant and murderous, but it is alsoa subversion ofStar Warstradition.
For those who doubted Johnson’s commitment toStar Warsmythology, the director took to social media to provide justification for many of his choices within the existing, extended universe. But the intent to build the franchise out — and not to tear it down — is manifest within the film itself. The revelation that Rey is nobody gives her the same status as Luke Skywalker inA New Hope: anybody could rise with the Force, find their power, and rise to heroic proportions.A young boy sweeping out a stablecould be the next Chosen One — a point that Johnson explicitly affirms by playing “Twin Suns” as the child imagines his broom transforming into a lightsaber. How many junk worlds in that long-ago galaxy might contain future Jedi? How many as-yet-undiscovered Jedi were just waiting for their stories to be told? ConfiningStar Warsto the Skywalker family and their compatriots was a limitation to theStar Warsuniverse that Johnson attempted remove, making way for the stories of countless new heroes that audiences would eventually grow to love.
IfThe Force AwakensandThe Last Jediwere films made by fans, thenThe Rise of Skywalkerwas a movie made by the fandom — a fractured, factious fandom, with competing desires and divided expectations.The Last Jedigenerated unprecedented controversy within theStar Warsfandom; when Abrams returned toThe Rise of Skywalker, he sought to undo much of Johnson’s work, replacing it with more callbacks to nostalgia and predictable plotting.
But this solution backfired in two ways. First, it revealed that critics ofThe Last Jedi, while vocal, did not universally represent the desires of the fandom. Second, it created a messy, uneven film that sacrificed interior logic to meet contrasting expectations. Directors who wish to move the franchise forward into a new eraneed to be willing to take risks; fans will evolve withStar Wars, as they have since 1977.
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