Ark of the Lost Angels

(Credit: Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm)

---

May the 4^th be with you!

May 4^th, because of the pun on the phrase ‘May the Force be with you’, has been recognized as Star Wars day for years now. With this week falling after Star Wars day, I felt it appropriate to talk about my favorite franchise of all time.

When Episode III came out in theaters in May 2005, Star Wars fans all over the world marked it as a monumental occasion. Twenty-eight years after the original movie was released in theaters, the final installment was released. It was a full-circle moment for many older fans, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience for those of us who were younger.

Much like Cassian Andor, I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old. My parents first showed me the original trilogy over Thanksgiving weekend when I was in first grade. Revenge of the Sith was my first Star Wars movie in theaters, and I cherished that memory for the next seven years, believing it would never happen again. Until 2012, when Disney bought Lucasfilm and announced a new sequel trilogy. I would see The Force Awakens in theaters on opening weekend with my family and then-girlfriend. Frustratingly, I had a school choir concert to perform in on the opening night, and a major plot point would be spoiled by a classmate who had seen the Thursday night previews despite all of us within earshot threatening him to stay silent. But none of that mattered when the lights went down, and that iconic fanfare started blasting in movie theater surround sound and I was transported back a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

However, seeing the Star Wars movies which came out of the Disney acquisition felt lacking in many ways. To preference this, I am a Star Wars fan. I love the franchise, and I love watching the new Star Wars things. This is not going to be another obnoxious, “Star Wars got ruined because of woke!” type of article, which have been floating around in the tens of thousands for the last decade. Rather, this is an impassioned plea for other creatives not to make the same mistakes made by the sequel trilogy and waste the immense potential of the actors involved. Spoilers will be frequent and important from here on out.

The Problems

The biggest problem with the sequels is that they did not know what they were trying to say. That comes from relying too much on nostalgia, artificial pressure mandated by the studios, and putting together a creative team which did not collaborate at the highest levels. Disney hired three directors to make three Star Wars movies: J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Colin Trevorrow. They did not hire three directors to make a trilogy together. And add to that Trevorrow’s dismissal from the final installment and the hiring of Abrams to finish it out resulted in a trilogy which felt like the first and third acts were in conflict with the second.

Another issue is that they were creatively bankrupt. The Force Awakens was intriguing, but ultimately, it was a retread of the first Star Wars movie. It hit the reset on everything in a major way and ended up pigeonholing the trilogy into a retread of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. It lost the amazing part of Star Wars: its amazingly diverse universe with he opportunity for limitless storytelling.

By making it so that the Empire/First Order became the dominant force again very quickly, it forced the New Republic to be ineffective and doomed to fail. It discounts the hard fought and sorely won victory from the original trilogy. It makes Luke retread the paths of Obi-Wan and Yoda from the original trilogy as failed Jedi masters in exile. While Luke’s story in The Last Jedi was told incredibly well, the story they chose to tell was lacking in how it could have been. A New Jedi Order as part of the galaxy would have been interesting.

The biggest pitfall of the sequels is the lack of an overall plan in advance. Back before Colin Trevorrow was replaced as director of Episode IX, the three directors should have met along with their writers and come up with an outline for the main plot, the new characters and their journeys, and what elements needed to connect between the films. The original six Star Wars movies were unified by George Lucas’ vision. The sequels needed a similarly unified vision to guide them. Tie-in media wrote itself into knots to justify the state of the galaxy, expressly breaking away from Palpatine’s empire, etc. only to be undermined when the films brought Palpatine back as the main antagonist, and that everything which had transpired did so according to his plans. The end result was a messy, disjointed narrative that kept having to backtrack on itself rather than pushing the story forward.  

Part of it is that J.J. Abrams does not write a cohesive narrative. He tends to find great set pieces or scenes, or a desired emotion he wants to evoke, and builds a movie from there. It’s not that it’s a bad way to create a movie in a vacuum, but to use that as the basis for the starting point of a new arc of an ongoing narrative is troublesome to say the least. Creating mystery boxes with no clue as to the answer makes it much more difficult to string together pieces.

Rian Johnson provided the most ambitious Star Wars narrative ever with The Last Jedi. It broke the paradigm in an interesting way: it tried to move beyond the Jedi and the Sith, it had Kylo Ren surpass his idol Darth Vader by killing his master. The final confrontation was the power of the Force, not a real lightsaber duel. It had a powerful message that the hero could be anyone, not tied to a special bloodline. However, The Last Jedi still suffered from taking place fifteen minutes after The Force Awakens ended. The original trilogy had a period of about three years between the events of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, and then another six months between Empire and Return of the Jedi. This allows the characters to grow and change between films. As a result of the compressed narrative, The Last Jedi could only have functioned as an extension of The Force Awakens, and its characters had no time and space to grow and find new places to begin their journeys.

Disney also shoulders a fair amount of the blame. Longer production time between entries could have alleviated many of the problems even without a plan in place beforehand. The original movies had three years between their releases, which gave plenty of time to sit with one movie as a finished product and react to it while working on the sequels. All of that went out the window when pre-production for one film had to start while the previous one was still in the editing room.

Though one tragically necessary change may need to be made. Carrie Fisher’s passing in 2016 was a blow to all Star Wars fans. Her portrayal of Princess Leia Organa was inspiring and engrossing. She became as iconic as the role she embodied. However, Leia should have been written out of Rise of Skywalker after Carrie Fisher died. So much of the narrative was crafted around her character that the end result felt awkward having to write around the material they could still use of her character.

The characters were mostly failed by the movie as well.

Finn was posited as a Jedi by the marketing but was reduced to a side character with little impact on the overall plot after The Force Awakens. Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico also had a dramatically reduced role in Rise of Skywalker. And Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron was originally the child of Rebellion soldiers who grew up into a tough, dedicated Resistance officer. Instead, he was turned into a hotheaded former drug smuggler who had to learn to accept the burdens of leadership after a stupid decision got tons of people killed. All three of these characters, who had prominent billing, were sidelined as the trilogy went on. Their characters had little to do regarding the main plot, and ultimately, it’s a waste of the actor’s talents.

John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, Oscar Isaac all got screwed by inconsistent storytelling. Part of it is the refusal to have no overarching plan for the trilogy. The Rise of Skywalker couldn’t agree on some of the main plot points such as Rey’s lineage until the final edit was being assembled, long after the actors had left the soundstages for principal photography. Many of the actors were uncertain of their characters’ motivations, actions, and futures. It ties up their ability to act not knowing what they’re supposed to be doing.

Because the actors were the public faces, the lackluster films were laid on the performances of the actors by bigoted fans. The community is at fault for hating the actors for the material they were given. The racism and sexism heaped onto Kelly Marie Tran, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and other actors from other Star Wars productions is unconscionable. It’s something that doesn’t directly affect the quality of the movies, but it is worthy of remark regardless.

All of these factors combined together to create a trilogy less than the sum of its parts. There were fantastic moments in all three movies. Cinematography, visual effects, sound design, art direction, and acting were all incredible. John Williams delivered a top form score as he usually does. It would seem that the biggest shortcoming of the sequels was its writing. That’s a problem which can be fixed with a little polishing.

The Fixes

The potential of the sequel trilogy was in showing the troubles of a galaxy rebuilding from the Empire, even a few decades on. Putting the Imperial remnants on par with the New Republic would have made for an interesting set of conflicts, a departure from the original trilogy wherein the Rebels were outmatched by the Empire in most cases.

I took it upon myself as a creative exercise to outline a new version of the sequels. I like finding ways to improve works which I feel fell short of their original potential, and Star Wars is no different. I tried to blend lots of ideas from the movies as they were actually produced, with the original plan for Episode XI when Trevorrow was helming the film, and other ideas I came up with to better craft this narrative. Bear in mind that these are detailed summaries and not the full outlines of my ideas. Also note that if my movies had release dates which matched their real world counterparts, then Episode VIII would have finished principal photography before Carrie Fisher died. I wrote this outline with the knowledge of her passing after the fact.

In my hypothetical version of the sequels, Ben Solo turns to the dark side to become Kylo Ren some time before the start of the trilogy. Luke, out of fear, takes the remnants of the New Jedi Order into hiding, leaving only a trail which prospective Jedi could follow to find him.

Episode VII

The Force Awakens opens on Mustafar, at the ruins of Vader’s Castle. Kylo Ren is searching for an important artifact from his grandfather’s time as Sith Lord and apprentice to Emperor Palpatine. He carves his way through the locals with brutal efficiency, and eventually finds what he is looking for. He promises to finish what his grandfather started. He is then contacted by General Hux, a decades-long veteran of the Empire, to inform him that they have located the New Republic agent holding the map to where the Imperial Remnants are hiding out.

On Jakku, Poe Dameron meets with Lor San Tekka, who holds a map from the days of the Empire’s reign, with locations for hidden bases and hyperspace routes known only to certain Imperial operatives. Kylo Ren arrives and attacks the small village, taking Poe hostage, while stormtrooper FN-2187 suffers a crisis of confidence.

On Coruscant, Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker arrives to see his sister, Supreme Chancellor Leia Organa Solo, and her husband Han. Luke has brought his daughter, Rey, with him. It is remarked that Luke rarely leaves Aach To, where he has revived the original Jedi Temple with his wife, Mara Jade, and several others. Being unwilling to place the new generation of Jedi so close to the center of galactic politics, Luke has become less enthused about helping in military matters, while Leia feels as though her willingness to pursue Imperial attacks in the Outer Rim is being checked by a senate that is more obsessed with the illusion of peace than preparing for a very real war. Han, seemingly returned to his old smuggling ways, has really been secretly supplying the Resistance, an off-the-books private military Leia has been running, headed up by Lando Calrissian, to fight back against the Empire. Leia’s willingness to fight and Luke’s reluctance highlight a growing void between the two. Rey argues with Luke, desiring to go out and help the galaxy. Luke reluctantly lets her tag along with Uncle Han and Uncle Chewie, though he makes it clear to the Solos that he is clearly unhappy with the arrangement.

FN-2187 helps Poe escape. Poe gives the stormtrooper the name “Finn”. Finn and Poe steal an Imperial TIE Fighter, and fight their way to the surface, crash landing and making the pursuing Imperial fighters think they’re dead. They reach Niima Outpost, reunite with Poe’s droid BB-8, and scrounge enough credits to catch a ride to Takodana, where Maz Kanata can help get the two back to Leia’s covert Resistance base. After reaching Takodana, Finn senses something powerful in the basement, being drawn to a lightsaber. The lightsaber that used to belong to Anakin Skywalker, and to his son Luke afterwards. Poe manages to contact the Resistance, and they send a strike force to retrieve the two. The Empire tracks the pair to Maz’s Castle, but the Resistance arrive in time to rescue them.

At the Resistance base, Poe gives the map to the assembled leadership while Rey and Finn meet for the first time. Rey realizes that Finn is Force-sensitive, even if he does not realize it. The Resistance deducts the most likely operating base for the Imperial leadership: an off the books facility from the Galactic Civil War thirty years prior. Lando, Wedge, and Poe all push to take it out in a combined air-ground assault. Han volunteers to lead the ground assault, as the Falcon is the only ship that is faster than the refresh rate on the planetary shield and can take down the generator to let the fighters in.

While Finn takes part in the ground assault, Rey tags along to learn what being in battle is truly like. Han and Chewie break off to try and find Kylo Ren. Finn and Rey end up seeing the final confrontation between Han and Kylo Ren, wherein the Sith kills his father. As the shield falls and the fighters attack, led by Poe and his Uncle Wedge, Rey, Finn, and Chewie try and return to the Falcon. Kylo Ren catches up to them, and Rey helps Chewie get back to the Falcon while they hold off Kylo Ren. Finn bravely tries first and is thrashed by the Sith Lord, whereas Rey holds her own against her cousin, by tapping into the dark side, until Chewie comes to the rescue as the facility begins falling apart. Kylo Ren, battered but unbeaten, retreats.

Han’s death casts a shadow over the victory celebrations. Rey, Chewie, and Finn head for the Jedi temple on Aach To. When Finn finally meets the legendary Luke Skywalker, the Jedi agrees to train the former Stormtrooper. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren reports to his shadowy master that Rey Skywalker is stronger than she even knows and is very susceptible to falling to the dark side. Kylo Ren’s master says that if the Jedi are becoming stronger and more numerous, so should the Sith, tossing aside the ancient Rule of Two, and that Kylo Ren should bring Rey to him.

Episode VIII

The second movie, titled Shadows of the Empire, would explore the criminal underworld of the galaxy. In the decades since the Empire fell, the New Republic has been unwilling or unable to keep the criminal elements in check, while the Imperial Remnant has been willingly cutting deals to serve their own ends. Rey, Finn, and Poe are forced to dive into the galaxy’s seediest parts to try and find out what the Empire is up to and track down relics of the old Jedi Order to help Luke with his mission to rebuild and bring hope to the galaxy again.

In the two years since the events of the last film, Kylo Ren is still more divided than ever, unable to make peace with the decision to kill his father. Meanwhile, Finn’s Jedi training has come along well. He is first seen with Luke’s wife and Jedi Master, Mara Jade, on Illum, where she helps him construct a new lightsaber.

Luke has become even more hesitant to get the Jedi involved in the new war against the Empire with so many students to protect, and is unhappy when Finn and Rey return and request to go and help evacuate the Resistance base, which has finally been found by the Empire. The evacuation is successful, but the fleet has scattered, forcing Rey, Finn, and Poe to turn to the galactic underworld for help. Maz becomes a guide to the heroes as they navigate the seediest parts of the galaxy, beginning on Coruscant, taking them to the rich casino planet of Canto Bight, looking for any rumors or whispers of Jedi Relics or old Rebellion Bases that could help both causes. Rey admits that her father is losing faith in his mission to bring the Jedi back.

On Aach To, Luke and Mara Jade spar over their differing worldviews. Mara Jade reminds Luke that his actions helped ensure the downfall of the Empire the first time, to which Luke bitterly responds that the Empire has survived, even now, and is being led by his own nephew. Luke is still hurt at Ben’s fall to the dark side, and is grappling with the darkness he feels brewing inside Rey. Anakin’s spirit comes to comfort his son, reminding him that if Luke’s love could bring Anakin back from the depths of the dark side, then it is strong enough to help bring Ben back too, as well as keep Rey from falling. Anakin also remarks upon the wonderful chance that Luke had to grow old with his family, which Anakin never did.

On a visit to Coruscant, unknown assassins manage to kill Leia while Luke is visiting. At the same time, Rey, Finn, and Poe discover that some weapons sellers have been selling both to the Empire and the Resistance. Following up on that lead, they face off against Kylo Ren once more and discover that Palpatine was behind the assassination of Leia. Palpatine managed to cheat death and has been directing the Empire’s actions the entire time. His plan was to kill an incredibly powerful political leader to foment chaos within the Galaxy and make way for the Empire’s return, with an army he has been building and hiding since the end of the Clone Wars.

They make their way to the Galactic Senate with this proof, which cements Leia’s legacy as a hero, getting respect from the entirety of the New Republic, and a renewed commitment from the galaxy to destroy the Empire once and for all. After discovering that Palpatine has been pulling the strings from beyond the grave, Luke is resolved more than ever to bring Ben home, fulfilling Leia’s dying wish, and finishing what his father started on the Death Star a long time long ago.

Episode IX

Duel of the Fates would be the conclusion to the trilogy. At the secret Sith world of Exegol, Palpatine bids Kylo Ren to travel to Coruscant. Kylo Ren sneaks onto Coruscant and descends into the depths of the former Imperial Palace, which is also the former Jedi Temple, to find an ancient Sith shrine underneath. Kylo Ren comes face to face with a dark side apparition of Darth Vander, which engages him in a duel. Kylo Ren loses.

Luke returns to Coruscant with Rey and Finn to meet with Poe and Lando. The latter two have been buoying support in the Senate. Leia’s Resistance has now become the core of a new Grand Army of the Republic, with many territorial militias and local militaries adding to it. They admit that it isn’t enough to contain anything Palpatine may throw at them.

Kylo Ren attacks Rey, leading to a lightsaber duel in the Galactic Senate chambers. Kylo Ren reveals to Rey that she is destined to be Palpatine’s other apprentice and rule the galaxy by his side. Rey, shaken by Kylo Ren’s words, resolves to discover more without putting her friends in danger.

Anakin’s spirit finally makes it through to Kylo Ren, telling him that the pull he had felt towards the light was him the whole time. Ben Solo promises to go after the Emperor, and finish what his grandfather started. Since Ben’s saber from his darker days is still damaged, Luke offers him Anakin’s lightsaber to use when confronting Palpatine, mending the rift between uncle and nephew. Ben manages to catch Rey before she meets Palpatine and falls to the Dark Side.

At the final confrontation on Exegol, the New Republic military engages the Imperial Remnants in a space and ground battle while the New Jedi Order arrives to support Ben and Rey as they enter the Sith Temple on the planet to confront Palpatine. Palpatine’s remaining Inquisitors, Sith Assassins, and cultist followers challenge the Jedi in an epic showdown between light and dark. As the spirits of fallen Jedi gather around them to challenge conjurations of the Dark Side, Ben and Rey agree that they will fight Palpatine together. As they always should have. During the battle, the cousins and descendants of Anakin Skywalker finish what their grandfather started on the second Death Star decades before and extinguish Palpatine for good. The dark side loses and balance is finally returned to the Force.

Luke, having seen what happens when the Jedi are not around to influence galactic events and decides that it is a burden that the Jedi must bear. He decides to restore the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and make the former Imperial Palace the shining symbol of justice it was for thousands of years before Palpatine’s corruption. He welcomes Rey and Ben as Jedi Masters, having faced incredible trials and demonstrated the spirit of true Jedi, remarking that there will come a time when the next generation must carry the torch. Finn continues his Jedi training at the temple, with the war against the Imperial Remnant constituting his trials and he officially becomes a Jedi Knight. Meanwhile, Poe and Lando take up the mantle of rebuilding the galaxy and leading the New Republic into the golden era the galaxy so richly deserves.