Is the Sequel Trilogy really a Sequel? Or is it just the new Original Trilogy of the Disney Era?
While everyone at Disney is telling us they just wrapped up the Skywalker Saga, I am starting to feel more and more like that Saga truly did end with Episodes 1-6 and the newest Trilogy is the start of a new Saga or a Disney version of the Original Trilogy.
Do not get me wrong, I love ALL Star Wars. While I was lucky enough to grow up during the Original Trilogy, I really did enjoy Episodes 7 through 9 and I am a big fan of pretty much everything that Disney is doing with the franchise. I am writing this as a fan, not a fanatic. I know tons about Star Wars, but I do not know everything.
I was born at just the right time to be able to see Star Wars for my sixth birthday in 1977. It was a huge part of my life and I was sad to think it was all over with the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi. I kept all my action figures hidden away for years until one day my girlfriend, now wife, bought me a copy of Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn in 1991. Not only did I know then I had found the right girl, but it rekindled my love for Star Wars.
In 1997 I was able to take my young son to see Star Wars Special Edition. Is four too young to see Star Wars? Then in 1999 I was able to take him to see Episode I, the Phantom Menace. It was a chance to see Star Wars through the eyes of a child again. It gave us something to bond over for years. While many people did not like the Prequels, I enjoyed the movies and they were special to me because I got to see what I was probably like growing up watching the Original Trilogy. I felt very complete when I left Revenge of the Sith. The story saw the rise, fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. It showed how important Obi-Wan Kenobi was to the overall story and that Luke was the New Hope that defeated the Galactic Empire with the help of Han, Leia and others.
Being a huge Star Wars fan, while I was happy with the way the six movies went, of course I always yearned for more. I was not sure if I was ready for the Clone Wars animated series, I grew to love it. Of course, there were some episodes that were fluff and just for kids. There were also characters and episodes that made not only the Prequels, but the overall story arc even better. Seeing how Palpatine was manipulating everything was fabulous. Seeing the true relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin that we never got to see in depth during the Prequels made the end of Revenge of the Sith much more gratifying. Meeting some of my now favorite characters like Ahsoka Tano, Plo Koon, Cade Bane, Asajj Ventress, Hondo Ohnaka, Captain Rex, and Fives grew my love for the Prequel era and expanded the Star Wars universe for me.
When Disney cancelled the Clone Wars, I admit I was not happy. I knew there were more episodes in the works. I wanted nothing more than to see the series end at the beginning of Revenge of the Sith. I was not sure about another animated series, Rebels. When I heard the Dave Filoni was in charge, I put my fears away and knew the series was in good hands. Just like Clone Wars, there were some episodes that were filler and just for kids. At the same time this series was full of great characters and storylines that added to the depth of Episodes 1 through 6. It helped you see the Rebellion grow from its infancy. Over four seasons you learned to love the crew of the Ghost. It was also great to see that there were still a few Jedi out there. Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Sabine and Zeb were a perfect mix of an eclectic family. We were given great tie-ins to Clone Wars with Ahsoka, Rex, Maul and Hondo. The Empire had some great characters that showed you their strength and power, Agent Kallus, the Inquisitors, Governor Pryce, Governor Tarkin, Darth Vader and a fan favorite, Grand Admiral Thrawn.
The last piece of the puzzle of what I believe makes Episode 1 through 6 the complete Skywalker story is Rogue One. I was not sure what to expect when that movie was released, especially with all the bad press about how things did not go 100% right on the set and that original movie had to be broken down and redone. What I think we all received was one of the best Star Wars movies ever made. We got to see the end-result of what Rebels was leading up to. There were characters that spanned the Prequels, Clone Wars and Rebels that all tied into this movie like Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Governor Tarkin, Saw Gerrera and Darth Vader. The Vader scene at the end of this movie was worth the price of admission. Unfortunately, there were so many characters that we go to connect to in this movie that we might not ever see again, Jyn Erso, Cassian, Chirrut, Baze and K2SO. If you did not leave that movie and go watch Episode 4 right away, you were missing out.
All these movies and animated series have one thing in common in their storyline. You could feel they were leading you into a dark place that left you with one thing to search for, Hope. This was brought up over and over across this saga. I could feel Episodes 1 through 3 and the Clone Wars getting darker and leading us all down a path of no return. As soon as I watched Rebels and Rogue One, I could feel them leading fans towards Hope. In Episodes 4 through 6 Luke and the Rebels were there to bring us all the way back to the light and redemption.
I wanted Episodes 7 through 9 to be their own story going in a new direction but instead it felt so much like previous stories with different characters, adding in a taste of the old and familiar. It could have been easy to understand that the New Republic had grown and was now facing some outside or unfamiliar foe, the First Order was the Empire miraculously back. The script could have been flipped and those dedicated to the Empire could now be the Rebel faction causing problems, but the Empire / First Order each had a planet-destroying weapon the first episode of the trilogy. There could have been an alien faction from the Unknown Region that could have started an all-out war, as there was in the New Jedi Order book series. Luke could have been running a new Jedi Academy and leading them into battle against some new foe. Instead, while there were some changes and quirks to the overall arc, I truly feel that the Sequel Trilogy was a new approach and reimagined way to look at the Original Trilogy. I am not against that. I fell in love with Rey, Finn, Poe, Maz, Hux and every scene that Kylo / Ben was in across this Trilogy.
Here is where the similarities lie between the Original Trilogy and this Trilogy.
Luke and Rey were both fairly-alone on a desert planet. Both needed mentors, had great abilities, faced adversity and were tempted by the Dark Side. Both also lost family and someone close to them during their journey. Luke and Rey both found out about their family and bloodlines from their rival.
Leia, Han, Poe and Finn all brought similarities to the table. Poe and Han were both rogues that had a criminal background. Han and Finn both were former Imperials / First Order. Leia and Finn both seemed to have Force abilities. Leia and Poe both had family members that were part of the Rebellion.
Anakin and Ben both had alternate personalities / egos as Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. Both had Skywalker blood, and both went very Dark and needed to be redeemed. Both loved their families but felt they had gone too far to the Dark Side to come back.
There was a pawn for the Emperor in both trilogies. Tarkin and Snoke both played the part of the leader of the Empire and First Order, but the Emperor was pulling the strings of both puppets.
There were old characters from previous stories brought back from events in the past in each trilogy. Obi-Wan and Yoda in the original trilogy. Han, Leia, Luke and Lando in the Sequel Trilogy. These older characters were looked at as mentors to the lead characters. Most, if not all, were killed off in each of the trilogies.
In A New Hope there was the Death Star, while in the Force Awakens, there was Starkiller Base.
The Empire Strikes Back and the Last Jedi were both character-driven stories that allowed the fans to learn more about what the characters were thinking and challenged the first story of each Trilogy. The Rebels lost the battle at Hoth but escaped to fight again. The Resistance lost the battle at Crait but escaped to fight again. In Empire, some of our heroes were double-crossed by Lando and turned over to the Empire. In the Last Jedi, DJ turned Finn and Rose over to the First Order.
The Return of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker again each had the issue of planet-destroying weapons. The Emperor was back to try and manipulate Darth Vader and Kylo Ren as well as Luke Skywalker and Rey. There was a huge space battle at the end of each movie. The Ewoks were the non-technology help to the Rebels in Jedi while Jannah and her group rode Orbaks on a Star Destroyer in Skywalker. In each movie the ultimate bad guy was redeemed and what we think is the Last Jedi is the hero.
As I stated, I truly enjoyed the Sequel Trilogy. I think it was three very entertaining movies that brought an entire group of new fans to the franchise. But did it really end the Skywalker saga, or did it just use some of those characters, re-hash the Original Trilogy and start an entirely new saga?
I hope that Disney takes the characters that were created in this Trilogy and builds on them with new movies, books, comics and animated series. Kylo Ren says it best in The Last Jedi “It’s time to let old things die. Snoke, Skywalker. The Sith, the Jedi, the Rebels…Let it all die.” Let’s hope that Disney goes in that direction.
I think they have made the right choice by creating an entirely new era in their next project, the High Republic. This storyline being 200 years before the Phantom Menace is the right path with new characters, new heroes and new enemies. May the Force be with you.
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