With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on the horizon we discuss how the film can tackle the divisiveness of its predecessor.
The end of the newest Star Wars trilogy is nigh. Exactly two months prior to the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Disney shared the official (and final) trailer for the film, sparking excitement and anticipation amongst fans.
The expectations for the film are immense, especially since the previous two cinematic Star Wars instalments have divided fans. Solo: A Star Wars Story was a questionable addition to the franchise, and its lackluster box office returns apparently scuppered plans to produce more solo films. On the other hand, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was a huge box office success, but the film split fans unlike any other in the franchise before.
Each side – haters and champions – feel they’re in the right regarding their opinions about the film, but what was it that made The Last Jedi so divisive? Several factors contributed to people being at odds with each other, and the worry is that The Rise of Skywalker will toe the line, repeating the mistakes that made its predecessor so problematic. Irrespective of whether viewers loved it or hated it, there are some elements in the film that directly contributed to The Last Jedi being seen as one of the poorer inclusions in the franchise.
Now that J.J. Abrams, who launched the new trilogy and directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is back in the director’s chair, is it possible for him to rectify the many perceived issues of the previous film? Here are five ways we would tackle The Rise of Skywalker, and hopefully, make it another beloved Star Wars film.
5. Celebrate Carrie Fisher
And by that we mean, really celebrate her. Harrison Ford returned to the role of Han Solo in The Force Awakens and died a heroic, emotional death that crushed fans. Mark Hamill donned Luke Skywalker’s robes once again and somehow became the hero of The Last Jedi instead of Daisy Ridley’s Rey. So what about Carrie Fisher’s General Leia?
Following her untimely death, fans worried that General Leia would not appear in the final film, but the production team has managed to cobble together some unused footage of Fisher, and she will feature in The Rise of Skywalker. We can’t expect much, but can Carrie Fisher and Leia’s legacies be provided the gravitas they rightly deserve?
Most fans were beside themselves with excitement when we learned that Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron idolized Leia, because even in the 21st century, men aren’t allowed to look up to women. But all that came to nought when Poe disobeyed Leia’s direct order in the first 10 minutes of The Last Jedi and led to the deaths of the Resistance’s dwindling forces.
Whatever Abrams and team do in The Rise of Skywalker, they need to somehow place Leia as the hero we’ve always known her to be – give her a moment in the spotlight, and we don’t mean a Mary Poppins-style scene where she uses the Force. Leia is an incredible leader and a fighter — make those aspects of her the cornerstone of Fisher’s Star Wars legacy.
4. Eschew Romances
Unless it’s FinnPoe, that is, because then Star Wars would finally enter the real world and have a canonically gay romantic couple on screen. That probably won’t happen, because Disney lives in the dark ages with its most popular properties.
The trouble with the “romances” that we’ve seen in the new trilogy so far is that they came out of nowhere. John Boyega’s Finn and Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico went off on a tangential mission to Canto Bight and ended the film with a chemistry-less kiss, which seemed to take Finn by complete surprise. The kiss appeared to be an attempt at homosocialism, considering how Rian Johnson was afraid to let Finn and Poe share any extended screen time together.
The worst, however, was the suggestion that Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) were romantically interested in each other. This was downright problematic, as Kylo has been nothing but abusive in his interactions with Rey. Kylo’s character required more of the Knights of Ren – who are set to appear in the final instalment – not a dalliance with Rey.
Plus, Rey’s character arc suddenly revolved completely around the extended Skywalker family – bringing Luke back into the fold as the last Jedi and redeeming Kylo. Rey certainly deserves better than being a love interest. And there’s no question that the old cinematic cliché of the bad boy actually needing a good girl to become a hero doesn’t fit with Star Wars. Rey is the much-needed female protagonist of the series – write her that way.
3. Let the Cast Stick Together
Apparently both Ridley and Boyega were upset when they read the script for The Last Jedi, because they hardly shared any screen time together. While the second instalments of all the Star Wars films have split the main cast, the ratio remained 2:1, allowing viewers to follow two main arcs.
In Johnson’s misguided attempts to be “different,” he wrote all three main characters on separate missions. Rey was training with Luke; Poe was arguing with Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern), and Finn took off to Canto Bight. Not only did these separate missions dilute the story, but all the established relationships from the first film were put on the backburner and new ones had to be created. In essence, the film practically rebooted the trilogy and put paid to the character interactions that were set up to be developed during its runtime.
The screengrabs of The Rise of Skywalker imply that perhaps Rey, Finn and Poe will be spending more time together, alongside Rose, but it needs to be meaningful. The original cast already share great chemistry, and all the creators need to do is add to it by letting them work towards the same goal – end the First Order and save the galaxy. A few quips and camaraderie along the way will simply add to the dynamics on screen.
2. Let the Good Guys Be Good
Star Wars has never shied away from writing some of its characters with ambiguous morals. The fight between good and evil is the axis that the franchise pivots on. While redemption has never been out of reach, the good guys have primarily acted like heroes. Not in The Last Jedi.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the previous instalment was how consistent the characterizations of the villainous First Order were, while the heroes were painted as everything from damsels, and cowards, to misogynists.
Poe couldn’t take orders from a woman, and his actions resulted in the deaths of the majority of the Resistance. He even instigated the Canto Bight mission — against orders — which meant Finn and Rose inadvertently led the First Order straight to the Resistance’s location and… yes, killed even more of the heroes.
Meanwhile, Kylo Ren and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) were alternatively suffering and brooding men of action who begged to be sympathized with. Kylo was given splendid action sequences that showed off what a potential catch he could be for Rey – that was until he played the old “let’s rule the galaxy together” card, but it was consistent with his character. Why were the heroes treated with less respect?
1. Embrace Diversity
Hollywood loves to pat itself on the back about how inclusive and diverse it is, but their actions are little more than lip service. The Force Awakens did its best to highlight its POC and female cast, but its successor appeared to want nothing to do with it.
All the POC characters were sidelined, irrespective of how much screen time they were given. They weren’t heroes in their own stories. The fact that the creators decided that a former child soldier who had risked his life to escape the First Order and then made it his mission to fulfill his friend’s task had to be taught a lesson on the sufferings of the galaxy, remains baffling. Finn is protective of Rey and Poe, the only friends he has – that doesn’t make him a coward.
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Poe dissenting against his female superiors was too reflective of the racist “angry Latino” trope and made many fans of colour unhappy and feeling othered. It also felt completely out of character for someone who was nothing short of a hero in The Force Awakens.
Sidelining Rey was probably the biggest misstep Johnson and his team made. She was supposed to be the hero who faced-off against Kylo Ren, not Luke. He had three films and decades of stories to develop his character; this was Rey’s moment to shine and The Last Jedi swung the spotlight away from her. If Abrams has learned anything from the backlash, it should be that Rey needs more screen time and has to be respected in the same way that all the male heroes in the franchise have been so far.
Without a doubt, The Last Jedi had its pros but, for many, the cons outweighed those. At times, it felt like the entire intent of the film was to send up fan theories rather than to create a film that built on the first one and led to the finale. There was too much navel-gazing and very little originality. Spectacular visuals aside, the film was more regressive and betrayed the phenomenal steps taken by The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Can The Rise of Skywalker finally bring the Force back to the franchise?