Is it Still Fun to be an Online Star Wars Fan? The Road to The Rise of Skywalker (Part 2)

Read Part 1 First: Part 1

Part 2: Rise of Skywalker Predictions and Fan Reactions: (Minor Spoilers might play)

My predictions here go beyond theory. They are the result of a lot of research, but they also are derived on a few subjective assumptions. The first being that Lucas is much more involved in the core story and even the details than people realize. (I made my argument for this above). The second is that the conditions Lucas set forth to follow was to complete the monomyth of Joseph Campbell. Some of my predictions do involve scraps of the leaks that have made it to my brain, but more than that, that the ultimate goal of episode 9 is to tie the entire saga together. I conclude these predictions with how I think the fandom can best move forward positively.

1. These films are built around the identity of Rey. (Anakin = Chosen One = Rey)

Subconsciously, I think the fandom always knew this, even though we argued for a little bit over whether Kylo Ren was telling the truth about the “your parents are nobodies” thing. (Just like we argued over if Vader was truthful, and how we were meant to argue if Dooku was being truthful about a Sith Lord running the Republic. If the story wasn’t obvious because it was a prequel and we knew how things turned out.)  

We know deep down the question has not been answered once and for all, and identity is Rey’s main motivator. She wants “To find her place in all of this.”

Oddly, the fact we know this trilogy is ultimately about Rey discovering her identity does not curb the word “Mary Sue” being thrown at her from detractors. Even though her power and skill in the force (despite a lack of training) should be considered deliberate to the story, many refuse to see it as anything but a misplaced desire to have an ultra-powerful female lead Star Wars as the main character. Rey’s gender is part of the motif of balance – but that’s another essay.

The lightsaber vision from The Force Awakens and the Mirror Vision from The Last Jedi are connected and are meant to lead the audience to the true answer.  

Rey, in some way, is connected to Anakin. I maintain she is a resurrected Anakin due to the Star Wars monomyth not being complete with a true in-the-flesh resurrected hero. Regardless of an actual physical chosen one repeating throughout time being declared or only hinted like Darth Plaguis the Wise creating life, the connection will NOT be genetic, but mystical . . . through the force. Either a reborn soul or a connected chosen one infinite knowledge, does not matter. Rey is the force incarnate, and Anakin will NOT appear as a force ghost as a result.

How will the fandom react?

Mostly positive. It will be a realization that the sequel trilogy has indeed all been connected, but not only that, the entire saga. I maintain that the truth of her identity is still safely hidden, even from leaks by a similar “Obi Wan killed your father” bait and switch.

2. Ben Solo will be Redeemed and will LIVE.

Ben Solo became the generational representative of Lucas’s broad vision, where he wanted three generations of Skywalkers fighting the same evil. (1). Although his vision updated to include midichlorians and the mysterious Whills (taken from the original title of Star Wars – the Journal of the Whils.) the desire Lucas had for the final battle to take place on a spiritual plane of existence will remain intact.   

Many people do not want to see him redeemed, and many more who would be fine with his redemption do not want to see him live. This was the reason for multiple leaks on this subject. (Again, none of which I read; I just had the subject thrust in my face). One thing is clear to me – the results of the redemption changed. They could go either way at this point as far as I am concerned. Disney wanted to know how fans would react to a variety of scenarios. We will get what they decided would please the most people.

Unless they listen to Lucas and decide enough people will be happy with his vision. If they do, Ben Solo will live. As for his redemption, this is Star Wars so redemption is 100 percent. The movie is called “Rise of Skywalker.” – and like many Star Wars titles it has a few meanings.

How will the fandom react?

Divided. The movie will attempt to show how Han Solo’s sacrifice directly allowed for Ben Solo to be redeemed at all, but many will miss the mythology / fantasy of it because of their adult sense of justice. They will be unable to return to that 12-year-old point of view.

Young fans will love it unanimously.

3. Reylo

I think they pretty much gave away with trailers and movie promotion that Reylo won’t be a romantic thing, which is odd considering all the sexual tension of The Last Jedi (to include literal rape metaphors by Snoke).

The point of Reylo is probably something that was considered and abandoned, as it would be difficult to both have Rey connect the saga and not have it be weird that she was technically spiritually (but not genetically) related to Kylo Ren / Ben Solo.

Still, Reylo will serve as a reminder of the type of relationship Anakin and Padme had, but by the end will move on to a more equal and balanced, rather than codependent / abusive relationship. Just not in a romantic way – but in that fantasy way only Star Wars can achieve.

How will the fandom react?

Negatively. Because Rey’s identity will block the romantic side, shippers will be upset. However, feminists might read the wrong message as to the abusive nature of the relationship if they only glance over the film, and even non-shippers will notice a huge plot hole. At first, people will be upset, but in time it will become a running Star Wars joke just like how Luke kissed his sister.  

4. Force Ghosts and Dark Rey

Some of this is tainted with a few leaks which reach my brain unwillingly – so some spoilers beware – but I only have fragments to add to my own long held theories.

Much of the final confrontation will be on the spiritual plane of existence. To reach the “cave” or “underworld” (to quote the monomyth) Rey and Ben solo will have to journey through a spiritual realm of light into one of darkness. Ben will become lost in this darkness, with Rey trying to fish him out.

On the light side Rey will meet Leia, Luke, and even Han. Possibly Obi wan. She will converse with Luke and possibly Leia.

Counter to this, (based on limited leak knowledge) Ben Solo will be shown Dark Anakin / Vader, (a holdover from The Force Awakens) and possibly other Sith Lords like Darth Maul . . . but it will be unclear if he is seeing these people is real or just a vision. Palpatine will then emerge for real.

In order to reach Ben, Rey will have to embrace her dark nature and thus we get Dark Rey. On the verge of being redeemed, Ben will see Han who will also have descended into the darkness after his son. Luke and Leia force ghosts become instrumental in the final defeat of Palpatine.

How will the fandom react?

Mixed. I say mixed because I don’t think many people will outright hate whatever gets done with force ghosts, but rather it will be a reflection of how they liked some of the other main answers to their questions. I think a lot of people will be disappointed if they don’t see Anakin or if Anakin isn’t “real” – but that again will be a reflection of how they like who Rey is.

Many will just be glad to have Luke, Leia, and potentially Han in one more moment together. Han would be the big surprise . . .but I really think he’s going to be there because “spirit plane” etc.

5. Palpatine / Snoke was always the plan

I suspect most of what got leaked about Palpatine is totally true, except for anything he might have to do with Rey’s identity. Palpatine’s “contingency” plan has been well documented in all Star Wars cannon released by Disney since well before the Force Awakens, so this has been in the works from the start.

I suspect the Mandalorian show has more details on Palpatine’s return, and thus the reason we are getting filler episodes until the release of Rise of Skywalker.

(Moving beyond what I know of the leaks) Palpatine preserved himself horcrux style in a Sith Artifact, and is attempting to manipulate the midichlorians (or something) maybe bringing Rey and Ben together, to allow his full resurrection and immortality.  

Snoke was literal vessel for Palpatine’s spirit for a time.



How will the fandom react?

Mostly Positive. People are going to like it. They are conditioned for this type of return through Voldemort. Palpatine will be menacing and full of fan service, and even if Rey doesn’t connect the whole saga for people, he will.

It might be of some minor importance whether people think he was a last-minute change, or planned from the start, but I think in time the evidence will reach enough people that people won’t doubt him being planned out.

This will also redeem the Snoke death and lack of explanation for many Last Jedi detractors, but it won’t solve all their problems.

Conclusion

Can a fandom change, unite, become less toxic?

I like to think so. I think this exercise with Star Wars has taught us much in regards to how we relate to each other online. Some of us have learned to be more patient, and realize that just because opinions vary, they are not your enemy and are not bad people.

This is much harder to learn with some of the political discussions these days, as we tend to gravitate toward our camp.

But with Star Wars, there is still just one camp. We all love this story. We all have a tendency to compartmentalize the parts we like the best. Some people might cut themselves off from the rest of the fandom, but in general its no fun to do so.

I have to believe this will be an example of why patience, and waiting for a story to play out before you judge it as whole can be a good and positive exercise. I think some change will be immediate as realization hits.

For others, the creator himself I think is going to have to step in and tell the whole story his involvement in how these movies got made.

George Lucas comes Forward

No author can resist. It won’t happen for a few years (if it happens at all) because it will take a while for the internet to re-posture and redraw its battle lines. There will be some fights after Rise of Skywalker, but in general I don’t think they will last for years like The Last Jedi because the there will be nothing left to argue about. No more unresolved theories. No more

Overall the Rise of Skywalker will be mostly positively received, unless Reylo or Ben solo dying in the end was really important to you. Some people will love whatever happens with force ghosts, and some will find it too childish.

Once the dust has settled and the memes popular like the prequels, if Lucas is still alive he will tell the full story of his involvement, more on what he wished Disney would have done, and what ideas he was able to force them to follow (or which they respected).

Rey the Mary Sue

I don’t think this point of view will ever go away completely, but it will decline significantly.

The Triumph of Star Wars

This is our modern myth. It will last generations to come. More stories will be told, more movies and TV shows made but everything will basically be spin off from now on. Disney will learn to pace themselves and keep it special. (They’ve learned already)

In the end the fandom will be balanced, just like the force.

Is it Still Fun to be an Online Star Wars Fan? The Road to The Rise of Skywalker

*This will be a two-part series. The first details my thoughts on Lucas and the Fandom as the Sequel Trilogy was made. The second part I go on record with how I think Rise of Skywalker will change the online fandom world. 


Part 1: Lucas in the Shadows


“You know the prequels are bad movies, right?” 


My friend looks over at me as we get ready to play another round of Street Fighter Turbo. (Or something. I can’t quite recall because it doesn’t matter. My friend, who we shall call Morpheus to protect his identity, always kicks my butt at fighting games.) I have always been a prequel apologist. I have never not liked a Star Wars movie. Sure, there are cringe-worthy moments, and some Star Wars movies have more of them than others. But they are all DUMB. 


Isn’t that why we love them? 


No, there’s something more than Ewoks, and Wookies, and Gungans (Oh my) that makes these films endearing to millions. It’s because they successfully dig deep into a core mythology of humanity felt deep within every soul. This mythology brings with it certain expectations depending on our age. When George Lucas says the films are aimed at twelve-year olds, it’s not because the themes and motifs are immature. (Or because a ten-year-old gets to “accidentally” blow up a warship.) It’s because it is within this age group that this type of mythology matters the most. To the rest of us, we are supposed to let go of our hardened adult mannerisms and return to that age to re-learn the key lessons. Some of us are better at doing so than others.

I shrug. “They have their moments.”


“No,” My friend says, grinning. “Come on. Admit it. They’re pretty bad.”


I shrug, not really admitting anything, but I let him take my knowing smile for what he will.

This is a short conversation I recall before The Force Awakens came out. Everyone (including the Disney led Lucasfilm, unfortunately) was still kind of worried about a “repeat of the prequels” in those days. Half a decade later, and prequel memes dominate the internet—certainly more than any meme from the original trilogy. The prequels have suddenly become this revered and treasured event. We’ve forgotten how we as fans treated Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, and George Lucas himself. We psychologically scarred all three. Hayden Christianson decided to leave acting, and Lucas would eventually sell his franchise . . . 


And then history sort of repeated itself, but for much different reasons. This time, Lucasfilm could anticipate how the old generations of fans might react compared to the new if there were things they didn’t like about the new trilogy. And therein is the common misconception with how the sequel trilogy got made.


Hot Take: Lucas didn’t sell his franchise for money, or because he was tired of Star Wars and trusted it to a family friendly company. He sold it to finish his story while being shielded from the onslaught should the final three films not be well received. 


As an author, it baffles me sometimes that people think Lucas didn’t put exact story conditions into the contract of the sale. This is a man who went back and forth at least three times on how much of his story he could finish. Three times he said “No More Star Wars.” And three times he changed his mind and it returned anyway. What is more, it is easily forgotten his grand vision always included nine films (1). 


Now all of this is speculation based on what I would want, placing myself in Lucas’ shoes, but keep in mind most of the actual contract between Lucas and Disney has been kept a closely guarded secret. The move to finish his story free of repercussions had drawbacks. 

•         He would have to give over an extreme amount of creative control, as his core outline probably had to be very general.
•       He wouldn’t be able to take credit for things if they went well. At least not until all three were done. (More on this later) 
•       He was able to place long-time Lucasfilm veteran Kathleen Kennedy in charge, and had a say in choosing the directors. (We know this because the way JJ Abrams was approached and hired is very detailed.) However, history would show that the Disney owned Lucasfilm could still rearrange those directors as they saw fit.  

These drawbacks would eventually lead to Lucas feeling betrayed with The Force Awakens. (And it is very important to point out it was only with The Force Awakens). Disney’s CEO Bob Iger would later express regrets in his book, “The Ride of a Lifetime”: (2) over making Lucas feel this way. The betrayal was because the Disney led Lucasfilm decided to:

•       Cut important political moments (entire essays and videos can be done on this).
•     Structure the film in such a way as to make it nearly beat-for-beat like the original Star Wars movie (Titled: A New Hope)
•      Use nostalgic ships like the M. Falcon and X-wings rather than brand new ones.

And yet, the core story remained intact. How do I know this? Because it was easy to reference in two books. “The Art of Star Wars: Force Awakens” and “The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” (3) (4)

Unfortunately, the internet in general took the comments out of context, and for people who hang on every word from Lucas or pine for every scrap of information on Star Wars, when The Last Jedi failed to please them, these comments became ammunition. 

Suddenly, a story with a clear plan seemed like a story where everyone was just winging it. It didn’t help when Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) was replaced by J.J. Abrams for the final instalment in the Sequel Trilogy. To fans in which The Last Jedi made feel jaded, this and many other factors were a sign of a lack of communication between Disney leadership and its directors. However, Lucas always remained in the shadows, consulting on everything. 

And then there were the spin off movies – “Rogue One and Solo” (Both subtitled “A Star Wars Story). These were generally a very messy filming affair. Why? Because Lucas didn’t leave any conditions for them. There was no outline, and it was the first time anything like them had ever been attempted. These two films require their own essay, but they added to the appearance of disorganization. 

Mark Hamill added fuel to the fire by publicly sharing his initial doubts and reactions to the story. Having met Mr. Hamill and person, I can tell you he wears all his emotions on his sleeve and he doesn’t mince words. But again, words were taken out of context. Nobody cared (especially those who felt rage at Episode 8) how he came to appreciate the direction his character took, only that he fundamentally disagreed at first. 

And so, a conflict that started brewing with The Force Awakens ignited into a full-blown online war after The Last Jedi divided the fanbase. It wasn’t a fan war that lasted a month or two after Episode 8. Oh no. It rages still. Anyone posting a video or article about Star Wars does so at extreme peril. Many I am sure, sought to gain fame or notoriety off of this war. One prime example is the leaks. The war is so hot, that leaked script information making its way onto the internet is thrown in the face of any unwary YouTube user who watches a lot of Star Wars content. Usually, the leaks are pointed at with the words “Disaster” in the title. 

All of this goes on with fans forgetting how Lucasfilm deliberately leaked critical information in the original trilogy. Darth Vader was to tell Luke “Obi Wan killed your father.” 

Only a select few knew the true line, “I am your father.” Not even Mark Hamill. Not until it was time to film the scene. The setting, situation, set up, result of the duel . . . all of that was leaked truthfully. And fans that loved spoilers ate it up. This was in a time when there was no internet. But now . . . the Disney owned Lucasfilm must be even more wary. Yet, I do not put it past them to be any less successful with their information warfare, because there is a man in the shadows who knows better. This ain’t his first rodeo folks, and he has placed his faith in people who are really good at managing the secrets. (Some of the same people who kept Baby Yoda a secret) 

It hasn’t been fun the last two years to be a Star Wars fan on the internet. But there is hope. The Rise of Skywalker, the Monomyth of Joseph Campbell . . . and George Lucas. 

References

1. “The Making of Return of the Jedi” (1983) Hosted by Carrie Fisher

2. Iger, Bob. “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company”

3. Szostak, Phil “The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015)

4. Szostak, Phil “The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017)

Go to Part 2

Five Points of Controversy in Star Wars: The Last Jedi That are Actually Beautiful - Part IV (Spoilers)

4. Not my Luke Skywalker

Acknowledgement: “Not my Luke Skywalker” is a hashtag gaining momentum. I doubt it will ever rival the somewhat entitled sounding “not my president,” but clearly those who use the hashtag feel just as passionate. Maybe even more.

I laughed when Luke tossed the lightsaber over his shoulder. Rian Johnson trolled me and I guess I just like that sort of humor. Andy Kaufman would have been proud. I will admit, The Last Jedi had me worried about Luke, and I thought, “Oh no . . . Mark Hamill was right.”

I think if you found this blog you probably know about Mark Hamill talking in several interviews about how he fundamentally disagreed with what Rian Johnson had in mind for his most iconic character. Just in case you didn’t, here is one of several hundred Youtube videos on the subject. Of course, this isn’t the best way to promote a movie, but I think Mark was honest when he made sure to start talking about how he had come around to Johnson’s vision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djJ6GAplhFU

 We all could kind of predict Luke would not want to train Rey at first, and then he would grow and give in. However, we all assumed Luke had gone looking for the first Jedi temple because he wanted to correct his mistakes somehow. Come to learn he intends to just live out his days as a hermit until he dies. We all wanted Luke to be inspired by something, pick up his saber and go help Rey. We all wanted bad ass moments with him taking down the Knights of Ren, or maybe crushing First Order Walkers. We did get a blaze of glory moment, but despite the incredible final act, I can understand how it would feel underwhelming. Even Yoda didn’t fade into the force until Return of the Jedi. For years we have been reading stories, which are now legends, on how Luke managed to find himself a wife, have a son, and take down several more threats to the galaxy. We didn’t necessarily expect to see all of those things, but we wanted a hint of them. We were hoping for two more movies with Luke as a mentor for the next generation. We still might see him around in the next film, just not the way we hoped. However, when the story is examined in a big picture context, the poetry of Luke’s arc in this film is gorgeous.

How Luke was written: Considering the flashback sequences, Luke hasn’t been gone for twenty years. It seems like maybe two or three at the most. His failure with Ben Solo is relatively recent on the time scale. It leaves plenty of room for some of the badass stories we were hoping for to still be back into canon. What we have to come to terms with as fans is this: The Last Jedi is the story of the final days of Luke Skywalker. It is the story of how he placed his hopes in a young girl and decided to let his legend give hope to the galaxy. It is the story of how he came to terms with becoming more powerful than we could ever imagine, by moving from this life into the next. Han Solo was a mentor for Rey, but he doesn’t have the power to be her spiritual guide.

Luke does.

Since this trilogy as a whole is about the new generation, it is a fitting place to be. If I am Rian Johnson, I have to imagine how Luke would react to feeling responsible for losing Ben to the dark side. I also need to include things like how Luke probably found out about the old Jedi order and how his father fell. I will have to trust my audience to understand what my worst fear might be as a Jedi Master losing his student to the dark side without explaining them. The circumstances surrounding the fall of Ben Solo will be the final section in this series, so I am only going to state the obvious here. Considering the context of the moment of doubt Luke had that caused him to even consider the unthinkable, the person Luke becomes makes total sense.

 He is a man racked with guilt. Even touching a lightsaber again must disgust him even more than it disgusts us to see him milking weird space walruses. As a writer this broken man is who I build my story around. I can’t just have Rey show up and suddenly he changes his mind. I can’t have him return to heroics for his buddy Han Solo. So what really brings Luke back to us?

The Point of View of Master Skywalker: The real moment of triumph in this film is a quiet one. It’s when Luke opens himself up to the force again. This happens after R2D2 takes his “cheap shot” and shows Luke is original call to action. Something about his training with Rey prompts him to reach out to Leia. Her pain and suffering might have caused him to want to go to his sister, but as Luke rushes to find Rey he walks in on her and Kylo Ren physically touching through the force. All his fears come rushing back, and he does not respond well.

He tells Rey to leave, but she is determined that Kylo Ren could come back to the light. Luke tries to tell her not to go to him, but she won’t listen. However, Luke is open to the force now, and a certain green Muppet can at last make contact. Yoda is more than a cameo. He is the turning point in the film. Up to this point, both Luke and Kylo Ren are trying to burn down their past in different ways. Luke is trying to hide from his greatest mistake, and Kylo Ren is trying to literally destroy his past to gain power.

However, Yoda offers the balance. It is fine to destroy your past, as long as you learn from it.

“Failure is the greatest of teachers,” he says.  

The crux of the movie becomes that Luke needs to break free of his existential quandary. He needs to burn down the past of his failures, but he also needs to realize that he has learned from them, so that he does not have to be in constant fear of them happening again. This is the balance for Luke. To continue to pass on what he has learned to a new generation to include the lessons of his failures. Yoda bonks Luke over the head with his ghost walking stick—and it hurts. Then he destroys the tree. These two acts give us a new perspective on what Force Ghosts can achieve, so we should be perhaps a little excited that Luke no doubt becomes one.

 As for the texts, we learn at the end of the film that Rey has already taken them. Yoda knows this, so it is symbolic of the Force placing its trust in Rey to be the balance of the future. But Luke has also placed his faith in Rey. He knows his final act will create a legend, but he also knows he will not survive the effort it will take to project himself across the galaxy. He is both inspiring hope to the galaxy and placing hope in his last student. I find this notion beautiful.

I want to point out that we couldn’t get these motifs done correctly if Luke is physically at the final battle. Luke cold have destroyed the squadron of walkers, but he would still have to lose. Some people would have perhaps like to have seen him go out in this blaze of glory, or even sacrifice himself to Kylo Ren the same way Obi Wan did to Vader. This all sounds good in theory, but I think in execution we would have not been as pleased with the result. People would argue, “If Luke was so powerful why he couldn’t have just crushed Kylo Ren and ended the threat right here?”

We would never have bought Kylo Ren besting Luke in a duel. Could you imagine the outrage compared to the sort of small squabble we have over Luke’s death now?  Moreover, from the point of view of the character of Luke Skywalker, sacrificing himself might be significant for Rey, because he would be able to talk to her as a force ghost. Yet the rest of the Galaxy would see Luke Skywalker be defeated. Nor would he have been able to keep the First Order from advancing. Even if he could destroy several walkers it would not have bought enough time in my mind. Hope might have been in danger of being extinguished. 

Instead, Luke chose to goad Kylo Ren into a fight he could not possibly win, even with all his might. I became the kid at the end of the movie, creating my own legends of Luke Skywalker in between the films while still in awe of the way he showed us why he is one badass Jedi Master.

Five Points of Controversy in Star Wars: The Last Jedi That are Actually Beautiful - Part III (Spoilers)

PART 3 of 5

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3. That Crazy Plot Though!

Acknowledgement: The movie begins with the bad guys figuring out where the good guys have their base. A huge armada is sent to destroy our heroes, but they manage to escape through some ingenious heroics. Unfortunately, because of some shenanigans involving hyperspace, the bad guys stay in hot pursuit.  The heroes have to place their faith in a less than scrupulous character, who ends up betraying them. This sudden but inevitable betrayal (Yes, I am quoting Firefly in a Star Wars blog) is thwarted by the good guys thanks to the help of a resourceful little droid, and the heroes escape again. By the end of the movie, the good guys are still on the run, but their numbers have been severely depleted through attrition. Also, I should mention the main protagonist has a separate adventure where he is trained by a deranged wrinkled master of the force. The Jedi master thinks it is a really bad idea for the protagonist to rush off and face the main bad guy, but the protagonist does not listen. Fortunately, he escapes his encounter with the bad guy (albeit after a heart-to-heart about his true parents) and rejoins the other heroes.

That is one crazy plot leading to nowhere. I agree, it would be much better if the plot had actually mattered, because at the end of the Empire Strikes Back our heroes are pretty much exactly where they started. Oh, I know  . . . I know. This is supposed to be the acknowledgement section, where I explain how I understand why so many people are upset. Instead I am giving you some sass. I feel the need to point out how I am surprised, after the amount of backlash The Force Awakens got for being similar to A New Hope, that nobody on Youtube or Reddit has complained about how The Last Jedi is just a rehash of Empire. Instead, people are complaining about a plot that does not make sense, and some have even gone so far as to call this film a mess.

I would not go that far, but here is where my acknowledgement begins. The Last Jedi, while following the same basic plot structure as Empire, is filled with lots and lots of distractions to sway your attention from this fact. Perhaps the largest fault with the movie’s plot is it is filled with too many of these distractions. It also tries to use the padded plot to drive home some life lessons that the Empire Strikes Back could not. Did they try to do too much? Probably. Can I forgive Rian Johnson or Disney for the attempt? Absolutely.

 How the plot was written:  Disney approaches me to write and direct The Last Jedi, and I say yes immediately. I would not hesitate. Would you?  However, Kathleen Kennedy gives me some parameters to work within. She tells me I have to work within the same plot structure as The Empire Strikes Back, but I am free to add my voice to this structure so it will be different enough that people won’t notice. The formula worked so well for Disney with The Force Awakens that they sticking with it. However, she stresses that they caught too much flak last time about reusing too many elements from A New Hope. This time the movie needs to be different enough that nobody could possibly complain. Kathleen has the utmost trust I will be able to make it work.

“This isn’t so bad”, I would think. “I can tell a good and different story within these boundaries. Especially since they want me to really dress the film up with some things Star Wars fans have never seen before.”

Naturally, there are a few other key plot points that J.J. Abrams and his crew came up with back while writing The Force Awakens, so I need to include those in my movie as well. Also, also, I must not forget to use Finn, Poe, and a shiny new character. This new character needs to be female, ethnic, and maybe a potential love interest for Finn. Wink-wink.

             “We will leave that up to you,” I imagine Kathleen would say. “In fact, anything else you want to do . . . go nuts.”
             Great!” I say. “I’ll get started.”
             “Oh, one more thing,” Kathleen says. “And this is super-secret. You can’t even tell Mark. Not that we don’t trust him to keep a secret, but he won’t be able to emotionally hide it if he gets asked about it. I promise we will make it up to him.”
             So secret I can’t even tell Mark? This makes me apprehensive. What could it be?
            “Luke Skywalker has to die in the end.”
             My face drains of color. I don’t want to be the one to do that. I grew up with this character. And I can’t even tell the great Mark Hamill?  Kathleen has anticipated my reaction.
           “But it isn’t as bad as you think. You see, he’s going to become a Force Ghost like Obi Wan and Yoda. So all you have to do is make him fade away at the end.”

 I might argue about how a lot of people aren’t going to like it, and eventually I would give into the vision under the stipulation that Luke will have one last grand moment. I knew when I was offered a part in writing the new trilogy that a major motif was for the old generation to make way for the new, but this is a very bold way to do it. So now, even though Disney is giving me a lot of power and freedom for my own artistic expression, I have to use a familiar story outline which leads to Luke Skywalker fading into the force. This is NOT going to be easy. My entire plot must build toward an epic Luke Skywalker moment that he won’t survive.

How the Plot turned out:  This roleplaying scenario of how I think the conversation went down between Disney executives and Rian Johnson is not meant to bash either Disney or their director. It is meant to say I sympathize with their task. Kathleen Kennedy worked with George Lucas for a long time, and her business model is not based on rehashing the work he did, but on his philosophy. When Lucas was making the prequels he gave voice to this philosophy.

 “It’s like poetry, sort of. They rhyme. Every stanza kind of rhymes with the last one.” ~George Lucas

For a lot of people, his attempts to make things rhyme did not work with the prequel trilogy. However, is Kathleen Kennedy and the new Disney regime making this philosophy work?

The numbers and the critical acclaim seem to indicate the answer is yes. At the same time, something odd happened with reactions to the last Jedi. People aren’t focusing on the way it rhymes this time. They are focusing on the ways the film is different.

 One sidebar: I don’t know if Kathleen Kennedy really kept Mark Hamill in the dark about his final fate at the end of The Last Jedi. This speculation is based on his mood and demeanor before and after the world premiere of the film. Here is a link to good Youtube video where you can judge for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FntZKz9fXp8&t=1s

 I don’t want to dwell on Luke’s story too much here, because I will be devoting the last two sections of this blog series to him. Nevertheless, I had to point out that one of the major deviations from the Empire plot structure involves a build up to Luke’s final act.
For now, let’s take a closer look at some of the key events in The Last Jedi.

A slow grind through space – Some of the problems people have with this film have to do with suspension of disbelief. For example, since Hollywood has conditioned us to think that we will die instantly if we get sucked into the vacuum of space, some of us find it hard to give space Leia a pass. I find this odd since Guardians of the Galaxy did it and nobody complained. Second, everybody know you have to gesture to use the force. And finally, it stands to reason it would take much less force power to pull yourself toward an object in zero gravity than to try to lift something super heavy in the presence of gravity. Still, it’s these moments that caught people off guard that took them out of the film. It’s these moments that I think people are more likely to suspend their disbelief on in a second or third viewing.

 Let this be reason number one people like this movie more each time the see it.

 After Leia force-pulls herself out of danger, the main plot for the Resistance revolves around what seems like contrived chase through space where all the ships can’t help but go the same top speed. I think there is a sneaky explanation for this chase that you are just supposed to realize, but the movie does not beat you over the head with it. If the same people are selling weapons to both the first order and the resistance, it stands to reason both sides have similar engine speeds for their big ships. Now, for some reason the First Order doesn’t want to launch any more fighters, (which are shown to be faster) do a micro-hyperspace jump, or send any ships in a longer hyperspace jump to cut the resistance off. Allow me to put on my Star Wars tactical nerd glasses and explain away all of these.

Launching fighters is a waste of resources. Kylo and his wingmen were able to fly inside the shields when they caught the Resistance by surprise, but any fighters launched would risk being shot down. The First Order, and Snoke in particular, know that all they have to do is wait for the Resistance to run out of fuel. If the First Order made a small hyperspace jump, then their special hyperspace radar would not be trained on the Resistance Fleet. Admiral Holdo, if she is as smart as she seems, would use this window to make her own hyperspace jump and escape.

 Hyperspace ain’t like dusting crops, boy. ~Han Solo

While micro hyperspace jumps are possible, Star Wars is full of lore as to why they would not be able to be accomplished with much accuracy. Why couldn’t the Death Star simply have come out of Hyperspace on the side of Yavin with the Rebel base? We are supposed to assume Hyperspace is for vast distances, and the best you can hope for is to not bounce too close to a supernova or go right through a planet. Smart fleet commanders use techniques like hiding a Starfleet at the edge of a solar system, and then jumping to the middle, but it would be super tricky to jump in front of the Resistance, and again, you might end up giving them an avenue for escape. The best tactic for the First Order is to let the battle of attrition run its course.

The Plan: Poe actually has the best plan. The best chance for the Resistance is to disable the special hyperspace radar. (They should have called it something like Hyperspace Radar, because at first I thought they were talking about the physical tracking devices we have seen used in both of the other trilogies.) The fact that he and Holdo do not trust each other and do not communicate is a little contrived, but as a ten and a half year veteran of the Air Force, I will tell you it is not unrealistic.

Even if it seems she should explain the plan, Holdo wants Poe to trust her without having to explain everything. She wants to teach him a lesson. Her hubris in holding on to her plan even causes other members of the Resistance to try desert in the escape pods. So I can forgive this little bit of manufactured conflict. Especially since this really produces an interesting arc for Poe Dameron where his mutiny ends up hurting the plan, rather than helping.

The most contrived device about the plot is how they are able to send Finn and Rose light-years away from the battle, then expect them to return with a magic slicer man, infiltrate Snoke’s ship, and then shut down the Hyperspace Radar. I will defend Rian Johnson by saying this isn’t lazy writing. The Canto Bight sequence is creative and fun, and it expands the universe. However, next time Rian should take some advice from Stephen King in his book, On Writing.   

 Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings. (King, 2000)

I feel like Rian Johnson would have had two directives from Disney. Make good use of Finn and Rose, and make sure you use a Lando-type scoundrel character. If you are going to have DJ the slicer, there is no reason you have to have a whole adventure to find him. If you are able to establish a connection with Maz Kanada, then she should be able to connect you to this guy. There were apparently a lot of deleted scenes on the Supremacy with Finn, Rose, and DJ trying to accomplish their mission. Put these back in the movie and give us the other lesson Luke taught Rey. It makes sense for Luke to go with Rey after his chat with Yoda. Once he opens himself up to the force again, he should sense Leia is in trouble and want to go to her. He would still try to convince Rey not to face Kylo Ren, but would relent and remain on the Raddiz with Leia. These deleted scenes and my little “what if” story are part of what Stephen King calls the true story—the one that develops on its own after the first draft. King says the writer must stop writing for himself and come to a place where he listens to what the story is supposed to be. (King, 2000)


I am not unhappy with what we got. I enjoyed seeing another corner of the galaxy. I even liked the bunny-horse race. I think it is one of those Star Wars moments the kids of today will remember fondly. Maybe it is a place Luke and Rey could have gone, since it makes more sense for them to run an errand for the Resistance, and then join up with Finn and Rose. Together, Finn, Rose, Rey, and DJ would have all used the Falcon for their infiltration. However, one of the main story devices was the new force projection force power. Rian Johnson built his entire movie around this new power, and it works. Unfortunately for Luke, it meant Rian was moving his story toward Skywalker’s ultimate, and last force technique. As I have pointed out, Luke could have physically gone to help out and we would have believed his reasons for doing so. He could have faced the entire First Order and destroyed multiple walkers with the force in an awesome display like we all thought was going to happen. Instead, we got something unexpected and yet beautiful. I will explain why I am elated with the results in the next section.   

Five Points of Controversy in Star Wars: The Last Jedi That are Actually Beautiful - Part II (Spoilers)

PART 2 of 5 

Part 1 Here: http://hightowerdreamland.blogspot.com/2017/12/five-controversial-moments-in-star-wars.html

2. Rey is a Very Special Nobody

Acknowledgement:  The Force Awakens ended on an epic note, music swelling, Rey almost in tears as she extends “Excalibur” back to its rightful owner. And then he takes it and tosses it over his shoulder as if it is a meaningless piece of junk. It is symbolic of the message of the whole movie. Throw your expectations off the cliff. Luke’s first action of the film seems like it is only for a cheap laugh, and already he is rubbing some people the wrong way. I totally get it. But wait a minute. . . the lightsaber isn’t gone. It is saved by porgs. Sort of. I digress. 

 Rey recovers the saber and soon begins training with it when her trademark staff seems lackluster in comparison. After witnessing this self-training, Luke asks her, “Who are you?” She tries again to identify herself as a messenger for Leia and the Resistance, but Luke stops her and asks her again. “Who are you?” Again, Rey seems confused by the question, answering, “I am Rey. From Nowhere.” Luke presses her and she reveals that she came from Jakku. Luke agrees the dust ball of a planet is pretty much nowhere. And here is where the theme of Rey coming from nowhere really begins to set in. At this point some audience members are shifting uncomfortably in their seats about Rey’s parents, because we, like Rey, were hoping Luke Skywalker would have some answers for her. Instead, it is he who is asking the questions.

The question of Rey’s heritage started in Force Awakens and has been the subject of heated debate for two years. First, the question is twisted around by Master Skywalker. Next, it is given a WTF acid trip sequence from a hole in the ground filled with dark side power, and then it culminates in this film with Kylo Ren, who assures her he knows the truth about her parents. Like Vader in Empire, Kylo isn’t exactly trustworthy, but we sort of expect Kylo to be telling the truth since Vader was for Luke. Dark side dudes tend to be truthful when they tell you who your daddy is. 

The answer—her parents were nobody. Worse than nobody, they were drunks who sold her for money. Audience members who hate this revelation blame Disney for trying to make it seem like anyone can be a Jedi. The act of writing Rey as a nobody, Disney executives thought, would make Star Wars appeal to a wider audience. It must be about money. And so builds the image of the evil mouse sitting in his throne room cackling in glee like the emperor, except with a high-pitched cartoonish voice. Coorporate film making has infected a lot of big tent pole movies, so the fear of what Star Wars could become under Disney is understandable. Rey coming from nothing is now the prime symbol of that fear. And yet . . . is Rey really nobody?

Let us take a deeper look at her hero’s journey.

How Rey was Written:  Again I place myself in the shoes of Rian Johnson who has the honor of not only directing, but writing The Last Jedi. Rey is my central protagonist for my new trilogy. Everything that happens must in some way connect to her. It is interesting to note that her story arc in The Last Jedi is done by the second act. This almost defies expectation, but it follows a pattern for this trilogy. She is so sidelined in the third act she isn’t even flying the M. Falcon. She is only a gunner. The third act belongs to Luke Skywalker, and that should tell us something about Rey. This isn’t really Rey’s movie. It is Luke Skywalker’s film.

Don’t get me wrong, Rey has a fully realized arc, and it is done really well. However, her single largest motivating force is to find her place in the universe. Contrast this to Luke’s main motivation in his second movie, to become a Jedi like his father before him and later to protect his friends. At one point, Luke might even be thinking he is about to avenge his father. Luke was always chasing after his father. At first, he chased an ideal—where his father was the best star fighter pilot in the galaxy and a good friend. Later, his mission became to face his father and save him if he could. Rey, on the other hand, has nothing to chase after but a family she doesn’t remember. She is also seeking answers as to why this strange force is on the move inside her. However, Rey forms a bond with Kylo Ren, and her mission now parallels Luke’s in that she hopes to save Ben Solo.

Rey is an active protagonist for the first time in this movie. In The Force Awakens, she was a strong, but passive protagonist. Everything happens to Rey in the first film. Her only decision is to reject going to work for Han Solo, and to reject her “call to action”. I am using terms from A Hero of a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. It is a must read for any Star Wars fan or fan of epic stories in general. Rey’s call came when the lightsaber shows her a vision and Maz Kanada tries to explain that she needs to let go of the past and move forward. Until this moment, she has no reason to do anything but go back to Jakku.

(Incidentally, Finn also rejects his call to action in the prior scene. Finn completes his arc by the second act and is literally taken out of the story in the third. Does the pattern look familiar yet? The Force Awakens was Han Solo’s movie with Finn coming of age. As awesome as Rey is in the third act, she hasn’t really grown as much as Finn, the active protagonist.)

After talking with Maz Kanada, Rey thinks moving forward means finding Luke Skywalker. She gets kidnapped by Kylo Ren while she is literally running away from her call. However, in this trilogy she makes a decision to leave Luke Skywalker behind and attempt to turn Kylo Ren back to the light. She becomes an active protagonist.  And yet, this revelation that she came from two drunks still hangs over her. I am driving toward the conclusion that we are not done learning about Rey’s origin. We still have not explained her visions, or why so many powerful characters seem to think she is so important. Luke recognizes her power and her potential for light or darkness, Yoda recognizes her importance and asks Luke to put his hopes in the girl, and Snoke fears that she is the light rising to meet the darkness so he wants Kylo to destroy her. Clearly, Rey is the most important nobody since Anakin Skywalker himself. So who is she?

Rey as a Point of View Character: Is Rey nobody? It seems to be her worst fear, and whether it is true or not, Kylo Ren tries to use it to manipulate her into joining him. This means that if it is true, then Rey must conquer her greatest fear. If it is false, then Rey might not get to find out who she is until she can be at peace with being a nobody and still finding her purpose.

Let us examine her vision in the dark side hole. Luke very much wants her to resist the call of this place, but from Rey’s point of view, Luke has shut himself off from the force. Therefore, he can hardly know what dangers she will find. She jumps in a dark pool, and a massive creature swims behind her. It is not a threat to her, but it is there . . . lurking.

Next she gets out into a fog, and walks forward to find mirror images of herself spread single file in both directions. She waves her hand, and her hands go up in succession. They do not move at the same time as if it were a reflection. She snaps, and her snaps echo down the line and back like dominoes. What are we being told visually?

Either time has slowed to show Ray she has infinite possibilities and limitless potential, or she is but one of an infinite version of herself. Next Rey asks to see her parents. She begs to see them. Two shadowy figures approach her through the glaze of what looks like an icy mirror. They merge into one figure. I feel this merge into a single figure is more significant than her fear of loneliness. I feel the entire vision sequence may be telling us Rey is a clone. We will save the crazy theories for another time. Rey wipes the mirror and finds her face.

Be honest. Does this seem like the kind of vision that sets up a person’s parents to be just nobody? Clearly there is some kind of meaning behind this vision and the sequence of visions in The Force Awakens. Where are the Knights of Ren? Why did Han Solo give Maz Kanada a troubled look when she asked, “Who’s the girl?”

People were really upset because part of Star Wars is that being a Jedi has always been something special. Becoming a magic space wizard was hard and rare. Now, of course the force would not play favorites with gender or race, but you still have to be special to be as powerful as Rey. Either you have the genetics like the Skywalkers, or you are a vergence in the force like Anakin himself.  The film suggests that the force itself manifests so powerfully in Rey so she can be the light to balance the rising darkness. Is the reveal of Rey’s parents being of no consequence the evil attempt by Disney to be overly progressive, or is it just the bold decision of Rian Johnson to surprise people? I feel the question can be answered by thinking about Rey’s point of view. This will not be the last time I will say how point of view is the central theme of The Last Jedi.

Let’s get the progressive concerns out of the way. In the case of Rey, her gender may be of some importance, but that goes hand in hand with building her relationship with Kylo Ren. So if the force CHOSE Rey, her gender may be one of the reasons. Still, her gender is not the overall driving factor of her existence. I think it all comes back to the dark side vision and how different characters interpret the moment. As I write this, I can hear Yoda admonishing Luke in Empire.

“The cave, the cave, remember your failure in the cave!”

Remember, dark side cave visions are not just visions. They are a test for the hero. A decent into facing their darkest fears. Rey has much more to fear than just being alone. Rian Johnson himself explained in a recent interview with Collider Media.

“I was thinking, what’s the most powerful answer to that question? Powerful meaning: what’s the hardest thing that Rey could hear? That’s what you’re after with challenging your characters.”

“The easiest thing for Rey and the audience to hear is, “Oh yeah, you’re so-and-so’s daughter. That would be wish fulfillment and instantly hand her a place in this story on a silver platter…The hardest thing for her is to hear she’s not going to get that easy answer. Not only that, but Kylo is going to use the fact that you don’t get that answer to try and weaken you so you have to lean on him.” (Collider, 2017)

The director himself is telling us that Rey can’t get the answer at this point in her journey. We are told something about her parents, but in actuality we are told nothing. So we are left with a choice. How much do we believe Kylo? How much does Rey believe Kylo? Rian Johnson commented on this as well.

“And there’s always, in these movies, a question of ‘a certain point of view,’ . . . but for me, in that moment, Kylo believes it’s the truth. I don’t think he’s purely playing chess. I think that’s what he saw when they touched fingers and that’s what he believes. And when he tells her that in that moment, she believes it to.”

 Since Rey believes it, she is free to discover herself. She is free to strive toward her destiny in a way Luke never had the chance. Luke’s family always defined him, and defined the choices he would make. Now we have a character in Rey, who even though is obviously special, can move forward without a destiny hanging over her. To me, that means she won’t find out who she really is until her journey is done, and it is going to be one hell of a journey that I can’t wait to see come to a conclusion in Episode Nine.


GO ON TO PART THREE: HERE