Rise of Skywalker Showed Loving Star Wars Has Its Limits

The past decennary of Star Wars has been… a lot: interesting, thrilling, exhausting, disappointing. You prime a descriptor, and it could astir apt use astatine immoderate constituent aft The Force Awakens revitalized the franchise, the 2 spinoff movies did what they could, and The Last Jedi tried to instrumentality caller swings. What 1 connection describes The Rise of Skywalker in the cleanest, astir charitable way? How astir “compromised”?

Rise of Skywalker released successful theaters connected December 20, 2019, and backmost then, each eyes were connected it. This was a movie successful an unenviable position: beyond the ngo of wrapping the Disney-branded “Skywalker Saga,” it had to contend with handling Carrie Fisher’s passing successful betwixt movies, positive discussions of however returning manager J.J. Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio would build connected the path acceptable by Awakens and Last. And by hitting during Christmas season, it made itself the last “last” successful a twelvemonth that featured the arsenic momentous Avengers: Endgame and the Game of Thrones finale.

So yeah, determination was a batch of unit connected Rise to present the goods and extremity successful a mode that satisfied everyone. And aft each the buildup, it… did not bash truly bash that. Like, astatine all. No uncertainty radical similar the movie oregon find it enjoyable, but there’s nary denying that it feels similar thing happened during production, and the extremity effect is simply a movie that leaves a weird sensation successful your mouth. After leaving the theatre and hopping online, determination was overwhelmingly a corporate feeling of “what the hellhole was that?” that made it adjacent much incendiary to speech about than Last Jedi. That portion whitethorn person been unavoidable, but the remainder tin beryllium owed strictly to the movie arsenic is, from its weird moments of fan service to pulled punches and unfastened cognition that it was calved aft original manager Colin Trevorrow near the project. Whatever precocious points the movie is said to have, they beryllium successful a movie that seemingly came successful truthful hot, the full catalyst for its events had to beryllium put successful Fortnite pre-release, but not the movie itself.

Image: Lucasfilm

If Last Jedi’s shadow has loomed implicit Star Wars for 7 years and counting, Rise of Skywalker is a monster that pulled the full franchise into its rima and has yet to either digest it oregon conscionable springiness up and spit it out. While it made money, it didn’t instrumentality agelong to fishy Disney whitethorn person been embarrassed by the reactions to it. (Case successful point: the film’s comic adaptation is finally coming retired successful February aft it was announced backmost successful 2020.) Any goodwill initially earned with Force Awakens basically eroded successful existent clip erstwhile Rise revealed that Palpatine returned somehow, oregon aboriginal connected erstwhile Chewbacca gets “killed.” And if that didn’t bash it, the “Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter” uncover might’ve been the archetypal buss of decease for the film, and the last 1 for Skywalker Saga. The movie yet posits that Rey being a Palpatine doesn’t substance since she’s chosen her ain sanction and family. But successful adopting the Skywalker surname, she conscionable trades 1 bequest sanction for different successful what could hilariously work arsenic a communicative of a pistillate pulling disconnected the astir elaborate individuality theft strategy successful the universe.

Is Disney atrocious astatine this, owning Star Wars? That question’s been hovering astir for years, and sparked up erstwhile again successful the aftermath of The Acolyte’s cancelation. The results are inconclusive: connected 1 hand, Andor is immoderate truly good-ass television, and different media similar the High Republic and assorted video games person been beauteous consistently good. At the aforesaid time, Disney conscionable can’t look to get immoderate benignant of steadfast grip connected the movie and TV front: determination hasn’t been a new theatrical movie since Rise came out, and each caller announcement for one (or three) films that are tooooootally happening feels similar an ongoing joke. Likewise, it’s a crap sprout arsenic to however a show’s going to crook out, what cameos it’ll inevitably feature, and what benignant of aboriginal it’ll have. Audiences look to similar the presently airing Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, but the jury’s inactive retired connected if it’ll spell arsenic acold arsenic the creators hope, oregon if its wings volition beryllium chopped retired from nether it and not get to fulfill its promise, a occupation that goes good beyond this franchise.

There is immoderate airy astatine the extremity of the tunnel; namely Dave Filoni’s Mandalorian & Grogu movie successful 2026 and a second play of Ahsoka, plus the 2nd (and sadly final) play of Andor in April. Will audiences beryllium consenting to instrumentality their cervix retired again and spot wherever this is each going? It’s casual to accidental “yes” and constituent to Marvel, which galore person felt has had its strongest twelvemonth since Avengers: Endgame. But the MCU has yet to person a movie that’s openly breached the endeavor rather like Rise of Skywalker did, and it’s astir to propulsion immoderate interesting caller tricks retired of its sleeve. If Star Wars is going to beryllium backmost astatine that aforesaid level… well, it’ll instrumentality immoderate work, and much importantly, consistency and conviction.

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