In 2005, we watched Episode III with great enthusiasm and excitement. Then, we were saddened when George Lucas announced that the Star Wars Saga was complete and there would be no more movies. The dreams of seeing Episode VII through IX (7-9) were destroyed. Yet, we excepted it as this was a story about the life and redemption of Anakin Skywalker.
Suddenly, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney. Every fan suddenly realized maybe more Star Wars movies would be on the horizon. The news broke really fast that yes indeed Star Wars would return with a new Sequel Trilogy that would take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi. The movies would reunite the original trilogy cast and introduce new characters. When we got The Force Awakens, we were confronted with the truth that perhaps we were deceived. Just like the Jedi were deceived by Chancellor Palpatine and the Army of the Republic.
The new trilogy wasn’t going to focus on the classic characters. It was a clear and present bait and switch. The new characters were going to be the complete focus. The original characters weren’t even given the respect to be supporting characters. No, they were basically cameos. This was the first mistake made by Disney Star Wars. You sacrificed established characters. The right course would have been introduce the new characters but they should have been an extension of the classic character story.
Episode VII opens with a crawl that informs the audience Luke Skywalker is missing. I loved this concept. Like any classic fantasy story, we set up the quest. The journey the characters must take to resolve the conflict. Where could Luke be? Was he captured? Or was he just lost? I could see this resonating out of George Lucas mind and based on his appreciate for Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. Regardless of the reason behind Luke’s disappearance, it reminded me of the exile of Yoda. Yoda wasn’t running away from the problem. He was simply waiting for the opportunity of returning to the battle. After learning that Luke went in search of old and lost Jedi Temples, I figured this could have been his motivation. He was looking for the knowledge. He was waiting for the right time to return and take on the First Order.
Then, Last Jedi was released and our perception of Luke was destroyed….