I’ve been re-watching the original Star Wars trilogy lately (along with the prequels which are still pretty damn hard to sit through) and been thinking a lot about the latest trilogy’s aggressive backlash since ‘The Last Jedi’. It’s clearly evident there’s something that the originals had that these new movies are missing the boat on. Those first three films had a serious feeling of camaraderie along with strong totally relatable bonds between it’s diverse cast of characters, something that the latest movies seem to be struggling quite a bit with. I like the new cast but they really haven’t been given the screen time they deserve to fully develop into the tight knit unit that the original crew became so iconic as.

Let’s face it, the gang in the original had a certain chemistry among them that for some odd reason has been incredibly hard for ‘Disney’ Star Wars to replicate. In the late 70’s & 80s films were paced quite a bit differently as well and characters were given more actual story & screen time to be fleshed out, making their friendships all the more believable. We definitely got some tender moments in The Force Awakens between Finn, Rey, Poe, Leia & Han but it felt like ‘The Last Jedi’ just wasn’t able capture much real emotion amongst it’s large cast. Finn & Rose felt pretty forced, Rey and Luke lacked any chemistry, while Holdo and Leia really weren’t given the time together for their relationship to mean much of anything to the audience. Most of the main three new characters barely spent much time onscreen together at all. Think for a second about the way Luke, Han, Leia, Chewy, C3PO & R2 all felt together on an adventure onscreen, their friendships were a wonder to behold. They were all like family, I often compare them to the main characters in ‘The Wizard of Oz’. You really feel something genuine for them all that really warms the heart.

Well now we’ve got one LAST movie left of the “Skywalker saga”, Episode 9 has got a lot riding on it’s back since the huge division amongst rabid Star Wars fans. It’s got to unite all fans again and there’s really an easy way to do exactly that, however it seems for some reason Disney just can’t wrap their heads around exactly what will please both new & old fans alike. To me it’s obvious, first off avoid making this last installment a copy of ‘Return of the Jedi’. Devise a bit more of an original story, because as much as Rian Johnson thinks his movie was divisive because it was “so different than any of the previous movies” in actuality it really did borrow a ton of it’s “unique” plot points from Empire & Return of the Jedi. Secondly it’s clear, Star Wars fans STILL love the old characters-I keep hearing everyone in the movie industry saying-it’s not the old characters story anymore, it’s about the new. My question is, why can’t the story truly be about both the old and the new? 

Episode 9 should take a few chances (and these aren’t even risky chances), consider this, bring Luke back in the flesh. His cinematic grand finale & supposed death were both incredibly underwhelming considering him being one of the most popular pop culture movie heroes of all time.  So many people seem to keep talking about this whole “Force Ghost” Luke thing BUT given that’s the obvious I’d wager that they’ll try and surprise and please fans by revealing he’s indeed still alive (If Kathleen Kennedy approves). Especially if they now think it’d bring in more dollars for Disney, as we know now it’s really all about the money sadly. Next, Episode 9 needs to utilize the remaining old characters in real way. No more being afraid the old characters are going to steal the thunder from the new. Put the Luke, Chewy, C-3p0 & R2 in an equal spotlight as Rey, Finn, Poe & BB8. Let them ALL share the screen time. Let the old characters participate in the last adventure just as much as the new ones. One of the most few heart warming moments in ‘The Last Jedi’ was when Luke and R2 were reunited inside the Falcon. Let Luke, C3P0, R2 & Chewy bond again for one last hurrah at least.

Give them the moments needed to reflect on the passing of Han & Leia. Let them and the new characters play off of each other equally. Let’s have a heartfelt adventure for the surviving characters one last time for this final chapter. To not do so would be a crime to this last chapter of this supposed “Skywalker saga”. If this truly is the last chapter of it, make a movie like you really mean it. The time has come to stop worrying about selling us on the “new generation”of Star Wars and at the very least in THIS trilogy give us the finale old and new fans clamor for. It’s really not rocket science it’s actually pretty simple to make Episiode 9 one of the most memorable Star Wars Films of all time. So that being said will JJ & Disney deliver what they know the fans want? It’s for some reason highly unlikely, especially with Kathleen Kennedy calling the shots, I however have my fingers crossed JJ just might against the opdds pull out an ace card here, times running out but there’s still enough time to make that Star Wars movie magic one last time with nostalgia running high for the original trilogy: please don’t fuck it up this time…..