For those still horrified by Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, there’s a ton of pressure mounting up to the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Many gurus of the series are hoping to see a lot of changes – which can be translated to “a lot of reversals” – in the third and final entry to the Sequel Trilogy. However, “casual” fans of the franchise who’ve since come to love Rian Johnson’s film seem to be expressing apprehension towards what they’re going to see in December.
One such fan, io9’s Charles Pulliam-Moore, says that there’s a lot of concern brimming over what returning director J.J. Abrams may bring to The Rise of Skywalker. Unlike some of the hardcore Star Wars fans, others enjoyed The Last Jedi‘s reflective commentary on the series as a whole, as it acknowledged how overwhelming the Skywalker family’s “dominance” can be at times.
In that spirit, Johnson’s entry didn’t rest the fate of the universe in the hands of legends like Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. Instead, he turned Rey, whose origin was looking to be connected to one of the classic characters, into a nobody; the idea was that anyone could be a hero.
But for the latest movie, Pulliam-Moore argues that the cues from the teaser hinting at Emperor Palpetine’s return also indicate a regression towards a conservative, safe kind of storytelling. “That would feel like a sizable step back for Star Wars as a whole,” he writes.
With that said, there’s a reason The Last Jedi didn’t do so well compared to the other intergalactic epics. Star Wars fans know what they like, and as people such as Bob Iger and John Williams react to early cuts of the film with delight, the anticipation for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker only grows stronger.
