Ever since Disney’s $4 billion dollar purchase of Star Wars, which is about $5.6 billion in Republic credits, they have certainly introduced a lot of new content to the delight of Star Wars fans, including myself. However, as grateful as I am to the Mickey Mouse club, Star Wars has lost a touch of its charm.
For a story to continue to be told for decades on the silver screen and now the streaming screen, it will naturally evolve and more than likely lose some of the magic that made it so special in the first place.
I feel like Luke Skywalker in the original film when he is still living in the desert farm as he takes a moment to play with his skyhopper model, imagining what it would be like if he still had the real deal and could just fly it somewhere. For me, that skyhopper represents the things I miss about Star Wars. I sit there playing with my skyhopper (not really, though you can decide if I’m telling the truth), and daydreaming about what Star Wars once was.
So, what is it about Star Wars that I, a lonely Jedi (tell no one!), presently finds himself missing?
5. Fun and cool personalities
There was a time in the Star Wars universe when Han Solo was blasting greedy green goblins in bars then blasting off in the Millenium Falcon while others were in hot pursuit. He wasn’t the only cool cat, either, just ask Lando Calrissian.
You don’t have to go back to the original trilogy though to find fun personalities. The Clone Wars was exceptional at being personality-driven with fun interactions (we need more Hondo Ohnaka), which also became a staple of Star Wars Rebels, while featuring perhaps the best character interactions and personality dynamics of any Star Wars show or movie.
Now, Star Wars content has mostly been hit with a personality drought. There really are a lot of dull people out there. Even Ahsoka and Sabine Wren, who are extremely fun characters, have suddenly become dull at the worst possible time. Sure, there are some exceptions to the lack-of-personality problem, but Star Wars has become more brooding, and less fun.
4. The perfect pacing
Shows like Ahsoka and The Mandalorian are suckers for a slow pace. As if an 8-episode season is not short enough, we are offered a single storyline that can easily be told in two to three episodes and see Dave Filoni (whom I’m normally a big fan of) stretch it out to eight. No show abused that more than The Mandalorian, which even resorted to filler episodes.
Star Wars was never extremely fast-paced, but certainly could be. It was usually well-paced. Of course, some would argue the first half of the original movie is pretty slow, but it’s really just a great example of how to slow down the pace at the right time and then progressively speed it up throughout the film. It’s a pacing masterclass. We need more well-paced stories, and leave the stretching for when we exercise.
3. Non-human main characters
Ahsoka is unique for a modern Star Wars tale because its lead titular character is a non-human. Star Wars could likely benefit from more of that. The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi have all had their own shows, and they are all human characters. The most recent movie trilogy significantly reduced the number of such characters, whereas the original trilogy had two main ones: Yoda, and Jabba the Hutt. Sure, The Mandalorian walks around with a baby version of Yoda’s species, but he’s more or less like a really, really beloved pet.
2. Death Star interiors
The original trilogy perfected a look that has not been achieved since. Although it has been somewhat copied in other Star Wars films and other shows, we haven’t been gifted with that exact perfect aesthetic again.
I admire the attempt to mimic the Death Star interiors, but they are mostly failed attempts.
The way the white lights decorate the halls and the shiny floors on the landing platforms (who mops those floors!) would look utterly outrageously outstanding in a new show. They try to copy this in some Star Destroyer designs but never quite get it right, though Star Wars Rebels came very close.
1. Stormtroopers
Stormtroopers are exclusive to the Star Wars saga. It’s not like you’ll see them pop up in anything else. Stormtroopers are Star Wars. The all-white armor is magnificent and adds to the look of the series.
The fact that they are prominent in the original trilogy also means they will create true nostalgia for the original fans of the franchise.
They were in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and in Star Wars Rebels because the timeline for both of those shows allowed it. Otherwise, they haven’t really been prominent nor utilized in the same way that they were in the original trilogy.
The timeline has a lot to do with them not appearing in other shows, but it’s really just an excuse. If writers want stormtroopers in a non-Empire time setting, then they’ll make it happen like they technically did in The Mandalorian.
Also, who doesn’t love these guys running around together trying to catch the hero and being horrible shooters? We need more of these bad guys who wear full white armor, yet die the moment they are shot once (making one wonder what their armor is even good for).
A solid stormtrooper presence in a new Star Wars story would likely be welcomed by almost any Star Wars fan. I’ve never heard anyone say that they hate stormtroopers.
Imagine stormtroopers in a Death Star like setting battling a team of heroes with fun personalities, many of whom are non-human creatures, in a well-paced galactic adventure. That’s the dream. I’m dreamin’ the dream now, but it would be nice to see that dream become a reality.
