ST Ways TLJ Builds/Fails to Build Anticipation for Ep. 9

For me at least, it also didn't leave much of anything I care to speculate about going forward, unlike TFA.

 

I leaves nothing exciting for IX. Luke is dead, Leia has to be gone too. Rey's character became generic and boring. Kylo is as unlikeable as ever and Finn/Rose were reduced to comedy. Poe is too arrogant. So what should I be excited about in IX? Rey vs Kylo the 3rd???They could exchange the whole new main cast for IX and noone would notice it.

 

They have a lot of exciting character arcs to finish, develop and expand on. Rey will continue to grow, Kylo will be the new Supreme Leader and Poe will ascend to the leadership role in the Resistance. We should be excited to see how Rey deals with her decisions on life and death. How she will confront Kylo and what is the fate of the galaxy.

The new big three are charged with saving the galaxy, defeating the First Order and restoring hope to the kids all across the galaxy who are ready to help.

 

like she already did 2 times, I absolutely see no tension for IX. I also see nothing where Rey has to grow. I'm sure she is a Jedi Master in IX with learning the books.

 

Exactly. The new Supreme Leader has already had his ass handed to him by her twice. With zero training after picking up a lightsaber for the first time 2 days prior. There is zero suspense for what she will become because she already started on top. There is no suspense between the two of them when we already know she can beat him. And apparently there is no one else stronger in the Dark Force than Kylo. So Rey has the run of the galaxy as far as being a Force user is concerned.

 

That's kind of my biggest problem with the Galaxy we know in the ST. I realize they didn't want to "get bogged down with the politics," but you really need to understand the Galaxy in order to understand what they're fighting for. We understood that Tatooine was neutral, Alderaan was peaceful, and even Bespin was a simple mining planet. The best I've seen in the ST is Maz Kanata's planet, and even that was kind of a more "chill" Mos Eisley Cantina.

I don't really feel like much is at stake in the Galaxy if the Rebels blew it after Endor somehow and the Empire was able to rise up again. I don't know where the goal lines are drawn for Episode 9 outside of "blow up the First Order or something." And then what? Will they just blow it again?

 

As I understand it, the politics were another gripe a lot of people had with the PTs of the past. With technology as advanced as it is, it's not like they can go back to focusing on what the OT did right. So instead they only seem to focus on what the PT did wrong and what appears to be the mostly general consensus is that there was too much CGI and too much politics. That seems to be two of the main problems the PT collectively had for the fan-base, apparently.

Honestly, part of the fan-base only has itself to blame for the current situation. And to those who had those qualms in the first place; Congratulations, it looks like you're winning.

Be careful what you wish for further.

 

Very true, and I think they ran too far in the other direction. Out of fear, and we all know where that leads.

 

The Last Jedi extinguished my enthusiasm for this trilogy. I'm just not invested in the storyline or characters any more. There is literally nothing that intrigues me about Episode 9, other than how JJ is going to make a coherent, entertaining movie that ends this very incoherent trilogy.

 

I feel it would've been better if they'd went the HP or LOTR route.

Granted from what I read of some of the Legends novels it may have given the series a sort of HP-ish vibe. Not sure how I'd feel about that.


Better yet from a realistic standpoint, they should have just had JJ brought back for the entirety of the ST.

I also have no interest in RJ's trilogy. I don't know what Kennedy is thinking giving him a trilogy of his own for this Marvel-humor piggybacking farce.

 

The fan base was idiotic if they thought the story of the fall of a Republic and rise of an Empire could be told without a lot of 'politics'. I agree there was waaaaaaaaaaay too much CGI in the PT, but the politics was the enjoyable and interesting part.

 

I wanna see ghost Anakin, Luke and Leia

Kylo Ren essentially being ruler of the galaxy

A scene with Kylo and Leia

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with politics in Star Wars movies - and the sequel trilogy is crying out for it. The problem with the politics in the PT is that it was so overbearing. If it were handled with more panache, it wouldn't have been an issue.

 

What did you consider overbearing?

 

I see it different. In the PT it was too much politics, but politics of the galaxy.
In the ST especially in TLJ there are clearly politic statements of todays topics in a one sided manner that looked or felt like placed propaganda (no matter if you agree with the statement or not, it's there)
It didn't bother me at all, but some obviously have a problem with it.
It only bothered me in that way that when I go to see a SW movie I want to see a space opera. If I want something like mentioned above, I go to a movie that clearly stands for what it is going to tell.
IMO it felt like when the MODS here say to a post: There is no place for such a statement on a SW board.
The movie felt the same for me. I was not bothered or disagreed with it but thought: "come on guys, is this really necessary to be placed everywhere at the moment?"

 

New force users: Light rises and darkness to meet it. What new dark side threat has been spawned by this awakening? Perhaps the next episode begins with Kylo and Rey or their agents seeking out these potentially powerful new users. Or perhaps it begins with Rey and a handful of her new Jedi hunting down the dark side users in a move to deny Kylo more disciples.

The New Rebellion: The plea for help will be answered, and this will be an opportunity to bring back some old favorites. Perhaps Lando Calrissian is now the head of a trade guild, and we see him covertly providing the resources the Rebels need to rebuild. Dennis Lawson has said he is open to reprising his role, and he could return from retirement to provide the Rebels with experienced leadership. (A more glamourous backstory might have him as some minor noble - a reward for his service to the New Republic.) Other possibles would be characters from the books, comics, and TV series.

The Ghost of Skywalker: It's very possible Luke will return to haunt Kylo, a la Banquo and Macbeth. He will try to weaken Kylo's resolve, make him question the path he has taken. This weakness should help Rey defeat him. I look forward to seeing the Knights of Ren in action.

I think we will get closure on the issue of Rey's parents as she finds out more about them. Perhaps they were strong in the Force but never developed their potential.

Lastly, I also hope that they treat us to a reunion of Force ghosts - with Luke joining Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin.

 

I think the key issue here is will there be any further "arcs" for the 2 main characters...Rey and Kylo/Ben?

In ROTJ and ROTS, you still have arcs for Luke and Anakin/Vader. That the heartbeat of the story. Everything else is trivial - no matter how good or bad those storylines were.

To me Ep8 gave me the impression that Kylo made his choice and will not be redeemed, and that Rey made her choice and didnt go dark. They accepted their destinies. So I am not sure as to what kind of "arc" they are left with?

Sure Finn and Poe can go through some minor arcs, but again, those characters are really not important with respect to the Saga.

So is Ep9 just going to be about Rey vs Kylo to the death and Resistence vs FO? We know the good guys will win. Disney already has provided enough hints that this trilogy will wrap up the Skywalker saga. KK has already said they are thinking of further adventures with Rey, Finn, and Poe. We know that Rey wont die because she will go on and train others.

Is there really anything of interest left in Ep9 to explore? Sure we may get some info on Snoke and the KOR. But really now that he is gone that information loses alot of its relevance. So I think JJ will have a real difficult time to make Ep9 truely interesting. I am sure it will be entertaining from an action standpoint. But from a character one?...I am not sure.

 

I'm in the "fails to do so" camp myself. As I wrote in the complaints thread:

"The biggest thing that jumped out at me when watching Last Jedi was how incongruous it felt. With the OT, sure, but with even TFA as well. "How could that be?", I wondered. Surely they wouldn't have launched into production on a "trilogy" of the biggest IP in the world at such a breakneck pace without even a set of treatments. But now it is apparent that that is exactly what they did. When Episode IX concludes, I fully expect the "trilogy" to have all the emotional resonance and connective tissue of Star Trek '09, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond. Which is to say, none. Now that doesn't mean that IX can't be a good film (I actually love Beyond), but there is no "trilogy" to speak of here. And that truly is a shame."

 

I mean, TLJ really tore down just about everything and left the door wide open for Episode IX to be whatever JJ wants it to be. That can be boring, if you like specific cliffhangers and just a few, intriguing options for the next movie. If you like endless options and the door wide open for anything, then I think you'll be eager to see IX.

I liked TLJ, but I still don't know about taking Luke out of the picture this soon. I think it would've been better to keep him alive physically until IX, and maybe not totally decimate the Resistance down to just a few people. That, for me, took my interest for IX down a little. TLJ felt more like a closing story.

 

In the end, this is now truly the story of Rey and Kylo Ren. So if you're intrigued by those two, then IX should get you excited.

I also love Poe. Finn kind of was a let down in TLJ.

For me, it's mostly Kylo. I'm interested to see what happens to him...if he stays dark, if he turns back to the light and helps defeat the FO, or if he just becomes a balanced Force user along with Rey somehow.

 

Personally, if you're going in blind with no idea of how it all ultimately end for Episode IX, I think it would be best that there is no limit on movies. Instead of Trilogy, you make as many sequels as necessary in order to form a coherent narrative.

After all, OT wasn't always going to be a trilogy. It was supposed to end at Episode IX with Luke confronting the Emperor. But Lucas got tired by TESB and decided to cut it short with ROTJ. And since then, trilogies has become a tradition in Star Wars format. But as we've seen with franchises like Harry Potter, Hunger Games and MCU, you don't really need to be confined in a trilogy format to tell the complete story.

 

The vile Kylo Ren turning to the light? Sounds like a shocking swerve, but Abrams is an elite writer with plenty of help. They might be able to pull it off.

It would be an interesting counterpoint to the way the brave and noble Luke Skywalker was reintroduced as a fallen hero, exiled in disgrace. Is this trilogy building a theme about people not necessarily being who you think they are?

Who would have expected Star Wars to take such a cynical turn under DISNEY?

 

I feel like I must have missed something huge in my 20 viewings of The Last Jedi. Good thing I'm going back soon for that 21st time. Did Rey and Kylo face off twice in The Force Awakens? Huh.. I thought it was that one time, and Rey beat Kylo, who was wounded both emotionally and physically. In The Last Jedi, they didn't fight once, but people are saying Rey beat Kylo twice? What did I miss?! Is this in the deleted scenes? I saw they were both Force grabbing the same lightsaber, then at the moment it broke in two Holdo crammed her ship through a large portion of the First Order fleet including the ship they were on, and he was left momentarily unconscious. How exactly is that Kylo having his butt handed to him by Rey? I am so confused, clearly.

 

You're right, they didn't fight each other, but they were Force pulling the lightsaber and then Force pushing each other, then the lightsaber exploded when it broke, Kylo took the brunt of the blast and was out longer than Rey when it should have been the other way around. He also needed her help fighting off the guards, not the other way around. Rey obviously came out on top of Kylo in every single situation but he's the more powerful Force user?

 

I need the final installment will be epic but what type of epic? I'm hoping they do better than the praetorian guard fight it was not lack luster by any means but it was more of creative ways of turning on a light saber rather than a full brawl I'm hoping that judging by the way things are going in the end of episode 9 we really see kylo ren and Rey Duke it out I also hope that Rose isn't really dead she's a good character but I feel personally that even 10 minutes more screen time would make her a great character and have fans wanting to know more Leading into the final installment perhaps you could be a crucial character I felt that her sister unfortunately was more important and her development Was what made rose all the more interesting I'm wondering what Kylo ren would do with his newly appointed actually self appointed supreme leader position