ST What's your level of anticipation for Episode IX. compared to TFA and TLJ?

Before the latest leaks:


After the latest leaks

 

To add on to this, I feel that the biggest problem of Star Wars right now is that the primary material isn't "for everyone," whereas the supplementary material (the EU books, comics, games, etc.) appeal more to me. Even The Mandalorian seems set to appeal to me more than the primary Star Wars material (the ST). I feel that it simply isn't doing enough to say: this is for everyone, not just for the next generation.

But that's just me.

 

My hype levels exceed both TFA and ROTS levels now after the leaks.

I enjoyed TFA as an ANH 2.0 for new demographics who perhaps had heard the Star Wars hype before from friends and tried Episode I or II and stopped thinking it just wasn’t for them. I respected it most on that level because I understand how the Hollywood reboot and soft reboot things work and nothing is truly immune. Not even Star Wars.

I enjoyed the main characters. I thought Snoke needed to go. I enjoyed the idea of a dark sider falling for the Light sider and not being related to her directly by blood for once. Thought that could be an interesting new element to the villain and hero dynamic that could possibly help guide someone out of darkness if they woke up and realized they needed to change. I wasn’t so keen on that ever being reciprocated but was fine with the idea of Ben Solo wanting to be with her and her to join him and that driving the antagonism.

I was never keen on Luke being her dad or Ben being her brother. I liked the idea of the Skywalker family instead welcoming in someone else into their family after the fall of Ben Solo. My preferred option there was to make the ST about the grandchildren of the biggest players in the PT. So, I wanted Rey to be Kenobi or Palpatine’s secret long lost granddaughter somehow.

I loved the actors in these roles and the acting quality of the ST and dialogue has consistently been top tier Star Wars levels.

But I also worried that the ST would just continue to be the OT 2.0 soft reboot attempt all the way to the end while exploring the same setups and delivering the exact same outcomes. The longer that possibility sat with me the more I disliked it and didn’t want VIII to be exactly like TESB with the same outcomes and same for IX. I also have always imagined a difficult transition to midlife for Luke in my own mind and more dark periods. I wanted his arc to be the end of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey in ways ROTJ never was as overtly to me. I knew that the end of the hero’s journey was more about aging as a hero and the difficulties that come from it and hoped VIII had the ambition to deliver a moving and dramatic arc for me that worked. The challenge seemed difficult. The setup of TFA made clear that Luke had only left after Ben Solo turned on him and that R2 had gone into hibernation mode from the trauma of that. TFA also told us that Luke walked away from everything. This had all the makings of an end of the hero’s journey framework but I couldn’t understand how given Luke had force ghosts and a strong telepathic connection to Leia. Seemed like they’d find him no problem.

So, when VIII hit i was blown away at how well the Luke arc worked for me and his obsession with trying to stop from teaching these skills to new people that brought him to a place where the first Jedi teachings existed. To me, Luke’s arc in VIII is the best purely dramatic arc in all of Star Wars in one film since he and his father were face to face. It exceeds even Obi-Wan and Padme losing Anakin for me which I never thought possible but I can relate to it and love the little touches of where Luke’s old traits and strengths combined in ways that were negative for him since he saw himself and the teachings as the enemy. I love pure drama and psychological drama and uncomfortable melodrama and thought Johnson delivered a masterful tale with him that added new layers to the father and son dynamic and the traits we inherit from parents as well as those we don’t. I knew Luke didn’t want to become like Vader so badly that I bought he’d shut off the Force entirely — which helped also explain why Leia and the ghosts couldn’t get through to him — if another dark side moment happened again. Particularly if one lead to tragedy for others. His redemption arc is like a smaller version of his father’s with a less dark period to atone for and I love it.

The course correction of the ST continued into VIII and the true genius of it was how Johnson utilized the above arc for Luke and the mind bridge of Snoke, to get Rey to question if everything she’d come to the island for might be possible in his apprentice instead. The mind bridge was a mystery box for the audience and also Rey & Ben and as that unfolded and each of them began thinking they’d figured out the other and how to influence the other things became very interesting psychologically.

I also loved the thematic exploration in each plot and how VIII explored different outcomes for the familiar story beats we knew. This has now setup IX to be the most unique offering of the trilogy which is tremendously exciting for me and the leaks coming out that the parental reveal was just a red herring for a grandparental reveal to Sidious are amazing and exactly the kind of thing I’d hoped for. The Skywalkers welcoming in the granddaughter of their family enemy and helping to ensure she never became like him is a great ending idea for me. It’s the reverse of the Sidious did to Anakin and the ultimate FU to Sidious in the end.

Beyond that we get the KoR, Sith Troopers, relic hunts, a renewed and wise Luke and a return to Ahch-To! Leia training! Ben redemption! Rey having to come to terms with where her power comes from and whom her only living family member is. Force ghosts helping in battle! I’m beyond hyped!

 

Bringing back Palpatine to possibly ruin the climax of ROTJ changed my outlook from mild curiosity to flat out apathy.

I will feel relief at the end of the ST Trilogy to see the OT be mercifully laid to rest. I'm reading every spoiler in hopes that TROS will not inflict any more significant damage on the OT that hasn't already been inflicted by the first 2 movies of the ST.

I will only feel the minimal amount of happiness in seeing JJ ignore and/or retcon as much of TLJ as he chooses to. Unfortunately, it will be little solace to the sense of regret I will have that the ST exists in it's current form.

I think I will be more excited to see SW move in a new direction where the OT can no longer be exploited for nostalgia feels. I will see any SW movie not directed by Rian Johnson and hope that the filmmaker doesn't rely on an Empire/Rebellion crutch with a runtime chock full of OT nostalgia elements (Death Star, Sith Users in Black masks, storm troopers painted different colors, dredging up OT characters for another round, etc).

 

I wasn’t paying much attention re the TFA leadup. I saw an article re the casting and one trailer. I was still in the GA.

Was very eager for TLJ but apprehensive because of the negativity from Mark and Daisy.

Hyped as HECK for RoS

 

It's a Star Wars movie. Just getting further looks into the GFFA is worth my excitement. I don't have to agree with all choices (or even most of them) to be excited about a new installment. The PT didn't ruin Star Wars for me, and the ST will not either.

 

I'm excited - I'm not convinced that we have the full story from the leaks, but at least it seems something might happen that feels slightly new, after the vanilla TFA and the thin gruel that was TLJ.

 

I'm now in the more excited camp after seeing the trailers and it excites me that this is the end of the saga and exactly how this plays out with Palpatine and what the ending scene exactly is .......now this all to me is a lot more exciting than my levels for TFA / TLJ.................

 

That pretty much sums up my feelings towards it too. I just want the ST to be done so Lucasfilm can put their efforts into something (hopefully) a lot less derivative. I feel the ST has hindered future SW projects more than it has helped. But I am excited to see how The Mandolrian and Obi-Wan TV series pan out.

 

Voted for option No. 4. Honestly looking forward to The Mandalorian more.

I'll have to see TROS in the theater; seeing Star Wars there remains a true rite of passage and a shared cultural touchstone. But I won't be there opening night.

 

Basing an opinion on the back of what I’ve seen so far? Is entirely questionable

 

IF the leaks are accurate, then my interest has crashed through the floor. The Mandalorian and Obi Wan shows are more exciting for me at this point.

 

My nine year old son was playing star wars in the school playground today...still relevant and excited for mandalorian and rise of Skywalker
The last jedi has been his favourite...tho it changes.. think he is more excited for the new ones than he was before. For his generation luke is not the be all and end all in the story

 

My anticipation is high enough that after reading a bunch of new rumors I signed up at a star wars messageboard and posted a lot (probably too much) for one day.

 

I'm pretty apathetic about RoS. I'm not a huge Marvel fan but I do like that they've tried to grow their universe by bringing in a larger cast of characters and expanding the scope of their storytelling. The Sequel Trilogy seems to do the opposite. Some how it has managed to feel much smaller than even the OT with most of the characters simply being along for the ride rather than key players in the narrative. The Force plot is the only thing that matters and even that isn't particularly exciting. Right now the Star Wars universe feels quite small. Honestly, I'm far more excited for the Mandalorian than I am for RoS as I'm hoping that it has the potential to make the Star Wars universe feel large and exciting again because for me the ST has really killed a lot of the magic that Star Wars once held for me.

 

I think that’s part of the problem. If a kid’s entry point into SW are the sequels, then why would they be interested in the older characters? When I was a kid, as much as I loved Luke, Han and Leia, I was also really interested in the concepts of the Republic, ‘before the dark times’... the adventures that Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yoda would of had as Jedi Knights. That’s what Lucas was good at - building interest in the concepts, the wider characters etc. That’s why I had emotional investment in the prequels before they were even released. SW today (certainly the films) are way too insular. I’d be surprised if many kids, who like SW today, will have the same emotional attachment to that particular universe.

 

Believe me...he loves it all..he is a massive fan of rebels and CW too and reads the wild space kids novels too...he was shpwn the PT and ot in chronological order so gets the whole story. I think a lot of people of similar age to me can't shake their attachment to the ot3. For my son's generation its just the middle act.

 

I doubt much attachment at all will take place. Todays world for kids is temporary. What they crave now will be replaced shortly by the next thing. To get to that level of care for a character requires a commitment usually from written works over time as you experienced. It is the same for me, but the youngsters I know really aren't looking for that in their entertainment now.

 

And we shall watch your posting with great interest, young one.

What can I say? Some opportunities are too good to miss.

 

None of the poll options really fit me. I won't say I had zero interest in TFA or TLJ, but I wasn't "excited" about any of them.

But TROS, I don't want to even give it a chance. Nothing I've heard or seen has me looking forward to it. For me the biggest flaws of the ST has been the ideas, the concepts, the direction, from the very beginning with TFA. This movie looks like more of the same. And Palpatine returning, that in itself is enough of a turnoff for me.

 

On the nostalgia feels, don't forget Millenium Falcon gunport sequences.

I really wish I wasn't where you are, but I mostly am. Palpatine is kind of a deal-killer for me. I was curious about TROS but not excited, but if they bring Palpatine back it makes me immediately skeptical.

 

Yeah, for me Rogue One is the only one of the new ones that feels like Star Wars and I'd happily keep on if it appeared on Sky Cinema.

It's the Episode 3 I'd hoped we'd get when I first noticed 'Episode 4' on Star Wars and wondered what that was all about.

I'm looking forward to TROS but with low expectations. I am not a JJ fan and I don't see how he can rescue the ST from TLJ.

So far, to me, there has been no reason for the ST to exist, it's just rehashing the OT for no reason and the world building to connect it to the OT done by spinoff material I've absolutely no interest in. If it's important, it should have been on screen.

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@DarthBeagle agree with you on Rogue One, the first act is a bit of a mess but the last 2/3 is a very solid and entertaining SW movie. After that film came out, I truly thought the sky was the limit.

Lucasfilm really botched the new two films. TLJ for not having more writing discipline imposed on RJ, and Solo for not having a great release strategy for what was also an entertaining (but perhaps unnecessary) film.

 

I’m sure that’s the case for your son. My kids don’t have any interest in the new SW films, they love the prequels... but now they are much more into MCU and Fantastic Beasts/Harry Potter over the ST, unfortunately...

 

My anticipation for IX is, well, very low