Jurassic World Evolution Review

Jurassic World Evolution brings back warm memories of playing Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis on my PS2 some 15 years prior. In fact, comparisons to JPOG are well deserved as many of the features found there, find themselves finding a new home in the spiritual successor JW: Evolution. 

JW: Evolution is distinctly different however, namely in that its far more dense of a game with numerous layers that only reveal themselves over a lengthy island progression system. With numerous customizable options for nearly every building and dinosaur it can seem overwhelming at first but you’ll soon find yourself comfortably chipping away at new technologies and specimens. 

This is arguably where JW:Evolution is at its strongest. The game’s progression system rewards the player for successful park management with resources to produce better attractions, more buildings, and additional customization. In my experience, this extends the positive feedback the player feels, as they continue to tweak their park far beyond the simple placement of a facility or dinosaur. I would consider this aspect of the game to dominate the early and mid points in the game when you’re working on an island. That’s not to be confused with the other important aspect, your overall progression in the game itself.

Taking a much broader view, the technology and resources you have available to you, become available to be researched or unlocked as you successfully manage a theme park on each island. Though you’re not taking the cash itself with you from island to island- you are however retaining the technology and genetic data you’ve unlocked as you continue to unlock new dinosaurs to be breed. Personally, I’m a huge fan of this mode. Your decisions seem to carry more weight and inspire further gameplay. Not only this, but you can always go back to a previously worked on island to update the park with new advancements you’ve unlocked since playing on the island. 

However, this is also where the game tends to take a bit of a turn. The games only glaring drawback isn’t in quality, but in quantity. Now to be clear, I have found the game thus far to be very enjoyable and continues to challenge me to find creative solutions to the problems I face. I’ve come to learn to use tools like the customization system in new ways to benefit my parks and more efficient systems for keeping dinosaurs and guests safe. Which has been excited, fun and dazzling to watch play out.

The problems however do seem to stem from the variety of options available to the player. Lets take the core aspect of the game: building a dinosaur enclosure for your guests and talk through some of the areas I could see the developers tweaking or expanding for the good of the game.

The Island

Perhaps the biggest concern of most players I’ve been following online is the build space available for players. Most of the islands have a smaller space then players would desire to work from, though this could be forgiven assuming there were additional islands in a ‘free play’ mode like the Isla Nublar map. But seeings as roughly 4 of the 6 maps are on the smaller side, it’s not unreasonable for fans to be a bit annoyed by the constraints of the map size. 

I would argue a lot of this comes from the natural beauty of the game. The developers have done a quality job rendering an environment you can’t help but love to explore and you want to provide that to not only your park guests, but your dinosaurs as well. As a result of the map size however, this typically leads to smaller enclosures, or limited variety of species as a result. I can’t tell you how many of my parks have become a mental rubrics cube to find better solutions for packing attractions together. But as mentioned, for the ‘main game’ component of I think this is actually really fun. It’s challenging and encourages creative gameplay. But what happens when players are looking to simply relax from the main campaign? Unfortunately, their options are limited. 

Breeding

Once you’ve established yourself on the island and setup your animal enclosure you’re almost ready to start breeding. For the sake of argument we’re going to say we’ve already unlocked a number of dinosaurs and enough genetic material that we can begin interchanging segments of the dinosaurs DNA. For starters, I really like this system and it provides some interesting opportunities, but at the moment most the options available to you don’t appear to provide clear payoff. 

While it’s true you can breed animals that are more aggressive for a higher star rating, many of the other options don’t directly have a payoff that effects your bottom line. You can extend the age of the animals, which a nice perk and in my experience the only real counter argument to a higher star rating. But defense isn’t that worthwhile unless you plan on your dinosaurs fighting to the death and resistence to disease really isn’t that big of a threat. The remaining genetic components all work against you too. Viability of the embryo decreases with further alterations and incubation costs increase. As a result you’re left with largely similar animals, regardless of if they’re slightly more aggressive or live a bit longer. 

This is where I feel the development team could be leaning into this concept a bit harder. It’s perhaps just my opinion, but the animal behavior should be clearly reflective of the genetic modifications. Lets say I breed a Triceratops, in my experience even making it the most aggressive form possible will still result in a pretty easily manageable animal in my park (not always the case with carnivores). Whereas what I would like to see is an animal that is locking horns with members of its species, territorial to jeeps and other dinosaur species and generally just more easily annoyed by outside factors. Alternatively an animal that’s been made to live longer should be more passive, more relaxed, and it’s behavior should reflect that. Perhaps it spends more time in pools of water rolling around in the mud. Or running through fields, or perhaps ironically eating so much additional food it has a habit of getting sick as a result.

This leads to another point, that I don’t think completely warrants it’s own section, but is worth noting: the dinosaur behaviors could use some additional work. What we have now is fun and it’s great to check in on the animals once in a while and see what they’re up to. Typically though, it’s the same general stuff. Drinking, communicating in a triangle formation, eating or running around in a field. I can understand having 40+ species can make for custom animations on this scale nearly impossible for a studio looking to release a product, but future updates should almost certainly include an AI / Animations update. Each species or perhaps family group if you will- should have a few custom behaviors associated with them. For instance, perhaps the Trics love finding a good tree to scratch their tusks against like elephants, or the T-Rex prefers to hunt from the hidden foliage of the jungle before charging its prey. Even just a few custom behaviors could really add a lot of value to the game, fundamentally change how you’re building and managing your park.

Upgrading

You’ve done it! You’ve created a bunch of dinosaurs, your park is producing some profit and you’re well on your way to expanding your network of attractions. But this is where the next problem creeps in. While it’s true you can upgrade nearly all the buildings in the game the problem still remains that there’s a ruefully limited numbers of creative options for improving sections of your park. Generally as you work through a park, expanding as you go. You typically aren’t spending a lot of time returning to old sections of the park to add hot dog stands, park benches, information kiosks, signs, and the like- because none of those things exist in the current game. In fact, this seems like some an obvious omission from the game, I can’t help but wonder if time was instead dedicated to adding dinosaurs, rather than some of the smaller and honestly- more frequent elements I would expect from a theme park sim. For this reason, I think its almost inconceivable that the developers won’t add these elements to a DLC or patch down the road.

Crunching the Numbers

This is a small area that a lot of fans may not be hyping for and it’s certainly not at the top of my priority list. It is likely however that once implemented it would almost be inconceivable to leave out. What JW: Evolution needs is a more in-depth system of understanding what I’ve thought is the most important park asset: the visitor. 

Unfortunately, there’s currently no graphical data that shows me the population of visitors over time, the attractions they view most favorably, their annoyances, how tired they are and so forth. As a result, the game appears to not really pit the visitors as all that important of a asset. They’re money making machines where more is more, but beyond that- they’re simply good dino-bait for when things go wrong. 

Whereas the dinosaurs do have stats you can review and make changes to your park as a result of their comfort levels. Now to be clear, that’s great and I really do love the intimacy you can feel towards any of your animals, including the ability to name them. But I believe its a mistake to cast the visitors as simply a side effect of the dinosaurs who’s only purpose is to generate more money by purchasing gift shop items and burgers. As a player you’re effectively being held accountable to the care of the dinosaurs, but once their comfort levels have been achieved- your job is over. There’s no ‘journey’ you’re taking with the dinosaurs, because their environment isn’t changing in the same way your visitors are as they move throughout your park. For this reason, I believe this is where the late game actually suffers the most. 

Late Game

Because the late game is easy to create souring profits with little to no risk of running out of extendible capital. You’ve created enough dinosaur attractions that you have guests gushing through the gate, spending more money once they’re there and then… well who cares? They’ve served their purpose at that point. But as a player you now have unlimited funds, perhaps more of the island to expand upon, but still a small variety of tools to build better attractions. The result of having that extra cash no longer serves a purpose, because as a player your timidness to spend that money has vanished and it quickly becomes apparent that you can build a new attraction with the same formula you have previously. Effectively, there is no hot dog stands or benches you can add to cater to your visitors deeper needs, there are no ‘rubbing tree’s’  you can plant for your Triceratops to improve their lives.

I think a good example of how late game blues can be flipped on its head comes from an unlikely source. In recent years the Total War series has begun to introduce a late game challenge. Once you’ve achieved certain aspects of the game, a new bold challenge confronts the player as a result of their success. While I’m not completely sure how this develops in a JW: Evolution game, this could be anything from an uptick in tropical storms or perhaps guests simply become more needy and demand better attractions, more transportation options or higher quality establishments, like restaurants over fast food. But it would be contained within that 4 to 5 star stretch your park passes through and provide a lasting challenge before completing their 5 star park. But that’s all a pipe dream on my end, because as it currently stands, the late game of an island is generally just grinding through whatever contracts or mission you have left.

Final Impressions

This is easily the best Jurassic Park / World game I’ve played- not that there’s been many. But regardless this is still a fun game where I will undoubtably waste a lot of my free time. I truly hope the development team intends to not only expand upon this game’s core aspects, but also dig deeper into what they’ve already accomplished. 

As mentioned there’s plenty of things you may find yourself wishing they added and it’s truly my hope that they do add more meaningful content over time.

6/10

Death of a Princess: How Star Wars can go on

With Episode 8 wrapped up and final impressions neatly being supplied by nearly everyone across the internet, we now get to enjoy the next year and some number of months speculating until the next saga film to carry on the story of Rey, Finn and Poe.

As far as I see it, there’s a small collection of big questions remaining when we talk about the future of Star Wars. Perhaps none as important as how J.J. Abrams will deal with the real life passing of Carrie Fisher. When we left off on The Last Jedi, presumably the entire Resistance movement (or the main fighting force at least) fits aboard the Millennium Falcon, including General Organa after having taken horrific loses over the course of Episode 8. 

But how J.J. Abrams deals with the death our favorite Princess is a question J.J. and by extension Disney is likely to not take lightly. The options before them, to put it simply are as follows: Either the film acknowledges her death sometime between Episode 8 and 9, in the days, weeks, months, or years between Last Jedi and Episode 9, or the ball is kicked down the road, and her character is not revealed to have died until further into the film. This option however raises its own risks, including the blowback if her character, even if in a minor scene- is CGI’d into the film, or various leftover footage is used to composite her into the new footage; and it doesn’t meet audiences expectations. It’s my personal belief Disney won’t take the risk, not after the blowback they’ve already received from Tarkin’s CGI inclusion in Rogue One and from The Last Jedi’s bold thematic decisions I’ve outlined in previous articles. This and in addition to Solo’s release, which many are already speculating to be a flop (which honestly is unwarranted speculation prior to any footage being released).

It seems, at this point that Disney likely won’t want to risk the blowback on the “final” saga film and makes sense they’d either push her death to the opening crawl of Episode 9, or the very opening scene of the film itself. But honestly, this could be the best thing for the film, next to Carrie Fisher being alive and well.

To put it simply, rather than leaning away from her death, Disney should lean into her loss. Using General Organa’s death as a form of catalyst for the events of Episode 9, may provide the proper backdrop for a strong thematic framework for our characters overcoming overwhelming loss and grief. By referencing the void left by Leia, the audience too is reminded of the loss of such a central character and the challenge of overcoming impossible odds despite it. By confronting the hard truth immediately, it quickly shapes the narrative around the problem- rather than shying away from the responsibility and weight of that loss. 

In addition to this, I would be all but shocked if the film didn’t take place at a minimum of weeks, if not months after The Last Jedi. With a proper amount of time left between the films to ensure our heroes are positioned to respond to the catalytic moment of Leia’s death.

How the series deals with the death of one of our favorite characters, not to mention just one of our favorite actresses is hard to say at this point. But I can hope they take the bold path to embrace the reality they face, then try to soften the topic. Carrie Fisher from my experience both in person listening to her speak, or the interviews I've witnessed over the years paints the picture of someone who has challenged life head on- and it would disrespectful to now treat her character as a delicate matter. 

A Star Wars for the Next Generation (Episode 8 Spoiler Review)

It’s always an exciting time when I get the opportunity to review a new Star Wars film, which until a few years ago I never thought I would be able to do as an adult. The Last Jedi continues that streak of excitement by bringing us back into the universe of Star Wars- for better or worse. In the time since its release, I’ve read numerous articles as fans and professional critics alike have either decried or proclaimed the franchise altering film and the potential repercussions this film represents for the future of Star Wars. 

I will say upfront: I enjoyed the film, but it was nothing at all like I would have dreamed of. But that’s okay and perhaps by the end of this you’ll understand why it’s ok for you too.

When The Force Awaken’s came out, I recall leaving the theater with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I enjoyed what I watched, but I wasn’t screaming with excitement. What I loved where the new characters and their humble beginnings, I loved how much as fans we questioned the origins of these characters and the potential conflict points we could see brewing even in this new Star Wars venture. But I personally hated many of the design choices and most obviously, the loud echoes of A New Hope.

At the time, what I saw from The Force Awakens was a frightened franchise owners who’s timid actions hadn’t dared stray too far away from A New Hope. But despite that, there was still a spark, something about it that hinted at something new, something bold and perhaps exciting for a new era of Star Wars. But The Force Awakens purposefully failed to answer this central question: What was SW becoming? Which is where I think some of the blowback on The Last Jedi stems from. If the Force Awakens raises the question- The Last Jedi simply grabs ahold of your hand, smiles, and destroys everything you thought you understood. But there’s a reason for that: both the original and now sequel visions of Star Wars can’t exist at the same time.

Truthfully though, Star Wars has been changing for a long time and the problem stems from a time between the original trilogy and the (perhaps doomed) prequel series. Without getting too deep in the weeds, Lucas began allowing outside storytellers to expand the Star Wars universe, with what aptly became known as ‘The Expanded Universe.’ This expanded content did a lot of good things for Star Wars (along with some arguably bad), but in the grand strokes it kept Star Wars from feeling out dated, and out of touch with what audiences craved for at that moment in time. In a sense, it was a proper balance, the older fans could cling to the original films and what they believed ’true’ SW was, while a new generation of fans could latch onto an ever expanding pool of stories and media, including the prequels. 

In a sense, the non-unified Star Wars vision has segregated many fans. There those who are original purest’s, those who proclaim the prequels as the best, those who find the expanded universe to be best and of course the fractured segments of various combinations of beliefs. Disney was arguably correct to simplify the timeline for this reason, but that only solved part of the problem. Those who viewed their particular content, as the ‘real’ heart of SW were doomed to be swayed by Disney’s new, unified vision of Star Wars. 

Upon Disney purchasing the Star Wars property. The expanded universe was swept away all at once, and now, Star Wars was a single vision with a much simpler timeline. Though the problem of a segmented fan base persists even today, this also has provided Disney with the opportunity to begin to filter in selective parts of the expanded universe, that once would never have made it into a Star Wars saga film. These elements would not be restricted to characters or storylines, but even thematic themes, tones, and a much deeper appreciation of the force itself. Arguably the most central aspect of Star Wars itself.

It becomes perhaps a bit more clear in hindsight, why Disney would release a New Hope clone: The Force Awakens before The Last Jedi would arrive to deconstruct many of the golden idols that have propped up the Star Wars saga films in the past. Though it doesn’t service fans in the long run to repeat a story- it did serve the purpose of securing enough confidence in fans to continue on this journey with Disney. The Last Jedi is simply the first step into the new universe Disney is crafting, and it’s my personal belief, this universe will echo that of the expanded universe much more closely- though obviously with it’s own spin.

The Last Jedi is a rather perfect representation of all the SW tropes we thought we knew coming crashing down. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the satisfaction of knowing where Episode 9 will rise to, and what new “universe” we will enter as a result. It’s for this reason I think some people are perhaps a bit too preemptively harsh on The Last Jedi.

The Last Jedi has intention however. The destruction of the SW tropes are most obvious in Luke Skywalker. Many fans expected a wise, powerful and capable Jedi. But what we encountered was an old, tired and emotionally troubled man who’s loss of his (arguably) favorite student sent him into a tailspin. Luke’s failure as a teacher, his failure to ‘pass on what he’s learned’ to not just the next generation, but his literal flesh and blood makes him resent all the triumphs his life has amassed. But more than just simply this, Luke’s character is destroyed purposefully, as a vessel to destroy our perception of the Jedi. If Luke fully believed and committed to what the Jedi of the old believed, than arguably Rey (and by extension the audience) too would carry that message on and nothing new would come of it. But through Luke’s insistence of the Jedi’s faults and failure’s- Rey has the opportunity to craft something new. But before that can ever happen. The status quo must come to an end. 

We see this again with Poe. His recklessness and frankly his adventurism that has led so many SW characters on successful adventures the first victim of the course change The Last Jedi took. On a personal note, this had to happen. It needed to happen. Look no further than Han Solo’s performance in The Force Awakens, as he concluded to simply ‘blow it up’ in regards to Starkiller base, followed by his ‘you wouldn’t want to know’ plan that hinged the entire effort of hundreds of lives in the balance- to evade the base shields was the most ridiculous example of SW adventurism trumping any form of logical planning. It also signaled the obvious conclusion of the film that the good guys would win and Han Solo probably wasn’t going to make it out alive. The writers literally said “lets just ensure Han Solo is in a perilous situation, but we don’t have the screen time to explain how he does it too.” One could argue, that Han’s death was the first real indication that Star Wars was on a path of change. Solo’s own bombastically simple adventure ploy ended- with his own death. The theming of The Last Jedi simply wouldn’t allow this to happen. Characters would be tortured, lives would be lost and consequences would be met head on.

Poor planning and adventurous spirt has consequences and this teachable experience happens again and again as we see with Finn and Rose as well. Perhaps one of the easiest things to nit pick in The Last Jedi is Finn and Rose’s adventure to Canto Bight and what appears to be a complete failure on their part- leading many to wonder why it was even included- if it didn’t further the plot. But what many (including myself) perhaps missed at first, is this plot point serviced two different elements. First, it further’s Poe’s storyline- and solidify’s Poe’s failures in acting first and thinking second- by very nearly killing Finn, Rose and BB-8 in the process.

But perhaps even more importantly we’re introduced to a new concept in SW with the potential to shape beyond simply Episode 9. We’re introduced to the SW underworld through the lens of the powerful and elite. From the perspective of those who don’t hold political positions but likely hold political sway with every credit they collect from the war profits of selling armaments to both the First Order and Resistance. They’re revealed to be the truly despicable and horrific profiteers in the galaxy- living off the nonsensical war machine that has burned through the galaxy from the Empire through the First Order. While it’s anyone’s guess what Episode 9 may bring, I would be surprised if this element didn’t play a part. Perhaps even the biggest part? Lets not forget that the Republic governmental system is destroyed and even by The Last Jedi- there is no indication that any replacement system has been organized either. What is left of the galaxy but the scum and villainy?

Lastly, and unfortunately an after thought, this finally resolved the conflict between Finn and Phasma. This, arguably is one of the weaker elements of the plot and deserves a few raised eyebrows. But ultimately it may yet be meaningless, if Phasma is to survive and return in Episode 9. Only time will tell. 

From the ashes we now have the opportunity for something new. Something more. The Last Jedi provided us not only with the destruction of these tropes, but hints at where SW may be leading us. We saw new Force powers and abilities never before seen on film, we saw heroism as not simply ‘being heroic’ but through the hard choices and perseverance of the characters. We were exposed to perhaps the truest of evil, the profiteers behind the scenes and all of characters grew as a result of the constant barrage upon their character flaws- even Kylo Ren, grew as a result of this turmoil and the choices made throughout the film.

As is true in every ‘middle’ movie in a trilogy, The Last Jedi tested our characters, it beat them, it tore them apart and more than that- it provided the ground space for them to build a resolution. As we see at the very end of the film, as all of our heroes and villains are laid out nicely across a dividing line and are set for the final confrontation. What that final conflict takes shape as, it’s difficult to know. It seems unlikely we’ll be seeing a second Starkiller base, it seems unlikely we’ll be seeing the climatic confrontation between Kylo and Rey fought before the Supreme Leader as it was paralleled in Return of the Jedi- no, I believe: we’ll be seeing our first taste of what this new universe has to offer. New aspects of the force we never knew, new locations we never imagined and enemies we didn’t see coming. 

Beyond this point I can only speculate, but as far as I see it- it’s an exciting time for Star Wars fans. No one has destroyed the past, we can all relish in the classic conflict between Empire and Rebels, but we should also be encouraged by what we see. The next generation will not be receiving a recycled story, with a recycled conclusion- no, they have the opportunity to shape their own destiny.

What the hero Journey tells us about Episode 9

One of the unexpected dynamics I didn’t see coming from The Last Jedi was how much of the heroes mythos was covered in the film. The Hero’s Journey, often accredited to Joseph Campbell for his stellar work in such publications as ‘Hero of a Thousand Faces’ reveals the principles of storytelling that became the basis for George Lucas when writing the original script for Star Wars. The hero’s journey is not restricted to simply Star Wars however and be found in most, if not all professional storytelling media across the globe for thousands of years. For this reason, it’s practical to analyze the substance of the principles and ask ourselves where The Last Jedi left off. 

What’s surprising, is how much is covered in this film. While the hero’s journey is most commonly visually represented as a circle, in which the hero leaves his/her home to venture into the unknown, battle the witches, monsters and great terrors of their universe to win the prize, object or desire of their needs before returning to their home, metaphorically or perhaps literally at times. We can envision this circle, within a much larger circle to understand the relationship between an individual story that has a beginning, middle and end, taking place within a trilogy of stories that also have an apparent beginning, middle and end. This is at least in part, why we have trilogies of films and books for instance.

When we direct this relationship of storytelling to what we see in The Force Awakens and now The Last Jedi we receive a much clearer picture to the intention of these films. Rey, a young beautiful nobody, from a nowhere part of the galaxy makes the fateful decision to help BB8. This, leads to her journey expanding to help Finn, which in turn leads her on a path straight into the heart of darkness. Confronting Kylo Ren and embracing her ‘destiny’ to meet the legendary grand wizard- none other than Luke Skywalker. The steps of this journey clearly depict the opening stages of the hero’s journey, in which Rey receives her magical gifts and tools necessary to complete her journey (or in this case, the force is awakened within her and she receives Luke’s lightsaber). The Force Awakens ends right where one might expect, her confrontation with Kylo Ren in the forest upon Starkiller base represents her first true challenge in her journey, the metaphorical guardian who attempts to stop the heroine from completing their journey into the unknown. In this case, the unknown being Rey’s understanding of who is she, where she came from and what the awakening of the force within her means.

By the time The Last Jedi begins we shouldn’t be surprised our heroine along with the cast of side characters we’ve picked up along the way are in for some hard times. Just as soon as our heroine meets Luke Skywalker and he resists aiding her, our heroine and her cohorts are forced through a period Joseph Campbell referred to as ‘the road of trials’. Failure is the greatest teacher, as Yoda reminds us mid-film, and this is true for The Last Jedi as well. Like a checklist, we’re carried from the trials to the ‘meeting of the goddess’ (in this case reversed as Rey is a heroine rather than hero) in which Rey, who feels compelled to save Kylo Ren from himself turns herself in to Snoke’s forces in an attempt to persuade Kylo to recuse himself from the dark side. This gambit ultimately fails, in that Kylo uses the gambit to take further control and solidify his destiny. But it should not be misunderstood the gift in which Kylo Ren provides to Rey in that moment. Through perhaps sheer will, or some other mystic explanation Kylo is able to break through to Rey- and provide the internal confession to whom Rey’s parentage is. The revelation is mundane, but not without merit. What matters is not who her parents are, but that Kylo Ren was the one who broke through the internal noise and could provide this gift to her. The weight of the moment is not held by quality of the gift, but the symbolic weight of receiving it at all. This moment also hints at another element on the hero’s journey, ‘the woman as the temptress’ (again in reverse for Rey) in which Rey has felt the cosmic pull of destiny towards Kylo Ren in a compassionate, if not loving sense of the emotion. In that moment, Kylo offers her the opportunity to give in to this desire, the allure of happiness and someone who would care for her as no one ever has- such as her parents. This emotional pull is central to Rey’s largest challenge- knowing her place in the universe. But Rey successfully turns away from Kylo’s advances, who she sees going down a dark path she cannot stomach to follow. 

As we progress through the final chapter of The Last Jedi, Rey comes to terms with Luke as well. As the central father figure at this point in her life, all of her movement in her story has been in achieving the status as the metaphorical daughter in Luke’s eyes. But from Luke’s own resistance and challenges he’s pushed her to grow, expand and become more than if Luke has agreed to train her from the very start. Whereas all of Rey’s story has lead her to Luke, in this moment she has finally surpassed her spiritual need for Luke’s guidance and now has the gifts and abilities to save the resistance and effectively provide for them and her journey, in a way that Luke no longer could.

Prepared with the tools and knowledge needed to confront the largest challenge, we end The Last Jedi with Rey, the resistance and her friends flying off to fight another day, with only the ultimate boon to be snatched up and recovered by the heroine. It’s worth noting that Joseph Campbell choose to place ‘the ultimate boon’ within the second act of storytelling, but its not uncommon for stories to delay the ultimate boon until the third act. While we have no proof that Rey has succeeded in achieving her ultimate goal, it’s perhaps a tantalizing hint that Rey stole the old Jedi texts- which is only revealed in a fleeting, almost casual moment in the films closing moments. 

Which leads us directly to Episode 9. While the details of what happens and how Rey will achieve them may remain hazy, I can speculate with a fairly high degree of certainty that these elements will transpire.

Rey will achieve her goal. In a spiritual sense, Rey’s journey started with the central question of who she was, and what her place in the universe would be. It seems as an audience we are being lead to believe that Rey will become the center of a new Jedi order, who’s philosophy will be marked by the lessons learned by Rey, a nobody, from the middle of nowhere to inspire a generation of students who may be themselves- nobodies. 

From this sense, understanding what this actually means is extremely difficult. It could manifest itself into a story in which Rey discovers a powerful young student whom Kylo seeks himself. It could be a discovery Rey makes from within the old Jedi texts she stole- pushing her on a journey to recover a sacred item or location that may provide the tools or wisdom to defeat the ultimate evil. It could be the understanding that in order to balance the force, she must marry the light to the dark with Kylo by her side.

Perhaps more exciting and I would argue likely, is the ‘refusal of the return’ in which the heroine refuses to return to the known world they came from, or to put it more accurately- failure to share their gifts of knowledge and wisdom with those beyond the heroine’s adventure. Often, even if the heroine does refuse to return with their gifts, they’re eventually tempted, or forced to do so. The momentary ‘spell’ put over them shook from their mind as the realize their spiritual journey is not over.

The most obvious direction this could take, would be Rey’s refusal to share her knowledge of ‘finding her place’ by refusing to share her skills and knowledge of the force with others- potentially putting her in line with Kylo Ren, fueled by the temptation of the flesh and comfort of falling into his metaphorical arms.

Undoubtably, Rey’s story cannot be completed until she achieves her goal of sharing the knowledge she has gained with those beyond her spiritual orbit, but being so deep in the unknown requires a quick and often frantic escape from the collapsing darkness around her. This has been performed countless times in storytelling, from Frodo’s escape via the eagles in Lord of the Rings (while all of the evil lands are destroyed in volcanic fire) to Luke Skywalker dragging his redeemed father onto a transport while the Death Star begins to explode. 

This moment marks the ultimately downfall of the dark side power, that until now has consumed the world the hero inhabits. Obviously, at this point every finger is pointed at the downfall of the First Order. While prior to seeing The Last Jedi, many would have suspected the death of Snoke, now we see that Snoke was not the ultimate evil we assumed he was- from a metaphorical standpoint. Which leads me to believe either Kylo Ren will rise to a new, and terrifying evil, or a larger, looming cruelty exists beyond our edges of persecution at this moment, only to be revealed during Episode 9. 

The key to success for Rey, is to share the wisdom she’s gained in her journey. We see this in Return of the Jedi in the final moments of that film as Luke burns his father’s body. Or more acutely, the crude machine that supported his physical life. In this moment of death and birth, we are rewarded with the ‘free’ soul or Jedi ghost figure of his father, appearing with the other spiritual guardians in the final shot of that film. Luke has achieved in saving his father and bringing balance to the force.

But what will Rey’s return provide the galaxy? What gift does she supply the universe with? Arguably, as mentioned it would be the gift of compassion and opening her arms to all whom need a place, a home, and a metaphorical mother in the galaxy and potentially- the birth of the new Jedi Order.

Perhaps the biggest twist, (or perhaps not) would be the component often reserved for such legendary characters as the great Buddha or Jesus, in which is a master of both the physical and spiritual world. But this could also be interpreted as a balance in the force. Since Star Wars already has such a powerful relationship between regular people and their connectivity to the force, by this definition Rey’s successful relationship with the force would appear to fit this description as Joseph Campbell describes it. Which is why I believe in order for this element of the story to have a true impact- if utilized, it would require her character to take on an additional depth to the challenge, by means of which her character would have to become a master of the whole metaphorical universe, both the light and dark side, or of such a deep wisdom of the force itself- she elevates herself to a mastery that has never been witnessed before on film within the Star Wars universe. I clarify to say on film, as such a character has existed numerous times within the expanded universe of Star Wars. 

Ultimately, its difficult to determine exactly what twists and turns will transpire in Episode 9, but unlike the previous two films, we see there are less challenges and phases in which the heroine must pass along her journey. By contrast, the final act is much simpler, though the stakes much hinger. This often results in a much more explosive, or emotionally charged finale, a result most fans will love I’m sure. 

With these elements laid out, we can see the skeletal structure of which Episode 9 will take shape from. The story, likely will remain simple in form, few complex ideas will be introduced as the darkness of this world has revealed the majority of its tricks, monsters, and gimmicks. What challenges our heroine now is the amassing of these elements in grand and spectacular style as a final battle for the soul of the universe.

Rogue One vs The Force Awakens - How we do Judge?

Recently, I had a discussion with a good friend of mine in which I made the bold statement that 'Rogue One was a better movie than The Force Awakens.' While I'm not sure I would stand behind that statement today after a bit of thought, it still sparked a rather engaging conversation in which I realized something I hadn't considered before.

Franchise's are on the eve of a New Era. We no longer can simply grade a franchise film by its own merit- not to grade it fairly. With so much mixed media content, from novels, TV series, films and beyond; how can we judge a film as an independent piece when it was never intended to be viewed as such?

To be fair, I do believe criticism of a film, novel, comic or whatever medium you choose is fair, but so too is looking at the greater puzzle this piece may fit into. This idea was only compounded as over the weekend I binge watched Star Wars Episodes IV-VI. From that I picked up on something else, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is pure eye candy.

What's a Sequel/Prequel in a Shared Universe?

I love Empire it's certainly one of my favorites. But if I look at this film as an independent film, far away from the surrounding franchise films- the film looses value quickly. We're left with an open-ended ending and the film itself seems to hang on the reveal that Vader is Luke's father. But this doesn't bring a ton of value to the film itself. It's a great reveal, but there's no conclusion to this news. Luke is simply defeated and narrowly escapes. In fact other than some eye candy in regards to a new Super Star Destroyer, TIE Bombers, interesting new locations, an improved lightsaber fight and Imperial Walkers, we're left with a pretty simple story about Luke visiting a hermit before confronting a bad dude and loosing.

Only when we view Empire as part of a trilogy, or saga can we begin to see the big picture and how fantastic it was to marvel and play in this 'play pen' of new material. The plot was pushed along just a little, but we were given new toys to 'awe' over and play with in our minds. Many of the best lines from the series are from Empire because the characters had plenty of time to simply exist without pressure of starting or ending the story. And there's nothing wrong with that. Empire is so great because it's a piece of candy stuck between two films that begin and end our journey. This is not so much a criticism as much as it is an observation (and before anyone starts to talk about storytelling principles, I'm way ahead of you, but it's important to remind ourselves of what Empire is)- and it leads me to an issue I have with criticism of Rogue One or The Force Awakens.

Star Wars has a selection of 'saga' films that have convenient numbers that string them all together. In the past this has worked for Star Wars- it was the way it was intended on being told. But I doubt Lucas or much less anyone else back then had dreamed up the concept of a shared cinematic universe. Certainly no one could imagine the Marvel Universe being told from the perspective of 'Episode 1: Captain America...' Because Marvel and DC have changed the way we view these expanded universes. When we get a film like Ant Man, the superhero isn't a main hero like Captain America. So where does that fit into the greater story arch? If we looked to the Monomyth for clues on story structure, would Ant Man be near the beginning or middle of this grand story? The answer is none of the above. While Ant Man itself may follow the story structure of the Monomyth, the film itself only nudges the film universe forward and from that respect- is just candy for the Marvel Universe.

More to the point, Rogue One was 'candy' for the Star Wars Universe. It's story nudged the saga forward, but the film itself was a new cinematic path being forged. Our expectations for quality should be just as high as The Force Awakens, if not higher.  But what we expect in terms of content should be wildly different.

Criticizing Rogue One

Namely, a lot of the issues I've heard with Rogue One is that it was too much 'fandom' Too much of what fan's have been drooling over- Action! X-Wings! Stormtroopers! Battle! New Tech! To be fair, we should have expected this from the moment they said it would be a war film, but beyond that I find those who criticize the film for the new vehicles/weapons to be just as silly as those who criticize the film for having the classic Imperial Walkers 'just because it'll get people into theater seats.' Because frankly Star Wars is about the characters as much as it is about the universe they inhabit. It's a bad reason to dislike the film when a more reasonable reason could be the lack of character development. Which I would take as a reasonable excuse, especially considering some of the key characters don't survive and understanding their motivations more clearly in this one-off film becomes even  more important.

But to complain that the film was ruined because they added new vehicles in the same way Empire Strikes Back did, is just silly. To complain that cutting edge special effects didn't 100% convince you that Tarkin was living and breathing, probably just shows you're not a fool. But to suggest it ruined the film is a bit dramatic. The special effects are pretty amazing all things considered and perhaps one day Disney will update them as the technology improves. I guess my point with this one is simple- when Star Wars came out in the 70s, the technology that was presented to movie goers was new and revolutionary. But don't kid yourself into thinking that anyone thought it was real. It was just really amazing to see what they achieved on screen. Why audiences today can scoff and suggest they simply shouldn't have bothered, defeats the point. It's not about being photo accurate, it's about telling a story with all the tools you have at your disposal.

Future Films

Real complaints about Rogue One exist and I hope Disney listens to them and uses that as motivation to create something truly spectacular in the future. Personally I don't think they nailed The Force Awakens for different reasons than Rogue One, but TFA's story isn't complete and we're bound to have our opinions change once Episode VIII arrives. Though considering Episode VIII's position as the 'candy' episode in this new trilogy, we shouldn't be surprised if many of the same complaints start to show up after the credits roll. I could only hope much like Empire, the characters become richer, the universe deeper and the new tech cooler. 

An 'Old Republic' Introspective

Disney's Next Big Saga is Closer than You Think

Many should not be surprised if they've heard little to nothing about Disney's future plans with Star Wars. Though they have officially revealed the general plan to shoot the Han Solo film, Episode 8 & 9, and a yet to be titled spin off- that's about as far as the current agenda goes. But that's not to suggest it's the only endeavor Disney appears to be organizing. 

Which brings us to the Old Republic. A time period that's been brought up over and over again, without many star wars fans directly realizing what Disney has been shaping in our minds. Episodes 8 & 9 will undoubtedly finish the storyline for the Skywalker saga- at least in regards to to Luke and Leia, but where does Disney go beyond this? Though I wouldn't put it past Disney to flesh out Rey and Finn's storylines over the course of additional Episodic films. I also wouldn't put it past Disney to delve into a more ancient timeline that may effect our hero's, Rey and Finn. Resulting in Disney releasing numbered Episodic films every few years- in the same way that Avenger films are released once the cumulative plot lines from the stand alone films merge. This would provide some breathing room for the episodic films, but also rake in some additional cash for the already profitable franchise. 

For Disney, this could prove to be a very creative way of telling the Star Wars adventure. For the basis of this argument, you could envision an enemy with roots both in the modern Star Wars tale- but also some thousands of years prior. How might this work?

What Does the Canon Tell us?

With so much new content emerging from novels, tv series and movies- what can we say about the Old Republic now, and what might a movie or tv series set in that time be about? For one thing, there's been some major upgrades to the existing timeline.

Official New Canon information will be labeled in Blue.
Where as Old Canon references will be labeled Red.

Hundred Year Darkness (6000+ Years before 'A New Hope')

The Jedi form the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, while considering planets such as Coruscant, Ossus and Tython.

Some members of the Jedi began to follow a path to the Dark Side by distorting the force to breed new lifeforms into existence- with the potential to even prevent death. The High Jedi Council demanded these new discoveries be halted immediately, leading to a conflict within the Jedi Order. Eventually the High Jedi Council banished these members, leading them to form 'The Sith' on Korriban, after enslaving the local populace. The term 'Dark Lord of the Sith' was born from this. After the Hundred Year of Darkness and the fall of the Republic due to the massive war among the Jedi, the galaxy was reorganized as the first 'Galactic Republic.'

At some point the 'Darksaber' is created by Tar Vizsla, first Mandalorian inducted into the Jedi Order. After his death, the Jedi kept the saber in their temple.

The Mandalorian War (4000+ Years before 'A New Hope')

A number of wars among the Jedi and Sith transpire prior to this, leading to the Sith to be brought to heel once more and generally considered wiped out.

Seeking the 'Great Last Battle' that legend spoke of, 'Mandalore the Ultimate' seeked to wage a war unparalleled to anything the galaxy had seen before. Mandalorian Crusaders under house Vizsla stole the 'Darksaber' from the Jedi Temple. With this saber, they unified the Manadlorian's under one banner. Attacking the outer rim his forces took large sections of the galaxy under Hutt or minor faction rule, before the Republic could be tempted to protect itself. At this point Mandalore had gained a massive number of resources and was poised to strike hard against the Republic. The ensuing battle for the Republic cost the Republic dearly.

The Jedi however could not be tempted to join the war, leaving the Republic to fight on its own. This did not settle well with a Jedi named Revan and lead to him and other Jedi to take up arms within the Republic military to lead a successful campaign against the Mandalorians. Taking great strides to reclaim territory lost, Jedi Revan became the hero of the Republic.

The Great Scourge of Malachor

The final battle between the Galactic Republic led by Revan and Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders occurred on Malachor V. Here, the canon remains unclear- presumably, at a hidden Sith Temple/Academy, Mandalorian Warriors, Jedi and Republic Troops are turned to stone after the activation of a Sith super weapon contained within the temple. A weapon that if used could destroy all life, by ripping the force from the object itself. The temple itself contained much writing considered to be of 'the old tongue.' 

At around this same time, the end of the war brought about great destruction to the surface of Mandalore, scarring the surface and making it inhospitable to life, it is unclear if the two events are connected, as much information from this time has been tweaked. After the scourge of Malachor, Malachor was deemed off limits by the Jedi. 

Interestingly, Kylo Ren's lightsaber design dates back to this same era.

Jedi Civil War

Following the events of the Mandalorian War, the Jedi find themselves at odds with each other, leading to the Jedi Civil War. Namely, Revan and his apprentice Malik dive into the unknown regions of the galaxy to confront 'a greater evil' they can still sense. Only to discover the Sith Empire. This knowledge corrupts them as they return to the Republic not as hero's but conquerors, intending on taking power over the Republic to protect it from the greater Sith threat looming on the horizon. This plan fails however when Malik betrays Revan and follows his own passions to rule the galaxy.

After these events, there's about 3000 years of history that hasn't been touched on by the new canon. For those reasons, I'll skip over the old canon.

The Jedi Sith War (1000+ Years before 'A New Hope')

In the words of Sio Bibble, "There hasn't been a full-scale war since the formation of the Republic." The Jedi Sith War, a conflict that would see the end of the Sith Order as far as the Jedi were concerned. This war would see the rise of the Sith Order and transformation of the Jedi into a militant power in the Republic once again. The war ended on Ruusan where it was believed all the Sith had been defeated. While in reality, Darth Bane survived and transformed the Sith order with the 'Rule of Two.' This transformation in Sith society would bare fruit in the likes of the Emperor and Vader.

The Dark Age (1,000 Years before 'A New Hope')

A period of slow recovery for the Galactic Republic and it's slow rise to power on the galactic grand stage.

Where Does this Lead Us?

After getting a greater sense of what history lies before us due to what's been filled in behind us, we can quickly see where Disney is choosing to put most of their eggs in this galactic basket. Namely around the events of the Great Scourge of Malachor. What this tells me is they're looking to flesh out details of one of the more interesting parts of Star Wars lore. Perhaps what I love most about this era are that things weren't as 'black and white' as they perhaps are now in Star Wars. For instance, in the old canon it was Jedi Revan and his command that commissioned the creation of the super weapon, not the Sith- and it was Revan's men who used the weapon during battle, killing both friend and enemy in the process.

The changes that Disney appears to be making, or Dave Filoni in this case (as he's been the most invested in Old Republic history as of late) appears to be paving a path for Revan in that they're kindly putting aside stories that previously involved him. That is to say, Revan is a blank slate at this point and forging a new or 'updated' story for Revan will prove even easier if he's burdened by less old canon.

Another fascinating nugget of information is how things seem to align themselves up nicely for a new canon explanation for Mandalore's surface being rendered useless, around the same time a weapon that destroys life is discovered and used at least on Malachore. Are the two events connected? Perhaps. Perhaps not? That question and more may be something Disney is choosing to reveal with Revan. It may even be likely that they're prepping Revan's character to be even more twisted than previously- with not being responsible for the Great Scourge of Malachor- but perhaps responsible for using the same Sith technology to be responsible for the Scourge of Mandalore. Perhaps it wasn't just a battle of thousands of lives Revan would claim, but a planet of millions?

Malachor

Malachor

Malachor

Top 5 New Star Wars Stories!

The New Star Wars Hope

One of the aspects of Rogue One: A Star Wars story, that has interested me since I first heard about it's premise would be the potential for a new expansive universe within Star Wars. While many a deeply ingrained Star Wars fans who have read the comics, books or played the various forms of Star Wars media can tell you about the adventures of hundreds of characters outside the films. Those stories have yet to see the light of day on the cinematic theater screens across the world. Those days however, may be behind us if Rogue One has anything to say about it. 

Not only this, but with Bob Igor's push to expand the Star Wars property with the upcoming untitled Han Solo film, we're set to have a new and riveting Star Wars cinematic universe, on par with Marvel's theatrical ambitions, if not even more ambitious as all the lessons of building a cinematic universe will be pushed into Star Wars from the start.

Looking to the Future

We see a few new paths for Disney to take the Star Wars franchise based on the evidence we now have of Rogue One, Han Solo and the episodic films. Here's our list of potential spin offs, sequels and prequels and our reasoning behind them!

A New Sith Empire

Looking at evidence from Episode 7 and some of the canon tie in novels we are beginning to see the shadow like organization of the First Order take shape, but we're left unsure of exactly who runs this military organization. For one, we know the First Order was formed from remnants of the Galactic Empire run by the former Emperor fleeing into 'Unknown Space', the real wild west of the Star Wars galaxy. Then, with support from splinter political groups within the New Republic (formerly known as the Rebel Alliance) we see the First Order take shape. But there's a few red flags we're missing important elements of this process.

For one, every military organization requires supplies to feed, cloth and otherwise organize a massive military force. Not only this, but we see clear evidence of Imperial progression in weapons and technology, showing that not only have these fringe elements fled the known Galaxy, but they've profited greatly from doing so- driving the question, who or what has managed to feed into the military R&D department of the New Order?

One of these answers may come in the form of Disney XD's Star wars: Rebels tv series, which as of season 3 has introduced the character Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn, was not human but Chiss. Humoniod and considered to be extremely intelligent. Not only this, but as as old canon goes- the Chiss provided a number of technological advances for the Empire and resided in the 'Unknown Regions' of space. Choosing to not make official contact with the greater galaxy. Though no mention of this has been made yet, there's a lot of room for expanding this idea as you may imagine. Perhaps the First Order recognized this advantage and capitalized on it upon returning to the Unknown Regions?

While the clear leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke is an obvious indicator that a Dark Side user has once again reclaimed leadership over the Empire, we have yet again a list of questions as to who Snoke is and where he came from. A powerful Sith would not simply exist undetected in a universe like Star Wars unless perhaps because he existed for a time in the unknown regions.

This really leads to our theory, that Episodes 8 and 9 may lead to the reveal that the New Order has been hijacked if you will- by the formerly hidden Sith Empire that has laid in wait for thousands of years

So while jumping into all this former lore may be a bit bulky for Episodes 8 and 9, introducing the idea that a slumbering Empire or failed state of Sith (or likely their offspring) energized and capitalized on their encounter with the also failed remnants of the Galactic Empire to combine their forces, power, supplies to produce the resurgence known as the First Order. Even the name itself, would hearken back in this sense, as a reclamation of the Galactic Empire back into the 'original sith' if you will.

And to be frank: It's not even that original of an idea. As fans of the series 'Knights of the Old Republic' can tell you, something very similar to this happened when Jedi Revan and his followers went searching for 'a dark force' in the unknown regions. When they returned they were Sith and had a Sith Armada with them. This wasn't even the full force of the Sith Empire either- rather an elaborate test of strength against the Republic, but the parallels between Revan's Sith Armada and the New Order's Navel Fleet is worth taking note to.

The Old Republic

Jumping off from Episodes 7, 8 and 9 this would be a great opportunity for Disney to jump into the Old Republic, in particular if they've introduced the idea of the former Sith Empire and are looking to create another profitable saga of films. While the Old Republic is a vast, sprawling time period with hundreds of former Legends stories already populating its past, now Disney would have the opportunity to selectively tell its own story.

The largest challenge with an Old Republic style film (much less series) would be the connective tissue to Star Wars as we know it today. Though they may have lightsabers, locations and mythology in common, much of what makes up the Old Republic as we see in Legends is still distinctly different in artistic approach. This could lead to issues of convincing your average movie goer that this is still Star Wars and not just a cheap trick to get people into theater seats by slapping a Star Wars logo on a sci fi adventure film. 

Worse yet, there would be the challenge of bringing in brand new characters and building this time period's lore from essentially scratch. Though I wouldn't call it impossible, considering a film like Guardian's of the Galaxy did just fine, despite average theater goers not having read any of the previous comics, or Guardian's having a direct relation to any of the former superhero films. The key to this you may note was Guardian's nemesis. By keeping Thanos the overarching bad guy in Guardian's as he is in the rest of the Marval universe this kept the film afloat with the understanding that these characters would later have a role in the larger MCU.

How Disney chooses to go about the Old Republic is still up for debate- if they choose to go down that path. But considering the amount of lore in this time period, it's hard to imagine they'd outright ignore it.

Boba Fett

Though not officially announced as a film lined up by Disney it has been hotly suggested from rumors swirling from within Disney itself. A Boba Fett film would likely fit into the classification of a character piece, as Boba Fett as far as we know, has not had a notable role in the Star Wars universe (such as stealing the death star plans). Not only this, but Boba Fett is arguably a villein which leads to the issues of making his character likable on screen. Though we may love to root for the bad guys in a film because of simply how freakin' cool they are. Putting them on the screen for two hours may prove too much. As we know, Fett isn't one to talk a lot on film and even the younger Fett we see in shows such as The Clone Wars provides evidence of an angry, lustful for revenge youth, who only is in it for himself (mostly).

One method that could be used to tell Boba Fett's story would be to have a sort of Suicide Squad type story. In which all the characters are on the same side, yet possibly pitted against one another. A Boba Fett film will be a difficult challenge for whomever pens this story, as the iconic character is at a great threat of becoming boring, dumbed down, or unappealing if not written into the story correctly. Not only this, but due to Boba Fett being a clone of a previously cast actor- this does limit Disney to having to use that actor unless they simply recast. Which by no means am I suggesting that Temuera Morrison did a poor job as Jango Fett- simply that this may deter Disney as their options for this character now become limited due to being previously cast some years ago.

The next challenge for Boba Fett would be time period. An early Boba Fett during the height of the Empire might be appealing to some, but personally I would love to see Boba Fett crawl from the jaws of the sarlacc that was intended to kill him- and essentially be forced to start over in a galaxy that was also about to change with the destruction of the second death star- and death of the Emperor.

On the flip side, Star Wars Rebels mid season 3 trailer has suggested that the Mandalorians may fight with the Rebel Alliance, now Boba Fett himself is no Mandalorian, but wears the armor none the less. Providing an interesting story regarding Boba Fett defending himself and the people he chooses to be apart of.

Rogue Squadron

If you haven't seen Rogue One you should But regardless you can expect this: The Rebels go on to fight another day. So what's this say about a sequel to Rogue One? Outside of the laughs that have been made that 'A New Hope' is a sequel to Rogue One we have another thought. I wouldn't call it a direct sequel, but a film that focus' on the infamous Rogue Squadron may be a proper spiritual sequel to Rogue One. With a recent marathon of Star War's films, it became very clear to us one thing in particular: the in universe 'Rogue Squadron' certainly must have been created in honor of the in universe 'Rogue One' crew who's daring mission stole the death star plans.

For those who don't know, Rogue Squadron was promoted to near stardom within Star Wars thanks to writers such as Michael A. Stackpole who wrote half of the Rogue Squadron book series. Made up of elite pilots taking on daring top secret missions for the Rebel Alliance, Rogue Squadron was as much about ace combat pilots as it was these soldiers pulled into entanglements on the ground. So essentially, as Rogue One is about Rebel spies on the ground, this is akin to the same but in space. It's hard to really pinpoint what story a Rogue Squadron centered story could take, but seeings as they provided a backdrop to many of the larger operations in the original trilogy, I wouldn't be surprised to see a Rogue Squadron setting up the events of Return of the Jedi or aiding in the recovery of the plans to the Second Death Star- in which many Bothans died as a result of.

Obiwan's Lost Years

This theory has gained some traction since the popular Rey is Obiwan's granddaughter theory started to spread online. For the record, there is no concrete proof Rey is Obiwan's granddaughter until we learn something new in Episode 8. But, assuming this is true for even a moment, there's an opportunity to bring back Ewan Mcgregor as Obiwan sometime between the events of Episode 3 and 4. 

As many will remember, Obiwan devoted his life to watching over Luke Skywalker in this time and while many assumed this was a pretty boring job in the desert, new canon comics however show that wasn't entirely true and Obiwan found himself on a number of mini adventures even while keeping an eye on Luke. While this isn't any kind of proof that Obiwan found love on the desert, this isn't to say it couldn't be true either.

This is certainly an interesting idea, even if Obiwan and Rey aren't related, it still would be a fascinating character piece to understand Obiwan's role over Luke, his struggle to cope with a changing galaxy, learning new aspects of the force and possibly additional motives to his character removing himself from such a central position as member of the Jedi council. One would imagine that if Yoda's last words were to go separate ways until the time was right- after a few years Obiwan might start to get an itch to find a way to help the Rebellion. Especially with Bale Organa knowing where he was and was available for use (remember it was Bale who sought out Obiwan to bring the death star plans to Alderaan)

But at this rate, we may learn new evidence of Obiwan's early involvement within the Rebel Alliance from the likes of Rogue One.