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.