Hi all!
Today, I'd like to write something different -- a blog post about Star Wars. I am a HUGE Star Wars fan. I grew up playing the video games (Knights of the Old Republic and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy are still amazing), owning the toys, and watching all the films on repeat. It's why I was so excited for the sequel trilogy...
But unfortunately, I don't think it lived up to its full potential. It still made billions of dollars at the box office, but many fans were left with a sour taste in their mouths. I'll explain why below -- and how I would've written it.
*If you haven't seen The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, or The Rise of Skywalker, feel free to click away now. This post will contain spoilers for the films. You've been warned!*
First off, it's clear Disney didn't plan out the trilogy. They originally had three different directors for each film. Much like a writer, every director has a different vision. That means questions asked in the Force Awakens -- like Rey's parentage, her strength in the Force, how Maz Kanata got Luke Skywalker's lightsaber -- either went unanswered or were vastly different. They didn't have an outline.
I understand they wanted to give directors and new ideas the chance to shine, but in the end, the story felt disjointed and all over the place. Here's how I would've written it instead:
Rey was a force-sensitive child given to Luke for training by her parents (who were nobodies -- not Palpatine, Kenobi, Skywalker, or anything like that.) Regular people can have extraordinary gifts, too. They don't need to come from a famous family!
Luke was a Jedi Master training a bunch of Force-sensitive kids and his nephew, Ben Solo. Snoke, wanting Ben Solo to turn to the Dark Side so he could use him and exploit his parentage, would've lured him and forced him to kill all the other kids to prove himself. (Like Anakin did. Drawing parallels would've impressed the fans here, I think.)
Luke didn't foresee Ben turning to the Dark Side -- he was blinded by his love for his nephew -- and Rey managed to be the only survivor. To protect her, Luke abandoned Rey on Jakku and erased her memories (like they did to Revan in Knights of the Old Republic: "They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories and destroy your very identity".) This matches with the scene we saw where Rey was crying as a child on Jakku, watching a shuttle take off into the sky.
That's why Rey would've had such a strong connection to Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo (I assume he, Chewie, and Leia would've visited Ben at one point.) It's why Rey had that vision of Kylo Ren slaughtering people in The Force Awakens when she touched Luke's lightsaber -- her old memories were resurfacing. She already had some training in the Force and lightsaber combat as a kid (but had her memory wiped) which is why she was so strong naturally. Luke, in his shame of not being able to stop his nephew and save the kids, exiled himself and disappeared.
In my version, Captain Phasma wouldn't have died so suddenly in The Last Jedi. She was the only female Stormtrooper -- she deserved a better send-off than that. Also, I would've made Finn a Jedi. In The Force Awakens, it's mentioned that stormtroopers were taken from their parents as babies. Maybe I would've had him related to Lando (like Jannah was in The Rise of Skywalker.)
I would not have had Kylo Ren die at the end -- this is what really bothered me. What I learned about Star Wars is that love and redemption win in the end. Instead, I would've had Luke die in the last film, giving his life to Rey and Kylo Ren so they could've survived. Rey and Ben would've fallen in love and disappeared at the end. There was no way Ben could return to a normal life after that -- he had already committed so much evil. Rey would've sent a message through BB-8 to Poe and Finn -- her friends -- saying that she was alive and well.
In my version, Snoke would've been Darth Plagueis, Palpatine's master who returns. He has found a way to summon all the Dark Lords inside him and makes for a formidable foe -- the strongest Sith who ever lived. Destroying him would mean a thousand years peace in the Republic.
Why do I think it's important to include on my blog? Watching the recent Star Wars films is helpful for writers to see where Disney went wrong. Ask yourself how you would've made it better and why the fans had such a strong hatred for it. Watching and reading successful stories is just as important as reading and watching ones that didn't gain adoration.
All in all, I think they could've made something better with these films. They had the money and time for it. I hope with future trilogies and Star Wars films, they'll take the time to plot out the movie and make sure everything ties together. A little effort goes a long way.
I would love to write for Star Wars or Star Trek one day. Who knows?
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Dana
Comments