Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises in the world, spanning three different trilogies and multiple TV shows. The sequel trilogy, which premiered between 2015 and 2019, has evoked deep feelings from fans, either love or hatred. When fans rewatch the sequel trilogy, they might notice some issues with the movies.
Underdeveloped characters, unnecessary deaths, and plot holes are just some of the issues fans notice during a Star Wars sequels rewatch. While they were still fun movies that introduced good characters to the Star Wars universe, some things just can't be overlooked.
10 Finn Should Have Become A Jedi
Disney was accused of misleading fans after promotional images ahead of The Force Awakens' release showed Finn (John Boyega) with a lightsaber, indicating that he might be a main character, or at least become a Jedi.
Obviously, this didn't happen. While it's great to have a female lead become a Jedi, Finn deserved better. Throughout the three movies, the writers hinted that Finn had Force sensitivity but his storyline went nowhere. It would've been an awesome character arc to have a former Storm Trooper become a Jedi and battle the forces he previously fought for on that level.
9 Rey & Ben's Dyad Connection Should've Been Explored Further
In The Last Jedi, viewers learned that protagonist Rey (Daisy Ridley) and antagonist Ben Solo/Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) shared a Force dyad connection, allowing them to see and feel each other between space and time.
This connection was fascinating and ended up being extremely important in the trilogy's conclusion, but it wasn't introduced until the second movie. There wasn't much time to explore the idea that two could become one, and therefore it felt underdeveloped and left some fans confused.
8 Ben Should Have Lived To Navigate His Role In The Light Side
At the end of The Rise of Skywalker, after their fight with Palpatine, Ben sacrificed his life to save Rey. This was a disappointment to many fans, as he had just turned over to the light side.
A constant theme throughout the trilogy was the light and dark that lived within both Ben and Rey, and the question of which side would win. Right as Ben completed his character arc and joined forces with Rey, he died, which felt very unfair to the fans who had been waiting to see him join the light side and explore his relationship with Rey.
7 Poe Needed A Better Backstory
Poe (Oscar Isaac) was a fighter pilot for the Resistance who quickly became friends with Finn. Poe's background was relatively a mystery until The Rise of Skywalker, when viewers learned he was previously a spice runner on Kijimi.
Not only is that an underwhelming backstory but it's only brought up to service the plot. Poe brings Rey, Finn, and the droids to Kijimi so that Babu Frik can translate the Sith plans inside C-3PO. The whole Kijimi sequence felt like a time filler, not having any true value to the plot, and many fans agree that Poe deserved a more interesting backstory.
6 Rose Was A Good Character
Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) first appeared in The Last Jedi as a mechanic for the Resistance who lost her sister, a gunner. She grew close to Finn, helping him find the Master Codebreaker on Canto Bight to disable a hyperspace tracker, and saving his life in the Battle of Crait. She was kind, caring, and selfless, often putting herself in harm's way to help others.
While the romantic moments between Rose and Finn felt forced, the character was a good one and could've played a bigger role in the final movie. Chris Terrio credited her minor role in The Rise of Skywalker to CGI issues while they attempted to recreate Carrie Fisher as General Leia; Tran also didn't deserve the intense backlash she got for her role.
5 Porgs Were Cute But Unnecessary
Porgs were the flightless seabirds that were native to Ahch-To, the planet that Luke Skywalker exiled himself on. They observed Rey in her Jedi training and stowed away on the Millennium Falcon, eventually becoming friends with Chewbacca.
The little beakless birds with giant eyes are adorable, but they don't serve any purpose other than yelling. Unlike the Ewoks in the original trilogy, these cute creatures don't fight or help with the battles at all. It would've been better for the Porgs to have some sort of use in addition to their cuteness.
4 Han Solo Shouldn't Have Died So Soon
Han Solo (Harrison Ford) was the infamous smuggler and pilot of the Millennium Falcon with his best friend, Chewbacca. After the original trilogy, he married and had a son, Ben.
In The Force Awakens, Han confronted his son, then reigning the First Order as Kylo Ren, and tried to convince him to come home. Ben impaled Han with his lightsaber, which killed him, to fans' dismay. Many felt it was unnecessary for Han to die, as it didn't serve the plot in any way. Han should've been able to live and keep trying to bring his son back alongside Leia.
3 Kylo Ren's Lightsaber Was Purely Aesthetic
Kylo Ren had a very impressive lightsaber, a crossguard with two points near the base, almost shaped like a "T." While it looked very cool and was sure to have intimidated rivals, it didn't serve much of a purpose for anything other than aesthetics.
Although there are theories as to why the saber has a crossguard, the backstory of the weapon was never explained in the movies. As far as viewers know, there wasn't a true purpose for it, as he didn't use the crossguard points against his opponents.
2 All The Characters Were Underdeveloped
There wasn't a single character in the sequel trilogy who felt like they had a fully developed backstory and character arc. A few characters, like Finn, started out with strong backstories, just to be left hanging with no real progress to their storylines.
If the writers had taken more time to create cohesive pasts, presents, and futures for each character, the trilogy would've flowed much better. In the original trilogy, all the main characters' pasts were explained, they had presents that made sense, and it was clear where their futures would lead. The characters in the sequel series felt underdeveloped and all over the place, with plotlines that either didn't make sense or weren't relevant.
1 Changing Directors Led To Confusing Storylines
The Force Awakens was directed by J.J. Abrams, but then the series shifted to Rian Johnson directing The Last Jedi. After that movie received negative reviews, they switched back to J.J. Abrams for The Rise of Skywalker. These shifts in directors led to confusing and conflicting storylines and plot holes.
Many have credited the issues with the sequel trilogy to the constantly changing directors who brought different ideas about where the story should go. It was even reported that the final plot of The Rise of Skywalker, particularly Rey's bloodline, wasn't decided until days before production began. If Disney had stuck with one consistent director throughout the trilogy, the story likely would've been more consistent and the trilogy would've been more successful.