"Let the past die" wasn't simply a line of dialogue by Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It served as something of a mantra for Rian Johnson's entry in the saga. That also made the 2017 film most divisive chapter in the series. It killed Luke Skywalker, ruined the legacy of the Jedi, and ended the family dynasty the franchise had revolved around for 40 years. There's a reason many fans wanted to riot, but it's also why so many found The Last Jedi to be a breath of fresh air.
Disney, however, has little interest in taking chances with something pop-culture cornerstone like Star Wars. Sure, someone liked Johnson enough to hire him and give him his own trilogy, but there's no way a conglomerate that owns a majority of the successful properties you can think of would be willing to play with fire with this sacred brand.
Despite its box office success, to the tune of $1.3 billion, The Last Jedi seems too controversial for the House of Mouse. Disney produces feel-good content, not films intended to spark intellectual debates. It's why the Marvel movies are all pretty much about the same, and why J.J. Abrams was brought back for Episode IX.
Disney likes playing it safe. Marvel's movies, as fun as they may be, are safe. Abrams, at this point in his career, is safe. Naming the trilogy's conclusion The Rise of Skywalker was a safe decision. It's unfortunate, however, that safety also means going back on a lot of what made The Last Jedi so good.
What is the Rise of Skywalker?
The first thing we have to decide is what the film's title actually means. The Last Jedi did its best to destroy the legacy of Luke Skywalker, for all the right reasons. He had failed Ben Solo, and as a result, helped to bring about the destruction of the Jedi.
On a larger scale, he had proved the path of the Jedi was never going to bring about a solution to the endless cycle of violence. The movie set up a finale that no longer involved Luke or the old rules that came with him. The entire point of him dying was to leave the future in Rey's (very capable) hands. But now there's a whole movie named after him and his dubious legacy.
It's difficult to see what kind of legacy Luke has left to leave behind, if it's not specifically talking about the Skywalker dynasty. And if that's the case, calling Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker feels reductive.
Hopefully, that doesn't mean Star Wars is retconing Rey's parentage, because that would be a real slap in the face. If the Skywalker in the title is referring to Ben, aka Kylo Ren, it's hard to see how the character can be redeemed. Does he even deserve redemption at this point?
Everyone is Here, Absolutely Everyone
Are you tired of seeing your heroes being propped up and put on display as a testament to your childhood? Well, too bad, because The Rise of Skywalker is doubling down on old friends to leave you with one final twinge of nostalgia.
Whereas The Last Jedi attempted to create some kind of new narrative around these characters, The Rise of Skywalker seems designed to do the opposite. It's more of the same, by showing you everything that is familiar and old. Basically, it looks like The Force Awakens 2.
If you were sad about Han Solo no longer being around, don't worry, because Lando Calrissian is here to play some kind of very important role. You absolutely needed to see Billy Dee Williams take one more ride in the Millennium Falcon before everything is said and done. This was definitely a story decision and not an excuse for Disney to play with your emotions.
There's a bewildering scene in the teaser trailer in which someone is seen soldering Kylo Ren's old mask back together. While we don't necessarily see who it is, many are assuming it's Ren himself, which would be a major step backward. The Last Jedi saw him reject the mantle he was given by Supreme Leader Snoke in order to forge his own path and embrace his own destiny. If he's going back to sniffing Darth Vader's busted helmet, it would ignore his character arc up until now.
On top of that, Disney did the absolutely unthinkable, and brought back Emperor Palpatine in some unknown role. Yes, that's his laughter at the end of the trailer. Sheev Palpatine, who has been dead since the '80s, is now somehow alive. Sure, Abrams probably needed someone for everyone to fight against, but bringing back that guy seems like an incredibly boring decision. It feels like this was either pulled right out of an Expanded Universe novel or lifted from someone's fanfic. It feels like sad, derivative schlock.
What's next? Will Darth Maul make an appearance, because he was alive in Solo? Are we going to get a scene where General Grievous is reassembled? Star Wars movies were better than this.
Satiating the Trolls
I hate to feel this cynical about a franchise I once found so much joy in, but the trolls who hated The Last Jedi for being too progressive have honestly ruined Star Wars for me. And the sad thing is that, those fans, the same ones who harassed Kelly Marie Tran off social media and "boycotted" the franchise, have actually won.
If you want to see the proof, just watch the trailer. Disney wants people to be happy, so if people are upset online about a Star Wars movie, you better believe the company is going to do whatever it takes to fix things. Calling the movie The Rise of Skywalker was absolutely a plot to make those unhappy fans come back into the fold. Not only is it an absolutely terrible title (like Avengers: Endgame) but it's one that brings up very specific images to longtime fans, and that was on purpose.
Disney wants you to think Rey might actually be Luke's kid after all. It wants you to believe Luke's legacy will be saved in some way that matters, and, apparently, that Rose Tico won't be in the film, as she was absent from the trailer.
Instead, we get Lando, a cackling Palpatine, and some speech from Luke about how we (read: Star Wars) have been here alongside you all along, so let's just erase all the bad things you didn't like. The whole trailer is that one Simpsons gif.
Johnson's movie made a lot of promises about the direction of the franchise that Disney seems unwilling to make good on, and naming the final movie The Rise of Skywalker only encapsulates that. It would seem that, despite the message of The Last Jedi, the past is still very much alive, and Disney has your childhood hooked up on life support.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film arrives December 20.