There will always be more stories set in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars is such a money-maker that Disney really has no choice but to pump out project after project. However, after years of critical flops, Lucasfilm is going back to the drawing board with its movie division. A big reason for the change in strategy is the issues with the Star Wars sequel trilogy, which is uneven, to say the least. The movies don’t flow together well at all due to Lucasfilm’s failure to create a blueprint before handing the reins over to filmmakers like J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson.
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Abrams kicks things off with a mystery box movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, leaving Johnson to solve all the mysteries in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The answers Johnson supplies still start their fair share of debates, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker only makes things worse by walking back a bunch of moments. In the end, it’s clear Disney is trying really hard to wash its hands of some aspects of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
1) The Knights of Ren Being Something
With The Force Awakens setting the stage for the next two films in the trilogy, it’s hard to find moments that find themselves on the bad side of a retcon. One that stands out, though, is the tease of the Knights of Ren, Kylo Ren’s bodyguards.
In their brief appearance in Episode 7, they seem like a terrifying group of zealots that will prove challenging for Rey and her allies to defeat, but that never comes to pass. While the Knights of Ren get plenty of love in supplementary material, the lasting image of them on the big screen is getting their butts kicked by the newly reformed Ben Solo.
2) Luke Skywalker Throwing Away His Lightsaber
Luke Skywalker makes his dramatic return at the end of The Force Awakens, appearing before Rey on a mysterious island. It takes a couple of years to learn more about his reasons for being on Ahch-To, but before he can say anything, he throws his iconic lightsaber over his shoulder.
The Last Jedi goes on to explain that Luke is down on the idea of the Jedi and wants the Order to end. While he comes around by the end of the movie after training Rey, The Rise of Skywalker makes sure to walk back the Jedi’s dismissal of his weapon by having him catch it as a Force ghost when Rey throws it in frustration.
3) Rey Being Nobody
The Force Awakens teases that there’s more to Rey’s lineage than meets the eye. The mystery only grows in The Last Jedi, with Luke being afraid of his apprentice’s power. Eventually, Rey faces her past by doing the thing all great Jedi do: heading into a dark cave.
Johnson makes the bold choice of having Rey discover that she’s nobody and her legacy will only be her own. It’s a shock to her system, but she doesn’t have to live with it for long because The Rise of Skywalker reveals she’s a member of Palpatine’s bloodline. After defeating her “grandpa,” though, she opts to adopt the Skywalker name instead of the family one.
4) Finn & Rose’s Kiss
Finn continues to prove himself as a member of the Resistance in The Last Jedi when he goes on a mission with Rose Tico. They travel to Canto Bight, which is full of all kinds of scum and villainy, to recruit DJ, who knows how to take down the First Order’s hyperspace tracker.
Things go south for the duo when DJ betrays them, and they barely escape the First Order and make it to Crait, where the Resistance is hiding. The traumatic experience brings Finn and Rose closer together, and they share a kiss before The Last Jedi is over. The Rise of Skywalker chooses not to explore their relationship any further, sidelining Rose when Finn heads out with Poe Dameron and Rey.
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5) The Holdo Maneuver
Throughout The Last Jedi, the Resistance is running from the First Order, which will stop at nothing to take over the galaxy. The higher-ups send Rose and Finn to figure out a way to escape through hyperspace, but when that doesn’t work, they’re basically out of options.
Thankfully, Vice-Admiral Holdo doesn’t give up in the face of overwhelming adversary, staying behind as the escape pods head for Crait and ramming her cruiser into the First Order fleet using hyperspace. The sequence is breathtaking, with the sound of the movie cutting out for a brief second when the ships collide, but it’s hard to understand from a logistics standpoint. Star Wars seems to agree, as it’s barely touched on the strategy since.
6) Luke Skywalker’s Promise to Kylo Ren
Luke struggles with the idea of returning to the fight against the First Order in The Last Jedi. Rey tries to convince him, but he chooses to stay on Ahch-To when things go south. However, just when his friends need him the most, he arrives on Crait.
It turns out that Luke is able to project his body using the Force, and he distracts Kylo Ren long enough for the Resistance to escape. Kylo is not happy when he realizes what’s really going on, and Luke throws fuel on the fire by letting his nephew know that he’ll see him around. He doesn’t ever see him again in the movies, though, with Han Solo appearing before his son when he returns to the light side in The Rise of Skywalker.
7) Finn Being Force Sensitive
The marketing for The Force Awakens sure makes it seem like Finn is going to be a Jedi. Of course, Rey ends up being the one who joins the Order, while Finn settles into his role as a Resistance hero. However, The Rise of Skywalker tries to make things right by teasing Finn’s Force sensitivity.
Finn spends the movie trying to explain to Rey that he believes he has the potential to be a Jedi. Sadly, it doesn’t really go anywhere, and without confirmation of Finn’s return in the upcoming Rey movie, it seems like a storyline that may end up on the cutting room floor.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy is streaming on Disney+.
Do you think Disney will revisit any of these Star Wars moments? Which other scenes do you think belong on this list? Let us know in the comments below!
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