So...I get it now. All of the old cast needed to be buried so that new stories could be created with young characters who are alive and well at the end of Star Wars: Rebels. The universe may have lost its last Jedi, but "Jedi" was just a title. It was a name given for people trained in the use of the Force that also had membership within an organization. But even Shakespeare in a universe not so far far away realized that a rose by any other name smelled just as sweet.
Surviving the end of Rebels, which had its curtain call beyond the events of Return of the Jedi are pretty much everyone. The universe has Ezra Bridger doing who knows what (the guy sailed off into hyperspace riding space whales and towing Grand Admiral Thrawn's Star Destroyer along with Grand Admiral Thrawn as his prisoner). Those stories have yet to be created. The galaxy also has Ahsoka Tano, who has incredible training, and who could potentially train Rey, who (in my opinion) is wielding power the equal of Yoda. I mean...all those rocks at the end of the Last Jedi were easily as heavy and massive as an X-Wing, and she didn't look all that strained to be throwing them around.
So what can we expect then in Episode 9 and beyond? I personally think that we're looking at Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano getting cast as live action stars. I think we're going to see the fate of Grand Admiral Thrawn, and somehow he is going to be connected to the remnants of the First Order. And I think we're looking at new force powers that will resemble magic more than they do science fiction. Most people know (by now) that Jedi's were based on fantasy wizards anyway.
I'm hoping that my friend, Kevin Long, will weigh in somewhere in the comments. He's also a fan of the series and has quite a few insights that I value and that I don't pick out myself in my own viewings of the shows.
But yeah, thanks to Dave Filoni I'm excited for Star Wars again!
I don't think any of that is likely. In the canonical Thrawn novel it often talks about threats outside the Outer Rim, so maybe that's where Ezra is going.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice how the series is tying in with the movies. It's great when there's an overarching scheme to it all.
ReplyDeleteI really loved what they did with this series. I think we all knew Kanan had to go before the end of the series. He was too powerful to be around for A New Hope. I like what they did with Ezra too. The face off with the Emperor at the end was really great. In some way I wish they had delved into the dark side a little more before the showdown but this is shown on a kids channel so I understand why they had to keep it light.
ReplyDeleteThe remembrance section at the end got me a little misty. It also set up the new series extremely well. The Thrawn books were the best part of the old Extended Universe and I expect we'll see something like Clone Wars where he'll face off with dozens of competing interests after the collapse of the Empire. Will he start the First Order? It's goals seem too simplistic for him but we will see. You forgot to mention Sabine and I expect we'll see her adventuring with Ahsoka for the first season along with a couple of younger crew members. That will to appeal to Disney's target demographic. It wouldn't surprise me if we don't even see Ezra the first season. We definitely need to see Thrawn. I hope we branch off to other stories like they did in Clone Wars. You don't need to focus on one ship.
My hope is the next show answers the questions that have been bugging me. How did the First Order form? Why are they so fixated on recreating the Empire? Are there other competing factions in the universe? I bet there is - the first order always struck me as terrorist/pirates, not an overarching government structure like the Empire. Where did Snoke come from?
I really hated the lack of explanation in The Force Awakens. It's why I liked The Last Jedi better even if I didn't like some of the answers. Too much explanation is bad storytelling but the lack of explanation in this new universe has been worse. You brought up a key one that has no good answer - How did Rey learn to be an expert with weapons? The new movies expect us to accept these things without question.
Dave Filoni, you're our only hope! One of the things that hampered both Clone Wars and Rebels was we knew the ending. That isn't a problem for the next series and that's a huge positive. It can also be a negative. Like you pointed out in the last post about Rebels, Dave isn't afraid to push the boundaries. I do hope they've given him some general storyline of the overall universe from Episode VI to VII. Whatever he does will affect anyone else who plays in that world and that's a scary proposition. It's also exciting.
We need to see adventures with Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewy. There is no reason to avoid them now. Give Admiral Ackbar some heroic stories to wash away the memory of what happened in TLJ. Please no R2D2, C3P0 or Chopper. Rogue One showed there are other robots in the universe that are much more entertaining. Finally, I want to see baby Rey and baby Ben. We don't need much. Just a taste. Make Rey a background character in a couple of shows. I don't expect it at the beginning or even in the first series they make. There was 30 years between Episode 6 and 7 after all. We just need to see her before they finish. Maybe an older Ahsoka could retire and find some happiness working with some promising young students.
I loved that last scene with Ahsoka in the Gray outfit. It reminded me of the return of Gandalf in LotR with him wearing white. I'm sure Ahsoka has changed over the years between her fight with Vader and the end of RotJ. So many possibilities. I can't wait to see what they do.