Zardnaar
Legend
Well recently the financials have come in and Star Wars it seems may not be in a good place. Toy sales are not good, Solo lost money, TLJ made quite a bit less than TFA and probably contributed to Solo being a flop. Several planned movies are either cancelled or AFK.
Some of the new Disney cannon has been well received, TLJ has caused a bit of a stir. Getting past the hyperbole I do not think TLJ is the worst SW movie of all time (Attack of the CLnes and Phantom Menace say hi), but it is problematic on several levels. This is combined with several other things Disney has done that in hind sight may not have been a great idea and even at the time I wondered what they were thinking. The two major balls up seems to be.
1. Not having the new trilogy mapped out at least in broad terms.
2. Letting Rian Johnson do whatever the hell he wanted.
Apparently Abrams did leave a map for episode VIII behind, but Johnson ignored it. Having rewatched Episode VII again recently Abrams did plant a lot of interesting plot hooks behind that were either not followed up on or were trashed. I don't think Disney has done a universally bad job of things and there are things like Rebels and Rogue One that I think hold up very well. Anyway here is what I would have done differently.
1. Burning Down the Old Expanded Universe.
The old EU was a mixed bag. The best of it is generally well regarded by the fans but there was some utter trash. I can understand why Disney burned it down. A big problem though for Disney is they have been reinserting a lot of it back into the new canon or some of the new characters seem to be pale imitations of previous EU characters that are even less interesting. Thrawn for example turned up in Rebels along with Inquisitors and Kylo Ren seems to be based off Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker. The old EU arguably reinvigorated Star Wars for a new audience back in 1991 as in the late 80's Star Wars was functionally dead. For the most part they built on the original movies and the fans here were probably some of the most fanatical SW fans you can find. The ones that what in line for 24+ hours for tickets to The Phantom Menace or still like the Thrawn trilogy as the pinnacle of the old EU. If I acquired rights to Star Wars I would have cherry picked the EU for the new canon (yes i would have retconned the old post Endor EU as well). I would have used a scalpel though rather than an atomic bomb and I would have left the ancient past such as the Knights of the Old Republic era as canon along with some of the better pre endor novels, games an comics. I might have even diverged the EU after the Thrawn books and kept ideas such as Luke building a new Jedi Academy. Note the core plot line of the First Order could still work with the first 5 years or so of the old EU. Dark Empire did kind of need to die in a bonfire. The Battle of Jakku could have occurred after Thrawn was defeated and the Empire sues for peace. The Old Republic, Darth Plageius, and Darth Bane etc would have remained canon. The new canon avoids the lows of the old (Aftermath trilogy apparently not good), but has failed to deliver a new Thrawn trilogy equivalent (or Rogue Squadron, or Bane trilogy or KoToR, or....). The height of the new canon is the Darth Vader comics, which could have been done in the old EU as well.
2. Video Games
There was a brief time when the golden age of Star Wars video games happened. This was approximately 1999-2009 or so. 2009 was also the last time a great Star Wars video game was made (The Force Unleashed). Since then there have only been a handful of Games made- The Old Republic and Battlefront I and II. That 10 year period saw most of the classic Star Wars game released (with a few from 1994+ such as TIE Fighter). This includes things such as Jedi Knight, Rebellion, Galaxies, Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, the original Battlefield (Battlefront) I and II, Empire at War and the Force Unleashed. The sub standard EA games short term are making money but EA shares have halved in the last year due to several titles under performing and may be inflicting long term damage on the brand. It has been a decade since we have had a good to great star Wars game. The new canon has also failed to generate a decent let alone good game. I would have licensed out individual games rather than sign an exclusive long term deal with EA. Shorterm you make money, long term you might trash the reputation and income of both the games and future Star Wars movies.
3. The Last Jedi
In a vacuum TLJ is not to bad, its not the worst SW film IMHO. However it was a sequel that basically failed to follow up TFA, and the new characters mildly are being compared to the old ones. There are also silly things such as the Holdo Manoeuvre which involves sending a ship into hyperspace to take out something like the new bigger, better Super Star Destroyer. This is along with an entire sub plot no one cared about, and subverting the audiences expectations but in a bad way. Like it or not it was this movie that seems to have inflicted a lot of damage on the SW universe. TFA was a big hit, Solo lost money and the toys are in the doldrums. At a most basic level who is the villain for episode 9? The obvious answer is Kylo Ren but he is weaker than say Vader and the Emperor and he has been defeated multiple times. This means that if Rey defeats him it won't matter that much or they will have to come up with something clever. Rumour has it there is a new villain revealed for episode IX. Kylo is basically ineffective as a villain although maybe they will go with a redemption arc (boring) or a double turn (interesting). A double turn is Ben is redeemed and Rey goes dark. My solution would have been better world building, better character development and not doing TLJ as is. For example with Rey could could have tweaked her back ground a bit perhaps being a Jedi survivor of Kylos betrayal which would have tied her to both Luke and Kylo and explained how she was so power and you could have done it with 5 minutes of exposition. It would have also lessened the TFA is a rehash argument where she basically has the same backstory as Luke and both were on a desert planet. The Villains such as Hux, Kylo and Snoke (before TLJ) were kind of stealing the show as the new characters are less interesting than both the old ones or even the prequals (Obi Wan, Mace Windu, Jango Fett).
4. Diversity (for diversity's sake)
Before anyone gets all hot and bothered a lot of flak has been fired at Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy (note Abrams avoids most of this along with Rogue One with a female protagonist). If you really want to go deeper have a look at various youtube videos (you have been warned). The trolls get a lot of attention but it seems that they have upset a significant amount of the Star Wars fanbase. This is also against a back drop of similar things being done in other movies such as Ghostbusters II, Oceans 8 which also under performed. Extremists on both sides have not help the situation and broadly speaking those extremists are the anti women/diversity at all costs trolls and the ones that dismiss any justifiable criticism of Disney Star Wars. Overall I think the main problem here is the way TLJ was made over something like TFA which while perhaps a bit of a rehash largely avoided the uproar over TLJ. The difference here I think is storytelling and making something original even if its based off something else. Star Wars has always been a mixed bag when it comes to women and minorities and it often comes down to how they are written not what race/gender they are. For example Leia, Mace Windu and Lando Calrissian are probably more popular overall than say Padme, Rose and Finn. Remakes where they gender switch the old cast don't seem to be doing so well while new original stuff such as Black Panther and Game of Thrones do well. Basically diversity is great but you still need a compelling storyline and compelling characters along with a villain you love to hate (Vader, Joffrey, Cersei Lalnister etc). For example Finn comes across as a bit of a snivelling coward deep into TLJ. They perhaps dragged that character development out a bit long, compare with ANH where Han is a mercenary character but once he saves the princess, he saves Luke at the end and becomes a big time hero and in Empire he saves Luke again which feeds into his friends saving him in RotJ. If Rey was a Jedi survivor for example she has a reason why she is so powerful. A very big trope in the OT, prequels, and even the end of TFA with Kylo was training and that includes the old EU and things like games such as Knights of the Old Republic. There were more interesting female characters in the old EU, the most popular was probably Mara Jade (lukes enemy turned into wife) and Hans daughter Jaina was a lot more interesting than her brother. Strong female characters are nothing new (since 1991 at least perhaps the 80s with Lumiya) for fans of the old EU/Legends. We still have not seen a major female character that is a Jedi Knight/Master or a Sith Lord in a big screen movie (comics, games and cartoon yeah). Lumiya, Darth Zannah, Darth Treya, Jaina, Mara, Bastila Shan were all interesting. Even in the old EU sloppy writing can ruin a potentially interesting character though (Admiral Daala).
5. World building. TFA did not do a great job of world building and TLJ did even worse. Answers have been provided in the new canon, but the movies were fairly minimal here and even the prequels were better in terms of say the Republic. Things were kind of hinted at in the new movies but either not followed up on or fairly bare boned. For example what is the difference between the Republic and resistance in TFA. How did the First Order get so powerful and why did the Rebels drop the ball after Endor. The OT had the Galactic Empire and the Emperor but you knew they were evil and were a big threat. TFA being a sequel should have had a bit more explanation IMHO.
TLDR version. More effort in world building, character development, somewhat logical in universe explanations with way better followup on plot points JJ Abrams cleverly weaved into TFA would have avoided a lot of problems.
Some of the new Disney cannon has been well received, TLJ has caused a bit of a stir. Getting past the hyperbole I do not think TLJ is the worst SW movie of all time (Attack of the CLnes and Phantom Menace say hi), but it is problematic on several levels. This is combined with several other things Disney has done that in hind sight may not have been a great idea and even at the time I wondered what they were thinking. The two major balls up seems to be.
1. Not having the new trilogy mapped out at least in broad terms.
2. Letting Rian Johnson do whatever the hell he wanted.
Apparently Abrams did leave a map for episode VIII behind, but Johnson ignored it. Having rewatched Episode VII again recently Abrams did plant a lot of interesting plot hooks behind that were either not followed up on or were trashed. I don't think Disney has done a universally bad job of things and there are things like Rebels and Rogue One that I think hold up very well. Anyway here is what I would have done differently.
1. Burning Down the Old Expanded Universe.
The old EU was a mixed bag. The best of it is generally well regarded by the fans but there was some utter trash. I can understand why Disney burned it down. A big problem though for Disney is they have been reinserting a lot of it back into the new canon or some of the new characters seem to be pale imitations of previous EU characters that are even less interesting. Thrawn for example turned up in Rebels along with Inquisitors and Kylo Ren seems to be based off Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker. The old EU arguably reinvigorated Star Wars for a new audience back in 1991 as in the late 80's Star Wars was functionally dead. For the most part they built on the original movies and the fans here were probably some of the most fanatical SW fans you can find. The ones that what in line for 24+ hours for tickets to The Phantom Menace or still like the Thrawn trilogy as the pinnacle of the old EU. If I acquired rights to Star Wars I would have cherry picked the EU for the new canon (yes i would have retconned the old post Endor EU as well). I would have used a scalpel though rather than an atomic bomb and I would have left the ancient past such as the Knights of the Old Republic era as canon along with some of the better pre endor novels, games an comics. I might have even diverged the EU after the Thrawn books and kept ideas such as Luke building a new Jedi Academy. Note the core plot line of the First Order could still work with the first 5 years or so of the old EU. Dark Empire did kind of need to die in a bonfire. The Battle of Jakku could have occurred after Thrawn was defeated and the Empire sues for peace. The Old Republic, Darth Plageius, and Darth Bane etc would have remained canon. The new canon avoids the lows of the old (Aftermath trilogy apparently not good), but has failed to deliver a new Thrawn trilogy equivalent (or Rogue Squadron, or Bane trilogy or KoToR, or....). The height of the new canon is the Darth Vader comics, which could have been done in the old EU as well.
2. Video Games
There was a brief time when the golden age of Star Wars video games happened. This was approximately 1999-2009 or so. 2009 was also the last time a great Star Wars video game was made (The Force Unleashed). Since then there have only been a handful of Games made- The Old Republic and Battlefront I and II. That 10 year period saw most of the classic Star Wars game released (with a few from 1994+ such as TIE Fighter). This includes things such as Jedi Knight, Rebellion, Galaxies, Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, the original Battlefield (Battlefront) I and II, Empire at War and the Force Unleashed. The sub standard EA games short term are making money but EA shares have halved in the last year due to several titles under performing and may be inflicting long term damage on the brand. It has been a decade since we have had a good to great star Wars game. The new canon has also failed to generate a decent let alone good game. I would have licensed out individual games rather than sign an exclusive long term deal with EA. Shorterm you make money, long term you might trash the reputation and income of both the games and future Star Wars movies.
3. The Last Jedi
In a vacuum TLJ is not to bad, its not the worst SW film IMHO. However it was a sequel that basically failed to follow up TFA, and the new characters mildly are being compared to the old ones. There are also silly things such as the Holdo Manoeuvre which involves sending a ship into hyperspace to take out something like the new bigger, better Super Star Destroyer. This is along with an entire sub plot no one cared about, and subverting the audiences expectations but in a bad way. Like it or not it was this movie that seems to have inflicted a lot of damage on the SW universe. TFA was a big hit, Solo lost money and the toys are in the doldrums. At a most basic level who is the villain for episode 9? The obvious answer is Kylo Ren but he is weaker than say Vader and the Emperor and he has been defeated multiple times. This means that if Rey defeats him it won't matter that much or they will have to come up with something clever. Rumour has it there is a new villain revealed for episode IX. Kylo is basically ineffective as a villain although maybe they will go with a redemption arc (boring) or a double turn (interesting). A double turn is Ben is redeemed and Rey goes dark. My solution would have been better world building, better character development and not doing TLJ as is. For example with Rey could could have tweaked her back ground a bit perhaps being a Jedi survivor of Kylos betrayal which would have tied her to both Luke and Kylo and explained how she was so power and you could have done it with 5 minutes of exposition. It would have also lessened the TFA is a rehash argument where she basically has the same backstory as Luke and both were on a desert planet. The Villains such as Hux, Kylo and Snoke (before TLJ) were kind of stealing the show as the new characters are less interesting than both the old ones or even the prequals (Obi Wan, Mace Windu, Jango Fett).
4. Diversity (for diversity's sake)
Before anyone gets all hot and bothered a lot of flak has been fired at Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy (note Abrams avoids most of this along with Rogue One with a female protagonist). If you really want to go deeper have a look at various youtube videos (you have been warned). The trolls get a lot of attention but it seems that they have upset a significant amount of the Star Wars fanbase. This is also against a back drop of similar things being done in other movies such as Ghostbusters II, Oceans 8 which also under performed. Extremists on both sides have not help the situation and broadly speaking those extremists are the anti women/diversity at all costs trolls and the ones that dismiss any justifiable criticism of Disney Star Wars. Overall I think the main problem here is the way TLJ was made over something like TFA which while perhaps a bit of a rehash largely avoided the uproar over TLJ. The difference here I think is storytelling and making something original even if its based off something else. Star Wars has always been a mixed bag when it comes to women and minorities and it often comes down to how they are written not what race/gender they are. For example Leia, Mace Windu and Lando Calrissian are probably more popular overall than say Padme, Rose and Finn. Remakes where they gender switch the old cast don't seem to be doing so well while new original stuff such as Black Panther and Game of Thrones do well. Basically diversity is great but you still need a compelling storyline and compelling characters along with a villain you love to hate (Vader, Joffrey, Cersei Lalnister etc). For example Finn comes across as a bit of a snivelling coward deep into TLJ. They perhaps dragged that character development out a bit long, compare with ANH where Han is a mercenary character but once he saves the princess, he saves Luke at the end and becomes a big time hero and in Empire he saves Luke again which feeds into his friends saving him in RotJ. If Rey was a Jedi survivor for example she has a reason why she is so powerful. A very big trope in the OT, prequels, and even the end of TFA with Kylo was training and that includes the old EU and things like games such as Knights of the Old Republic. There were more interesting female characters in the old EU, the most popular was probably Mara Jade (lukes enemy turned into wife) and Hans daughter Jaina was a lot more interesting than her brother. Strong female characters are nothing new (since 1991 at least perhaps the 80s with Lumiya) for fans of the old EU/Legends. We still have not seen a major female character that is a Jedi Knight/Master or a Sith Lord in a big screen movie (comics, games and cartoon yeah). Lumiya, Darth Zannah, Darth Treya, Jaina, Mara, Bastila Shan were all interesting. Even in the old EU sloppy writing can ruin a potentially interesting character though (Admiral Daala).
5. World building. TFA did not do a great job of world building and TLJ did even worse. Answers have been provided in the new canon, but the movies were fairly minimal here and even the prequels were better in terms of say the Republic. Things were kind of hinted at in the new movies but either not followed up on or fairly bare boned. For example what is the difference between the Republic and resistance in TFA. How did the First Order get so powerful and why did the Rebels drop the ball after Endor. The OT had the Galactic Empire and the Emperor but you knew they were evil and were a big threat. TFA being a sequel should have had a bit more explanation IMHO.
TLDR version. More effort in world building, character development, somewhat logical in universe explanations with way better followup on plot points JJ Abrams cleverly weaved into TFA would have avoided a lot of problems.
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