The Last Jedi: Things To Consider

Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is almost upon us. There are so many Star Wars thoughts buzzing around my head this week, and I wanted to take a little time to appreciate this moment in history. Fandom is about to unwrap a massive present and we are not totally sure what to expect. It's an important film- you know. The stakes are higher than last December's "Rogue One". “The Last Jedi” will be the 4^th sequel to “A New Hope” and it will be the first time since 1983’s “Return of the Jedi” since we heard Luke Skywalker say a line. What holiday blessings or curses could this film bring?

Let’s Talk About Rian Johnson

One reason that fans have high hopes for “The Last Jedi” is Rian Johnson. Johnson received critical acclaim for his films “Brick” & “Looper” and for directing three episodes of “Breaking Bad”. There are a lot of hints that Disney is confident in Johnson’s take on “The Last Jedi”. The first hint being that Johnson was never booted out of the director’s chair during production, unlike: Josh Trank (Boba Fett), Phil Lord & Chris Miller (Solo), Colin Trevorrow (Episode IX), and- to a certain extent- Gareth Edwards (Rouge One).

Disney has even doubled-down on their love for Johnson recently, by announcing that Rian will develop a brand new trilogy of Star Wars films not connected to the “Skywalker” storyline. The release schedule for these films have not yet been announced, but it probably means that there will be a very long wait for Star Wars: Episode X.

Another sign that Disney has faith in "The Last Jedi" is the runtime. At 2:38 or 150 minutes, it will be the longest Star Wars film to date. Also, in an unprecedented move, Disney is requiring theaters to reserve at least four weeks in the largest auditorium available exclusively for The Last Jedi screenings. This demand seems to be quite controversial, especially for small town cinemas who have limited screens and a limited viewing population.

Neither of these facts are guarantee that the film will be high quality, but it does seem that Disney is throwing down every card in their hand, so they must think the product is something to bet on.

A New Hope                                   121 minutes

The Empire Strikes Back           124 minutes

Return of the Jedi                         132 minutes

The Phantom Menace                 133 minutes

Attack of the Clones                    142 minutes

Revenge of the Sith                     140 minutes

The Force Awakens                     135 minutes

Rogue One                                      133 minutes

The Last Jedi                                  150 minutes

What Could Kill “The Last Jedi” For Fans?

Just because the House of Mouse seems confident in Rian Johnson, doesn’t mean that fans have absolute faith that “The Last Jedi” will be the next “Empire Strikes Back”. Some fans (myself included) seem to be worried about Porgs- those little owl things in all the trailers. It is not known how Porg-heavy the plot of Episode VIII will be, but one can hope that they are not the new “Ewoks” or “Gungans” of the galaxy.

Fans also seem skeptical of a little droid called BB-9E. Will this little guy just roll through the background or are they really introducing BB-8’s evil twin as a supporting character? Will the two droids battle in a head-to-head death match? Is that what we really want?

Snoke is another wild card for viewers. The character design on this guy seems to be questionable. Will this mysterious dark-force user be the next Palpatine or merely the next Nute Gunray?

TV Projects in the Works

With “Star Wars: Rebels” wrapping up its fourth and final season this Spring- a brand new animated series is being developed. When in the galactic timeline will this series take place? Will it focus on the Rebellion against the Empire or possibly Resistance against the First Order?

Another TV project in the works is the Live Action series, which could launch on Diseny’s new streaming service. This isn't the first time that Lucasfilm has promised us a Live Action Star Wars series. A series known as "Star Wars: Underworld" was first announced in 2005. A team of writers spent a couple years developing over 50 scripts. This eight-person writing team included such notables as Ronald D. Moore (of Battlestar Galactica fame) and Chris Chibnall (The new Doctor Who showrunner), yet in the end nothing was ever filmed. 

Disney to Purchase Fox

Rumors are abound that Disney may purchase Fox. This would not only gain them access to various TV series and the rights to use X-Men characters in the MCU, Disney would also have the rights to distribute “A New Hope” (which is something they don't currently have). The import of this fact is full of possibilities. Certainly we would see new Star Wars box sets, but could we also get updated versions of the Original Trilogy? Possibly, 3D versions of the films? More importantly (Bantha in the room here) could fans get the de-specialized versions of the Original Trilogy that they have been yearning for?

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Howard with Tag & Bink

With "The Last Jedi" soon to be released, very few fans are focussed on Ron Howard's entry into Star Wars lore. "Solo: A Star Wars Story" is due to hit cinemas May 25th, 2018. One has to wonder if the release is too close to "The Last Jedi". In fact, "The Force Awakens" ran in some cinemas until June 2016 and if "The Last Jedi" runs this long, it will run right into Solo. Fans are also wondering when we will see a trailer for the film. Could we see a Solo preview in front of "The Last Jedi". Hmmm....

Final Thoughts

On October 30th, 2012 Disney purchased Lucasfilm.
On October 31st, 2012 I started this Blog.

What a long strange journey this has been. In the last five years Disney has given us many presents. Four Seasons of Rebels have aired (plus Two Seasons of the Freemaker Adventures and Forces of Destiny). Recently fans have been promised a new animated TV series and a new Live Action TV series. Meanwhile, "The Force Awakens" and "Rogue One" feel like ancient history as "The Last Jedi" fast approaches- whilst Disney has at least six further Star Wars films in development. These are good times to be a Star Wars fans, my friends. Or at least I think they are. I guess we'll know for sure when we open that present next Thursday.