My The Last Jedi Preparation!

Okay folks, the time has ALMOST ARRIVED.  The Last Jedi will be hitting theatres next week!  Let’s all pause for a moment to squeal while basking in excitement and anticipation.

…………………….(is this enough time?? better safe than sorry)………………..

Alright, now that we have all that out of the way, let’s look at how I’m getting ready for The Last Jedi shall we?  Who knows?!?  Maybe we’ll have the same process!!  Wouldn’t that be a fun coincidence??  Aww, it would be.

Photo Credit – The Last Jedi

Obviously, I want my excitement level to be pretty high here.  So I’ve been (perhaps somewhat counterintuitively) immersing myself in the good ol’ Star Wars Expanded Universe.  I’ve written before (and will certainly write again) about how much I love those novels so to jump back into them is always a guaranteed way to get me craving as much of the galaxy far, far away as I can get.  For the last month or so, my for-pleasure reading has been almost exclusively Star Wars.  In other words, I’m living the good life.

But let’s get down to business.  I am (and have been for as long as I can remember) a re-watch everything that came before this film before I go see the newest installment kind of guy.  I’ll grant with the MCU it’s become too much.  Now I have to be content with watching all the films (solo or team) that pertain to a particular character before I go see the new one.  (Who knows how I will even begin to handle the SEVENTEEN FILMS I’ll need to watch before Avengers: Infinity War comes out??  Ugh.)  But I wanted to, nay I needed to, give The Last Jedi the full treatment it rightly deserved.

Obviously I want Finn to win here…buuuuut I think the smart money’s on Captain Phasma. / Photo Credit – The Last Jedi

I’ve been honest about the times I’ve felt the Disney Canon has left me wanting more in regard to how they are serving as stewards of the Star Wars Saga.  But, I’ve also taken the journey to open myself up to the fun the Disney Canon is offering too and challenge myself to see it in the way my students do, who love it because it’s their Star Wars.  And, in all fairness, I’ve really liked what I found when I do.  So, going into The Last Jedi I want to be as ready as I can be and as excited as I can be.  Most of all, I really want to give the Disney Canon of films a shot.  I want to be all in here.

As I was formulating my plan, I saw this post on Star Wars Anonymous advocating one film a weekend in the lead up to The Last Jedi.  The post went up (obviously) seven weeks before The Last Jedi would hit theatres.  Here’s the thing…I read it and immediately knew it was a brilliant idea.  However, here’s something about me you might not know.  For some reason, I often impose unrealistic (often unachievable) and needless deadlines on myself (for example, every time I sit down to grade anything).  Naturally, I did the same thing here.

Oh Kylo Ren…what will your fate be??  Will you turn to the Light Side or be consumed by the Dark??  I bet we have to wait until Episode IX to find out… / Photo Credit – The Last Jedi

My plan is to watch one Star Wars film a night, every night, leading up to The Last Jedi.  It will play out one of two ways; I’m not 100% certain which yet.

Option One:

Wednesday 6 December – The Phantom Menace

Thursday 7 December – Attack Of The Clones

Friday 8 December – Revenge Of The Sith

Saturday 9 December – Rogue One

Sunday 10 December – A New Hope

Monday 11 December – The Empire Strikes Back

Tuesday 12 December – Return Of The Jedi

Wednesday 13 December – The Force Awakens

…and then obviously it’s The Last Jedi (!!!) on Thursday, 14 December!

Option Two:

Thursday 7 December – The Phantom Menace

Friday 8 December – Attack Of The Clones

Saturday 9 December Revenge Of The Sith

Sunday 10 December – Rogue One and A New Hope back-to-back DOUBLE FEATURE!!!!

Monday 11 December – The Empire Strikes Back

Tuesday 12 December – Return Of The Jedi

Wednesday 13 December – The Force Awakens

…and then (again) obviously it’s The Last Jedi (!!!) on Thursday, 14 December!

Will Poe Dameron dazzle us all with his handsomeness and charisma for the whole film?  Uh, okay, that’s not really a question is it?  Obviously it’s a BIG YES. / Photo Credit – The Last Jedi 

If I want to get the most I can out of fully immersing myself in what the Disney Canon has added to the Star Wars Saga by way of its films, I almost think the second option is better.  When I saw Rogue One I immediately wanted to go home and watch A New Hope.  I felt that way each time I saw it but I never tried it.  HOWEVER that means I need to be sure I have the time for the back-to-back double feature.  If I miscalculate, tragedy will strike!  I’ll be behind!  Or I’ll double feature two films I didn’t want to double feature!  OR – the most inexcusable sin of all – I’ll miss watching one of the movies before I see The Last Jedi because of my own hubris.  WHAT TO DO?!?

Now, I’ve been working hard to make sure I have the time for this.  There’s been lots of prep work here.  Over the last month I’ve been writing all my lesson plans for class until mid-January (or at least the core outline of my lessons…it’s rare the timeline ever goes as planned in the classroom) so I could do this marathon and enjoy the season of The Last Jedi.  I’ve also got time set aside to grade the exams I have coming in at the beginning of this week and the beginning of next week.  SO I should have all my outside-of-work work managed and still be able to get my movie watching prep done as I want to do.

I in no way, shape, or form think it’s melodramatic or an over-exaggeration to say this is EXACTLY HOW I WILL FEEL if I miscalculate with this. / Photo Credit – The Last Jedi 

But what if I fail??  What if I mess something up?!?  This Star Wars Week also includes my brother’s birthday (yay!) and he’s playing a gig in town (he’s a brilliant singer/songwriter/guitarist/drummer) too (yay again!).  So those will obviously take up parts of my nights.  Do I roll the dice and go for the double feature??  Do I play it safe and start sooner??  WHAT IS THE BEST APPROACH??  “Difficult to see.  Always in motion is the future.”

As I sort my uncertainty and excitement, I’ll close with this.  A few weeks ago Mark Hamill tweeted asking all of us “to keep all that happens in The Last Jedi a secret for as long as is humanly possible.”  Let’s all listen to him huh?  I know we’ll all be excited to talk about it with everyone we know, tweet about it, post about it, blog about it, podcast about it, or whatever but there’s no trophy for being the first.  And it will be just as much fun to talk about after some respectable time has past.  Let’s keep it secret.  Not everyone has the chance to see the first showing in their town so let’s do what Luke Skywalker is asking us to do okay?  Coolio?  Coolio.

The #WaitForVIII is nearly over! Let me take this opportunity to personally ask you to keep all that happens in #TheLastJedi a secret for as long as is humanly possible. Thanking you ALL in advance, ❤️- mh #LooseLipsSinkStarships pic.twitter.com/LAkhSMVI0N

— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) November 24, 2017