The Rise Of Skywalker – Excitement and Ambiguity in the Disney Era of Star Wars

I really wasn’t planning on writing something about The Rise Of Skywalker so quickly.  In fact, I had a totally different Star Wars-related post planned for this weekend.  But sometimes a movie hits and I, inexplicably, find myself with something to say right away.  The Rise Of Skywalker was one of those films.  The first trilogy of the Disney Canon has come to a close and the journey Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren began in 2015’s The Force Awakens has ended.  It left me with lots of thoughts, feelings, and questions.  So let’s talk about it, huh?

Note, there will be spoilers but that section of the post will be clearly marked.  If you don’t want to know anything at all before you see it, stop reading now.  But if you’re fine with overall-type comments, I’ll speak generally first and then give a clear warning before any plot spoilers happen.  Ready?  Ready.

What I Look For In A Star Wars Story

A little while ago I read a piece Kiri wrote on Star Wars Anonymous entitled, “The Mandalorian: Chapter One.”  As the name implies (and as those of you who are big on inferring from context clues may’ve guessed), it was a reflection on the first episode of the new Disney+ show The Mandalorian.  While I’ve yet to watch the show for myself (or get Disney+), I found her piece interesting.  I appreciated her take on the first episode and I was also struck by something Kiri wrote in the beginning of her piece.  She outlined what she, as a Star Wars fan, looks for in any Star Wars story she watches/reads.  And that left me puzzling over exactly what I look for in the Star Wars stories I watch/read.  I finally figured it out!  Now you can know my criteria too and, I’m sure, sleep easier at night because if it.

Shattered Empire…and Shattered Expectations

A year ago today, Marvel Comics released the first issue of the Star Wars: Shattered Empire miniseries.  It was an exciting and central piece of Disney’s “Journey to The Force Awakens” celebration.  With the old Expanded Universe of stories “thrown out,” this was our first look at the new Disney Canon’s version of what happened immediately after the Battle of Endor.  In the year that’s followed I’ve read seventy comics, eleven novels (five were YA), watched two full seasons of Star Wars: Rebels and (obviously!) seen The Force Awakens (a ridiculous nine times in theatres).  I’ve approached the Disney Canon excitedly, eager to see their new vision of a post-Return Of The Jedi universe…and, honestly, I’ve been disappointed.  For me, it’s not as good as the old EU.  I’m sad, a little frustrated, and (perhaps weirdly) still very hopeful. 

My on again/off again Relationship with Darth Vader

In the fall of 2015, it was Star Wars that finally brought me back to the world of comic collecting after my seventeen year absence.  Admittedly it felt a little weird returning to Books Galore after so long a time away.  I felt a bit out of place, like coming home to find everything you remember similar…yet different.  But the oddity of my return was soon eclipsed by feelings of excitement.  I was back!  I was reading comics again!  Yay!  And I was excited (after Jeff’s constant urging) to explore the Star Wars stories Marvel was adding to the new Disney Canon.  Of all their comics, I was most excited for Darth Vader.  As the months rolled by however, I found myself wrapped in a passionate yet frustrating relationship with the Dark Lord of the Sith.