Friday, December 23, 2016

A galaxy of possibilities: the promise of Rogue One

With the arrival of The Force Awakens, I was thrilled to see back into my favorite end of the universe. I won't say that it was perfect, I understand the argument that Ray & company basically recycled good parts of previous entries in the franchise, but there was still enough to look to justify six trips to the theater on my part. Okay, maybe not justify, but at least satisfy. There's a whole argument about how this actually falls in the tradition of Star Wars cyclical nature. So let's not talk about that right now, let's talk about why I'm super excited by Rogue One.
Rogue One is easily better than the prequels, but that is a low bar to leap. My personal rankings (from worst to best) would go: Attack of the Clones, Phantom Menace, Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, New Hope, Force Awakens, Return of the Jedi, and Empire Strikes Back. So, the brief adventures of Jyn (Felicity Jones) didn't rock my world. Why am I writing about it? Because I love Star Wars and now I have a lot of hope for the future of the series beyond the central canon.
Member when Star Wars had a widely sprawling canon across multiple mediums? If you do, you almost certainly member when Disney reset the whole canon of the series beyond the films. Well, now we're getting more non-movie additions, but there is still a massive graveyard of stories (mostly books and video games) that can still be drawn upon. Now, there is a chance to introduce them to the canon on a larger scale.
In spite of the fact that many Star Wars books (i.e. Darth Plagueis) and video games (i.e. Knights of the Old Republic) had great and well crafted stories, most people never paid attention because that was a bridge too far into nerdiness. If the Marvel movies, also under the helm of Disney, have proven anything, it's that movies can make the really obscure and nerdy the very definition of mainstream.
The galaxy of Star Wars is (or at least was) far more consistent than the one from Stan Lee, but no less interesting. Still, I talk more about Marvel's movies, just because the films have made it an easier discussion point. That's where I can see Star Wars going.
I don't want the stories to be churned out, but having a self contained story gives the universe a chance to produce more stories. A lot of the novels are games aren't Star Wars in much but name and aesthetic, but that's just fine by me. If that makes my favorite genre more wide and accessible to more people spurring more information and more discussion for me, that's awesome. Is it possible this will go horribly wrong? Yup. Is it possible we'll see more prequel-esque movies? Uh-huh. Is it possible we'll get a Jar Jar Binks spin off? I choose not to think of it. But Rogue One gives me hope for future installments, especially with Donald Glover cast as young Lando.

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