By now I’m sure you’ve all seen the two teasers for the new Star Wars movie and, more importantly, the fabulous new trailer that came out a few weeks ago. I trust most of you have felt the blend of nostalgia, childhood wonder, and excitement that the anticipation for this movie has elicited in me (below is the new trailer if you still haven’t seen it).
But I have to say something. I have completely objected to the idea of this film being called “Episode VII” since the original announcement by Disney. Whether you watch the films in the Episode Order (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) or in Machete Order (IV, V, [I], II, III, VI) it is very clear that the single story that these six films are telling has come to an end with Episode VI.
Now, to be clear, I’m so stoked that they are making another Star Wars movie. And I’m totally fine with Disney making heaps of them. I also don’t mind that some of our characters from the main story (e.g., Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, etc) will be in this and (presumably) additional Star Wars films. My hang-up is that the so-called “Episode VII” will have to introduce new opposition and new protagonists (and their origin stories) in such a way that will make the third trilogy in the set of nine movies seem so unrelated that it should not be called “Episode VII.” Call it anything you like, and do whatever you want with it; just don’t call it “Episode VII”!
I have felt this way for a long time. That is, until I watched the new trailer.
I have avoided reading much on the internet (esp fan speculation) or watching interviews because I want to have as much of a blank slate as possible when I go to see the movie in December. But with the new trailer, I immediately began to engage in a little of my own speculation because the absence of Luke Skywalker is noticeable and potentially suggestive. There is a strong possibility that Luke could be a bad guy.
Yep, like totes on the Dark Side. And if this is the case, and only if this is the case, then I am entirely in favor of this movie being called “Episode VII.” The reason why this would assuage my concerns is because it could possibly set up a perfect symmetry for the three trilogies. Six movies provide the same character arcs for Anakin and Luke. Episodes I—VI tell Anakin’s story from discovery to training in the force to turning to the dark side, and Episodes IV—IX tell the story of Luke from discovery to training in the force to turning to the dark side. Their stories overlap in Episodes IV—VI, of course, which provides the fitting middle trilogy. If this is where the story is heading, I would be very happy with that decision in terms of a balanced narrative arc. In this set up I can see how the nine movies are legitimately one story and that Episodes VII—IX deserve to be called such. I imagine that there would then be one important asymmetrical aspect to this pattern: in Episode IX Luke won’t completely succumb to the fate of his father but will experience a more profound redemptive turn from the Dark Side and will live happily ever after—it is Disney after all!
Perhaps I’m wrong about this. Perhaps they do something totally different but nevertheless something that pulls it all together and works out well. That would be totally fine with me, but I am very skeptical of that. But I think this has promise. And for the first time I am finally okay with this movie being called “Episode VII.” If Luke is bad it’s all good.
2 Comments
Leave your reply.