TheStar Warsfranchise is one of the most revered sci-fi series of all time, but it’s not without its flaws. The original series is regarded by most fans as the best trilogy, but the prequel and sequel trilogies had fans of the series griping.
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One of the reasons for the distaste of the sequel trilogy was its underdeveloped, disconnected plot points. This is in part thanks to having multiple directors working on the same three-movie arc. The most recent entries into the saga introduced a new generation to one of the greatest franchises of all time, but they could havebeen more thought out.
10Concept: Who Did Luke Become After Return of the Jedi?
Luke inReturn of the Jediis shown as a grey between-light-and-dark Jedi, as evidenced by his aggressive fighting styleand his all-black outfit(that’s also symbolically white inside). However, the Luke presented inThe Last Jedifelt like a distant relative of the Luke we saw inEpisode VI.
Everything from his attitude to his decisions to his dialogue with Yoda doesn’t feel like Luke saying it. Luke is shown disillusioned with the force because of his training of Kylo Ren, but how did the bold and courageous man who toppled the Emperor turn into that fearful, feral man in the sequels?
9Character: Supreme Leader Snoke
InThe Rise of Skywalker, Supreme Leader Snoke is revealed to have been a creation of Sheev Palpatine who had been in hiding since his “defeat” at the hands of the rebels at the end ofReturn of the Jedi. Many fans regard this as a fatal misstep for the sequels' story.
Snoke was terrifying to look at, his demeanor was enigmatic, and he was heavily hinted to be the new big bad of the sequels. He would have done well across the sequels' arc, but instead, scriptwriters decided to kill him off tobring back an old villain.
8Concept: Returning To Known Worlds, Establishing New Ones
TheStar Warssequels established so many new worlds in the universe that it was hard for many fans to keep up. Everybody knows Jakku and Crait, but what about D’Qar, Takodana, Hosnian Prime, Ach-To, Cantonica, Pasaana, Kijimi, and Kef Bir?
The sequels do not return to old planets as often as it should, either. Many of them are destroyed by Starkiller Base, sure, but the sequels are meant to be a finale to the Skywalker saga, and audiences only really see references to the Galactic Empire’s tenure as the supreme galactic influence sparingly.
7Character: Captain Phasma
WhenThe Force Awakenswas announced, one couldn’t go too far on the internet without seeing Captain Phasma in promotional material for the upcoming movie. When the film was released, though, herrole was incredibly minor.
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Captain Phasma was basically a throwaway character who provided moments of tension that ultimately didn’t change much about the story. This character could have been the new Boba Fett, but instead might just be relegated to being the #1 Shiniest Stormtrooper instead.
6Concept: Finn Wielding A Lightsaber
Similar to Captain Phasma, one couldn’t watch an ad forThe Force Awakensthat didn’t include two iconic scenes of Finn wielding Anakin’s lightsaber. Fans speculated that this meant Finn was force-sensitive and would be a new Jedi in the series.
Thiswas all marketing, though, as Finn ended up wielding the lightsaber more out of necessity than out of need. His training as a stormtropper taught him how to wield one, not innate force ability, and it’s a shame the movies didn’t veer in that direction a little more.
5Character: Rose Tico
Actress Kelly Marie Tran played Rose Tico inEpisode VIIIand received some of most vitriolic and mindless hate from fans of theStar Warsseries for her portrayal. Her character was all but removed from The Rise of Skywalker due to this backlash, which the actress had no control over.
The writers screwed Kelly Marie Tran over, though, as it wasn’t her fault the character was incredibly underdeveloped. If she had been introduced inEpisode VIIinstead, or if her half-baked arc was given proper attention inThe Last Jedi,perhaps fans wouldn’thave reacted so negativelyto the character.
4Concept: Leia’s Training In The Force
Princess Leia is shown inEpisode VIIandVIIIas a willful diplomat whose shrewd and courageous nature comes to her aid multiple times. InEpisode VI, we are told that Leia is force sensitive too, but episode VII and VIII did very little to show this progression of her character.
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Instead, fans were treated to perhaps one of the weirdest scenes in a movie of all time. InThe Last JediPrincess Leia floats through the freezing vacuum of space while using the force to keep herself going. It’s kind of ridiculous and would have made far more sense if fans saw her abilities beforehand.
3Character: Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron was one of the first characters introduced inThe Force Awakensas a parallel to Han Solo from the original trilogy. A spice runner from Kijimi, he joined the resistance and eventually became a General.
However, Poe’s dialogue and interactions throughout the film are anything except necessary. He utters the now infamous line “Somehow, he came back” (referring to Palpatine), and did nothing but complain that not enough was being done to escape inThe Last Jedi. He would have been a lot better utilized if he had accomplished more on-screen.
2Concept: Rebels Were Victorious In Original Trilogy
The inclusion of Sheev Palpatine inRise of Skywalkerdissatisfied many fans for what felt like fanservice, a re-hash of the same tired plot points that theStar Warsfranchise had been using since the original trilogy. After all, whymake Snoke the bad guywhen Palpatine could come back?
What is perhaps most sad about Palpatine’s return is that it lessens the rebel victory at the end ofReturn of the Jediby orders of magnitude. One can’t go back and watchEpisode VIthe same way knowing that, somehow, Palpatine came back after beingthrown into the core of the Death Star.
1Character: Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren was given a bad time by the writers in the sequel trilogy. More often than not, he came across as a whiny kid with a chip on his shoulder that didn’t really deserve to be there. He turned to the dark side after turning on Luke, he wanted to be like Darth Vader (who he had no relation to), and he does little in the movies except act as the opposite to Rey.
His characterization throughout the trilogy made less and less sense as the movies went on, to the point that the Kylo Ren in each sequel movie could be a separate character altogether.His personal arc forself-redemption is compelling, but the movies brush that to the side consistently to focus on other aspects of his character.
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