Star Wars 9 is the worst possible ending to the new trilogy

Almost two and a half years ago, the last Star Wars film was released in cinemas: Star Wars 9: The Rise of Skywalker. The blockbuster closed the so-called Skywalker Saga away. Some also talk about the sequel trilogy because it continued George Lucas’ original trilogy.

A lot has happened since 2019. The Star Wars series has spread to the Disney+ streaming service. But no new films have been made, and there aren’t even any concrete plans. The most advanced project, Rogue Squadron, has been postponed yet again.

On TV today: Watch the trailer for Star Wars 9

Star Wars 9: The Rise of Skywalker – Final Trailer (German) HD

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It sounds harsh, but: Star Wars 9 is not just the worst straight Star Wars film. He also has the franchise in one creative dead end maneuvered from which it has not found its way out to this day. We explain in three parts why Star Wars 9 was and is the worst possible conclusion to the new trilogy.

Part 1: Star Wars 9 deliberately ignores the predecessor Star Wars 8

There are specific intentions behind the “Trilogy” format. At least they should. You can show stories in single films or as a never-ending series like the MCU does. Or you set out to tell an epic story over the years in three films that build on one another. The latter has been the traditional Star Wars way since 1977.

In order for this to work, only the respective films should be coordinated. If different filmmakers are staging the individual parts, they should also talk to each other and compare their visions. Sounds easy. Unfortunately, none of this happened with Star Wars 7 to 9 and so the whole trilogy is one passive-aggressive back-and-forth.

In Star Wars 9, JJ Abrams ignores the chunks that predecessor Rian Johnson threw at him in Star Wars 8 with astonishing consistency. He has no interest in continuing the story from Part 8.

Part 2: Star Wars 9 was created under a lot of pressure and failed because of it

Now Abrams was just a stopgap. Original director Colin Trevorrow was fired at short notice, with Abrams stepping in. He had to finish the most important cinema trilogy of recent years in a hurry. Many mistakes have happened before. A end-to-end plan for the trilogy, a roadmap of sorts, Abrams admitted never existed. That’s bad enough.

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With a little more time

However Star Wars 9 could have averted the catastrophe, into which the trilogy slipped. The raid-like staging caused the opposite, however, the omissions. It could not be overlooked that Star Wars 9 basically had nothing to say and was not pursuing a grown idea. Or, God forbid, towards a goal that was understood by itself and the audience.

This is also a studio omission. Did you have to stick to the date in winter 2019? Why not defer when obviously more time is needed to make a good deal? The audience can certainly wait. But apparently, the quality of the finale was more important to the fans than Disney.

Part 3: The characters and stories from the trilogy leave no footprint in the Star Wars world

Kylo, Poe, Finn and Rey are undoubtedly great characters, played by fantastic actors. However, they fizzle out in Star Wars 9 because the film doesn’t have any exciting assignments for them, let alone develop them worthy of their place in the trilogy. This is particularly true of John Boyega’s Finn and Oscar Isaac’s Poe. The script and JJ Abrams are only interested in Daisy Ridley’s Rey – and they give her the most unimaginative and frustrating backstory imaginable.

Star Wars 9 doesn’t add anything new to its world that future films could build upon. He resorts to clumsy recycling of old characters that have been frozen to confront a younger generation.

With that, The Rise of Skywalker was a forewarning of what was to come in the Disney+ era of Star Wars: A nostalgia and fanservice feast in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

The rise of Skywalker inflicted permanent damage on Star Wars

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Star Wars still suffers from the poorly organized trilogy today. Episode 9 could have built a bridge to a new cinema era. The opposite happened:

We’re a long way from a new Star Wars blockbuster, which is supposed to attract the masses to the cinemas. Maybe as far as it hasn’t been since Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith in 2005. Instead, Disney(+) manages memories of better times with new streaming series.

For almost half a century, the cinema trilogy was the dominant format for telling stories from the galaxy far, far away. At the end of 2019, Star Wars 9 not only completed a trilogy that is not really a trilogy. It seems that he has permanently driven Star Wars out of his real home: the cinema.

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