There was no reason to sugar coat what I said. I was being blatantly honest. And it’s not even a direct response to the outrage. It’s something I feel a lot of people don’t get, when throwing out these glorious ideals for how character arcs “should” have been handled. It’s all just hopes and dreams.
These actors are old. And this isn’t a team up of highly dedicated 80s action stars. If you stop and think about it, we’re lucky we got more than simple cameos. They didn’t have to give us an anchor for these new films.
Harrison Ford was, mostly, only on board so that he could finally have his character killed off. Mark Hamill barely had a scene in the first film and in this one they gave him some hefty material. Mark always had this cheesy feeling to him and in this one, it’s only mildly present. Dunno if that’s because he was pissed off all the time, in character and out. He certainly voiced his concerns about Luke’s chosen path.
The point is, we’ve gotten a lot of content from the old cast. Sure, it’s not all been perfect, but it is what it is. This is the story that’s been placed before us. Now, I’m not a fan of the Mary Poppins thing with Leia, but trust me, I’ll live.
Anyway, the future of these films is meant to transcend a group of characters and their actors. I think too much focus has been placed on old characters, by both the fans and the studios, at this point. Not to reverberate a tone from the film, but sometimes you have to let old things die.
Yeah, but... enjoy it, don't enjoy it... it is all immaterial in the larger context of time, humanity and the stories that define us. In fifty years, a hundred years, the OT will still be classic and everything else will be... everything else. Not to say there aren't some good things in that everything else.
All I'm saying is that what has become clear is that the OT was indeed lightning in a bottle - for whatever reason; the moment in time, the people involved, whatever. And whether you like it or not, your great-grandkids will be watching the OT because it is a deeply resonant, mythic and utterly timeless story. The rest will fade, be dated... then long forgotten. Like a sun-faded video box in a 1990's video store that hasn't been rented since 1987.
The rest was always an attempt to graft onto that intangible of the OT... for all the various reasons: because people always want more of a good thing, because there's huge money to be made, because there is merchandise to sell and stock prices to prop up. I don't mean it cynically - films are art, but they are more a business. That's Disney's job.
But then there is just the story - the thing that taps deeply into humanity, where it has been and where it is going. Stories that know us and haunt us. And in SW, that is just the OT.
Forget the billion, forget the two billion, forget Rotten Tomatoes, forget bots and alt right conspiracies of ponytailed too-old nerds who should die. Time... that's the ultimate reviewer. And all of this stuff including the ST - the everything else - will be washed away by the relentless tide of time and the OT will still be like a rock. Forever. That's what you're up against.
So don't talk about old things needing to die. You're willing the impossible with only a huge pile of money and the will of an entertainment conglomerate to back you up. This - Disney's ST - will die with time, and OT will stand like an ancient over its grave.
