I am no stranger to holding controversial views, one of those is my love for The Last Jedi. I have dealt with fans who rip into other fans who like the movie, and I have fought with them over demonizing Disney and Rian Johnson, and yes, it has been to no avail. I have plenty to say about all the reasons for hating the movie. That being said, even though TLJ is number three on my top three SW movies list, there are things I wanted to see too. These things just weren't a reason to hate the movie.
One of the biggest things I wanted to see was more about Snoke. I get it, it's not Snoke's story. It's Ben Solo's, AKA, Kylo Ren. And of course, Rey's, but the episodic films are all about the Skywalkers, and Ben is technically a Skywalker.
I wanted to see more about the man who not only manipulated Ben into becoming evil but the very man who manipulated Luke into giving acting on his fear. Snoke had a huge influence on the story, so even though it wasn't his story, he was a part of the story, ergo why he should have had more time. His origins definitely needed to be developed more. And for those who say that no one cared about Palpatine, bullshit! I always did!
No, I didn't an answer for everything, but I did want to know more about the Big Bad. I wanted to know why Anakin became Vader, where the heck Palpatine came from, all of that. Even long before the prequels ever came out. I wanted more, damn it!!!
When you have a super cool villain who is pulling the strings, even if he is about to be eliminated, and replaced by a subordinate villain, the Big Bad still needs time to be developed. Obviously, his story, albeit limited, is still important. Hello, McFly, he is a huge cog in the story narrative! This isn't rocket science, for crying out loud!
Okay, so to wrap this up, Snoke is a big deal. He came onto the scene like a tidal wave, tearing apart the Resistance, reestablishing a dark force cult in the galaxy, he is why Ben Solo is Kylo Ren. He is why Ben Solo created the cult called, the Knights of Ren. And then, Kylo Ren kills him like a chump in the movie. A great scene and a great move. I did like that a lot. Now, how are we going to reconcile the lack of Snoke story? Through the books.
I don't know how much his backstory will be revealed in the book, but the novelization of The Last Jedi will look more into his background. I personally would love a book called, Snoke, which would be all about Snoke. I am a nerd like that. Kinda like the legends book, Darth Plagueis.
But I like the fact that the book is going to do what I told the haters of TLJ would do. Explore more of the characters. I also wanted more of Ben Solo during his Jedi years and why Luke felt at the time justified for almost killing his nephew in his sleep. I got it when I saw it, I knew why, the logic was all there, but many fans are unable to cope with logic as they wanted their Luke, not Luke. Their version, and not the version we got. They wanted their expectations over the logic of the situation. And no, Luke wasn't right in that moment, and that is the point.
Anyways, I wanted more even though I was a good McFly and saw why Luke reacted like he did. And there are going to be books and comics coming out that will dive some into Ben's story.
I am very excited for this. I am a little sad as I wanted to write these two intersecting stories, Snoke and Ben, and I also wanted to write about Luke during this time. Why he turned out the way he did. People don't realize that Luke messed up in Return of the Jedi when he gave into his anger and went crazy Jedi on Vader. Granted, I liked that scene, but Luke didn't act like a Jedi then. He gave into the dark side. He did stop himself, sound familiar?
Luke again fell a little into the dark side when he acted out in fear, fear of his nephew being the new Darth Vader. We know that Luke would have sworn to never again allow a Darth Vader to rise. Such an oath would mean drastic measures, right? The problem is, it meant Luke possibly falling to the dark side. And when he started to carry out that oath, he stopped himself. However, it was too late. Ben reacted.
Now, with Ben Solo over-reacting, I mean, slaughtering the other students and recruiting others to his cause, this wasn't Ben defending himself, there was more to it than that. He thought it out before. He had already started down this path. So there is a lot of Snoke/Ben/Luke story that needs to unfold.
I wanted to tell it. Of course, I don't have a contract with Disney. Anything I'd come up with would have been fan-fiction instead of canon. I had all kinds of ideas including Luke's former wife, his thought to be dead son who would come back later on to be the new Skywalker-hope of the galaxy, he might even ended up with Rey! Maaaaybe.
But, the truth is, I like fan-fiction, but I don't want to write fan-fiction. I want to write canon. The actual story as it stands!!!!! But, I am glad that Disney is finally getting into this. I also want more on the Knights of Ren. I am hoping that story will be told soon. Which would serve as part of Ben Solo's story, since the group is named after his new name.
Even though I don't get to write SW, I will be keeping my ideas for other stories. I do have a WIP that started out as a SW story that I converted into a brand new story. There's no shame in that. I just wanted to write SW, damn it! Okay, I am happy, actually. About time!
I know, haters will hate. They will still throw their temper tantrums and drag SW and Disney through the mud. But at least Disney is doing what they are supposed to do, fill in the gaps. SW has a lot of stories to tell, and sometimes you can't fit everything into a single movie. It takes movies, and books, and other series. Like it or not. I am fine with it so long as the stories develop.
And I will add that most of us fans are arm-chair directors and writers. I am a writer, but even non-writers want to write the movies. There's nothing wrong with that. I loved the Canto Bight scenes, I thought the location was cool, and the diverse aliens even if they were glossed over. I liked DJ as I feel he shows more of the diverse opinions of the galaxy, not everybody is a redeemable hero. That being said, I would have scrapped the Canto Bight stuff, I would have used it for my own trilogy if I was Rian Johnson, and I would have focused more on Snoke/Ben/Luke, and what led up to the new movies. I did like Rose Tico even though many fans have been horrible toward her character, some fans even went so far as to be sexist.
I think if I had written and directed the movie, I would have given Rose and Finn a different arc that would have grew their relationship, and given Finn more development since he had a hard time overcoming his old Stormtrooper brainwashing. Because that's why Finn is a little wishy-washy in his stance. In the first movie, he wants to run, but he stays and becomes Resistance. But then in the next movie, he wants to cut and run again, only to again, reestablish his WHY to fight. Of course, all of it always centers around Rey. She is always his backbone. His anchor. Even though I think they are friend-zoned, they are magic. Rey does bring out the best in Finn. And Rose will too.
There are some areas I would change. And even though I don't think how Admiral Akbar was killed is a reason to hate the movie nor do I believe it was a plothole (seriously, people don't even know what that term means, well, some people don't) I would have had Holdo live, and Akbar gives up his life. I do have an argument that supports his death as it played out, but for my own nerd-preference, I would have done it this way and left a place for Holdo to return in the next movie.
So yeah, I would also want to change some things. But I still love the movie, and I love how some of the issues will be resolved. I knew they would be, and a big I TOLD YOU SO to the haters. Okay, that's not mature, and I will be honest, this conflict has brought out the inner child in me. But anyways, I am happy to see more details!!! Disney does need to change a few things in how they tell the story, but I am still a fan, and I still support the company! Great job, Disney! Keep it up!
And oh yeah, Disney, if you're reading this, can I pleeeeeeeeease write some Star Wars canon? Pretty pleeeeeeease? I know, you get this a lot, but, pleeeeeeeease? Okay, I am still not being mature. I will stop... for now!
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