DisneyStar Warshad abandoned one of George Lucas' best prequel trilogy ideas for the last decade, butStar Wars’best TV showfinally brought it back.When Disney boughtStar Wars, it split the fanbase, to say the least. Many feared that this exchange of hands would ‘ruin’ the franchise, and that continues to be a refrain from some parts of the fanbase ever since.
It’s true that there have been issues withStar Warsmovies and TV showsover the last several years, including many believing the sequels are some ofStar Wars’worst movies(although it’s of course impossible to say where the franchise would be today or if it would be better had Disney not acquired it). That heated topic aside, it is true that DisneyStar Warshas made some major changes.Among the changes DisneyStar Warsmade was the abandonment of one of George Lucas' best prequel trilogy ideas, but it’s finally back.
George Lucas Added So Much More Nuance To Star Wars In The Prequels
The originalStar Warstrilogy was absolutely iconic, and that was in part because it was a classic tale of good versus evil. Particularly inA New Hope, Luke Skywalker was presented as an Everyman Hero who was going up against a seemingly insurmountable evil in the form of both the Empire and Darth Vader. Of course, that changed over time, with Luke eventually being revealed as Darth Vader’s biological son inThe Empire Strikes Backandthe Skywalker familyessentially becomingStar Warsroyalty.
Even with those major revelations, the core story ofStar Wars’original trilogy remained good versus evil; that just shifted slightly to include the incredible change in Darth Vader from the dark back to the light side of the Force. While that worked brilliantly in the original trilogy, though, it’s clear that George Lucas wanted something new for the prequel trilogy. Specifically,in the prequel trilogy, George Lucas took advantage of the depth that nuance and gray areas can bring to a narrative in multiple ways.
For one, the prequels didn’t have a clear-cut ‘good guy’ versus ‘bad guy’ story in nearly the same way the original trilogy did, particularly when considering the Clone Wars. Although it seemed as though the Republic and the Jedi Order were very clearly on the ‘good’ side (and in many ways, they still were), the truth was revealed to be so much more complicated. Rather than an actual war of good versus evil, such as the one in the original trilogy,the prequel trilogy’s Clone Wars were revealed to be a sham, entirely orchestrated by Palpatine to take power.
The prequels didn’t have a clear-cut ‘good guy’ versus ‘bad guy’ story in nearly the same way the original trilogy did.
Even outside the fact that the Clone Wars were effectively a plot wherein no one was ever going to win—besides Palpatine, that is—the Jedi and the clones also became increasingly more complicated as the Clone Wars went on.In terms of the Jedi, the prequel trilogy revealed that they consistently undermined their own ideology, first by getting so involved in politics and then by becoming soldiers. All of this was antithetical to who and what the Jedi were meant to be in the galaxy.
While that doesn’t make the Jedi the villains by any stretch, it was absolutely more complex than what was presented in the original trilogy. Likewise, the clone troopers themselves were incredibly complicated. Although they were excellent comrades to the Jedi throughout the Clone Wars, because of Order 66, they became villains themselves in a way, at least inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Thankfully, theclone trooper inhibitor chipsexplained this issue away to a certain extent, but that only added to the nuance and made it all the more interesting.
The Last Jedi Toyed With This Ambiguity, But That Was Quickly Overturned
Following the nuance of the prequel trilogy,DisneyStar Warsreturned to the clear-cut good guy versus bad guy dichotomy seen in the original trilogy. In fact, one of the biggest criticisms ofStar Wars: The Force Awakensis that it feels almost like a remake ofA New Hope. As far as criticisms of the sequel trilogy go, this is among the more valid.
There were countless parallels betweenThe Force AwakensandA New Hope, from stormtroopers, to Kylo Ren attempting to emulate Darth Vader as much as possible, to the key weapon being a planet destroyer (with the name ‘Starkiller Base’ arguably being a variation of the Death Star). This return to form also meant a return to the hard lines between good and evil seen in the original trilogy. The only exception would beStar Wars: The Last Jedi, which attempted to introduce more of a gray area.
Specifically,The Last Jedirevealed that the First Order and the Resistance were buying materials from the same manufacturers, thereby raising some interesting questions and moral ambiguity. However, that plot (and the ambiguity along with it) was quickly abandoned inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which seemed determined to undo everythingThe Last Jedihad done. Unfortunately for the sequels, the decision to commit to the hard lines of good versus evil and reject George Lucas' prequel trilogy interest in nuance just wasn’t as interesting.
Unfortunately for the sequels, the decision to commit to the hard lines of good versus evil and reject George Lucas' prequel trilogy interest in nuance just wasn’t as interesting.
The First Order In Particular Proved This Doesn’t Work
The First Order Lost All Of Palpatine’s Genius And Was Openly Evil
The abandonment of the nuance introduced by George Lucas in the prequel trilogy created issues both within theStar Warsmovies themselves and also in terms of real-life audiences. In-universe, the lack of nuance with the First Order is precisely why it was a regime that was never going to win. In fact, the First Order failed to learn Palpatine’s most valuable lesson, and that meant that, not only was it doomed to fail, but also, it was never going to last as long as the Empire did.
Palpatine understood that he needed to maintain the facade of a benevolent ruler, which many in the galaxy bought into. InAndor, some Ghormans believed Palpatine had no idea what was being done in his name. The same cannot be said of the First Order. Rather, inThe Force Awakensalone, the First Order gunned down a group of innocent civilians and, more jarringly, blew up the New Republic, killing billions in the process. Therefore,the First Order was overtly evil and did nothing to conceal that, which isn’t sustainable even for the most powerful regimes.
Yes, the Empire hadthe Ghorman Massacreand the Death Star, but they rushed to cover up what happened on Ghorman, and the Death Star did not destroy Alderaan until Palpatine believed he had enough power to be unstoppable (notably, he was wrong). In terms of viewership, it just wasn’t interesting to watch the same story being told in the sequels that had been told in the original trilogy. This only became all the worse when Palpatine was revealed to be the ‘big bad,’ returning things to good versus evil in perhaps the biggest way possible.
Andor Restored George Lucas' Nuance—And Star Wars Needs To Keep It Up
Andor Returned To The Prequel Trilogy’s Gray Areas, And It Worked So Well
Following the sequel trilogy’s decision to repeat the original trilogy’s focus on good versus evil,Andorfinally restored George Lucas' interest in nuance, complexity, and ambiguity inStar Wars. This was done in a number of ways, although one of the most fascinating was the in-fighting it showed within the Rebellion. This was evident in the first three-episode arc ofAndorseason 2, when Cassian bore witness to the bickering that happened between one group of rebels.
Yet, even the way Luthen, Kleya, and Cassian himself were treated by other rebels made it clear that the rebels weren’t quite the unified group they seemed to be in the original trilogy. There are also characters like Saw Gerrera, who, despite being on the ‘good’ side, did some truly heinous things to defeat the Empire. Even villains like Dedra and Syril, who absolutely were evil, were given so much more depth and complexity inAndorthan villains like Supreme Leader Snoke or General Hux were ever given in the sequel trilogy.
This is precisely the directionStar Warsneeds to take now. The original trilogy was beautifully done, and it will forever remain iconic, but the same good versus evil story just isn’t interesting to keep repeating. Moving forward, DisneyStar Warshas to prioritize nuance and gray areas, andAndoris the perfect example of how to do that.
