Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.. feeling the hype!
Since as long as I can remember, I've been a big Star Wars fan.. When I was four years old I had the complete Ewok Village action playset. I owned the digitally remastered trilogy when I was in high school, and I stood in line when the prequels were released.. and yesterday, I was passing by the movie theater in the local shopping mall when I saw a poster for the coming attraction..
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Yes, even though the movie poster reveals nothing except the name and the release date slated for December, I immediately became giddy upon seeing it. As if visual confirmation has concreted it's eventuality as reality in my mind.
This film is the 9th in the official canon of the Star Wars universe, and it is especially important to fans because, it will be the last. Don't get me wrong, there will be spin offs and side stories made into movies, but Lucas envisioned 9 films and 9 films only, 3 trilogies.. and we are finally seeing that dream come to fruition.
I'm not one I one of those people think that everything that bears the Lucas touch turns to gold. I don't have any mantle piece in my house serving as a shrine to the infallible Star Wars universe, but I do think that the Star Wars films defined a generation and a genre.
Sci-fi films seemed hokey pokey for the most part.. star wars, for all its grit and fallibility, took a made up universe and made it seem real, made the possibilities, races, planets, excitement and danger, seem real, seem infinite.
And that's why this film in particular has a LOT riding on it.. It is supposed to take over 4 decades worth of history and legacy and try to bring about some sense of satisfying closure all while paying homage to fan fiction. I don't know how anyone would even begin to attempt something of that magnitude.
but if anyone is up to the task, I'm sure J.J. Abrams can pull it off. It was an interesting choice to go with Rian Johnson over Abrams for The Last Jedi.. I thought Abrams did a fine job with The Force Awakens, while Johnson definitely made some questionable, controversial decisions. Hopefully Abrams and tie everything together this December.. I'll be there with bells on in any case!