Chat corner 182: The Return of the Jedi

[annathecrow]

Welcome to the Monday chat corner.

The topic of this week is the movie Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the last film of the Original Trilogy.

It's interesting to consider, that the Return of the Jedi, having come out in 1983, has been "the last Star Wars movie" for sixteen years. The Revenge of the Sith has been "the last one" for ten years, and The Rise of Skywalker is now five years old.

In retrospect, what do you think about that trajectory? Or if you're (un)lucky to have been a fan during one or both of those gaps, how did it feel back then? And how are you feeling about that last stretch?

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

Interesting question! The first gap felt long enough that it was almost a surprise that a second trilogy was created. Then after seeing Ep I, frankly I didn't care if any more SW was produced, ever.

When Disney bought Lucasfilm and began producing them again, I felt hopeful that something would change. I was not thrilled by the announcement about JJ Abrams but I was interested enough to see the new film. I agreed with critics that EP 7 was derivative of New Hope, but it was different enough that I enjoyed it. I also liked some of the new elements (such as Finn and what he represented about Imperial troops).

Unfortunately the trilogy proved disappointing again, as was Solo, so that I don't much care if more films are made. However I am interested in seeing more TV shows, and Andor was definitely a sign of how good that could be.

[havendale]

Something that interests me a bit about the gaps is how they impact (and constrain) the authors working in the extended canon. I believe during the OT-PT gap Lucas specifically forbade EU authors from touching on anything pre-ANH – I’m curious if Disney has restrictions now on how far authors can go into the post-ST future.