Abrams and Star Wars Ep. 9? Sigh. I miss George Lucas.

JJ Abrams, Star Wars Episode 9, lulz, meme, obi-wan, George Lucas

Disclaimer: The following post doesn’t have much to do with libertarianism, voluntaryism or anarcho-capitalism, but it has a lot to do with creativity, artistry and just having fun. Which is what this site is also all about. Plus, it’s Star Wars. 

It was a long shot, but after Disney dumped Colin Trevorrow, I honestly hoped the notorious G.L. (George Lucas) would make a grand return to direct Star Wars Episode 9. It would have been such a poetic way to tie up the whole saga, but with Disney running the show – who knows if it will actually end at 9. Maybe more like 29. But now we’ve got JJ Abrams in the director’s seat again. Sigh. Yes, I miss George Lucas.

Star Wars 9: J.J. Abrams will Direct (from The Independent: Sept 12, 2017)

It’s no secret, but I wasn’t much of a fan of Episode 7. I don’t know if that makes me a grumpy old Gen Xer at this point, but in a lot of ways I think I enjoyed the Prequels even better than the New Hope retread that was The Force Awakens. I mean, at least the Prequels were George’s story, and they added a lot to the universe – even if I didn’t love all the acting within them. But it was a lot more than that. Episode 7 under JJ Abrams felt off to me. The story pacing, the missing Han, Luke and Leia reunion, the death of Han, the lack of visual depth (in architecture, art and technology), a lack of diverse alien creatures, the lack of interesting planetary environments, a poorly told political story, laughable villains and a derpy Starkiller Base that I STILL don’t get how it works. I wasn’t a fan of Mary Sue Rey, and I wasn’t especially thrilled with temper tantrum hair-boy Kylo Ren either. However, in all fairness, Poe and Finn were cool, and Han was pretty great until he died (grumble). And the starship graveyard on Jakku was perhaps the most visually interesting portion of the movie, with Maz Kanata ’s castle a feeble second.

Rogue One on the other hand I absolutely LOVED, and it restored quite a lot of faith in Disney captaining this ship. The entire cast of Rogue One was amazing, and Jyn Erso is a favorite. There was TONS of visual depth, interesting planetary locations, lots of neat aliens, cool tech and a great story that clicked perfectly with Episode 4. Plus, it added a whole new layer of awesome-sauce to Darth Vader, the greatest movie villain of my child-hood, as well as some amazing scenes with Grand Moff Tarkin and the Death Star.

I’ve been optimistic about Episode 8, hoping that perhaps it will bring some level of depth to the weak-sauce story dribbled out to us in Episode 7. There does appear to be more visual dimension and scale in 8, so who knows. Maybe Disney is starting to figure this whole Star Wars thing out, and Abrams will actually be able to tell a story that doesn’t end up like Episode 7, Star Trek or Lost. At this point, we’re kind of like the Rebellion in the Empire Strikes Back. It may look awfully dark when faced with the might of the Empire, but we still have hope. So hope my friends. Hope.

Thoughts about Star Wars, EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 (which was disappointing in lacking proper couch co-op), or the upcoming release of Battlefront 3? Let us know! Also, be sure to check out the rest of what we’ve got right here in Libertopia! There’s a great illustrated book for 99 cents, an awesome store full of unique shirts and other cool stuff you won’t find ANYWHERE else, and great libertarian artist interviews, cartoons and so much more!

Also see:


Source: Libertopia Cartoon – Abrams and Star Wars Ep. 9? Sigh. I miss George Lucas.

Leave a Reply