Like many of you I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I was to be taken back to planets like Hoth, Dagobah, Tattoine and other places I had been before and I am hopeful to visit some that I had only read about or played in video games such as Corellia, Nar Shaddaa and in my opinion the holy grail of the expanded Star Wars universe, the Sith home world of Korriban. We are to be reintroduced to old friends like the Wookiees , the Bothans and the Rodians and most likely we will be introduced to some new ones. Personally I would like to learn more about the species that birthed Darth Maul, the Zabrak.
As excited as I am, I can't help but feel nervous because I have been here before. I was nine years old when I first caught wind of three new Star Wars films and it is safe to say that I was over the moon with excitement. While I allowed myself to watch them with an open mind and follow the tale with an open heart I was sorely disappointed in a lot of aspects. As a child I was enthralled with the prospect of truly meeting Anakin Skywalker; the hero of the clone wars, the chosen one, the fallen one. So imagine how let down I was to find that the mighty Darth Vader started life as a whiny, prissy little man with more emotional baggage than a low self-esteemed fat girl that was rejected from the cheer leading squad and denied access to the latest Twilight film in one day.
As for the rest of the cast and characters they ran the board from amazing(Ewan McGregor's Obi Wan), intriguing (Samuel. L Jackson's Mace Windu), entertaining (Ray Park's Darth Maul), to downright irritating (Jar Jar Binks!!). I believe it is safe to say that compared to the original trilogy the prequels were sub par in every aspect but one, that being the light saber fights. Of course it was nice to see Yoda show why he is one of the greatest Jedi of all. While the prequels held some great moments and amazing visual effects I would still consider them a fail. I remain convinced that the worst thing to happen to the Star Wars franchise was Hayden Christensen and those prequels in general. Did they expand the story? Yes. Did they give you a good lead into the original trilogy? Of course. Could they have been better? That is an astounding yes.
Now I'd like to turn my attention to the idea of spin off films. I am far more excited at the prospect of these than I am for the new trilogy. I like the idea of meeting a young Han solo or watching Boba Fett take the reins of his own film and a Jedi take on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, yes please. If I had my way, a Zack Snyder take on that tale with a young Mace Windu leading a ragtag group of Jedi to save a Republic colony world from, I dont know, say the Mandalorians? That has got a lot of potential. As far as Yoda goes, yes he is a great character but I dont think I want to see a film revolving around him. I feel the same way about bringing Boba Fett back into these sequels, let's start fresh with an entirely new bad ass Mandalorian bounty hunter that is not just a glorified Jango Fett/Clone Trooper. Although I have no idea where they will go with the story, I think it is safe to assume it will revolve around the rise of a new Jedi order with Luke Skywalker leading the way and training the children of Han and Leia while at the same time eradicating any Imperial remnants across the galaxy and fighting clones of Palpatine because as every good Star Wars fan should know the Empire took control of the cloning facilities on Kamino.
Keeping all of that in mind I am hopeful that this new trilogy will be good if not great. I have complete faith in JJ Abrams ability to craft a well put together Sci-Fi yarn. He is, after all, responsible for two of my favorite shows of the last decade in Lost and Fringe. Not to mention he made Star Trek watchable for a guy like me that did not and could not care less about Captain Kirk, Spock or the Enterprise. So with the right mixture of hope and caution I am going to wait and watch and hope Abrams can deliver the love letter to the fans that we truly deserve. May the force be with us. This is your friendly neighborhood inkslinger watching, waiting, and hoping for the goods to be delivered. Peace