I wasn’t excited to learn that Rey would be returning to the silver screen. In recent news from the Star Wars Celebration (well not that recent, but hey I’m trying my best :p), LucasFilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced that three Star Wars films were in pre-production, one of which would see Daisy Ridley reprise her role as Rey (i.e. the main protagonist of the sequel trilogy which consists of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker) in a new adventure that will be set roughly 15 years after the conclusion of the sequel trilogy as Rey tries to restore the Jedi order. A new adventure that, as stated in my opening sentence, I didn’t really give a damn about. A disdain I felt towards it due to my Sith Lord levels of hatred towards Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker: the most recent Star Wars film and the finale of the sequel trilogy. A movie that I loathe on par with how Anakin Skywalker hates sand.
See, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was an abysmal movie. In fact, the sequel trilogy finale leaned heavily into fan service, had a story that came out of left field (because Palpatine had somehow returned), and (most egregiously) it undercut many of the major ingenious narrative advancements and character reveals that occurred in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was a great movie that upended our understanding of what a Star Wars adventure could be. Like it was thematically about how Rey didn’t need to be from a powerful bloodline in order to matter as a person. She could make her own destiny despite not being a Skywalker. Even without being a part of the most important family in the Galaxy, The Last Jedi portrayed Rey as valid which was a good message for those of us who aren’t nepo-babies, and sadly, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, being the turd sandwich of a film that it is, walked that thematic sentiment back in the most egregious way possible. Sure, Rey isn’t revealed to be a Skywalker, but Rise of Skywalker takes an even worse narrative route by making Rey a Palpatine (because this man f***s), undermining Rey’s great character reveal in The Last Jedi where her parents are no one of import in the most foolish way possible. Backtracking on The Last Jedi’s great character development that allowed Rey to prove to herself and the Galaxy that she didn’t need to be of a noble bloodline in order to be a great Jedi all while making her a Palpatine which is just terrible. As I said, I hated it.
For this reason, I was hardly amped at that prospect of seeing a continuation of Rey’s story in the earlier mentioned sequel movie to the sequel trilogy. After all, The Rise of Skywalker kind of sullied my opinion of the sequel trilogy by concluding that story on such an awful note, and while I wouldn’t say that it “ruined” my love for Star Wars or even The Last Jedi (it remains a great film), The Rise of Skywalker did bungle the sequel trilogy’s finale and retracted many of The Last Jedi’s more inspired narrative elements. It’s just something that I will never forgive, and due to this, I initially didn’t give two jawa shits about a Rey focused movie set after The Rise of Skywalker. A film that will act as a sequel to (arguably) Disney’s biggest Star Wars blunder and a reminder of such wasted narrative and thematic potential.
However, my tune has changed on the matter. While The Rise Of Skywalker remains on my cinematic shitlist, I’m intrigued by a new follow-up movie, and the reason for this is due to how much I appreciated a recently released sequel to a different non-Star Wars LucasFilm property. By which I mean: the newest Indiana Jones movie. See, Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, that aforementioned new Indiana Jones movie, was a very enjoyable cinematic experience. It had relevant themes about how, during peacetime, governments and people ignore the threats that fascists can still pose (as exemplified by post World War 2 Nazis in the movie), it’s story about an old Indiana Jones whose body and mind can no longer handle the adventurer lifestyle was interesting, and it was overall just a solidly fun swashbuckler, and while I wouldn’t say it’s the best Indiana Jones film (Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade far surpass it), Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny is a solid 7/10 movie. It’s good and ends the franchise on the right note.
This was the polar opposite of my reaction to Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: the previous Indiana Jones movie. See, Crystal Skull was a miserable film with a convoluted plot, bad characters, and a tendency to break the suspension of disbelief more times than Homer Simpson breaks wind. It’s easily the worst Indiana Jones movie, and back in 2007, when Crystal Skull initially released, there was a fear that this horrible cinematic miscue would be the finale to Indiana Jones as both a storied character and a franchise. That the legendary Indiana Jones’ last adventure would be a dud that hit the ground with a thud.
Dial of Destiny changed that narrative though. Acting as a swan song for the character, the new movie allowed Indy’s story to conclude on a far more cinematically dignified note. One that was far more satisfying for longtime admirers of the character and for those just looking for a solid actioner. By virtue of being solid, Dial of Destiny was a superior finale compared to the shitshow that was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Dial of Destiny’s quality has me hopeful about the Rey Star Wars movie. Akin to Dial of Destiny’s relationship with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a good new Rey focused Star Wars film set after the sequel trilogy can wash out The Rise of Skywalker’s bad after taste, and while there are no guarantees that this film will be good (hell given LucasFilm’s track record there is no guarantee that this movie will even be made), there is still a chance that it could redeem the sequel trilogy’s worst installment. Similar to how Dial of Destiny delivered the Indiana Jones franchise a superior ending, a new Rey Skywalker movie can give audiences closure to a story that originally had such a disappointing climax. For lack of a better term, I have a new hope.
