Now that I've seen Episode IX several times and had a chance to process my thoughts on the film, there is one major change I would have made to help tie this movie into the entire saga and feel like a finale.

I know that seeing Rey and Kylo Ben fight on top of the wreckage of the second Death Star looks cool... but what if we went to another planet instead? What if instead, Palpatine's Sith Wayfinder was back in his home on Naboo?

This would tie a lot of threads up nicely in The Rise of Skywalker. It would be a much better reveal for Rey, she could discover her parentage in the house of Palpatine, give us some insight into her parents, and tie-in the dreaded prequels in nicely. In fact, she could have also learned that the Skywalker line also has roots on the same planet, from Luke and Leia's mother, the former queen of Naboo. It also would play in nicely with Rey's choice of surname at the end of the film, struggling to pick from her own house or another house both with roots from the same planet.

In the end, rather than going to Tatooine, a planet Rey wouldn't know about, she could bury both Leia's and Anakin's lightsabers on Naboo... the planet of Luke's mother, whom he wishes he knew.


But alas, I don't think Disney was particularly interested in having any strong links to the prequels...

Disney has made plenty of links to the prequels. Saying otherwise is total fan boy hogwash.

But I agree, Rey going to Naboo (and having R2 with her instead of BB8) would have been poetic.

From a purely film perspective (no Clone Wars, TV, comics or Books), what links to the prequels has Disney made in this new trilogy?

There's like two very very obscure things that come to mind... Maz being loosely based on a statue Anakin had, and a battle droid in the background of Babu Frikks. Outside of that, everything is nostalgia factor ten'd straight from the Original Trilogy... hey its more X-Wings, TIEs, Star Destroyer... They even avoided putting the New Republic on Coruscant. Could have at least done that.

lol I want what you're smoking. A battle droid in the background? No mention of Anakin's name, at all?

No they haven't. They even went so far in the beginning to say they wouldn't feature anything in their video games from the Prequel Era. Obviously, they backtracked on that.

Name a few. You cannot just make that claim (the one I will give you is Darth Sidious in Luke's speech in TLJ) yet not back it up.

We heard the voice of Hayden Christensen as Anakin when he and other Jedi spoke to Rey. And, we also saw Mustafar as well. Try harder, boy.

The following is something I posted in another thread last night and felt it may belong here...


Haven't posted since attending the world premiere and decided to let the dust settle somewhat.

My observations/thoughts:

The premiere was a lot of fun, especially during the press/pre-show/red carpet festivities.
Everyone seemed happy to be there, but I sensed a tense vibe, especially among the current LF regime - they did not seem thrilled to me.
You can tell all the fan favorites (cast and crew) love this just as much as the fans.
From my observation, Disney execs seemed out of place at the event. They fit the common corporate head stereotypes.
John Williams appearing in person and getting a standing ovation was the highlight of the night as he is retiring as I understand it.
The vibe I got following the screening was meh.
It was a good movie, better than TLJ, R1 or Solo but not a satisfying finale.
George was not there and that stood out to me the most.

I am hoping for the JJ cut and all the cameos that may come with it.
I buy the talk about all the tension between BR and Lucasfilm staff/Disney and in retrospect may have contributed to the tense vibe mentioned above - again this is from my observation.

If this film struggles to cross 1 Billion, I think it will be considered a failure by Disney.
This is not JJ's fault. However, if anyone thinks his deal with WB did not create tension for him on this production you' re crazy. Imagine having to work with all those egos in one room

I would not be surprised if the enthusiasm for Farvaro, Kevin Feige and those coming in to direct that unnamed SW film (I'm betting on the Russo Bros.) will act to smokescreen a mass exodus/housecleaning or dare I even say massacre among the Lucasfilm staff/story group behind the scenes.
I see them being replaced with people who understand filmmaking/the film industry and are part of the fan base. These new faces will not be interested in using SW to promote social issues, just telling good stories true to the mythology.
You may even see a re-imagined Star Wars show with the current hosts and production team gone.
It actually crossed my mind that this current LFL regime was always meant to be the fall guys/sacrificial lambs for whatever negative consequences would result from the ST era.
This is a common tactic in corporate politics (i.e. when in doubt delegate authority to have someone to blame later). This will in some ways clear KK's name.
GL will probably serve in a similar capacity to how he did for TCW. He will guide the filmmakers/talent with his story outlines and teach them the tone and style necessary for the IP.



I also want to comment/theorize on the impact the past 8 years may have indirectly had on the franchise:

- This trilogy was green-lighted and produced over a period of time when the Disney CEO was being talked about as a possible candidate for President of the US in 2016 or 2020 and Obama was still riding high.

- The new head of LFL was an accomplished woman in the industry named KK, in an era when most expected the next president of the US to be the 1st woman to ever hold the office (If you don't think KK was being propped up to help usher in the reception of the women in leadership zeitgeist you're not seeing the big picture that is the connection between tinsel town and Hollywood for ugly people (aka Washington D.C.)

- The new blood at LFL were also young blood who were not the biggest fans of the franchise or GL and thought it needed to be a platform for changing with the times.

- The popular Mr. NBC/Apprentice/You're fired guy becomes the most hated man in Hollywood when he runs for president.

- At the same time the creator of SW, Mr. GL himself was relegated to the status of a "boring old white guy”, ostracized by an industry he helped save for the better part of the past 40 years.


Meanwhile...


- People turn to YouTube, Spreaker, podcasts (Ed Opperman, E Michael Jones, Dave McGowan and Jay Dyer to name a few) and alternative media begins to usurp the traditional news and news cycles for better or worse.

- This spreads into pop culture with the likes of Doomcock, Nerdrotic, even Collider.

- People start to question the prevalent zeitgeists and begin to feel they are being imposed on them - especially thru the media.

- Terms like deep state, elite, oligarchy, woke, red-pilled, green-pilled etc., become part of the vernacular of the collective consciousness.

- Riding this, Mr. NBC/Apprentice/You're fired guy shocks the world and defeats the shoe-in female candidate and her supporters (most of Hollywood) are outraged.

- In no uncertain passive-aggressive terms, the media (this includes many of the new blood within LFL) responds.

- Suddenly, there is the much warranted #metoo movement, probably as a backlash to Mr. Apprentice's statements that you can grab a woman's &*$$! in Hollywood in that bugged bus conversation (Remember that?).

- The grass roots/honest #metoo movement is co-opted by Hollywood elite with the #timesup movement so it can be controlled and monetized by Hollywood itself, protecting many of their own with Harvey W serving as the scapegoat/sacrificial lamb (FYI - JJ and his wife helped found the #timesup movement).

- Soon after, we begin to hear things like "the force is female", Luke is regulated to an incel on an island, VA Holdo is built up as a fan fav without warrant and Lando is made a pansexual with the hots for a droid that represents the worst example of blaxploitation since the pimp - go figure.

- Around this time even Captain Marvel begins turning people off due to the way the actress and the promotional lingo is presented.

- This is all shoved down the throats of the paying audience.

- Those who disagree are relegated to the realm of dynamic silence, labeled insecure or toxic, with all this usually directed towards males. Many past twitter statements by LFL employees directly or indirectly reflect this.

- The SW fan base is polarized and demoralized by this point, feeling they have been told to watch it and like it... until the house of mouse begins to lose money (This is around the time of Solo and the failed Forces of Destiny/Resistance content).

- History begins proving that just about every director hired to do a SW film seems to head for the exit when they experience the prevailent LFL work environment.


Currently...


- The CEO of Disney is looking for a major swan song/slam dunk before stepping down and going for the US presidency, trying to redeem the sorry state of affairs that is the SW franchise by controlling the production of TROS and propagating his side of Disney's purchase of the SW IP in his book (both backfire). Next will be the house cleaning.

- The Fandom Menace is in full effect and sees JJ Abrams and now even Ricky Gervais as allies pleading their case… which could be another co-opting tactic like #timesup (fandom beware of low-hanging fruit).

- JJ is long gone, no longer on good terms with Disney or the LFL story group. He's had it.

- There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to respectively fix this thing. They seem to be on the right track with Farvaro, Filoni and Lucas attempting to pull it off. The Manadalorian is the proof in the pudding.

- My guess is Filoni is weathering the storm with daily doses of The Letters of JRR Tolkien.


All this being said…


- I have no interest in politics, but this franchise (especially the ST) has been a tragic victim of the trending zeitgeists, national, corporate/workplace politics and political aspirations of CEOs since 2012.

- SW is no longer a mythology to escape to, but now just another part of the political theater imposed on the public. The exception (SW) became part of the status quo (politics).

- I still hold to the opinion that Lucas should have never sold, but instead should have established a board of directors with the likes of Sansweet, Filoni, John Knoll, Lucy Autrey Wilson and Joe Johnston serving. I’m sure many would have been honored to serve on the board and protect the franchise.

- Lucasfilm has proven to work best as a small creative enterprise with a beloved mythology that transcended real world problems with the deeper questions like who we are and where we come from. That’s storytelling.

- See the interview at 2:47. I think it’s a cryptic statement. Just tell the story!

Saving this to see how this all shakes out in the next 2-3 years.

John Nash vibes.