Star Trek vs. Star Wars (and a collection of memes)

It's a three novel trilogy and my favourite bit of Star Wars lore...

 

In Episodes I-III they avoided repeating the same story (Anakin becomes one of the galaxy’s greatest Sith Lords rather than one of the galaxy’s greatest Jedi). In Rogue One they avoided repeating the same story (the heroes die to fulfil a cause greater than themselves). They easily could have done the same for Episodes VII-IX, but instead wanted to rehash the same boring story, as you mentioned above, because Abrams was a purist and wanted to erase the memory of Episodes I-III just because they and the Clone Wars series did something different, something that actually put the ‘war’ into Star Wars.

Cassian is a very different character from Han.

Han is a cocky, selfish mercenary who simply becomes a bit less selfish during the course of the OT and still behaves with a bad boy aura even toward the end of the trilogy.

Cassian on the other hand is a ruthless, cold-blooded war veteran - from a very young age he was drafted into warfare, first by the Separatists and then almost immediately after by the Rebel Alliance, and this takes its toll on him so that when we meet him in Rogue One, he is almost more like a robot than a human - he doesn’t hesitate to kill a friend and comrade to complete his mission, and for a long time considers sniping an unarmed man to follow his orders, only stopping at the last minute by a spark of human conscience. Even then he uses his war-torn past to defend his attempt to follow orders to kill Jyn’s father when she interrogated him about it - he never actively apologises or seeks forgiveness from her. All of this he does not out of selfishness (one of Han’s most prominent qualities), but a simple automated response to follow orders, which has been disciplined into him ever since he was a child. What’s more unlike Han I don’t think Cassian really ‘turns good’ toward the end of Rogue One, because he remains focussed on achieving the ultimate goal of his mission, he just keeps his allies a little closer to him than earlier on in the film due to developing a friendship with them.

Cassian is an anti-hero the likes of which we have never seen before in Star Wars, the only characters coming close to him being the Clone Troopers, but during the Clone Wars series they go the other way - from being the human equivalent of Battle Droids to unique personalities, most of whom are especially brave and courageous. What’s more, given this series will take place before Rogue One, it will feature Cassian as he is before he joins the Rogue One team, as his ruthless, mission-focussed self. The Mandalorian could have similarities to him, but the Mandalorian is more self-centred and less disciplined than Cassian, as being a Bounty Hunter he’s primarily motivated by pay, and his wish to return Baby Yoda to his kind means he’s also less cold-blooded than Cassian.

Funnily enough Cassian provides an interesting contrast with his pal K-2SO (who will also be returning to the series), because he’s a Droid who gradually develops some more human qualities during Rogue One (in that he develops more of a friendship with his allies and understands the gravity of self-sacrifice). I’m wondering if the series will follow Cassian when he first obtains K2 and starts work on reprogramming him, so that we see K2 gradually turning from an automated Imperial Droid to his wisecracking self in Rogue One, thus beginning the arc of becoming more human that ends with the film? That would be a great storyline.

 

Spoiler: Mandalorian

 

To be fair, I was specifically talking about Disney's trilogy. I don't think the hero story is boring, but I do think they could have done more than repeat the original movie. True, Lucas's PT did alter the story somewhat and fans understood that going in. But, we still see a more classic hero story in the first movie (which you needed in order to have a fall). I argue that Rogue One doesn't stray from that as far as you think. Jyn, the main character, follows along the hero's journey relatively closely. But, to your point, Rogue One offers some different angles and is an example of the hero story done well. It has some issues, but was good and gave a classic Star Wars vibe with familiar visuals.

I agree that Cassian is a more military/cynical character than Solo (although I wouldn't call that guy he shoots a friend), and he is definitely more of an anti-hero. I think he and Kylo are actually decent examples of new types of characters, at least for Star Wars movies. However, I think Cassian definitely softens some as Rogue One goes on. My comparison to Solo was meant to be the movie "Solo". They took a good character and did a lackluster movie. Despite what Cassian is like in Rogue One, on Disney television, I have doubts he'll be as ruthless as you want him. Maybe Disney will go that far, but we'll see.

 

Spoiler: Mandalorian

 

Spoiler: Mandalorian

 

I'm sure @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl will be looking forward to the live action Ahsoka show!

https://www.starwars.com/news/futur...7t3kHoPlIfYbwpRHN-pstLHdA-lZ7zyFTuhtf_51rj7BQ

 

Filoni still hasn't got the message that his beloved Ahsoka is an annoying bitch, sadly, but fortunately it's a series rather than a film, so I can avoid it like the plague and ignore it in my personal Canon without needing to sit through it at the pictures.

Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi look great, I'm looking forward to those, especially with the interesting new location in Andor:

Given that the Republic Star Destroyer is being repaired or built, rather than a wreck, I wonder if this is a flashback to the Clone Wars era? Cassian began his career as a fighter in the ranks of the Separatists, so it'd be great to see some more live-action Prequels content, especially if he was there interacting with the Battle Droids and hiding from Clone Troopers - a view of the Clone Wars from the other side of the fence.

Hayden returning as Anakin/Vader is great too, that'll add some beautiful continuity with the Prequel trilogy and perhaps another duel between him and Obi-Wan may explain why in IV Obi-Wan's powers have weakened so that Vader is 'now the master'.

I'm also interested in The Acolyte, I'm pleased they're working on some visual media for the High Republic era because we can see what it's like in relation to the other eras shown in media. I can imagine the eponymous Acolyte must be some sort of Sith cultist - it'll be nice to have the Sith as the primary enemy again rather than cannon-fodder Stormtroopers.

Any of the upcoming stuff take your fancy? I imagine if Rogue Squadron is set in the OT era (which it likely is given we first see Rogue Squadron in Episode V - perhaps it's set between Episodes IV and V?), rather than the Sequel era, it still has a hope of being good. I enjoy playing FFG's X-Wing game, and given Rogue One was in the OT era and was great, Rogue Squadron might also be worth seeing (as long as they don't put too much silly escapism in it). Certainly the X-Wing looks like a T-65 rather than a T-70. Is the Lando series definitely animated? In the Star Wars website article it doesn't explicitly state as such, and a live action Lando series with Donald Glover would be a bit of fun.

 

I've learnt my lesson with Disney Star Wars. I'm not too excited about anything in particular, but willing to give it a try.

 

You know what I like best with my soda? More ice to water it down. In fact, I want so much ice that, by the time I have drunk the little delicious soda that's in my glass, all I have left is dirty water.

Okay, pessimism and attitudes of bleeding SW to death aside, some of these sound interesting. However, I think I'm in the same camp as @NIGHTBRINGER, and more wary than excited.

Hayden Christensen is back?

 

I would.

 

Spoiler: Mandalorian