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

We meet again, General Greviana.na.nana.

 

I hear you, but I disagree. I do think you're missing the forest for the trees. Although, I am speaking in more in thematic story terms, there's nothing vague about it. Despite the fact that the characters in Rogue One have different backstories and personality traits, I still see their OT counterparts underneath their gritty re-skins.

•Jyn: The reluctant orphaned hero (anti-hero), who finds out that she has a special familial connection to the dread threat of the story, just like Luke. She is chosen b/c she's an Erso; Luke is chosen b/c he's a Skywalker. She's taken in by an older mentor and trained to be something special, just not a Jedi. When she finds out her father is alive, she seeks to redeem him/rescue him. As a nice little addition, her family was even moisture farmers. That sounds familiar to me. The fact that she isn't a Jedi in RO is like saying that Rey isn't Luke in the ST because she's a girl.
•Cassian: The roguish-pilot, the knave-companion, of the story with his own unique ship. Both Cassian & Han are damaged & jaded. Don't fool yourself, Cassian isn't doing this for noble reasons either, he's in this for himself, just like Han claims. Cassian's been hurt in the past and is willing to do anything to hurt the Empire. As he adventures with Jyn, he (re)discovers his humanity. Hence, his desire to follow Jyn on some damn-fool idealistic crusade to redeem his actions, very much like how Han softens to Leia's plight and Luke's choice to act.
•K-2: He is the big, strong, side-kick, like Chewie. He seems big and scary, but would do anything for his friend. In the end, he does. Although Chewbacca never actually sacrificed himself in the OT, I had not doubts that he would, especially for Han.
•Chirrut and Baze: They are absolutely the R2 and 3PO of the story. They are the bickering odd couple; one more stiff and negative (3PO) and the other more plucky and optimistic (R2). The fact that they are humans, or that they can fight is missing the point. No plot armor? Chirrut strolls through a hail of blaster fire to activate the master switch of a control panel, just like some spunky little R2 unit I've seen roll out through blaster blots to activate a control panel.
•Galen/Saw: In thinking, both Galen and Saw might actually combine to be Obi-wan, but I still think Galen is more that character. They are the hidden (fallen?) mentor who Jyn discovers and who reveals the secret knowledge or "training" that she needs to defeat the BBEG. Their deathes drive Jyn to accept the ultimate adventure. However, I think it's Galen's noble sacrifce, or death while being noble, that motivates her more than Saw's somewhat unnecessary resignation to being blow up.

Despite me pointing out how similar the OT/RO characters actually are, we are probably debating somewhat over semantics. Yes, my main point is that Jyn = Luke in her role. Neither she, nor any of the RO charaters, have to be exact character clones to be that character. However, I think they are surprisingly similar. In turn, I think you revert to more "vague" general descriptions of the Rebels characters. Kanan is a different character than Obi-wani. He's a hidden Jedi who is trying to repress that part of his life and isn't looking for a student or to start a rebellion. Kanan doesn't even use his lightsaber at first, preferring a blaster. He's already part of rag-tag group of misfits who are trying to upset Imperial operations on a specific planet. Ezra is basically Disney's Star Wars Aladdin. He's pretty much just surviving and trying to stick it to the Empire by stealing things here and there to resell on the black market. His parents were anti-Imperial radio broadcasters. He's not looking to join anything either b/c there isn't exactly a Rebellion when the show begins.

Regardless, I do agree that the characters from Rebels closely parallel characters from the OT. The re-skinning of them is softer. As we've been discussing it, I actually think it's possibly that they were created as OT character proxies in order to help satisfiy fans. They could take these characters on their own adventures, they would feel very familiar, but the writers wouldn't mess with the histories of the actual canon characters. If that turns you off those characters and that show, then it does. It's sort of a similar issue many of us have with the ST.

 

Good breakdown @Just A Skink . Your analysis is sound.

That was a hard-counter if I've ever seen one. Well played sir.

 

Looks good so far, pity Disney+ will have the monopoly on it...

 

Looks good and like it might have a slightly higher production level. I hear Vader's breathing at the end. I'm likely one of the few who doesn't want a Kenobi vs. Vader fight in this. I feel that would take away something from their meeting in the original story. Regardless, fingers crossed.