Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Originally published April 5, 2020

With the recent release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on Blu-Ray, I think it’s only fair to reflect on the most recent entries into the main Star Wars canon. With many highs and many lows, the Star Wars sequel trilogy will go down as one of the most strangely handled multi-billion-dollar media products in recent history.

Initially, the plan was for three different directors to helm each of the movies in the trilogy: J.J. Abrams for The Force Awakens, Rian Johnson for The Last Jedi, and Colin Trevorrow for The Rise of Skywalker. However, a few factors seemed to have thrown some fairly big wrenches into this scheme. One was Johnson’s extremely divisive handling of The Last Jedi that alienated many fans; a reaction that Disney probably didn’t fully expect, and simply wasn’t prepared for. Another big wrench was Trevorrow as a director. His 2017 film, The Book of Henry, was panned by critics and bombed at the box office. I can only imagine Disney didn’t feel as secure having him conclude one of their biggest franchises after this, and especially after the fan fiasco The Last Jedi had created. This led to them bringing back J.J. Abrams to conclude the trilogy, a director who’s more known for beginning things than finishing them (looking at you, Lost). Disney needed to nail The Rise of Skywalker while also bringing back all the fans The Last Jedi had left in the dust, and in doing so, made one hell of a mess of a movie.

A problem that was immediately apparent upon watching The Rise of Skywalker was that the pace was at such a breakneck speed, there was barely anytime for anything. Whether it be development of story or characters, or the constant MacGuffin hunts the characters go on, something would happen, and then we were suddenly at the next scene with little to no reflection on or any kind of logic explaining what had happened. The film continued like this for nearly the entire two-and-a-half-hour runtime. As an audience member, The Rise of Skywalker seemed to just happen to me rather than having me experience it.

Spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 1 & 2 and The Skywalker Saga Films (Episodes I- IX) ahead.

Since the beginning, Star Wars has been known for churning out peak machismo characters that incite vengeful fanboys to hurriedly defend them and disparage the slightest sign of anyone different — AKA Rey or Rose. Kylo and Anakin are spoiled, alt-right children with anger issues and god complexes, Han is a cocky misogynist, and Emperor Palpatine is a manipulative, power-hungry politician who just won’t die so others can gain power (very similar to U.S. politics today). These characters’ growth (excluding Palpatine, who just gets more bitter) are too brief in screen-time and fans who defend said characters seldom take that change into account. Instead, they romanticize the toxicity the characters possessed for most of the films.

However, Lucasfilms has been ushering in a new era of Star Wars content that has not disappointed (unlike The Rise of Skywalker) and, with it, has come new feats in diverse representation for the franchise and the entertainment industry in general. From casting primarily “older” (which in Hollywood means over 30) women as central characters to a person of color (the incomparable Pedro Pascal) leading the show, fans are getting to see how truly diverse the Star Wars universe is and can continue to be. Specifically though, what has caught my attention is how different our male protagonist is from previous ones. The Mandolorian has a more nuanced and commentative take on masculinity that refrains from praising the toxic traits associated with the social category, while also showing a more positive and transformative representation of masculine characters.

The Mandalorian, aka Din Djarin, takes on some typically masculine characteristics that aren’t necessarily toxic but definitely limiting in defining manhood — distant, cold, morally ambiguous, stubborn, and rather indifferent to the people he may hurt through his actions. He’s a bounty hunter and a complete loner after his society was eradicated by genocide, so those overly protective and isolating traits do fit his storyline in his effort to live his life undisturbed. However, once Mando meets The Child (“Baby Yoda”, as the internet has dubbed him), he begins to reconsider the apathetic lifestyle he’s been living and is thrust into the world of parental responsibility and attachment. When tasked to retrieve The Child for money in the first episode, The Mandalorian is confronted with the choice between good or evil. He starts to question his morality when forced to decide whether to give up a Jedi child (which are the ancient enemies of Mandalorians) to be exploited and most likely killed. Instead, the anti-hero reconsiders this notion and decides instead to protect The Child at all costs from someone who wants to turn him into a superweapon — even when it means putting his own life on the line. Over the 8 episode arch of the first season, Mando forms a paternal bond with the charismatic little alien. He becomes much more sensitive, caring, and self-sacrificing in trying to keep his newfound son safe, but also manages to be a complex character who still retains his masculinity and goes on seedy adventures.