I still can't get over the fact that Disney is going to be putting out a Star Wars film every year, mostly since it offers endless possibilities for playing around in that universe. What I really want to see are films that deviate from conventional action/adventure tropes and use the Star Wars world as a place to tell new kinds of stories. Here's a a few I would want to see.
The Eyes of Obi-Wan
The greatest failure of the prequels may actually be in their very conception. Making the story about Anakin's turn to the dark side was a huge mistake, in that he is not an easy character to empathize with, and that his turn simply is not enough to drive a three-film series. Going into the prequels, I was much more interested in Obi-Wan's role. As I have written about before, he is an extremely compelling character, someone whose failures haunt him but at the end of his life sees a way to make it good again. For that reason I would love to see a Bergman-esque art film along the lines of Wild Strawberries where the old Obi-Wan is living as a hermit on Tatooine, contemplating his past. Most of the film would be flashbacks, which would be a great way to retell the story of the prequels from a much more interesting perspective.
Binary Souls
I would really love the new Star Wars films to stretch out when it comes to genre. Why not a romantic comedy? In the binary-sun based Tschugarin System a freighter pilot's ship breaks down, and he meets cute with the tough-talking proprietor of a cantina. They fall in love and match wits, but will he stay on the planet, will she fly with him to new worlds, or will they go their separate ways? (I see this as a bit of an intergalactic Before Sunrise.)
Many Bothans Died
I'd also love to see a Star Wars-based spy thriller. This film would tell the story of intrigue and bravery around the Bothan spies who managed to infiltrate the inner sanctum of the Empire's bureaucracy and confiscate the plans to the second Death Star. Intrigue abounds as the Bothans fear a double agent in their midst whose machinations lead to several of them dying.
White Helmet
The odd thing about the Star Wars films are that none of them are war movies, proper. I would like to see an All Quiet on the Western Front-style anti-war film made in the Star Wars universe. This one would follow a squad of storm troopers who become increasingly traumatized and embittered after years of fighting. This would be a no-holds barred picture, portraying things like summary executions of Jawas and the Empire's "take no prisoners" policy in regards to irregular war against the Rebels. It would also serve to humanize the storm troopers a bit, which would change the moral calculus of the original films in interesting ways.
The Clone Wars cartoons gives you lots of what you are looking for in the last movie. So much better than the prequels.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to check it out, guess I should.
DeleteA documentary following the psychological development of the Galaxy's most notorious terrorist, Luke Skywalker. Just what drove this young man to join a group like the Rebel Alliance and eventually take so many innocent lives that day in the Yavin system? Was it his indoctrination into religious fundamentalism by a strange, friendless hermit that was the soul driving force behind his will to do categorical violence? The lack of life opportunities on Tatooine? Or was it something more personal, like his difficult relationship with Uncle Owen and Beru?
ReplyDeleteJames W
That's hilarious. Reminds me that I would love a Christopher Guest mockumentary about those poor imperial officers quivering in fear of a force choking.
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