As I've repeatedly griped elsewhere, compression has been my biggest issue with Star Wars since ROTJ. The stories need room to grow and breathe organically. My idealized re-write (that I started more recently, after the sequel trilogy started, and well after my original re-writes) is shaping up to be on par with the MCU as far as letting the characters and story threads evolve at the pace that actually works for the setting. Each arc has nine episodes. First trilogy establishes this new spatial and temporal setting and develops the central Hero (Obi-Wan, Luke, and Rey, respectively), taking them up to the crisis point. Second trilogy is them learning how to rise to the challenge and resolve the big threat. Third trilogy is reaping the consequences -- good of bad -- and introducing the nascent Hero for the next cycle.
I have a recent re-watch of Babylon 5 to thank for putting that in my head. When Zathras is clarifying things for the principals, when they were confused about him identifying more than one of them as "The One".
Which makes me think about the mythological underpinnings Joe was drawing from -- the Trinity of Christianity, the three Fates, the three Furies, etc. In my initial uncollapsing, I had focused on expanding the Luke films back out to the six Lucas had planned, then the six for Obi-Wan. But I still had issues, and it wasn't until I was reminded of the fractal threes that it clicked. And as much fun as it is to take all the words and moments (including scenes cut for run-time, pacing, etc.) and string them together in a sequence and pacing that makes it all work better... it's also frustrating as hell knowing this is what could so easily have been and wasn't. Because of so many stupid little things.
The MCU has shown us that long-form storytelling in a movie theater is possible today. That it's not a relic of the '40s and '50s that has no place any more. And it would have prevented all the issues I have with the new films skipping over so much needed info for the audience to follow what the [redacted] is going
on!
Plus, Kelly Marie Tran is adorable as Rose, but also a frustrating mix of cute and beautiful IRL.
https://www.celebskart.com/wp-conte...ast-jedi-premiere-in-london-2017-12-12-06.jpg
She's intelligent and fun and funny and aware and I am paying a lot more attention to her now.
--Jonah