# Reexamining Star Wars 50 years later **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 19, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810 "2026-01-19T00:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/81 "2026-01-20T01:58:52Z")
One clear difference is that Threepio has initiative. An LLM won’t do anything except in response to a prompt, but Threepio seems to have their own goals and works on their own to achieve them, even if no non-droid is interacting with them. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/82 "2026-01-20T02:10:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One clear difference is that Threepio has initiative. So does that make Otto the Autopilot in _Airplane!_ sentient when he reinflated and flew the plane off at the end? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/83 "2026-01-20T02:14:33Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Looked up the lore on where that Snoke dude/thing came from. Now that’s just nonsense. IMO, the greatest flaw in the sequel trilogy is that Disney clearly had no master plan going in and hired three different directors with three wildly different visions for where they wanted the story to go - then the manufactured chud backlash to The Last Jedi (which is IMO the single best Star Wars movie after the first one) spooked them and they brought Abrams back to make Episode IX “safe”, and the result was an unsatisfying rehash of ROTJ that pleased nobody. Whenever they get around to making another trilogy, they need a single “showrunner” with a coherent plan, like Lucas was for the first two trilogies. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/84 "2026-01-20T02:27:06Z")
Worse, from what I understand, Rian Johnson actually asked what the Big Plan was, and was told that there wasn’t one. So he decided on his own in which direction to go. Whereupon Abrams said “No, not like that!”, and promptly undid everything Johnson had done. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/85 "2026-01-20T02:47:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Whereupon Abrams said “No, not like that!”, and promptly undid everything Johnson had done. Apparently, the script for Treverrow’s Episode IX leaked awhile back. I’m not sure it would have been a great movie, but it sounds a little more interesting than what Abrams came up with. > **[Star Wars: Duel of the Fates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Duel_of_the_Fates)** > > Star Wars: Duel of the Fates (also known as Star Wars: Episode IX – Duel of the Fates) is a 2016 screenplay written by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly. It was intended as the third entry of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the sequel to Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). It takes its title from a musical piece written by John Williams for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). > Trevorrow was announced as the director of Episode IX in 2015. After producing several drafts of a sc... ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/86 "2026-01-20T02:56:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > wildly different visions for where they wanted the story to go I’ve been thinking of _my_ version since _Return Of The Jedi_. Luke and Leia have sex and Leia gets pregnant, and _then_ they find out their siblings. The child becomes The New Hope. > [@Smapti](#): > > manufactured chud backlash I’ve seen ‘chud’ a couple of times recently. The only ‘chud’ I know is C.H.U.D.: Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers (1984 horror film), so I can’t make sense of the new usage. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/87 "2026-01-20T02:58:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve seen ‘chud’ a couple of times recently. The only ‘chud’ I know is C.H.U.D.: Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, so I can’t make sense of the new usage. Terminally online far-right incel weirdos who spend their time complaining that TV shows/movies/video games are “woke” now because black people exist in them or a female character doesn’t have big boobs. Trump voters, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/88 "2026-01-20T03:02:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Terminally online far-right incel weirdos who spend their time complaining that TV shows/movies/video games are “woke” now because black people exist in them or a female character doesn’t have big boobs. And, in the case of the toxic fanboys who railed against _The Last Jedi_ (and the prequels as a whole): - Hatred that the protagonist was a female - Hatred that one of the other primary heroes was a black man - Hatred that a supporting heroic character was a female who wasn’t skinny or hot ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/89 "2026-01-20T03:23:42Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Hatred that a supporting heroic character was a female who wasn’t skinny or hot Who wasn’t traditionally hot, I’d say. She still does it for lots of well-adjusted men and ladies. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/90 "2026-01-20T03:28:04Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > Who wasn’t traditionally hot, I’d say. She still does it for lots of well-adjusted men and ladies. Too young for me to look at in that way. She was just ‘Rey’, and she looked fine as a character. Then my wife said that she had a big butt. Now I can’t un-see it. I guess an actor’s or actress’s looks matter to some people, but to get _mad_ about it doesn’t make sense to me. (Clarification: I’m talking about people who get mad over characters/actors/actresses; not my wife’s comment.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/91 "2026-01-20T03:29:38Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > Who wasn’t traditionally hot, I’d say. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Two young for me to look at in that way. She was just ‘Rey’, and she looked fine as a character. I was actually speaking of Rose (played by Kelly Marie Tran). She was savaged by the toxic fanboys on social media because she was “fat” (as well as because she – the actress – is Asian). ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/92 "2026-01-20T03:31:21Z")
I knew you were talking about Rose, so the comment still stands. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/93 "2026-01-20T03:32:07Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I was actually speaking of Rose (played by Kelly Marie Tran). Ah. Her too. Maybe she wasn’t ‘traditionally attractive’; but she seemed great as a person. Actually, I’m a little uncomfortable talking about actress’s looks. Too close to objectification of woman. But I get your point. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/94 "2026-01-20T03:32:21Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > I knew you were talking about Rose Apologies – I had quoted you to put context on @Johnny_L.A 's post in reply to yours, where he talked about Rey. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/95 "2026-01-20T03:34:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Actually, I’m a little uncomfortable talking about actress’s looks. Too close to objectification of woman. But I get your point. Yeah. The chuds/fanboys clearly only wanted to see female characters whom they could view as sex objects – and absolutely didn’t want to see them as the protagonist, because that’s a male role, in their tiny minds. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/96 "2026-01-20T03:42:17Z")
I think Rey was a perfectly fine protagonist. But I was disappointed that Finn wasn’t a Jedi. It would have been a nice redemption angle, as a former Stormtrooper. ---
**Author:** ![Mavis\_Topholese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@Mavis\_Topholese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavis_Topholese)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/97 "2026-01-20T04:59:28Z")
I was seven when Star Wars came out, and was unimpressed by the advertising, which to me looked like it was selling a movie about people in robes standing around in the desert. My opinion changed about five seconds into the movie, which I loved. One of the things I loved about it was that, far from being a shiny future world, this was a beat-up, shabby, knocked-about universe where the spaceships had dents and scrapes, the robots had bad motivators, and to get anywhere you have to go through the bad part of town. Admittedly I hadn’t seen a lot of science fiction film or TV at that age, but what I had seen looked nothing like this. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/98 "2026-01-20T13:34:37Z")
2:32 running time. Way too long for a casual fan. I can understand how the detail of the backstory might appeal to a true fan, but IMO, a movie ought not need to be watched with a research guide in hand. Far too many times, despite having watched 7 movies already in the last week or 2, someone/something would happen such that we’d say, “Who is that?” “Where did they come from?” Then I’d google and see some long supposed history about the New Order, Snoke, the Praetorian Guard (undoubtedly got spellings/names wrong), and realized there was no way I would know that from the prior 7 movies. So, then it basically gets down to one chase/fight scene after another. I couldn’t believe The Last Jedi kept going after they made it down to the planet. I suppose I could google, but why did the Kylo-Ren guy wear the mask? Just a Vader wannabe? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/99 "2026-01-20T13:55:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Worse, from what I understand, Rian Johnson actually asked what the Big Plan was, and was told that there wasn’t one. So he decided on his own in which direction to go. Whereupon Abrams said “No, not like that!”, and promptly undid everything Johnson had done. Wow, does that describe one hell of a lot of upper management behavior in every industry. The Boss doesn’t know what they want. But once shown something, they sure know what they _don’t_ want. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810/100 "2026-01-20T13:58:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Worse, from what I understand, Rian Johnson actually asked what the Big Plan was, and was told that there wasn’t one. So he decided on his own in which direction to go. Whereupon Abrams said “No, not like that!”, and promptly undid everything Johnson had done. This is correct. It was Disney who screwed things up by not simply hiring Lawrence Kasden to write all three scripts at once. He wrote the first, which I think is terrific, and then they didn’t use him for any story continuation. In fact, they should have gone Lord of the Rings style and film all three in one long filming session. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810.md?page=6)