On Star Wars

You are reading words written by an official graduate of the Jedi Academy. Well, it was an off-shoot of the Jedi Academy. I'll never know why the Jedi Council chose the Walmart in Aiken as a location. Even to an eight-year-old, the Aiken Walmart seemed like an odd choice. I'd prefer to travel to Coruscant than have Jedi come here from a galaxy far, far away. Now that I'm an adult (fully-grown Jedi), I wonder why Hollywood has not explored the world of the Old Republic. This is the time long before the Anakin & Luke Skywalker story. The Old Republic includes the origin of the Jedi, the origin of the Sith, thousands of years of conflict, it explains where Boba Fett comes from & why Jar-Jar was the worst.

So, in this essay, I will give four reasons why there needs to be Star Wars movies about the Old Republic. For those of you wondering, my arguments presented here come after years of reading Star Wars fan fiction, playing Star Wars video games, & an unhealthy amount of Wookieepedia one summer.

First, people love origin stories. People in ancient Mesopotamia told origin myths. Marvel walked us through the lives of Tony Stark & Steve Rogers long before they became Iron Man & Captain America. How cool would it be to learn about the first Jedi? As a matter of fact, did you know that the first Sith were a race of people and not just bad Jedi? Movies from the Old Republic would tell the story of the Jedi, the Sith, & the Republic for the very first time. I don't know about you, but I would love to watch a movie about the first Jedi to build a lightsaber.

Second, the Dark Jedi were way cooler back then. This is not a slight against Darth Vader! But Sith in the Old Republic weren't just an evil duo. There were hundreds & thousands of Sith at certain points in their history. Sure, Darth Sidious sneakily took out (almost) all the Jedi in Episode III, but Darth Revan & Malak launched an entire civil war against the Jedi & Republic. It wasn't until Darth Bane came along that the "Rule of Two" was put into place, and only because the Sith were so evil that they couldn't survive with more than two in existence. That's pretty hardcore. And it would make a killer movie.

Third, the Star Wars story begins to speak for itself. In writing a song or a story, you discover that you are not simply trying to say something about yourself. You discover that you are trying to listen to the thing you are creating. Your work is to bring it into existence so others may also hear its voice. When George Lucas created the world of Star Wars, he was opening up an entire new universe. He influenced its shape, but the story was always bigger than just Lucas. It's bigger than just J.J. Abrams. The Old Republic chapter of the Star Wars story will give voice to the fans who saw the world George Lucas brought into creation. What better way to speak that story than on the big screen?

Finally, people will appreciate Episodes I-VII more. George Lucas dropped us straight into the action of Episode IV. It took all of three seconds for people to start shooting. But context is king. Rogue One forever changed the way a new generation sees episode IV because it sets up the opening scene of the series! How much more so would the history of the galaxy leading up to Episodes I-VII? Only then can you appreciate the ebb & flow of Light & Dark. Episodes I-VII are just another chapter in a bigger story. Let's hear the Star Wars story's origin in the Old Republic.

-HGM