A while back, there was a movie that no one could have predicted would be so consequential. Not only was it a hit with audiences and critics, but it managed to launch an entire cinematic universe, along with a dedicated fandom. Years later, the stories that started with this single movie are still being told, and they are still making huge waves in theaters all over. That movie was 2008's Iron Man... But it was also 1977's Star Wars. While both titles have endured long after their release in one way or another, only one has managed to avoid any major cinematic blunders.
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has certainly had some misfires, they're nothing compared to the lowest lows of the Star Wars franchise. From revamping the original trilogy with CGI that sticks out like a sore thumb, to the poorly received but minorly rehabilitated prequels, to the ultimately disappointing sequel trilogy, it's safe to say that Star Wars has had a tumultuous journey into the present. However, if the franchise wanted to improve in one major way, it could take one important lesson from its Disney cousins at the MCU: everything that happens, no matter how far back or how big of a misstep, is canon. Period.
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Obviously, the most egregious example of this was The Rise Of Skywalker. The third film in the sequel trilogy was little more than a major course correction to undo everything that had been established in The Last Jedi, which itself was, in a way, trying to undo a lot of what J.J. Abrams was obviously planning to set up in The Force Awakens. Rey's heritage flipped back and forth from being a significant mystery, to being totally unimportant, to her being the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. Finn went from being one of the rising stars of the story to serving everyone else's plotlines instead.
The fault lies in the fact that these new Star Wars movies did not start out with one overarching plan to give the project some actual direction. J.J. Abrams made his movie the way he wanted to, and Rian Johnson was left to pick up from there and tie up any hanging plot threads. When Johnson made the movie he wanted to, Colin Trevorrow was brought in to clean things up. However, even his script (titled Duel of the Fates) was rejected, and eventually, Abrams returned to steer everything back to his original vision.
It has been said so many times that it hardly bears repeating, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe always had one unifying arc at its center. Although the individual movies were free to tell their own stories, they were all in service of a larger vision. Critics may argue that this keeps any of the entries in the MCU from being truly subversive, but it's hard to argue with all of the success of both the stories and various characters. What this approach has cemented throughout the movies is that whatever happens in a Marvel movie is part of the MCU canon.
This approach has even managed to retroactively make some movies better than they were when they were first released. The most obvious example is probably Avengers: Age of Ultron. Upon its release, the movie was not as well-received as its predecessor, and most of the criticism was aimed at the table-setting that the movie seemed to do instead of focusing on its own story. However, once titles like Infinity War and even WandaVision dropped, they lent much more significance to moments from the second Avengers movie. Another example is how Endgame managed to revisit Thor's relationship with his mother before her death in The Dark World. Everything matters, and the movies are stronger for it.
That's not to say that the MCU has been perfect at what it does. There have definitely been some issues with Marvel continuity that rival even those of the still-under-construction DCEU. It's hard to forget that all of the Marvel Netflix series have essentially been wiped from ever having existed in the MCU. As it stands, shows like Luke Cage and Daredevil exist in their own little pocket universe, one where the events of The Avengers took place but were mostly inconsequential to everyday life in Harlem and Hell's Kitchen.
Still, it's hard to ignore the fact that the Star Wars sequel trilogy did its best to just deliver what the fans wanted at the cost of telling one coherent story. However, these movies go even further in erasing history. Right from the very first trailer for The Force Awakens, it was clear that these movies were completely ignoring any canon established in the prequels. In their defense, they were taking place after the original trilogy, so it made more sense to focus on those movies, but to just wipe an entire chunk of Star Wars history out of existence seems not just ill-conceived, but also kind of mean-spirited. The prequels aren't perfect, but they are part of the story. They matter.
Going forward, any future Star Wars movies, whether they be new trilogies or standalone titles, should take a page out of the Marvel playbook. The sequel trilogy may be just as imperfect as the prequels, but they are part of the canon now. Their stories are just as legitimate as anything else that has happened in the Star Wars universe. A great filmmaker could easily salvage the pieces of Star Wars history and tell a great story that acknowledges all of the adventures throughout the galaxy far, far away. With all that being said, even if George Lucas changed it later on, Han shooting first must be canon.
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