It's been eight years since the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and I'm happy to say that after streaming it with my Disney+ subscription, it still holds up. It remains the gold standard that upcoming Star Wars movies should aspire to, and yet it feels like creatives still aren't working with one of the elements that make this movie so great.
I feel like Star Wars has thrived at giving us more thrilling Vader scenes, even though that scene almost didn't happen, but has failed when it comes to other Force-sensitive characters. For me, it was the most obvious direction for the franchise to lean in with this new era, and yet I still want more years after the fact.
Rogue One Gave Us Something Interesting With The Guardians Of The Whills
I'll concede that when it comes to job professions in the Star Wars universe, very few will be as cool as being a Jedi. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story did that for me when they introduced the Guardians of the Whills, also known as the Guardians of the Kyber Temple. If there's anything that could feasibly outrank Jedi in terms of coolness, it's kung-fu monks that trust in the Force and use lightbows.
Donnie Yen's Chirrut Imwe and Jiang Wen's Baze Malbus are, in my opinion, the most fascinating characters in this adventure. Yen deserves some credit for suggesting that Chirrut be blind, which showed how powerful The Force can be in a fundamental way. And while Wen's Malbus had resigned from his duties and was more of a monk mercenary, the small amount of lore we had from these two led me to believe there was much more story for Star Wars to tell.
And yet, despite Donnie Yen's willingness to return, we've only seen continued adventures with The Guardians of the Whills in the more recent High Republic novels Path Of Deceit and Path Of Vengeance. To me, it seems like a huge missed opportunity that Lucasfilm is not looking into establishing a new type of Force user that is not as equally interesting, or at least just as cool, as the Jedi Order.
Successive Star Wars Projects Have Avoided Tackling Force-Sensitive Groups, Minus One
I feel like I'm picking the worst time to make this argument given that one recent project tried to give us a version of what I want. The Acolyte was canceled after one season, and it was a series that focused as heavily on a coven of Force-sensitive witches as it did the Jedi Order. Not that the cancellation mattered too much anyway, as Season 1 resulted in the Coven being slaughtered and both surviving twins embracing the Jedi Order and Sith paths.
This is a recurring issue throughout Star Wars media I've looked at over the years, as it seems like non-Jedi Force sensitives are occasionally used for story fodder. In the end, though, it always returns to the Jedi. The one exception we've seen is the series more readily embracing bounty hunters, as we saw with the multitude of Boba Fett tales in media and the success of The Mandalorian. They aren't Force-sensitive, however, which feels like the key sticking point that leads me to wonder if it's no coincidence they thrive while others falter.
I've long believed that the Jedi Order are a flawed organization, despite being billed as the overall heroes. I think The Acolyte approached that idea in Season 1, but again, we lost the ability to develop it further. Is the reason Star Wars is so afraid to give another group the spotlight because it's afraid the audience will turn on the one thing that has helped the franchise survive for so long?
I'm A Star Wars Fan Interested In Force Users That Aren't Jedi. Am I The Only One?
I'm a firm believer in the idea that change is the only constant. We've been hearing the story of the Jedi repeatedly since the Star Wars franchise started in 1977. Elements have changed, sure, and we either embrace midichlorians or pretend they don't exist. I'm not saying we need to stop learning more about the Jedi. What I am saying is that there's a massive galaxy out there, and surely there has to be room in the galaxy to explore other ways clans and factions have utilized The Force.
Granted, this is a problem that Star Wars has suffered from for quite a while. For having such a vast universe, it's wild that almost every character who becomes relevant in the story is connected to someone else of note. It also has a bad habit of introducing characters who seem badass, killing them off with little fanfare, and then writing prequel stories about their badass exploits. To use Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as an example, we're all thrilled for Andor Season 2, but we know where his story is headed.
It seems to me as though Andor proves there's an appetite for Star Wars stories that don't involve the Jedi. I would further back that up by the apathy toward The Acolyte, even if it did include the very cool Force witches we'll probably never see again. I hope that we'll see an acknowledgment from the franchise when it comes to that in upcoming projects, and I have a feeling that's the case.
While Star Wars: Skeleton Crew was quick to tease a big Jedi twist, it quickly subverted expectations in suggesting that Jude Law's Jod Na Nawood may not be all that heroic. We have the aforementioned next season of Andor is on the way, and The Mandalorian and Grogu movie is happening as well. There are also plenty of other projects on the way, like the untitled Rey movie and James Mangold's movie about the origin of the Jedi Order. if you're still down for more Jedi adventures. But it does feel like there is some balance coming, even if we haven't seen it as of late. Now, give me a kung fu Force-user series, and I'll officially shut up and be thrilled.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is available to stream right now on Disney+. As someone who always feels like winter is the perfect time to stream the franchise, I think it's a great idea to revisit the movie for those who haven't in a while.
