Despite the multitude of issues that are attached to the last installment of the Star Wars series, The Rise of Skywalker, what makes it so bittersweet is that it is part of a series that has meant so much to so many people across generations. That’s probably why the people at Disney knew it would be a good idea to share this 10-minute look at The Skywalker Legacy, a new behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and how it, for better or worse, was the conclusion to a 40-year saga.
The clip opens with a group of fans who have come out to witness some of the filming, and their excitement truly puts a smile on my face. We get some amazing shots of the building of sets, including the Millennium Falcon, while listening to J.J. Abrams’ voice talking about the experience. Despite knowing I don’t like the film, again, it’s nice seeing the cast so excited and joking around. After all, they didn’t write it.
However, the best is just seeing the baby cast of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness, and Peter Mayhew in the Falcon, bouncing around as Ford ad-lips some ridiculous lines. The chemistry between them in that clip is so bombastic and fun that it just makes me sad that it’s gone—not because I think the world needed to expand under its present custodians, who have messed up enough, but because the world of Star Wars matters.
It matters because of way it took so many different ideas and distilled it into easily digestible but poignant material. The failure of the sequels and the prequels is that they felt the need to make things overly complicated or too reverent of the original trilogy.
Still, even without opinions, you can still enjoy the work that was put into this franchise and these films. Plus, there are still plenty of people who actually love The Rise of Skywalker and think it was a strong end to the series that J.J. Abrams set up at the outset of the sequels, so this will definitely make those who are completionists and those who preferred Abrams’ nostalgia touch to the franchise very happy. And why not just have some people be happy?
The documentary will be available as bonus material on The Rise of Skywalker 4K Blu-ray and DVD when they drop on March 31. Considering the coronavirus has people indoors, hopefully they will also consider putting the doc on Disney+ for those of us who don’t want poor warehouse workers to be stuck packing boxes to be shipped for the benefit of one piece of exclusive content.
(via /Film, image: Screenshot/Disney)
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