Geeks logo

“When Gone am I, Pass on What you have Learned.”: Star Wars as a Reboot

Were the Latest 'Star Wars' Films Really 'New', or Were They Reboots?

By Millie Hardy-SimsPublished 3 years ago 16 min read
1

“The Star Wars trilogy was a defining influence in the lives of the audience” (Brooker, 2002, 2), but which Star Wars trilogy was a defining influence depends entirely on the receiver. Were the Star Wars trilogies of 1999-2005 and 2015-2019 in fact reboots and not simply a continuation of the same base story being told in the 1977-1983 ‘original trilogy’?

“If we were to establish a definition of our own we would say that ‘reboot’ means to restart an entertainment universe that has already been previously established, and begin with a new story line and/or timeline” (Willits, 2009). Although elements of the canon universe within the narrative remains the same and all nine films are set ‘a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away’ (Star Wars, 1977); the characters, locations and storylines fluctuate and change with each film. There are many arguments for and against the six films that fall into the period 1999-2005 and 2015-2019 being a continuation and there are arguments for and against them being a fresh reboot. Some of these arguments will be explored below.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), or simply Star Wars as it was known upon release, was culturally significant and impactful in many ways. The impact has spanned forty-two years and includes technological advances, milestones in the production of cinema, the launch of the careers of its starring cast and not least the impact on the Hollywood blockbuster movie industry, placing Star Wars as “a new kind of movie, a catalyst for nationwide social phenomena” (Cook, 2002, 60). Star Wars received international critical-acclaim as a new brand of science-fiction, tying together narrative and visual effects in a way that had not often been seen by American cinema audiences outside of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The film was received so well by audiences that creator George Lucas decided to expand the film into a trilogy, “introducing a wider story arc that could be told in sequels, evolving Star Wars (1977) from a stand alone film to the first episode of the sagas trilogy” (Rinzler, 2007, 23). As a result two more ‘episodes’ were released: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983). Each sequel generated a stable level of revenue and audience enjoyment and interest, however “throughout the 1980s George Lucas remarked that he had no desire to return to Star Wars post Return of the Jedi (1980) and officially cancelled his sequel trilogy” (Kaminski, 2008, 50).

In order to understand Star Wars as a reboot we will explore the work of academic scholar Verevis, who argues that “viewers who fail to recognise, or know little about, an original text may understand a new version through its reinscruotion of general elements, taking the genre as a whole as the films intertextual base” (Verevis, 2006, 146). When Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) was released it was not necessary to have watched the original trilogy of the 1970s and 1980s. For one, the Star Wars films are labelled with an episode number and The Phantom Menace is installment number one as the films were made out of order. Therefore new audience members were invited to watch and enjoy the reboot films of the 1990s just as much as they would the original trilogy.

The arguments for Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Episode VII: The Force Awakens as reboots of the original films can be split into four main points. The first of these arguments is the industrial advances made in the time period, followed by the internationality and transnationality of the franchise; the progression of audience between the different periods; and finally the evolution of feminist movements both outside the world of and inside the industry of cinema. It was announced in the mid-1990s that George Lucas would be rebooting the Star Wars franchise, after he “saw that there was still a large audience for his idea” (Kaminski, 2008, 51). Lucas began to draw up ideas for a reboot and he decided as “he had personally created a great amount of background” (ibid) that he would make the reboot a trilogy of prequels.

As Star Wars as a franchise placed a great deal of focus on the dichotomy of good and evil then the reboot would feature a series of new heroes and, importantly, new villains. Darth Vader had proved to be an exceptional villain in the original trilogy, displaying a good deal of depth in character that had rarely been seen in such a society of black-and-white villainy, and so the new villains of Darth Maul, Palpatine and General Grevious would need to exceed this. Cinema at the expense of villains in the 1990s was expanding into anti-hero territory with the likes of shade-of-grey villains appearing in Batman and Robin (1997) or the animated Disney films.

Although the prequels would only feature a few characters who had also featured in the original trilogy, such as audience favourites Obi-Wan Kenobi or the droids C-3PO and R2D2, these would be secondary characters used as a bridge between the films but most of the narrative would introduce a brand new concept. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) would focus on the Jedi Order at full strength in its battle with the senate and against the growing dark side of the force. The powers displayed by the Jedi and the Sith in the narrative of the original trilogy were amongst the technological advances made by the films in the 1970s and 1980s and saw the development of the sub-companies of Lucasfilm known as Industrial Light and Magic, focusing on the visual effects, and Skywalker Sound, which focused on the audio effects of the Star Wars films as well as many others. “Some franchises are chosen specifically for and as reboots because of the technological powers of digital film” (Verevis, 2006, 36). Since 1983 and the release of Return of the Jedi, technology had far advanced in the cinematic industry meaning more opportunities were present for the reboot. “With the development of special effects generated with computer-generated imagery, CGI, Lucas saw an opportunity to return to his saga” (Kaminski, 2008, 51).

Principal shooting for Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) took place at Leavesden studios in the United Kingdom in 1997, outlining that along with technological advances there had also been advances in transnationality in response to the global phenomenon of the original trilogy that had been bubbling along steadily for a generation. Although some scenes in the original trilogy were filmed in Elstree Studios, a great deal more was filmed of the rebooted trilogy. This was also present in the choice of casting for the main cast of Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) with a mixture of American and British actors, unlike the almost entirely American main cast of the original trilogy. This choice of casting fit the United Kingdom’s remit for distribution. Transnationality introduced a larger audience and therefore a larger budget, and “the larger budget and possibilities opened up both for and by the use of advancing digital effects made Lucas think about a much grander, more epic scale” (Shay, 1999, 15).

Not only did Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) display and promote the advancing digital effects in the cinematic business it also developed and perfected the technology. “The work was so extensive that three visual effects supervisors divided the workload among themselves, splitting up the on-set production and the podrace and space battle sequences as one; the underwater sequences and the ground battle as two; and miniature effects, character animation and (arguably most importantly) lightsaber effects because three” (Bouzereau & Duncan, 1999, 46). Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) appeared in the record books as the first fully digital film to be screened to an audience in a cinema. “The film saw breakthrough in computer generated effects. About 1,950 of the shots in The Phantom Menace have visual effects. The scene in which toxic gas is released on the Jedi is the only sequence with no digital alteration” (Corliss & Booth, 1999, 3). Due in part to these preluding boasts, when Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released in cinemas worldwide in 1999 it was expected to be just as good if not better than the original trilogy due to the advancing technology.

The audience members who had been able to experience the original films at the point of release expected to be just as thrilled by the release of the newer, more promising films and were excited to share such an experience with their offspring as, after all, a generation had passed between each trilogy. Many audience members were disappointed, however, “because they had grown older and expected the impossible. They expected a film that thrilled them the same way A New Hope (1977) did when they were seven years old. This group, who saw the first film in the cinema as kids and are now in their early to mid-thirties, now found themselves wanting. This is what internet fan debates identify as the ‘eyes of the child’ gambit: the defense offered for Lucas is that The Phantom Menace, like all the other Star Wars films, was intended for children and that critics need to give up their cynicism to enjoy its simple pleasures” (Brooker, 2002, 83). Despite the accolades or the criticism that Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) received from audience members and from the industry, the reboot continued into two more films, Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). As far as George Lucas was concerned, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) was to be the end of the Star Wars franchise.

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) was announced as another Star Wars reboot in 2013 following Disney’s Lucasfilm buyout, an industry business decison that would not only bring a new Star Wars reboot to a whole new generation but would see it advance in storyline, audience, universe and legacy. “On December 21 2012 Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, a privately held entertainment company. This aqcuisition will allow Disney to utilise Lucasfilm’s content across our multiple platforms, businesses and markets, which we believe will generate grownth as well as significant long-term value. The transaction had a value of $4.1 billion” (The Walt Disney Company, 2013, 77). More than The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) proved to be a reboot of the series. Another generational gap had passed between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) and the newly announced film and not only technological advances but real-world political advances had taken effect and would therefore influence the new trilogy announced by Disney. The Force Awakens (2015) offered the promise of “a property reworked to offer up vehicles for top-line stars, or to open up and exploit new markets, or to revive and create cross-media franchises” (Verevis, 2006, 38), firmly placing it in reboot status.

Arguments against the new reboot sat in the Star Wars fans worry of Disney using the franchise as a vehicle for money making, however “whilst corporations such as Disney are motivated fundementally by profit” (Wasko, 2001, 71) “they must be seen as a part of a general critique of corporate and consumer culture” (ibid, 225). The family-orientated audience attached to Disney as a company meant that Star Wars would be accessible for all generations, including those who had been around for the release of the original trilogies and now could share it with their own children and grandchildren, but also new audiences of varying ages who could approach The Force Awakens (2015) as a new text with very little prior experience of the canon universe. “You go to a Disney movie to feel good. There’s always a feeling that’s great - love, compassion, hope, belief in the future. The whole idea of falling in love. Ultimately it’s what we all want, it’s what we’re all looking for - a life full of love and fun and excitement and hope” (Stein, 2011, 3).

One very important assumption of audience attached to Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) is that of the female gaze. In previous films of the franchise female characters had been few and far between, with the focus being on Princess Leia in the original trilogy and Padme Amadala in the 1990s reboot. Although these female characters had strengths in their own way and Princess Leia especially can be read as a feminist icon of the time period within the second wave of feminism, the introduction of Rey, the main character in The Force Awakens (2015), as a strong, independent young woman from the very first trailer gave young girls the world over a role model to be proud of and to aspire to. Feminist movements of the 2010s, mostly the third wave of feminism, meant Disney could give Rey the freedom to teach young girls that women do not have to be the ‘damsel in distress’ but in fact can be the saviour, an attribute often assigned to the handsome prince of the story. Princess Leia as a figurehead for Princess Leia feminism and the second wave of feminism was problematic; although she was indeed strong-willed and able to speak her mind she was still highly sexualised as a character, not least in the depiction of her gold bikini in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983). Although this could be read as a political feminist statement in Leia’s freedom to speak her mind, “most feminist readings of Star Wars were negative. Leia exists mainly to invest Luke and Han Solo, the male leads, and other male characters with ultimate approval and to mark them as true heroes” (De Bruin-Mole, 2017, 227), as is proved by her most memorable line: “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope!” (Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977).

This negative feminist reading can be similarly applied to Padme Amadala in The Phantom Menace (1999) and its subsequent sequels. Padme is portrayed as a love interest for Anakin Skywalker, going as far to marry him and carry his babies and thus cementing the view of a woman’s place is in the home, or else is “a disturbingly symbolic representation of domestic abuse. Despite the many ‘feminist ideals’ these characters embody they remain relatively unchallenging, heteronormative representations” (ibid). The introduction, then, of Rey in the reboot film The Force Awakens (2015) gave Disney an opportunity to fix the mistakes of Lucasfilm and the previous films. One of Rey’s first lines when conversing with a male lead directly juxtaposes Leia’s plea to Obi-Wan Kenobi as Rey exclaims, “stop holding my hand!” when the character of Finn consistently tries to take control. “In popular discussions Star Wars’ feminism was reframed as a progression from Leia to Rey, who takes up the mantle of Jedi hero that previously belonged exclusively to the male protagonists. This progression was also calculated by the amount of screen time given to female characters in the reboot as a whole,” (De Bruin-Mole, 2017, 228) including the new characters of Rose, Maz Kanata and Captain Phasma. The latter of these is portrayed by Gwendoline Christie, an actress best known for her portrayal of the feminist icon Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones (2011) and for her own feminist activism. The choice by Disney to cast Christie proved popular with adults who were familiar with her portrayals as well as children who had both Rey as a heroine and Phasma as a villain to aspire to. The “engagement with feminist discourse” (ibid, 240) displayed in The Force Awakens“has constantly shifted, shaped by the radical changes that both the transmedia franchise and the political movement have undergone” (ibid).

In conclusion, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) is a reboot of the original franchise more than a sequel as it features new characters, each one responding to the political climate outside of the cinematic universe and the introduction of the third wave of feminism. It has been produced by a new studio with a new director, a new crew and a new audience.

Generations the world over have their favourite Star Wars film: those who saw Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) will claim that to be their favourite, those who were taken by their excited parents to see Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) will see the positive attritbutes of that film more than perhaps the generation before them, and those who waited excitedly with older siblings, parents or even grandparents to see Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) in the cinema will identify with Rey as a feminist icon and recognise reflections of current political climates within the narrative. Each rebooted installment boasts new technological advances, a change in casting, various locations and new planets, equipment and spaceships whilst still remaining firmly encompassed within Star Wars as a franchise.

Titling Star Wars Episodes I and VII as reboots may seem potentially problematic as they could easily be seen as a simple continuation of the original trilogy, however the arguments outlined in this essay have argued as to why they are much more than that. “Hollywood is a textbook example of monopoly capitalism and remains a collection of businesses seeking power and profit. The rebot cycle of franchise films illustrates a struggle for hegemony taking place within the cultural sphere, an unequal dialogue between spectator and industry; unequal because Hollywood have awesomely more resources at their disposal to shape the agenda and the aesthetic output” (Proctor, 2012, 2). In this regard, Star Wars is a prime example of the industry rebooting franchises to continue a legacy for generation after generation.

Reference List

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Directed by Stanley Kubrick. USA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Batman and Robin (1997) Directed by Joel Schumacher. USA: Warner Bros.

Bouzereau, L., & Duncan, J. (1999) The Making of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Random House: USA.

Brooker, W. (2002) Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc: USA.

Cook, D. (2002) Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam (1970-1979). University of California Press: USA.

Corliss. R., & Booth, C. (1999) Time: Ready, Set, Glow. USA.

De Bruin-Molé, M. (2017) Star Wars and a History of Transmedia Storytelling. Amsterdam University Press: The Netherlands.

Game of Thrones. (2011) Home Box Office: USA, 21 April 2011.

Kaminski, M. (2008) The Secret History of Star Wars: The Art of Storytelling and the Making of a Modern Epic. Legacy Books: Canada.

Proctor, W. (2012) Regeneration and Rebirth: Anatomy of the Franchise Reboot. Scope: An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies: Issue 22.

Rinzler, J.W. (2007) The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behnd the Original Film. Del Rey: USA.

Shay, D. (1999) Cinefex: Return of the Jedi. USA.

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Directed by George Lucas. USA: Lucasfilm.

Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Directed by George Lucas. USA: Lucasfilm.

Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Directed by George Lucas. USA: Lucasfilm.

Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. (1977) Directed by George Lucas. USA: Lucasfilm.

Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Directed by George Lucas. USA: Lucasfilm.

Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Directed by George Lucas. USA: Lucasfilm.

Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Directed by Jeffrey Jacob Abrams. USA: Disney.

Stein, A (2011). Why We Love Disney: The Power of the Disney Brand. Peter Lang: New York, USA.

The Walt Disney Company Annual Report (2013) Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Financial Report and Shareholder Letter (PDF). Available from: www.annualreports.com/Company/walt-disney-co. [accessed 27 November 2019]

Verevis, C. (2006) Film Remakes. Edinburgh University Press Ltd: Scotland.

Wasko, J. (2001) Understanding Disney. Blackwell Publishers Inc: USA.

Willits, T. (2009) To Reboot or not to Reboot: What is the Solution? USA. Available from: http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue344/reboot1.html. [accessed 02.12.2019]

review
1

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.