Why 'Star Wars' Should Have Ended With 'Return Of The Jedi'

In 1977, a certain science-fiction movie opened in cinemas around the world, and the movies changed. That movie, as you probably guessed, was George Lucas's Star Wars. Nobody expected too much from Lucas's space opera. Studio executives (with the notable exception of Alan Ladd, Jr.) thought the film was too weird to make a profit. Lucas's fellow directors thought making Star Wars was a misstep; for instance, Brian De Palma walked out of a screening saying that the film was the stupidest thing he'd ever seen. Even Lucas himself doubted that the movie would make a profit. However, with constant support from two close friends (Alan Ladd, Jr. and Steven Spielberg), Lucas eventually finished his space adventure.

In May 1977, Star Wars hit theaters and proved all the naysayers wrong. The movie raked in 290 million dollars at the U.S. box office, becoming (at the time) the highest-grossing movie ever made. The film became a cultural phenomenon, and George Lucas became one of the most powerful filmmakers in Hollywood.

George Lucas on the set of A New Hope.

Lucas used his newfound power well. Staying true to his original vision for Star Wars, Lucas sliced his original story treatment into two more pieces, which became The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Both of these sequels were just as critically acclaimed as the first film, and all was well and good in that galaxy far, far away. That is, things were well and good until 1999, when George Lucas returned with his trilogy of prequels. As with Voldemort, let us not speak their names.

Now, in 2015, we're getting another dose of Star Wars cinema, this time The Force Awakens. However, I feel that this latest installment begs the same question that many were asking in 1999: do we really need another Star Wars movie?

The answer is the same as it was in 1999: NO. We do not. In fact, the more SW flicks we have, the easier it is to forget how strong, how moving, how well-constructed the original trilogy was. In the following paragraphs, I shall explain my controversial view.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the Hero of our little story.

When George Lucas was hammering out the story for the original Star Wars trilogy, he turned to a very classy source for help: Joseph Campbell's seminal The Hero With A Thousand Faces. When setting up the plot structure for the trilogy, Lucas stuck closely to the "Hero's Journey" outline that Campbell detailed in his book, which had been distilled from centuries of world myths. As a result, the trilogy's plot has a timeless, mythic vibe to it, one that proved to be crowd-pleasing.

The original trilogy revolves around Luke Skywalker, the archetypal "Hero" of Star Wars. Over the course of three movies, Luke goes through a painful transformation from immature farm boy to a wise, competent Jedi Knight. The trilogy details Luke's metamorphosis in a very clean-cut way, with each film comprising one act in a classic three-act story.

In Star Wars (Act One), Luke is forced to take action when his aunt and uncle are killed by Emperial stormtroopers. He teams with Obi-Wan Kenobi, his Mentor (another Joseph Campbell archetype), Han Solo, and Chewbacca, and together, they set out to save Princess Leia and blow up the Death Star. In the process, Obi-Wan dies, leaving Luke to fend for himself. Luke also comes to the attention of the Galactic Empire. In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke finds himself a new Mentor (Yoda), but he also encounters some extremely difficult trials, including some painful revelations about his family. These trials easily could have derailed Luke, but he overcomes them well, becoming stronger in the process. In Return Of The Jedi, Luke completes his transformation from boy to Hero by finally coming to terms with his personal demons, including his familial secrets. The Journey is complete.

In fact, the original Star Wars trilogy is a particularly fine example of The Hero's Journey because there are actually several characters who transform alongside Luke. Han Solo goes from being a cocky, self-centered rebel to a cocky, selfless rebel. Luke's dad probably has the most wide-ranging transformation in the movie, from a really nasty jerk to a man who sacrifices a lot to save his son.

The beauty of the original Star Wars trilogy is that it shows us how all of us can also make the transformation from zero to hero. Like many other heroes, Luke Skywalker shows us how all of us can overcome obstacles, becoming better people in the process. The story of Star Wars is the story of Luke Skywalker's maturing process, and when that story ends, Star Wars ends.

That's the way it should be, anyway. But it isn't.

Unfortunately, George Lucas went on to dump three movies of unimportant details on top of his perfect story. Since Lucas had already told the story he had set out to tell, he didn't have enough fuel to fill his prequels. Therefore, he went on to fill the three films with a bunch of backstory we didn't need. Who cares what Anakin Skywalker was like as a kid? Who cares about what happened during the Clone Wars? Who cares how Darth Vader became evil? Those elements don't tie into what SW's story is all about. Fans sensed this, and, as a result, the sequels disappointed just about everyone.

Now here we are, coming up on The Force Awakens. There's a lot of hopefulness revolving around this movie, and that's understandable. J.J. Abrams is at the helm, fresh from reviving Star Trek, another iconic sci-fi franchise. SW has a new home at Disney, and a new home means fresh ideas. Most of the original trilogy's cast is returning, as is Lawrence Kasdan, one of the original trilogy's screenwriters. Many fans are confident that The Force Awakens will bring Star Wars back to its former glory.

I'm not as confident as those optimistic fans. Sure, a lot of fresh, exciting elements are being brought into The Force Awakens, as well as a nice dash of nostalgia. However, Episode VII is facing the same story problems as the prequels did. Will the new film be able to add something significant and interesting to the original trilogy's story, or will we just get more fluff that has no bearing on the original story?

Only seeing the movie will tell. I will say that Episode VII has a lot more freedom to do cool stuff than the prequels did, and that I'm excited to see what Luke has been doing. However, until I do see the movie, I'm sticking with my thesis: Star Wars should have ended with Return of the Jedi!