Star Wars Movies: The Original Trilogy vs Sequel Trilogy Over 40 years ago, on May 25, 1977, the world was introduced to a saga of films that impacted society unlike anything previously seen. The Star Wars franchise awakened a sense of wonder and delight in the possibility that awaited in that vast galaxy far, far away. As a result of George Lucas’ brilliant, original story, modern society was impacted on an international scale. The original trilogy of Star Wars movies were unparalleled in their originality and intoxicating effect on popular culture in the late 1900’s. In 2012, Disney purchased the rights to Lucasfilm and Star Wars for $4 billion, and with that, the world was promised a new trilogy of movies to add to the Skywalker saga.…show more content… As the statistics will show, it certainly was a box office-smashing approach. Proceeding its release, Episode XII: The Force Awakens made $220 million domestically, making it the fourth highest grossing movie of all time. Disney took the nostalgic story of a seemingly insignificant character living a life alone in the barren desert, but through lucky circumstances this character finds the opportunity to step into a larger story and make a place for themself in the galaxy. Both Rey, of the sequel trilogy and Luke Skywalker, of the originals exemplify the story of rising from nothing. Another element that contributes to the nostalgia of episodes 4, 5, and 6 is the iconic musical score conducted by John Williams. His work in crafting theme songs like the “Imperial March” and the “Star Wars, Main Theme” is enough to make plenty of fans eager to experience another Star Wars movie complete with the accompaniment of its classic music. Bringing back original cast members to the story also helped fans maintain their hope that Star Wars wouldn’t stray too far from what they remember making Star Wars great. Both the original and sequel trilogies included favorite characters like Luke Skywalker, Leia, and Han Solo. Using these nostalgic elements successfully reintroduced Star Wars to a rising…show more content… Episode VIII takes bits and pieces from the past movies to put the Star Wars saga on a path it has never been down. Clear parallels can be drawn between Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order and Emperor Palpatine and the Galactic Empire. In Return of the Jedi, we witness Darth Vader’s return from the dark side when he defeats the Emperor by throwing him over a precarious ledge and down to its unknown depths. In The Last Jedi, an intriguingly similar scene plays out when Snoke offers the young protagonist Rey, to his apprentice Kylo Ren. Snoke wants Kylo Ren to kill Rey and prove his devotion. But in a sudden and unexpected unfolding of events, Kylo turns on his evil master and defeats him with a deceptive trick of the Force. Although similar in outcome, the scenes’ emotional differences contribute to the plots differently. Being the finale of the trilogy, in Return of the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine’s death was resolute and wrapped up the original trilogy cleanly. In The Last Jedi, a middle installment, Snoke is killed and the future of the First Order appears unclear. The sequel trilogy does an incredible job of taking nostalgic feelings and rewriting them into fresh, interesting new stories to expound upon the established
