Living up to glory

    When I finished writing about Ready Player Two, I kept thinking about sequels. In particular, the whole aspect of living up to the original really was on my mind. In general, it seems like putting out follow ups worthy of the original material is a challenge for the best-told stories. The stronger the original, the harder it is to have a worthy successor. For instance: Jurassic Park is iconic. The second and third? Well, I don't think I've even seen them. Terminator? The first is amazing. Somehow, the second is fantastic as well. And then... disappointment abounds. 

     Interestingly, the same does not necessarily apply to prequels, as shown by Star Wars. The original trilogy transformed the world. It set up new expectations for science fiction, world building, and what can be shown on screen. Then, it actually followed up with prequels, rather than sequels. Episodes I-III don't try to build on the work of Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford. Instead, they attempt to build up the world and explain how the Empire came to power. And conceptually, this plays on a whole different set of literary tools. Since the plot is known, I don't care as much about the story, more-so it is the characters that matter. And although the prequel trilogy is far from perfect, it laid the ground work for what is arguably the greatest example of world-building and character development: The Clone Wars animated series. As a child-oriented show, of course there are a fair number of stupid jokes, etc. But there is a wealth of themes and stories that honestly feel more relatable now as an adult, then they would have been as a kid. In fact, when I was seventeen, I actually regularly discussed the series with a Star Wars obsessed nine year old. And we both loved it. But for different reasons. To him, it was a tale of adventure, with funny gags, and lots of shooting and sword-wielding Jedi. To me, it was a fall from grace, the tale of estrangement from friends and confusion. Anakin's world crumbles as his childish optimism is replaced by the bitterness about an unjust and society's obdurate unwillingness to push for reform.

    The sequel trilogy has no chance to live up to this. Instead, it devolves into a mess of factionalism with conflicting storytelling by directors vying to tell their opinion. Gone is the mystique of Star Wars - the shiny and polished appearance of the Republic Era, the harshness and moral grayness of the Empire years... And it isn't just the fact that Disney took over. In fact, they also filmed a couple prequels, like Rogue One. And guess what? That's one of my all-time favorite pieces of Star Wars media. 

    Fundamentally, I'm forced to believe that the issue lies in the whole concept of sequels. Let great stories live alone. They deserve to rest on their laurels.