Does Rogue One Make the Star Wars Prequels Better?

Right now, think of the dirtiest word you’re able to possibly think of. Don’t hold back. Got it? If you’re aStar Wars fan, there is a decent possibility the word you came up with was “prequel.” That said, those very same people probably have a tremendous amount of excitement heading into this weekend and the release ofRogue One: A Star Wars Story. Disney and Lucasfilm have been careful not to use the “P” word in relation to the movie, but make no mistake;Rogue oneis a prequel. But that is probably a good thing.

Disney hasn’t tried to act as though the prequels never happend ever since they purchased all of Lucasfilm back in 2012 for more than $4 billion, but they very clearly understand that it is a delicate thing. There is a younger generation ofStar Warsfans that still love those movies, but there is also a great many more who detest them.Rogue One: A Star Wars Storytakes place during the time period between the end ofStar Wars: Revenge of the Sithand before the events ofStar Wars: A New Hope, making it a prequel. Dirty, dirty word. But, because of where it takes place, it is sort of going to serve as a way of marrying those two trilogies, which many fans hold very distantly from one another in their minds. This will bring them undeniably closer together than ever before.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Storywill be introducing a ton of new characters to the franchise, but the majority of familiar characters will be coming from the prequels.Jimmy Smitswill be making an appearance as Bail Organa, who had a very big role inGeorge Lucas' prequel trilogy. In addition,Genevieve O’Reillywill finally be getting to play Mon Mothma properly. She was a senator inRevenge of the Sithbut was relegated to silence and barely noticeable. Plus,Saw Gerrera, a character who first appeared in theStar Wars: The Clone Warsanimated series (something from the prequel era) is being played by Forest Whitaker in the movie. So yeah, there is a lot of connective prequel tissue. But most importantly, by far, is Darth Vader. This is really going to be the first time we get to see real-deal Darth Vader in a prequel era movie, and that is incredibly significant.

At the end ofStar Wars: Revenge of the Sith(easily the best of theStar Wars prequels), we got to see Anakin Skywalker put on the Darth Vader costume, but outside of him standing on the bridge of a Star Destroyer overlooking a partially completed Death Star, we didn’t really get to see him be the Darth Vader we all know and love, which was kind of the point. The prequels, for all of their many (seriously, so many) flaws, the whole point was to show how Anakin became the most famous and feared Sith Lord in the galaxy.Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis finally going to show us the meaningful results of that prequel journey. Genuine Darth Vader. That could serve as one hell of a healing potion to cure old wounds. Like spending a relaxing weekend in a Bacta tank, am I right?

So canRogue Onereally make theStar Warsprequels better? The answer is both yes and no. On one hand, no. It can’t actually fix all of the problems that still exist and, barring a full-on remake of the entire trilogy, will always exist.Jar Jar Binksis an unfortunately significant part of theStar Warscanon. All we can do is continue to try and ignore it like that noise your car is making. Just turn up the stereo and pretend it’s fine. On the other hand, yes. This movie can help justify that journey in a lot of ways and perhaps make elements of them look more favorable in hindsight. But there is a more important element toRogue One: A Star Wars Storyand how it pertains to the prequels.

As we discussed, prequel is a dirty word right now forStar Warsfans. Lucasfilm needs to change that notion. They already have other prequel movies planned, like the youngHan Solomovie, as well as consistent rumors about an Obi-Wan prequel movie (or two, or three) starringEwan McGregor. There is a whole lot ofStar Warshistory to explore prior to the events ofStar Wars: A New Hopeand to not be able to explore that time period simply because the “P” word doesn’t sit well withStar Warsfans isn’t right.Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis the first step in making prequel a good word again.