Nostalgia saved Star Wars – but The Last Jedi must offer something new…?

Nostalgia can only take you so far. Just ask Bryan Singer, whose efforts to recapture the wonder of the Richard Donner-era Man of Steel in 2006’s Superman Returns faltered on the kryptonite of audience indifference. Likewise, pity the creative team behind 2015’s  Terminator Genisys, who were convinced they only had to get Arnold Schwarzenegger back as the robo-toned T-800 in order to restore the long-running sci-fi saga to its 80s and 90s zenith.

All of the above failed to connect with audiences because they didn’t bring fresh ideas to the franchises, to inject new, renewed energy. And yet the current revival of Star Wars, in the wake, has been built almost entirely on an ardent nostalgia for the original trilogy that hit cinemas between 1977 and 1983.

The Dark Side

Fans grumbled that JJ Abrams’ The Force Awakens was hurriedly assembled rehash of themes from the first Star Wars movie, the vast majority of fans were more than willing to accept the odd stolen plot point as a necessary evil provided the saga’s traditional knockabout space-romp roots were renewed and there was absolutely no mention of bumbling Gungans or tedious trade blockades. Likewise, last year’s Rogue One triumphed largely as a fanboy-focused feast. This was cinema for those who loved 1977’s Star Wars.

From a commercial perspective, this approach has been a no-brainer (to the tune of more than $3bn at the global box office for the last two instalments). Why risk seeking out a new creative seam rich enough to keep Star Wars in business for the next decade while there is still precious metal to be found by mining the saga’s roots?

For fans’ greatest fear is that the new instalment offers nothing new at all, that it cleaves tightly to the template of 1980’s Empire Strikes Back – just as its predecessor stuck closely to 1977’s Star Wars. We already know that Ridley’s Rey will spend time with Luke Skywalker on Ahch-To, an encounter that seemingly parallels Luke learning the ways of the Force from Jedi master Yoda on the swampy planet of Dagobah in Irvine Kershner’s brooding sequel. There are hints that the First Order may mount a revenge attack on the Resistance.

Most worryingly of all – fan sites and message boards have been rumouring for months that The Last Jedi will feature a monumental twist on a par with Empire’s revelation that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker.

Driver’s Seat Daisy Ridley as Rey, at the helm of the Millennium Falcon, with Joonas Suotamo as co-pilot Chewbacca.

Master Class Daisy Ridley as Resistance warrior Rey and Mark Hamill as mentor Luke Skywalker, on location in Ireland.

If it really does turn out that Rey is the reincarnation of Vader, or even, as some are suggesting, that the shiny black death cyborg was lying to Luke (dum, dum daaaaah!) all those space decades ago, Johnson might want to try freezing himself in carbonate for a few decades from 15 December – until the resulting backlash has quietened down, quite a bit. So, forwards the new chapters, and that’s hope the ‘fans’ will be cheering instead of crying to a galaxy far, far away…