In just over a week, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will hit theaters and make serious bank at the box office for Disney. We'll get a standalone story, weaving its way into the epic larger saga and finding its own voice. How did we even get here? I remember George Lucas' prequels, thinking this series may be done for. Well, maybe not completely done for. Star Wars has been popular enough to spawn some pretty decent  episodic cartoons and world expanding novels. Knights Of The Old Republic stands out as well, an excellent RPG game that should be revisited in some sort of theatrical release or series at some point.

All this is to say I'm amazed we'll be getting several more side stories in the years to come. After Disney decided to gobble up the movie industry by purchasing Marvel and the Stars Wars brand, hope indeed was born. Proving themselves masters at providing great film experiences with Marvel, The Force Awakens was a welcomed return for Star Wars. Gone were the painful memories of the prequels. I'll always love Lucas for his efforts. The original trilogy is untouchable and I do have a soft spot for Willow. The graciousness of him to allow others to interpret his creative work is a huge thing. I don't know if most people realize how much courage and sacrifice that must've took. Whatever the case, billions of dollars later it appears to have been the right choice.

There were a few hard core fans who found The Force Awakens lacking in several areas. Beat by beat, it played on a similar plot from the original film and featured yet another catastrophic weapon. You'd think Rogue One's revisit of the death star would piss a large amount of folks off, but it seems to have done the opposite. The trailers depict a gritty take on the Star Wars universe, bucking some of its own optimistic corniness. It also helps that fans may get to see Darth Vader redeem himself from the soap opera villain version we got in the prequels. Even with knowing how things ultimately end with the death star, Rogue One has managed to be nothing new at all and something completely different. Haters can knock the retread of the story or another female lead all they like. I'm all in and can't wait to see what this film has in store!

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