Does the Star Wars Disney Era Have a Continuity Lock-Out Problem?

[Winter]

Oh Boy, does it ever, or at least the films do and so does the shows and games.

The MCU is MASSIVE, easily the biggest Superhero movie franchise of all time BUT,as I talked about in the other post, the stories are easy to follow so long as you're just following one series or one character... Not So with Star Wars right now.

Part of the problem here is Disney and Lucas Film giving into Star Wars' own popularity and how popular the original Extended Universe was, that Star Wars products were often at the #1 selling list of any media or merchandise and while that's still true, that is mostly a hobby for fans who buy this stuff because it enriches the experience. And it's not like this is anything new to Disney which is VERY well known for its merchandising with a lot of Supplementary Material that also serves mainly to enrich the story these tie-ins or merchandise are being made for.

But for whatever reason, it was decided that EVERY entry in the Disney Era would be not only tied to the films but would also be, as Bert Gummer would say, Critical, NEED TO KNOW, INFORMATION!!!

Going back to my MCU post, if you are just watching the series for Steve Rogers you DON'T need to see ANYTHING outside his movies to get what's happening in each film as everything is explained in the films themselves. What are the Infinity Stones, we get a scene explaining that in the first minutes of Infinity War. Who are the Avengers, other Superheroes that Steve is friends with. Why is Bucky okay again, the people at Wakanda helped him over come his brainwashing.

Contrast this with JUST The Force Awakens. Who's the First Order, read these tying in novels. Why isn't Leia working as a Senator again, read her tie-in novel. Who are the Knights or Ren, read these tie-in novels and comics. Was Coruscant Destroyed, no that's a different planet. Why isn't Coruscant the capital of the Republic anymore, read these tie-in novels, comics and play Star Wars: Battlefront. Who's Snoke, read this tie-in novel. Why did Luke hide, watch Episode 8. Why did he leave a map that leads to him, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ?

This is ONE film and there are already a ton of questions that we want answered but instead of taking 2 seconds to explain itself. And before anyone jumps in to go "Well in A New Hope very little was explained" save your breath, you're wrong.

What is the Empire and what are the Rebels, explained in the opening Crawl and Visually shown with their respective space ships in the first scene in the movie. What is the Force, explained by Obi-Wan in his first scene. Why are there plans that could reveal a weakness in a Planet Buster, design flaws happen and the Rebels are looking for one. Why did the Empire make a Super Weapon that could blow up a planet, they want to make a weapon to keep the everyone afraid of them and this is the best weapon for that job. Why can Luke use the Force, Obi-Wan gives him training.

Every question in the film has an answer it's just not beaten over viewers head, you get what you need in the movie itself and we get on with the story.

Even Return of the Jedi does this which I can attest to because it was my first step into Star Wars and I had no problem following the plot as a few bits of dialogue and visual storytelling help explain what is going on here. Even the Prequel Trilogy, which was accused of CLO it honestly took the time to explain itself through the same means as the Original Trilogy.

The Disney Sequel Trilogy assumes you know everything about the series as a whole going in AND that you've read every story leading up to this and every story released AFTER the film. This is perhaps best shown in the Hyperspace tracking trick.

If you are ONLY watching TDST then there is no foreshadowing of tracking someone through Hyperspace and how it works is never explained in the film. It was however foreshadowed in Rogue One... In one scene... in a blink and you miss it bit of dialogue... on a base that was blown up... during one of the most intense battles in Star Wars History... And how this information never came up for 35 years and how Finn knew about it is never explained in ANY story as far as I know.

The Last Jedi was even worse as things like Phasma's survival, why Luke left a map that lead to him, who Snoke was and what the Hell was the third lesson Luke was going to teach Rey are things that are given a lot of buildup and no explanation and some times no payoff.

You want to know what the third lesson was, go watch the deleted scenes... until it was revealed by Rian Johnson that ISN'T the third lesson and I don't think he's ever explained WHAT said lesson was. And this only gets worse once you realize that this scene helps explain how things play out the way they do like why Rey was willing to side with Kylo, why she was angry at Luke and why she disobeyed the ONE order he gave her.

In video games sometimes patches and DLC are released to fix minor or major issues or to give us a mission that was to be included but needed more time to be finished. But for the most part, games are sold as a complete package, you don't need the DLC but it can add to the story.

TDST is like someone sold use a incomplete game and all the DLC is required to understand anything that's happening and you can't even play it with the rest of the game. You wanna play Lair of the Shadow Broker, you have to stop playing Mass Effect 2 and go out and buy the DLC on another system and play it there. That's what TDST feels like. We have a story with several unanswered questions and it's just assumed you know everything going in.

(sigh) It has gotten better recently post TDST. The Mandalorian's first two seasons help explain what's happening in it's own story and while there is some tie-ins to other SW stories you can enjoy the first season as it's own thing. Sure, Din and Grogu are reunited in The Book of Baba Fett but odds are good that most fans of TM watched BF and came in when they heard that Din and Grogu were going to appear in BF.

This avoids CLO because if you're only watching the Disney+ shows for TM then you have everything you need to make this story make sense. And while I may not have liked BF or Obi-Wan they fallowed suit. You don't need to seek out any tie-ins or any supplementary material to understand what's happening in the shows you're watching. But films and TDST more so, fell into CLO so when Rise of Skywalker came out and was built on the idea that everyone had watched, played and read everything before and after the film was released... is it really a surprised it was the most obvious victim of CLO when the other films had already fallen into the same trap?

To close this out, I LOVE the Tomb Raider tie-in comics to the Survivor Timeline and think they're even better then the two sequel games. But if you are just focusing on the games you don't need to read the comics other then to find out what happened to Lara's girlfriend Sam. Other then that, you get a full story that explains itself.

[clearspira]

I think you are being very generous to the MCU to be honest. I wonder what a brand new raw viewer is going to think of this series coming into it on Phase 5. There is like 30 hours of catch-up needed right now.

[stryke]

Man I'll never get over that the announcement of the return of the Emperor was done in Fortnite. Not even dissing Fortnite. I played it a bit, and I was hilariously terrible as my old Quake honed skills did not translate to being able to build worth a damn. It's just such a mad way to setup the third film with.

[Meushell]

But for whatever reason, it was decided that EVERY entry in the Disney Era would be not only tied to the films but would also be, as Bert Gummer would say, Critical, NEED TO KNOW, INFORMATION!!!

…

Contrast this with JUST The Force Awakens. Who's the First Order, read these tying in novels. Why isn't Leia working as a Senator again, read her tie-in novel. Who are the Knights or Ren, read these tie-in novels and comics. Was Coruscant Destroyed, no that's a different planet. Why isn't Coruscant the capital of the Republic anymore, read these tie-in novels, comics and play Star Wars: Battlefront. Who's Snoke, read this tie-in novel. Why did Luke hide, watch Episode 8. Why did he leave a map that leads to him, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ?

Most of which I didn’t asked, so I guess I can’t agree with you. I’ve watched plenty of Star Wars without having to know every related detail. If it’s good, it’s good.

For instance, I watched the the Siege of Mandalore arc without reading the Maul comics. He obviously escaped. I didn’t need the exact details to enjoy the show.

The sequels have flaws, and lack of information is one of them, but we also have to use some common sense. Leia not being a Senator decades later in a corrupt system? Not a problem to me. The question seems to answer itself. Why would I think Coruscant was destroyed, when Hosnian Prime was the one destroyed?

For what I did ask… Why Luke is hiding was supposed to be a mystery. Snoke was more of a red herring than anything else, but he too was supposed to be a mystery.

If you watch/read/play everything Star Wars then all the tie ins might have you thinking you have to know everything. As someone who doesn’t though, I don’t agree.

[Winter]

But for whatever reason, it was decided that EVERY entry in the Disney Era would be not only tied to the films but would also be, as Bert Gummer would say, Critical, NEED TO KNOW, INFORMATION!!!

…

Contrast this with JUST The Force Awakens. Who's the First Order, read these tying in novels. Why isn't Leia working as a Senator again, read her tie-in novel. Who are the Knights or Ren, read these tie-in novels and comics. Was Coruscant Destroyed, no that's a different planet. Why isn't Coruscant the capital of the Republic anymore, read these tie-in novels, comics and play Star Wars: Battlefront. Who's Snoke, read this tie-in novel. Why did Luke hide, watch Episode 8. Why did he leave a map that leads to him, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ?

Most of which I didn’t asked, so I guess I can’t agree with you. I’ve watched plenty of Star Wars without having to know every related detail. If it’s good, it’s good.

For instance, I watched the the Siege of Mandalore arc without reading the Maul comics. He obviously escaped. I didn’t need the exact details to enjoy the show.

The sequels have flaws, and lack of information is one of them, but we also have to use some common sense. Leia not being a Senator decades later in a corrupt system? Not a problem to me. The question seems to answer itself. Why would I think Coruscant was destroyed, when Hosnian Prime was the one destroyed?

For what I did ask… Why Luke is hiding was supposed to be a mystery. Snoke was more of a red herring than anything else, but he too was supposed to be a mystery.

If you watch/read/play everything Star Wars then all the tie ins might have you thinking you have to know everything. As someone who doesn’t though, I don’t agree.

That okay, I'm just saying what I and others felt, I wasn't saying I spoke for all and didn't mean to imply I was. I wonder, what are your thoughts in regards to CLO with TLJ and ROS?

[Meushell]

But for whatever reason, it was decided that EVERY entry in the Disney Era would be not only tied to the films but would also be, as Bert Gummer would say, Critical, NEED TO KNOW, INFORMATION!!!

…

Contrast this with JUST The Force Awakens. Who's the First Order, read these tying in novels. Why isn't Leia working as a Senator again, read her tie-in novel. Who are the Knights or Ren, read these tie-in novels and comics. Was Coruscant Destroyed, no that's a different planet. Why isn't Coruscant the capital of the Republic anymore, read these tie-in novels, comics and play Star Wars: Battlefront. Who's Snoke, read this tie-in novel. Why did Luke hide, watch Episode 8. Why did he leave a map that leads to him, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ?

Most of which I didn’t asked, so I guess I can’t agree with you. I’ve watched plenty of Star Wars without having to know every related detail. If it’s good, it’s good.

For instance, I watched the the Siege of Mandalore arc without reading the Maul comics. He obviously escaped. I didn’t need the exact details to enjoy the show.

The sequels have flaws, and lack of information is one of them, but we also have to use some common sense. Leia not being a Senator decades later in a corrupt system? Not a problem to me. The question seems to answer itself. Why would I think Coruscant was destroyed, when Hosnian Prime was the one destroyed?

For what I did ask… Why Luke is hiding was supposed to be a mystery. Snoke was more of a red herring than anything else, but he too was supposed to be a mystery.

If you watch/read/play everything Star Wars then all the tie ins might have you thinking you have to know everything. As someone who doesn’t though, I don’t agree.

That okay, I'm just saying what I and others felt, I wasn't saying I spoke for all and didn't mean to imply I was. I wonder, what are your thoughts in regards to CLO with TLJ and ROS?

Sorry. I’m don’t know what you mean by CLO?

Anyway, I do get what you are saying. I just don’t think all the details are necessaries. It reminds me of when a movie is made about a book, and the book fans believe it doesn’t make sense because details were left out. Yet the movie watchers are like, “I understood the movie just fine.” I’ve been on both sides of that.

[Winter]

Sorry. I’m don’t know what you mean by CLO?

Anyway, I do get what you are saying. I just don’t think all the details are necessaries. It reminds me of when a movie is made about a book, and the book fans believe it doesn’t make sense because details were left out. Yet the movie watchers are like, “I understood the movie just fine.” I’ve been on both sides of that.

Continuity Lock-Out, CLO and how you feel it is handled in The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker. For me my biggest issues with TLJ when it comes to CLO is the missing third lesson and the return of Phasma, there's to many to list in ROS.

[Meushell]

RoS, yes. It had many problems in that regard.

I didn’t feel like that for TLJ. The missing third lesson was just of odd. I don’t think it detracted from the movie. To many others things did that instead.

There’s so much more Star Wars than these movies though, and I think we can all enjoy as much as we want. People who watch only the live action stuff don’t know the animated references, but on the same time, they don’t know they are missing anything.

Stuff that does have CLO usually has other issues as well. In that case, CLO isn’t the issue. It’s just part of multiple issues.

[hammerofglass]

Is the third lesson missing? I thought she just realized he was worthless as a teacher and bailed early.

[Riedquat]

There can be changes that have obviously happened but don't need to be explained in order for a film to make sense on its own. Then there are some which just leave me thinking WTF? The former aren't a problem, the latter are. For the SW sequels the massive Imperial presence and power (or whatever it's calling itself then) and the lack of any meaningful resistance to it is very much in the latter category. What Leia's been up to in the meantime, less so.