In the trailer to the latest Star Wars TV offering, “The Acolyte”, we are treated to the sight of a load of Jedi, in their flowing robes and multi-coloured lightsabres, or “laser-swords” as Lucas would call them, leaping around in slickly choregraphed motions, while also barking about prophecy and fate, or some such shit, and all I could think was that we’ve seen all of this before. Sure, there will be a different twist on it, but visually, it’s so played out.
Most of the reason why the Prequels feel like such a drag is that the entire narrative is bent towards the Jedi credo; being a bunch of boring fucking hippies who sit around in a dark room talking about things, and essentially doing nothing. Even when they do leap into action, it’s a cold, over-choregraphed sword fight that hold little to no interest. Same with the Obi-Wan show, which felt more like a fan film that had somehow ended up on Disney+.
Even their very look, which I am still sure is an admin error, as the costume of a Jedi seems to be solely based on Obi-Wan in A New Hope, when he is in hiding; attempting to blend in on a planet full of moisture farmers, is boring. Space-monks, wandering about mumbling about caution and bad vibes, while the closest they get to combat is opening a door with a pointed finger. These lads should be the Space S.A.S., storming in when some bad galactic slag needs a good shoeing. Instead they toddle into situations and reach for the herbal tea.
A show that everyone loved was Andor, and the reason why is that there were no Jedi, (See also Rogue One), and it felt like it had fallen out of A New Hope, with the 70s-centric production design, and amazing central performances allied with incredible writing. This is what Star Wars could, and should, be; a big knife cutting the stayed and familiar wide open, showing the viewer what lies inside and not just treading over the same things. In the case of Andor it was the rancid state of the all-conquering Empire, and how the Rebellion was forming within like an incubating egg. There was not one scene of a hippy sat in the corner meditating about problems. There was, however, a thrilling heist, a genuinely heart-wrenching prison sequence, and one of the best ending monologues in TV for many a year.
Obviously The Acolyte may be amazing, and break new ground all over, but with each new clip and image, it feels like the same old same old.
I can see and agree with your points. I've not seen any of the newish spin-offs as I am too tight to buy Disney+, but I totally agree that the Jedi vibe seems to be straight from the Alec Guinness playbook.