Star Wars: Is the big screen really best or has episodic TV passed it by?

Star Wars Standalone Movies

Arguably the greatest single scene in Star Wars history comes from a stand-alone movie. You know the one.

Yes. That one.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) did its job to perfection. Bringing new characters -as well as some old favorites- along on a ride that would explain some more of the background of the original Star Wars film.

It accomplished what it set out to do with the perfect amount of drama, tension and fan service, and because of that it still holds high praise from fans and critics.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) on the other hand receives a little more negative feedback.

Speculation as to why Solo is not regarded as highly as Rogue One continues to this day, and I must admit I wonder myself.

Solo is not a bad film. Does it do fan service to the extent of Rogue? No. But what it does do is tell an exciting backstory about Han Solo, not the Rebellion leader, but the scoundrel. It accomplishes its goal of telling a story about Han Solo, just like Rogue One accomplished its goal.

Of course the original intentions of Solo are well known, it was supposed to be the first in a trilogy of films. It is that original intention that ends up causing the biggest caveat of the stand-alone film format: leaving major plot points unresolved.

Much like how a planned trilogy can try to tell too many stories, when a movie that could possibly end up being a one-off is given a cliffhanger ending it can certainly fall flat to fans on rewatches. In Solo’s case, it is not because it is a bad film, but rather because the fans who love it dearly feel as though a major piece of the puzzle is lost.

We tend to linger more on what might have been, rather than what is. That makes stand-alone’s vulnerable.

However, Disney appears to feel as though they are worth the risk as they have two stand-alone films currently in the works in Rogue Squadron and an untitled movie by Taika Waititi.