Cameos in a beloved film franchise like Star Wars are pretty difficult to gauge properly. You want to toss in a few to reward the fans who have stuck around, but at the same time you risk turning your movie into a farce if you have too many. After all, your typical film narrative can only support so many blatantly shoe-horned appearances before it collapses completely under the sheer weight of nostalgia. On the other hand, there are a dozen or so Star Wars characters that we would love to see show up in the impending trilogy. As a collective, Star Wars fans have suffered grievously at the hands of George Lucas. First there was the dire Christmas special, that even Lucas himself was ashamed of. There there was the series of edited releases that featured questionable cuts only serving to further distance us from the movies we loved. The decision to make a film about a trade blockade rather than an exciting space fantasy, all of the dialogue between Anakin and Padme, the entire existence of Jar Jar Binks...the point we're trying to make is that Lucas owes us, big time. The least he could do is try to recreate some of the magic we felt back in the day by bringing some of the most of the most interesting characters from the classic and prequel movies into these new films.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
