Star Wars: 10 Things Rogue One Did Best

While the first six Star Wars films all tell specifically different stories, the whole saga follows the same archetype. They’re all large-scale space operas inspired by Akira Kurosawa with the familiar tropes of good vs evil, a fledgling hero, and wise old masters. So for Star Wars’ first spin-off; most of that was parked to the side.

Instead, Rogue One follows different character types on a different journey. There are shades of Han Solo’s journey from smuggler to hero in Jyn and Cassian (although Cassian definitely shot first) but they’re distinct enough not to be piggybacking on his character development. And at the start of the third act, rather than the main characters acting out of pure nobility or to save themselves, we get morally dubious figures deciding to make things right by going on a suicide mission.

But most significantly of all: apart from Chirrut’s untrained connection to the Force, and Darth Vader turning the Rebel flagship into his personal slaughterhouse, the Jedi have no place in this story. This approach has happened a lot in the Legends continuity and in both TV series but it’s the first time that we see it in the movies. And long may it continue.