So the REAL leading character of SW is Palpatine?

[Moon Ronin]

If you see Star Wars from Episode I-IX then yeah it's Palpatine's story.

By that logic it's more R2D2's story than anyones.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

By that logic it's more R2D2's story than anyones.

Artoo didn't have a lot to do in TLJ and TROS.

You could have made a case for Artoo for the first 6 films and TFA (since Artoo having Luke's co-ordinates is important to the plot there).

TROS gives Palpatine primary agency. He created Snoke, he corrupted Kylo, subverted the New Republic and is the ancestor of the hero of the ST. This in addition to his role in the PT and OT.

[Anthony W]

YEP!!! This is THEE Disney Star Wars Trilogy and doesn't exist in my canon. I'll stick with my original 6 movies, Rogue One, and The Mandalorian is my Star Wars sequel to the movies.
Plus, all the EU Books and comics that I've collected and read.
And yes, the last movie should have been called The Rise of Palpatine.
They couldn't wait to get rid of Luke and classic characters... then they turn around and use the Skywalker name and legacy for boring, beige Rey. BLECH!!! Please.

But weren't you moved by Rey burying the lightsabers on Tatoonie, the planet Anakin hated because he was a slave there and his mother was killed there by raiders? It was also the planet Luke hated and left as soon as his aunt and uncle were turned into barbecue by troopers. It was also the planet where Leia was held against her will by Jabba The Hutt.

What a wonderful place to bury those lightsabers

That should tip you off that Palpatine is sitting in the back of Rey's mind and influencing her. That was his way of spiking the football after scoring the winning touchdown. It's only a matter of time before he gets full control...

[Beaddle]

I can see this argument that he is the main character now. our chosen one Anakin could basically not defeat him.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

The issue is before you could argue the story was mostly about Vader. The Prequels dealt with his indoctrination as a Jedi and eventually his fall to the Sith and the OT was about him coming to a reckoning with his old master and finally confronting his son who would ultimately redeem him.

The issue is the sequel trilogy had nothing to do with Vader so the main arc of the series was completely gone. Palpatine in the OT was really just the face of the Empire and source of true evil that presented the devil like figure of temptation for the protagonist and antagonist. The story wasn't about the Emperor so much as saving Vader. The PT you kinda needed to explain the Emperor's rise because that was important to changing the landscape to what the OT was, so they did give him real development there. But again, the big plot points were about Vader.

The sequel trilogy throws it of because it adds this whole seperate conflict that has nothing to do with the character whose arc dominated the series before and is more about the Emperor pulling the strings for a comeback and everything centers around his defeat.

So now it can be viewed through the lens of.

PT: Rise of the Emperor
OT: Fall of the Emperor
ST: Revenge of the Emperor.

Though I think we should all just agree that the ST was really an unplanned cash grab and the reason the name "Skywalker Saga" was even coined was just a cheap way to make it feel important in the context of what came before and that they could just as easily make new films in the storyline.

Also it is kind of comical that now the whole "saga" is about this old politician who manipulates everyone and makes a hero turn bad, then falls because he couldn't do it to the son, then concocts this revenge plan where he turns the third generation of the family, has him systematically be the reason all the original heroes are dead, undermines all their contributions, then has his granddaughter usurp both their accomplishments and family name as a final middle finger.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

By that logic it's more R2D2's story than anyones.

R2 is a side character who doesn't move the plot. The PT is largely induced by the actions of the Emperor. Because of retcons the Sequel trilogy is completely orchestrated by the actions of the Emperor. The OT trilogy is all about the heroes taking down the Emperor Empire. Two of the trilogys end in his defeat while the first ends in his victory

[motherofpearl1]

They never should have killed off Ben Solo. He was the most interesting character in the trilogy.

[Anthony W]

So JJ Abrams has steered both Star Wars and Star Trek (and he isn't even a fan of Trek!) into a ditch. I guess the only thing left for JJ to do is go for the trifecta and do Superman.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

PT: Rise of the Emperor
OT: Fall of the Emperor
ST: Revenge of the Emperor.

I mean in terms of story what does that communicate? The Emperor won at the end of PT, lost at the end of OT, and in ST, he did a comeback tour that did one big concert only to crash and burn...

Which is actually a neat metaphor for Star Wars as a whole.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

So JJ Abrams has steered both Star Wars and Star Trek (and he isn't even a fan of Trek!) into a ditch. I guess the only thing left for JJ to do is go for the trifecta and do Superman.

A ditch would be an upgrade for Superman. He's currently in the pits. Someday, he might hit pavement.

[motherofpearl1]

The bad guy won. He said he wanted to see the end of the Skywalkers. And he did.
I never thought Star Wars would end on such a depressing note.

[Sacred Knight]

He didn't win. He wanted to rule the galaxy forever. Getting rid of the Skywalkers (which might have happened biologically but not symbolically), was a bonus. And he didn't get to rule the galaxy forever. He lost. Not liking the movie is one thing but you really have to twist the narrative to make it out that Sidious won anything.

[ChrisIII]

There's a chance also that Rey could train new Jedi and re-create the order. There's technically two other force-sensitives that we know of (Finn and the Canto Bight kid) plus there's the slight tease of Jannah and even Poe.

Maybe the 75-year old baby Yoda too.

It'd be kind of an irony that his granddaughter rebuilt the order he destroyed.

[Moon Ronin]

Maybe the 75-year old baby Yoda too.

Baby Yoda is the new Sith... he force chokes like a pro.

[Anthony W]

The bad guy won. He said he wanted to see the end of the Skywalkers. And he did.
I never thought Star Wars would end on such a depressing note.

Then his granddaughter commits identity theft and buries the lightsabers on Tatoonie!

A planet...

Anakin and his mother were both slaves on.

Anakin's mother was killed.

Luke couldn't wait to leave but not before seeing his aunt and uncle turned into barbecue by the Empire.

Han Solo spent time as a wall decoration on.

Leia was held hostage by Jabba on.

Talk about spiking the ball after the touchdown....

There's a chance also that Rey could train new Jedi and re-create the order. There's technically two other force-sensitives that we know of (Finn and the Canto Bight kid) plus there's the slight tease of Jannah and even Poe.

Maybe the 75-year old baby Yoda too.

It'd be kind of an irony that his granddaughter rebuilt the order he destroyed.

I doubt the team working on The Mandalorian or Disney want their prize property touching this wreck with a ten foot pole. This entire trilogy is probably going to send Disney running even further into the past.

Besides,do you really want to see Rey "I do everything right the first time and never lose" Palpatine try to train someone? She will end up with the exact same fate handed out to Luke in The Last Jedi, the only difference is she will deserve it.