Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Needs To Leave Out Its Best Hero
Ever since Patty Jenkins announced she’s back working on the Rogue Squadron film again, I’ve been so excited I can barely type (hey, you try it while wearing your custom pilot helmet and leather gloves). There are plenty of ways to make this movie stand out from the rest of the franchise, but making a successful standalone film means breaking a rather sacred rule. For this Star Wars film to work, it needs to leave out Luke Skywalker, the most famous face of a galaxy far, far away.
Luke Skywalker Was In This Group
For context, let’s back up a bit. Why would a Star Wars movie featuring Rogue Squadron have to fret over including Luke Skywalker in the first place?
Simple: this hero of the Rebellion led the squadron in its one and only onscreen appearance.
Empire Strikes Back
In The Empire Strikes Back, otherwise known as the best Star Wars film (I won’t be taking questions on this), Luke Skywalker is the Commander of Rogue Squadron during the Imperial attack on Hoth.
His Snowspeeder is taken out of commission early on, leaving the would-be Jedi to take out an AT-AT with his lightsaber.
After that, he goes off to find Yoda, and by the time we see the remnants of this squad onscreen again for the assault on the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi, Commander Wedge Antilles had temporarily renamed it the squad Red Squadron.
Rogue Squadron After The Rise of Skywalker
If Patty Jenkins sets her Rogue Squadron movie after The Rise of Skywalker (which has been long rumored), then the movie will automatically be free of any cranky, green milk-chugging Jedi Masters.
However, I have been the loudest voice in arguing that this new film should instead be set in the earliest days of the New Republic. If such a Star Wars film is set in this era, many audiences might think it would make sense for it to feature Rogue Squadron Commander Luke Skywalker.
Luke Skywalker Has Moved On
However, that’s not exactly true. At this point in the Star Wars timeline, Luke Skywalker is concentrating on training the next generation of Jedi Knights.
In fact, that’s the main reason why Wedge Antilles is commanding the squad in Michael A. Stackpole’s excellent (albeit no longer canonical) Rogue Squadron novels.
Fans Don’t Want Luke Skywalker
If I’m being honest, that’s only part of the reason this Star Wars fan doesn’t want to see any Luke Skywalker in the Rogue Squadron movie.
The main reason is that Disney seems firmly set against recasting Mark Hamill’s iconic character, which is why we got that CGI deepfake monstrosity in The Mandalorian.
The truth is that nothing will take me and countless other fans out of the film quicker than seeing this soulless CG abomination on the big screen.
No CGI For This Character?
If Disney can get over themselves and actually recast this beloved Star Wars character, then it would be perfectly fine for him to appear in or even headline a Rogue Squadron movie.
As long as Luke is like his daddy and “more machine now than man,” though, it’s best to see as little of him as possible.
Thanks to Disney’s abuse of this technology, Star Wars fans should only have one response to CGI versions of their fave characters: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
