5 Things We Want to See in the New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy

3. Lightsaber duels

If there is one thing that the prequels did right, it was lightsaber duels. Lightsabers are one of the defining elements of the Star Wars universe, and one of the items that made the series so memorable. Show a kid Star Wars, and it’s all but guaranteed that his/her eyes will light up upon seeing a lightsaber. Who wouldn’t want a sword so powerful that it could cut through just about anything? Yeah, let’s ignore the fact that most likely it’d be cutting through one of your legs or arms after you attempted a sweet little move, but it’s nice to dream right?

Lucas was smart enough to take the lightsaber duels to the next level in the prequels. The duels in the original trilogy were only saved by the novelty of the lightsaber itself. In the prequels we are in a time where the Jedi are at their prime, and they are trained to use these weapons with extreme precision. My hopes were extremely high in the opening scene of The Phantom Menace when Qui-Gon Jinn uses his lightsaber to melt a door. Finally, someone was thinking about the true destruction capabilities of these weapons. Sadly, that optimism was short lived after the appearance of Jar Jar. (Note: Even upon typing that name, it looks stupid.)  The rest of the prequels featured some pretty incredible action sequences involving lightsabers, that made up for a lot of the other problems within in the series. They’ve been nitpicked to death on the internet, but as entertainment pieces they are top notch.

Are they going to fix it? A good story and great action pieces are not exclusive, no matter what Michael Bay tells you.  J.J. Abrams already found a great balance between the two in Star Trek, what is to say he can’t do it again? Lightsbers really sell themselves, add in a good fight choreographer, and you have a winning scene. What’s needed this time around is a sense of danger, a sense of what the people wielding the blades are fighting for. As awesome as the final Anakin vs. Obi-Wan battle was in Revenge of the Sith, we never were given a good enough reason why Anakin would turn on his best friend. The fight felt like the act of a petulant child, which took away some of the beauty of the special effects and fight choreography associated with it.

Lightsabers make for great merchandise, you better believe that Disney is going to find a way to feature them prominently in Star Wars for years to come. After all, what is Star Wars without lightsabers? That would be like an Adam Sandler film without an incredibly juvenile script.

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