The Star Wars sequel trilogy failed the franchise's original heroes, Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford's Han Solo, and Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa. The sequels have become a point of contention within the fandom, with many fans feeling badly let down by the films. Disney has since begun to redeem the franchise through a number of hit Star Wars television series, such as Andor and The Mandolorian.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy struggled substantially with the challenge of including the franchise's original heroes in a way that did not overshadow the new characters, Rey, Poe Dameron, and Finn. Ultimately, Disney ended up tearing down the legacy of its original characters and leaving Rey and the others to essentially redo the accomplishments from the original trilogy. This approach badly let down the original Star Wars heroes that fans everywhere have spent decades loving.
The State Of The Star Wars Galaxy Means The Original Heroes Failed
Star Wars lets the original heroes down right off the bat by setting up a galaxy that has almost immediately fallen back into the hands of the Sith. By the time the sequels begin, the Star Wars galaxy has already become firmly entrenched in the hands of the First Order. Presumably, the First Order would have required at least a few years to gain so much power and control over the galaxy. That means the First Order must have emerged almost immediately after the events in Return of the Jedi. If that is the case, it seems that Luke, Leia, and Han's accomplishments were essentially meaningless.
The original heroes' accomplishments are even further diminished when Emperor Palpatine is miraculously revealed to be alive in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The entire plot of the original Star Wars trilogy is based on pulling down the Empire and stopping Emperor Palpatine. Luke Skywalker embarks on one of the most famous hero's journeys ever for this purpose, and the payoff for fans is tremendous when he finally accomplishes it (with the help of Han Solo and Leia Organa). Now, however, those accomplishments have been nullified, forcing fans to reevaluate the legacy of their favorite characters.
Luke Skywalker's Last Jedi Fate Subverted The Concept Of Legacy
Luke Skywalker is let down again by his fate in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Instead of solidifying Luke's legacy with a worthy and heroic ending, Disney chose to subvert his legacy and leave Luke to join the Force like his master Obi-Wan Kenobi did. Luke Skywalker does appear as a phantom at the end of The Last Jedi before his death, distracting Kylo Ren and the First Order long enough for the Resistance to escape. However, after that, he chooses to leave life behind and join the Force, despite the desperate battle for freedom being waged in the galaxy.
This version of Luke simply does not mesh with the Luke Skywalker fans know from the original trilogy. Luke is relentless in his pursuit of justice in the galaxy in the original trilogy, and it does not feel like he would ever be willing to sit on the sidelines while the fight is still being fought. Moreover, his death was seemingly his choice, underscoring the fact that he is abandoning the fight he dedicated his life to. Luke Skywalker is changed fundamentally as a character in the sequel trilogy and his accomplishments are nullified entirely. This constitutes a severe failure of his character on Disney's part, and it's little wonder Mark Hamill himself was apparently disappointed.
Leia & Han's Doomed Family Life Was A Depressing Twist
Han and Leia's relationship is one of the most famous movie romances ever, and it seemingly has a happy ending in the original Star Wars trilogy. However, that all changes in the sequels. Han and Leia are estranged in the sequel trilogy, presumably because of their son Ben's transformation into Kylo Ren. Han and Leia's relationship goes from one of the most celebrated romances in Hollywood to a horrible tragedy within the first hour of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This a particularly depressing twist that feels like another failure of the Star Wars franchise's original heroes.
This failure constitutes another deconstruction of the original characters' arcs. Han Solo changes more than almost any other character in the original Star Wars trilogy as he transforms from a self-centered smuggler to a Rebel general fighting for galactic justice. The sequels wasted little time in making Han into a smuggler again and breaking down his relationship with Leia. The doomed nature of Han and Leia's relationship exacerbates the breaking of Han's character arc and essentially sends him back to square one as a character.
Kylo Ren's Death Means The Skywalker Bloodline Is Ended
The death of Adam Driver's Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker marks the end of the Skywalker bloodline. With Kylo dead, the Skywalker legacy ends in far worse shape than it was at the end of the original trilogy. At the end of Return of the Jedi, the Skywalker legacy is at its peak. Luke has saved the galaxy from the Empire and cemented his place as the galaxy's greatest hero. That legacy is broken down by the First Order's emergence and Palpatine's survival and is not repaired by the time Kylo dies and the Skywalker bloodline is ended.
The Skywalker bloodline ending with Kylo is a failure of the original Skywalkers because their legacy is not repaired before Kylo's death. Kylo does turn on the First Order and redeem himself personally, however, the legacy of his parents and his uncle Luke are tarnished beyond repair. Rey takes the name Skywalker at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, however, she is a Palpatine by blood, not a Skywalker.
Rey Has Become The Legacy Of Luke, Leia, & Han
Despite Rey's Palpatine parentage, she becomes the legacy of the original Star Wars characters, Luke, Han, and Leia. While the personal legacies of these characters are tarnished, their collective legacy is carried on through Daisy Ridley's Rey. She develops close relationships with all three of them over the course of the sequel trilogy and manages to accomplish what they thought they had already done in the original trilogy. The legacy of the original characters becomes Rey herself because they all train her in one way or another for her final confrontation with the First Order.
It is the lessons Rey learns from Luke, Han, and Leia that carry her and the Resistance to victory over the First Order. It is disappointing that the original Star Wars heroes lose their original legacies, however, Rey's carrying on of their work at least gives them some sort of lasting Star Wars legacy. The original heroes are not devoid of legacy, because of Rey, but they do lose the far better legacies they built for themselves in the original trilogy, which constitutes a severe failure on the part of Disney and Lucasfilm.