Entertainment

The best Star Wars movie is finally on Disney+

No, we're not talking about the Holiday Special.

Lucasfilm

When Disney+ first launched, there were some pretty big holes in the streaming service’s library. That was mostly because of a deal between Disney and Netflix that was still winding down, and over the past few weeks, various Marvel and Disney movies have made the leap to Disney+. Now, one of the best (and debated) Star Wars movies is finally on Disney’s platform with the rest of the Skywalker saga — minus, The Rise of Skywalker, of course.

Star Wars fans woke up on December 27 to watch the Season 1 finale of The Mandalorian only to discover that The Last Jedi is finally on Disney+. Directed by Rian Johnson and released in 2017, Episode VIIIgrossed $1.333 billion worldwide and put Laura Dern in Star Wars. So, overall, a success.

At the same time, The Last Jedi launched a wave of online criticism that seemingly influenced The Rise of Skywalker. Despite a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 91%, the movie has just a 43% audience score. Most of that criticism seemed like a response to Last Jedi’s emphasis on diversity and its subversion of classic Star Wars tropes.

In other words, a bunch of angry “fans” wanted the old Star Wars back, and in Rise of Skywalker, they kind of got their way. The new movie from J.J. Abrams sidelines Rose, retcons Rey’s origins, and inexplicably brings back Palpatine (I love Ian McDiarmid as much as the next Sith Apprentice, but this is ridiculous).

There’s still plenty to love about Rise of Skywalker (Lando rules, the lightsaber scene on the Death Star is epic, and Ian McDiarmid is king), but if you’re desperate to go back to a time when Rey’s parents really were “nobody” then The Last Jedi is the movie for you. And now, it’s ready and streaming on Disney+.

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