The Star Wars film franchise remains highly marketable despite some questionable choices like Solo: A Star Wars Story and, of course, the prequel trilogy released from 1999 to 2005. Now that Disney Plus has announced a number of Star Wars projects in the works, it does feel to some extent as though the possibilities for Star Wars films could be endless. The Star Wars films exist in their own universe, and it seems like there are so many ideas, mediums, and genres that could be explored within that universe.
Within the scope of film and television, existing in the Star Wars universe there could be comedy films, western films, romance films, horror films… but these all seem like they might be a little farther off than one genre that already somewhat embodies the franchise: war films. The Star Wars films all have some element of war in them, Rogue One for example being almost entirely a war film already, but what could be interesting is a Star Wars movie in the style of Steven Spielberg’s 1998 war epic, Saving Private Ryan.
Saving Private Ryan is a highly acclaimed film that takes place almost entirely within the Invasion of Normandy during World War II. The film follows army captain, John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and his men as they search for Private Ryan (Matt Damon), who is to be sent home after the deaths of his three brothers. Over the course of the film, the audience learns a bit about each of the men and who they are, but perhaps more importantly, who they were outside of the context of the war.
It would be interesting to have a film in this style within the Star Wars universe because almost everything in the franchise focuses on those who are able to use the force, be it for good or for bad. The audience knows almost nothing about the rebels, they are just an entity of people against the Empire. All that is certain is that there are fewer of them than there are people on the side of the Empire. The audience could learn about these people’s experiences within the scope of the seemingly never-ending war, and how that war has affected the common people in this galaxy far, far away.
In Saving Private Ryan, there is a pivotal scene where Captain Miller is trying to diffuse a situation that has gone entirely out of hand. One member of his team is threatening to kill another, and the man being threatened is egging the other man on into doing it. Throughout the film, the men have been wondering what Miller does for a living back home, each one of them with their own theory. They even have a betting pool for whoever gets the closest. To calm everyone down, Miller reveals what he does. To their surprise, he is a school-teacher. He is just a normal man, with a normal life, who just wants to return home so that he can be with his wife.
This is a thought-provoking scene in Saving Private Ryan, that this skilled army captain is just a teacher at home, but in a Star Wars film, this same sort of scene could offer a lot of insight into what life in the universe is like. What do people do? What is a normal job? What is regular life for all the people who are fighting for the freedom of themselves and others, and what happened to them to get them to join the rebellion? It is not like WWII where men were conscripted, the people who have joined the rebellion in the Star Wars films actively chose to do so.
To be fair, the sequel trilogy does delve into this idea a little bit, explaining how Rey, Finn, and Poe came to join the rebellion and a bit about who they were before they did. But ultimately, the films end up focusing on Kylo Ren and Rey more than anyone else, and their abilities with the force as opposed to the common people in the rebellion like Finn and Poe.
Saving Private Ryan is a great war film, perhaps one of the best ever made, and there are a lot of lessons that any person in a leadership position can learn from Captain Miller. He knows when orders should be given, and he is not afraid to show weakness. He reveals information about himself as he needs to, and only as much as he needs to, he does not complain, he does not lie, and he can admit when he has made a mistake. He doesn’t take the backseat on any of the tasks he tells his men to do, he is always front and center.
A Star Wars film in this same style could perhaps do more to show lessons from and the values of a good team member, as it feels it is so often important for the members of the rebellion to work together in order to get things done. Although, it does seem like the final decisive blow is often done by someone with a strength in the force. Saving Private Ryan ends with a somber scene: Miller dies as he tells Private Ryan to earn the life that he and his men died for. A Star Wars film inspired by it could perhaps end with the common people doing something worthwhile to the rebellion on their own, without the aid of those capable of using the force. Perhaps something in the vein of Rogue One, but maybe some of the people involved could live to see the good that they did.
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