One reason fans are angry that J.J. Abrams is returning to director Star Wars 9? Because the rest of the Star Wars team has had to do some huge recon to fix various plot holes the filmmaker left in the wake of The Force Awakens. One way Lucasfilm is doing this is with a series of animated shorts called Star Wars Forces of Destiny. And an upcoming installment plans to explain how and why Rey was so proficient at flying and fixing the Millennium Falcon.
This animated short will also reunite Rey with Han Solo and Chewbacca. As the mighty trio were only ever together in The Force Awakens timeline before Han Solo’s untimely death at the hands of his own son, Kylo Ren, this latest short could very well be considered a ‘deleted scene’ that fixes some of the plot holes fans have questions ever since Star Wars 7 was released in theaters December 2015.
Forces of Destiny was launched by Disney and Lucasfilm this past July, with a very female-specific point-of-view to the two and a half minute stories it was selling, along with a new stylized set of action dolls. The shorts showed up on Youtube, and were instantly popular with fans of all ages and genders. Now, a second run of shorts is gearing up for release before The Last Jedi hits theaters this December. And this time out, some of the guys are getting in on the action.
The new episodes are only a week away, with the first installment to preview first on the Disney Channel starting October 1. There will be some changes, though. A new trailer was dropped then pulled by Disney. But it contained some fresh footage. The most exciting of which showed Rey back with Han Solo and Chewbacca in the Millennium Falcon cockpit. This short will show how Rey grew in her ability to pilot the Falcon in such a short time.
These shorts only depict very small moments in the Star Wars canon. But they are still important none the less. They hint at a few secrets fans have wondered about for a long time. And some have been crucial in understanding the overall context of some important female figures in the Star Wars galaxy.
The first set of Destiny shorts spawned various different branches of the Star Wars continuity, tying into Rebels and Return of the Jedi, while giving Ahsoka and Padme a moment to work together, while Leia and Sabine united on another front. These next episodes are shifting their focus slightly, perhaps to pull in more boy viewers, who remain an important demographic no matter where you slide on the Social Justice Warrior spectrum.
While the first batch of shorts showed how the girls engage in teamwork to make this galaxy work, the next batch will show how some of the females interact with their male co-stars. It should be a very fun watch. Moviepilot alerted everyone to the first trailer for Forces of Destiny Season 2, as it were. And they hint that a Season 3, or rather ‘Phase 3’ is coming in the early part of next year, with new dolls coming as well. Surely Rose Tico will be apart of this sooner than later.
