To me, the Disney films have done a great job bringing back the mythic and mystical elements of the OT. It was the prequels that stomped all over that.
But in TFA we have Maz Kanata who is no Jedi, but is more of a force mystic. You’ve got that awesome speech by Han (it’s true… All of it.). You’ve got the Knights of Ren, whatever they are. And Rey goes on a hero’s quest to find Luke.
In Rogue One you’ve got the holy city Jedha. You’ve got monks who worship the Jedi and the force. You’ve got tarkin (I think it was, certainly one of the imperials) mention “Saw Guerrera and his Bendu fanatics”. You’ve got the kyber crystals.
To me, the mythic and mystical aspects of Star Wars to hand in hand. And, quite frankly, under Disney the new films are delivering in spades.
I agree with all of that. With Rogue One I was elated to hear the Whills referenced and see the importance of Kyber Crystals, all of it in a story about a group a strangers.
Similar thoughts in Force Awakens with “it’s true, all of it”, Rey Random (so far), and The Force being a mystical energy field.
In both films I felt a sense of - Finally, something away from the incestuous solar system far far away of Lucas.