That’s why I say the sequel trilogy was pointless. In the end, none of the characters mattered. Other than Kylo and possibly Rey, in 10 years people will have forgotten the sequel characters.

And that’s the real tragedy.

That’s something that’s easy to lose sight of. I think we sometimes forget, because we’re often in a kind of fan culture “bubble,” but the casual audience of Star Wars is generally of a very different mindset.

Most casual viewers likely enjoyed the sequel trilogy, but that doesn’t say anything about a movie’s long-term staying power in the public consciousness. This may sound harsh, but the truth is, audiences will always remember Han Solo and Princess Leia and R2-D2. They’ll even remember smaller aspects of the OT like Jabba the Hutt and the Ewoks and Jawas. They’ll remember Hoth and Tatooine. Most of those people won’t remember D-0 or DJ or Maz Kanata or Ajjan Kloss. Hell, I know some people who couldn’t even distinguish Finn and Poe from each other by the time TRoS came out. Likely the only sequel character who will really stick out in public memory a long time from now will be Kylo Ren.

Of course, this definitely isn’t something exclusive to the sequels. A lot of prequel fans tend to overestimate how much the public remembers of those movies. When I mention the prequels to people, the most common recollection they have of the prequels is Jar Jar and Anakin being whiny. That’s the sort of thing that sticks out in most people’s minds years after.

I even know people who saw Rogue One and loved it, but they almost certainly wouldn’t be able to name any of the characters by now.