That’s an entirely valid way to look at it and one I’ll probably circle back to at one point. I completely see how ESB and ROTJ add to the world of SW, but it’s not worth it to me.
Right now, I’m just so burned out on franchise filmmaking that I relish in the idea of standalones. Leaving on a high note > overstaying your welcome. Some people see ROTJ or ROTS as that high note, I see Star Wars as that high note in this moment. One excellent movie and that’s it. ESB isn’t a Highlander II or Jurassic Park II: The Lost World, but it’s decisions led to far worse things to come for the franchise.
In recent times I’ve come to feel the same way about films, I really don’t like these drawn out series. That’s why I’m not the biggest fan of TV show formats. And while they are still franchise movies, I’m excited by the prospect of these new standalone Star Wars films. That way I can take them or leave them when there’s one I don’t like, and it’s not dependent on other films. For example, I wasn’t that big a fan of Rogue One, but absolutely LOVE Solo!
For the Original Trilogy, I view it more as a standalone film that happened to get two sequels. I think I already said it on this thread, but each of the films feel so distinct, you can tell they weren’t all planned together and all three seek to accomplish different things.
Now, I grew up with the prequels, but I find myself hardly ever watching them because they, way more that the OT, demand to be followed upon. I’m not sure the best way to put it, so I hope that makes sense. Its one reason I think I love the Indiana Jones movies so much. All four are all pretty self contained, and are their own story with shared characters, not trying to tell an elaborate overarching epic. I wish more film series were like this.
Agreed. A lot of film franchises bite off way more than they can chew these days. Would be nice to see a return to more self-contained storytelling all around.