Andor excluded of course, it’s so 70s right down to formally being the grimy thrillers Star Wars '77 would be analyzed as cultural antidote to. The writing is timeless, the mullets and moustaches, even the Niamos beachwear feel so in line with ANH’s time period. And don’t forget the junky analog tech! Machines are big and unwieldy; Dedra has to do what’s basically an archive search by asking an attendant to collect those files from giant tube computers. There are illegible glass interfaces of lines ala Yavin and Hoth, tons of tactile knobs and switches and buttons, etc. Modified AK-47s as the symbolic weapon of revolution circa the 70s is loaded imagery, just like the modified StGs and Mausers in the OT evoke WWII. I was hyped as hell when Cassian was sentenced to prison by a 70s credit card machine.
And it makes it thematic. Nemik has a whole right-to-repair bit about technology being lost or forgotten; one of the many ways Empire imposes its will is through centralized uniform technology, moving populace away from the different lines of communication and information they maybe once had access to. Seperatist projects like tactical droids with databases in their head, Techno Union touch screens, or Umbaran bubble fighters fall by the wayside in distinctly important ways. It’s great!
Andor is really something else. Yeah, it really captured that Star Wars 1977 vibe. That Imperial double-agent that Luthen meets in some grimy basement on Coruscant is like the quintessential 1970s Imperial bureaucrat. I imagine he says things like “data tapes” a lot. Also, the ISB headquarters reminded me of the sterile, all-white computer terminal room on the Nostromo in Alien, where Ripley discovers she’s getting screwed over by a soulless mega-corporation.
As for The Acolyte: I don’t know much about the High Republic, but from what little I’ve read, it’s supposed to depict an age of prosperity and exploration, where the status-quo institutions are praised as bastions of democracy and peaceful space exploration. It sounds like something spiritually more akin to classic Star Trek than Star Wars. I would think this should entail a completely unique aesthetic: something more grandiose, ceremonial and ornate, but also incorporating some sleek, sci-fi Star Trek-inspired visuals. I’m thinking diverse crews of humans/aliens wearing colorful robes/uniforms while commanding sleek, curvy and shiny Mon Calamari-esque star ships.
But… unfortunately the trailer looks like the same-old Filoni-vomit similar to Kenobi or Mandalorian Season 3. I’ll give this show a chance because at least it’s superficially trying to be something different. I mean, I never expected Andor to be so incredible, so you never know.
Despite its detractors, the Canto Bight casino felt much more like a part of the SW universe than any other attempt Disney has made at replicating the OT look.
There, I said it.
I agree, and I hate The Last Jedi. I also like how all the aliens at Canto Bight were original designs - instead of the usual four or so Star Wars alien species from Mos Eisley that we see copy-pasted all over the galaxy.