Somehow, the hatred for the Star Wars sequel trilogy is overblown, if Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Rotten Tomatoes score is anything to go by. Undoubtedly, the Star Wars sequels are some of the most divisive movies of all time. When it comes to most people’s ranking of the Star Wars movies, I’d wager that the sequels will be somewhere in the bottom half for most. In fact, the division over the sequels was so strong that the now highly ranked Star Wars TV shows were created in the cinematic hiatus that spawned out of the heated fan debate those movies caused.
While upcoming Star Wars movies will look to reinstate the franchise as a big-screen behemoth once more, the controversy of the sequel trilogy remains at large. For instance, Rey Skywalker’s New Jedi Order movie is caught in the middle of those who enjoyed Daisy Ridley’s character in the sequels and those who view the character, as well as Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, as disrespectful to George Lucas’ legacy. What makes this discussion all the more interesting, however, is the reveal that, just maybe, the Star Wars sequel hate is overblown.
Rise Of Skywalker’s Audience Score Is Better Than The Prequels
Despite Years Of Prequel Revisionism
This reveal comes in the form of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Rotten Tomatoes score. Before exploring that, though, it is worth mentioning the revisionism that has taken place regarding Lucas’ prequel trilogy since the sequels were released. The outright hatred and vitriol Lucas suffered after the prequels was damaging enough to see Star Wars’ creator sell the franchise to Disney, yet times have changed. Sequel hatred has now caused many to look back on the prequels much more fondly in recent years, insisting the latter are leagues above the former. When looking at Rotten Tomatoes, though, this may not be true.
|
Star Wars Movie |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|---|---|
|
The Empire Strikes Back |
97% |
|
A New Hope |
96% |
|
Return of the Jedi |
94% |
|
Rogue One |
87% |
|
The Rise of Skywalker |
86% |
|
The Force Awakens |
84% |
|
Revenge of the Sith |
66% |
|
Solo |
63% |
|
The Phantom Menace |
59% |
|
Attack of the Clones |
56% |
|
The Last Jedi |
41% |
As highlighted by the table above, which showcases the audience rating for the saga, not one of the Star Wars prequels ranks above Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The Rise of Skywalker has a very respectable 86% approval rating from audiences, meaning 86% of those who reviewed the movie did so positively. Conversely, Lucas’ prequels, which the internet would indicate are deemed superior to the sequels, hold audience approval ratings of 59%, 56%, and 66% respectively, based on Star Wars’ release order. Evidently, it seems the hatred for The Rise of Skywalker may be amplified beyond reality.
Rise Of Skywalker’s Audience Score Is Still Higher Than The Force Awakens
Yet, The Online Division Would Convince One That Episode VII Is The Most Beloved Sequel
To make matters even more shocking, The Rise of Skywalker’s audience approval score even outdoes that of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Force Awakens was somewhat divisive upon release in 2015, but most agreed it was a solid start to the Star Wars sequel trilogy. This has remained the consensus in the decade since, with most of the sequel hate being aimed at Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
This only provides more evidence to the argument that the sequel hate is overblown online, given both The Rise of Skywalker’s lofty score…
However, the Rotten Tomatoes audience scores indicate otherwise. Star Wars: The Force Awakens holds an audience approval rating of 84% on the website, 2% shy of The Rise of Skywalker. Given the overall feel that the former movie is more beloved than the latter, which the internet discourse would convince anyone is around the 50% mark at best, this is overly shocking. This only provides more evidence to the argument that the sequel hate is overblown online, given both The Rise of Skywalker’s lofty score and The Force Awakens’ equally impressive audience response.
Only One Disney Star Wars Movie Has A Higher Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
Making Episode IX The 2nd Best Of Disney’s Efforts
The last Rotten Tomatoes-adjacent fact about Disney Star Wars is, somehow, one that makes sense on one side and makes the shock of Rise of Skywalker’s reception all the greater on the other. Of all Disney Star Wars movie productions, only 2016’s Rogue One is rated higher than Episode IX, with an 87% score. On the one hand, this makes sense; many seem to agree that Rogue One is the best of Disney’s tenure. This does not change the fact that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is ranked second based on Rotten Tomatoes’ audience metric. Maybe the sequel hate is overrated, after all.
