When George Lucas created Star Wars and released it on May 25th of 1977, it spawned one of the greatest cinematic trilogies of all time and a pop culture phenomenon. It, to this day, holds a considerable place n people's hearts across the world and is perhaps pop culture's biggest franchise.
It was not until 2015 when the sequels of the original trilogy arrived, following the acquisition of Lucasfilm and Star Wars to Disney. But which is the better trilogy? Here we look at a range of factors and determine which is better the original trilogy or the sequel trilogy.
BOX OFFICE
Return Of The Jedi ($475,347,111) make the original trilogies worldwide gross $1,798,756,629 (according to Box Office Mojo).
The Rise Of Skywalker ($1,061,523,131), all add up to make the sequel trilogies worldwide gross $4,462,286,644.
WINNER: Sequel trilogy
CRITICAL RECEPTION
Getting a quantity on critical reception is hard, but a decent gauge is by looking at Rotten Tomatoes. On the site, the original trilogy movies sit at scores of 93%, 94%, and 82%, respectively. As for the sequels, they have scores of 93%, 91%, and 52%.
The original trilogy has nine total Oscars, and another ten nominations (including Best Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay for A New Hope). The sequel trilogy has seen a total of twelve nominations, with no wins. Award success is not definitive but is a decent indicator.
WINNER: Original trilogy
FAN RECEPTION
The critics and fans can often disagree, though. A possible way of seeing fan reception is by looking at Rotten Tomatoes' audience score. The original trilogy movies sit at 96%, 97%, and 94%, respectively, while the sequels are at 86%, 43%, and 86%.
Another way to look at it is IMDb. Here, the original trilogy movies sit at scores of 8.6, 8.7, and 8.3, and the sequel trilogy has scores of 7.9, 7, and 6.9.
WINNER: Original trilogy
DIRECTING/EDITING/EFFECTS/SCORE
At the helm of the filmmaking process is the director who is in the position of fulfilling their vision. Other vital components are the editing, the effects, and of course, John Williams' iconic score.
Lucas' direction, and involvement in the work done by Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand, was acclaimed and brilliant, even being nominated for an Oscar for A New Hope. J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson did great jobs in their efforts, but not in connecting the trilogy. The editing is arguably better done, given the technology, but the Oscar-winning work in the original trilogy was spectacular. The effects were phenomenal and award-winning in their practicality in the originals. In the sequels, that practicality changed to mostly computer-generated. As for Williams' score, the sequels do not match the originals.
WINNER: Original trilogy
ACTING
It is not just down to the makers of the film, but those who star in it also. Acting is a huge part of Star Wars, as it is the performers who bring iconic characters to life.
The original trilogy has some great performances from the likes of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Oscar-nominated Alec Guinness, and others. The sequel trilogy, though, has Star Wars' best ensemble of performances with everyone delivering brilliantly, with special shoutouts to Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, and Mark Hamill for his career-best in The Last Jedi, a movie acclaimed for its acting.
WINNER: Sequel trilogy
STORY/WRITING/COHESION OF THE TRILOGY
The story of each Star Wars trilogy is what draws people in, or perhaps confuses them, but have always been memorable. The writing of narrative and dialogue, and how each movie connects the trilogy together, are also vital.
The original trilogy's story is simple, beautiful, and adored both as a whole and in each movie. It's writing in of dialogue is memorable if not great, and Lucas completes his vision clearly and decisively with the trilogy. The sequel trilogy's story gets lost along the way due to the lack of cohesion, despite The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi being exceptionally written movies, the lack of plan ruins it.
WINNER: Original trilogy
EXPLORATION AND EXPANSION OF THE LORE
With lore that stretches far beyond what we see in the movies, Star Wars fans have countless stories at their disposal and an excess of knowledge to consume at their will. The films, though, play a more significant part than any in exploring and expanding on said lore as it pertains to stuff like planets, the Force, the Jedi and Sith, the Light Side and Dark Side, alien species, galactic events, etc.
The original trilogy has the advantage of being the starting point of any future lore in Star Wars, introducing a base level of concepts like the Force, the Light and Dark Side, the Jedi and Sith, various planets, and substantial galactic events. The sequel trilogy builds on these concepts and explores the Force differently from any other trilogy with new ideas and powers such as the Force dyad between Rey and Kylo. It also looks at the Light and Dark Side, also building on the galactic history seen in the originals, furthering it with new events.
WINNER: Sequel trilogy
ACTION
The action in Star Wars has always been both constant and a joy to watch. From 1977 onwards, each movie has had its action sequences and battles that define the film, whether it be big space battles, ground assaults, or the famous lightsaber duels.
The original trilogy has three big battles to go alongside its smaller action sequences, the Battles of Yavin, Hoth, and Endor. Each is brilliant in of their effects and even has an emotional punch to them. The asteroid field sequence is also iconic. In of lightsaber battles, there is only three, the first has not aged well between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, but the two Luke vs. Vader battles are iconic to this day.
The sequel trilogy is full of stunning action sequences between the assault on Starkiller Base, the Battle of Takodana, and the Battle of Exegol and other battles. Lightsaber combat also delivers in of spectacle, with Kylo vs. Rey providing every time and the last encounter on Kef Bir being filled with emotion while the Kylo vs. Luke encounter and the battle with the Praetorian Guards both deliver in spectacle and edge of the seat action.
WINNER: Sequel Trilogy (Original Trilogy for emotion)
CHARACTERS
The characters of Star Wars are arguably the depending factor on how successful it has been. Had they not resonated or inspired in the originals, would there be a Star Wars today?
The original trilogy gave way for some of the most iconic characters in history, such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Darth Vader, R2-D2, C-2PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Emperor, with a host of others. They have lived long in the hearts of fans. The sequel trilogy has also given way for fantastic characters like the incomparable Kylo Ren, the inspiring Rey, a ing cast of characters both new and fresh, and old and reinvigorated. Ultimately though, a lot of the sequel trilogy characters did not get enough to do, with some criminally wasted, and cannot yet match the iconography of what was.
WINNER: Original Trilogy
IMPACT ON POP CULTURE
The Star Wars franchise has left an imprint on pop culture like no other. But, when comparing which of these two trilogies has left more of an impact, it is no contest. The original trilogy kicked off Star Wars, and without it, it would not exist. Even without all the iconic moments and characters, its original nature alone puts it above a trilogy that has not had time to marinate.
WINNER: Original Trilogy
