There are three characters in Star Wars animation that should have either gotten more animated time or needed to be brought to live-action. Each of these characters could have given us a view of the universe that wasn’t able to be seen from any other point of view. Each of them had experiences within the Republic, the budding Empire, or the New Republic that were unique to their character alone.
Let’s see who they are and why they deserve more screen time in one way or another.
It would be easy to overlook Lux Bonterri. He was only in a handful of episodes and was mostly seen as a whiney, spoiled kid from a Separatist planet. He becomes someone who young Ahsoka has a crush on, and there is a possibility of a story there. Still, eventually, Lux is just dropped when Ahsoka realizes that they are not equals in any way, and she chooses the Jedi way over any possible feelings for Lux.
But that’s not why he deserves more screen time. It’s actually not because of anything he does. We need to see more of him and his family because of who they are, what they represent, and where they are from.
One of the things that most greatly informs our decisions and our thoughts on a subject is our point of view. It dictates who we see as good or bad guys in a story like Star Wars. It points us in the direction of whose side we take and why we take up with them.
For all the points of view told in the Star Wars saga, the only point of view we get for the Separatist nations is that of greed and war-mongering. Some planets didn’t want to join the Republic for various reasons. They saw the greed and corruption inside of the Senate. They saw the ineptitude of the Republic to police and protect, and they simply wanted something better. In fact, when we first meet Lux, Ahsoka has to overcome her bias against Lux and his family. She dislikes them simply for their political views until she learns the reasons for what they do.
Now, if you are anything like me, you like to know what makes people tick and why they do the things that they do. One small episode with a few sentences isn’t enough to show the opposing view of the Republic and why planets all over the known galaxy joined against the ideology of the Republic. That’s not to say that a full series needs to be for the Separatists and their views, but a few episodes of the Clone Wars to better show the opposing side wouldn’t have hurt either.
Say what you will about the sequel-era trilogy. You may not like how the stories were written or whatever else you feel may have been wrong in those three movies. But the sequel era introduces us to some interesting characters that deserve more attention, and greater development.
One of those characters is Kazuda Xiono, or Kaz, from Star Wars Resistance. Star Wars Resistance was a two season animated series that was panned by many fans for being written for a younger crowd, which it admittedly was. It didn’t have the more mature themes that showed up in Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Rebels, and that is what many fans were looking for after the previous runs of animation from Lucasfilms.
Kaz was the lead character in Resistance. A pilot, spy, and the son of a New Republic Senator, there was lots of story here to uncover. Resistance does some of that, but it’s in the framework of the show, and not much of his life or activities away from the ship depot he is at is really known. We know the basics of Kaz, and although you can dismiss him as a filler character for an animated series, that would be short-sighted.
Unfortunately, we don’t see Kaz in the sequel trilogy. He or a ship from his depot may appear in the coalition of ships that comes to fight against Palpatine‘s new army that somehow appears fully stocked and equipped, out of the literal ground. But that’s an argument for another time. The Palpatine massive fleet of ships bit, not the Kaz bit. Just thought I should clarify.
We should be asking ourselves, what happened to Kaz after the conclusion of the episodes? Does he continue with the Resistance forces? Does he help Poe Dameron somewhere, somehow? Could he make the transition from animated to live-action? If he does, who plays Kaz on screen?
There is much potential story here with Kaz, and it would be worth exploring. Tying more Star Wars stories to the sequel trilogy will only help the movies.
OK, kids and cadets, it’s conspiracy theory time.
Many Star Wars fans, myself included, believe that Korkie Kryze is the love child of Duchess Satine Kryze and Obi-Wan Kenobi. During her stories told in Clone Wars, it’s clearly obvious that they have feelings for one another, and at one point, Obi-Wan considered leaving the Jedi Order for her; he says as much to her.
So why do we think that this kid Korkie, who is called nephew by Satine and later Bo-Katan, is possibly the son of one of the greatest Jedi Masters in Star Wars lore?
There are a few reasons we need to consider:
Obviously, none of these reasons are rock solid, and the silver bullet that identifies Obi-Wan as the father of Korkie Kryze has yet to appear. Star Wars, though, left enough of the door open to allow for speculation on his lineage.
But with the age at which we meet him, a teenager in the Clone Wars era, we would be able to see him in multiple other Star Wars properties. He would be able to be included in both animation and live-action for anything leading up to the Sequel Trilogy and for some time beyond. Where was he when Mandalore fell to Darth Maul? Where was he when Order 66 took place? What was he doing during the time of rebellion? The New Republic? Rise of the First Order?
There is so much we don’t know about Korkie and so many places the story could go, particularly if he was Force-sensitive … like his father.
Honestly, the chances of getting any of these three characters more screen time, animated or live-action, is pretty slim. Kaz is the only one with a real chance at this, and that’s because his timeline is being heavily explored, thanks to Ahsoka and The Mandalorian.
There are other characters you may feel deserve more screen time, and that’s a very interesting argument that could and should be had. The Clone Wars and Rebels animated shows introduced us to many characters we either get to know little about or just in passing. Depending on age, those little-known characters could be brought back to life in Ahsoka and The Mandalorian very easily. And as long as they can add to the story being told, there should be no issue with their live-action appearances.
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