They are THE MAIN CHARACTERS in the movie you’re watching. I think that’s a big enough reason to try to make them interesting.
What would make a character interesting? Motivations, conflict, maybe seeing someone change in any way as a result of things that happen in the story?
This is why I said people that enjoy the movie cannot have seen good movies, because some of the defenses are just absolutely ridiculous. “Why do characters need backstories to make them interesting?” Like do I really need to answer that?
Luke at the start of ANH is literally a farmboy with little direction in his life. That’s much closer to the “just people” type of character you’re describing than anyone in R1, again except for Jyn. Every supporting character in R1 feels like they were designed to be interesting, but everything interesting in their lives happened before the events of the film, and we just get to hear about it a little.
I also think the ending of the movie where we get a big fanservice Darth Vader scene gives the lie to this perception of the movie as a gritty, realistic look at the dark side of the franchise. The movie is pretty transparently just Disney pandering to the adults that grew up with Star Wars and wanted to feel like they could still enjoy it through more adult media. Andor does what Rogue One was trying to do much better, and it’s telling that by doing so it barely feels like Star Wars any more.
They are THE MAIN CHARACTERS in the movie you’re watching. I think that’s a big enough reason to try to make them interesting.
What would make a character interesting? Motivations, conflict, maybe seeing someone change in any way as a result of things that happen in the story?
This is why I said people that enjoy the movie cannot have seen good movies, because some of the defenses are just absolutely ridiculous. “Why do characters need backstories to make them interesting?” Like do I really need to answer that?
Luke at the start of ANH is literally a farmboy with little direction in his life. That’s much closer to the “just people” type of character you’re describing than anyone in R1, again except for Jyn. Every supporting character in R1 feels like they were designed to be interesting, but everything interesting in their lives happened before the events of the film, and we just get to hear about it a little.
I also think the ending of the movie where we get a big fanservice Darth Vader scene gives the lie to this perception of the movie as a gritty, realistic look at the dark side of the franchise. The movie is pretty transparently just Disney pandering to the adults that grew up with Star Wars and wanted to feel like they could still enjoy it through more adult media. Andor does what Rogue One was trying to do much better, and it’s telling that by doing so it barely feels like Star Wars any more.