The original and prequel trilogies are worthwhile viewing. The sequel trilogy, however, presents a different case. While George Lucas provided story treatments during the 2012 sale, these were ultimately discarded. The sequels also marked the end of the Expanded Universe, removed from canon to allow creative freedom for filmmakers. Given that the stories deviate significantly from Lucas’s original vision, is there really a compelling reason to watch them?
They would be if they were good.
Disney should have known to create an overall writer/producer for the sequels; they had done it Marvel and the thing that set Star Wars above other sci-fi was Lucas creating a deep universe for the stories to exist in.
Abrams was a shitty choice to control writing of VII; he basically made a Star Wars fan film and reset a lot of VI to keep the same kind of conflict as the original series. Johnson had some interesting ideas, but he broke a lot of previous world building for VIII, like the Resistance militia leaders keeping their plan a secret and the kamekaze ship. Then, somehow, Abrams returned.
It says something that, while the prequels aren’t seen as good as the original series, they still resonate in a way that the sequels haven’t. A lot of that can be attributed to why Lucas was a great producer.
Fucking gold.