What's the purpose of a Saga, vs a SW story?

I think it's all arbitrary.
The "Saga" right now is only viewed in the way of "The Skywalker Saga" so by default is tightly connected about it.
But in the future? Eh. It's all arbitrary and whatever the consumer expects it to be

 

In my mind, the division is pretty simple.

Saga films concern the massive historical shifts of power in the galaxy. They're concerned with shifting "ages," like we've been seeing in the comics (Age of Republic, Age of Rebellion, etc).

Star Wars Stories tell smaller tales within those ages. I don't think you'll ever see a massive universe-altering shift in a Star Wars story.

 

Saga is about Anakin Skywalker.

 

This! Saga films have to do with generational events - we could technically have a saga about a family that's not the Skywalkers but lived through the same events.

The Star Wars Stories are like anthologies. They aren't beholden to a single family or event. They can take place anywhere over anything.

 

Saga movies should be about big themes (feel big), and standalone films should be about more smaller/gritty stories (feel small).

I think Disney has succeeded in that respect with the standalones as they feel small, but in a good way. The ST movies feel small too (in a bad way) and that’s where they differ from the PT/OT.

There were real stakes in the PT/OT. Luke’s parentage feels big as that answer has grave consequences in ROTJ. Rey’s parentage now feels small because it really doesn’t carry any major consequences in Episode 9.

 

I wonder if it would have felt small if the Franchise had never actively stoked speculation about her parentage. Because to me it doesn't that crucial to the overall trilogy and super story. But it comes off really flat and detrimentally subversive to cultivate the discussion among the fans, and then says, she is the child of no one. That's something we could have established in TFA and made a non-issue going forward.

 

They definitely played to the those mystery boxes in TFA (and that fueled speculation) and than sort of turned it around on the fans, "Well.....it is your fault for speculating!!" I actually think it would have played more interesting if we knew she was a nobody right from the start and than people in the Resistance could have had doubts about her, "Oh...she's not a Skywalker, how can she save us?" That would have jived better with TLJ Luke as THAT could have changed him right from the start of the movie. Now he had this new prodigy who wasn't tainted by the old Jedi ways (or family bloodline) and he could teach her a new way to deal with the Force, and fight the First Order.

 

I agree 100%, and I think it speaks to (to some extent) a bit of laziness on the franchise's part. If you want people to be interested in Rey, do the work, and write the story that makes us interested in her. She doesn't need Skywalker coattails to move forward and as a franchise you obviously agree because you didn't make her a blood relative. Why not just do that from the jump? If you just had to have a mystery box, it could have been Rey's power coming out of nowhere which Luke (as a Master Jedi) explains to her (and us the audience) in TLJ. I mean he's been sitting there with the ancient Jedi text, I'm pretty sure we could write a quick explanation for why she is the way she is that doesn't require us to jettison what we have seen thus far (i.e. Force Users requiring training).

 

I agree as they should have given Rey some flaw that was addressed in the 2nd movie like Luke & Anakin. Anakin's flaw was attachment, and the fear of losing people. Luke's flaw was that he wasn't patient always trying to be more than he was. Maybe Rey's flaw is that she didn't want to put the work/training in to become a Jedi because things came so easy to her in TFA.

 

I think the counter argument here will be that her flaw was her desire for a family and so she went out seeking that from Luke and then Kylo (I'm not sure if it's a dog that hunts because in both instances I thought was being communicated was that she was looking for someone to save the Resistance). Rey does have flaws (naivete comes to mind) but nothing that has hindered her development towards being a competent Force User. Her ascent towards mastery has been unimpeded and essentially independent of the rest of her development.

 

Saga stories are sweeping stories that touch on monumental historical events of GFFA.

The SW stories are tight character pieces that cover a much smaller scope narratively.

At least that is how it has operated so far.

 

The length of the story one wants to tell.