Discussion What is the difference between a Star Wars Spinoff film and a movie from "The Saga"?

This is a thread to discuss how the spinoff films will be different (plot wise, tonally, film techniques) from The Saga episodes (the ones with Roman Numerals in their titles.)
Also, what needs to remain for them to still be "Star Wars"?

We already have one example... "The Clone Wars" movie. It has no 20th Century Fox fanfare, no opening crawl, no John Williams music. It is a fully animated film, rather than live action.

I believe the Sequels will continue with a narrow focus on the Skywalker bloodline, and the plotting first started by Palpatine, but the spinoffs are under no such restrictions. They could be grittier, or more surrealistic, or more straightforward comedies than their numbered counterparts.

What makes a Star Wars Film a "Star Wars Film"? And how will the Spinoffs break this mold and defy our expectations?

 

We already have a How Should the Spinoffs be Presented thread. Locking this one down.