Saga The “problem” facing Star Wars

Alright, this is probably controversial, but hear me out (there will be personal opinions which you can feel free to disagree with me on). The longer Disney holds onto the Star Wars franchise, the more it’s been apparent to me that the Star Wars franchise is extremely limited in what it can tell at this point. Despite all the new TV shows coming out, and movies already out, there doesn’t seem to be a sense of progression (IMO) in the Star Wars story.

Now, obviously the start of the new Disney canon was made to give them more creative freedom in telling new stories, particularly the ST. In a mind boggling move, they rushed out a soft reboot of ANH with TFA, a movie they had no idea how to follow up on, which led to the (also rushed) mess of TLJ and TROS. Disney realized they messed up by retelling a story that was less interesting with less likable characters than the original, and I think it’s pretty telling that the sequel era is relatively untouched just three years after TROS- because there aren’t stories to tell in that era. So instead, the new content takes place closer to the OT, but in making new stories, they have to keep things exciting by introducing some flimsy retcons such as in Obi-Wan (not sure if spoilers are allowed here), or outrageous ones like in Solo (the last name thing is so cringe inducing). But unfortunately, there just isn’t a lot of content to tell during this time period, because we know what’s gonna happen- who survives, where people are going to end up, etc. This can be done well, but it gets tiring if every story has such low stakes for the characters- it makes them predictable.

There’s also an over-reliance on nostalgia. They keep showing us X-Wings, Tie Fighters, Stormtroopers, Vader, R2D2 and C3PO, Ahsoka, and especially Tatooine. Somehow, Palpatine returned instead of having a new, original villain. There’s a whole galaxy out there, and we keep running into the same few characters. I think that’s one of the reasons Mandalorian is so popular, because they actually get away from that for the most part, even if Mando is basically Boba reskinned.

Which brings up the problem of Disney’s “new” characters- they’re mostly just unoriginal copies of the OT ones. Rey=Luke, Kylo=Vader, BB8=R2D2, Poe=Han Solo, Snoke=Palpatine (literally though), etc. Heck, even Mando and Baby Yoda aren’t fully original.

So what’s the solution? Is the set timeline of Star Wars a problem? Should they branch out into a multiverse? How can we get modern stories in the spirit of Star Wars that tell a good, original story?

 

On one hand, it's very understandable that something as super nostalgic and expansive as SW would struggle to stay fresh and interesting. But when Disney starts running out of stories to tell, yet the nostalgia is still selling, what can they do besides make a Star Wars Multi-verse? I can't think they'd care more about the whole "SW is supposed to be ONE canon" thing that fans would inevitably complain about. The prospect of having more freedom in making content and making money seems too good to resist.

But if they do go that route, I don't think it will be for a long time. I think they'll want to squeeze as much as they can out of their current lineup of content, negative receptions be damned.

 

I imagine Skeleton Crew and Acolyte will feel quite original.

 

There's also Visions

 

Hasn't KK said they're working on taking Star Wars into the future? Like, literally--working on a new saga that takes place many years after TROS?

 

They have touched on Sequel Trilogy in Terrifying Tales (2021):



Poe Dameron was main character, and Kylo Ren’s backstory with the Knights of Ren was explored.

The Lego Star Wars Christmas Special (2020) focused on Rey.

Most boons including The Lightsaber Guide has Rey and Kylo Ren’s sabers in it. Rey waa on the cover of the Secrets of the Jedi.

So Disney has not abandoned ST.

 

What retcons? I don't think Obi-Wan and Solo contradict anything from the movies.

 

You state that the new films, characters and stories are rubbish when a lot of fans don’t feel this way. Hardly seems like an open ended discussion when you’ve already said everything like it’s a fact in the opening post.
“Disney realised they messed up” “They rushed out a soft reboot” “Introducing some flimsy retcons”
These aren’t facts, they’re opinions. And there’s actually no retcons in Kenobi. Be patient.

I have never once felt like Disney has limited the Star Wars universe. Not even in the slightest. We’ve been exploring two new eras (Sequels and New Republic) and expanding on eras (Prequels and Rebellion). We’ve seen countless original, likeable and interesting characters, which have quickly become fan favourites. There’s been countless new ships, planets, species, etc. as well.

The Mandalorian show launched an enormous new part of the universe to explore. Mandalorian lore has been told in a fresh and expansive way, and is now household knowledge to even casual and non-Star Wars fans. And how about Visions? You literally cannot get more new and creative than that show.

So do we just ignore four entire seasons of Rebels? New characters, new stories, new stakes.

Disney ain’t slowing down any time soon. They’ve got heaps of projects announced to continue expanding the universe throughout all different eras. There’s no solution, because there’s no problem.

 

Bringing up Lego Star Wars to prove that Disney cares about the ST... isn't making a good argument, IMO.

 

@Jordan1Kenobi

I agree with all that you've said wholeheartedly.

You are talking about the art form of story telling. In storytelling, progression always isn't about some ever forward moving narrative. A lot of times, progression is expanding upon certain characters, eras, or events that the audience already has knowledge of. As it is, Star Wars had many eras and many narrative gaps to fill.

Hell, most of what George Lucas did with SW post 1983 wasn't progression as you describe, it was retroactively filling in story gaps...much like Disney is doing. The Prequels and TCW were the very essence of this.

Star Wars is a sandbox that Lucas created and others have now been tasked with playing in that sandbox. Yet, without Lucas at the helm, I think it would almost be sacrilegious for creators other than Lucas to radically reimagine/redesign/ or push beyond the (still expansive) parameters that Lucas established.

Nostalgia isn't a dirty word. From the very beginning Star Wars was built out of nostalgia. Star Wars is (and has long been) about new twists on familiar characters/situations.

Characters are often "copies" of other character because SW characters are heavily archetypal. Han, Luke, and Leia were not newly created characters. They are beloved, well known, archetypes. Did you see the new Top Gun? Same thing here. The new pilots are basically redressed versions of the pilots from the first film. That's modern mythology for you.

 

I don't mind prequel material, in fact I prefer it over post-RotJ material, or stories taking place hundreds of years in the past/future of the OT. But the sheer amount of content Disney is releasing is... a lot, too much IMO, and it's coming so quickly compared to the Lucas era when it was pretty much TCW and some books/comics. I think it's much easier to feel burnout or lack of creativity/ progress in recent SW.

And yeah, definitely doesn't help when you find most of the material incredibly disappointing.

 

300 years after ROS:

A plucky rebel keeps a low profile in some frontier settlement while some snooty bad dude in a clean cut uniform is prowling around.

 

I would probably be more okay and even excited with Star Wars becoming the MCU if I didn't already know what it's Endgame was going to be like.

 

Good point. There is no mystery where it all ends.

 

<Head Canon Time Machine From 2011> Alright, this is probably controversial, but hear me out (there will be personal opinions which you can feel free to disagree with me on). The longer George Lucas holds onto the Star Wars franchise, the more it’s been apparent to me that the Star Wars franchise is extremely limited in what it can tell at this point. Despite plans for new shows and media, there doesn’t seem to be a sense of progression (IMO) in the Star Wars story. For example, Uncle George recycled the Death Star idea in 1983 for Return of the Jedi. And to think "rhyming" is what is really going on in the PT when compared side by side to the OT is really myopic. And what's this Clone Wars cartoon all about? Grouping together an OT bounty hunter that's de-aged to soften up him with the PT albino Amazon bounty hunter, is such an un-original mash-up sourced from an old, decrepit mind and only serves to keep the lights on at click-baiters like Red Letter Media...</Head Canon Time Machine From 2011>

Ugh! Everyone, please try and go enjoy the Star Wars that you get and keep the sour grapes for the Star Wars you never got on the vine.

 

What it in the PT other than rhyming? There are parallels between the PT and OT, but does that really equate to the same thing as what TFA did?

Regarding Death Star II- another superweapon may have been used, but ROTJ still has the beats of the third chapter in the saga (sixth after the PT).
Its plot is still advanced from ANH, with different circumstances surrounding the principals involved. By contrast, Starkiller Base existed in the realm of a movie where the story doesn't seem to be much farther along than it had been in ANH- just with older OT heroes and different Imperial faces than the bygone era. In other words, the plot of ROTJ is a continuation of the original Star Wars in spite of the similar McGuffin, while TFA's plot doesn't feel that way. (Starkiller Base isn't a major complaint of mine)

It's okay to not be fond of the PT or TCW (and to prefer the ST to either), but Boba Fett and Aurra Sing's dynamic was something not portrayed in earlier works. I would have liked to see more of them personally.

 

I’ve been saying this for years. I like Star Wars and all, but to me, the main story is episodes 1-6. I think you can branch off and tell little side stories like clone wars, the Kenobi series, bad batch, rebels, Mandalorian, etc. but I really don’t know how to continue the story in a way that feels significant, original, and also still feels like Star Wars. I feel like if it’s just the republic fighting endless wars with a variety of different villains, it basically just turns into a more action oriented Star Trek with lightsabers.

 

What would you consider to be "the spirit of Star Wars" and how is what we've gotten from Disney not in line with that? Not agreeing or disagreeing but a lot of people have made arguments like this and part of the problem with talking about what Star Wars is or should be is that everyone is coming at it from different angles.

 

Uhhh... the specific things I wrote were not complaints. They were something else.

 

yes at some point they need to do more stories set in the 'future', but I also think there's really interesting gaps to exploit , I wouldn't mind a Sidious story with more of his manipulations as he builds up the Empire or a Vader story post ANH where he follows a search for Luke that leads to discovering he's his son.

I'd rather not have any more clone war stories , they've been done to death.

 

I'd love the Old Republic time line and would definitely be excited for a show or movie covering this.

 

Also, Disney is wise to take advantage of developing properties with familiar Star Wars actors while they are around/of age.