What is Disney Planning With the Future of Star Wars?
From terrible movies to some of the best animation we’ve seen all year, it’s hard to tell where the future of Star Wars really lies.
It’s been a shaky few years for Star Wars. We’ve had some good movies, some bad movies, some fantastic TV series, some mediocre (and let’s be honest, majorly disappointing) ones, and so many books and comics that I’ve frankly found it impossible to keep up.
There have been numerous games, a few animated offerings—both in canon and out—and huge theme-park undertakings, one of which famously failed in under two years. And while we could spend the rest of the year arguing about who’s responsible for the huge discrepancy in quality and success, I don’t think that’s worth any of our time—there are just too many factors. But what I do think is interesting to think about is where the galaxy will go from here and what the future of the fandom will look like.
Movies
How many movies have been announced in the last five years alone? How many of those have been pushed to the back burner for undisclosed amounts of time, shelved, or even canceled entirely? Personally, I don’t get excited about any announced Star Wars projects until it’s well into development or even until a trailer comes out. Fool me once, right?
Unfortunately, the movies we have gotten have been all over the place. The sequel trilogy failed to tell a single sensical story throughout the entire series, while Rogue One was widely agreed to be great. And then things like Solo were… fine. I’m not watching it again but I’m also not mad that I paid movie theater prices to go.
So do we have faith in the movies? I want to, I really do. But it doesn’t feel like they’re making any effort to put their best work on display in the theater.
Animation
Personally, I think some of the best content to come out of the galaxy far far away has been animated and I truly believe that if you’ve been overlooking the animated shows, you’re missing out. Was the second season of Bad Batch hit-and-miss? Sure. But let’s let’s look at (most of) The Clone Wars and Rebels. And while it’s not strictly canonical, Visions. If you haven’t yet, please go watch Visions!
But is this the future of Star Wars? Not if people aren’t tuning in it’s not!
Books & Comics
I know you miss the Legends books. We’d all like to see Mara Jade make a comeback. But just taking a look at the new canon books and comics, some of these are fantastic. I can only think of one or two that I’ve read and didn’t enjoy. But there are a ton of them; a difficult-to-keep-up-with number for most adults with jobs, hobbies, families, or any mixture of the three. The books have always been supplemental and a source for some really fun Easter Eggs. But this can’t be the future for the entire franchise just like animation can’t.
Live Action Series
With only a few exceptions, this has been where the best and most popular Star Wars is coming from. Sure, Book of Boba Fett was…. whatever that was. But then look at The Mandalorian, Andor and Ahsoka. At worst, they’ve been okay. But at best, they’ve been some of our favorite shows of the year.
Their biggest issue? There’s too much of it. The Marvel fatigue is real and I think Star Wars fatigue can be a real concern if they’re not careful. So by all means keep making live-action shows—even if movies only come out every once in a while. I truly think this is where some of the best and most watched content will be in the coming years. But give us a little more time between them. Give us a chance to miss you, Star Wars!
What do you think the future of Star Wars—and the fandom—looks like? Which of the newest shows, movies, books, etc. have been your favorite? Do you think we’ll ever see those shelved movies? Let us know in the comments!
May the Force the with you, adventurers!
