Star Wars’ very first movie and its best TV show can and should teach Lucasfilm a valuable lesson. When the first Star Wars movie, later retitled A New Hope, premiered, it was groundbreaking in several aspects – the special effects, the score, the direction, the iconography, and more, created an experience unlike any seen on the big screen before. That innovative film launched one of the most successful media franchises of all time, and while that franchise is still thriving today – financially, certainly – there’s no denying that, creatively, Lucasfilm and Star Wars have been struggling to stay afloat.
The Star Wars fandom has never been more divided; the division might even be worse nowadays than when George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy was first released. The criticism lobbed at the sequel trilogy, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Acolyte, and more has often gone beyond well-meaning critique and ventured into hateful, dangerous territory instead. While Star Wars has been making valiant efforts to be more inclusive and try out new stories – The Acolyte is a prime example – the franchise has arguably been too reliant on fan service as well. This has, unfortunately, set Star Wars up for failure.
No One Wanted A New Hope, Or Andor, Before They Were Made
One of the reasons A New Hope was so successful is because George Lucas and his team had a vision and wanted to realize it. No one had “asked” for it, but they made it anyway, and the result was one of the most iconic and successful films ever made, something no one had ever seen before. A New Hope proves success isn’t just about “giving the audience what they want,” but about taking creative risks and telling a story simply because you believe in it. The same can be said of a show like Andor.
A New Hope proves success isn’t just about “giving the audience what they want,” but about taking creative risks and telling a story simply because you believe in it.
Despite Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s critical and billion-dollar success, no one thought they needed a prequel about Cassian Andor, let alone a two-season show. And yet, although no one “wanted” this show, it turned out to be Star Wars’ best TV project yet. It’s a great show that happens to be a Star Wars show, too. Tony Gilroy and the rest of the cast and crew had a vision for a gritty, realistic, thoughtful series about the horrors of the Empire and the sacrifices made by the Rebellion. The results speak for themselves.
These Projects’ Legacies Prove They Were Worth Making
A New Hope and Andor’s successes prove that these projects, despite being risks business-wise, were absolutely worth making. Star Wars as a whole wouldn’t exist today without A New Hope, and Andor has shown audiences that Lucasfilm and Star Wars are capable of creating a TV experience that doesn’t exclusively rely on nostalgia and the Skywalker saga’s legacy. There’s nothing inherently wrong with creating shows that combine those two elements, of course, but if Star Wars wants to keep expanding, it needs to be willing to take more risks.
Star Wars Needs To Keep Pursuing These Daring Projects
Since the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars has had a difficult time locking down a new theatrical slate. Hopefully, the four upcoming Star Wars movies currently announced will actually make it into theaters, but it’s hard not to feel like Lucasfilm is running a little scared. The first movie set to be released is The Mandalorian & Grogu, after all – an exciting prospect, but an undeniably safe one, given the relative success of The Mandalorian sub-franchise. Will audiences truly feel like they’ve been given a new experience?
Currently, only one movie on Star Wars’ theatrical slate promises an experience like the one provided by A New Hope: James Mangold’s Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi. Where the other three upcoming films are all related to stories already in existence, Dawn of the Jedi will instead dive into galactic and Jedi history, exploring the Force like never before. This is uncharted territory – since the movie is set 25,000 years before the Skywalker saga, there’s no prior narrative to adhere to. Anything goes, and that makes this project an incredibly intriguing prospect.
The Acolyte was also a step in the right direction, as it explored an era previously only seen in books and children’s TV, and it introduced some interesting new concepts. However, the pushback the show received – some of it warranted, much of it not – has led it to be the first live-action Star Wars show to be officially canceled. Whether that’s because of genuine low viewership or the immense reaction to the series is hard to say, but in any case, audiences should hope that it will not cause Disney and Lucasfilm to view these daring projects differently.
Star Wars once again needs to try something new and perhaps most importantly, unexpected – it can’t rely on the Skywalker saga and The Mandalorian forever.
The Mandalorian was a daring project when it was first released. Set in a new era and focused on entirely new characters, the show felt fresh and exciting and like the start of a new chapter. That chapter has now spun out into a massive over-arching narrative, however. While that narrative is still undeniably fun and compelling, it’s clear Star Wars once again needs to try something new and perhaps most importantly, unexpected – it can’t rely on the Skywalker saga and The Mandalorian forever.