I think it's obvious for me to say that no matter what Star Wars content is coming out and when it will be released, I'll always be excited and on board to check it out. The universe of Star Wars is so vast and I love that there is always some sort of story to tell through film, TV, video games, novels, and comic books. So on the artistic end, we know the talented team over at Lucasfilm working in their respective mediums will deliver and give us thought-provoking content to make us rethink the saga and challenge the way we think about it. The business side of it is where the debates can start because I know that there will always be some form of Star Wars to look forward to, but how they are handling releasing all this new content and how they've done it so far has raised questions for all sorts of fans, myself included. Today, I wanted to take a deep dive into how they've developed their content so far and what this all means for the future of Star Wars and where we can see it going in the coming years.
So first thing's first, we all know Kathleen Kennedy has been steering this ship ever since Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney in 2012. We have new stories of all mediums that are officially connected to the saga movies, known as the Official Canon. That means all the previous tie-ins in the Expanded Universe (aka Legends), all those shows and novels, are not officially connected to the movies and now basically seen as stories taking place in a sort of Elseworlds deal, in an alternate timeline. So basically we have a bit of an MCU approach with Star Wars where we have a shared universe connecting everything. And I was all for this idea because as much as I love Star Wars I never was one to get into Legends.
After all, there was just so much out there and a very intimidating amount of content. Nowadays we do have a lot of stuff, but I feel it's much more accessible because a lot of the stories stand alone and are bonuses if there's a mention of something in one story that you remember reading and watching previously in another. And it's fun to see what officially filled in the gaps between the films and a majority of what I read, watched, and even played has been nothing short of being really good. So it was a bit of a bold decision to do this and Legends fans weren't necessarily on board, but even though Official Canon is set in stone that doesn't negate that you can still enjoy Star Wars in your own ways. Keep reading your Legends books and comics. It's okay. There are actually some things out there that I still want to read.
But my point is we're in an era of Star Wars where we have projects lined-up to make the saga feel as connected as it is. And the way it's being approached on the business end of things is to keep Star Wars in the public eye through all mediums aside from theatrical releases. And with the theatrical releases being the main event, they really did everything in their power to make it feel as such. We got Episodes VII, VIII, and IX and whether you liked them or not, the idea that we're living in a world where these movies exist was honestly unthinkable. And we even got two awesome spin-offs out of it in Rogue One and Solo. But most people felt that the problem with the release of those films was that there wasn't a plan with the new sequel trilogy or the spin-offs in-between releases. And the whole "Plan or No Plan" is its own discussion, but my takeaway with the films was that they still resonated with me and I was able to enjoy these movies on a deep level and of course for being so damn fun. I feel like the work that went into every film really paid off because I went from loving only a few Star Wars movies to 11.
But from a business standpoint having the 2-year wait between every trilogy movie was not a bad way of going about it and it didn't feel like I was being oversaturated with that exclusive story in the Skywalker Saga. Sure we got 5 straight years of Star Wars movies, but at least it felt like a wait with those characters when we were watching Rogue One or Solo. Original trilogy and Prequel fans had to wait 3 years between each film in those respective trilogies and for the sequels we had to wait 2 years. But I think what bothered fans and people felt fatigued was that we had 5 straight years of movies and when VIII went in a direction fans weren't expecting nor open to, viewers were starting to feel burned out by Star Wars.
And although I enjoyed The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi as they were being released I could kind of understand the whole fatigue about Star Wars when Solo released 5 months after The Last Jedi. I wasn't on board with Solo when I first saw it and grew to love it more now, but I think part of it was maybe I needed a bit more of a wait to be more excited about seeing a new Star Wars movie. And it should've made more money at the box office because I think part of it was because a majority of viewers weren't on board with new Star Wars so soon and that there was so much discourse about The Last Jedi. But I think from there Lucasfilm learned their lesson. Bob Iger (CEO of Disney) even was open about how the release date of Solo was a mistake.
And speaking of the movies to get them just right, we all know Kathleen Kennedy had no problem firing directors who weren't on the same page about their line of vision for these movies. Rogue One having the reshoots since the original cut was considered too dark was one, Colin Trevarrow leaving Episode IX, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller leaving Solo. And I will give Kathleen Kennedy credit where credit's due because if their visions weren't what the studio wanted, then it was right for her to make those calls. For example, with Lord and Miller's version of Solo, there was supposedly more improvisation and slap-stick involved, which didn't quite line up with the spirit of Star Wars and with Ron Howard coming in, to me, it felt so much more authentic to the franchise. Lord and Miller are fantastic creators and deserve to make their original ideas in their own ways, but maybe Solo just wasn't for them and that's more than fine. So, we have an abundance of Canon books, comics, a few video games, a few successful shows, and 5 great movies, but where does this leave us now for Lucasfilm going forward?
Well, there are things set in stone for the TV end of Star Wars since we have The Mandalorian Season 2 and 3, The Bad Batch, Kenobi, Cassian Andor, and another female-led show by Leslie Headland. And yes, there has been a lot of praise for the TV shows whether it was The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian. And while I love all the shows, I don't think the quality and hard work put them, which is highly commendable, should negate the great stuff happening with the movies. And because we have a slew of these shows planned out, it does feel like there are plans in place to expand on the Star Wars universe in the realm of television.
The plans don't stop there because on the publishing end we still have comic books that'll be focusing on the period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Empire this year as I write this. And of course, The High Republic, which is a new era of Star Wars taking place 200 years before The Phantom Menace has a slew of new books and comics coming out, but now being slightly delayed as 3 of the books were supposed to drop roughly during this month and next September. The same kind of goes for The Mandalorian's publishing end where we do have a fair share of books releasing this Fall, but then we have an original novel delayed till next year. And of course, the main events of Star Wars have been delayed as well, being the films. There are 3 Star Wars films in the works, none confirmed as a trilogy, but the first of which was originally slated for December of 2022 and now 2023.
So we do have things in place. We have a Season 2 of a highly successful show approaching us in as far as we know 2 months. But what do the delays say about Lucasfilm? Well, we can't stick our heads in the sand and not think that the current pandemic does put a hindrance on a ton of artistic projects out there. Not just Star Wars, but anything and everything in the entertainment industry. And some projects have made out better than others. We still have some release dates in place. Mandalorian Season 2 is on track as well as The Bad Batch and some of the publishing end. But the movies and some of the book releases do have me a little concerned about the artistic and business end of it. Artistically, I do wonder about the creative differences with the movies or books and maybe that they weren't cracked up to be what was promised.
Then again, we have had to undergo some movies that had things going on behind the scenes and some would say have proved to be disastrous. But a large majority of fans, myself included, still had a blast. "There are more of us" who saw the good and greatly enjoyed the content and thought the talent that went into them was incredible. And on the business end, I can't imagine being in Kathleen Kennedy's shoes authorizing all these projects. Making the decisions to keep all these projects authentic to the Star Wars series can't be an easy task. And yeah this movie hiatus is a little weird since franchises like Marvel or DC have it more together with their release dates despite the delays due to the pandemic. But then again waiting for more Star Wars is part of the fun.
Sure from an artistic standpoint, it might not be what the higher-ups hoped for and there could be creative differences. And as far as the business aspect goes there could be concern about how the project will profit from the masses. And could they have pushed it because they weren't all prepared with what they wanted to do? I mean who really knows what happens behind the scenes? Also, the pandemic isn't really making things easier for anyone in this industry. And it's easy to see how with Lucasfilm pushing the release of their films unlike other studios gives the impression they have no plan and aren't too confident with the films they're putting out. And that could be due to some of the negative feedback from the Sequel Trilogy and spin-offs (even though there are a whole bunch of people who love these movies, but you catch my drift). And all those conversations about them holding it off, I get it. But I do think once we see what this next project will look like, it's going to knock all our fan-loving socks off. I just know deep down it'll be something special and I'll think to myself, "I waited these 4 years after IX for this next movie and it was so worth it."
And with all the TV projects lined up, I do think Star Wars is going to go the strongest in their success with that specific medium. While I do feel the books and comics will have their fair share of success, I feel as though they'll hit harder with the hardcore fans like me who can't get enough of this new Canon timeline. But with the people who casually enjoy Star Wars, the TV shows struck a chord. Even though it had its deep-cut references, especially with one in the season finale, The Mandalorian was such a massive hit amongst a ton of viewers. It was great for fans like me, but also those who just enjoyed an incredibly compelling story. And both The Mandalorian and the final season of The Clone Wars became the biggest streaming successes of all time. That definitely says a lot about where Star Wars is heading recently to be a success amongst all viewers. Not just the hardcore fans, all viewers. Since the universe is so big and there is so much story to tell in terms of the lore and the characters, I could see Star Wars having more of a mainstay on TV than all other mediums.
Sure, the movies are on a bit of a hiatus and I obviously can't speak on behalf of the staff at Lucasfilm if they do or do not have the plans for their movies together. None of us fans are there behind the scenes, so who are we to decide? Personally, I believe that the team over at Lucasfilm cares about everything in their power to make good content so that they can be successful among fans. Disney wants all these Star Wars projects to be successful from a financial point of view as well. They want Lucasfilm to make good art so fans will come back for more because of how good it is. That's the whole point of it and as fans we can forget about that, myself included, since we're so wrapped in such a glorious fantasy, a galaxy beyond our wildest dreams. But I do think Lucasfilm has an amazing team in place for their movie, TV, video game, and publishing content.
The idea that I still think about every Star Wars story that I watch or play on screen or that I read on the page, it feels more than just the amazing fantasy adventures, even though that plays a big part of it, but it's how these great stories and characters stay with me and how they connect with me as a person going through day to day life. Putting aside the production troubles and delays, I know no matter what that whatever piece of Star Wars content I read, watch, or play it's going to leave an impact on me and I know I'm going to always come back for more because that's how much I love Star Wars. I do see a lot of plans for the TV end, so it would make sense for the mainstay to be in that medium and be the most successful there. We're still going to get more books, comics, video games, and movies, but I think the limited amount we have planned or that we officially know of isn't the end all be all. Star Wars features a fictional galaxy where the possibilities of different events happening are endless. The storytelling in all the previous and, dare I say, this upcoming content is just like the Force. It will always be with you and stay with you if you let it in and engage with what you see or read. Always.
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