Showrunners in the Star Wars universe have clearly been listening to fan complaints from the last few years. Both Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Favreau have spoken about how seriously they reconsidered their approach to the installments in the franchise, and the creative leads are all about story cohesion from here on out. The extensive Star Wars lore gives the team plenty to work with, and though they don’t intend to force viewers to watch every series going forward — they are following in Marvel’s footsteps with a cinematic universe.
Rather than build yet another cinematic universe, we’re here to take an opposing stance. Instead of linking all the stories together why not show fans something they have never seen before? We’ve got a good argument for why Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi was the breath of fresh air the series needed all the way back in 2017, and how Favreau’s consistent reinstating of material Disney retconned back in 2012 is muddying the future of the ‘verse.
‘Your focus determines your reality’
Head of Lucasfilms, Kathleen Kennedy, has decided that quality over quantity is the way to go. With previous interview with Collider the long time Star Wars producer says she and her team are trying to forge more meaningful connections with audiences. Their focus is now tied to making solid stories and ensuring that their offerings are something that fans are looking forward to. Star Wars has had some misses in recent years, with the sequel trilogy changing hands several times and the frustrating entry that was Solo: A Star Wars Story, it’s in the best interest for the franchise — and the fans — for Disney to switch tactics. There is no doubt that Star Wars has been treated as a money tree for the company, and the lackluster entries have started to wear on fan nerves. Fortunately, with Kennedy’s about face from mass production to quality content, and the slate of seemingly fresh material coming up, it looks like the future of Star Wars is incredibly bright.
‘Let the past die. Kill it if you have to’
While Rian Johnson’s name is still a polarizing one within the Star Wars fandom, his singular Star Wars entry, The Last Jedi, did manage to avoid the cliché pitfalls of its predecessor. Johnson did what many other Star Wars directors have failed to do; find a space outside of George Lucas’ long shadow. The director intended to take that energy into a own Abhishek Sharma has done a thorough deep dive into why the director still deserves to explore the ‘verse in his own trilogy, and why fans deserve lore outside of Lucas’ predefined boundaries.
Let’s keep a little optimism here
In the beginning stages of The Mandalorian season 3, fans were concerned with how Jon Favreau and co. would manage the ever-growing Star Wars galaxy. It seems pretty obvious that the creative team behind the burgeoning universe would feel the weight of their burden, but Favreau wants fans to know that his team really does. In an interview with ScreenRant the creative mastermind opened up about the challenges of making sure every piece of the story works cohesively with what came before and builds enough mystery to keep fans invested in what comes next. The team wants to make connected content that doesn’t force fans to indulge in every single series, but for those that want to delve, the immersion would make a rich experience. It sounds like the team has done some series soul searching in the last few years and are ready to take the steps fans have been begging for since the disappointing slew of content the company pushed in the late 2010’s.
Published: Apr 14, 2023 10:00 pm