[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers forStar Wars: The Rise of SkywalkerandThe Mandalorian.]
When we look back on this chapter of theStar Warsfranchise, the movie that will stand as the turning point isThe Last Jedi. Regardless of what you think about the merits of that movie, we can at least agree that the film itself was divisive. Specifically, it was divisive because it dared question the world ofStar Wars. For some in fandom, the mere act of questioning is an act of disrespect. To show true adoration, you must echo what came before and demonstrate a deep knowledge of lore. You don’t question that lore; you just show that you know it. Appreciation isn’t shown in subversion or engagement, but by repeating the arcana like it’s Holy Scripture.
For a studio like Disney, divisiveness is death. Divisiveness and controversy are associated with conflict, and conflict is associated with negative feelings. If you have negative feelings, you’ll be less inclined to buy things. That means fewer toys sold. That means fewer trips toGalaxy’s Edge. That means fewer subscriptions to Disney+. Everything needs to appeal to the widest audience possible. It would be far better if something flopped and was instantly forgotten, but to dredge up conflict is to damage the brand, and theStar Warsbrand is worth billions of dollars. It must be protected, and that means it must not be questioned, only reinforced.
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In 2019, we saw Disney’s answer toThe Last Jedi, and that answer was to cling to the past for dear life and let nostalgia carry you the rest of the way. We won’t see the nextStar Warsmovie,Rogue Squadron, until December 2023, butThe Rise of SkywalkerandThe Mandalorianindicate that the future ofStar Warswill be safe, full of fan-service, and deeply uninteresting. For a franchise that started out as a big risk for creatorGeorge Lucas, Disney has now decided that you don’t need strong storytelling or bold creative decisions. What you need to do is appease the faithful (no matter how toxic their behavior) and the casual fans won’t care enough to argue.
I’ve gone on at length about the myriad of problems affectingThe Rise of Skywalkerfrom its shallow endingto its insularityabout Rey’s parentagetohow it weakly provides answersto questions that only the most anal-retentive fans demanded. But its biggest problem stems from a lack of care and attention paid to characters and storytelling just so it can feed you back the things you already saw. For Disney, this is how you make money. You don’t make a bold, new, expensive live-action film. You just make a more expensive animated version ofThe Lion Kingand earn $1.6 billion worldwide. You don’t close out the Skywalker Saga by giving people answers they don’t want and telling them that anyone can be special. You say there are only two special families in the galaxy—the Skywalkers and the Palpatines—and it’s been this way since 1983. It’s not creative cowardice, it’s tradition. Now would you like a Skywalker action figure or a Palpatine action figure?
The Mandaloriangoes even further by slightly repurposing what came before, but not in a way that would upset anyStar Warsfan. In the first season, your main character is basically Boba Fett, but not in a way that would require any bold story decisions about why Boba Fett isn’t dead. Then he goes around and encounters familiar things from theStar Warsuniverse, but they’ve been slightly kicked up a notch so that they’re not contextualized, just enhanced. For example, the Imperial Walkers that were comically taken down inReturn of the Jediare back, but now they’re more dangerous with glowing red eyes. Stormtroopers are notoriously terrible shots, but now we have a character who acknowledges that stormtroopers are poor marksmen. The showrunners want you to know that they are fans, and it is good to be a fan.
If there’s an image that perfectly sums up what the future ofStar Warslooks like, it’s the breakout star ofThe Mandalorian, Baby Yoda whose official name is “Grogu” but will forever be known as “Baby Yoda”. Baby Yoda is Disney’s ideal version of whatStar Warsshould be going forward. It’s a thing you know (Yoda) but cuter (Baby). Keep in mind that Baby Yoda is not a character. He doesn’t have wants or needs or the ability to create more conflict than any other MacGuffin. But you love him because he’s adorable and he’s familiar.
That’s where Disney wants you as aStar Warsfan: eager to shell out money, not for something that challenges you, but for something that comforts you. And I get it. We live in stressful times, and corporations are in the business of making money. But there was a time when we could have it both ways and you could engage with stories and charactersandbuy things.The Last Jediwas divisive, but it didn’t hurt the sale of porgs. You could make a cute new thing that wasn’t just a version of the old thing. These are not competing interests, but for Disney, stories and characters are just extensions of the brand. Disney’s CEO isn’t walking around thinking about what the Mandalorian’s character arc will be in the first season. He’s thinking about making sure your appreciation ofStar Warsnever wavers so that you’ll keep buyingStar Warsthings. The stories and characters don’t have to be great; they just have to be good enough to keep you moderately interested. And even if the stories and characters are weak, if they throw enough familiar things at you, you’ll be comforted by nostalgia.
In terms of profits, that’s great for Disney and their shareholders. But for those who hoped that one of the biggest franchises on the planet might tell better stories or craft strong characters, we are out of luck. It means thatStar Warscan never move forward; it can only regurgitate what was widely popular or deeply esoteric, but never anything new. To create something new or, even worse, do something that challenges the orthodoxy, could reflect negatively on the brand, and Disney can’t abide the risk.
Without risk and creative leaps,Star Warswill become moribund. It will eat its own tail and serve only people who have read every Expanded Universe novel and bought every comic.Star Warswon’t be for the masses, but only for the most devoted, and devotion will be measured in how much you buy. Why make one inspirational movie when you could sell 15 comic books that tell you where yellow lightsabers come from? Instead of rich world building that looks outward, you get world-building that only fills in the gaps of what was there before.Star Warsoffers a big, expansive galaxy, andThe Rise of SkywalkerandThe Mandalorianboth ask, “How can we make it smaller?” Yes, there are a slew of spinoffs on the way, but they’re rooted in characters with die-hard fanbases. TheObi-Wan Kenobiseries could be great, but at the end of the day it’s mining a familiar character because familiarity is prized above risk.
To use an analogy with another successful Disney franchise, imagine if the studio looked at the success ofIron Manand said, “Okay, this is great, so we definitely need more movies starring Iron Man. And then, let’s have a Pepper Potts spinoff. And Obadiah shouldn’t be dead because we can bring him back and maybe use him as an antagonist again. Also, that helper robot got some big laughs, can we maybe make him the star of a TV show, or maybe pair him with Happy Hogan and they’ll go on episodic adventures? Whatever we do, let’s be sure to strip mine it to death because we bought something popular and something new may not be as popular.”
Avoiding risk is a great way to get a return on your investment, but it’s a horrible way to tell stories.
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