When Disney acquired Lucasfilm and declared their intentions to increase the number and frequency of Star Wars films released, fans rejoiced at the thought of more movies from the franchise they know and love. The assumption was that we would receive the usual episodic saga films, but also be treated to new, original films that explored the vastness of the Star Wars universe that, thanks to the Expanded Universe (EU), had grown exponentially each year since the universe's birth. In fact, seeing some of our favorite EU characters such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, and Prince Xizor on the big screen was many fans' dream.
Then, slowly, reality set in. Before our first return trip to the galaxy far, far away, many a fan dream was crushed when Lucasfilm announced that EU stories were no longer canon. As crushing a blow as this was, the fanbase was still excited for the possibilities of a return to the main storyline and a glimpse of our old favorite characters, back in action following the events of Return of the Jedi. Despite the minor setback, the hype for Episode VII was enormous.
And then Episode VII arrived. While some may have come away disappointed, even those had to admit that the multitude of "Mystery Boxes" created by director J.J. Abrams setup a vast array of story possibilities for the coming years. Rehash of A New Hope or not, The Force Awakens brilliantly laid the groundwork for the coming episodes, and did so while introducing a very likeable young new cast of characters. In spite of some negativity (much of which trickled in months after the film hit theatres), the fanbase was energized and anxious for the first ever non-saga film to enter the Star Wars universe: Rogue One.
This is where we get into the meat of our discussion. Rogue One hit theatres and was another box office success, but one of the greatest fears Lucasfilm must have felt leading to its release began to be realized: timeline confusion. You see, while the devoted fanbase was well aware of where Rogue One fell in the Star Wars chronology, much of the general public was not, at least not until they left the theatre over two hours later. Lucasfilm was trying something that had never been tried before: interspersing non-chronological films into the middle of an ongoing series. Would general, non-“hardcore” audiences be able to follow?
At first, it seemed that yes, they would. Rogue One was a huge success, afterall, and that should prove it, right? Financially, yes. Anecdotally, no. There was strong evidence that many moviegoers did not realize where the film was set in the Star Wars timeline until late in the movie, and some even had questions afterwards. Still, the film made over $1 billion, so it was clearly a success.
The following December, we returned to the Episodes. Did audiences enter The Last Jedi wondering if it would follow the events of Rogue One? Most likely no. But Lucasfilm had another non-saga film on the way just six short months later, and between the somewhat confused reaction to Rogue One and the disastrous production issues plaguing Solo, executives had to be leery.
Regardless of how you feel about The Last Jedi, it was a tremendous financial success. Despite the looming cloud of Solo, all seemed right with the world at Lucasfilm. And then Solo arrived.
And then Solo flopped.
But why? Why was the standalone film of a beloved character (not just beloved Star Wars character) such an enormous failure? Excuses abounded: backlash from The Last Jedi; “toxic fanboys”; “no one asked for a Solo movie”; the behind-the-scenes drama soured audiences. All are likely responsible in their own way, but I posit an alternate theory: Lucasfilm is attempting to fit a square peg (the Star Wars Universe) into a round hole (the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) model), and the pieces just don’t work.
Let me explain. Lucasfilm (and Disney in general) looked at the success of the MCU and the billions it was making, and saw this formula:
Solo Film, Solo Film, Solo Film -> Event Film -> Solo Film, Solo Film, Solo Film -> Event Film
This is perfect for Star Wars, right? The Episodes are your event films, and in between you churn out a few solo films or side stories. Piece of cake, right?
Wrong, and for one primary reason: interconnectivity. It’s not just that the MCU movies run chronologically; heck, some may argue that that don’t. What they do, however, is have connections, sometimes small and seemingly insignificant, that tell the audience, “Hey, remember that thing we did before? That was cool, right?” or “Hey, guess what cool character we’re building toward? This guy!”. For general audiences, overarching storylines gradually formed and were paid off in later films. For hardcore fans, easter eggs abounded and some even came into play in meaningful ways down the road. But one thing was sure: Every film mattered.
Solo didn’t matter. Even if you liked it, maybe even LOVED it, it doesn’t matter to the continuing Star Wars saga in any way. None of the characters, Han Solo included, have any relevance to the next “Event Film”. They can’t. Han is dead. Qi’ra seems insignificant in the grander scheme of things and would be quite old by the in-universe time of Episode IX. Chewie, much as we love him, has never been more than a supporting character in any Star Wars film. And then there’s…
Darth Maul. What to make of the sudden, jarring, and unexpected cameo of Darth Maul. His appearance likely for many muddied their idea of where Solo fell in the timeline (“Oh, this is before Episode I? That’s weird.”). For others, his appearance seemed nonsensical because, oh, you know, HE WAS CUT IN HALF.
Even many hardcore fans that elected not to watch the Star Wars canon cartoons were befuddled by the appearance of a character long-assumed dead. In a comic book universe where characters die and return often, moviegoers have come to expect this sort of thing. But in Star Wars, outside of Force ghosts, there’s no precedent for a character surviving what Maul did. His return created countless questions that the film itself couldn’t possibly answer in its remaining run time, all with the purpose of setting up a sequel that seemed highly unlikely even before the movie flopped, and selling more Darth Maul merchandise.
The approach to Star Wars seems to show an elementary misunderstanding of both how the Star Wars universe has been established to work and what makes the MCU succeed. I believe that non-saga films can work, but the approach must be radically different. There are two approaches that can, and likely would work:
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Make the non-saga films completely unrelated to the entirety of the Star Wars universe as we know it. No Empire. No Rebellion. No First Order. No Resistance. No Skywalkers. You can set it in another time or another place, or even both, but don’t try to insert new films into the existing Star Wars history unless you’re prepared to kill off all main characters at the end (see: Rogue One).
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Have the non-saga films follow side characters that later contribute to the saga films themselves. Explore the life of Maz Kanata, for example. You can delve into her past, but by the end of the film, we need to know where she is and why she’s there at the start of Episode IX, even if her role in Episode IX is small.
Either way, the audience needs a reason to care. Whether that reason is because it’s a new offshoot series (ala suggestion 1) or because we know the film will have at least some influence in the ongoing saga. Simply trying to plug the gaps within trilogies past is not the answer.
What do you think? Would you like to see the Star Wars universe go one of these directions, or eliminate non-saga films altogether? Sound off below, and thanks for reading.