Star Wars is one of the most recognizable cinematic properties in the world. That’s why Disney paid $4 billion for it in 2012. Since then though, it has become the most memed IP on the internet, being pilloried by long-time fans and roundly ignored by the current generation.
Disney couldn’t have foreseen the rise of YouTube, TikTok, and alternative entertainment 12 years ago, but they also haven’t done themselves any favors with Star Wars. The sequel trilogy, whether you loved it or hated it, was clearly produced with no clear story to tell or even a sensible plan for its creation.
Following the less-than-stellar run of The Acolyte, Star Wars has been at its least relevant point in entertainment culture for a long, long time. That's exactly why it needs to go away for a while to regroup.
The Contentification of Star Wars
Star Wars used to be an event—a moment in time to drop what you were doing and lose yourself in a galactic adventure. That is no longer the case. In the five years since Disney+ launched, there have been six live-action shows and five new animated series in the Star Wars universe. That is some serious output from an IP that had produced just six movies in its 35 years prior to Disney.
Disney has almost matched that movie count, and it hasn't released a film since 2019. The Mouse has turned Star Wars into a content machine and, in the process, stripped it of what made it so special to so many people. The scale of the adventure, the well-written characters, and the boundary-pushing cinematography are all gone as Disney has shrunk Star Wars for TV in every sense other than the production budget.
Now Star Wars is just another shaky TV show lost in the sea of streaming options. In a world where you can watch The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, or a million creators on YouTube at the drop of a hat why would an inconsistent and sloppy Star Wars show hold any attention?
Must-miss TV
Whether you loved or hated the sequel trilogy, it was at least culturally relevant. Each film was appointment viewing and broke through the Marvel stranglehold on box office numbers. Disney+’s version of Star Wars is doing none of that.
Star Wars has lost all its cultural momentum as a brand. The zeitgeist has moved on and dropped it, the same way it has dropped Marvel since Endgame.
There’s no long-lasting cultural discussion of The Acolyte or Ahsoka in the same way there is about House of the Dragon, The Bear, or a Netflix show like Baby Reindeer. There’s been no breakthrough to a broader audience or even a massive bump in subscribers.
The closest we got was in the early days of The Mandalorian, but that didn’t do enough to create new fans that could power Disney Star Wars forward.
Ever since The Last Jedi, Star Wars fans have split into two camps that hate one another more than the Jedi and Sith do. The Acolyte has finally wrapped up and done nothing to unite fans. If anything, its poor writing has turned more casual viewers into lapsed fans who will simply skip the next show.
Let people forget
The prequel trilogy is having a renaissance as we near the 20-year anniversary of Revenge of the Sith. From Duel of the Fates to Obi-Wan and Anakin’s battle even to “I hate sand”, it’s all fondly remembered now.
This wasn’t always the case, of course. When the films came out, fans loathed the Intergalactic trade policy, iffy dialogue, and Jar Jar Binks. The use of CGI rather than miniatures and puppets was a stain on the original trilogy’s good name. But that’s all water under the bridge now because time heals all wounds.
Disney has not given fans even a moment to breathe and forget. To forget the terrible writing of Rey, the way Snoke was built up and disposed of, the way somehow Palpatine returned.
While we haven’t had a Star Wars movie in five years, it has continued to push Star Wars content out at a rapid pace, trying to follow the MCU Phase 2 & 3 model of success forgetting all the foundational work that was done in Phase 1, and even before then.
It's time to take a break. To put the breaks on the upcoming Rey movie, on any more TV shows, and even Mando & Grogu. Give everyone some time to forget the quarrels of the sequel trilogy, forget the issues of The Acolyte, and appreciate the qualities of Andor. Give fans a chance to miss Star Wars and generate genuine anticipation for what comes next. It will detoxify the fanbase and be healthier for everyone in the long run.
Do you agree that Disney should put the breaks on upcoming Star Wars shows and disappear for a bit? Or do you think they should double-down on TV? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to join our Star Wars Rocks My World Facebook page for all the latest news and opinions on the galaxy far, far away.