There’s really no such thing as a linear franchise anymore, not when any IP is run into the ground before being dug up, dusted off, and rebooted with a brand new fresh coat of paint. Despite having already existed for over 45 years, today’s announcements confirmed that Star Wars is officially heading down the same path as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a lot of fans aren’t best pleased.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was nothing but trilogies. George Lucas followed up his classic originals with the prequels, but when Disney got involved and purchased Lucasfilm, that all changed. The sequel trilogy was designed to be complemented with Anthology installments to guarantee a new Star Wars movie ever year, but when Solo flopped it was back to the drawing board.
Fortunately, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni came along to gift the world with The Mandalorian, but the reveal that Daisy Ridley’s Rey will be joined by a James Mangold-directed dive into the Jedi’s formation and a Dave Filoni-helmed MandoVerse crossover has left old and new supporters alike lamenting the fact Star Wars has decided to read from the MCU’s playbook.
As mentioned, becoming a shared universe isn’t an inherently bad thing, but the Disney era hasn’t exactly been littered with nothing but unqualified success. Audiences have every right to be skeptical, but the best way to blow any doubts out of the water is with top-tier content, something the talent assembled to usher Star Wars into a bold new future are more than equipped to deliver.
