Star Wars Takes a Bold New Direction

Star Wars Takes a Bold New Direction

All Work Should Be Play

Star Wars has been a successful franchise for almost 50 years, with even the prequels drawing in audiences despite criticism. People keep coming back because the franchise is fascinating and captivating.

The Star Wars property expanded with fresh content after Disney paid $4 billion to buy Lucasfilm, including the new movie trilogy, theme park attractions, and other new series.

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While the strategy paid off financially, it also caused a rift within the fanbase. Many wondered if there was just too much Star Wars and if the franchise was losing its magic. Some new projects, like The Mandalorian, were well-received while others struggled to find an audience.

Today, things are different. There haven't been any new Star Wars movies since Rise of Skywalker in 2019, and many promised films seemingly vanished. It appeared as though the franchise would never be able to escape the rut it was in

However, Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm, revealed three new feature films and a number of upcoming shows last month at Star Wars Celebration.

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The movies include a feature by Dave Filoni that will "close out" the stories of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka; one directed by James Mangold set 25,000 years before A New Hope; and one by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy about Rey forming a new Jedi Order.

While there are a lot of Jedi in the upcoming films, there is also hope that the franchise will stretch itself beyond the previous safe bets. Mangold's movie is set far in the past, and Obaid-Chinoy has proven that she can create something new and exciting within a known universe.

In addition to the new films, there are a number of new TV shows in development. The Acolyte, for example, is set during the Golden Age of the Jedi, a century before the prequels, and it stars Amandla Stenberg and Lee Jung-jae.

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The Acolyte is written and directed by Leslye Headland, who pitched the show as "Frozen meets Kill Bill from the perspective of the bad guys." This is an indication that the new TV offerings will focus on the more cerebral, political, and philosophical elements of the Star Wars universe.

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Overall, even though Star Wars will always have to take calculated risks because the stakes are so high, the franchise's future feels more daring and thrilling than it has in a long time.