Is Star Wars lost in space?

10:57Has the Star Wars franchise lost its way?

A long time ago, in a galaxy not too far away, Star Wars fans would have to wait years, and sometimes decades, for new instalments of the beloved sci-fi franchise. But ever since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, Star Wars offshoots have been flying at us like asteroids in the Anoat sector, amirite?

In recent years, we've seen a steady uptick in spin-off movies and TV shows, however, it seems that for every well-received series that introduces a compelling new story like Andor, there's an inconsequential disappointment like The Book of Boba Fett, and even the once-laser proof fan favourite The Mandalorian has shown it's not immune to the law of diminishing returns as it wraps its lacklustre third season.

With the brand seemingly in the midst of an existential crisis, Commotion opted to spend this May the Fourth speaking with two of the biggest Star Wars enthusiasts this side of the Coruscant system: New York-based writer Ryan Britt (whose work appears at Esquire and Den of Geek), and Toronto musician/media personality Matt Hart of The Russian Futurists. Here, they tell us what Star Wars is doing wrong, and how they can make it right.

To hear the full discussion from today's show, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.

1. Baby Yoda's cuteness only goes so far

As Hart sees it, during its underwhelming third season, The Mandalorian crossed the line where familiarity breeds contempt. "It became really formulaic," he says. "It was like: 'We've got to show Grogu doing something cute. And then there's going to be a battle. Then they get to say "this is the way" and then reset for the next episode.' At least with those terrible prequels, you had to wait a little, while this feels like we're just getting so much content. I think they just dipped in the well of Star Wars lore too many times."

2. Enough with the "wookie navel-gazing"

That would be Britt's made-up-on-the-spot term for the spin-offs' tendency to get too in the weeds (or, um, in the fur) when it comes to unpacking arcane franchise lore, as opposed to just telling an entertaining story that even non-nerds can appreciate. "Back in 2019, anybody could watch the first season of The Mandalorian and not be confused," Britt says. "Like, my wife didn't need to know that Baby Yoda wasn't actually Yoda in season one, and she could still enjoy it. I think that's the kind of vibe that Star Wars needs. Star Wars generally does better when it's in the big crowd-pleasing mode and not overthinking-it mode."

WATCH | Official trailer for The Mandalorian Season 3:

3. Don't assume your audience has earned a degree in Ewokology 101

On top of the sheer abundance of content, and the quality-control concerns it raises, there's also the matter of trying to figure out how all these different shows fit into the overall Star Wars narrative puzzle — a task that can require a fair bit of online research and YouTube wormholing (not to mention brushing up on the franchise's various animated offerings). "I think they're asking a lot of the audience," Hart says. "Star Wars is about escapism, it's about where you go to be on a different plane. You don't want to do homework. The irony is that it's such a dorky fandom, but we still don't want to do homework!" Britt concurs: "If you're required to know all of those Easter eggs to understand the emotional stakes, then that is a problem."

4. The franchise hasn't gone so far down an Exogorth that it can't correct course

While Stars Wars' batting average has taken a dip in recent years, there are a few new hopes on the horizon. The highly anticipated Ahsoka (premiering on Disney+ this summer) will see Rosario Dawson reprising her much-loved role from The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett in a stand-alone series. And Lucasfilm recently announced the development of three new films that will stretch the Star Wars narrative timeline to eras before and after the canonical Skywalker Saga. "I am actually feeling pretty hopeful," Britt says. "I'm excited about the new movies, because James Mangold is doing the one that tells the origin [story] of the Jedi. He did Logan and that was brilliant. And if his new Indiana Jones movie is as good as those trailers, then [his Star Wars film] will probably be my favourite. But as a parent who has a six-year-old girl, I actually think that the Rey movie will be very helpful for me as a parent, and I'm excited about that. And I don't think Ahsoka will be as lore-heavy as some people might think–they wrapped up all those [interconnected] storylines with The Mandalorian, so they've cleared the decks. It has to move forward."

WATCH | Official teaser trailer for Ahsoka:

5. If all else fails, give Star Wars the A24 treatment

For fans who've grown tired of the franchise's over-reliance on cutesy characters, Hart offers this solution: art-house Star Wars. "I want to see something that will shake up the nerds a bit," Hart says. "With Dune, they brought in Denis Villeneuve to do the film, which looked great, and the original one was by David Lynch. I want to see them do something like that. Bring in Ari Aster, who did Midsommar or Robert Eggers, who did The Lighthouse and The Witch. Bring them in and explore some of the more adult themes. Get weird!"

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Stuart Berman.