Star Wars: What should Lucasfilm do instead of spin-offs?
By John Dotson
A new report suggests Disney and Lucasfilm have decided to put all Star Wars spin-offs officially on hold. If this is the case, here are some suggestions going forward with the future of this beloved franchise.
Today, we have heard that Lucasfilm is putting all major spin-offs on hold. Part of this is said to be due to the disappointing returns of Solo: A Star Wars Story. The film had a decent enough critical response but the profit just was not there. With it being Star Wars, mediocre returns say a lot when discussing this franchise.
So, what now? With everything on hold, where does the studio go from here? Personally, this is the direction I recommend the House of Mouse pursue.
Open Up The Galaxy– New Sagas, New characters
Stop focusing on what came before and introduce new characters, planets, and galaxies to the fans. With all the controversies with the purists and old fanbase maybe it’s best to “leave the past” as Skywalker says in The Last Jedi. Take us somewhere unfamiliar. Really dig deep into the unknown and set our imaginations on fire.
They had a lot of chances to go crazy with this property and even though The Last Jedi flirted with insanity they could push it much further– which is fine by me.
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The Old Expanded Universe
Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to keep some of the influences from the expanded universe that was tossed aside after Disney bought Lucasfilm. Not adapt them directly but take inspiration on stories that did work and loosely adapt them.
Specifically, the most talked about of all is Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy. Now, most of that series cannot be put to film anymore because the events in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi do not allow it. With the right screenwriter though, the influences and nuggets of those novels could be translated to film. I’m sure the fans would love to get a glimpse of what that might look like. Maybe even Timothy Zahn himself could write it.
More Stories like Rogue One
Filming production issues aside the best part of Rogue One was the actual fact that it truly felt like a war film. If they are planning to keep pushing forward with fewer spin-offs maybe Lucasfilm can focus on the war aspect of Star Wars. Consider the novel World War Z as an example and center on more specific aspects of how each story happens across universes at the same time.
For example, —SPOILER ALERT– Planets were destroyed in The Force Awakens. How did this impact the galaxy? Maybe there is a story about a kid who survived the attack. War films can take many forms and it does not hurt to draw inspiration from classics. They could even do something like The Great Escape, only in space. The possibilities are endless.
Next: A defence of Solo: A Star Wars Story and why it works
Whatever Lucasfilm decides to do, let’s hope they have something truly magical up their sleeves. Personally, I was really hoping to see Ewan Mcgregor get his Obi-Wan spin-off but for now, we will have to wait.
What do you think? How should Lucasfilm move forward now that they are no longer doing spin-offs? What would you like to see from a future Star Wars movie? Tell us in the comments below!