During Disney's Investor Day 2020 presentation, several new and exciting Star Wars series and films were announced. Many of these, like Taika Watiti's unnamed Star Wars film and the Disney+ series Star Wars: The Acolyte, tease a narrative set in the High Republic involving the Dark Side. Others, like Dave Filoni and John Favreau's spin-offs to their hit Star Wars: The Mandalorian, explore a greater story already in progress.
However, many of the projects are simply looking at established characters and plot points and exploring them in further depth. While Star Wars: Andor will explore the adventures of a relatively lesser-developed figure in the early Rebellion -- Rogue One's Cassian Andor -- other shows, like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lando, will return to the already well-explored histories of figures like Obi-Wan and Lando Calrissian. While fans might be excited to return to these characters, it just feels so familiar.
Star Wars Can't Keep Retreading Old Ground
One of the appealing components of Star Wars: The Mandalorian was how it explored fresh, new characters in an unexplored setting. It offered a refreshing portrait of life on the frontier of Star Wars life, untethered to any pre-existing narrative. Before that, there was the Star Wars comic Doctor Aphra, which immediately drew in fans with how unorthodox the story felt. Doctor Aphra brings irreverence toward the established story of the Skywalker Saga that felt refreshing.
However, now that the Skywalker Saga is over, we can move past certain characters. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series will literally fill in the only point in Kenobi's life that has not been explored in intimate, intricate detail. While there are open gaps in Cassian Andor and Lando Calrissian's lives, there is only so much story to tell in these situations.
Arguably the worst offender of this is A Droid Story. A Droid Story will focus on C-3PO and R2-D2. No other character in Star Wars has been as thoroughly explored as C-3PO and R2-D2. This isn't even the first animated series about C-3PO and R2-D2, with Droids being one of the first animated shows to explore the pair back in the 80s.
Of the twelve upcoming projects in the Star Wars universe, only four -- Star Wars: Visions, Star Wars: Acolyte, Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic and Taika Watiti's unnamed film -- offer a viewpoint on a new, original cast of characters. Even shows like Ahsoka and movies like Rogue Squadron are exploring familiar concepts that, while appealing to fans, don't introduce as much new to the Star Wars universe as The Mandalorian did or as The Acolyte will. Even then, due to the anthology nature of Star Wars: Visions, there is a high possibility it will retreat old ground, too.
What Star Wars Needs to Do
More Star Wars projects need to explore unexplored eras of the saga. The upcoming High Republic era is one that begs for development. How did the Jedi begin to decay in power, to the point where Palpatine could manipulate and undermine their actions? What transpired before the Trade Federation issued a blockade on Naboo? Creating a new era and period in Star Wars can open the door to vast new vistas of storytelling.
However, even creating a new period in time like the High Republic or -- even better -- the Old Republic is not necessary. The Star Wars universe has been content so far to explore five core eras: the prequel trilogy, the original trilogy, the sequel trilogy and the points in time between the three trilogies. As we saw in both Doctor Aphra and Star Wars: The Mandalorian, there is a lot of creative potential in the small adventures on the periphery of these bigger stories.
Several stories can be told leading up to and during the sequel period era. The prior two eras feel thoroughly explored -- or at least as explored as possible. There are so many stories hinted at throughout the saga that could make for a fascinating story. While it might be fun to see Ewan McGreggor return as Obi-Wan for another journey, it just isn't as interesting as some unexplored, new territory, like learning the ancient history of the wars between the Jedi and Mandalore or how Jabba the Hutt used his cunning to rise to power.
There are so many stories in Star Wars that could be told that just haven't been explored yet. While all these new shows might very well be incredible, it is impossible not to see Star Wars: The Acolyte or Taika Watiti's unnamed Star Wars project and not be excited for the great unknown potential they offer.