My favorite thing about the current Star Wars catalog is The Mandalorian. I think by far, it's the most expansive and interesting story within the universe since the first trilogy.

The reason is that Mando spends no time trying to justify or allude to anything that happened in the first three films or the next six films. He just exists in the world and explores it. His adventures are his own. Sure, there are allusions to those events and crossover with the Empire, but by in large, Mando has his own issues to deal with on an episode basis. And the times the story gets bogged down are the times it tries too hard to tie in the past. 

I know Star Wars takes place in a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... but for it to continue to matter and be entertaining, it needs to put the Empire and the Skywalker saga behind it and forge new ground. George Lucas never planned on it staying the same. He wanted to try new ideas and visit new worlds. It's time we see that too. 

Children_of_the_jedi_novel'Children of the Jedi'Credit: Bantam Spectra

Star Wars is limitless. You can tell a story that happens anywhere and with anyone. Make up new species, new aliens, new powers. You can use any genre you want. We keep going back to the Skywalkers and Empire because they think that's what people want. I think that shrinks the power of what Star Wars can be. This is a world that can be expanded upon in endless ways. We've seen the tip if the iceberg with The Mandalorian. Let's push past that now. 

The truth is, if you label something Star Wars, people will watch. So if this is about attracting viewers, that's a lazy argument. You're going to get viewers. So what's holding it back? Why do we keep going back to Skywalkers and referencing movies? 

The answers are based on this faux-nostalgia life where people want to show their kids what they liked, and therefore executives assume these things have to be about Skywalkers.

Instead... what if they did something more like Tim Burton's Batman? In 1989, Tim Burton came out with a much darker and weirder Batman. The generation before was raised on the campy Adam West Batman. Burton took the same world and put a spin on it that challenged nostalgia.  

I'm not advocating making Star Wars darker. I want to see it become different. The world is big. There's so much room to tell a story that is not beholden on the past, but can be more inclusive, exciting, and expansive than ever before. But for this to happen, we need Disney to be open to trying something risky. Best-case scenario, think of all the toys they will sell. Worst case, think of all the toys they will sell.

Be bold, see where the story can go. 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

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