It was announced last week that Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm would be working together on a new Star Wars trilogy. It was also confirmed that a live action tv series would be developed, something that Lucasfilm have tried to make happen for quite some time. I don't think anyone really seen this coming. While I can appreciate the limitless potential for storytelling this new trilogy can offer, I find myself growing concerned about the future of the franchise.
The good news to take away from this is that Disney and Lucasfilm are obviously very pleased with The Last Jedi, so much so that they're willing to give Rian Johnson a blank slate to tell a story of his own over three films. Johnson is a very talented filmmaker and I'm so excited for The Last Jedi, but when this news broke last week I immediately thought of The Hobbit trilogy and The Fantastic Beasts series.
The Hobbit was originally supposed to be a two part adventure, until Peter Jackson decided he wanted to add a third film to the series. Fans of the Tolkien epic responded negatively to this and found it pretty unnecessary, which ended up being the case. The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series has been expanded to five films! On both counts these films exist for one reason and one reason alone. Milk Money.
In 2020 we will have six
Star Wars films which have followed an annual pattern of release.
Star Wars is not an annual franchise.
Star Wars is not the MCU.
Star Wars is important.
Star Wars has cultural heft and meaning. The last thing the series needs is a 'cinematic universe' style of approach because as we've seen it doesn't always work out. Perhaps after episode 9 it would be best to let the franchise breathe and rest for a bit.
I'm excited for
Avengers: Infinity War and I enjoy the MCU but I am not nearly as fond of it as I was say five years ago. Superhero fatigue is worse than ever with many arguing that this is due to oversaturation. It would break my heart to see it get to the point where people shrug at the prospect of a new star wars film.
On the other hand I can see why people are excited for this. This new trilogy could go in almost any direction as it is unhindered by the franchise's canon and extensive lore. As a fan that's incredibly exciting, my money is on The Old Republic, or the gritty underworld of the star wars franchise.
Leaving the Skywalkers behind after 40 years and three trilogies is also a massive risk, and typically taking risks in filmmaking should be rewarded. We've also seen that Disney and Lucasfilm can deliver cool and interesting new characters.
I still have a lot of trepidation about the future of
Star Wars. I don't believe we need another trilogy immediately after episode 9, especially with the anthology films. I hope I'm wrong, I hope Rian Johnson knocks it out of the park with this new trilogy and that years from now people continue to lose their minds and go crazy for
Star Wars because that's really special.
What do you think? Are you excited for Rian Johnson's new trilogy? Or are you nervous about the future of the franchise and that we're heading for over saturation? Let me know down below.