Ever since Disney purchased Star Wars many fans have theorized this would open up the possibilities to expand the star wars universe like never before. One of the many eras within the star wars universe fans have been wanting Disney to explore is that of the Old republic. The Star Wars knights of the old republic video games have been met with praise from fans and critics alike for its unique story and in depth character development. I personally have even found the cinematic trailers to be better than Force awakens or anything new within the new canon. But why does it seems even with all the critical praise surrounding the Old republic does it seem Disney may never give us a fully realized world with movies and more media? Why with the advent of these new Star wars Anthology films is Disney so keen on giving us Han Solo and Boba Fett?
One word that might be the key to this is NOSTALGIA! That’s right nostalgia is what I believe made Star Wars EP 7 and Rouge One so successful. Now yes one can argue that beyond that these are good movies, and to a certain degree I will agree. But when the Force awakens was being promoted one of the key factors Disney made sure fans felt is the nostalgia of the OT. You couldn’t promote say a movie about the Jedi civil war or the reign of Darth Revan with TIE fighter sounds and the breathing of Darth Vader. You couldn’t promote a movie about Darth Malak with R2-D2 AND C-3PO, and while promotion for the Force Awakens did heavily involve new droid character BB8 you knew that C-3PO and R2 were going to show up sooner or later.
This is why I believe that the new Star Wars anthology movies as well as the new trilogy are staying within the confines of the aesthetic of the OT. The prequel trilogy was not all that bad like most fans would make it seem but Disney has been very careful to stay clear of the prequel trilogy. Sure we might have had a few instances where the connection can be seen, but for the most part Disney has made it their mission to make fans and the general audience forget those “bad Star wars movies”! Hell there even seemed to have been a fall out when it was suggested Hayden Christiansen may reprise his role as Darth Vader, and he would have been in the suit! George Lucas has made it clear that he always wanted to do things new and different. Be It new planets, new ships or all new different villains, I’m afraid anything to new would make fans and more specifically fans that grew up with the OT shutter. Disney wants you to feel like this is Star wars whether the story and characters are weak or not.
To go back to the days of the Old republic would require too much creativity and innovation. Going to new worlds that aren’t the same desert, snow, and forest would require a little more dare I say green screen and cgi. You couldn’t promote the film with Stormtroopers, x-wings, or the millennium falcon. Imagine if the force awakens involved the emergence of an entirely new threat than the same old empire type. I am afraid that for now if the look of the film doesn’t “feel “and “look” like star wars, then Disney may feel it will involve too much of a risk. For now it may be too much of a risk having audiences invest into something new. I mean lest be frank we really didn’t need Rouge one, and although the film was good if Disney wanted to do anything with the word prequel in it they knew between EP 3 and 4 you still could get away with the general star wars look. Anything before episodes 1, 2, and 3 would require something different.