When you think of Star Wars, you quickly think of Jedi, Sith and the Force. But that is exactly the problem, says MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes. The new films and series have to do without the most famous aspect of the saga in order to become really interesting again.
What is the current state of Star Wars? Star Wars has one of the largest fan bases in film. Since 1977, the series has been collecting fans with various films, series, comics and many other forms of media. Nowadays the euphoria is no longer as great as it used to be.
New series like Star Wars: The Acolyte are not well received by many fans. And this despite the fact that the series deals a lot with Jedi, Sith and the mythology behind them. You might think it’s a matter of implementation, but I’m convinced that the problem lies with the concept of Jedi and Sith itself.
Star Wars Episode IV – Trailer for the download version
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The Jedi became a problem
Why should Jedi and Sith be the problem? In the first Star Wars trilogy, Jedi and Sith were a mystical concept. This order no longer really existed. They were legends. Little was said about the background of these orders. The story was simple. Luke is the hero and must not give in to the dark side.
Of course, before the next films, books, games and comics were released that expanded the mythology. But Star Wars Legends, full of disastrous monsters and difficult family relationships, was never canon. They were nice stories that you could read if you were a big fan.
The prequel trilogy gave the Jedi significantly more background. More characters were established, as well as greater mythology and importance to the world of Star Wars. But this creates a small problem: The magic is taken away from the Jedi because they became less of a legend and more of a policy.
But the more rules and backgrounds you establish, the more difficult it is to tell something new with the Jedi and Sith. You have to concentrate on individual characters and Disney’s Star Wars has often failed. Many characters seem like copies of old heroes, and new lore entries are unsatisfactory because they don’t fit what you believe.
Ironically, one game has done it best in recent years. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor took a good approach. With Cal Castis you have an interesting main character who only has a peripheral connection to the Jedi. He looks for his own path.
Star Wars has more potential than that
When you look at which modern Star Wars films and series are popular, you immediately think of The Mandalorian, Rogue One or Andor. These are all stories that only have a limited connection with the Jedi. It’s still Star Wars, but the great potential is used.
Star Wars offers so much more than the fight between Jedi and Sith. So many characters, peoples and planets were introduced in passing, all of which are worth telling.
I think Star Wars: Visions is also a great example. The canon doesn’t matter here. Talented filmmakers are allowed to do whatever they want. There weren’t any Samurai Jedi? It doesn’t matter because it doesn’t have to fit into the timeline of the films. Even if an idea isn’t good, you haven’t changed the entire universe.
The problem with all the big franchises is that they take themselves too seriously. You want to create a big connected world, but stories live from unique characters and not from new wiki entries. The focus should be on the individual idea and not on the given blueprint.
What is my suggested solution? I think many of the problems, be it the blueprints or the hard and fast rules, can be solved by ignoring the Jedi and Sith for now. They shouldn’t disappear completely, but there is so much more to tell. Star Wars should try things out more, maybe even get silly or super scary.
And yes, the Jedi and Sith are cool. I mean, who doesn’t like lightsaber fights? But you should choose strong and exciting characters and not try to tell an entire era with complex connections like in The Acolyte. Star Wars was also a simple but likeable story in the beginning. Marvel isn’t particularly good at dealing with all characters satisfactorily either: even after 16 years, I can’t forgive Marvel for how they wasted one of the most exciting heroes