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Ever since Disney purchased the rights to one of the most iconic franchises ever, Star Wars, from creator George Lucas back in 2012, it has been an up and down relationship with the fan base. The Original Trilogy is seemingly beloved by all and highly regarded as one of the greatest trilogies of all-time; The Prequels, once heavily criticized, have even found a place in people’s hearts.
Disney also produced their own Star Wars trilogy, a final three episodes to the Skywalker Saga. It was highly divisive to the fan base, but they also released movies like Rogue One(2016) and several other successful Disney+ shows. There’s a ton more Star Wars content coming, and Disney has big plans to expand the Galaxy far, far away. Not everything has been well received, but they’ve certainly had their hits.
Bad: Force Heal Negates Anakin’s Turn To The Dark Side
In the final installment of the Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker (2019) introduces a new ability that Rey (Daisy Ridley) knows: Force heal. It’s very casually introduced when Rey uses it on a random desert snake (she later uses it on Kylo Ren [Adam Driver] at the end of the movie).
It’s a big smack in the face to Anakin (Hayden Christensen), the character that is supposed to be ‘The Chosen One’ and the central focus of George Lucas’s original story. He turned to the Dark Side with the knowledge that nothing the Jedi could teach him could help save his wife, Padmé (Natalie Portman) Yet, Rey is able to use this ability no problem.
Good: Diversity In A Galaxy Far, Far Away
As great as the Original Trilogy is, outside of Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Lando (Billy Dee Williams), there isn’t much diversity. The Prequels do a little better of a job, but the Sequels and subsequent spinoff’s Disney has produced have made it a point to add diversity to Star Wars.
Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Holdo (Laura Dern), Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), and Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), to name a few; are all important characters that were introduced by Disney into Star Wars and have made a significant impact on the franchise.
Bad: Lightsabers Are Not The Weapons They Should Be
Everyone knows George Lucas had an affinity for dismemberment in his Star Wars movies. Hands, legs, and even some heads were being chopped off. Lightsabers are a sophisticated weapon, and they’re also very dangerous; they could easily cut through blast doors.
Yet, the Sequel Trilogy treats them as if they’re toys. Whether it’s because Disney wants to limit the violence, or some other reason, Lightsabers in Star Wars have become noticeably less lethal. Finn gets slashed in the back with a Lightsaber by Kylo Ren and lives, standard Stormtrooper armor doesn’t even look like it gets penetrated, sparks just fly. In the new Obi-Wan Kenobi(2022) series, Reva (Moses Ingram) survives not one, but two stabs to the stomach (one was a flashback to when she was just a Youngling).
Good: ‘Clone Wars’ Season 7
Clone Wars is Perhaps the single greatest piece of Star Wars media that has ever existed. Disney did right by fans bringing back this beloved show to give it the finale it deserved. Originally airing from 2008-2014, Disney revived the series, with the finale taking place on Star Wars Day, May 4, 2020.
Season seven included the introduction of The Bad Batch, as well as an Ahsoka and Anakin bittersweet reunion, the Siege of Mandalore, and Ahsoka’s version of Order 66 with Captain Rex. The ending was perfect, leading right up to the events of Episode III (2005). The ending shot of Darth Vader holding Ahsoka’s Lightsaber and walking away from the 501st Legion helmet was bone chilling, truly the end of an era.
Bad: Bringing Back Palpatine
The Sequels were a bit of a mess in no small part because of this decision. After Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi (2017), the fan base was divided like never before, he had taken the franchise in a direction that confused a lot of people, even if there were some redeeming qualities from it.
In Rise of Skywalker (2019), Disney brought back JJ Abrams, the Director of The Force Awakens (2015), and he essentially ignored everything The Last Jedi did. He also revived The Emperor off-screen, with it being revealed in the opening crawl. The idea was bad, the execution was bad, and Disney once again directly contradicts Anakin Skywalker’s redemption.
Good: Disney+ Expands on Canon
With both Marvel and Star Wars under their control, Disney+ has become a major streaming service for two of the biggest franchises in the world. They’ve done a good job expanding on existing characters stories, like Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), as well as newly introduced characters like The Bad Batch.
Other shows like Andor and Ahsoka are sure to do the same, following the previously established characters of the same names. Whether you liked the shows or not, Disney is making the effort to give fans what they want.
Bad: Decanonized Extended Universe
The Star Wars EU was never as popular as the main source of movies, but it offered up a wide array of stories and characters that had become beloved by fans. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm and the rights to Star Wars from George Lucas in 2012, it had effectively ended the Star Wars EU, turning it into Legends.
From a business standpoint, Disney was essentially starting from scratch from everything outside the six movies and The Clone Wars. While it’s understandable they would want a divider between them and Lucas, they actively shortened themselves from characters that could be used. They’ve since begun trying to reintroduce some of those characters into Canon now, like Darth Revan being in the Sith Shrine in Rise of Skywalker.
Good: ‘The Mandalorian’
The crown jewel of Disney+, The Mandalorian was part of the first set of original shows released on the platform. Starring Pedro Pascal, the show was created by Jon Favreau with Dave Filoni (The Clone Wars writer and director) serving as an executive producer.
The show was a breath of fresh air after the Sequels. An interesting and unique Star Wars script that took concepts and characters people were familiar with and made something new. As the show has gone on, more iconic characters, like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), have crossed paths with The Mandalorian, much to fans enjoyment.
Bad: The Treatment of Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca
Including the iconic foursome in the Sequel Trilogy was always risky. The execution and the fates of all of them left much to be desired by fans. Harrison Ford agreed to come back as Han Solo as long as they promised to kill him, and they did, the only one able to say goodbye to him was Chewie. Then they made a bad prequel movie about him.
Luke was in TFA for 30 seconds, then had what some would call: character assassination, in TLJ (although some believe his character arc was good). Leia played a pivotal role in The Resistance but had one horrific scene where she pulled herself from space using the Force. Then, in TRoS, was forcefully CGI’d into the film instead of being written out after the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher. All the while, Chewbacca is relegated to the sideline with people he barely knows.
Good: Rogue One
Being a spin-off movie in the Star Wars universe takes a lot of guts, but Rogue One pulls it off in spades. A movie in which the entire premise is to cover up the “plot hole” of the Death Star’s flawed design. Andor is also an upcoming Disney+ show that exists because of the success of Rogue One.
It manages to introduce new, likable characters. Many of which most fans understand won’t be surviving the events of the movie, yet knowing their fates doesn’t take away from the excitement. Additionally, Rogue One delivers the single best Darth Vader scene in all of Star Wars.
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