Star Wars in the 2010s: 2010-2012
2010 was a fairly unassuming year for the franchise. As we ticked over from 2009 into the new decade, only The Clone Wars shone as a constant source of new Star Wars. The series’ second season was in full swing by the time 2010 rolled around, and Dave Filoni and his team were really finding their groove. Arcs such as those involving Death Watch and the Zillo Beast proved the series had truly found its footing, thrilling fans old and new alike. Season two ended in April, and season three began some five months later.
On the video game front, the year saw the release of The Force Unleashed II, the sequel to the very well liked The Force Unleashed. Unfortunately, unlike the 2008 title, The Force Unleashed II failed to live up to many fans expectations. Delivering a short, uninspired tale following the clone of Galen Marek, players managed to blast through the story in under 5 hours in some cases, ending on a cliffhanger that would never be resolved.
September saw the announcement that 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm would be converting all six live-action films into 3D, and re-releasing them into cinemas worldwide. You may recall 2010 being the golden age for 3D cinema, and Lucas clearly saw the technology as a good way to maintain the franchises relevance.
Star Wars: Underworld, the long discussed live-action television series set between Episodes III and IV, was shelved. Despite around 50 hours of content written, the budgetary cost of the series would ultimately prove to be too great a hurdle to jump in 2010.
Sadly, the Star Wars universe lost some incredible talent. Most notably, Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, lost an extended battle with lung cancer at the age of 87. The influence of all the Star Wars family lost is felt with every project, and they are missed.
2010 wasn’t the blockbuster year for content that would follow later in the decade, but there was certainly enough spread across several mediums to keep Star Wars fans occupied over the months.