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Star Wars in the 2010s: 2010-2012

By Thomas Willoughby

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 12: A first look of "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" onstage during Spike TV's 7th Annual Video Game Awards at the Nokia Event Deck at LA Live on December 12, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 12: A first look of "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" onstage during Spike TV's 7th Annual Video Game Awards at the Nokia Event Deck at LA Live on December 12, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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WINDSOR, ENGLAND – JULY 03: Star Wars figures created by LEGO Model Makers in the Model Making Studio at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort on July 3, 2013 in Windsor, England. LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, which has been open since 1996, has 55 interactive rides and attractions and thousands of LEGO models made from around 80 million individual bricks. LEGOLAND Windsor employs 4 Model Makers who design, build and maintain all of the LEGO models on site. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
WINDSOR, ENGLAND – JULY 03: Star Wars figures created by LEGO Model Makers in the Model Making Studio at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort on July 3, 2013 in Windsor, England. LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, which has been open since 1996, has 55 interactive rides and attractions and thousands of LEGO models made from around 80 million individual bricks. LEGOLAND Windsor employs 4 Model Makers who design, build and maintain all of the LEGO models on site. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) /

2011 began very similarly to the year previous; with the continuation of the current season of The Clone Wars. Like 2010, the key focus of new Star Wars content was The Clone Wars series. Well into its third season in 2011, fans were treated to the superb “Motis arc”, which studied the force to a deeper level than they’d seen to now. As with the previous year, some five months after season three ended, season four began. The season began strongly, especially with the episodes focusing on Pong Krell. It would end stronger, but we’ll get to that.

On the video game front, two new titles were released in 2011. In March, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars was released on basically every available platform. Set during the TV series, the title featured largely the same gameplay seen in the previous two Lego Star Wars games, albeit with RTS-like levels never before, and not seen since, in a Lego Star Wars title. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars was warmly received by critics and fans alike, selling over four million units in its first year.

On December 20th, Star Wars: The Old Republic released in North America and Europe. Billed as “KOTOR 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, on and on”, The Old Republic released as an MMORPG set 300 years after the supremely popular KOTOR titles. SWTOR allowed players to create characters under the class of Bounty Hunter, Sith Warrior, Imperial Agent, Sith Inquisitor, Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Trooper, or Smuggler. Each class had its own full story, which worked in tandem with the games overall arc. Since release, 8 expansions have been released, and, despite it’s non-canonical status, has a dedicated player base to this day.

During the Microsoft conference at E3 2011, Kinect Star Wars was formally unveiled. The less said about that, the better.

In September, Star Wars: The Complete Saga released worldwide. Bringing both the prequel and sequel trilogies to Blu-ray for the first time, the package also provided around 40 hours of extra content. Unfortunately the package didn’t feature the original theatrical cuts of the original trilogy. Having the entire saga (to that point) on Blu-ray, however, was an offer many couldn’t turn down.

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