Star Wars in the 2010s: Looking at the years 2013-2015
LAS VEGAS – MAY 29: Actor Ray Park’s Darth Maul character from “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” is shown on screen while musicians perform during “Star Wars: In Concert” at the Orleans Arena May 29, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The traveling production features a full symphony orchestra and choir playing music from all six of John Williams’ Star Wars scores synchronized with footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, HD LED screen. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The 2010s were a prime time for Star Wars. In part two of the retrospective, let’s look at 2013-2015.
2013: A new era
The first year under the ownership of Disney started with confirmation J.J. Abrams would direct Episode VII. The as-yet untitled sequel was given a vague “2015” release slot, which was later confirmed to be the December 18, 2015.
As 2013 rolled on, it was revealed Michael Arndt wrote the initial screenplay, who left the project in October. Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams would spend the year plotting out the picture, ahead of full production a year later.
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In The Clone Wars, the framing of Ahsoka Tano thrilled audiences across the early months of the year. The story arc gave us further insight into Anakin’s state of mind heading into Revenge of the Sith, as well as casting the Jedi order into an increasingly poor light.
Sadly, just over a week later, it was announced The Clone Wars was to be cancelled. In October, it was announced a shortened sixth season would be released on Netflix in the US and Canada in 2014. Mere days after the announcement of The Clone Wars cancellation, a new animated series, Star Wars Rebels, was revealed. Helmed once again by Dave Filoni, Rebels would be formally released in 2014.
Following the fairly muted response to the 3D rerelease of The Phantom Menace, future 3D rereleases of the film series were put on hold in 2013. The reason behind the postponement was to focus the studios efforts solely on Episode VII. The announcement ended with a promise future 3D release plans would be revealed in the future.
April 2013 saw the announcement long-time video game studio, LucasArts, would be closed. All projects in development, such as Star Wars: 1313, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed III, would be cancelled. Only a month later, Electronic Arts and Disney signed a 10-year exclusivity deal, allowing EA to develop and publish new titles under the Star Wars banner. You can imagine the sort of reaction that got.
Star Wars Celebration Europe II took place in July. Thrity thousand fans gathered in Essen, Germany, to celebrate the franchise. The expo gave fans a first look at the upcoming Star Wars Rebels, the platform to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi, and the opportunity to watch Attack of the Clones in 3D, despite the postponement earlier in the year.