If you have followed me for any length of time, you probably have seen me pop off at some point on my socials about how there needs to be more romance in a galaxy far, far away. I don't mean in the books and comics, which are filled with those good fuzzies feelings (Not you, Courtship of Princess Leia). Heck, The High Republic had an entire wedding spectacular! I mean on screen. We haven't had a great romance in Star Wars since Anakin and Padme (which ends in tragedy), Han and Leia (also separation and death), and Rey and Ben Solo (so much death). We certainly haven't had a queer romance since Steve Blum openly shipping Agent Kallus and Zeb as boyfriends or Disney actively trying to bury its first on-screen gay couple with Orka and Flix.
We need another great romance on screen in Star Wars that can give us a good laugh and doesn't end with someone taking a dirt nap. Just because we're in the realms of Space Fantasy with the word "Wars" in the title doesn't mean we can't play in Romantic Comedy.
Star Wars needs to make a Rom-Com
Andor and Skeleton Crew are two great examples of well-received shows that can both play in various genres of the Star Wars universe and still work. The galaxy is so big that different kinds of genres can be explored. This is what The Clone Wars did. One week would be a monster movie, the next might have an Aliens-inspired episode, followed up by the high fantasy Mortis arc, and the show is beloved as some of the best of Star Wars. That is a microcosm of how and why different genres work in this franchise. Star Wars can't just be one thing. It needs to expand and take risks, and a Rom-Com is a great avenue for this.
Why a Rom-Com, you might ask? First, I want it. Give it to me. Second, romance and comedy sell! The highest-grossing genre in the world of books is Romance, which makes $1.44 billion annually and decimates other genres on a yearly basis. In television, Comedy is the second-highest genre in demand and the third-highest subgenre, according to Parrot Analytics in 2019. Action and Adventure movies, which is where Star Wars films fall, are the highest-grossing genre in film by market share, though both Comedy and Romantic Comedies aren't far behind them. Now, put all of those things together and you got yourself a nice little mix in the galaxy. Screenwriter Jonathan W. Stokes took it a step further to run data showing that Rom-Coms are some of the most profitable movies in Hollywood when the budget is right.
The budget is where the sticking point would be with Disney. Despite being the third richest company in the world, they can be sort of stupid in that realm, especially when it comes to supporting their own work. But a Rom-Com doesn't need to be a huge spectacle. The reason why a lot of Rom-Coms are successful is that the average romance movie costs $11 million to make, with the average movie being around the $18 mark for non-Star Wars films. If it's a small story, it doesn't need a $645 million Andor budget. The wonderful 2000 film Miss Congeniality had a $45 million budget and raked in over $212 million worldwide. Throw a few extra million on that, and there's no reason why a Star Wars movie couldn't do the same.
What would a Star Wars Rom-Com be about?
Welcome to the self-indulgent portion of the article. As for the story, I would love to see it be about two people who are trying to have a first date. Somehow, they keep accidentally fighting the Empire. Wrong place, wrong time, the restaurant explodes or something as they're leaving. These two are on the run when all they want to do is get to dessert! Maybe they end up at Luke Skywalker's medal ceremony Tag & Bink style.
Personally, I'd love for them to be aliens. Maybe a Twi'lek and a Pantoran, which would still relate to casual audiences. Star Wars is so human-centric, so that would offer something fresh. That could keep the politics in the story as two aliens trying to make it through this fascist Imperial regime and find some love along the way. Also, for the people in the back who keep not listening to the memo:
Star Wars has always been political. George Lucas has said this multiple times.
It would get extra kudos if they were a queer couple, maybe like Heartstopper. However, this would never happen. Disney recently has been striking their trans content in a series of cowardly moves with multiple shows. Lucasfilm left the actors of their most progressive queer show out to the wolves. And again, we have proof they tried to hide Orka and Flix from Resistance. Sadly, they've shown they care more about appeasing bigots than telling stories that validate the existence of people and actually save lives. For a first Rom-Com, it would be a hetero couple, which is something I still want! Everyone deserves to fall in love. A hetero couple would at least get put on screen and not make the stuffy shareholders choke as they clutch their pearls.
Give it to me, Big Mouse. Let people fall in love in your Star Wars and not let it end in death and destruction. Star Wars is about hope, and what is more hopeful than two people finding each other in a big galaxy, going through some crazy hijinks, and ending up with a happy ending? That's the movie that I want to see!