Disney's Star Wars problem: Ignoring what works

Twelve years since Disney acquired Star Wars, the franchise has grown exponentially, but its success is marred by inconsistency, yielding mixed results.

A new analysis by The Hollywood Reporter puts Disney's Star Wars projects under a scanner to decide how the franchise has fared in the last decade. There are obvious success stories, and even projects that are failures have led to much discussion, ensuring that Star Wars remains relevant. However, Disney has an issue sticking to what works, and abrupt changes in direction have marred Star Wars projects.

While Disney launched Star Wars with a handful of new movies, including a trilogy, the franchise eventually went all in on television series. Their biggest hit has been The Mandalorian, which has flown past Marvel as the most-watched Disney+ original series to date. Nothing on Disney+ comes close to its success, which is why it's puzzling to watch Disney turn a possible fourth season of the hit show into a movie while leaving fans guessing the fate of their favorite show.

This is an example of Disney ignoring what works in favor of what brings in the money. The sequels might have had similar issues, with The Force Awakens receiving a generally enthusiastic response, but Disney's inability to carry the momentum forward. Was it that hard to get Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Chewbacca in a scene together? Many fans must've gone into the sequels hoping to see the original trilogy trio reunited, but that wasn't on the cards. Since then, the focus has shifted to Disney+'s various Star Wars live-action series, where Disney greenlit one show after another, all different genres, and different budgets.

Some shows worked, others didn't, but with Disney now hinting that their main focus will be upcoming films, the future of Star Wars TV seems uncertain. Disney will have to find a way to balance Star Wars between the big screen and Disney+ or risk losing Disney+'s subscribers. At the same time, they need to acknowledge what worked, what didn't, and why. Every show should be given a similar budget to work with, which can be increased or decreased depending on the show's success. Additionally, playing hide and seek with fans about a show's future and being unanswerable to the fandom is problematic.

With The Acolyte underperforming, promotion for Skeleton Crew should be ramped up. However, even as new rumors point to Lucasfilm's hope of giving the show multiple seasons, it seems like there's no hype for it, and a lot of the fandom has no idea it exists, which is unfortunate. This continues to be a problem for Star Wars shows, as promotion has been inconsistent. Even storytelling has had its share of issues, as shows like The Book of Boba Fett and even The Mandalorian have struggled after their focus shifted away from the titular character. Din Djarin's episodes stole the thunder from Boba Fett in his series, and Season 3 of The Mandalorian lacked the charm of previous seasons, as Din Djarin's point of view was virtually nonexistent.

The Mandalorian revitalized the Star Wars franchise and established its live-action TV presence. Now, The Mandalorian & Grogu's success is crucial to restoring confidence in the franchise's theatrical return, its first since 2019. With high stakes and struggling TV shows, it's clear Disney has made missteps in handling the franchise recently.

Regardless of the past, the Star Wars galaxy is huge, and there's limitless potential for the future if Disney learns from its successes and failures over the last 12 years.