Let's talk about the dire future of Star Wars TV

I was listening to my friends at Gold Squadron Gays podcast, and they made a good point in the latest episode about The Bad Batch's Season 3 finale. As they discussed the Skeleton Crew trailer, one of the hosts, Charles, mentioned that we're coming to the end of what he dubbed Star Wars TV's "Phase One." Out of all the shows initially announced in 2020, Skeleton Crew and Andor Season 2 will bring that era to a close next year. What would the future of Star Wars TV look like after Andor? I was already thinking about writing an article based on this conversation because it's a good question to ponder about. But then that night, The Acolyte got canceled.

So, let's go ahead and discuss the future of Star Wars TV and how it's looking more and more bleak.

In 2020, Lucasfilm announced eleven new television series as part of Disney's Investor Day. This announcement was exciting, especially during a global pandemic. Two years later, Skeleton Crew would join the roster. The future looked bright for Star Wars on the small screen.

Of the twelve series announced, eight have premiered or are about to debut or end in 2025. Rangers of the New Republic was canceled thanks to an actress torching her career (though it should have been turned into the Carson Teva and Zeb Orrelios show, but that's just me). Lando is supposedly being turned into a movie, though with Lucasfilm's penchant for announcing movies only to drop them, I'll believe it when I see it. Who knows what's happening with A Droid Story, as there haven't been any official updates since 2021.

The Mandalorian was an instant smash hit, though it's important to keep the context that the COVID-19 pandemic was going on. As people couldn't leave their homes and looked for any escapism, viewership was up across the board in general for television. That's not to say that The Mandalorian didn't deserve it; it's a great show and premiered months before the pandemic sunk in. However, the television landscape was incredibly different four to five years ago versus where it is today when series with supposedly lower viewership, like The Acolyte and Andor, had to compete.

The state of television is incredibly dire at the moment. Most streaming services are struggling, and we're seeing shows getting canceled everywhere. Or worse, deleted forever. I'm still salty that I never got to watch Willow.

Also, the 8-episode structure of many shows these days doesn't help a new series get off the ground. It's not a lot of time to establish new characters, set up a story for the long term (but not too long in case it gets canceled), build a world, and hit those instantly huge streaming numbers. Not every series is a success story like Hazbin Hotel, which launched with a built-in fan base thanks to the indie pilot and its ongoing free to watch on YouTube sister show Helluva Boss. A show like The Acolyte had to essentially start from the ground up. Sure, so did The Mandalorian. But again, Mando was in a very different television landscape and set in a somewhat familiar time period between the original and sequel trilogies. Mando did not have to do as much legwork in world-building as the High Republic series did. Now with Lucasfilm looking to move away from the TV model and back toward its movies once again, we might not get many more chances with new characters.

I miss the days when a series had 22 episode seasons. The Bad Batch truly did luck out with as many episodes as it got, especially seeing the growingly dire state of animation. It may be a long time before we get another animated show like that. I'm fully expecting more short anthologies like Tales and less like Star Wars Rebels, which are more long-form. It will more than likely depend on what happens with The Animation Guild, which is currently in negotiations with the AMPTP and will resume in September. If things fall apart, animation will strike just like SAG and the WGA rightfully did last year. That would absolutely put a hold on any new Star Wars animated projects outside of probably Star Wars Visions, as the focus of that series is featuring studios outside of the US. However, we'll have to wait and see.

Lucasfilm and Disney aren't other streaming platforms like AMC, which fully supports its diverse series like Interview With the Vampire. AMC also gave The Mayfair Witches a second season despite it not having the numbers or name recognition as its sister show. AMC put a lot of money into the Immortals Universe to bring all of Anne Rice's works to the small screen. With a third show coming about the Talamasca, AMC is willing to work for these series and let them have time to breathe and grow. These shows aren't pulling in the same numbers as The Walking Dead and its millions of spinoffs. However, AMC gave it a chance, and Interview With the Vampire is second behind their powerhouse zombie franchise. It's one of the most well-reviewed series on TV going into its third season. It's like if you give things time to grow and invest in them, good things will happen!

Star Wars Celebration Japan in 2025 just got a lot more interesting, to say the least. The movies will probably get a huge focus with so many in the works. For Star Wars TV, that could be more scarce regarding new announcements. If there is one thing that Lucasfilm and Disney have shown in the last few years, it is that they are not patient enough to let a show grow and find an audience. It's officially a numbers game.

Unless it's a smash hit out of the gates like The Mandalorian, it's going to get an axe. Depending on how The Animation Guild negotiations go, they might be deep into a strike or just have come out of one. Lucasfilm also keeps learning the wrong lessons from their so-called failure. Solo: A Star Wars Story failed because you had to essentially film it twice, making it incredibly expensive. The Book of Boba Fett was high-jacked mid-show to be The Mandalorian, which took away from the titular character. Boba Fett was given so little to do in his own series. The Acolyte was introducing an audience to a relatively new era in the franchise. It needed time to grow.

The future of Star Wars TV looks dire from where I'm sitting. I'm not hopeful that we're going to get anything new, unique, or creative. Lucasfilm and Disney proved they would rather have a deep fake A.I. Luke Skywalker instead of investing in recasting these actors (again, the wrong lesson from Solo. Alden Ehrenreich was not the problem of that movie). They want to play it safe with already-established stories instead of letting new ideas grow and find their footing. I can only imagine the next animated series will be some spin-off of The Clone Wars, which has a death grip on the franchise (just look how Disney executives literally buried their gays from a past animated show).

I officially have no more excitement for the future of Star Wars TV. Why should I care when anything new, innovative, and groundbreaking is going to get canceled? And I don't think they're going to prove me wrong anytime soon.