In recent times, large franchises have been producing an enormous amount of content. It seems that everything is now part of a cinematic universe, with spin-offs, TV shows, and endless sequels. The Fast & Furious franchise and the MCU are two examples of franchises that have expanded so much that they have become a bit ridiculous.
Why Star Wars Is the Latest in a Long Line of Watered Down Franchises
While these franchises continue to make money, the constant expansion and addition of new content water them down, and they seem to drift away from what originally made them so endearing.
Unfortunately, Star Wars is the latest franchise to suffer from this watering-down effect. The introduction of new characters and stories in Disney+ shows like The Mandalorian and Andor has been great, and it was thrilling to see fan favorites return in Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, these shows have caused issues for Star Wars. The success of the MCU certainly influenced this expansion of Star Wars, which is now running the risk of following in the footsteps of the MCU.
The Mandalorian is currently the number one show when it comes to Star Wars. The first two seasons were brilliant, fresh, and gave us a brand-new story that added to the already interesting world of Star Wars. But the show lost its way in season 3, becoming less coherent and having too many average moments. While the story seemed to be wrapped up in a conclusive way, it felt a bit rushed and not properly thought out. All for the sake of more content.
We have seen this trend happen a few times in the Disney+ shows, such as Boba Fett’s return. After supposedly being dead, we see Boba Fett appear in The Mandalorian, and then on his standalone show, The Book of Boba Fett, we see a totally different Boba Fett from the one fans imagined. During the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, we see Reva survive a fatal wound from Vader. Whether characters are not dying or old characters are returning, this is a big issue for Star Wars. It is making character arcs confusing and less impactful. But worse, it gives off the impression that there is a focus on quantity instead of quality.
The original Star Wars trilogy gave fans a special feeling that has not been replicated since. The prequels have become more popular over the years, but they don’t come close to the original trilogy. The sequels were a massive let-down and played a big part in Star Wars losing the mystique that it once had. They were messy, poorly written, and lacked the soul that made the previous films lovable. The latest addition of Indiana Jones also felt like they were trying to capitalize on the nostalgia of a story that had already gone on long enough.
The Disney+ shows have been better, but they are also guilty of trying to capitalize on nostalgia. Obi-Wan Kenobi had some great moments, but there’s no denying it was messy. Trying to fit this story between the events of Episode III and Episode IV would always be tricky. These decisions affect the original trilogy, the most important films in the franchise. And it has unfortunately led Star Wars down a messy road that it can’t turn back on. The mystique of Star Wars has slowly faded, and the attempts to bring it back through more films and shows are having the opposite effect. It is hard to see how Star Wars gets out of this mess. Instead of being special and unique, it has become another watered-down franchise.
Nowadays, we are seeing big franchises put out more content than ever. Everything seems to be a cinematic universe. There are spin-offs, TV shows, and endless amounts of sequels. The Fast & Furious franchise has expanded so much that it has become a bit ridiculous. The MCU’s output has increased so much that it is often hard to keep up with. We are even getting a new Indiana Jones film.
The thing all these franchises have in common is they make money. However, the constant expansion and addition to these franchises make them feel a bit watered down. And they seem to drift away from what originally made them so endearing.
Unfortunately, Star Wars is the latest in a long line of watered-down franchises. Here’s why.
Disney+ Shows
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The Disney+ shows are a bit like a double-edged sword. Being introduced to new characters and stories in The Mandalorian and Andor has been great. And it was thrilling to see fan favorites return in Obi-Wan Kenobi. But if you look a bit deeper, you can see the issues these shows cause for Star Wars.
The MCU becoming as big as it did certainly influenced this expansion of Star Wars. We saw the MCU develop into a massive cinematic universe that explored different worlds and characters. And it was very successful. In a way, the MCU paved the way for Star Wars. But, in recent times, we have seen the MCU falter. The hype has died down a bit, and it isn’t certain if the MCU will ever get that hype back. This decrease in popularity coincided with the increase in MCU content.
There seemed to be a shift within the MCU in recent times with the decision to go for quantity over quality. They released several new shows on Disney+ for the first time and were very hit-and-miss. This resulted in an underwhelming phase 4, leaving fans feeling disinterested in the franchises’ direction. Star Wars is running the risk of following in their footsteps.
At the moment, The Mandalorian is number one when it comes to Star Wars. The first two seasons were brilliant and fresh. It gave us a brand-new story that added to the already interesting world of Star Wars. But, The Mandalorian lost its way in season 3. It felt a bit less coherent than the previous season. While it still had some high points, there were, unfortunately, too many average moments.
After the fantastic season 2 finale, where we saw Luke Skywalker return, it would always be tough to follow it up. But it felt like the story became a bit messy. With Grogu going to train with Luke, Din Djarin’s mission was a success. And Moff Gideon was captured. The story seemed to be wrapped up in a conclusive way.
But in The Book of Boba Fett, Grogu returns to Din. And then, in The Mandalorian season 3, we see Moff Gideon return. While these things were essential to keep the story going, they devalued what had happened previously. It felt a bit rushed and not properly thought out. All for the sake of more content.
We have seen this trend happen a few times in the Disney+ shows—for example, Boba Fett’s return. After supposedly being dead, we see Boba Fett appear in The Mandalorian. Then on his standalone show, The Book of Boba Fettwhich was a disappointment, we see a totally different Boba Fett from the one fans imagined. Some even think Disney ruined Star Wars’ coolest character.
During the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, we see Reva survive a fatal wound from Vader. Like Boba Fett, like Moff Gideon, Reva is spared death so that a story can go on. Whether characters are not dying or old characters are returning, this is a big issue for Star Wars. It is making character arcs confusing and less impactful. But worse, it gives off the impression that there is a focus on quantity instead of quality.
Star Wars Has Lost Its Mystique
The original trilogy gave fans a special feeling, and it still does. Nothing since then has been able to replicate it. The prequels have become more popular over the years despite the initial backlash, but for the vast majority, they don’t come close to the original trilogy. The sequels were a massive let-down and have played a big part in Star Wars losing that mystique that it once had. They were messy, poorly written, and lacked the soul that made the previous films lovable.
Much like the latest addition of Indiana Jones, it felt like they were trying to capitalize on the nostalgia of a story that had already gone on long enough. And in doing so, they tampered with characters and stories that fans loved and changed them into something they weren’t happy with. Thankfully the Disney+ shows have been better, but they are also guilty of trying to capitalize on nostalgia.
Obi-Wan Kenobi had some great moments, but there’s no denying it was messy. Trying to fit this story between the events of Episode III and Episode IV would always be tricky, given the last conversation between Vader and Obi-Wan in Episode IV. But for the sake of another show, that encounter and dialogue seemed to be glossed over. Or the meaning of it changed. Similar to how Boba Fett was brought back and how some characters were treated in the sequels, such as Luke or Palpatine returning.
These decisions affect the original trilogy, the most important films in the franchise. And it has unfortunately led Star Wars down a messy road that it can’t turn back on. The mystique of Star Wars has slowly faded, and the attempts to bring it back through more films and shows are having the opposite effect.
It is hard to see how Star Wars gets out of this mess. Instead of being special and unique, it has become another watered-down franchise. And it likely continues the same trend as many watered-down franchises before it.
