No such thing as too much ‘Star Wars’

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Kestutis Rushing,
Contributor

The Star Wars universe is about to expand even more. The main saga, episodes I-IX, will end with Episode IX in 2019. However, more movies and TV shows are well on their way.

David Benioff and D.B Weiss, creators of the hit television show “Game of Thrones,” announced on Feb. 6 that they will write and produce a new series of Star Wars films that will not be related to the main saga films. Rian Johnson, who directed “The Last Jedi,” announced last year that he too will direct an entirely new Star Wars trilogy.

Johnson’s new trilogy will be filmed sometime after the main saga finishes. A series of movies by Benioff and Weiss will come afterward. Added up, that is at least 14 Star Wars movies.

For a lot of fans, this is exciting news. Others think there are too many Star Wars movies. But those people are wrong, and here is why.

Just because Star Wars is pumping out more films does not mean it is a bad thing. Honestly, fans should be ecstatic that Lucasfilm is finally moving past the Skywalker saga, and truly creating an “expanded universe” that fans have yearned for years.

Take a look at Marvel. There are a total of 18 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) so far. The MCU includes all the movies that lie in the same universe that started with 2008’s “Iron Man” all the way to February’s “Black Panther” and beyond. There are at least five more movies planned after “Infinity War,” which comes out on April 27, according to the film and TV website, Internet Movie Database.

The MCU is only a small portion of the total amount of movies that Marvel has created. Sony, Netflix and Fox all have rights to make Marvel movies and TV shows too although they are not related to the MCU.

In total, the MCU has a whopping 23 movies. Marvel is releasing two movies a year now, and according to Marvel fan groups online, they are quite content. No MCU movie has scored lower than a 65 percent fresh critics rating.

Comparatively, Lucasfilm has just 14 movies. Fans and critics do not want Star Wars to become an annual franchise, but it already is becoming a reality.

After the release of “The Force Awakens” in Dec. 2015, Lucasfilm began releasing one Star Wars film a year. “Rogue One” released in Dec. 2016, “The Last Jedi” released in Dec. 2017, and “Solo” will come out in May of this year. Fans fear if there are too many films being made at once, and the quality will suffer.

Every new Star Wars movie since “The Force Awakens” has been a success, according to review website, Rotten Tomatoes. But the prequel trilogy suffered harsh criticism and received scores considerably lower than the titles in the original trilogy.

After the prequel trilogy, the fanbase became toxic and started to harshly criticize every Star Wars related thing out there. The questionable scripting and overuse of CGI outraged some fans, and it caused a loss of trust in those people.

There is, however, still good in the Star Wars fanbase. While Lucasfilm and Disney are for-profit companies, they still work hard to create meaningful storylines. Some people are genuinely excited for that.

Star Wars and Marvel are creating more content beyond just films. Star Wars has two main TV series in its canon. “Star Wars: Rebels” just aired its series finale on March 5 on Disney XD. Cartoon Network aired “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” from 2008 to 2014, and is now on Netflix for streaming.

But Lucasfilm is planning for more in the TV world. After “Rebels” ended executive producer Dave Filoni explained he is already thinking of new ideas for a new animated show.

There is even more. Jon Favreau, the director of the first two Iron Man movies, announced he will be writing a new live-action Star Wars television show. This show will premiere on Disney’s planned streaming service which will launch in fall of 2019.

Star Wars could have ended with the original trilogy, after 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.” The franchise was over after 2006 when the prequel trilogy ended with “Revenge of the Sith.”

Star Wars has only barely started to move past the Skywalker family. In order for Star Wars to survive, it needs to expand and take risks.