Lucasfilm please… Can we have more Star Wars content like Andor, and a bit less content like The Book of Boba Fett? It’s been a while since I’ve written an editorial piece, that’s usually because there is so much news I should be covering instead. However I felt it was time, because as the weeks have passed I realize how important Andor really is to Star Wars and its future.
If you have been watching Andor so far then I hope you’re enjoying it. However I know that Andor and it’s way of telling a story is not for all Star Wars fans. Traditionally Star Wars has been easy access and turn off your brain, hasn’t it? Well, kinda. It depends where we start from?
The Tonal Changes Of Star Wars
If your first Star Wars experience was watching the prequels as kids, then the sequels, and then the recent shows, you may be forgiven for thinking that the Star Wars universe is a happy place where nothing too bad ever happens. However, if like me, your first Star Wars experience was the OT and you were already an adult by the time The Phantom Menace came about, you may have a different view.
For me, whilst the original Star Wars movies were suitable for all ages, they were still more serious and dark than where Star Wars went afterwards. I’m talking the old days, before Lucas changed things so that Han no longer shot first. Let me ask you, is there a single Star Wars fan out there who prefers the Greedo shot first version we have now? I doubt it.
Original Trilogy
The OT (I’ll get to Return of the Jedi) is a story that has fantastical elements and heroics, but set in quite a dark and gritty world. Tatooine is a lawless and dangerous world and frankly Luke would be eaten up if it were not for the experience of Ben Kenobi looking after him. We meet a pirate and his potentially violent co-pilot and the first thing this guy does is try to swindle as much money as he can from his prospective clients. Once the deal is made we find out a little more about how morally ambiguous Han is when Greedo shows up, who he promptly fries before the same is done to him.
The Empire is a serious and competent threat, not some comedy club of mustache twirling British accented villains. This view of the Empire is further cemented when we get to The Empire Strikes Back. In fact we are clearly shown what ineptitude and shortsightedness will get you working under Darth Vader, he doesn’t accept it. In Empire, the bad guys win, kinda, which is always a novel idea. The movie is simultaneously darker, and also funnier than Star Wars. That’s why it’s still regarded as one of the best sequels ever made.
RELATED: Andor Episode 6 Review – Best Episode Yet
Where things began to take a lighter turn was in Return of the Jedi, to the franchise detriment. There is a lot of good in Jedi. Everything involving Luke, Vader, Ben, Yoda, Vader and The Emperor is story telling gold. However, there is a kid friendly element brought in with the Ewoks, which for many back in the early 80’s simply didn’t work. To bring in the Ewoks Jedi has to start dumbing down the Empire. Now they are less of a threat and more like cannon fodder to be beaten by archaic technology on the ground and smashed to smithereens in orbit. The Empire no longer feels like a functioning government but a big club full of truly evil bad guys.
Prequels
Sadly, the tone of Return of the Jedi‘s Ewok scenes are what was brought forward into the PT and that’s also one of the reasons they sucked, in my opinion. Think about it, which should be the darker trilogy, the one where hope returns and the good guys win in the end, or the one where the supposed savior falls to darkness and betrays everyone to allow the bad guys to win? The PT had a tonal issue, suddenly we were not in a dangerous realistic Universe, we were in Buck Rogers territory. Bad was bad, good was good, and as such Anakin’s eventual turn never felt… earned.
The Disney Era
The Sequel’s were supposed to go back tonally to the OT and not the PT. However by eliminating all the politics, and making the First Order even more bumbling fools than the Empire, the experiment was a failure. No matter how much bigger you make the bad guys weapons, if they are all idiots they will never feel like a serious threat. How does the First Order function, why is there a political will for people to back to an Empire that was successfully rebelled against? No one ever tries to answer any of these questions.
The one movie which showed the Empire as a real threat again was Rogue One, and although it’s box office wasn’t amazing, it’s also the movie most older Star Wars fans like me appreciate. Don’t get me wrong, some of the characters are not well written, and the little fan service cameos are a step too far. However the Empire felt like a real threat and the battles had real stakes for the first time in a while. Compare the Battle of Skariff to the battle over Exegol in ROTS. The Exegol battle is several times the size, with a far bigger budget given to realize. Yet, it ranks as one of the poorest, forgettable and ill advised battles in the franchise.
The Disney+ Era
The Mandalorian was better than any of the movies so far under Disney. Whilst not perfect, there is a more adult tone, the universe feels dangerous once again, and the Empire despite their recent defeat seems credible and scary. However, the tone does slip at times back towards the post-OT era and when it does, the show isn’t as good. Season 2 is better than Season 1 though in this respect for sure, mostly.
However the next two shows we get from Star Wars on Disney+ are The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now, if you had never seen either show, which one do you think would be darker and grittier of the two? Boba Fett for sure, right? Yet, Boba Fett ends up skewing far closer to prequel territory than it does Rogue One or the OT. The exception on Book of Boba Fett are the two Mando episodes shoved in at the end. Both of which are fantastic. I still say Boba Fett Episode 6 is the best 40 minutes of Star Wars we have had since Empire Strikes Back.
I didn’t hate the show whatsoever, but it also did not live up to my expectations of us exploring the criminal underworld of a villain turned anti-hero.
Obi-Wan on the other hand was a mixed bag, at times it felt OT like and at times it felt PT like. Maybe that was the plan? However I will say that once again the Empire feels less of a threat unless Vader is present himself, then it’s serious.
The Franchise Is For Everyone!
Now just because I’m an old school fan does not mean Star Wars should always cater to me. After all there are millions of fans who like the lighter approach where you don’t have to use your brain too much. In other words, light entertainment for the whole family. I cannot then try to gate keep Star Wars as something that should be catered to my wants and my needs. Star Wars is too big for that, plus we cannot delete what now exists.
However, what Andor has shown is that it is still possible to make Star Wars content that’s a bit more dangerous. A little more mature than what we get all of the time. When Lucasfilm does make content like this, it’s clear to me there is a fan base out there for it. About 90% of the comments I read online think Andor is the best thing Star Wars has done since Return of the Jedi and that includes The Mandalorian. However there are also those who still say the show is too slow for them, too boring, and too complicated. Some fans were complaining there was not enough exposition and fun in Andor. This is because that is what the fanbase has come to accept and expect of the Star Wars franchise.
RELATED: Andor Episode 6 Review: Better Than OWK, BoBF, And 75% Of Mando | TCR
Therefore I am not making this post to tell Lucasfilm to make more adult, darker content and abandon any lighter tones. Though, I wish I could have had that chat back in 82 with George Lucas. Sadly I was only 4 years old and he wouldn’t return my calls. Therefore, what I would like to propose is some balance.
Lucasfilm please, darken up your content a little. If we have a more lighthearted show here and there that’s all good. However Star Wars it can’t be all light and nothing serious. We need both, because Andor currently makes the GFFA feel more alive than anything Lucasfilm has done under Disney. Andor does not need little Easter eggs and cameos, because the story is good enough to stand on its own. Andor also proves that a big section of the fan base will go with you when you get darker. In my opinion, it seems like the majority of fans enjoy Andor more than Boba Fett. Though, I admit not everyone, as I said above.
I expect that Skeleton Crew will be on the lighter side and that’s fine. Ahsoka will likely fall somewhere in the middle. Mando S3 currently looks a bit darker and grittier and therefore captures my interest most. But I will say that if Lucasfilm ever decide to make The Book of Boba Fett Season 2, then you need to radically change the tone. The lighter tone will work at times. However not for a character like Boba Fett and not in a show supposed to explore the criminal underworld. If anything Fett should be darker at times than Andor is, not lighter and more laid back.
Lucasfilm Please, I Beg Thee
So, Lucasfilm, please… If Andor was an experiment, or not, please look at the reactions of the fan base online and how much praise the show is getting. It’s really not rocket science. Star Wars is a family fantasy story. However it is told within the confines of a complicated, and at times brutal and dark Galaxy. The balance is where the magic lies. For now Tony Gilroy seems to ‘get it’ in a way many filmmakers do not. More Tony Gilroy and Jon Favreau, less Jar Jar Abrams and Robert Rodriguez. Don’t dismiss any lighter take, but they have to be the right projects with the right characters. No one wants to see light-hearted show featuring Darth Vader. Guess what, no one wants to see that with Boba Fett either. Whereas you likely could get away with that in the likes of Skeleton Crew.
We are now in a GFFA that is jumping into multiple genre’s. However just don’t forget what made kids fall in love with Star Wars in the first place. I’ll say right now it was not farting noises and comically bad, bad guys. Andor is the best thing to happen to Star Wars in a long time. Take note of it and use it going forward Lucasfilm….please.
What do you think of my opinion on Star Wars? Do you agree with me that we need more Andor and less Boba Fett in terms of the tone of the stories being told? Are you one of the fans who thinks Andor is slow and boring and you prefer the PT? If so, can you accept there is a place for both types of content in an ever expanding universe? Thoughts below as always.
FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS
Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
