With all the excitement about the release of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (just a few more days away!!), some fans are now looking to the future of the ‘Star Wars’ saga to see what else is coming down the road, including next year’s ‘Rogue One.’ Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe wherein all of the movies have connections and there are few standalone franchises, it seems ‘Star Wars’ is going to be taking a different path with their movies. According to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy:
“…[these movies] are not being designed to necessarily build new franchises…[they will] very definitely have a beginning, middle, and end.”
Which means that instead of lots of interconnected movies, the ‘Star Wars’ spin-offs will stand alone, with their own definitive beginning, middle, and end, with few if any hand-offs or cliffhangers. Which makes sense given the universe that ‘Star Wars’ inhabits. Of course the main storyline will continue in episodes 7, 8 and 9, but these stand-alone films give the franchise time to highlight lesser known characters, plots, and parts of the galaxy that can only be briefly touched upon during the course of one of the main movies. In a way, this new model almost harkens back to the original ‘Star Wars’ expanded universe, where we not only had novels and comics detailing the continued adventures of Luke Han and Leia, but also hundreds of books about side characters from the movies, and location from the movies, and some stories and even games that took place hundreds of years before the original trilogy, detailing the foundations of the Old Republic and the origins of the Jedi order. There is a vast cornucopia of ideas and characters for directors to call upon, and ‘Star Wars’ might just prove an alluring aspect for many directors simply because they will not be slaves to the main storyline and the overall goals of the franchise (as happens all too often in the MCU).
What are your thoughts on the spin-offs being more episodic? Do you wish they would all tie back into the main movies in some way? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Cinema Blend