By JD Disturco, reporter
@JDDcourant
Disney’s latest Star Wars addition Ashoka, concluded on October 3rd, with the fanbase being more divided than ever. The series has seen much resentment from Star Wars fans despite decent reviews. The 8-episode limited series continues the story of Star Wars Rebels, a 4-season animated show that concluded in 2018. Rebels ended on a cliffhanger with main protagonist Ezra Bridger and main antagonist Grand Admiral Thrawn vanishing without a trace. Characters such as Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, and Huyang return and are featured prominently across the show, as well as Rosario Dawsons Ashoka, the main protagonist. On the antagonist side, the late Ray Stevenson played former Jedi master Baylan Skoll, and Ivanna Sakhno played his apprentice, Shin Hati.
According to fans, the series started strong but ended on a low note with the final episode, which did not conclude the presented story lines, and left room for more media to finish the 9-year ongoing story in the future. Disney announced that Dave Filoni, writer and director of Ashoka and other Star Wars projects, will be creating a movie in the late 2020’s that will conclude the advanced storylines in Ashoka. Whether or not a second season will air is unknown, as no announcements have been made yet. Viewers’ complaints come from that Star Wars never feels resolved. Whenever one threat is defeated, a new one rises out of nowhere. After the widely disappointing Mandolorian season 3, fans are beginning to question their commitment to the franchise .Many Star Wars fans claim it has lost all magic, and feels like a cash grab.
The abundance of projects created prevents more viewers from being drawn into the Star Wars franchise. There are currently a total of 18 intertwined projects in the canon. One example of a successful spin-off movie was Rogue One, which takes place between the prequel and the original trilogy. Rogue One’s main cast featured all new characters, with returning characters like Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Tarkin only having a few minutes of screen time each. Rogue One told its own story about war, hate, and redemption, while also tying back to the main story of Star Wars. The plot of Rogue surrounds the capture of the Death Star plans, with main characters Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor overcoming physical and mental challenges to acquire the Death Star plans. However, the casual fan can pass on it. Rogue One proved successful as it grossed 1.057 billion dollars, making $415 million in profit.
Another Star Wars show, Obi-Wan Kenobi did this as well. While it is a very controversial project, many agree for the most part it stands on its own. Obi-Wan Kenobi tells the story of an old, hermit, washed-up Kenobi played by star wars veteran Ewan McGregor, who has lost all of his motivation and elite Jedi training, facing his old apprentice turned evil, Darth Vader, played by Hayden Christensen, reprising his role. The six-episode-limited series, like Ashoka, premiered with two episodes, followed by 1 episode a week until the finale on June 22nd, and is regarded as some of the best Star Wars media since Disney bought the franchise. Obi-Wan Kenobi changed nothing in the Star Wars canon and was a quick insight into what Obi-Wan was doing during the 19-year gap between movies. Even though Kenobi had a handful of problems that ranged from rushed pacing, subpar acting, and lackluster set design, it was a harmless entry in the Star Wars canon.
Ashoka changed a large part of the Star Wars canon. Sabine Wren, played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo, was teased to be able to wield the force, contradicting that only Jedi and Sith could master it. In the final episode, Sabine, who had spent the entire show trying to master the force, finally uses it to aid herself in battle and grab a lightsaber to defeat a night trooper. After she finally gets a crack at the force, she can fully master it. She pushed a newly found Ezra Bridger to Grand Admiral Thrawn’s star destroyer with the force, which was hundreds of feet in the air. Ashoka adds a lot to the lore of Star Wars. The Characters travel to Perida, a planet in another galaxy. We learn more about the Mortis gods, three all-powerful beings who first appeared in the Clone Wars, and their strange connection to Baylan. Additionally, more is discovered about the night sisters, Witches from the remote planet of Dathomir, where other notable characters from the series, Darth Maul and Asajj Ventress are from.
Ashoka takes many steps for the Star Wars universe, but in doing so also diminishes ideas and concepts created before then. Ashoka is a blend of what and what not to accomplish with a spin-off series.
Star Wars spin-off stories should be exactly that- stories that help flesh out a character or aspect that received a lack of focus in the movies. With feedback given to Disney about how to handle their media better, it is only time until they change their ways and start to cater new media to the fans that don’t drag on or interrupt the story.
