Star Wars should learn from Andor and stop making Disney Plus shows that are so obsessed with the Jedi
I really enjoyed the Obi Wan Kenobiand kept it up Star Wars: Ahsoka, when this highly anticipated Star Wars TV duo landed on Disney Plus. But by the time the credits rolled on the latter in mid-2023, I think I’ll have had my fill of Jedi-led stories set in Lucasfilm’s iconic galaxy far, far away.
Certainly, it’s always highly enjoyable to see this series’ Force-wielding protagonists clash with their Sith counterparts and other overtly villainous humans – amid the crackle and whir of lightsabers. But the bits in between – channeling the Force and so on – have become quite stale in my opinion. Blah blah “concentrate”, blah blah “use your feelings”… you get the idea.
Even in Disney Plus shows that don’t primarily revolve around the Jedi, like The Mandalorian And Boba Fett’s Book, still treads old ground and eventually leads to the telekinetic hot-glow-stick wielders showing their faces. While I was entertained by the Kill Bill-like battle between Ahsoka and Morgan Elsbeth at the end of The Mandalorian, other appearances from the Jedi were either a bit disappointing or overcooked. Yeah, I know ‘Baby Yoda’ is cute and all, but seeing Grogu train with a digitally recreated Luke Skywalker in season 2 of The Mandalorian (one of the best Disney Plus shows, in many people’s eyes) wasn’t the dose of nostalgia and role reversal that I think Disney was hoping it would be.
AndorBut showed me and many other Star Wars fans that you can make a great Star Wars show without a single Jedi appearance. In fact, I would argue so Andor is the most interesting piece of Star Wars content Disney has created yet – something Ny Breaking’s senior entertainment reporter Tom Power also claimed in his Andor season 1 review.
Yes, I know it was slow going at first, but the series’ determination to explore how planets and societies operate under the yolk of the Empire is fascinating, as is peeking behind the curtain of how the Imperials maintained galactic control (beyond their legions of Stormtroopers) across the cosmosStar Wars Episode III. Andor’s morally gray characters with a strange mix of selfless and selfish motivations, including the would-be heroes in the titular apostate Luther Rael, and even galactic senator Mon Mothma, made for much more interesting viewing than the stereotypical good and bad people we encounter. I have come to expect from those on the Light and Dark, and Republic and Empire, sides of the divide.
Andor gave me all that, as well as a planet-hopping yarn complete with thrilling action, cool ships, great costume design, and even discussions about the foundations of society and rebellion to feed your mind with discourse. Add to its multi-genre appeal – Andor is filled with sci-fi drama, political thriller, and espionage-based action – and here’s one of the more recent new Star Wars shows and movies that feels creatively unique among its peers.
So I want Lucasfilm to lean more into other parts of the inhabited Star Wars universe, especially projects that ask audiences to question what we know about it. Okay, Star Wars: The Acolyte (out June 4), is yet another story based on the Jedi that contradicts the points I made. But considering it’s set during the High Republic era – the first time we’ll see this period in a live-action production – and it’ll be just as amoral for Andor with the way it portrays the too-comfortable Jedi and positions their Sith underdogs, it should deliver something that fits the kind of show I want to see from the Disney subsidiary.
But that’s all I’d like to see. I don’t want to be alone anymore Andor (satisfying, Andor season 2 is coming), but how about a series that delves deeper into exploring what life is like from an imperial perspective – the Star Wars: Tie Fighter video game did this, as did other recent game titles such as Star Wars: Battlefront II And Star Wars: Squadrons. Disney has a vein to tap there.
I would also like to see a series looking at Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. Okay, Solo: A Star Wars Story I’ve already done this to some extent, but I think there’s more to explore. Could something like this happen in an apparently still-in-development version? Lando project, in which Donald Glover might once again play the roguish schemer? I live in hope.
Failing that, how about focusing on the adventures of explorers or traders as they adapt to the new Imperial rule, or ignore it completely and invade the worlds on the far edges of the Outer Rim? We could enter the era of the recent Star Wars films and explore how Benicio Del Toro’s DJ, the eccentric slicer first and last seen in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi, originated. Speaking of those movies, Finn was basically on the sidelines Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so I’d like to see this injustice righted, and we get to see how Finn became a Stormtrooper under the First Order. John Boyega, who played Finn in the sequels, exclusively told Ny Breaking (speaking to Tom Power) that he’s “open” to appearing in another Star Wars film, so give him the story he deserves.
In summary, there is a rich array of untapped potential in the Star Wars franchise that Disney could explore without turning a blind eye to the Jedi – and I, for one, want to see them actively explore this more. Make it so, please.
“Train yourself to let go of everything you fear losing”
In a conversation with co-editor-in-chief Matt Bolton, we brainstormed some, uh… creative… Star Wars show ideas. Read on for our machinations:
- What did you think about Pod Racing: Drive to survivewhere we follow pod racers in their attempts to gain fame while staying alive.
- Jawa storage wars can follow brave Jawas into the bowels of a Sandcrawler as they attempt to trade various items scraped and scraped across Tatooine.
- One man and his Droid: a moving story about a moisture farmer who bonds with a wandering astromech.
- Keeping up with the Kashyyykiansa semi-fly-on-the-wall docuseries that follows socialite Wookiees as they live the high life on their homeworld of Kashyyyk, competing with jewel-encrusted bowcasters.
- In the same way, The Real Housewives of Coruscant could explore the glitz and glamor of the spouses of high-ranking senators in the capital of the Republic/Empire, complete with high-drama and high-fashion inspiration from Padmé Amidala.
- Below Deck: A Star Wars Documentary is said to be a reality show-meets-documentary that follows the lives of select crew members of a Super Star Destroyer, in which we see junior officer Bendak Willough-tee embark on a steamy relationship with TIE pilot Courtnita Skipponch.
- Deal or No Deal: Tatooine Edition sees new entrants trying to get a good deal out of Jabba the Hutt – only those who fail to close the deal are fed a Rancor.
- Cantina nightmares where galactic chef Goron Rancorsey tries to save falling cantinas around the Outer Rim, shouting “You serve damn blue milk!”
- Frozen planet could feature Droidvid Clatteborough, the famed nature documentary host and dulcet-toned protocol droid, who explores life on Hoth while evading predatory wampas.
There are some ideas there for you, Disney. Matt and I are happy to discuss – please reduce the number of Jedi shows and realize that not everything has to take place on Tatooine and/or feature those crowd-pleasing but overused Jedi, you hear?