Lucasfilm is aware that on the Skywalker name as a whole began to be questioned.
While George Lucas himself agrees that Star Wars is closer to a soap opera about family than to a sci-fi epic, the saga introduced audiences to a world so large and full of possibilities that it is harder not to ponder what else Star Wars could be. After the original trilogy told a straightforward, self-contained story about an evil Empire being opposed by a rebel alliance, the Star Wars prequel trilogy expanded both the timeline and the scope of the saga. From then on, books, games, and animated series like Star Star Wars Rebels added a great deal of worldbuilding to the franchise, and even the most important characters like Luke began to seem small in the grand scheme of things.
However, Star Wars never really shifted the focus away from the Skywalker Saga. More than Han Solo recast backlash.
Disney Knows Star Wars Has To Move Beyond The Skywalker Saga
It is not just audiences who have perceived that Star Wars needs to move beyond the Skywalker Saga in order to achieve its full potential. As an explanation for why new theatrical Star Wars films are taking longer now to be developed, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed that the company realizes Star Wars needs to move away from the Skywalker legacy but that such a change demands a lot of time. Disney must have come to that conclusion, especially after both Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi and J.J. Abrams' Rise of Skywalker did more than a billion each, neither of them had the same impact as The Force Awakens.
Star Wars' Shows Are Mostly Still Connected To The Skywalker Saga
Disney’+ next Star Wars show, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
Why Star Wars Is Struggling To Move Beyond The Skywalker Saga
The term Skywalker Saga is almost redundant as Star Wars has always been about the Skywalkers. Luke Skywalker, which funnily enough was originally named Luke Starkiller, started his hero's journey in A New Hope to become one of pop culture's most recognizable characters, followed by the shocking reveals of both Darth Vader and Leia also being part of the family. At this point, even though Star Wars has a universe large enough to welcome the most different stories set in whatever time period, it is hard to abandon the characters, storylines, and locations like the desert of Tatooine that have been part of the franchise for so long. That shift is challenging also from a commercial standpoint, as nostalgia, cameos, and callbacks to familiar places and characters are often guaranteed success not only in Star Wars but in other franchises like the MCU and the DCEU. Trying to start something from scratch is always more difficult than continuing what is already in the works, and that explains why Star Wars struggles to move beyond the Skywalker Saga.
Will Star Wars' Movies Finally Leave The Skywalker Saga Behind?
So far, the only Star Wars movie with a release date attached is Patty Jenkins' Thor: Love and Thunder director helming a completely original Star Wars story would be exciting. The future of Star Wars on the big screen is still being kept in secret, and that could be a hint that the franchise is taking its time to finally bring something truly new.
