Commentary: ‘Star Wars’ has always been political. ‘Andor’ made it must-see TV, but what happened to the real heroes of the Resistance?
By now, it’s become the accepted truth in the industry that George Lucas’s Star Wars is the last of the original trilogy trilogy. It’s the trilogy that started it all, the trilogy that gave the studio (Lucasfilm) all of the major characters, most of the iconic ships, the iconic locations. If there is a trilogy that should be passed on, it’s the original trilogy, and so a generation of Star Wars addicts and fans and collectors and historians have always taken this to heart. And after six successful films, three of which are universally hailed as the best movies of all time, there’s a simple question that almost nobody would ask: Has the original trilogy stopped being relevant?
If one reads the box-office figures for the last six years, the answer can easily be found. The trilogy has grossed over $3 billion in the U.S., with $2.8 billion in China alone. Lucasfilm’s success is something to be celebrated, but is that success as important as it was back when George Lucas was just a kid watching an unfinished VHS movie entitled Wookiee Hunter? Or is history repeating?
The simple answer, one that is so obvious a lie, is the film industry as a whole has become a more political. That seems to be the case for anyone who looks at how the franchise continues to be developed, how many of its leading talents have gone on to the franchise next door with the recent films Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Solo: A Star Wars Story, the next trilogy in the Skywalker saga. As with all franchises, one can argue that the franchise that makes it to the top, whether the one with the most money or the one with the most prestige, is the one that has the power to dictate the culture and the world.
The success of the films, the money and the brand is the reason that the Empire is a shadow of its former self. The movies bring in the money, but it’s the money that keeps the Empire alive, making sure it is able to produce the next movie, the one that will get this company off the ground. And in the end