Annlyel James 
Given the success of The Mandalorian – is the future of Star Wars on television?
The Mandalorian. I’m not going to get over this show for a while, especially with there being six episodes left in the first season. The Mandalorian is, of course, the first live-action Star Wars series ever made and honestly, it’s one of the greatest (if not the greatest) Star Wars projects I’ve ever seen. Delivering bucketloads of Star Wars fan service while maintaining a very interesting (and enjoyable) storyline, The Mandalorian has juggled quality storytelling with sheer awesomeness perfectly. But, if this series was forced to be a movie, would it have the same effect that it’s having right now? I highly doubt so.
The Disney+ live-action series concept was created after Solo‘s horrendous flop last year at the box-office. It was a sign to Disney that even though we were Star Wars fans, we weren’t going to succumb to lackluster entertainment, especially considering that no one wanted to see Han Solo’s origin story in the first place. Our reaction to the second Star Wars story changed their view on how they would approach this franchise in the coming years and it seems like that decision to turn to live-action series may be the most brilliant choice they’ve made so far.
The Mandalorian‘s story, while simple, is getting a chance to play out in ways that wouldn’t have been possible (or as enjoyable) in a two-hour movie. However, even if each episode of The Mandalorian is only thirty minutes long, eight episodes give us, instead, a four-hour movie experience, meaning a story is allowed to be told in a way that can be far more fulfilling than a movie ever could provide.
With the Cassian Andor and K-2SO series already greenlit by Disney+, the story we’ll see involving the Rebel spy will have a chance to be far more interesting than a film could’ve been.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi series was once going to be a movie but Ewan McGregor has already expressed his excitement to be filming a series because, clearly, a greater story can be told.
And, if you’ve noticed, despite Solo‘s poor box-office escapades there has been a campaign since last year on Twitter under the #MakeSolo2Happen hashtag for there to be a continuation of Han Solo’s adventures in the galaxy. In a live-action series format, we could get a whole lot more enjoyment with Han Solo and Chewbacca in the smuggling underworld as they meet new characters, old and new, and get a greater idea of the emotional journey Han has experienced throughout the years before the events of A New Hope.
Of course, I’m not advocating for Star Wars movies to come to a permanent end. There’s nothing like walking into a movie theater, smelling the popcorn, and sitting down to a fantastic, brand new Star Wars film. But with Bob Iger already telling us that Star Wars will be taking a hiatus after The Rise of Skywalker, look forward to seeing more Star Wars live-action series over the next few years.
And honestly, I’m liking the idea.
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Annlyel James is a prolific Staff Writer for Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Follow her on Twitter @annlyeljames where she channels the Force frequently!
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Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
