We may think first of how Disney has taken Star Wars in the wrong direction. At least that’s the case with many fans’ opinions of the sequel movies. However, we can identify many positive shifts with the Disney era. Here are 10 changes made to canon that are actually better.
Table of Contents
1. Rogue One
Released in 2016, Rogue One was Disney’s best spinoff movie and top contribution to canon. Among its distinguishing features, the movie bridges the prequel to the originals’ timeline, started “the trend of bringing characters from animation to live-action,” such as Saw Gerrera, and shifted away from the Jedi focus.
We can also note how the film took care of a plot hole from A New Hope by revealing how Galen Erso planted the exhaust port flaw in the Death Star. And, Rogue One prompted the Andor series.
2. Andor
Like Rogue One, Andor delivered fresh and interesting characters, which provides a key way this series made canon better. The emotional content and motivational complexity likewise provide a strong foundation for this show. As several articles like this one have attested to, “gritty realism” is offered to audiences, but with the intent of eventually connecting with the Force-side of Star Wars.
Season 2 has extended on the theme of peering into a truly evil Empire (more below), but also shows the bureaucratic intrigue within it. We have progressed from a reluctant Cassian Andor to a full-fledged rebel, but a character who would still like to duck away with Bix to a planet away from the coming war.
As this video discusses, the second and last season has captured “high reviews from people,” and plenty of them, because of Star Wars action, drama, and despair like the Gorman Massacre.
3. Rebels
Similar to #1 above, Rebels notched up canon by being “one of the first Star Wars projects” produced by Disney after the Lucasfilm acquisition. Running from 2014 to 2018, this series helps bring audiences up to A New Hope and fills the gap from The Clone Wars.
Rebels is a fan favorite for its original characters, exploration of the Force, and rich storytelling. Portraying the adventures of the Ghost Crew could have been enough of a contribution, but this series also helps bind the franchise together.
4. The Empire as an Evil Regime
Fans on this discussion comment on most of the above canon items but also indicate something crucial about the early Rebellion period. In contrast to the Expanded Universe/Legends, Disney “treated the Empire as an evil regime that must be destroyed,” instead driven by “misguided idealists.”
This point coincides with how Palpatine envisioned the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong a few decades before the Battle of Yavin, and that his goal may have been to bring the galaxy under his war to defeat them. In Disney era programming, we get a true evil regime that carried out massacres and an Emperor bent on complete control.
5. Kyber Crystals
Some posts on the above discussion also point to positive changes in Kyber crystals, especially bleeding them red. This contribution to canon provides more of a process to lightsaber building and how dark side hate and anger can go into it.
Although the idea for bleeding crystals originated with the pre-Disney Clone Wars, this update to red lightsabers helped expand the nature of the dark side and the Sith.
6. The Mandalorian
We should remember the series that brought Disney positive outlooks from a broader audience. As this article encapsulates (with #9), The Mandalorian originated in 2019 as “an almost experimental project” and rose to become “arguably more important” to the franchise than Rise of Skywalker, premiering around then too.
It also helped extend the movies into the upcoming Mando and Grogu feature coming out next year.
7. A Powerful Vader
In Rogue One and Rebels, we witness a powerful Vader. This move is a positive change from Vader not being so powerful in the Expanded Universe/Legends, or even in Return of the Jedi. We only need to rewatch this scene to remember the power of Vader.
Fans have recognized this shift in Vader and how the Legends version was “grossly underpowered.” By reclaiming his rightful power, Vader bolsters the credibility of the pre-original shows and movies.
8. More Surviving Jedi
Coinciding with #2 on this list, Disney added more surviving Jedi into canon. We had Ezra Bridger in Rebels (and Ahsoka), Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars and her own show, and Cal Kestis in the games Jedi Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor. More Jedi in the galaxy contribute to a narrative that travels from Order 66 to the New Republic.
9. Drawing on the Expanded Universe/Legends
Although separated from the Expanded Universe, Disney has drawn on it for its programming. We may first think of Thrawn as a character recovered from what may have been lost. He came forth in Rebels and the live-action Ahsoka.
Most recently, the Ghorman Massacre surfaced in Andor Season 2 in a dual manner. It served as both a reference for the “Tarkin Massacre” and a newly created one by the original name. The list of Legends incorporation into canon also includes Han Solo’s mentor, Garris Shrike, for two characters in Solo and Boba Fett surviving the Sarlacc Pit in The Book of Boba Fett.
10. The New Republic Left Alone
Along with finishing the Skywalker saga, Disney has improved canon by leaving the New Republic alone. That is, after three debated films about the New Republic, “what comes after the New Republic is a mystery.” Moving away from that story arc is a positive shift as it does not definitively indicate what happens next, which leaves it to the viewer and provides possible future opportunities.