10 Ways Disney Has Destroyed Star Wars

Star Wars has always been something special. I grew up with its epic battles and unforgettable characters, and I know I’m not the only one. It was a story that pulled us in and made us feel like we were part of something bigger.

But ever since Disney took over, things haven’t been the same. Some changes have been great, but others? We can’t just ignore the problems.

So, let’s talk about it. We’re going through 10 ways Disney may have completely dropped the ball with Star Wars. This isn’t about saying you can’t enjoy what they’ve done. We’re just looking at what changed and why some of it just doesn’t sit right.

10. Ruin Han Solo

We all know Han Solo was never the kind of guy to play by the rules. He was always in trouble, never had enough credits, and somehow managed to get out of every mess by the skin of his teeth. But as the original trilogy went on, we saw him change. He stopped running, stuck by his friends, and actually became a hero.

Then The Force Awakens came along and threw all of that away. Han wasn’t just back to being a smuggler—he had lost everything. No job, no Leia, no real relationship with his son, and even the Millennium Falcon was gone. It felt like everything he fought for in the original trilogy didn’t matter anymore.

And then there’s his death. I get that characters can die, but the way Han went out just didn’t sit right. He didn’t go down in a blaze of glory. He wasn’t surrounded by his friends. He was alone, and the only people there were two strangers who barely knew him. After everything he had been through, we deserved a better send-off for one of the most beloved characters in Star Wars.

9. Disregarding the Expanded Universe

We all remember the excitement of diving into Star Wars beyond the movies. The Expanded Universe (EU) gave us decades of incredible stories—books, comics, and games that expanded the galaxy in ways the films never could. But when Disney took over, they wiped it all away, declaring the EU non-canon. Just like that, years of lore, beloved characters, and epic storylines were erased.

Take Chewbacca, for example. In the EU, he had one of the most heroic deaths in Star Wars history—crushed by a freaking moon while saving Han’s son. It was tragic, but it mattered. Then Disney threw all of that out just to keep Chewie around for the sequels.

And then there’s Grand Admiral Thrawn. This guy was one of the most brilliant villains in Star Wars, leading the Empire’s remnants after Palpatine’s fall in Heir to the Empire. He was a master strategist, a different kind of threat than the Sith, and fans loved him. Sure, Disney eventually brought him back, but they changed his story, erasing everything he did in the EU and making it feel like we were starting over from scratch.

I get why they did it. Starting fresh gave them room to tell new stories. But it also meant losing so much of what made Star Wars special to a lot of us. It’s hard not to feel like they disregarded the passion and creativity that went into building the EU in the first place.

8. Recycled Plots

We’ve seen echoes of Star Wars stories before—George Lucas himself was inspired by old adventure serials, mythological themes, and samurai films. But with Disney’s Star Wars, it feels less like inspiration and more like copy-pasting.

Take The Force Awakens, for example. It’s basically A New Hope with a new coat of paint. A droid carrying vital information crash-lands on a desert planet, where a young orphan—who just so happens to have hidden Force potential—gets caught up in a galactic war. Then, we get yet another Death Star, except this time, it’s bigger. Instead of coming up with something fresh, they gave us Starkiller Base, which is just the Death Star 3.0, but now it can take out multiple planets at once.

I get wanting to honor the past, but at what point does it stop being a homage and start feeling like a lack of creativity? We had a whole galaxy to explore, endless possibilities for new stories, and yet Disney played it safe by repeating what had already been done.

We wanted bold, new adventures that pushed Star Wars forward, not the same story with different characters swapped in. Instead, we got a reboot disguised as a sequel, and it’s hard not to feel like they were just banking on nostalgia instead of actually trying to innovate.

7. Ignoring the Star Wars Video Games

Star Wars games used to be everywhere. No matter what was happening with the movies, there was always a new game to jump into—whether it was Knights of the Old Republic, Battlefront, or The Force Unleashed. These weren’t just side projects; they were a core part of how we experienced the galaxy far, far away.

Then Disney took over, and suddenly, the gaming side of Star Wars felt like an afterthought. Instead of continuing the steady stream of incredible titles, they handed exclusive rights to EA, and what did we get? A Battlefront reboot with no campaign and a sequel that sparked one of the biggest loot box controversies in gaming history.

And then there were the games that never even made it. Star Wars 1313 was shaping up to be an incredible bounty hunter game, rumored to focus on Boba Fett’s rise in the underworld. Fans were hyped, but after Disney took over, the project was canceled, just like that. Another promising title, Project Ragtag, led by gaming legend Amy Hennig, also got scrapped before it ever saw the light of day.

It’s not like Star Wars games weren’t a big deal before. Every major movie had a game alongside it, letting us step into the action ourselves. But once Disney started cranking out new films, there was a huge gap where those games used to be. It wasn’t until Jedi: Fallen Order that we finally got a game that felt like a real Star Wars experience again.

6. The Sequel Trilogy

Disney’s Star Wars sequels were supposed to bring a new era of storytelling, but for a lot of us, they ended up feeling messy and directionless. It’s not just that the movies had flaws—every Star Wars movie does—but the lack of a clear plan across the trilogy made everything feel disconnected.

Take Finn, for example. He had one of the most interesting setups in The Force Awakens—a stormtrooper breaking free from the Empire’s control. That’s huge! But instead of exploring his past or giving him a meaningful arc, he got sidelined in The Last Jedi and barely mattered in The Rise of Skywalker.

And then there’s Luke. We all waited decades to see him again, and instead of the wise Jedi Master we expected, we got a bitter, defeated man who had given up on everything. Sure, character development is important, but this didn’t feel like the Luke we knew—it felt like a completely different person.

The trilogy also seemed unsure of what to do with its villains. Snoke was built up as the next big bad, then got taken out in a single scene. That could have been an interesting twist—if there had been a bigger plan behind it. Instead, Palpatine just suddenly returned in The Rise of Skywalker, out of nowhere, with no real buildup or explanation.

That’s what made the sequels so frustrating. They introduced interesting ideas, but they didn’t follow through on them. And instead of focusing on new characters and stories, they leaned heavily on nostalgia without giving us something fresh in return. Some fans love the sequels, and that’s fine. But for a lot of us, they’re a reminder of how much better Star Wars could have been with a little more planning.

5. Ruin Luke Skywalker

For a lot of us, Luke Skywalker was the heart of Star Wars. He wasn’t just another hero—he was the embodiment of hope, perseverance, and the belief that even the worst villains could be redeemed. That’s why The Last Jedi was such a gut punch.

Luke wasn’t the inspiring Jedi we remembered. Instead, he was bitter, broken, and had given up on everything. Seeing him contemplate killing his own nephew—something completely against the Jedi principles—felt out of character. Sure, people make mistakes, but this wasn’t just any mistake. This was Luke Skywalker, the guy who refused to give up on Darth Vader, the most feared Sith in the galaxy. And yet, we’re supposed to believe he nearly struck down Ben Solo just because he sensed darkness in him?

To be fair, the idea of Luke struggling with doubt isn’t the problem—it’s how the movie handled it. He didn’t just stumble; he completely abandoned the Jedi way and exiled himself, refusing to help anyone. That’s what didn’t feel like Luke. Even when everything seemed hopeless in the original trilogy, he never stopped fighting.

The good news? The Mandalorian gave us the Luke Skywalker we had been waiting for. The powerful Jedi Knight who walks in, takes down a platoon of Dark Troopers with ease, and reminds us why he became a legend. That brief scene made up for a lot of the damage The Last Jedi did. It showed that Disney can get Luke right—they just didn’t the first time.

4. New Force Powers

I’ve always loved how Star Wars treated the Force like a mysterious, almost mystical power. But ever since Disney took over, it feels like they’ve been making up new Force abilities on the fly—sometimes without any real explanation.

Take Rey, for example. In The Force Awakens, she picks up a lightsaber for the first time and somehow defeats Kylo Ren, a trained warrior with years of experience. That alone felt off, but The Last Jedi took it even further. Suddenly, Rey and Kylo could communicate across the galaxy through the Force, even seeing each other as if they were in the same room. And then there’s Luke, projecting an entire illusion of himself across space—something we had never seen before in any of the movies.

I’m not saying Star Wars can’t introduce new abilities, but these just came out of nowhere. Rey, with barely any training, was doing things that took Jedi years to master, while Luke—one of the most powerful Jedi ever—suddenly had a power we never knew he had.

3. Lack of Character Development

We all got excited when The Force Awakens introduced new characters like Finn, Poe Dameron, and even Kylo Ren. There was so much potential—Finn was a stormtrooper who defected from the First Order, something we had never really seen before, Poe was a hotshot pilot with serious Han Solo energy, and Kylo Ren was set up as this conflicted villain trying to live up to Darth Vader’s legacy. But Disney just didn’t know what to do with them.

Finn’s story should have been incredible. A stormtrooper breaking free from the First Order? That’s huge. But after The Force Awakens, he was sidelined into comic relief, running around shouting “Rey!” and never really growing beyond that. Poe had his moments, but his arc felt half-baked. We were told he had a rebellious streak, but the movies never gave us enough to really explore it. And then there’s Kylo Ren—set up as an unstable but dangerous Sith-in-training, only to be reduced to a temper tantrum-throwing villain who never really earned his redemption.

2. Poor Dialogue

If there’s one thing Star Wars has always been known for, it’s iconic dialogue. But under Disney, a lot of it just… doesn’t land. Instead of the deep, powerful moments we got in the original trilogy, we ended up with lines that felt forced or straight-up awkward.

One of the biggest issues? The humor. Star Wars always had jokes, but they felt natural—like Han’s sarcasm or Yoda’s quirky wisdom. In the Disney era, we got stuff like General Hux asking, “Do you think you got him?” after bombarding Luke with firepower. It felt so out of place, like a bad Marvel quip shoved into a Star Wars movie.

The dialogue often oversimplified characters too. Instead of deep, meaningful exchanges, we got rushed exposition dumps and one-liners that made serious moments feel like a joke. It’s like Disney forgot that Star Wars was epic first and funny second.

1. Ruin the Iconic Character: Darth Vader

Rogue One is an incredible Star Wars film, and that hallway scene? Absolutely legendary. It gave us the terrifying, unstoppable Vader we always imagined. But there’s one tiny detail that feels completely out of place—Disney gave us a Vader who makes puns. For a character who was built up as one of the greatest villains in movie history, with the original trilogy making him terrifying and the prequels giving him a tragic backstory, hearing him throw out a line like “Don’t choke on your aspirations” just doesn’t fit.

“Don’t choke on your aspirations.” Seriously? This is Darth Vader, not a Saturday morning cartoon villain. It’s like they wanted to turn him into some over-the-top comic book bad guy rather than the menacing, unstoppable force we knew.

Vader’s presence in Rogue One was cool, but lines like that took away from his mystique. The scariest thing about Vader was always his quiet menace—he didn’t need to crack jokes to assert his dominance. He just was terrifying. But Disney couldn’t resist throwing in a cheesy pun, and for a lot of us, that moment broke the immersion.