When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, it marked a turning point for the Star Wars franchise. The galaxy far, far away saw both highs and lows under the new leadership, sparking debates among longtime fans and new audiences alike.
While Disney’s stewardship has brought significant success, it has also made some controversial decisions that altered the course of the franchise forever.
Let’s cover up what Disney has been doing with Star Wars.
Table of Contents
Resetting the Canon: A Controversial Decision
One of the most significant and controversial decisions made by Disney after acquiring Lucasfilm in 2012 was the resetting of the Star Wars canon.
Before 2012, the Expanded Universe (EU) consisting of books, comics, and games had been meticulously built over decades, telling stories of beloved characters like Mara Jade, and expanding the lore of the Star Wars universe.
However, Disney decided to discard these stories, rebranding them as Legends, meaning they were no longer part of the official canon.
While Disney’s decision to reset the canon made sense as a way to simplify storytelling for future films and series, it left many long-time fans feeling alienated, as they had grown deeply connected to the characters and narratives of the Expanded Universe.
Many fans were upset that their favorite stories and characters were now non-canon.
For some, this felt like a loss of the deep, rich history that had been cultivated over the years.
Despite this, Disney has selectively reintroduced elements from the EU into the official canon.
For instance, the character Thrawn, a fan favorite from the Heir to the Empire trilogy, was brought into the animated series Rebels and is set to appear in live-action projects.
However, for many fans, this pivot toward EU material feels like a case of “too little, too late.”
The damage was done when Disney sidelined these stories in favor of their sequels, and now, with the Skywalker Saga concluded, there’s a sense that the opportunity to see the expanded galaxy in full has passed.
Fans who once dreamed of seeing Luke’s Jedi Order rebuilt or the New Republic flourishing are now left with a universe where everything has been torn down again.
The Sequel Trilogy: A Divisive Journey
Perhaps the most significant point of contention under Disney’s management was the Sequel Trilogy.
Starting with The Force Awakens (2015), followed by The Last Jedi (2017), and ending with The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the trilogy faced intense scrutiny for its disjointed narrative.
Unlike the original and prequel trilogies, which followed a clear vision (whether or not fans agreed with that vision), the Sequel Trilogy seemed to suffer from a lack of planning. J.J.
Abrams kicked off the trilogy with The Force Awakens, a film that leaned heavily on nostalgia but introduced compelling new characters like Rey and Kylo Ren.
Then Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi took bold steps to deconstruct many established Star Wars tropes. For some, this was a refreshing change, but for others, it felt like a departure from what they loved about the series.
By the time The Rise of Skywalker arrived, it was clear that the trilogy lacked a cohesive direction.
The decision to bring back Emperor Palpatine, without proper buildup, was widely criticized as an attempt to salvage the story.
Fans felt that Disney hadn’t properly mapped out the trilogy and that each movie was trying to undo the previous one’s decisions.
The result was a finale that left the saga’s most die-hard fans divided and disappointed.
Not only were fans disillusioned, but even George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, expressed disappointment. In an excerpt from a 2015 Charlie Rose interview, Lucas commented on how Disney approached the Sequel Trilogy:
“Disney was a little nervous. One of the issues was the first three movies had all kinds of issues. They looked at the stories and said, ‘We want to make something for the fans.’ So I said, all I wanted to do was tell a story of what happened.”
He added, “It started here, and it went there… It’s about generations and the issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers. It’s a family soap opera; it’s not about spaceships. But they decided they didn’t want to use those stories, and instead, they were going to do their own thing.”
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
George Lucas’ Vision: The Road Not Taken
George Lucas shared his vision for the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, detailing what he would have done if he had remained at the helm.
His original concept was to explore the mystical aspects of the Force more deeply, focusing on the microscopic world of midichlorians and the Whills, powerful entities that govern the Force.
Lucas aimed for a more cerebral and philosophical take on the Force, moving away from the traditional Jedi vs. Sith battles.
In an interview with James Cameron for AMC Visionaries, Lucas explained that his sequel trilogy would have delved into the inner workings of the Force.
Further insights into Lucas’s vision were revealed in an interview featured in the companion book to the AMC documentary series, “James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction.”
In the book, Lucas mentioned his plan to introduce audiences to a “microbiotic world” and the Whills, creatures that “feed off the Force” and “control the universe.”
Lucas acknowledged that fans might not have embraced this idea, drawing parallels to the reception of “The Phantom Menace.”
He stated, “The next three ‘Star Wars’ films were going to explore a microbiotic world. There’s this world of creatures that operate differently than we do. I call them the Whills. And the Whills are the ones who actually control the universe. They feed off the Force.”
He added, “If I’d held onto the company, I could have done it, and then it would have been done. Of course, a lot of the fans would have hated it, just like they did ‘Phantom Menace’ and everything, but at least the whole story from beginning to end would be told.”
Disney’s rejection of Lucas’ ideas became even clearer with the lack of continuity between the sequels, with The Last Jedi breaking many expectations, only for The Rise of Skywalker to reverse much of its narrative.
George Lucas Reveals His Original Plans for the Sequel Trilogy
Before stepping away from Star Wars, George Lucas had developed his own intriguing vision for Episodes VII, VIII, and IX.
His plans for the sequel trilogy were documented in the Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005 book, offering a glimpse into the direction he initially intended for the saga.
Here’s what Lucas had to say:
“After the Rebels won, there were no more stormtroopers in my version of the third trilogy.”
In Lucas’ sequel plan, the narrative would pick up after the Rebellion’s victory over the Empire, but with new conflicts brewing.
He drew parallels to real-world history, noting, “Episodes VII, VIII, and IX would take ideas from what happened after the Iraq War. “Okay, you fought the war, you killed everybody, now what are you going to do?” Rebuilding afterwards is harder than starting a rebellion or fighting the war. When you win the war and you disband the opposing army, what do they do?”
“The stormtroopers would be like Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist fighters that joined ISIS and kept on fighting. The stormtroopers refuse to give up when the Republic win. They want to be stormtroopers forever, so they go to a far corner of the galaxy, start their own country and their own rebellion.”
The most notable antagonist in Lucas’ version was the return of Darth Maul.
“The key person is Darth Maul, who had been resurrected in The Clone Wars cartoons — he brings all the gangs together.”
“Darth Maul trained a girl, Darth Talon, who was in the comic books, as his apprentice. She was the new Darth Vader, and most of the action was with her. So these were the two main villains of the trilogy. Maul eventually becomes the godfather of crime in the universe because, as the Empire falls, he takes over.”
As for the heroes, Lucas’ plan heavily featured Leia as the leader trying to rebuild the Republic:
“The movies are about how Leia — I mean, who else is going to be the leader? — is trying to build the Republic. They still have the apparatus of the Republic but they have to get it under control from the gangsters. That was the main story.”
“It starts out a few years after Return of the Jedi and we establish pretty quickly that there’s this underworld, there are these offshoot stormtroopers who started their own planets, and that Luke is trying to restart the Jedi. He puts the word out, so out of 100,000 Jedi, maybe 50 or 100 are left. The Jedi have to grow again from scratch, so Luke has to find two- and three-year-olds, and train them. It’ll be 20 years before you have a new generation of Jedi.”
By the end of Lucas’ planned trilogy, “Luke would have rebuilt much of the Jedi, and we would have the renewal of the New Republic, with Leia becoming the Supreme Chancellor in charge of everything.“