I will start this rant by saying that I am a massive fan of all things Star Wars. That includes the movies, TV shows, comics (though I don’t read very many), and books.
That said…
With the new Tales of the Empire show coming soon, I find myself thinking about what Star Wars was when I was a kid: just the original trilogy, a handful of other short films, like Caravan of Course: An Ewok Adventure, and some comics, all of which (aside from the films) may or may not have been canon, and were generally unimportant to the casual fan.
Back then, we fans could speculate on all the unanswered questions the films offered: what were the Clone Wars? How did Leia get that bounty hunter costume to save Han Solo? What was Anakin like as a Jedi before his fall to the Dark Side?
Now, all those questions have been answered, along with more questions we never even thought to ask.
Here’s the thrust of my argument: I don’t think we needed these questions answered.
In fact, I’ll take this one step further:
If I had had a say in things back then (and the fact that Star Wars is a money-printing franchise didn’t enter into the decision), I would have argued that the story never move beyond the films – maybe even not beyond the original trilogy.
Star Wars was once just a glimpse into another world. That glimpse gave us all the information we needed to enjoy the stories they showed us. And enough to let us come up with our own stories within that world. That might mean “playing pretend” in the backyard with tree-branch lightsabers or discussing and debating the things just hinted at. Now, everything has an answer in the canon. And (as my more cynical adult side is yelling to point out) it’s become a giant money-making scheme. Will the market become so oversaturated with Star Wars content that it will lose its once-unique charm?
I can’t say for sure, but while I fear that may be the case, I hope it won’t be.
Now, all that said…
I DIDN’T have a say then, and I DON’T have a say now, so I’m sure Lucasfilm will continue to pump out new content in all its forms. And even though I likely would have argued against it, I thoroughly enjoy all of it.
So, please excuse me as I go watch the Bad Batch series finale.