When I was three years old, my father sat me down in the living room of our small multi-family home and inserted a VHS of a movie. He told me that I was now old enough to watch his favorite movie and that it would teach all I need to know about life. That movie was Star Wars: A New Hope. From that moment on, Star Wars became my all-time favorite intellectual property. It inspired me to look up at the stars at night to wonder if life existed on other planets, it taught me the fundamentals of good and evil, and it remains one of the most fundamental stories and films of all time. What George Lucas created completely changed the movie industry from making a blockbuster to toy merchandising to visual effects. Star Wars changed everything, and it changed me. After A New Hope, Lucas would craft two sequels, including one of the greatest movies and sequels of all time, Empire Strikes Back, as well as spurring a full prequel trilogy. After the release of Revenge of the Sith, the world thought that Star Wars’ time was done, and Lucas has told his tale, but on October 30, 2012, everything changed once again. On that day, Disney purchased Lucasfilm, the studio that created and owned Star Wars, for over $4 billion! The world knew then that Star Wars wasn’t done.

Not long after the purchase, Disney announced that it would make another full trilogy, a sequel trilogy. These movies would become, the Force Awakens, the Last Jedi, and the Rise of Skywalker and they… were the worst of the trilogies. In my opinion, Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker were terrible and early unwatchable, butchering the material that came before them. Force Awakens at least had the excuse of creating a feeling of nostalgia, but it was nothing more than a remake of A New Hope. An orphan child who discoverers they have a connection to the Force finds an old mentor who guides them to a group of rebels fighting against the forces of evil in their plight for freedom. See the similarities now? What Disney got wrong was simple, they made a Star Wars trilogy of Star Wars. Let me explain. The original trilogy is a space opera of a hero’s journey; Luke growing in power to defeat the Empire. The prequel trilogy is a reimagining of a hero’s fall; Anakin’s journey to the dark side. The sequels were just a reimagining of a reimagining. Disney imported Star Wars themes without any substance or meaning. It didn’t help that the plan for the sequels was to transition each film to a different director, changing the vision each time. There was no unity, no art, no love. Disney tried to mix the Marvel formula with Star Wars and it didn’t work. Even though they were box office successes, the sequels remain divisive amongst fans. They did make Rogue One though, which is in my top three Star Wars films.

However, where Disney failed recreating the Star Wars magic on the big screen, they succeeded on the small screen with their animation and TV shows. Disney kept the Clone Wars show alive and delivered its final season, giving Ahsoka, one of the greatest characters of the IP, another solid ending. Rebels, though crude on the surface, filled in gaps in the mythos and told a solid tale. Rewatching it with my father illuminated to me how underrated Rebels truly was. The Bad Batch has shown an animation style that in my opinion is the one of the greatest in the West and tells a story of transition very well. We don’t talk about Resistance. The Mandalorian is arguably the best show on Disney Plus and puts the streaming service on the map. The Book of Boba Fett gave so much character to one meant to sell toys and delivered justice to the categorizing of the Tusken Raiders. And Andor is a spy thriller in space that questions the morality of rebellion. The reason why these all succeeded is because Disney learned their lesson.

Despite the roller coaster of Disney’s ownership of Star Wars has been, there is one thing that I always critiqued them on: making established stories not canon anymore. The material located in the books, comics and video games of the so called ‘Legends’ universe of Star Wars is enough for several movies and shows in themselves. When the sequels were first announced, my dad and I spent countless conversations debating on what will brought to the big screen. Would be the story of Jacen and Jaina, Han and Leia’s children as they learn the Force under their uncle Luke? Would it be about the great military leader Thrawn? A man who nearly reunited the Empire and defeated the New Republic? Or could it be about the extragalactic invaders the yuuzhan vong who were so powerful that they could overpower Jedi and flattened Coruscant? Yes, I said flattened. And that was just sequel material. There’s also Revan and all the Old Republic material from the Knights of the Old Republic games and comics, the story of the clone Commandos from their respective game and book trilogy, Luke’s descendant who became a fricking space pirate! The point I am trying to make is that Disney could have easily set up a dart board and thrown it to get some good to adapt. The Expanded Universe of Star Wars was created by fans, for fans, and was loved by all. But Disney decided to it would be better to make up their own canon and material and eliminated the competition. Another reason that Disney might have forsaken the Expanded material was because George Lucas himself never really liked them either. Lucas, before Disney’s buyout did, have a grand plan for a sequel trilogy of his own, which included the return of Darth Maul. Lucas disliked the small details the Expanded Universe added to his vision; he particularly hated Mara Jade, Luke’s would be wife and absolute badass. Disney might have made their decision on what made what canon based on the feedback from Lucas in addition to their own drive for profits.

Recently, Disney has begun implementing more of the expanded universe into their canon material. Thrawn became the main antagonist of the Rebels cartoon in seasons 3 and 4, with another appearance hinted at for the upcoming Ahsoka show later this year. The Lost Episodes of the Clone Wars cartoon, an arc of episodes that weren’t released, had footage of Revan in it. The upcoming show Acolyte may involve more secrets about the ancient Sith that may link to some expanded universe material. And the Mandalorian may possibly lead to a reboot of the sequel material with called former Empire forces the Remnant, which is what they were called in the expanded universe. These changes in direction may be a sign that Disney is willing to work with material that third party creators and fans have made to implement into their work. Especially with Thrawn reappearing with the Ahsoka show. I only hope that Disney doesn’t butcher the material like they did for the whole Palpatine returns arc, which was also an expanded universe concept where the Emperor cloned himself with Sith alchemy to make himself immortal. The future for Disney’s Star Wars is bright, but something about it makes me feel off about it.

The overall grade I would give Disney’s handling of the Star Wars property is that of missed opportunities. Why create something completely new, where an established framework already existed? The MCU is built off of the Marvel comics, even though lately they have been more loosely based. Why not do the same thing with Star Wars? I have long wanted Revan to hit the big screen or heck even a TV show in his honor. The Old Republic era is an opportunity to see armies of Jedi and Sith clashing in battle. Instead, we get the High Republic, which is nothing more than a water downed replacement. Sure, there are hints of the expanded canon in those books and comics, but nothing more. The High Republic merely follows the Disney agenda in a Star Wars costume. Simply make a story, plug it into a Star Wars setting, and place the Star Wars logo on it. Now Tristan isn’t that what Star Wars always has been? Aren’t you being a bit hypocritical? In many ways I am. The great thing about Star Wars is that it is so vast and full of content that anyone can get as much as they want of it. I grew up around the expanded universe with the games and the books my dad read to me, but the younger generation gets the High Republic and Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian. And many do like what is being made by Disney and their partners. What has been said so far is just my opinion. Nothing here is law set in stone. I am here rambling on about the disappointment of seeing Rey instead of Jaina, and Thrawn relegated to animation. I will always be critical of Disney and their handling of Star Wars, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t liked anything that they’ve done. I simply disagree with the whole canon versus legends debate. The way how I view it, Disney’s content is a divergence in the timeline, and the content I grew up with is still there. The work Dark Horse, Bioware, and Timothy Zahn have put into the universe cannot be replaced and I encourage every Star Wars fan to try out these stories. What matter most though isn’t what content is on the screen or in the pages, what matters most is that Star Wars is shared with future generations. What matters is that the themes and stories live on no matter the medium. Star Wars gave a younger me so much hope and guidance in life and I want to make sure my children and their children get the same thing. Like the Force, Star Wars connects and flows through us, its impact on our society cannot be undone and so long as it is enjoyed by everyone, then I am content.

But please Disney make sure the Knights of the Old Republic remake doesn’t die and please make a Revan movie, it’s all I ask.