The Downfall of Star Wars: How the Prequels Caused the Franchise's Biggest Flaw

The Rise of Star Wars Prequels

The biggest flaw in the Star Wars franchise began in 1999 with George Lucas' prequel trilogy. When Star Wars: Episode I -The Phantom Menace first hit theaters in May 1999, it sparked a series of movies, books, and TV shows that would answer questions about details that the original trilogy had only hinted at.

George Lucas Star wars prequels

This new content answered questions such as what the Clone War was and how it led to both the downfall of the Jedi and the creation of the Empire. However, while this new content paved the way for lots of interesting storylines and character arcs, it also set up Star Wars' Achilles' heel.

The Timeline of Star Wars Content

It is now a habit - even an expectation - that Star Wars movies and TV shows will come out in no particular order. For example, both Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story were released between movies in the sequel trilogy.

There are three upcoming Star Wars movies, Dawn of the Jedi as well as two other unnamed ones, all set in different places along the timeline. It isn't just the Star Wars movies that are spread across the past, present, and future. Canonical books in the franchise - such as the Thrawn (2017) and Thrawn: Ascendancy (2020) trilogies - were also released out of chronological order.

George Lucas' Prequels Meant Star Wars Looked To The Past. Star Wars moves backward along the timeline more often than forward. While it is not necessarily a bad thing to jump around in the timeline of a franchise, Star Wars has done it so often that it is now expected that narrative gaps and plot holes will be filled in later.

The Impact of Nostalgia on Star Wars

A dependence on retconning is not the only problem with Star Wars' insistence on looking back. The franchise's constant nostalgia bombing undermines the audience's suspension of disbelief.

For example, one of the most interesting things about The Mandalorian was the lack of well-known characters - particularly Jedi - and Din Djarin's ignorance about the Jedi Order. The show's focus on the growing father-son relationship between Din Djarin and Grogu rather than on famous characters made it fresh and interesting.

However, when Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Luke Skywalker came onto the scene, viewers were suddenly reminded that this wasn't just The Mandalorian - it was a show within the Star Wars franchise.

However, Star Wars' tendency to look backward isn't all bad. While the introduction of the prequel trilogy did lead to the franchise's biggest flaw, it has also led to interesting world-building and the development of well-written and complex characters that wouldn't exist otherwise.