The Sci-Fi Franchise That Most Desperately Needs A Multiverse Still Doesn’t Have One
Around the internet, there are countless posts and videos that share the same basic sentiment about Disney’s movies and shows set in a galaxy far, far away: “this isn’t my Star Wars.” The problem, of course, is that Star Wars is all things to all fans, and what may satisfy one group could easily alienate others. Disney seems to have no idea how to address this problem, but the solution is quite simple: we desperately need Star Wars to have its own multiverse.
Now, some of you just groaned while reading that because Disney already has a multiverse with Marvel, and outside of hits like Deadpool & Wolverine, they’ve mostly squandered it. However, the problem with the MCU multiverse is that is still focused almost entirely on the primary universe, and Variants are used for glorified cameos powered entirely by nostalgia (look, kids, Patrick Stewart is back as Professor X for like two seconds!). What I am proposing for Star Wars is a kind of anthology multiversal approach in which future shows and films can either share distinct universes or create their own.
What would this mean, practically speaking? For starters, we could have a multiverse of movie sequels that ignore most or even all of the existing Sequel Trilogy. People who absolutely hated new characters like Rey and Kylo Ren could have new content that ignores them altogether. That would also mean ignoring the iconic character deaths, so we could have future films and shows featuring older Luke Skywalker and Han Solo (though Disney might need a Jabba-style horde of credits to bring Harrison Ford back to Star Wars yet again).
Conversely, the existing Star Wars sequel stories and characters could have their own multiverse, one which doesn’t have the weight of fan expectations dragging it down. That’s the beauty of this multiversal approach: nobody can claim “that’s not my Star Wars” anymore because there is no singular story that future creators must follow. Instead, future creators will have the privilege of simply crafting a great story (Andor-style) rather than ruining attempts at greatness by awkwardly fitting everything into the pre-existing lore.
Speaking of pre-existing lore, one of the greatest benefits of Disney introducing a multiverse to this franchise is that we could get adaptations of the beloved Star Wars EU. How fun would it be if we could get a Jedi Academy trilogy of movies that adapts Kevin Anderson’s classic books instead of revealing that Kylo Ren either recruited or murdered all of Luke’s students? For that matter, how cool would it be if we could see Jacen Solo onscreen and follow his descent into the Dark Side, one which was much deeper and more satisfying than Kylo Ren’s uncle issues and grandaddy worship?
There are some fans who would hate this idea because they are obsessed with “canon,” but here’s a hard truth: canon obsessions make no sense. Why are we so obsessed with what “really” happened in a fictional universe, going so far as to freak out when the newest made-up thing disrupts something we thought we knew about the old made-up things? Quite frankly, ending the endless debates over canon would be an amazing bonus to Disney embracing a multiversal Star Wars approach.
Only time will tell if Disney adopts the wisdom of this approach. After all, it’s an open secret that the MCU will reboot soon, crushed under the weight of its own oppressive canon. However, what if there was no need for a reboot because there was no singular canon but, instead, an infinite multiverse of possibilities? This may be the final opportunity to get good stories, bring back beloved characters, and shut up crybaby fans at the same time, all of which could amount to our last, best hope to fix the dreadful modern state of the most popular sci-fi franchise.
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