For decades, Star Wars‘ Original Trilogy has been the thing that defined the franchise. The original Expanded Universe spawned as a continuation of it, but even more so on the big screen, every movie has been in service to it in some shape or form. George Lucas’ prequels were designed to extend our understanding of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker and the events that played out in those movies. The sequels showed us what happened to the heroes years later. Solo and Rogue One were both prequels to A New Hope, albeit with different approaches.
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This makes perfect sense. It’s the one part of Star Wars that is unanimously beloved, it is the thing from which everything else derives, and quite simply, it’s arguably the greatest movie trilogy of all time. The likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader are cultural icons and touchstones. And in a first for Star Wars, none of them are to be found in the franchise’s latest movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Star Wars Moving Away From The Original Trilogy Is A Good Thing
Every previous Star Wars movie has featured major original trilogy characters in some way, typically in a crucial role. That’s obviously true for Anakin, Emperor Palpatine, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda in the prequels, and then Luke, Han, and Leia in the sequels. Solo was, well, all about Han (and Chewie), and Rogue One is partially defined by its Vader scene, as well as having a notable Leia cameo at the very end.
The Mandalorian and Grogu has plenty of Star Wars Easter eggs and references that draw on the entire history of the franchise, but doesn’t feature any major characters, barring a debatable cameo from R2-D2 early on, as we see an astromech being lifted out of an X-wing (it’s not confirmed to be him and certainly not a notable role). Sure, it has… the monsters from Dejarik and R5-D4, but that’s about it in terms of the Original Trilogy, which is a departure from every other Star Wars film.
It certainly would’ve been possible to have had the likes of Luke involved in The Mandalorian and Grogu. We know the heroes are active during the timeline, and the Jedi has previously appeared in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, but on this occasion, the story was far more contained.
This is something that’s currently unique to The Mandalorian and Grogu, but it won’t stay that way. The franchise’s next big screen installment, 2027’s Star Wars: Starfighter, will take place five years after The Rise of Skywalker, and focus on brand-new characters. There are rumors of it connecting to Rey’s New Jedi Order, but based on what’s official, it’s a standalone movie that isn’t connected to the past, and certainly won’t have characters from the Original Trilogy appearing.
There are other areas of the franchise where this isn’t the case. Maul – Shadow Lord Season 1’s ending featured Darth Vader, and it’s likely he’ll play a role in Season 2 as well. Meanwhile, Hayden Christensen will return as Anakin in Ahsoka Season 2. But in terms of its theatrical releases, Star Wars has finally moved past its obsession with, and reliance upon, the Original Trilogy, and that’s largely a good thing (and the same should happen with its more recent reliance on The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, too).
Again, those movies and characters are great, but there should be so much more breadth to a galaxy far, far away, rather than everything being defined by the same few characters and events that occurred in the space of just a few years. The franchise has become stuck playing in the same sandbox over and over again, and it’s beyond time it gets out of that and starts doing more new things. The Mandalorian and Grogu is by no means some radical reinvention, but even that is just a positive step, and Starfighter will hopefully be a much bigger one.
That doesn’t even mean there shouldn’t be stories connected to the Original Trilogy. Andor shows how powerfully it can be done, while still being fresh and unique. But that was more focused on newer characters, or lesser explored ones. And there’s still room for fan-service where it makes sense: Vader’s arrival in Maul was earned, and it was brilliant. Star Wars can be many different things, and the more eras it explores, and the more characters it can make us care about, the richer it’ll be. Particularly on the big screen, that’s what its future needs right now.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is currently playing in theaters. Star Wars: Starfighter releases on May 27th, 2027.
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