With the current state of Star Wars, it’s safe to say the franchise needs Episode X more than it ever needed Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. When The Force Awakens was first released in 2015, it was a fairly big deal. It was the first Star Wars movie produced after Disney purchased the franchise, the first live-action film in a decade since Revenge of the Sith, and the start of a new era of Star Wars as a whole.

There was a lot riding on The Force Awakens. The prequel trilogy is looked upon much more favorably now, but in 2015, Star Wars fans were still fairly upset with episodes I through III and viewed them as significantly worse than the original trilogy. Episode VII was a chance to rehabilitate Star Wars‘ image among fans by moving the timeline forward and telling a new story. It was also a chance to prove that Disney would be good stewards of the franchise.

The Force Awakens mostly accomplished those goals and started a bit of a revival for Star Wars. Unfortunately, that didn’t last. Solo: A Star Wars Story was the franchise’s first box office flop, The Last Jedi proved wildly divisive, and The Rise of Skywalker was so universally disliked that it left the entire franchise in shambles. Disney and Lucasfilm pivoted to television in the wake of Episode IX’s failure, but it’s now clear that that wasn’t enough; what Star Wars really needs is Episode X.

Star Wars Television Hasn’t Been The Revival Disney & Lucasfilm Were Hoping For

As previously mentioned, Disney and Lucasfilm switched gears after The Rise of Skywalker and shifted Star Wars‘ focus from the big screen to the small one. At first, the television era of Star Wars started off strong. The Mandalorian breathed new life into the franchise, it garnered a huge audience of fans that were obsessed with Baby Yoda, and it looked like serialized television was the way forward for Star Wars.

Unfortunately, the television era wouldn’t last either. The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 were great, but Star Wars fell off in significant fashion after that. The next two live-action shows, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, were underwhelming at best, and The Mandalorian season 3 was simply disappointing. Andor proved to be the best Star Wars show ever, but its relatively low viewership couldn’t justify its massive production budget.

After Andor season 1, live-action Star Wars shows continued to be underwhelming. Ahsoka was good but not great, The Acolyte was a massively divisive series that caused a culture war in the fandom and ultimately was canceled prematurely, and Skeleton Crew never found a large audience despite its good reviews. Animated Star Wars shows fared much better at this time, but they never found enough viewership to be considered anything more than niche interests.

The era of live-action Star Wars shows was supposed to be a revival for the franchise after The Rise of Skywalker, but it just didn’t have legs. Disney’s attempts to put its eggs into the basket of streaming television failed to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, after seven live-action shows, it’s clear that Star Wars needs a new movie to bounce back. Disney and Lucasfilm have smartly realized this fact, but they’re going about it in the wrong way.

The Mandalorian and Grogu & Starfighter Seem Fun, But They’re Not Enough

Star Wars is now, after seven years of television efforts, ready to make its return to theaters. This is an important step in setting Star Wars back on the right course, and the movie that brings this franchise back to the big screen for the first time since The Rise of Skywalker is crucial to the franchise’s success. Disney and Lucasfilm have decided that The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is set to premiere on May 22, is the film to bet on.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is ushering in the new age of Star Wars‘ attempts at making blockbuster movies again, and it seems to be setting a trend for the future as well. The next upcoming Star Wars film, Star Wars: Starfighter, seems to be taking a page from Din Djarin’s book. Like The Mandalorian and Grogu, Starfighter is set in the New Republic era, it seems to be about a pilot who can’t use the Force taking care of a child, and it’s largely disconnected from the numbered entries into the Skywalker Saga.

Both The Mandalorian and Grogu and Starfighter seem like fun movies, and I genuinely hope they do well, but they don’t seem like the safest bet to bring Star Wars back to its former glory and kick-start a new era for the franchise. The time for The Mandalorian and Grogu has very likely already passed thanks to The Mandalorian season 3. Grogu doesn’t command the same cultural ubiquity he once did, and the film currently looks like an extended episode of the show.

Starfighter also looks like a fun and adventurous movie that will appeal to Star Wars‘ larger family-friendly brand, but it doesn’t seem like the perfect follow-up to the franchise’s return to theaters. Based on the scarce details available about the film, it looks like Starfighter will focus on new characters created for the movie and take place in an era predominantly depicted through the shows. Neither of those are great aspects for drawing in returning Star Wars fans.

Neither The Mandalorian and Grogu nor Starfighter feels like an event. So much of Star Wars success in the past has been a result of the franchise’s larger-than-life status. The Skywalker Saga is a modern-day myth. Both the prequels and the sequels were adding to the greatest science fiction/fantasy story in American history. The Mandalorian and Grogu and Starfighter feel like spinoffs, not important new chapters in that ongoing story. It’s not enough for these movies to be fun and adventurous, they need to remind viewers why they fell in love with Star Wars and prove that the franchise still has more to offer.

Star Wars Needs To Focus On Episode X To Correct Course

The best way to reestablish Star Wars as a sci-fi/fantasy juggernaut and get this franchise back on track is Episode X, not The Mandalorian and Grogu. Since the very beginning, Star Wars has been driven by its numbered mainline entries into the Skywalker Saga. Everything, including The Mandalorian and Grogu, branches out from that central story of the light side of the Force battling against the dark, of fathers and sons, of love, and of legacy.

The sequel trilogy may be divisive, and a certain vocal subset of the Star Wars fanbase may have less than legitimate critiques to make, but it’s the franchise’s best bet for the future. Star Wars should focus more on making Episode X and continuing Rey’s story in a way that both addresses the mistakes of The Rise of Skywalker and moves the saga forward. Disney has learned through trial and error that television isn’t the way forward, but the Skywalker Saga is.

Star Wars needs a new era, but The Mandalorian and Grogu is a direct product of the television era. When The Force Awakens came out, it was pushing Star Wars forward. Yes, it had several references to the history of the franchise and bits of nostalgia, but the overarching story was new. The Mandalorian and Grogu is married to the past. It takes place between the original and sequel trilogies, it builds upon an older television show, and even the main villains, the Imperial Remnants, are relics of a different era.

Disney and Lucasfilm should be pouring all of their time, money, and creative effort into making Episode X the best it can possibly be instead of doubling down on the Mandoverse and the New Republic era. Let Rey reform the Jedi Order in a new way, let the galaxy rebuild in a new format after the First Order’s defeat, let something new happen. If Star Wars keeps retreading the same story beats and elements from previous eras of the franchise, it’ll be stuck in this rut forever.

Only Episode X has the chance to really change Star Wars and set it back on course to being the iconic sci-fi/fantasy juggernaut it once was. It doesn’t even have to be the next chapter of Rey’s story, either. New Jedi Order can finish Rey’s story, and Episode X can introduce a new generation of Jedi to carry the torch into the future. As long as Star Wars does something new with Episode X, it will have a better chance of bouncing back.

TV Show(s)

The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions

Cast

Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal

Movie(s)

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order