First off, I don't usually reply to item by item posts, but I really want to here because the replies are excellent. I also recognise that Nathan knows his stuff so on the detail, as always, I bow to his superior knowledge!
The Madalorian has already proven that new Star Wars can be set away from the big set pieces. Does everything really need to be tied into the movies?
I'd argue that it is still baked deep in 'that which has come before' - The Mandolorian wouldn't exist if there wasn't a strong fan base for Boba Fett. It's no accident that Grogu is popularly called Baby Yoda. Appearances from slews of characters in the second season have been drawn from existing material. There's nothing wrong with this, per se - I've grown to really enjoy S2. But the mountains of easter eggs and call backs tp existing properties is, in my opinion, a little lazy.
You could say the same for the Prequel trilogy. We all knew how that would end. Did it stop us going to the cinema to watch The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith?
That's true but that was truly a different time when, correct me if I am wrong, most of the new material was the Expanded Universe stuff that was stretching out *after* Return of the Jedi? Prequel stuff was rare?
Ashoka's voice, among others, is heard by Rey in both TFA and Rise of Skywalker.
Which sort of makes it worse, doesn't it? As we now know she will have passed into the Force at some point between now and then. I suppose there is the 'how' part of it that makes it interesting.
The High Republic is the new era LucasFilm is pushing, so no wonder it's been commissioned. The story is rumored to focus on the more darker side of the Star Wars universe and marks the beginning of the end of the Jedi Order's power, some two hundred years before the Order's fall. The focus of the story is on the return of the Sith and the sewing of the seeds that lead to Darth Sidious' rise as Emperor.
Oooooh.
This is one the fans have been demanding for years! There is a massive 18 year gap in his story and plenty of room to squeeze in a limited event series to plug that gap a little. Plus refer to my comment about the prequel films above.
The irony is, this is the one I am least interested in, although I am sure that they will do an amazing job with it. We know OWK will end up on Tattooine. We know the Empire will ascend further. We know Darth Vader will not be defeated. We know the Emperor is still around. We know that Luke and Leia will survive whatever conflict comes along. We can also be pretty certain that any Jedi that OWK meets who have survived Order 66 won't make it to the end of the show, or questions would have to be asked about where they were in films?
appears to be an anthology series, The Bad Bunch is a spin-off from The Clones Wars and like A Droid Story, it will be animated. Rogue Squadron is the next movie, slated for a Christmas 2023 release.
Visions sounds fascinating, in the same way that What If... does, and the Short Treks have been. I love a good anthology series. Rogue Squadron is right up my street as well. Hopefully the idiots who torched the last few films with their particular brands of BS will have moved on by then.
I am eager to get beyond the Skywalker Saga and see something new in the Star Wars Universe. To be fair, Rangers of the New Republic sounds like it might be a good place to start!
