WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Deep Dive. This is where we take

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those huge cultural forces really shaping our

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world and we try to break down the history, the

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strategy, all the surprising details you kind

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of need to know to be fluent in the conversation.

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And today we are tackling a franchise that's,

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well, it's less a movie series and more like

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a modern mythology, isn't it? Oh, absolutely.

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It's way beyond just films. It's become this

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defining piece of modern culture and understanding

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its sheer scope is pretty key. We're talking

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about an American epic space opera created by

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George Lucas. It all kicked off, of course, with

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that that groundbreaking 1977 film. Yeah, the

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original. Right. And since then, it's just exploded.

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It's grown into one of the highest grossing media

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franchises. ever the money involved is just staggering

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when you look at it i mean the films alone they've

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pulled in over 10 billion us dollars that puts

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it right up there third highest grossing film

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franchise and that's just the films exactly when

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you add in everything else the games the tv shows

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all the merchandise the whole thing is estimated

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to be worth what north of 70 billion dollars

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it's incredible it really is and that first film

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the one that later became Episode 4, A New Hope,

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it set up this core identity, this foundation

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that allowed for that massive expansion later

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on. How so? Well, it gave us this universe set

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a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. That

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little phrase right at the start. It's crucial.

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It immediately tells the audience, OK, this isn't

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hard sci -fi. This is myth. This is an epic fairy

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tale. That makes sense. It sets a different expectation.

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And what a rich setting he built. I mean, the

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galaxy itself is just so incredibly diverse.

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Totally. You've got humans, obviously, but then

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this amazing variety of alien species, often

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humanoid, which helps coexisting with droids.

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And the droids do everything, right? From helping

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around the house to... Fighting massive battles.

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And the planets themselves. It's not just one

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type of place. Not at all. That's the genius

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of it. You have these planet wide cities like

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Coruscant just gleaming with wealth and tech.

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And then, you know, right alongside that, you've

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got forgotten desert wastelands like Tatooine

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with like. Primitive tribes barely scraping by.

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It covers pretty much any Earth biome you can

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think of, basically. Exactly. It gives you this

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incredible canvas for telling almost any kind

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of story you want. Fantasy, war, political thriller,

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Western. It all fits. It feels like this perfect

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blend, then. High fantasy elements mixed with

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sci -fi tech. That's a great way to put it. The

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technology is sophisticated. Right. You know,

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space travel using light speed, hyperspace. That's

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just common. They've got fancy telecommunications,

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holographic projections, hyperspace transmissions,

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and, of course, those absolutely massive spacecraft.

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The Star Destroyers, the Death Stars. Yeah, planet

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killers the size of moons. But it's important

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to remember the physics are, shall we say, flexible.

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Right. Rule of cool applies. Pretty much. The

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drama and the story come first. It allows for

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these really imaginative, visually spectacular

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battles that, you know, maybe bend the laws of

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real world physics quite a bit. OK, but beyond

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the spaceships and the aliens, the thing that

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really makes Star Wars the element that lifts

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it beyond just space fantasy has to be the spiritual

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core, right? The force. Absolutely. That's the

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secret sauce. A lot of people just treat it like,

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you know, space magic. But the source material,

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it's actually pretty specific about what it is.

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it is, isn't it? It is, surprisingly so, especially

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early on. Back in the original film, Obi -Wan

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Kenobi gives us that foundational definition.

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He calls the force an energy field created by

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all living things. That surrounds us and penetrates

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us. It binds the galaxy together. Exactly. So

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it functions almost like a kind of pantheistic

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deity, you could say. This omnipresent connecting

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cosmic energy field. Okay, so it's everywhere,

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connects everything, but not everyone can use

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it. Right. Only a few individuals are force sensitive.

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And even then, Usually through really rigorous

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training and intense meditation, they can learn

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to tap into it. And when they do, they exhibit

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what look like superpowers. Like moving things

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with your mind. Telekinesis, yeah. Limited precognition,

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seeing glimpses of the future, telepathy sometimes,

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even manipulating physical energy like absorbing

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blaster bolts. Obi -Wan basically says nothing

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is impossible for the force. So it's this spiritual

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energy, but it demands discipline. It's not just

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waving your hands. Precisely. And that idea of

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discipline, of different approaches to wielding

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this power, that's where the central conflict

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comes from. You get the two major knightly orders

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embodying this duality. of the force. The good

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guys and the bad guys. Essentially, yeah. You

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have the Jedi. They're the peacekeepers, the

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guardians of the galaxy serving the Galactic

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Republic. They follow the light side, focusing

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on non -attachment, wisdom, peace, arbitration.

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And then you have the Sith. The Sith. They're

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the flip side. They harness the dark side. They

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tap into and manipulate intense emotions. Anger,

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fear, aggression, hatred. Their power often seems

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more... immediate, more destructive, maybe. But

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it comes at a cost. A huge cost. It's inherently

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corrupting. And this leads to one of the most

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interesting bits of Sith lore, the rule of two.

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Ah, right. There can only be two. Exactly. Sith

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Lords are strictly limited just to master and

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an apprentice, one to embody the power, the other

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to crave it. This structure ensures they're always

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secretive, always plotting, incredibly powerful,

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but also constantly locked in this, well, fatal

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struggle for dominance between master and apprentice.

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It's a stark contrast to the Jedi Order, which

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used to number in the thousands. And when these

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two orders clash, they don't just use regular

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weapons. They have the lightsaber. The lightsaber.

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Probably the most iconic piece of Star Wars tech,

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right? This brilliant plasma blade. It can cut

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through almost any surface, deflect energy bolts.

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It's elegant, requires immense skill. It's really

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a specialized weapon, pretty much reserved for

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these powerful force practitioners. Which creates

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this nice visual contrast, doesn't it? It really

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does. The lightsaber represents skill. Focus,

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mastery, the hallmarks of a Jedi or a Sith. Meanwhile,

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the rest of the galaxy, the soldiers, the general

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population, they're using mass produced, less

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refined plasma powered blasters, simple firearms,

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essentially. So that visual difference reinforces

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who has this special connection to the force

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versus who relies on just technology or brute

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force. Perfectly put. And all of this drama,

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this conflict between light and dark, plays out

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against this backdrop of just constant galactic

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conflict. You see republics fighting empires,

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like the rise of the truly evil galactic empire.

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But it's not just the big armies fighting, right?

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There are always those shadowy elements operating

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in the... The margins, the criminal underworld.

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Oh, definitely. The crime syndicates are a huge

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part of the texture of the galaxy, especially

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groups like the Hutt cartel run by, well, giant

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slugs. They dominate the lawless outer rim territories.

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And they use their own specialists. Yeah, they

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employ bounty hunters. Figures like Boba Fett

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became iconic. And they're involved in all sorts

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of deeply illicit activities. Smuggling, spice

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running, and disturbingly, even slavery. It adds

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this layer of like moral grayness and danger

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to the galaxy beyond the more black and white

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fight between the Jedi and the Sith. OK, so we've

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got the galaxy, the force, the conflict. Now

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we need to talk about the core story, the family

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drama that really sits at the heart of the main

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films, the Skywalkers, and how that story is

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told. Well, not exactly in order. Right. The

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non -chronological structure is key. And Lucas's

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own journey to even create this epic is pretty

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fascinating in itself. His first idea wasn't

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even Star Wars. What was it? He really wanted

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to film an adaptation of the old Flash Gordon

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serials he loved as a kid. Yeah. He couldn't

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get the rights. They were tied up. So plan B

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was invent his own space opera. Pretty much.

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That failure pushed him to do his own research.

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Yeah. He looked into other old space operas,

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things like Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter

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of Mars series, and he started synthesizing all

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these influences, pulp fiction, samurai films,

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westerns, mythology into something new. And he

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started incredibly small, didn't he? Just a couple

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of pages. Yeah. After he directed American Graffiti

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in 1973, he wrote up just a two -page synopsis.

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He took it to 20th Century Fox. And honestly,

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they weren't expecting much at all. They thought

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it was a gamble. A huge gamble. A weird space

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fantasy. They gave him a relatively low budget.

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They even made him move production over to Elstree

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Studios in England, partly just to cut costs.

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They really predicted, you know, maybe a modest

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success at best, maybe even a flop. Which makes

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what actually happened even more spectacular.

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Absolutely. When the film finally came out, May

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25th, 1977, it was just an immediate overwhelming

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phenomenon, a massive hit, and that sudden huge

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success. That's what allowed Lucas to realize

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his vision was much, much bigger than just one

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movie. That's when the trilogy idea solidified.

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Well, he started thinking bigger. He retroactively

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subtitled the first film, Episode 4. A New Hope

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in 1979, and started talking about it being the

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middle part of a larger saga. Eventually, this

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evolved into the idea of trilogy of trilogies,

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nine films in total. The Skywalker Saga. Exactly.

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That became the collective title for those nine

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main episodic films. And, you know, just to underline

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their impact, every single one of those nine

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films was nominated for Academy Awards. The first

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three actually won Oscars for effects, sound,

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score, art direction. Okay, let's break down

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the structure of those three trilogies then.

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The first one out of the gate, the original trilogy.

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Right, episodes 4th, V, and 6, released between

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1977 and 1983. This is the classic heroic foundation.

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It follows Luke Skywalker's journey, the quintessential

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hero's journey, as he develops into a Jedi. Fighting

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the Empire. Fighting Emperor Palpatine's oppressive

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galactic empire, yeah. Alongside his sister,

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Leia, who turns out to be Force -sensitive too,

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and Han Solo, the cynical smuggler. It's about

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rebellion, hope. and discovering his family legacy.

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Key films here are A New Hope, The Empire Strikes

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Back, and Return of the Jedi. Then, almost two

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decades later, Lucas finally goes back to tell

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the beginning of the story with the prequel trilogy.

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Episodes four and third, from 1999 to 2005, this

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is where the depth and tragedy of the whole saga

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really come into focus. It's the origin story,

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but it's a tragic one. We watch the promising

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young Jedi, Anakin Skywalker. The Chosen One.

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Supposedly the Chosen One, yeah. We watch him

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get slowly seduced and corrupted by Palpatine,

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who's secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, and

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ultimately transform into the iconic villain

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Darth Vader. Lucas himself said the first six

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films together are really one big story. He was

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very clear about that. He called the first six

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episodic films, viewed in order I through VI,

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the tragedy of Darth Vader. which is structurally

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brilliant when you think about it. How so? Because

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the audience goes into the prequels knowing the

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destination. We know Anakin becomes Vader, so

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the tension isn't what happens, but how. We're

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watching the sad, seemingly inevitable fall of

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a hero, making your main villain the tragic protagonist

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across two whole trilogies. That's pretty unique

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in blockbuster cinema. What actually prompted

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him to go back and make them, though? Because

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after the stress of making the originals, he

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seemed done for a while. Yeah he definitely needed

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a break. It was really about technology catching

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up to his vision. By the late 80s, early 90s,

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computer -generated imagery, CGI was starting

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to get really sophisticated. Right. Films like

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Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park were showing what

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was possible. Exactly. Lucas saw those advances

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and realized he could finally create the kind

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of vast, visually complex worlds and battles

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he had imagined for the Republic in its prime.

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The Jedi Order at its height. Things that would

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have been just technically or financially impossible

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back in the 70s or 80s. Okay, so original trilogy.

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Prequel trilogy. Then finally, the sequel trilogy.

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Episode 7th, 8th, and next, released between

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2015 and 2019. This picks up the story about

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30 years after the Emperor's defeat in Return

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of the Jedi. It focuses on a new generation of

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heroes and villains. We follow Rhi, this young

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scavenger who discovers she's strong with the

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Force. Right. And the main conflict revolves

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around her and Kylo Ren, who's actually Ben Solo,

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the son of Han and Leia, who tragically fell

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to the dark side under the influence of Supreme

00:12:10.220 --> 00:12:13.539
Leader Snoke. It climaxes with them kind of uniting

00:12:13.539 --> 00:12:15.960
against a resurrected Palpatine, wrapping up

00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:18.980
the nine film saga. That's the shape of it. But

00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:20.779
the whole development of that sequel trilogy

00:12:20.779 --> 00:12:23.600
is completely defined by that massive corporate

00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:26.059
earthquake. Yeah. The sale of Lucasfilm to Disney.

00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:30.600
October 2012. A huge moment. Monumental. So Lucas

00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:32.960
sells his company. And apparently as part of

00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:35.019
the deal, he handed over story treatments he

00:12:35.019 --> 00:12:38.860
prepared for Episode 789X. His ideas for where

00:12:38.860 --> 00:12:40.899
the story would go next. But Disney didn't use

00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:43.600
them. That was the bombshell. A few years later,

00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.960
Lucasfilm, now under Disney leadership, revealed

00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:49.860
they had decided to discard Lucas's sequel outlines

00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:53.340
entirely. Why? What was the reasoning? The official

00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:55.639
line was that it was to give maximum creative

00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:57.480
freedom to the filmmakers they were bringing

00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:00.460
in, like J .J. Abrams and Rian Johnson. And also,

00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:03.200
perhaps more pragmatically, to preserve an element

00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:05.960
of surprise and discovery for the audience, who

00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:07.820
wouldn't know what was coming if they weren't

00:13:07.820 --> 00:13:10.559
following Lucas's known plans. Wow. That must

00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.659
have been a massive decision. And it had huge

00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:14.159
consequences for everything that came before,

00:13:14.299 --> 00:13:17.159
right? The books, the comics. Oh, absolutely.

00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:19.860
Catastrophic consequences for the existing continuity.

00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:24.179
That decision to ignore Lucas's plans was really

00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:26.799
the final nail in the coffin for the Star Wars

00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:29.570
Expanded Universe, the EU. Explain the EU for

00:13:29.570 --> 00:13:31.970
listeners who might not know. So the EU was basically

00:13:31.970 --> 00:13:33.809
everything else. All the officially licensed

00:13:33.809 --> 00:13:36.690
novels, comics, video games, and stories that

00:13:36.690 --> 00:13:39.789
were created between, say, 1976 and 2014, filling

00:13:39.789 --> 00:13:42.169
in the gaps and continuing the story beyond the

00:13:42.169 --> 00:13:45.210
movies. For decades, Lucasfilm sort of managed

00:13:45.210 --> 00:13:47.929
it as a secondary level of canon. Until the Disney

00:13:47.929 --> 00:13:50.450
sale. Until the sale and the decision to make

00:13:50.450 --> 00:13:53.289
new movies that wouldn't follow the EU's established

00:13:53.289 --> 00:13:56.389
post -Return of the Jedi storyline. So in April

00:13:56.389 --> 00:13:59.509
2014, they made the announcement. The entire

00:13:59.509 --> 00:14:01.850
expanded universe was being wiped clean, rendered

00:14:01.850 --> 00:14:04.429
non -canonical, rebranded as Star Wars Legends,

00:14:04.529 --> 00:14:06.129
essentially saying, these are great stories,

00:14:06.309 --> 00:14:08.950
myths, legends, but they are not the official

00:14:08.950 --> 00:14:11.769
history of the galaxy anymore. The only official

00:14:11.769 --> 00:14:14.090
canon going forward would be the six Lucasfilms,

00:14:14.169 --> 00:14:16.549
the Clone Wars animated series he oversaw, and

00:14:16.549 --> 00:14:18.580
anything new produced under Disney. That must

00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:21.120
have caused chaos for the hardcore fans who'd

00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:23.299
followed those stories for years. How did they

00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:25.659
try to manage that transition? They created the

00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:28.779
Lucasfilm Story Group. This group's job became

00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:31.399
overseeing and maintaining the integrity of the

00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:34.980
new unified canon across all platforms, films,

00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:38.080
TV, books, comics, games. Everything had to align.

00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.519
So a clean slate, essentially. It's a clean slate.

00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:43.000
But, you know, the debate still lingers in the

00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.720
fandom. Was discarding Lucas's outline really

00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:49.840
about creative freedom? Or was it more of a strategic

00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:53.279
move by Disney to clear the decks, simplify the

00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:55.639
timeline, and make the franchise more accessible

00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:58.500
to a brand new mass audience without decades

00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:00.740
of potentially confusing backstory? It's a core

00:15:00.740 --> 00:15:03.559
tension of the Disney era, for sure. Okay, speaking

00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:05.720
of that Disney era, let's broaden out from just

00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:08.440
the nine Skywalker films. Let's talk about the

00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:11.279
expansion of standalone movies and this explosion

00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:13.940
of streaming TV shows. This is where it really

00:15:13.940 --> 00:15:15.960
starts to feel like the Marvel Cinematic Universe

00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:18.960
model, right? Very much so. The initial strategy

00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:22.179
involved what they called anthology films. Standalone

00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:24.879
stories set within the Star Wars universe, but

00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:27.500
outside the main numbered saga, often filling

00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:29.919
in backstory or exploring side characters. Even

00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:32.769
before Disney, we had... the Clone Wars animated

00:15:32.769 --> 00:15:35.789
movie in 2008. Right, which is basically a theatrical

00:15:35.789 --> 00:15:39.269
pilot for the very popular animated series set

00:15:39.269 --> 00:15:41.909
between episodes 10 and 3 during the Clone Wars.

00:15:42.460 --> 00:15:44.480
Lucas was heavily involved in that. Then, after

00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:46.679
the Disney acquisition, we got the live -action

00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:49.980
anthology films. First up was Rogue One, a Star

00:15:49.980 --> 00:15:52.600
Wars story in 2016. And Rogue One was a huge

00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:55.139
hit, both critically and commercially. It told

00:15:55.139 --> 00:15:57.299
that gritty, boots -on -the -ground story of

00:15:57.299 --> 00:15:59.220
the rebel spies who stole the Death Star plans

00:15:59.220 --> 00:16:01.600
right before the original movie, a new hope.

00:16:02.129 --> 00:16:04.490
Yeah. Show the potential for different tones

00:16:04.490 --> 00:16:06.289
within the universe. But then came the second

00:16:06.289 --> 00:16:09.769
one, Solo, a Star Wars story in 2018. Yeah, Solo.

00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:12.389
This is the origin story for Han Solo, set about

00:16:12.389 --> 00:16:14.730
10 years before we meet him in the cantina. And,

00:16:14.809 --> 00:16:16.710
well, Solo's performance at the box office was

00:16:16.710 --> 00:16:19.049
underwhelming, certainly compared to expectations.

00:16:19.470 --> 00:16:21.490
And that underperformance had real consequences,

00:16:21.769 --> 00:16:24.110
didn't it? Immediate and massive consequences

00:16:24.110 --> 00:16:27.559
for their strategy, yeah. Because Solo didn't

00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:29.940
hit the numbers they wanted, Lucasfilm apparently

00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:32.759
got cold feet about standalone origin story movies.

00:16:33.259 --> 00:16:36.179
The biggest casualty was the planned Obi -Wan

00:16:36.179 --> 00:16:38.759
Kenobi movie. It was going to be a film. It was

00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:41.019
originally developed as a standalone film, but

00:16:41.019 --> 00:16:43.519
after Solo, they scrapped the movie plans and

00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:46.279
immediately pivoted, redeveloping it as a limited

00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:48.580
series for their new streaming service, Disney+.

00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:51.620
And that pivot really marks the beginning of

00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:55.159
this huge push into live action television. Absolutely.

00:16:55.580 --> 00:16:58.080
That's when the streaming era truly kicks off.

00:16:58.179 --> 00:17:01.220
And the first big undeniable smash hit was The

00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:03.580
Mandalorian, launching with Disney Plus in 2019.

00:17:03.940 --> 00:17:05.900
Set after Return of the Jedi. Right. In that

00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:08.599
chaotic New Republic era between the fall of

00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:11.039
the Empire and the rise of the First Order. The

00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:13.660
Mandalorian proved, without a doubt, that you

00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:16.460
could do high budget, cinematic quality, serialized

00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:18.759
Star Wars storytelling on television. people

00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:21.099
would flock to it. And its success wasn't just

00:17:21.099 --> 00:17:23.519
standalone. It became the anchor for a whole

00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:26.759
interconnected universe of shows. Exactly. The

00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.680
Mandoverse, as some fans call it, very much mirroring

00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:33.599
that MCU model. It spawned multiple live action

00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:36.619
spinoffs. all set in roughly the same time period,

00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:39.079
dealing with the struggles of this fledgling

00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:41.700
new republic, trying to establish order while

00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:43.920
imperial remnants are still causing trouble.

00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:46.640
So we got the Book of Boba Fett in 2021. Yep,

00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:49.039
bringing back the iconic bounty hunter. Then

00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:52.160
Ahsoka in 2023, continuing the story of Anakin's

00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:54.019
former apprentice from the Clone Wars and Rebels.

00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:56.759
And there's Skeleton Crew announced for 2024.

00:17:57.099 --> 00:17:59.579
And the plan is, all these threads are apparently

00:17:59.579 --> 00:18:02.259
building towards a big theatrical climax movie

00:18:02.259 --> 00:18:05.279
directed by Dave Filoni. was a key creative force

00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:07.380
behind this whole streaming initiative. But the

00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:09.819
streaming shows aren't just focused on that post

00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:11.980
-original trilogy era. They've also filled in

00:18:11.980 --> 00:18:14.259
gaps elsewhere. Right. They've used Disney Plus

00:18:14.259 --> 00:18:16.960
to explore other crucial periods, too. We got

00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:19.720
the Obi -Wan Kenobi series in 2022, set right

00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:21.500
between the prequels and the original trilogy,

00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.200
showing his life in exile. And then there's Andor,

00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:28.220
also in 2022. Andor, which was critically acclaimed

00:18:28.220 --> 00:18:31.200
for being, well, very different, much darker,

00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:34.309
more grounded. It follows the character Cassian

00:18:34.309 --> 00:18:36.430
Andor from Rogue One during the height of the

00:18:36.430 --> 00:18:39.410
Empire's power, showing the grim, morally complex

00:18:39.410 --> 00:18:41.589
reality of building a rebellion from the ground

00:18:41.589 --> 00:18:44.569
up. It felt much more like a political spy thriller

00:18:44.569 --> 00:18:47.930
than typical Star Wars. It really did. It explored

00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:50.769
political corruption, sacrifice, mechanics of

00:18:50.769 --> 00:18:54.230
resistance. Yeah. A far cry from the more swashbuckly

00:18:54.230 --> 00:18:56.430
adventure tone of the original films, but it

00:18:56.430 --> 00:18:58.430
showed the narrative flexibility of the universe

00:18:58.430 --> 00:19:00.259
again. And they're even reaching further back

00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:03.019
in time now, establishing whole new eras. Yes,

00:19:03.059 --> 00:19:06.180
into the High Republic era. This is set centuries

00:19:06.180 --> 00:19:09.400
before the Skywalker saga even begins. It's often

00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:11.880
described as the golden age of the Jedi and the

00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:14.529
Republic. a time of great exploration and peace

00:19:14.529 --> 00:19:17.089
before the decay set in. That's where the new

00:19:17.089 --> 00:19:20.009
show, The Acolyte 2024, fits in. Exactly. The

00:19:20.009 --> 00:19:21.829
Acolyte is set right at the tail end of the High

00:19:21.829 --> 00:19:24.250
Republic, focusing on a series of Jedi murders

00:19:24.250 --> 00:19:26.769
and hinting at the resurgence of the dark side,

00:19:26.950 --> 00:19:29.509
the Sith, operating in the shadows, setting the

00:19:29.509 --> 00:19:31.710
stage for the conflicts we see later in the prequels.

00:19:32.089 --> 00:19:34.690
So looking ahead, Lucasfilm announced a new strategy

00:19:34.690 --> 00:19:38.910
in April 2023. It seems very focused on diversifying

00:19:38.910 --> 00:19:41.069
the timeline even more, right? Moving beyond

00:19:41.069 --> 00:19:43.809
just Skywalkers. That's the clear message. They

00:19:43.809 --> 00:19:46.549
want films and shows set across the entire spectrum

00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:48.750
of galactic history. We know The Mandalorian

00:19:48.750 --> 00:19:51.009
and Grogu, directed by Jon Favreau, is slated

00:19:51.009 --> 00:19:53.730
for May 2026. That's going to be the first film

00:19:53.730 --> 00:19:56.250
release in this next wave, directly connecting

00:19:56.250 --> 00:19:58.410
that successful streaming world back to the big

00:19:58.410 --> 00:20:01.069
screen. Then there's Star Wars. Starfighter,

00:20:01.069 --> 00:20:04.809
planned for May 2027. Sean Levy directing, apparently

00:20:04.809 --> 00:20:07.950
with Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth attached. But

00:20:07.950 --> 00:20:10.250
the really big timeline expansions are the other

00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:12.609
announced films. Right. James Mangold, who directed

00:20:12.609 --> 00:20:15.609
Logan and Indiana Jones 5. He's set to direct

00:20:15.609 --> 00:20:18.069
a film going way, way back into the dawn of the

00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:20.769
Jedi era, exploring the very first fourth users,

00:20:20.950 --> 00:20:23.710
how the Jedi Order even began. Wow. The deep

00:20:23.710 --> 00:20:26.150
origin. The very origin. And then jumping far

00:20:26.150 --> 00:20:28.569
into the future, Charmaine Obay Chinoy is directing

00:20:28.569 --> 00:20:31.329
a new Jedi Order film. This one will focus on

00:20:31.329 --> 00:20:33.750
Rey, Daisy Ridley's character, as she works to

00:20:33.750 --> 00:20:35.990
rebuild the Jedi Order about 15 years after the

00:20:35.990 --> 00:20:38.049
events of the sequel trilogy. It's interesting

00:20:38.049 --> 00:20:40.950
how that mangled Dawn of the Jedi idea sounds

00:20:40.950 --> 00:20:43.289
quite similar to a project that was announced

00:20:43.289 --> 00:20:45.430
years ago but never happened. You mean the one

00:20:45.430 --> 00:20:47.329
from David Benioff and D .B. Weiss, the Game

00:20:47.329 --> 00:20:49.150
of Thrones guys? Yeah, they were supposed to

00:20:49.150 --> 00:20:51.269
do a trilogy about the first Jedi, weren't they?

00:20:51.369 --> 00:20:54.220
Before they exited the project. They were. It

00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:56.859
seems the core concept, exploring the absolute

00:20:56.859 --> 00:20:59.519
beginning of the Jedi, was compelling enough

00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.019
that Lucasfilm kept it in their back pocket.

00:21:02.900 --> 00:21:05.859
It just goes to show, strong ideas within this

00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:08.700
universe tend to resurface, even if the specific

00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:11.500
creators change. Okay, with all these new shows

00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:13.880
and films jumping around in time, deep past,

00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:16.960
far future, in between the trilogies, we really

00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:20.049
need that master map. How did Lucasfilm finally

00:21:20.049 --> 00:21:22.890
decide to officially structure this vast galactic

00:21:22.890 --> 00:21:25.890
history? It took a while, but yeah, in 2021 and

00:21:25.890 --> 00:21:29.450
then refined in 2023, Lucasfilm laid out nine

00:21:29.450 --> 00:21:32.609
official canonical eras. It provides a much -needed

00:21:32.609 --> 00:21:34.410
framework to understand where everything fits.

00:21:34.609 --> 00:21:37.329
It's pretty essential now, given the sheer volume

00:21:37.329 --> 00:21:39.369
of content. Let's walk through them, starting

00:21:39.369 --> 00:21:41.490
right at the beginning, the absolute earliest

00:21:41.490 --> 00:21:43.730
point. Okay, that begins with the dawn of the

00:21:43.730 --> 00:21:46.670
Jedi era, the deepest, earliest known history.

00:21:47.130 --> 00:21:49.529
focuses on those first force wielders. That's

00:21:49.529 --> 00:21:51.690
where Mangold's upcoming film will be set. Then

00:21:51.690 --> 00:21:54.269
comes the Old Republic. Right. This is a vast

00:21:54.269 --> 00:21:56.210
period where the Galactic Republic is actually

00:21:56.210 --> 00:21:58.990
founded. The Jedi Order formally emerges as Guardians.

00:21:59.369 --> 00:22:02.210
But it's also where the first major schism happens,

00:22:02.349 --> 00:22:04.930
leading to the creation of the Sith. Now, most

00:22:04.930 --> 00:22:07.769
of the stories from this era, books, comics,

00:22:08.069 --> 00:22:10.250
the famous video games like Knights of the Old

00:22:10.250 --> 00:22:12.670
Republic, those are all technically legends now.

00:22:12.970 --> 00:22:15.609
But there's one exception. There is. The massively

00:22:15.609 --> 00:22:18.569
multiplayer online game Star Wars, The Old Republic,

00:22:18.849 --> 00:22:21.589
is still active in producing new downloadable

00:22:21.589 --> 00:22:23.869
content. And that content is considered canonical,

00:22:23.970 --> 00:22:26.990
making it this unique ongoing bridge to that

00:22:26.990 --> 00:22:31.329
very popular but largely non -canon era. Interesting.

00:22:31.569 --> 00:22:33.569
Okay, moving closer to the films we know, we

00:22:33.569 --> 00:22:36.259
hit The High Republic. The High Republic. This

00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:38.720
is positioned as the Golden Age, centuries before

00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.539
the movies. The Republic is at its peak. The

00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:44.819
Jedi are numerous, respected, exploring the galaxy.

00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:47.000
It's meant to be a more optimistic, prosperous

00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:50.339
time. This era covers the Acolyte series, the

00:22:50.339 --> 00:22:53.059
kids show young Jedi adventures, plus a lot of

00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:55.079
books and comics. But that Golden Age obviously

00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:57.859
doesn't last. The next era is the fall of the

00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:00.839
Jedi. Yeah, the decline begins here. This era

00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:03.519
basically encompasses the entire prequel trilogy.

00:23:04.109 --> 00:23:06.410
Episode slightly third. And the animated The

00:23:06.410 --> 00:23:09.390
Clone Wars series. It details Palpatine's incredibly

00:23:09.390 --> 00:23:11.470
intricate plot, how he manipulates the Clone

00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:14.509
Wars, undermines the Republic from within, gains

00:23:14.509 --> 00:23:17.009
emergency powers, and crucially, corrupts Anakin

00:23:17.009 --> 00:23:19.289
Skywalker to become his Sith apprentice Darth

00:23:19.289 --> 00:23:22.529
Vader and executes Order 66. Wiping out the Jedi,

00:23:22.730 --> 00:23:24.950
which leads directly into the reign of the Empire.

00:23:25.289 --> 00:23:27.859
Exactly. The Empire is now firmly in control,

00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:31.240
Emperor Palpatine rules with an iron fist, and

00:23:31.240 --> 00:23:33.380
the few surviving Jedi are ruthlessly hunted

00:23:33.380 --> 00:23:36.789
down. This is actually a very crowded era in

00:23:36.789 --> 00:23:39.289
the current canon, timeline -wise. It includes

00:23:39.289 --> 00:23:41.690
Solo, Rogue One, the Obi -Wan Kenobi series,

00:23:41.849 --> 00:23:44.750
Andor, plus the animated shows The Bad Bash and

00:23:44.750 --> 00:23:46.930
Rebels. Lots happening under the Empire's shadow.

00:23:47.230 --> 00:23:49.250
Then we finally reach the period of the original

00:23:49.250 --> 00:23:51.789
films, the Age of Rebellion. The classic era.

00:23:51.890 --> 00:23:54.490
This covers episodes thick feet and sixth. The

00:23:54.490 --> 00:23:56.849
Rebel Alliance grows from scattered cells into

00:23:56.849 --> 00:23:58.789
a force that can actually challenge the Empire.

00:23:59.130 --> 00:24:02.009
Luke Skywalker emerges, discovers his heritage,

00:24:02.230 --> 00:24:05.089
trains as a Jedi. This is also the era where

00:24:05.089 --> 00:24:07.529
Lucas deliberately introduced that used universe

00:24:07.529 --> 00:24:09.130
aesthetic. Right, you mentioned that. What did

00:24:09.130 --> 00:24:11.329
that mean visually? It meant things looked lived

00:24:11.329 --> 00:24:14.190
in, dirty, functional. Ships were dented and

00:24:14.190 --> 00:24:16.650
greasy. Technology wasn't sleek and perfect.

00:24:16.869 --> 00:24:19.109
It was a radical departure from the clean, almost

00:24:19.109 --> 00:24:21.509
utopian look of a lot of sci -fi before it, like

00:24:21.509 --> 00:24:24.089
Star Trek. It made the galaxy feel more real,

00:24:24.150 --> 00:24:26.329
more tangible. After the Empire finally falls

00:24:26.329 --> 00:24:28.289
in Return of the Jedi, we enter the New Republic

00:24:28.289 --> 00:24:31.269
era. Correct. This is the period right after

00:24:31.269 --> 00:24:34.380
Episode VI. The Rebel Alliance tries to rebuild

00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:37.680
the Republic, reunite a fractured galaxy. But

00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:40.559
it's a difficult, messy process, constantly threatened

00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:43.019
by Imperial remnants who refuse to give up. This

00:24:43.019 --> 00:24:45.160
is the primary setting for The Mandalorian and

00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:47.680
all its interconnected spinoffs like Boba Fett,

00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:50.420
Ahsoka, and the upcoming Skeleton Crew. It's

00:24:50.420 --> 00:24:53.400
the main focus of the current TV shows. Leading

00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:55.829
eventually towards... The rise of the First Order.

00:24:55.930 --> 00:24:57.450
Yeah, this is the era of the sequel trilogy,

00:24:57.650 --> 00:25:00.789
Episode VII -IX. Those Imperial remnants lurking

00:25:00.789 --> 00:25:03.390
in the unknown regions coalesce into the militaristic

00:25:03.390 --> 00:25:07.089
First Order. They build Starkiller Base, challenge

00:25:07.089 --> 00:25:09.369
the New Republic, and battle the resistance led

00:25:09.369 --> 00:25:12.190
by General Leia Organa. It culminates in Rey

00:25:12.190 --> 00:25:14.450
confronting and ultimately defeating the resurrected

00:25:14.450 --> 00:25:16.930
Emperor Palpatine, seemingly ending the Sith

00:25:16.930 --> 00:25:20.250
threat. And the final future -looking era. That's

00:25:20.250 --> 00:25:22.910
the New Jedi Order, set after Episode IX. This

00:25:22.910 --> 00:25:24.829
is where Rey begins the task of building a new

00:25:24.829 --> 00:25:27.190
Jedi Order from scratch. It's the setting for

00:25:27.190 --> 00:25:29.289
that upcoming film directed by Charmaine Obey

00:25:29.289 --> 00:25:31.309
-Chinoy and presumably the Starfighter movie

00:25:31.309 --> 00:25:33.750
as well. It's about looking forward, rebuilding

00:25:33.750 --> 00:25:36.210
hope. Okay, we keep mentioning the expanded universe,

00:25:36.529 --> 00:25:39.329
the EU, and how it became legends. We should

00:25:39.329 --> 00:25:41.710
pause and really unpack the significance of that

00:25:41.710 --> 00:25:43.910
body of work. For anyone listening who wasn't

00:25:43.910 --> 00:25:46.849
deep in the fandom before 2014, what exactly

00:25:46.849 --> 00:25:49.549
was the EU? Right, it's a crucial context. The

00:25:49.549 --> 00:25:52.410
EU was basically the official Star Wars universe

00:25:52.410 --> 00:25:55.670
outside of the main films for almost 40 years.

00:25:55.789 --> 00:25:58.430
It was everything else. Hundreds of novels, comics,

00:25:58.630 --> 00:26:01.529
video games, source books, all licensed by Lucasfilm.

00:26:01.650 --> 00:26:04.420
And it was considered canon. It had a kind of

00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:07.440
tiered canon system, but essentially, yes, Lucasfilm

00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:09.779
tried to maintain internal consistency. It allowed

00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:12.480
fans to follow the adventures of Luke, Leia,

00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:14.799
Han, and their children, like Jason and Jaina

00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:18.079
Solo, for decades after Return of the Jedi. It

00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:19.839
introduced major new threats, new characters,

00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:22.460
explored Jedi and Sith history. It was vast.

00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:26.180
Until April 25th, 2014, the day the EU died,

00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:29.140
essentially. That's how many fans saw it. Lucasfilm

00:26:29.140 --> 00:26:31.079
announced that to make way for the sequel trilogy

00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:33.440
and ensure creative freedom, the entire existing

00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:36.019
EU was being designated non -canonical. It was

00:26:36.019 --> 00:26:38.720
all swept aside and rebranded as Star Wars Legends.

00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:41.720
So great stories, but not what actually happened

00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:44.619
in the official timeline anymore. Exactly. It

00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:46.980
was a painful decision for many longtime fans

00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:49.019
who felt decades of character development and

00:26:49.019 --> 00:26:52.019
world building were just discarded. But... From

00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:55.299
Disney and Lucasfilm's perspective, it was strategically

00:26:55.299 --> 00:26:58.279
necessary to give the new films a clean slate,

00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:01.799
unburdened by potentially contradictory or overly

00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:05.299
complex established lore. But the legacy of Legends

00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:08.259
isn't entirely gone, is it? We see ideas pop

00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:10.799
back up. Oh, constantly. That's the fascinating

00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:14.119
thing. Even though Legends isn't canon, the Lucasfilm

00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:16.819
story group clearly mines it for popular characters

00:27:16.819 --> 00:27:19.319
and concepts. The most prominent example has

00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:22.119
to be Grand Admiral Thrawn. Right, the blue -skinned

00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:24.440
imperial mastermind from the Timothy Zahn novels

00:27:24.440 --> 00:27:26.980
in the 90s. Precisely. Thrawn was arguably the

00:27:26.980 --> 00:27:29.059
most popular character to originate in the EU.

00:27:29.180 --> 00:27:32.059
He was a huge part of Legends. Then years after

00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:34.640
the canon reset, Dave Filoni officially brought

00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:36.480
him back into the new canon through the Rebels

00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:39.640
animated series. And now he's a major antagonist

00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:41.920
in the live -action shows like Ahsoka. So even

00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:44.079
when the continuity gets reset, the really good

00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:46.579
stuff finds a way back in. It really seems that

00:27:46.579 --> 00:27:49.599
way. Characters like Thrawn, concepts, ship designs.

00:27:50.269 --> 00:27:52.589
they often returned adapted for the new canon

00:27:52.589 --> 00:27:55.869
it shows that those legends stories still hold

00:27:55.869 --> 00:27:58.769
a powerful resonance and lucasfilm knows it okay

00:27:58.769 --> 00:28:01.009
let's shift gears now and talk about the star

00:28:01.009 --> 00:28:04.150
wars empire beyond the screen starting with print

00:28:04.150 --> 00:28:06.490
media novels and comics which kind of amazingly

00:28:06.490 --> 00:28:08.690
actually started before the first movie even

00:28:08.690 --> 00:28:10.970
hit theaters yeah that's a great trivia point

00:28:10.970 --> 00:28:13.970
the original 1977 film faced production delays

00:28:13.970 --> 00:28:16.609
but the official novelization of star wars ghost

00:28:16.609 --> 00:28:18.920
written by alan dean foster though credited to

00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:21.259
George Lucas, was actually released in November

00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:24.059
1976, a good six months before the movie came

00:28:24.059 --> 00:28:25.859
out. So people were reading the story before

00:28:25.859 --> 00:28:28.259
they saw it. Somewhere, yeah. It definitely helped

00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:31.539
build initial buzz and anticipation among sci

00:28:31.539 --> 00:28:34.740
-fi readers. And then in that long gap between

00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:37.160
Return of the Jedi in 83 and the prequel starting

00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:39.480
in 99, when the franchise was sort of dormant

00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:42.059
on screen, print media basically carried the

00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:44.680
torch, right? Absolutely. Kept it alive and thriving.

00:28:45.079 --> 00:28:47.980
The early 90s were pivotal here. The key moment

00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:50.299
was the publication of Timothy Zahn's novel trilogy,

00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:53.559
starting with Heir to the Empire in 1991. The

00:28:53.559 --> 00:28:56.180
Thrawn trilogy. The Thrawn trilogy. These books

00:28:56.180 --> 00:28:58.900
are widely credited with single -handedly revitalizing

00:28:58.900 --> 00:29:02.480
the entire Star Wars franchise. They showed Lucasfilm

00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:05.960
and Hollywood that there was still a massive,

00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:09.019
hungry audience for new stories set in this galaxy.

00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:11.839
even without movies. And they introduced iconic

00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:14.539
characters. Huge ones, yeah. Grand Admiral Thrawn,

00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:17.619
obviously. But also Mara Jade, a former Imperial

00:29:17.619 --> 00:29:20.220
agent who becomes a complex figure and eventually

00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:23.019
Luke Skywalker's wife in the Legends continuity.

00:29:23.619 --> 00:29:26.500
The first book, Heir to the Empire, hit number

00:29:26.500 --> 00:29:28.539
one on the New York Times bestseller list. It's

00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:30.440
a genuine phenomenon and proved the franchise

00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:33.319
had serious legs beyond the original films. Lucasfilm

00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:35.259
then got even more ambitious with multimedia

00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:37.400
projects. Tell us about Shadows of the Empire.

00:29:38.569 --> 00:29:42.349
Shadows of the Empire in 1996. That was a really

00:29:42.349 --> 00:29:45.549
interesting experiment. Lucasfilm decided to

00:29:45.549 --> 00:29:48.630
create a major story event set in the gap between

00:29:48.630 --> 00:29:50.829
The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi,

00:29:51.009 --> 00:29:53.549
filling in what happened while Han was frozen

00:29:53.549 --> 00:29:56.069
in carbonite. But it wasn't just a book. No,

00:29:56.089 --> 00:29:57.990
that was the hook. It was released simultaneously

00:29:57.990 --> 00:30:00.730
across multiple platforms. There was a novel

00:30:00.730 --> 00:30:03.490
by Steve Perry, a popular comic book series from

00:30:03.490 --> 00:30:06.589
Dark Horse, and a major Nintendo 64 video game.

00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:09.579
They even released a soundtrack for it, all telling

00:30:09.579 --> 00:30:12.619
different facets of the same overall story. Introducing

00:30:12.619 --> 00:30:15.900
the new villain, the Faleen crime lord, Princey

00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:18.960
Zor. So an early attempt at a coordinated, multi

00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:22.279
-platform story launch. Exactly. A precursor

00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:24.299
to the kind of transmedia storytelling we see

00:30:24.299 --> 00:30:25.940
all the time now. And it's pretty successful,

00:30:26.119 --> 00:30:27.779
showing they could create a major event feel

00:30:27.779 --> 00:30:30.279
even without a movie. The history of Star Wars

00:30:30.279 --> 00:30:32.440
comics specifically is also pretty dramatic,

00:30:32.599 --> 00:30:35.180
isn't it? It goes way back. It really does. Marvel

00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:37.000
Comics got the license right at the beginning

00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:38.839
and started publishing a Star Wars comic series

00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:41.700
in 1977, adapting the film and then continuing

00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:43.759
with original stories. And those comics were

00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:47.480
huge sellers back then. Massive. In fact, Marvel's

00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:49.920
former editor -in -chief, Jim Shooter, has set

00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:52.359
on record that the incredibly strong sales of

00:30:52.359 --> 00:30:55.079
the Star Wars comics basically saved Marvel Comics

00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:59.119
financially in 1977 and 1978. Wow. So the franchise

00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:01.759
wasn't just saving 20th Century Fox. It was propping

00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:04.420
up Marvel, too. It really puts the initial impact

00:31:04.420 --> 00:31:07.039
into perspective. The license later moved to

00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:09.880
Dark Horse Comics in 1991, and they published

00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:12.940
tons of acclaimed series during the EU era, like

00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:15.079
Dark Empire, which brought back The Emperor.

00:31:15.700 --> 00:31:18.640
Then, after Disney bought both Marvel and Lucasfilm,

00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:21.319
the license returned to Marvel in 2015, where

00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:23.440
it remains today, with all the new comics being

00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:25.759
fully part of the official canon. Okay, let's

00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:28.319
shift from the page to the ear, the audio landscape.

00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:30.880
Music is obviously huge here, dominated by one

00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:34.759
name. John Williams, the maestro. He composed

00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:37.599
the iconic, unforgettable scores for all nine

00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:40.619
of the main episodic Skywalker saga films. His

00:31:40.619 --> 00:31:42.759
music is the sound of Star Wars for most people.

00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:44.579
And even though he suggested he might retire

00:31:44.579 --> 00:31:46.400
from the franchise after The Rise of Skywalker,

00:31:46.680 --> 00:31:49.680
his influence just keeps going. It does. He still

00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:52.359
came back to compose main themes for things like

00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:55.480
the Solo movie, the Obi -Wan Kenobi series, even

00:31:55.480 --> 00:31:57.799
the theme for the Galaxy's Edge theme park land.

00:31:58.220 --> 00:32:01.000
He remains the definitive sonic voice, even when

00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:03.099
other composers step in. And we have had other

00:32:03.099 --> 00:32:05.039
great composers adding their own flavors, too.

00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:07.319
Definitely. Michael Giacchino did a fantastic,

00:32:07.640 --> 00:32:10.920
very Williams -esque score for Rogue One. And

00:32:10.920 --> 00:32:14.009
Ludwig Göransson created that. instantly iconic,

00:32:14.329 --> 00:32:16.769
more stripped -down, Western -influenced sound

00:32:16.769 --> 00:32:19.029
for The Mandalorian, which felt really fresh

00:32:19.029 --> 00:32:20.970
and different. Beyond the scores, there's also

00:32:20.970 --> 00:32:23.329
the fascinating history of the Star Wars radio

00:32:23.329 --> 00:32:25.289
dramas. Oh, yeah, the radio dramas are fantastic.

00:32:25.789 --> 00:32:28.250
Back in the late 70s, early 80s, George Lucas,

00:32:28.509 --> 00:32:30.809
who was a fan of old -time radio from his youth

00:32:30.809 --> 00:32:33.210
and had directed American Graffiti, which used

00:32:33.210 --> 00:32:35.490
radio heavily, licensed the radio adaptation

00:32:35.490 --> 00:32:39.750
rights for Star Wars to KUSC -FM, an NPR station

00:32:39.750 --> 00:32:42.250
in Los Angeles. And he licensed it for... practically

00:32:42.250 --> 00:32:45.109
nothing. Famously for just one US dollar. It

00:32:45.109 --> 00:32:47.289
was more about getting a quality adaptation made.

00:32:47.410 --> 00:32:49.970
And they really went all out. The 1981 adaptation

00:32:49.970 --> 00:32:52.190
of the first film wasn't just a reading. It was

00:32:52.190 --> 00:32:55.609
a full cast, 13 episode audio drama. And they

00:32:55.609 --> 00:32:57.609
got some of the original actors back. They did.

00:32:57.769 --> 00:33:00.109
Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke Skywalker

00:33:00.109 --> 00:33:03.769
and Anthony Daniels came back as C -3PO. They

00:33:03.769 --> 00:33:06.390
expanded the story, adding scenes cut from the

00:33:06.390 --> 00:33:08.940
movie. giving characters internal monologues.

00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:11.839
It was incredibly well produced and hugely popular

00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:14.700
on NPR. And they did the sequels, too. Yep. Its

00:33:14.700 --> 00:33:17.180
success led to adaptations of The Empire Strikes

00:33:17.180 --> 00:33:20.779
Back, ten episodes in 1983, and eventually Return

00:33:20.779 --> 00:33:24.220
of the Jedi, six episodes in 1996. They essentially

00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:27.660
created this entire... rich, alternative audio

00:33:27.660 --> 00:33:29.740
version of the original trilogy for listeners.

00:33:29.980 --> 00:33:32.559
Okay, from audio to interactive video games,

00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:35.079
this is another huge part of the Star Wars empire,

00:33:35.339 --> 00:33:37.640
and its history seems to mirror the different

00:33:37.640 --> 00:33:40.099
eras of the franchise itself. It really does.

00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:41.880
You can basically break it down into three main

00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:44.539
eras of game development. First, the early licensed

00:33:44.539 --> 00:33:48.619
era, roughly 1979 to 1993, when Lucasfilm licensed

00:33:48.619 --> 00:33:50.680
the rights out to various companies like Parker

00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:52.859
Brothers and Atari. Then the LucasArts golden

00:33:52.859 --> 00:33:57.539
age. Right. From about 1993 to 2014, when Lucasfilm's

00:33:57.539 --> 00:34:00.119
own game division, LucasArts, was the primary

00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:02.000
developer and publisher known for innovation.

00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:04.920
And then the current era, since 2014, sometimes

00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:07.920
called the EA Star Wars era, although that exclusivity

00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:09.920
is ending, where games are part of the official

00:34:09.920 --> 00:34:12.639
Disney canon. So what were those earliest games

00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:14.710
like? Pretty primitive by today's standards.

00:34:14.969 --> 00:34:17.349
The very first licensed electronic game was actually

00:34:17.349 --> 00:34:20.880
a tabletop game by Kanner in 1979. The first

00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:23.300
proper video game was The Empire Strikes Back

00:34:23.300 --> 00:34:27.320
for the Atari 2600 console in 1982. Simple 2D

00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:29.659
shooter stuff, mostly. But there was that iconic

00:34:29.659 --> 00:34:32.940
arcade game. Ah, yes. The 1983 Atari Star Wars

00:34:32.940 --> 00:34:35.500
arcade game. That was a breakthrough. It used

00:34:35.500 --> 00:34:37.599
vector graphics wireframe models to simulate

00:34:37.599 --> 00:34:39.699
the first -person experience of flying an X -Wing

00:34:39.699 --> 00:34:42.059
down the Death Star trench. It had digitized

00:34:42.059 --> 00:34:44.579
voices from the movie. For its time, it was incredibly

00:34:44.579 --> 00:34:47.219
immersive and a massive arcade hit. Then Lucasfilm

00:34:47.219 --> 00:34:49.500
decided to take control and founded LucasArts

00:34:49.500 --> 00:34:52.400
in 1982. What were their big innovations? LucasArts

00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:55.139
really pushed the boundaries. Their first self

00:34:55.139 --> 00:34:57.940
-published Star Wars game, Star Wars, X -Wing

00:34:57.940 --> 00:35:01.559
in 1993, was huge. It was the first proper space

00:35:01.559 --> 00:35:03.780
flight simulator set in the universe, letting

00:35:03.780 --> 00:35:05.920
you pilot rebel fighters. It basically defined

00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:08.139
a genre for a while. And they didn't just stick

00:35:08.139 --> 00:35:10.860
to flight sims. Nope. In 1995, they released

00:35:10.860 --> 00:35:14.269
Star Wars Dark Forces. This was the franchise's

00:35:14.269 --> 00:35:16.590
first real foray into the first -person shooter

00:35:16.590 --> 00:35:19.909
genre, which was exploding thanks to Doom. And

00:35:19.909 --> 00:35:21.889
it introduced a really popular original character,

00:35:22.170 --> 00:35:24.710
Kyle Katarn. Who is he? Kyle Katarn started as

00:35:24.710 --> 00:35:27.250
an Imperial stormtrooper who defects to the Rebellion,

00:35:27.269 --> 00:35:29.250
becomes a mercenary, and eventually discovers

00:35:29.250 --> 00:35:31.230
he's Force -sensitive and trains to become a

00:35:31.230 --> 00:35:33.909
Jedi Master over several games. Oh. His arc,

00:35:34.070 --> 00:35:36.090
former stormtrooper becomes a hero of the light

00:35:36.090 --> 00:35:38.409
side, is actually remarkably similar to Finn's

00:35:38.409 --> 00:35:40.730
journey in the sequel trilogy decades later.

00:35:41.079 --> 00:35:43.420
Another example of ideas from the older legends

00:35:43.420 --> 00:35:46.000
material influencing the new canon. Exactly.

00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:48.559
It shows how these successful game narratives

00:35:48.559 --> 00:35:51.579
still resonate. So since 2014 and the Disney

00:35:51.579 --> 00:35:53.960
acquisition, the games are now officially part

00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:56.519
of the canon timeline. That's the standard now,

00:35:56.599 --> 00:36:00.400
yes. Electronic Arts, EA, held the exclusive

00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:02.320
license for a long time, though that's opening

00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:05.489
up now. The games developed during this period,

00:36:05.590 --> 00:36:07.730
like the Battlefront reboot series, the Jedi,

00:36:07.949 --> 00:36:11.449
Fallen Order and Jedi, Survivor games, and the

00:36:11.449 --> 00:36:14.949
space combat game Star Wars, Squadrons, are all

00:36:14.949 --> 00:36:16.929
considered part of the official story. And they're

00:36:16.929 --> 00:36:19.789
developed with more input from Lucasfilm? Generally,

00:36:19.789 --> 00:36:22.510
yes. There's much more collaboration with the

00:36:22.510 --> 00:36:24.389
Lucasfilm story group and sometimes even the

00:36:24.389 --> 00:36:26.929
filmmakers to ensure the narratives fit within

00:36:26.929 --> 00:36:29.250
the established canon and sometimes even seed

00:36:29.250 --> 00:36:31.329
ideas or characters that might appear elsewhere

00:36:31.329 --> 00:36:33.989
later. Fallen Order, for instance, gave us a

00:36:33.989 --> 00:36:36.230
really detailed look at the survivors of the

00:36:36.230 --> 00:36:39.329
Jedi Purge. Okay, we absolutely cannot talk about

00:36:39.329 --> 00:36:41.110
the financial power and the sheer scale of Star

00:36:41.110 --> 00:36:43.070
Wars without digging into the merchandising.

00:36:43.309 --> 00:36:45.949
This story is legendary in business circles.

00:36:46.070 --> 00:36:47.849
It truly is. It's considered one of the smartest,

00:36:47.889 --> 00:36:50.070
most prescient business decisions in movie history.

00:36:50.449 --> 00:36:52.530
Back when George Lucas was making the original

00:36:52.530 --> 00:36:56.449
1977 film, the studio, Fox, was nervous about

00:36:56.449 --> 00:37:00.070
the budget. So he made a deal. He did. He agreed

00:37:00.070 --> 00:37:03.449
to take a significant pay cut as director, foregoing

00:37:03.449 --> 00:37:07.079
$500 ,000, which was a lot then. in exchange

00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:10.380
for Fox granting him two things, full ownership

00:37:10.380 --> 00:37:13.639
of the sequel rights and, crucially, full ownership

00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:16.079
of the franchise's merchandising rights. Which,

00:37:16.199 --> 00:37:17.699
at the time, the studio probably thought was

00:37:17.699 --> 00:37:20.460
worthless. Pretty much. Movie merchandising wasn't

00:37:20.460 --> 00:37:23.099
really a big thing before Star Wars. Studios

00:37:23.099 --> 00:37:25.400
made their money from box office tickets. Giving

00:37:25.400 --> 00:37:27.159
away the toy rights probably seemed like a safe

00:37:27.159 --> 00:37:29.820
bet to them, a way to save cash up front. It

00:37:29.820 --> 00:37:32.139
was a massive gamble for Lucas, banking entirely

00:37:32.139 --> 00:37:34.280
on his vision and the appeal of his universe.

00:37:34.599 --> 00:37:38.159
And the payoff was... Well, astronomical. Beyond

00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:41.239
astronomical. Yeah. By 2012, just before he sold

00:37:41.239 --> 00:37:43.739
Lucasfilm to Disney, estimates suggest that the

00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:46.239
first six Star Wars films had generated something

00:37:46.239 --> 00:37:49.039
like U .S. $20 billion in revenue from merchandise

00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:51.860
alone. Far, far more than the films themselves

00:37:51.860 --> 00:37:53.880
made at the box office. It started with the action

00:37:53.880 --> 00:37:56.199
figures, right? Kenner products. Yes, Kenner

00:37:56.199 --> 00:37:58.920
got the toy license. But they were famously caught,

00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:00.980
completely unprepared for the massive demand

00:38:00.980 --> 00:38:03.280
after the first movie hit. They couldn't manufacture

00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:06.449
figures fast enough for Christmas 1977. So they

00:38:06.449 --> 00:38:09.010
sold an empty box. Literally. Yeah. They sold

00:38:09.010 --> 00:38:11.210
an early bird certificate package, which was

00:38:11.210 --> 00:38:13.690
basically a cardboard display stand with a mailing

00:38:13.690 --> 00:38:15.750
certificate promising to send the first four

00:38:15.750 --> 00:38:19.170
figures, Luke, Leia, R2 -D2, Chewbacca, once

00:38:19.170 --> 00:38:22.889
they were actually produced in early 1978. And

00:38:22.889 --> 00:38:25.489
people bought them. Those empty boxes are now

00:38:25.489 --> 00:38:27.849
incredibly valuable collectibles. That just shows

00:38:27.849 --> 00:38:30.340
the level of frenzy. And the licensing power

00:38:30.340 --> 00:38:32.340
just kept growing. Lego is a huge part of it

00:38:32.340 --> 00:38:34.739
now. Oh, yeah. Star Wars was actually the very

00:38:34.739 --> 00:38:37.659
first intellectual property that Lego ever licensed

00:38:37.659 --> 00:38:41.480
back in 1999. It was a huge step for Lego, moving

00:38:41.480 --> 00:38:44.360
beyond their generic themes. And that partnership

00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:46.599
has been immensely successful, spawning countless

00:38:46.599 --> 00:38:50.000
Lego sets, animated parody specials, and a whole

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:52.159
series of critically acclaimed, best -selling

00:38:52.159 --> 00:38:54.840
Lego Star Wars video games. And Hasbro has the

00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:57.340
main action figure rights now. Hasbro holds the

00:38:57.340 --> 00:39:00.059
Master Toy license currently, yeah. Continuing

00:39:00.059 --> 00:39:02.400
that multi -billion dollar action figure legacy.

00:39:02.659 --> 00:39:04.320
And this universe hasn't just stayed on shelves.

00:39:04.559 --> 00:39:06.619
It's become a physical place you can visit in

00:39:06.619 --> 00:39:09.070
the theme parks. Right. That started relatively

00:39:09.070 --> 00:39:11.550
modestly with the original Star Tours motion

00:39:11.550 --> 00:39:14.050
simulator ride, which opened at Disneyland in

00:39:14.050 --> 00:39:17.230
1987. It was hugely popular for decades. But

00:39:17.230 --> 00:39:19.150
that evolved into something much bigger recently.

00:39:19.250 --> 00:39:23.239
Much bigger. Into Star Wars. Galaxy's Edge. This

00:39:23.239 --> 00:39:26.719
is a massive, fully immersive themed land that

00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:29.659
opened in 2019 at both Disneyland in California

00:39:29.659 --> 00:39:32.880
and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida. It's

00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:34.280
designed to make you feel like you've actually

00:39:34.280 --> 00:39:37.260
stepped onto a remote planet, but to on the edge

00:39:37.260 --> 00:39:39.460
of the galaxy. It's an incredible achievement

00:39:39.460 --> 00:39:42.019
in terms of theme park design and world building.

00:39:42.099 --> 00:39:44.719
The level of detail is amazing. It really is.

00:39:44.760 --> 00:39:46.380
You can build your own lightsaber, pilot the

00:39:46.380 --> 00:39:48.889
Millennium Falcon. It's meant to be a fully interactive

00:39:48.889 --> 00:39:51.269
experience. We should probably note, though,

00:39:51.309 --> 00:39:53.309
that not every theme park venture has been a

00:39:53.309 --> 00:39:55.789
slam dunk. You mean the Galactic Star Cruiser

00:39:55.789 --> 00:39:58.070
Hotel? Yeah, the Star Wars. Galactic Star Cruiser.

00:39:58.400 --> 00:40:00.940
This is an incredibly ambitious, premium -priced,

00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:03.579
two -night immersive hotel experience like a

00:40:03.579 --> 00:40:05.679
live -action role -playing game on a starship.

00:40:06.039 --> 00:40:09.300
It opened in 2022, but it closed permanently

00:40:09.300 --> 00:40:11.780
in late 2023 after only about a year and a half.

00:40:11.860 --> 00:40:14.500
Why did it close so quickly? Primarily the extremely

00:40:14.500 --> 00:40:17.719
high price point, it seems. It limited the audience

00:40:17.719 --> 00:40:20.340
significantly. It showed that even with an IP

00:40:20.340 --> 00:40:22.920
as powerful as Star Wars, there were still commercial

00:40:22.920 --> 00:40:26.760
limits, especially for very expensive niche experiences.

00:40:27.500 --> 00:40:30.239
That makes sense. Okay, so we've covered the

00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:33.340
films, the shows, the games, the merch. That

00:40:33.340 --> 00:40:36.440
brings us to the deeper layers. Why does Star

00:40:36.440 --> 00:40:40.360
Wars have this relentless cultural pull? Let's

00:40:40.360 --> 00:40:42.719
talk about the themes, the history, the mythology

00:40:42.719 --> 00:40:44.900
baked into it all. Right, because underneath

00:40:44.900 --> 00:40:47.780
the lasers and spaceships, the saga is built

00:40:47.780 --> 00:40:50.539
on some really fundamental... ancient structures.

00:40:50.659 --> 00:40:53.239
It draws heavily, consciously from mythology,

00:40:53.599 --> 00:40:55.699
particularly from Joseph Campbell's work on the

00:40:55.699 --> 00:40:58.079
archetypal hero's journey. The monomyth. The

00:40:58.079 --> 00:41:00.300
monomyth, exactly. You can clearly see that template

00:41:00.300 --> 00:41:02.519
applied with variations, of course, to the main

00:41:02.519 --> 00:41:04.980
protagonists. Anakin Skywalker, whose journey

00:41:04.980 --> 00:41:07.519
is ultimately tragic until the end. Luke Skywalker,

00:41:07.860 --> 00:41:10.280
the classic hero. And Rey in the sequel trilogy.

00:41:10.539 --> 00:41:12.659
They go through those familiar stages, the call

00:41:12.659 --> 00:41:14.900
to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting the

00:41:14.900 --> 00:41:17.099
mentor, crossing the threshold. And Lucas himself

00:41:17.099 --> 00:41:19.289
was pretty clear about the core theme. wasn't

00:41:19.289 --> 00:41:23.070
he he was he stated multiple times that the central

00:41:23.070 --> 00:41:25.869
overarching theme of the entire six film saga

00:41:25.869 --> 00:41:29.250
he created is redemption the possibility of coming

00:41:29.250 --> 00:41:31.869
back from the darkness we see that most powerfully

00:41:31.869 --> 00:41:33.550
with darth vader at the end of return of the

00:41:33.550 --> 00:41:36.110
jedi absolutely and that moment is tied into

00:41:36.110 --> 00:41:38.730
another key step in campbell's hero's journey

00:41:38.730 --> 00:41:42.369
the atonement with the father luke discovering

00:41:42.369 --> 00:41:45.969
vader is his father in empire strikes back That's

00:41:45.969 --> 00:41:48.190
arguably one of the most famous and influential

00:41:48.190 --> 00:41:51.409
plot twists in all of cinema history. It makes

00:41:51.409 --> 00:41:53.269
the conflict deeply personal. And the sequel

00:41:53.269 --> 00:41:56.219
trilogy played with that theme. darker way didn't

00:41:56.219 --> 00:41:58.619
it deliberately inverted it yeah you have kylo

00:41:58.619 --> 00:42:00.860
ren being actively encouraged by his dark side

00:42:00.860 --> 00:42:03.539
mentor supreme leader snoke to kill his father

00:42:03.539 --> 00:42:07.659
on solo as a way to supposedly solidify his commitment

00:42:07.659 --> 00:42:10.199
to the dark side it's presented as this fatal

00:42:10.199 --> 00:42:13.079
rejection of the possibility of atonement a stark

00:42:13.079 --> 00:42:15.599
contrast to luke's ultimate success in reaching

00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:18.119
anakin the saga is also just packed with other

00:42:18.119 --> 00:42:20.739
religious and mythological references oh everywhere

00:42:21.210 --> 00:42:23.389
You've got elements of knighthood, chivalry,

00:42:23.389 --> 00:42:25.989
samurai codes, and the Jedi Order. There's the

00:42:25.989 --> 00:42:28.909
very direct reference to Christianity in Anakin's

00:42:28.909 --> 00:42:31.929
backstory, conceived without a father. Hale is

00:42:31.929 --> 00:42:34.909
the prophesied chosen one, this messianic figure.

00:42:35.170 --> 00:42:38.210
But unlike Jesus, this messiah falls. Right.

00:42:38.269 --> 00:42:40.869
He falls spectacularly from grace and brings

00:42:40.869 --> 00:42:43.050
about galactic tyranny before finding redemption

00:42:43.050 --> 00:42:45.409
right at the end. It's a fascinating twist on

00:42:45.409 --> 00:42:47.730
that archetype. And even the character designs

00:42:47.730 --> 00:42:50.739
borrow heavily. Darth Maul's look, with the horns

00:42:50.739 --> 00:42:52.900
and red and black markings, is drawn directly

00:42:52.900 --> 00:42:55.039
from traditional depictions of the devil in Western

00:42:55.039 --> 00:42:57.800
culture. Yet, amidst all the darkness and mythic

00:42:57.800 --> 00:43:00.519
stakes, the saga also tries to maintain this

00:43:00.519 --> 00:43:03.739
sense of maybe democratic optimism, like anyone

00:43:03.739 --> 00:43:06.340
can be a hero. I think so. That final image in

00:43:06.340 --> 00:43:08.900
The Last Jedi is quite telling, I think. You

00:43:08.900 --> 00:43:10.760
see those poor servant children on Canto Bight,

00:43:10.860 --> 00:43:12.900
playing with a makeshift Luke Skywalker toy,

00:43:13.099 --> 00:43:15.300
and one of them subtly uses the Force to grab

00:43:15.300 --> 00:43:18.329
a broom. The message, as director Rian Johnson

00:43:18.329 --> 00:43:20.429
explained it, was that the force isn't just for

00:43:20.429 --> 00:43:22.889
skywalkers. It can be found in people with humble

00:43:22.889 --> 00:43:25.630
beginnings. That heroism isn't tied to bloodline.

00:43:25.769 --> 00:43:29.329
Okay, let's move from the myths to the real world

00:43:29.329 --> 00:43:32.670
history. The political and historical parallels.

00:43:32.949 --> 00:43:35.110
This seems like another area where Lucas was

00:43:35.110 --> 00:43:38.139
very intentional. Extremely intentional. The

00:43:38.139 --> 00:43:40.179
entire saga, particularly the prequel and original

00:43:40.179 --> 00:43:42.460
trilogies, is structured around the struggle

00:43:42.460 --> 00:43:45.480
between democracy and dictatorship. And Lucas

00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:47.980
drew directly on 20th century history and even

00:43:47.980 --> 00:43:50.719
ancient history for his models. He talked about

00:43:50.719 --> 00:43:53.000
Vietnam War parallels, right? Yes, particularly

00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:55.340
in battles where you see technologically inferior,

00:43:55.800 --> 00:43:58.880
seemingly primitive societies take on the might

00:43:58.880 --> 00:44:01.719
of the empire or the trade federation. Think

00:44:01.719 --> 00:44:03.900
of the Ewoks with their spears and traps fighting

00:44:03.900 --> 00:44:06.860
stormtroopers on Endor, or the Gungans with their

00:44:06.860 --> 00:44:08.920
energy shields against battle droids on Nobu.

00:44:09.320 --> 00:44:11.519
Lucas saw these as representing the clash between

00:44:11.519 --> 00:44:14.460
a decentralized indigenous force and a technologically

00:44:14.460 --> 00:44:17.139
superior invading power, much like the Viet Cong

00:44:17.139 --> 00:44:19.579
versus the U .S. military. And the parallels

00:44:19.579 --> 00:44:22.199
to Nazi Germany and World War II are almost impossible

00:44:22.199 --> 00:44:25.320
to miss. They're blatant and absolutely deliberate.

00:44:25.949 --> 00:44:28.630
It was shorthand for evil for the audience of

00:44:28.630 --> 00:44:32.110
the 70s. Darth Vader's helmet design, while George

00:44:32.110 --> 00:44:34.469
Lucas often cited samurai armor as the primary

00:44:34.469 --> 00:44:37.150
inspiration, clearly incorporates the shape and

00:44:37.150 --> 00:44:39.030
menacing look of a German Stahlhelm military

00:44:39.030 --> 00:44:42.909
helmet from the World Wars. And the names. Stormtroopers.

00:44:43.070 --> 00:44:45.389
Straight out of history. The Empire's soldiers

00:44:45.389 --> 00:44:47.650
borrow their name directly from the elite German

00:44:47.650 --> 00:44:50.849
shock troopers of World War I, known for infiltration

00:44:50.849 --> 00:44:52.969
tactics, and the Imperial officers' uniforms.

00:44:53.610 --> 00:44:56.030
They bear a very strong resemblance to Nazi German

00:44:56.030 --> 00:44:58.510
uniforms from World War II, especially the SS.

00:44:58.909 --> 00:45:02.429
The cut, the colors, gray and black, the rank

00:45:02.429 --> 00:45:05.349
insignia plaques, the peaked caps. Some Imperial

00:45:05.349 --> 00:45:07.809
security officers even wear black uniforms with

00:45:07.809 --> 00:45:10.429
stylized silver deaths head insignia on their

00:45:10.429 --> 00:45:13.929
caps, which is a direct visual echo of the Totenkopf

00:45:13.929 --> 00:45:17.730
symbol used by the SS. Lucas originally conceived

00:45:17.730 --> 00:45:20.369
of the Sith in the very early drafts as explicitly

00:45:20.369 --> 00:45:23.170
serving the emperor in the same way the SS served

00:45:23.170 --> 00:45:25.030
Hitler, though that role was later condensed

00:45:25.030 --> 00:45:27.150
primarily into the single figure of Darth Vader.

00:45:27.289 --> 00:45:29.730
It's an instant visual coding. You see those

00:45:29.730 --> 00:45:32.030
uniforms, you understand this is the totalitarian

00:45:32.030 --> 00:45:34.889
bad guy force. Exactly. It tapped into established

00:45:34.889 --> 00:45:37.710
cultural iconography of fascism and military

00:45:37.710 --> 00:45:40.039
oppression. And the political storyline of the

00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:42.599
prequels is basically a lesson in how democracies

00:45:42.599 --> 00:45:44.880
fall. It's explicitly modeled on the fall of

00:45:44.880 --> 00:45:47.539
historical republics. Palpatine's calculated

00:45:47.539 --> 00:45:51.159
rise from seemingly benign chancellor to dictatorial

00:45:51.159 --> 00:45:53.980
emperor in episodes first, ten, and over is a

00:45:53.980 --> 00:45:56.440
direct allegory for how dictators seize power.

00:45:57.059 --> 00:45:59.699
Lucas himself drew parallels to Adolf Hitler's

00:45:59.699 --> 00:46:02.659
rise to furor in Germany, manipulating crisis,

00:46:03.000 --> 00:46:06.250
the separatist movement. the Clone Wars, to consolidate

00:46:06.250 --> 00:46:08.829
power through emergency decrees. But not just

00:46:08.829 --> 00:46:11.510
Hitler, right? No. He also cited Julius Caesar's

00:46:11.510 --> 00:46:13.429
subversion of the Roman Republic and transformation

00:46:13.429 --> 00:46:16.690
into an empire, Napoleon Bonaparte's rise after

00:46:16.690 --> 00:46:18.989
the French Revolution, and even drew parallels

00:46:18.989 --> 00:46:21.190
to Richard Nixon in the Watergate era, particularly

00:46:21.190 --> 00:46:23.590
concerning the expansion of executive power and

00:46:23.590 --> 00:46:25.630
government secrecy during times of perceived

00:46:25.630 --> 00:46:28.650
crisis. The whole arc of the Galactic Republic's

00:46:28.650 --> 00:46:31.250
decay and corruption is meant to mirror the fall

00:46:31.250 --> 00:46:34.239
of the Roman Republic. And Palpatine uses specific

00:46:34.239 --> 00:46:36.599
historical tactics like manufacturing crises.

00:46:37.019 --> 00:46:39.579
Yes, the separatist crisis allows him to push

00:46:39.579 --> 00:46:42.219
for the Military Creation Act, granting him emergency

00:46:42.219 --> 00:46:44.400
powers and control over the newly formed clone

00:46:44.400 --> 00:46:47.980
army. It's a classic playbook. Create or exploit

00:46:47.980 --> 00:46:51.809
fear? centralized control, erode democratic norms

00:46:51.809 --> 00:46:54.469
and institutions piece by piece, all under the

00:46:54.469 --> 00:46:56.570
guise of security and order. And then there's

00:46:56.570 --> 00:46:59.730
the great Jedi purge, Order 66. That sudden,

00:46:59.829 --> 00:47:02.550
brutal, systematic elimination of the Jedi Order

00:47:02.550 --> 00:47:06.550
has clear historical parallels too. Lucas specifically

00:47:06.550 --> 00:47:08.550
modeled it after the Night of the Long Knives

00:47:08.550 --> 00:47:11.269
in Nazi Germany, where Hitler ordered the purge

00:47:11.269 --> 00:47:13.829
of his political rivals within the SA to consolidate

00:47:13.829 --> 00:47:17.030
his absolute power. Order 66 serves the same

00:47:17.030 --> 00:47:19.539
function for Palpatine. eliminating the only

00:47:19.539 --> 00:47:21.380
group powerful enough to challenge his imperial

00:47:21.380 --> 00:47:23.599
rule. Even the villains in the sequel trilogy,

00:47:23.719 --> 00:47:25.960
The First Order, have a specific historical inspiration.

00:47:26.559 --> 00:47:29.360
They do. Director J .J. Abrams talked about how

00:47:29.360 --> 00:47:31.400
they conceived The First Order. The question

00:47:31.400 --> 00:47:33.699
was, what would happen if the Nazis who fled

00:47:33.699 --> 00:47:37.400
Germany after WWII, say, escaped to Argentina,

00:47:37.699 --> 00:47:40.300
regrouped, and started plotting their return?

00:47:40.619 --> 00:47:43.480
That idea of the remnants of the old evil regime

00:47:43.480 --> 00:47:46.920
hiding. Nurturing their ideology and re -emerging

00:47:46.920 --> 00:47:49.079
was the direct inspiration for how the First

00:47:49.079 --> 00:47:51.199
Order rose from the ashes of the Empire. And

00:47:51.199 --> 00:47:53.619
even the space battles. Modeled directly on World

00:47:53.619 --> 00:47:56.340
War I and World War II, aerial dogfights and

00:47:56.340 --> 00:47:58.480
naval battles. Lucas studied footage of those

00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:00.599
conflicts to choreograph the X -Wing and TIE

00:48:00.599 --> 00:48:03.280
fighter battles. Even some planet names, like

00:48:03.280 --> 00:48:06.480
Kessel, referencing a WWII battle, and Hoth.

00:48:06.800 --> 00:48:08.920
possibly linked to German General Hermann Hall,

00:48:09.039 --> 00:48:11.800
have wartime echoes. It's incredible how layered

00:48:11.800 --> 00:48:13.800
those historical and political analogies are.

00:48:13.840 --> 00:48:15.619
It's not just background noise. It's baked into

00:48:15.619 --> 00:48:18.460
the structure. Absolutely. It gives the fantastical

00:48:18.460 --> 00:48:21.059
story weight and relevance. It's political science

00:48:21.059 --> 00:48:23.300
fiction disguised as a space opera in many ways.

00:48:23.519 --> 00:48:25.860
Which brings us finally to the massive cultural

00:48:25.860 --> 00:48:29.280
legacy Star Wars carved out. It didn't just entertain.

00:48:29.500 --> 00:48:32.639
It fundamentally changed Hollywood. Oh, profoundly.

00:48:33.550 --> 00:48:36.530
Star Wars, along with Steven Spielberg's Jaws

00:48:36.530 --> 00:48:39.489
a couple years earlier, is widely credited with

00:48:39.489 --> 00:48:41.909
inventing the modern summer blockbuster phenomena.

00:48:42.250 --> 00:48:44.210
What did that mean practically? It meant moving

00:48:44.210 --> 00:48:47.150
away from platform releases, where a film opened

00:48:47.150 --> 00:48:50.170
small and grew. towards opening wide on hundreds,

00:48:50.329 --> 00:48:54.030
then thousands, of screens simultaneously, backed

00:48:54.030 --> 00:48:57.230
by huge marketing campaigns. It also cemented

00:48:57.230 --> 00:48:59.530
the idea of the profitable, repeatable franchise

00:48:59.530 --> 00:49:02.670
as the holy grail for studios. And the impact

00:49:02.670 --> 00:49:05.070
on special effects was revolutionary. Absolutely

00:49:05.070 --> 00:49:07.829
revolutionary. Before 1977, visual effects technology

00:49:07.829 --> 00:49:09.989
hadn't really advanced all that much since maybe

00:49:09.989 --> 00:49:12.989
the 1950s. Star Wars demanded effects that simply

00:49:12.989 --> 00:49:15.550
didn't exist. Lucas had to create his own effects

00:49:15.550 --> 00:49:18.389
house, Industrial Light and Magic, ILM, to invent

00:49:18.389 --> 00:49:20.869
the technology needed. This created a massive

00:49:20.869 --> 00:49:23.050
boom in state -of -the -art special effects that

00:49:23.050 --> 00:49:25.190
benefited the entire industry. It also showed

00:49:25.190 --> 00:49:27.909
the power of mixing genres. Right. It wasn't

00:49:27.909 --> 00:49:30.789
just sci -fi. It blended in elements of fantasy,

00:49:30.969 --> 00:49:34.969
westerns, war films, samurai epics, fairy tales,

00:49:35.170 --> 00:49:38.530
creating this high -concept genre mashup that

00:49:38.530 --> 00:49:40.849
became a template for countless films that followed.

00:49:41.309 --> 00:49:43.769
And as we discussed with that merchandising deal,

00:49:43.889 --> 00:49:47.409
a $500 ,000 pay cut. Yeah. It proved definitively

00:49:47.409 --> 00:49:50.489
that the intellectual property itself, the toys,

00:49:50.550 --> 00:49:53.090
the T -shirts, the lunchboxes could potentially

00:49:53.090 --> 00:49:55.469
generate vastly more money than the film ever

00:49:55.469 --> 00:49:58.389
could. just from ticket sales. That realization

00:49:58.389 --> 00:50:00.769
completely changed the financial model of Hollywood

00:50:00.769 --> 00:50:03.489
and the importance of owning and exploiting IP.

00:50:03.769 --> 00:50:05.710
But not everyone saw this as a good thing, right?

00:50:05.789 --> 00:50:07.389
There was critical backlash. There definitely

00:50:07.389 --> 00:50:09.710
was. While many hailed it as a technical marvel

00:50:09.710 --> 00:50:12.550
and a return to pure cinematic fun, some influential

00:50:12.550 --> 00:50:15.349
critics blame Star Wars and its imitators for

00:50:15.349 --> 00:50:18.190
ruining Hollywood. Ruining it how? The argument

00:50:18.190 --> 00:50:21.090
was that its overwhelming success shifted studio

00:50:21.090 --> 00:50:24.010
priorities away from the more complex, adult,

00:50:24.210 --> 00:50:27.349
character -driven auteur films of the 1970s,

00:50:27.349 --> 00:50:30.190
you know, the era of The Godfather, Chinatown,

00:50:30.250 --> 00:50:33.409
Taxi Driver, towards simpler, more juvenile fantasy,

00:50:33.630 --> 00:50:36.030
spectacle, and the relentless pursuit of four

00:50:36.030 --> 00:50:38.750
-quadrant blockbusters aimed primarily at younger

00:50:38.750 --> 00:50:41.309
audiences. They saw it as the end of a golden

00:50:41.309 --> 00:50:44.079
age of serious American filmmaking. But its influence,

00:50:44.300 --> 00:50:46.860
positive or negative, is just undeniable. That

00:50:46.860 --> 00:50:50.159
used universe look alone had a huge impact. Huge.

00:50:50.179 --> 00:50:53.179
That gritty, lived -in aesthetic where technology

00:50:53.179 --> 00:50:55.980
looked functional and worn, not sleek and pristine,

00:50:56.199 --> 00:50:58.300
directly influenced a generation of filmmakers,

00:50:58.579 --> 00:51:01.000
especially in science fiction. Ridley Scott explicitly

00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:03.059
cited it as an influence on the look of both

00:51:03.059 --> 00:51:05.039
Alien and Blade Runner. And beyond the professional

00:51:05.039 --> 00:51:07.960
industry, the fan community it inspired is massive.

00:51:08.199 --> 00:51:11.340
Absolutely massive. Star Wars arguably created

00:51:11.340 --> 00:51:13.920
modern media fandom as we know it. It inspired

00:51:13.920 --> 00:51:16.000
countless fan works, fan films, fan fiction,

00:51:16.079 --> 00:51:19.440
art, costumes. To their credit, Lucasfilm eventually

00:51:19.440 --> 00:51:22.159
recognized this creative energy and even started

00:51:22.159 --> 00:51:24.719
sanctioning things like official fan film awards,

00:51:24.920 --> 00:51:28.079
allowing non -profit fan creativity to flourish,

00:51:28.260 --> 00:51:30.179
as long as it didn't try to compete commercially.

00:51:30.440 --> 00:51:32.719
It's even found its way into academia. It has.

00:51:32.940 --> 00:51:35.179
The films are used in university courses all

00:51:35.179 --> 00:51:37.360
over the world. Film schools obviously study

00:51:37.360 --> 00:51:39.960
its structure, effects, and impact. Literature

00:51:39.960 --> 00:51:42.579
classes analyze its use of mythology. Psychology

00:51:42.579 --> 00:51:45.179
professors have even used the contrasting philosophies

00:51:45.179 --> 00:51:48.139
of the Jedi, light side, and Sith, dark side,

00:51:48.280 --> 00:51:50.840
to teach concepts in psychopathology. And its

00:51:50.840 --> 00:51:53.920
place in film history is secure. Utterly secure.

00:51:54.039 --> 00:51:56.380
The first three films, Star Wars, A New Hope,

00:51:56.460 --> 00:51:58.380
The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi,

00:51:58.539 --> 00:52:00.360
have all been selected for preservation of the

00:52:00.360 --> 00:52:02.800
U .S. National Film Registry by the Library of

00:52:02.800 --> 00:52:05.619
Congress. Recognized as being culturally, historically,

00:52:05.860 --> 00:52:08.139
or aesthetically significant. They are permanent

00:52:08.139 --> 00:52:11.199
fixtures. So to wrap up this deep dive, we've

00:52:11.199 --> 00:52:14.340
really traced the incredible breadth of this

00:52:14.340 --> 00:52:17.119
franchise. From those core nine Skywalker films,

00:52:17.300 --> 00:52:20.159
it's exploded into this vast network of canonical

00:52:20.159 --> 00:52:23.340
stories across streaming, games, books, comics,

00:52:23.480 --> 00:52:26.380
all mapped onto this complex multi -era fictional

00:52:26.380 --> 00:52:29.260
timeline. And it all seems held together by George

00:52:29.260 --> 00:52:32.239
Lucas's original vision that dual focus on timeless

00:52:32.239 --> 00:52:35.280
mythology and using real world political history

00:52:35.280 --> 00:52:38.239
as powerful allegory. It's a perfect summary.

00:52:38.400 --> 00:52:40.780
And thinking about those deep historical parallels,

00:52:41.139 --> 00:52:43.500
Lucas deliberately wove in, you know, connecting

00:52:43.500 --> 00:52:45.440
the rise of Palpatine's empire directly to the

00:52:45.440 --> 00:52:47.900
failures of real world democracies, Rome, the

00:52:47.900 --> 00:52:50.260
Weimar Republic, Nixon's America, and looking

00:52:50.260 --> 00:52:52.260
at how conflict just keeps recurring across the

00:52:52.260 --> 00:52:54.320
entire Star Wars timeline. You know, the Sith

00:52:54.320 --> 00:52:56.679
rise, they fall, the empire rises, it falls,

00:52:56.800 --> 00:52:59.219
the First Order rises from its ashes. It really

00:52:59.219 --> 00:53:01.139
does force you to ask a pretty profound question

00:53:01.139 --> 00:53:03.980
about the whole saga's ultimate message. Well,

00:53:04.119 --> 00:53:06.500
given those historical echoes and the cyclical

00:53:06.500 --> 00:53:09.559
nature... Does Star Wars ultimately suggest that

00:53:09.559 --> 00:53:12.219
galactic democracy, like its real -world counterparts

00:53:12.219 --> 00:53:16.559
perhaps, is fundamentally fragile, almost destined

00:53:16.559 --> 00:53:19.300
to eventually collapse into dictatorship? Is

00:53:19.300 --> 00:53:21.820
the dark side, in a societal sense, just an inevitable

00:53:21.820 --> 00:53:25.320
recurring structure? Or does Lucas' personal

00:53:25.320 --> 00:53:27.260
insistence that redemption is the central theme

00:53:27.260 --> 00:53:29.840
mean that hope, embodied by characters like Luke

00:53:29.840 --> 00:53:32.099
and Rey, the constant effort to rebuild the Jedi

00:53:32.099 --> 00:53:34.239
Order, the fight against tyranny, is the truly

00:53:34.239 --> 00:53:37.500
perpetual force? Is the struggle itself the point,

00:53:37.579 --> 00:53:39.519
with the possibility of redemption always present,

00:53:39.659 --> 00:53:41.739
ensuring the galaxy eventually rights itself?

00:53:42.079 --> 00:53:43.920
Leaves you wondering about the balance, doesn't

00:53:43.920 --> 00:53:43.960
it?