Summary
- Star Wars TV shows have been successful, offering potential for future political interpretations of the franchise.
- Showrunner Tony Gilroy suggests a courtroom drama set in the Star Wars universe, but it might not align with audience expectations.
- While a serious show exploring the political side could be divisive, Star Wars has explored politics in the past, showcasing potential interest.
The Star Wars franchise shows no signs of slowing down under Disney's leadership, with various movies planned, including Star Wars: Starfighter, which will star Ryan Gosling in the lead role. However, it is the television wing of the Star Wars world that has been shining brightest in modern times, and that's something that is set to continue.
Whether it's The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, or Andor, Star Wars has proven to be a world that is perfect for a television format. Given the setting of a galaxy far, far away, the potential and scope for where Star Wars can take future television shows is off the charts. However, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy has a simpler idea for a new show.
Despite What Tony Gilroy Has Said, Andor Is More Indebted To Old School Star Wars Than Fans May Think
It's often said that Andor is less Star Wars-y than many other projects in the franchise. However, this is untrue; it's quintessentially Star Wars.
Gilroy recently spoke to Rolling Stone about the future of Star Wars and what it could look like. While fans often dream up huge adventures that feature massive lightsaber battles or spaceships that people haven't seen before, he thinks diving into the political side of this science fiction world would be more interesting.
He said, "You gotta be really careful. I was riffing [in one interview] about a three-camera show — there's not a lot of irony sometimes in some of the chat rooms. It doesn't help you to riff about Star Wars. I was goofing a little bit, but I was legit. I think it was the very first conversation with [Lucasfilm president] Kathy Kennedy way back when she was like, "After Rogue One, we could do anything. What do you want to do with this?" And I literally was like, "Could you do Inherit the Wind? Could you do a courtroom drama in Star Wars?" Why couldn't you? It'd be fascinating. You'd have to invent the legal system, but you could. Why not? That would be interesting."
While a courtroom drama might not be something people expect from Star Wars, the franchise has always kept people on their toes and provided surprises regarding content. Star Wars might be built up as a sci-fi world that features great fight scenes and larger-than-life characters, but that doesn't mean that it always has to be that way. In fact, shrinking the world to something more concentrated has proven successful for recent television shows.
Tapping into the more political side of Star Wars could be an interesting direction for the franchise to take when looking toward the future. It would be a more serious show, which would likely alienate a lot of younger Star Wars fans, but having content for different people isn't a bad thing at all. Star Wars hasn't shied away from delving into the political side of the galaxy in the past, as there were numerous scenes in the prequel trilogy that showcased this. That's something that could easily be explored in further detail if they wanted to, and there's no doubt that there would be an audience open to exploring it.
Ultimately, it's unlikely that Disney and Lucasfilm would greenlight a courtroom drama for Star Wars, even if Gilroy agreed to be the man behind it. It's simply too far away from what people know and expect when it comes to Star Wars movies and television shows, and it would likely be seen as a considerable risk. As much as audiences often enjoy seeing the debates among characters and the monologues they can give, an entire show dedicated to that aspect might be too much. Of course, if that was blended in with some action, or a side story of a Jedi, then there's a chance that it could end up working and being a hit. But for now, this is likely to be a Star Wars fantasy that exists in Gilroy's mind and doesn't see the light of day.
