So Much Star Wars

 “What if we could go anywhere we want in the whole galaxy?”

— Wim, Skeleton Crew

Despite detesting many indignities the 21st century has thus far forced upon us, I revel in the resurgence of Star Wars media. Where once fans had just three films — viewed repeatedly on VHS — now we have entire constellations of streaming content, live-action and cartoon, episodic television and movies. And that doesn’t even touch the subsidiary media of novels, comics, and games. Geek media in general has flourished as a result of greater societal acceptance and more methods for disseminating both professional and non-professional work. But Star Wars — with its long provenance and years of fans grasping at any content to satisfy their dearth of official film releases — has not only filled the market again but pushed the boundaries of the franchise into new directions, expanding the scope and emotional power of our favorite galaxy far, far away. Star Wars media found new life embracing an adage pioneered by West End Games’ Star Wars Roleplaying Game, where players didn’t simply focus on the core heroes from the films, but sought new adventures “just off screen,” exploring different characters, ordinary people caught up in the Rebellion, folks from other worlds and cultures, each with their own story to tell. And it made the Star Wars galaxy richer.

With the second season of Andor finishing this past week, we’ve been treated to an intense, emotional roller coaster reminding us of the vast scope and power of the Star Wars galaxy. Set before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Andor showed how Imperial oppression turned ordinary citizens into Rebels willing to give all to fight tyranny. Yes, the series explored some characters from the films — including Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, Obi Wan Kenobi — though ones not fully explored before. But the streaming series treated viewers to a much deeper experience than the original trilogy offered, following stories far from the heroic core seen in the original movies and even their prequels/sequels. Andor offers a powerful story, especially in a world facing similar threats from authoritarian governments. With themes relatable across history and heroes forged from everyday people forced to make difficult choices, it resonates with Star Wars fans able to empathize with its difficult themes. It dealt with some dire issues requiring some maturity beyond the cinematic matinee pulp stories we saw in the original trilogy and subsequent films.

It’s hard to believe today, but once there was a time when people considered Star Wars a dead license. After the original trilogy only a handful of tie-in novels and comic books, with some board games, a few television specials, and the numerous action figures, seemed to keep the franchise alive in the popular consciousness. When West End Games got the license and started producing roleplaying game resources for Star Wars gamer-fans naturally immersed themselves in the game, but the adventure gaming hobby was, back then, still a niche market. Many credit Lucasfilm and Bantam with resuscitating Star Wars through Timothy Zahn’s popular novels. Gamer and fan enthusiasm helped bolster interest until George Lucas saw a future for more cinematic stories. The prequel movies along with a proven viewership for fare such as the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons helped ignite the fandom — and the market for Star Wars merchandise — to the point Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012 and started charting its own course for new stories.

Star Wars has since made a comeback in part because — like Star Wars Roleplaying Game adventures earlier — the media developed stories occurring “just off screen” from the main Star Wars mythos action. While the game maintained interest in the license after it had seemingly faded from popular culture it also blazed a path for other media to infuse Star Wars with life. Early Star Wars roleplaying game supplements focused on the Rebellion’s struggle against the Empire between the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope to the Battle of Endor at the end of Return of the Jedi (what I like to call the “classic era”). New novels and comic books allowed the game to cover different aspects and historical periods of the galaxy, from the distant Tales of the Jedi stories of the Old Republic to the time after the Empire’s defeat in the New Republic, the period many new novels explored. West End also expanded the scope of the kinds of stories gamers could tell, publishing sourcebooks about smugglers, scouts, bounty hunters, pirates, even Rebel special forces commandos.

Roleplaying game books, comics, novels, and other media of this time defined aspects of the Star Wars setting, details fans and gamers craved to provide verisimilitude to their enjoyment of the universe and their concept of what it might hold. Some thought it overbearing — as a creator working in that setting, having to adhere to an extensive continuity can seem daunting — but for fans at that time it was all they had to keep their love for Star Wars fresh. Even after Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and the dismissal of most of the “Expanded Universe” continuity material (necessary to remove onerously excessive continuity restraints on writers), creations from West End’s Star Wars resources occasionally turned up — and still do — adding depth to the media universe and giving fans something special to find and celebrate. Case in point, the use of Ghorman as the site of action in Andor’s second season directly references material in Paul Murphy’s Rebel Alliance Sourcebook: a brief sidebar about the “Ghorman Massacre,” including Tarkin’s involvement and it’s influence on Mon Mothma to leave the Imperial Senate and declare her support for the Rebellion. Such sourcebooks offered ready-made details and inspiration for other “everyday” in-universe information, like rank and organizational structure for both the Alliance and Empire, and the dreaded ISB central to the Andor storyline.

Roleplaying games give players the ability to create their own characters, expand them, and interact through them in a fictional setting. This free-form experience relies on and encourages the concept that “anything can be attempted” (a concept Jon Peterson highlighted in his epic history of early roleplaying games, Playing at the World). When filmmakers do much the same thing — despite the constraints of the movie business and popular franchises — their final epics engage viewers, push thematic bounds, and highlight inspiring stories.

The Star Wars franchise has expanded its bounds in both television/streaming formats and film, telling different stories about other characters inhabiting the vast galaxy and its timeline: the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons following individual clones and resistance fighters; a sequel trilogy returning to the core heroes and their successors; tales of the Fringe like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett; sequels featuring other heroes like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano; a look at Jedi morality in The Acolyte; the story of Skeleton Crew incorporating pirate themes with the perspective of sheltered children; the gritty films like Solo and Andor exploring the darker, more desperate side of the galaxy (yes, I’m sure I’m forgetting others...). And, of course, two seasons of Andor’s story before the events in Rogue One, prequels of a sort drawing viewers along a few paths in the Rebellion’s early efforts against the Empire.

Every release won’t appeal to every Star Wars fan; it doesn’t have to, especially with this volume of quality media. So much exists fans can pick and choose among their favorites and politely turn away from ones that don’t suit their tastes. And those preferences can change over time, too. Viewers relate to settings and characters and plots in different ways and to differing degrees of immersion. Good storytelling resonates with people across tones, genres, even specific settings. With Andor especially — like good roleplaying game adventures — focusing on individual characters, however everyday or extraordinary, infuses their experiences with the poignant gravitas of each struggle. Andor and the other films, series, and media continue to demonstrate the rich spectrum of stories across the Star Wars universe. And they continue to inspire us.

“I always wanted to be lifted. I was always eager, always waiting to be inspired.”

— Maarva Andor, Andor Season 1