With the release of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew this week, our own crew got together to vote on and rank the previous six live action Star Wars shows which have premiered on Disney+! Let us know your ranking @SiftPop!
Perhaps no Star Wars television project in the Disney era perfectly encapsulates the studio’s worst tendencies than The Book of Boba Fett. Despite his relatively short screen time and iconic demise in the original trilogy, the character of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) became idolized within the fan community. So naturally, in a bid to make something that appealed to the fanbase, he was brought back from the presumptive dead for his own miniseries in which he tries to take control of the underworld on Tatooine. However, either after realizing too late that there wasn’t enough story for him to carry his own series, wanting to appeal to fans energized by The Mandalorian (an increasingly rare, almost universally beloved entry in the Disney canon), or a mixture of both, the series bizarrely takes a turn into being Season 2.5 of one show instead of being a Boba Fett show at all. Now, were those my favorite episodes of the show? Yes, but what does it say about your show when its best episodes are the ones where it’s being another show instead? By trying to make something that could please everyone, I’m not sure the show completely works for anyone. Though it certainly has its moments, the result is something ultimately forgettable. (Jake Bourgeois)
It’s fitting that one of the boldest and most daring entries in the Disney Star Wars canon was released during one of the strangest lulls the franchise has experienced – with an uncertain future and limitless stories to explore, where does the universe go from here? The Rise of Skywalker was unsatisfying, but it sure ended the Skywalker Saga. The Dave Filoni-verse building season by season on Disney+ takes care of that unexplored 30 years in between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, but there’s an unlimited wealth of stories still to be explored on screen in the however many millions of years before the Skywalker Saga began. Give us thrills! Give us weirdness! The Acolyte is the first live-action foray into this timeline, and it certainly delivers on everything and more: sexy Dark Side Force users, compelling lead performances, a strong central mystery, solid fight choreography, and a myriad of lore contributions to the overall canon. But because of low viewership, the story is not to continue, and I for one am incredibly disappointed to not see more from Mae (Amandla Stenberg), Osha (also Stenberg), Qimir (Manny Jacinto), Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson), and all of the other supporting characters we’ve come to care about. The show is by no means perfect, but it is an indicator that some things need to change. We need more curious and fearless exploration into the Star Wars universe, because without that, the franchise will remain a nostalgia-based well that will eventually run dry (some might say it already has). I say shame on all those who encouraged and allowed The Acolyte to be canceled through bullying and bigotry. They are the problem with this fandom, not the fact that a person of color is the lead of a television show. We as a fanbase need to prove that we are more than that, but events that contributed to the cancelation of The Acolyte are not exactly a step in the right direction. (Rowan Wood)
For years, Star Wars fans have been wanting a story of what Obi-Wan Kenobi was up to during those 19 years on Tatooine. Well, in 2022 Disney answered that with the miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ewan McGregor returned to the iconic role in a series that received middling reviews, but did have some great moments. Seeing McGregor return was great, but what really excited me about this show was the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. McGregor and Christensen were always great together, and it’s no different here. Seeing them train is heartwarming. Their final fight with Vader’s mask breaking, and where we hear both James Earl Jones and Christensen speaking together, is the cherry on top. We also finally see Alderaan, and Vivien Lyra Blair is great as Leia; she and McGregor shine together. But my biggest praise is finally seeing someone use the Force to pull a ship out of the sky, which I had been waiting to see for a long time. As a whole, the Obi-Wan Kenobi looks fantastic and has its moments, but like many of these Disney+ shows, it would’ve served better as a movie. (Austen Terry)
The Disney Star Wars era has experienced a highs and a few lows, but the majority has been living on Planet Mediocrity, in the Disappointment System. My personal feeling on this is due to the inconsistent creative process behind the scenes. The biggest offender being Dave Filoni. I appreciate his ability to make things look cool in his projects, much like Zack Snyder does in his movies, but like Snyder, Filoni can’t crack story or characters, and is the worst when it comes to writing dialogue. So when you get a show like Ahsoka, which is, for better or worse, the continuation of Star Wars Rebels, you get one big awesome looking mess of an attempt at storytelling. If you watch Ahsoka with the sound off, I can guarantee you will give it five stars. It has iconic Star Wars imagery, great practical and CGI effects, awesome lightsaber fights with pretty decent choreography, and superb space battles, but once you turn the sound on, you will be searching for a hydro-spanner to shove into your ears to make the pain stop. The show falls completely apart because there is very little substance. There is no subtext, theming, or depth to anything said or done. It is nothing but nostalgia and setup for a second season, which is frustrating. VERY talented actors are directed to be stilted and awkward. I can’t begin to describe how disappointed I was that they got one-half of the equation correct. I just wish Disney would hire someone to develop a story past the pedestrian level. It worked for Andor! Credit where it’s due, though, David Tennant’s Huyang is a funny character who serves the classic C-3PO role perfectly. (Nick Ferro)
Kicking off Star Wars’ live action streaming series slate, The Mandalorian brought the franchise back to its roots, where it’s always been at its best. George Lucas was influenced by John Ford’s Westerns and Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films, and The Mandalorian channels the lone gunslinger and ronin story so well, with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) as a bounty hunting Mandalorian (only one of the coolest races in all of Star Wars). His exploits with his pseudo-son, Grogu, are some of the most entertaining and moving storylines going on in the galaxy far, far away. The model of going on missions in different types of places and going toe to toe with plenty of dangerous imperials, creatures, and pirates is quite exciting. The story keeps getting bigger, with deeper implications to the wider Star Wars story (in which it might lose its way a bit), but Pascal and the endlessly adorable nature of Grogu keeps us coming back. There are lots of great appearances from big characters, like Luke Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan Kryze, and Boba Fett. The cast is fantastic, with supporting turns from Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, and Emily Swallow really standing out. The killer theme from Ludwig Göransson sets the tone, while Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni put the series in the hands of a fantastic group of directors. This just might be the peak of Disney Star Wars,and it is hard to not hope for even more. (Shane Conto)
When Rogue One came out, I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It introduced a compelling story that set in motion what would become the foundation of A New Hope. I know these characters were one and done, so I thought nothing of the possibility of seeing more of their story. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) was not the character I originally envisioned having his own story, nor did I think his backstory really mattered. However, I was dead wrong. Andor brings the spirit of rebellion within the show that Star Wars has been lacking for a long time. Yes, there is fighting of the Empire or the First Order, but nothing quite motivated people to fight back the same way Andor does. At the beginning of the series, you see Andor as a mercenary for hire. Someone drifting from job to job, with no purpose or motivation for something greater than money. Throughout the course of the series, though, we went from the heist storyline, to the jailbreak, and finally the end featuring Maarva’s (Fiona Shaw) speech about fighting the Empire. It might singlehandedly be the best speech given in any Star Wars property I’ve ever seen. It’s inspiring, filled with rage, and perfectly showcases why the Rebellion is so important. Andor stands head and shoulders above most shows on Disney+. There is a quality (a word that cannot be used lightly in the post-Original Trilogy world we live in today) to the amazing story, and characters that grow and develop in ways that make for incredible television. (Mike Hilty)