After a somewhat difficult 2024, Star Wars There's a lot at stake in 2025. It's no secret that Star Wars Films and TV shows have struggled in recent years, especially when it comes to positive reception and audience engagement. 2024 saw some particularly intense negativity, especially when it came to The Acolyte.
Unfortunately, unless Star Wars intentionally shifting gears to 2025, it seems likely that it will succumb to the same fate in the new year. While Star Wars may not be able to do a complete overhaul in the space of a year, there are some important decisions the franchise could make that would set the stage for a move in the right direction. Taking advantage of certain possibilities in 2025, Star Wars may be able to correct course just in time.
2024 was a difficult year for Star Wars
Backlash, show cancellations and an uncertain future all plagued by Star Wars this year
While there have been some solid additions Star Wars best TV shows in 2024, especially Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, 2024 has proven to be a very challenging year for Star Wars. This was most obvious in everything that happened before, during and after The Acolyte was released. The Acolyte suffered a barrage of criticism before the show even premiered, and things didn't get better from there - in fact, they got a lot worse.
As The Acolyte was being released, there was a shocking amount of vitriol online, with comments targeting and harassing the show's actors and creators. While Lucasfilm has yet to confirm whether this was the real reason, this harsh reaction almost certainly contributed to The Acolyte cancellation, which occurred surprisingly quickly after the show ended. Unfortunately, this is symptomatic of larger problems within the franchise and is not just limited to The Acolyte (although this show seems to have gotten the worst of it this year).
In fact, this is something Star Wars has been struggling for a long time and doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon. Dating back to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars actors shared their experiences of being bullied for their performances. This persisted in Star Wars sequel trilogy too. Notably, it is almost always people of color and/or women – especially women of color – who are the targets of these attacks.
This is something Star Wars has been struggling for a long time and doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon.
Perhaps because the franchise isn't sure how best to navigate this rocky terrain (to say the least), there are very few Star Wars currently confirmed projects. Between Star Wars upcoming TV shows, just Andor 2nd season and Ahsoka 2nd season are confirmed. There are a number of upcoming Star Wars films that have been announced, even The Mandalorian and Grogu is currently the only film with a confirmed release date, and other Star Wars projects are stuck in Development Hell.
Star Wars 2025 Celebration Feels Like It Needs to Be a Relaunch
Star Wars Celebration Could Be the Perfect Reset Button
Star Wars Celebration 2025 will take place April 18-20, 2025, in Japan, and This could be the perfect opportunity to Star Wars to hit the reset button on the entire franchise. Of course, this isn't about replacing what's come before, but rather clarifying what's confirmed - especially movies - and providing an all-new, clear movie and TV show release schedule. Currently, one of the things that most harm Star Wars it’s the complete lack of clarity about what comes next. How can the public be excited if they are not even sure that the announced projects are actually happening?
How can the public be excited if they are not even sure that the announced projects are actually happening?
Especially with Star Wars By not holding a Star Wars Celebration in 2024 and with the franchise revealing shockingly little at D23 earlier this year, it would make a lot of sense for Lucasfilm to use Star Wars Celebration to lay out its plans for the future. This would also be the ideal time because they would be surrounded by fans who are excited about the future and upcoming projects. Of course, past Star Wars celebrations (especially 2023) have proven that what is said at the Star Wars celebration doesn't always come true.
Can Star Wars be successfully relaunched in 2025?
Even if this is the plan, it does not guarantee success
The question remains, if Star Wars Try this relaunch, will it work? Having a clearer sense of what the franchise's plans are for the future will certainly improve things, but it won't entirely solve the larger problems seen in recent years, especially the issues with vitriol and harassment in the fanbase. This is something Lucasfilm will have to face sooner or later, or projects in the future will continue to be attacked before they even debut.
With films like Rey's next Star Wars movie (apparently) coming up, there has to be some sort of game plan for the franchise to directly call out this behavior. So far, this has mostly fallen on the actors. Still, any progress is good progress in this case, and hopefully Star Wars will take advantage of this incredible opportunity at Star Wars Celebration 2025.