The Star Wars movies are some of the most iconic films of all time, with generations of moviegoers growing up on the galaxy far, far away in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Still, the franchise isn't without criticism, coming from both fans and naysayers. Case in point: Project Hail Mary writer Andy Weir recently spoke about the space opera, and the "problem" that exists in that world. To be honest, I see his point.
Project Hail Mary crushed in theaters earlier this year, and the book to screen adaptation is now available to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription. During a recent interview with Slash Film, Weir was asked what he'd do with Star Wars if he could, responding with:
Star Wars is more about massive upheaval. One problem that happens is, if you're going to have a story about a monumental war, then when it's over and the good guys win, you want it to stay that way. So it's very unsatisfying if you roll into a new monumental war.
Honestly, points were made. The original Star Wars trilogy focused on the Rebels fighting against the Galactic Empire, which ended in a big way during Return of the Jedi. Unfortunately, this conflict was followed basically beat for beat during the sequel trilogy. In those films it was the Resistance who was fighting agains the evil First Order. And yes, the bad guys had planet-destroying tech at their disposal in both.
This is an issue a number of fans have taken with the sequel trilogy, including Oscar Isaac's viral line about Palpatine returning. So what should the franchise have done instead of focusing on yet another giant space war? In the same interview Andy Weir offered some insight, saying:
Think of it like this: We know what happened in World War II, but there are some really good fictional stories that take place during World War II. So if you treat the Galactic Civil War as, 'Okay, that's established canon, those are the things that happened,' but there's still a lot of stories to tell about other people living through those wars. So that's what I would do.
Sign me up. Weir knows what he'd do with upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows, we'll just have to see if the powers that be at Lucasfilm agree. There are a number of thrilling projects coming down the line, including Shawn Levy's Starfighter movie. That movie seems like it'll be a much more capsulated story, which might be the type of story that Weir would appreciate.
Star Wars: Starfighter will hit theaters on May 28th, 2027. While we wait, fans can re-watch the franchise on Disney+, or Project Hail Mary over on Amazon. The latter might have a chance at some nominations during Awards Season, so the pressure is on.
