Star Wars Is About to Make Its Biggest Mistake Ever (& That’s Saying Something)

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For many years, the heart of Star Wars has been its storytelling, which feels like a modern myth. It’s more than just a popular series following what’s trendy – it’s built on classic character types, powerful emotions, and a vast, epic universe. That’s why the new approach with Starfighter is worrying many dedicated fans instead of thrilling them.

Shawn Levy, known for directing Stranger Things, is now working on a Star Wars project, and many see this as a positive step. A director with a track record of success who focuses on relatable characters and emotional stories could bring something special to the vast Star Wars universe. However, this approach also carries a risk: it could miss what makes Star Wars unique and repeat a recent trend of making the stories feel small and less grand than they should be.

When Star Wars Stops Feeling Less Epic in Tone

As a film fan, I’ve always felt Star Wars truly shines when it goes big – really big. The characters definitely have heart, but what makes it special is how they’re part of something much larger than themselves – a grand, sweeping myth. The Jedi aren’t just skilled fighters, they’re legendary figures. The Sith are truly terrifying. And the Force? It’s something mystical and powerful, not just a way to explore personal issues or character development that gets neatly wrapped up in an episode or season. It’s meant to feel ancient and beyond our full understanding.

Levy’s idea of combining grand, galaxy-spanning stories with personal, character-focused ones is concerning. Current Star Wars shows already focus too much on individual backstories and minor details. They’re getting caught up in small conflicts and conversations that don’t seem to matter much in the larger scheme of things, making the Star Wars universe feel less expansive and important.

Comparing this to Stranger Things is tricky. That show excels at creating a close, personal feel because it was designed that way from the beginning, focusing on childhood, friendships, and growing up, all within a scary, supernatural world. Star Wars, however, isn’t fundamentally a story about characters coming of age; it’s a much larger story about fate, the struggle for power, and strong moral beliefs that conflict across different generations.

Trying to copy the emotional style of Stranger Things could be a mistake for Star Wars. It risks losing the grand, legendary feel that originally made it special. Not every story works best when focused on personal emotions – especially those meant to feel epic and timeless.

Star Wars has Franchise Fatigue Disguised as “Character Focus”

A recurring issue with the Star Wars films made since Disney acquired the franchise has been their tendency to rely too much on what audiences already know and love. They often bring back well-known characters and repeat familiar storylines about loss and overcoming challenges, but in a less ambitious way. Shawn Levy’s experience directing long-running shows with close-knit casts might unintentionally make this problem worse.

The success of Stranger Things comes from watching its characters develop and connect over time, allowing the audience to form strong bonds with them. Star Wars, however, doesn’t benefit from that same consistent development. Because its movies and shows are often separate or only lightly linked, it’s easy to rely on quick emotional connections instead of building genuine depth and intimacy with the characters.

Honestly, my worry with the new Starfighter project is that it might fall into the trap of being too realistic. We’ve seen a lot of Star Wars stories lately focused on characters working through their own issues, and while that’s fine, it’s not really what I want from this universe. Star Wars isn’t about self-discovery, it’s about epic conflicts, overwhelming odds, and the fact that sometimes, even the good guys don’t win. I’m hoping this doesn’t become just another story about inner turmoil when we need grand-scale adventures.

If everything in Star Wars is explained through relatable human experiences, it loses its sense of wonder and danger. Villains become less threatening, and the entire story starts to feel like a standard, high-quality sci-fi show—not the groundbreaking space opera it once was. This approach isn’t creative; it’s playing it safe by pretending to focus on emotional depth.

Stranger Things Lessons That Shouldn’t Carry Over to Star Wars

Levy has talked about how he learned from the creators of Stranger Things and tried to use those lessons with Star Wars. However, what works for one show doesn’t automatically work for another. Stranger Things is successful because it has a clear story and a good sense of when to end it.

Unlike some stories, the Star Wars saga doesn’t really have clear beginnings or endings – it’s more of an ongoing myth. Trying to tie everything up neatly with emotional closure would actually diminish its impact, as the power of Star Wars often lies in its unanswered questions and open-ended nature.

This series doesn’t need to wrap things up neatly like Stranger Things did. Instead, it should aim for ongoing stories. That means avoiding the temptation to make each plotline fully resolved, intensely personal, or perfectly tied together.

There’s a danger of relying too much on the past. Stranger Things successfully uses nostalgia in a genuine way, but Star Wars already feels overloaded with it. If the new creators focus too heavily on familiar feelings and repeating past storylines, the franchise could get stuck revisiting old ideas instead of moving forward. Star Wars needs to stop dwelling on its history and start exploring new possibilities.

The Real Mistake Star Wars Keeps Making

The biggest problem with the upcoming Star Wars films isn’t the choice of director, Shawn Levy. It’s the idea that what makes a show like Stranger Things successful will automatically work for Star Wars. Star Wars shouldn’t aim to be simply pleasing; it should be bold, unusual, and even a little unsettling at times.

The initial Star Wars trilogy wasn’t popular because it felt small and personal. It resonated with audiences because it felt grand and genuine. That sense of closeness grew out of the story’s mythological elements, rather than being forced. Recent Star Wars films often get this backwards.

If the new Starfighter film focuses on individual characters instead of the larger galaxy, it risks losing what makes the franchise special. Fans aren’t looking for intimate stories; they want to feel the vastness and scale of the Star Wars universe.

Star Wars doesn’t need to focus on being comforting or overly safe. It thrives on thrilling danger, inspiring wonder, and concepts that are truly grand and mysterious. Without those elements, even great acting won’t be enough to keep it compelling. That’s why the direction the franchise is heading, despite good intentions, could be its most significant error yet.

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2026-01-10 19:00