I’m not sure how recoverable it is at this point, but if you want Star Wars to act as a forever-story, don’t treat it as one single story. Its okay if plot doesn’t directly build with each release. Its okay if it doesn’t connect to other parts of the cannon. Its okay if you have no shared characters. Hell, its even okay (if not ideal) if some media contradicts each other. The important part is making good stories, and if a new peice of media wouldn’t work when attached to a larger plot, don’t attach it to the larger plot. Simple as that.
Look at something like 40K, for example. While yes, there is a “main” plot, its only a small part. Honestly, fans often outright ignore the “main plot” Horus Hersey books, in favour of the more fun and compartmentalized books like the Eisenhorn Trilogy or the ork books because those are the books that most revel in the setting and themes of 40K and aren’t burdened by dozens of other books that they have to tie in to.
The problem isn’t the length, its the fact that stories are warped or straight-up built around every single (often not even) loose thread from the original trilogy and to a lesser extent, the prequels. For example, the Madalorian was great for the first season, where yes, it was episodic, but it did still have an overarching plot that built up to a climatic final battle. Where it started to run into problems was when it had to tie back into the original plot. Mandalorians lost all mystique, pacing was hampered by exposition, and the focus was draw away from the main characters and the plot in service of tie-ins to Ashoka and the main franchises.
Ultimately, it should be about telling the best stories. Sometimes, that might be episodic as worked well for Mandalorian, sometimes a continuous plot like Andor, and sometimes it is a full movie that does fit alongside the original cannon like Rogue One.
I’m not sure how recoverable it is at this point, but if you want Star Wars to act as a forever-story, don’t treat it as one single story. Its okay if plot doesn’t directly build with each release. Its okay if it doesn’t connect to other parts of the cannon. Its okay if you have no shared characters. Hell, its even okay (if not ideal) if some media contradicts each other. The important part is making good stories, and if a new peice of media wouldn’t work when attached to a larger plot, don’t attach it to the larger plot. Simple as that.
Look at something like 40K, for example. While yes, there is a “main” plot, its only a small part. Honestly, fans often outright ignore the “main plot” Horus Hersey books, in favour of the more fun and compartmentalized books like the Eisenhorn Trilogy or the ork books because those are the books that most revel in the setting and themes of 40K and aren’t burdened by dozens of other books that they have to tie in to.
they should have episodic plots, much like with old trek.the current formulation, is build up to a very low effor galaxy threat.
The problem isn’t the length, its the fact that stories are warped or straight-up built around every single (often not even) loose thread from the original trilogy and to a lesser extent, the prequels. For example, the Madalorian was great for the first season, where yes, it was episodic, but it did still have an overarching plot that built up to a climatic final battle. Where it started to run into problems was when it had to tie back into the original plot. Mandalorians lost all mystique, pacing was hampered by exposition, and the focus was draw away from the main characters and the plot in service of tie-ins to Ashoka and the main franchises.
Ultimately, it should be about telling the best stories. Sometimes, that might be episodic as worked well for Mandalorian, sometimes a continuous plot like Andor, and sometimes it is a full movie that does fit alongside the original cannon like Rogue One.