5 Reasons Disney's Star Wars Story Group Is A Good Thing (And 4 Reasons It's Not)

1. Alienating A Fanbase

The Star Wars universe has been delighting fans for decades, and those fans have become invested in those stories. Many of the more beloved characters in Star Wars have never seen the silver screen. How are generations of fans going to feel when those characters and stories are shoved aside to make room for the future? Will fans of the New Jedi Order (despite the series detractors, it ran as long as it did because people were reading it) accept a new Star Wars universe that the Yuuzhan Vong never invaded? What about the time and money fans have already poured into those stories? It is a tough sell telling your fanbase that the scores of fiction they poured through is now meaningless and that money was spent for nothing. To call back to the Star Trek and Marvel Ultimate imprint examples, both of those franchises achieved their 'reboots' and gave themselves fresh storytelling ground without stepping on the toes of or invalidating the original canon. Star Wars will be completely deleting stories and characters that fans have formed strong attachments to, more akin to DC's risky "New 52" initiative, where they rebooted the entire universe to make way for a new one. Disney will have to work hard to ensure that their new Star Wars is worth the fresh time and monetary commitment for fans to start over with. Whatever the result, the Story Group will ensure that Star Wars is around to continue delighting new fans well into the future, and if these new caretakers can live up to the task, that is a win for everyone. What do you think of the new Star Wars Story Group? Share your thoughts below in the comments.