Star Wars: The Ultimate Film Franchise
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Today is the one day that Star Wars fans look forward to: May the 4th be with you (and also with you, to any Catholic Jedi out there). Yes, May 4th is the one day that all Star Wars fanatics can congregate together and share their love for the franchise, even though this happens every other part of the year (and there’s nothing wrong with that). Even if Disney didn’t purchase Lucasfilm, Star Wars would thrive as much as ever; it possesses that kind of endlessness. I don’t mean to seem clickbait oriented with a title for an article like this, or to come off like I am a Star Wars obsessive myself (although I have seen every film, do love a couple of them, and still am an ace at Episode 1 Racer enough that I can do the Bozzie Baranta track, which is a hell of its own). I still do believe that Star Wars is the ultimate film franchise, and this feels especially true to me because there isn’t an opinionated bias attached to this claim.
What do I mean by this? Well, the very first Star Wars (or A New Hope to some) was the spark of one of the first film franchises ever (if not the first). There were lunchboxes and toys based on works before (especially with television shows), but the hysteria surrounding Star Wars was on a whole different level. Merchandise, toys, and all sorts of collectibles became the norm. Of course, buying mementos attached to films you love only makes sense, but with Star Wars back in the day it was just different. You were a part of this club: an exclusive group where you could share your love for this film. There are many clubs for many films (and works of other mediums), but this Star Wars mania really did set the bar quite high. Going to the movies was always an event, but now, it was like it once was when film was first created (the fascination behind the invention), or when the Golden Age of Hollywood happened after talkies began, and a number of other major waves in cinema. Alongside films like Jaws, the blockbuster as we know it began, and so did the idea of film franchises being the behemoths of culture that they are.
It wasn’t all just about the business side of things, though. Now, Star Wars and its various episodes are the greatest films of all time to some, and I won’t pretend they are for me (even though Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back did make my top one hundred lists of their respective decades, so there’s that), but I will give George Lucas and company credit. If there was ever a franchise to kick things off, it is one that embodies so many different genres of film that have their cult fanbases; this immediately struck a tone with countless viewers then, and the same can be said for now. Even though Star Wars is a science fiction film, it gets its soul from other genres. The most obvious is the good old American western, which was actually on its way out during the ‘70s; maybe this camouflage is what the public needed? For me, it’s the samurai epic that I’m more fascinated by, and it’s as clear as day, with lightsabers replacing katanas, Darth Vader looking like a shogun, and the incorporation of the spirituality of these films in the form of the “force”.
Naturally, Star Wars is heavily indebted to Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress in many ways: rebellious uprisings, the storming of the titular fortress, and many other clear parallels down to characters that follow the same tropes (you’ll be able to pin point who C-3PO and R2-D2 are based on in microseconds). Lucas thanked Kurosawa immensely by helping him be able to get his films made in the ‘80s, leading to the great Kagemusha and the even-better Ran, so this transaction between two cinephiles worked out in the end. As for Star Wars, there was only one Hidden Fortress, and there was all the cause in the world for there to be more Star Wars films (as we clearly discovered). So, where was Lucas and company to go from there?
Well, The Empire Strikes Back was as good as any sequel to a franchise could be: the revelation of Luke Skywalker’s father remains one of the great twists of film. It was as clear as day that Star Wars wasn’t a one trick pony of a franchise, and the trilogy was on the radar of an even larger audience. The Return of the Jedi wasn’t quite as good, but the resolution of this trilogy was one that could be shared; good closure is as important for fans as creation is. Even though the idea of a new film would take over a decade to get to, there were still toys, clothes, games, and everything else under the sun. Most importantly was literature of varying sorts, which allowed Star Wars stories to keep being told. Eventually we got the prequels, which I find somewhat hilarious, because the fan fictions and literary spin offs may have told better stories than what Lucas wanted to bring this time around (especially since he took sole responsibility with these prequels, unlike the previous trilogy). Nonetheless, maybe we’ve been too hard on the prequels. They’re not great, but they’re better than the complete decimation they have received; at least they’re fun, and the franchise’s knack for technological innovation remained true.
Now we’re at the point of more films and trilogies, more games, more everything; we even have The Mandalorian. I actually think that Star Wars’ staying power after almost fifty years is even more impressive because of the amount of film franchises new and old that are going on at the same time. New fans and young fans pop up all of the time, and the Jedi family keeps growing. This is why I think Star Wars is the ultimate film franchise. It was there at the start (and arguably was the start). It continues to be as strong as ever, even with the hiccups along the way (lest I ever bring up The Rise of Skywalker ever again). It has extended to so many different mediums quite effectively. It’s as if its power never even wavered one iota. So, May the 4th be with you, if it isn’t already, because it will stay with you for possibly your entire lifetime. It has for many Star Wars fans and cinephiles alike.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.