The 2012 purchase of Lucasfilm by Walt Disney Studios is one of the most consequential business deals in the 21st Century film industry; although it had seemed like the Star Wars franchise was done for good after George Lucas stated that the Skywalker saga had ended with Revenge of the Sith, Disney eventually bought the rights to the entire franchise and began developing it into a cinematic universe on the level of Marvel or DC. While Lucas himself seems to be living a fairly quiet life and has donated the $4 billion from the deal to charity, the Star Wars franchise has been more active than it has ever been before across the last decade.
While there have been some major critical disappointments, the “Disney era” of Star Wars has also produced great projects that rival the success of the original trilogy. It’s not a franchise that is slowing down anytime soon; between the Disney+ shows Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, The Acolyte, and new films from Dave Filoni, James Mangold, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, fans will have more than enough options for new Star Wars live-action content in the next few years. Here is every live-action Star Wars project from Disney, ranked worst to best.
11 The Rise of Skywalker
The Rise of Skywalker is a complete disaster from beginning to end; while the Star Wars prequel trilogy has its flaws, The Rise of Skywalker stands as the worst film in the entire saga because it refuses to take any risks. Between scrapping the interesting story beats that Rian Johnson had established, disrespecting the character of Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), and bringing back Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) with no proper explanation, The Rise of Skywalker feels like a slap in the face to fans expecting a film that would wrap up three trilogies of story.
10 The Book of Boba Fett
The Book of Boba Fett is a strangely missed opportunity that made some truly baffling story choices that didn’t come together in a coherent way. Essentially, there are three different shows in one; there’s a storyline focused on Boba Fett’s (Temeura Morrison) escape from the Sarlacc pit and his healing process, one focused on the war for Jabba the Hutt’s criminal empire, and one that does nothing but set up later seasons of The Mandalorian. Unfortunately, none of these narrative arcs make the case for Fett as a lead character.
9 The Mandalorian Season 3
The dip in viewership for the third season of The Mandalorian reflects the show’s decline in quality; with few actual stakes, repetitive storylines about Din Djarin’s (Pedro Pascal) redemption, and an over-reliance on Grogu’s Jedi heritage, the third season of the show that had initially made waves for being a standalone entry began to repeat the same issues with mythology that the sequel and prequel trilogies were guilty of.
8 Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi has enough story to justify a two-hour movie, but a six-episode series stretches out the narrative too thinly. Ewan McGregor’s performance is great, but the addition of a young Princess Leia feels like another “child in danger” story for the franchise, and the return of Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) is equally underwhelming.
7 The Mandalorian Season 2
Considering Dave Filoni’s promotion at Lucasfilm, it’s clear that the studio values his work on the animated shows The Clone Wars and Rebels. Occasional references to these excellent programs are nice, but unfortunately season 2 of The Mandalorian is dominated by cameos and nostalgic winks that don’t reflect the original concept of a western set in the Star Wars universe.
6 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
The first half of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is an absolute mess, and the relationship between Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) feels particularly corny; Jones is a great actress, but she doesn’t feel right as a battle-hardened thief. However, the film comes together for a more focused second half that features one of the most stunning action sequences in the entire saga.
5 Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo: A Star Wars Story was criticized for fleshing out the backstory of a character that was already iconic, but remarkably a film pitched as an origin story for the galaxy’s greatest smuggler actually feels like something new. It’s the Star Wars film that isn’t about the fate of the galaxy, where the stakes revolve around performing a critical heist.
Alden Ehrenreich does a great job showing a younger, more idealistic, and less experienced version of Han Solo, and the film does a great job at hinting at why he would become so cynical later in life. It’s a shame that the film underperformed, as there was room to expand the story of a young Han and his friends into multiple sequels.
4 The Mandalorian Season 1
The Mandalorian has now developed a cast of characters that rival any of the trilogies, but surprisingly the first season of the show is rather tight and focused. Not every episode is excellent, but the show managed to combine thoughtful characterization, appropriate humor, and delicate morality into a Star Wars western that served as both a great entry point into the saga for new fans and a rewarding success for hardcore obsessives.
3 The Force Awakens
The Force Awakens did everything that a proper “legacy sequel” should do; it introduced charismatic new heroes with Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega), gave Harrison Ford a rewarding role that closed off Han’s story beautifully, and created the most complex villain in the franchise thus far in Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). J.J. Abrams certainly knows how to create a well paced, taught adventure that hits all the appropriate story beats.
2 Andor
Andor is simply remarkable; it was a Star Wars show that managed to address modern themes of prison labor, xenophobia, radicalism, resistance efforts, and freedom of speech. Even without the context of the Star Wars franchise, Andor is an excellent espionage thriller in its own right.
1 The Last Jedi
The Last Jedi is the boldest, most beautiful, and thematically richest film in the entire saga, and the only new film to rival the quality of the original trilogy. With gorgeous visuals reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa and John Ford, The Last Jedi examines whether balance can ever be achieved, and whether Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) should be proud of the legacy he has left behind.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
