Star Wars after Lucas: A Critical Guide to the Future of the Galaxy [Paperback]

Politics, craft, and cultural nostalgia in the remaking ofStar Warsfor a new age

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away—way back in the twenty-first century’s first decade—Star Warsseemed finished. Then in 2012 George Lucas shocked the entertainment world by selling the franchise, along with Lucasfilm, to Disney. This is the story of how, over the next five years,Star Warswent from near-certain extinction to what Wired magazine would call “the forever franchise,” with more films in the works than its first four decades had produced. 

Focusing onThe Force Awakens(2015),Rogue One(2016),The Last Jedi(2017), and the television seriesRebels(2014–18), Dan Golding explores the significance of pop culture nostalgia in overcoming the skepticism, if not downright hostility, that greeted theStar Warsrelaunch. At the same time he shows how Disney, even as it tapped a backward-looking obsession, was nonetheless creating genuinely new and contemporary entries in theStar Warsuniverse.

A host of cultural factors and forces propelled the Disney-engineeredStar Warsrenaissance, and all figure in Golding’s deeply informed analysis: from John Williams’s music inThe Force Awakensto Peter Cushing’s CGI face inRogue One, to Carrie Fisher’s passing, to the rapidly changing audience demographic.Star Wars after Lucasdelves into the various responses and political uses of the newStar Warsin a wider context, as in reaction videos on YouTube and hate-filled, misogynistic online rants. In its granular textual readings, broad cultural scope, and insights into the complexities of the multimedia galaxy, this book is as entertaining as it is enlightening, an apt reflection of the enduring power of theStar Warsfranchise.

Dan Golding is lecturer in media and communications at the SwlS7