Hoth Takes #42: No Parallel Universes Here

How do you tell a story of change without alienating fans who like things the way they are? Disney has faced this dilemma multiple times since buying Star Wars, and the results haven’t always been impressive. From Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi to Ahsoka Tano in her new Disney+ series, storytellers have struggled to depict characters growing and changing while maintaining the core traits that made those characters so popular. In this episode, New Republic staff writer Matt Ford joins Eric and Grace to talk about how Disney should tell bold new stories without trampling on fan expectations. We compare Luke and Yoda’s journeys into exile, contrast Andor with The Book of Boba Fett, and debate the necessity of the big canon reboot. Plus, Matt explains why J.J. Abrams seemed like a natural choice to thread the needle of evolving beloved characters in the sequel trilogy — until it all went wrong.