As the Star Wars projects begin to ramp up, more on Disney+ than the big screen, creators need to make sure they vary the types of movies being made. Marvel does a great job of making each new film feel different for the most part, and Star Wars needs to follow suit. I think we may see this more on the streaming side since Mandalorian essentially follows the Western genre. Cassian’s story might be either intrigue or spy thriller, and Kenobi will feel different from these. Here are 8 genres Star Wars needs to make.
8 Star Wars Genres – Soldier Movie
To a small degree the soldier movie happened with Rogue One, but I do not think that went far enough. To be honest the better taste came from Solo. Those scenes on Mimban were darker, smokier and we saw leaders and soldier disappear in massive explosions. Creators could make it from either the Imperial or Rebel point of view, but in needs to play out like a Kubrick war film. Clones may actually be the best unit to follow since they were a larger, more organized force.
Creators could play around with the blood, exploding bodies and language to achieve whatever rating they want. Does this need to be an R-rated film? No. but it could be if they chose. Filmmakers need to follow a platoon through the trenches and streets and make sure they show no one is safe. Several in the platoon need to die to get the right feel. Also, let the military discipline and command structure shine.
Make if feel like this is a real battle unit and not jsut some people in armor with guns running around. Some of the Clone Wars episodes came very close to this genre. The episodes on Umbara depicted the soldier movie very well. Now imagine that in real life.
8 Star Wars Genres – The Pilot Movie
This movie really needs to be done from the Rebel perspective to get the right feel. An Imperial movie from the pilots point of view may not get the emotion correct. For the Pilot movie think of something like Top Gun or Independence Day. The genre could follow any mission, new or old, but it stays strictly from the pilots point of view and all of the action stays with the fighters.
Like the soldier movie, you need to stay with a single squadron or ‘carrier’ (command ship). Follow them through their battles using the camera shots similar to some of Rogue One’s great shots. Follow the fighters through their turns as they call out actions and coordinate. Again make this feel as real and military as possible. For a taste of what this could look like check out this YouTube video. Talk about excellence in editing!
8 Star Wars Genres – Crime Movie
Ideally this might be a Jedi based movie. A great example of this type of genre would be akin to Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. Put a pair of Jedi into a situation where they must unravel a mystery to end a conflict. Make this a very Holmesian type movie. Use actual detective work as the Jedi sift through clues and use the force to attempt to determine what went wrong.
Of course all you haters out there will not like this next part, but the perfect director would be Rian Johnson. Use his Knives Out movie as a rough template. Plenty of room exists for lightsabers and blasters, but at the heart of the movie needs to be the detective work that must be done. If early word indicates anything, another possible director might be Matt Reeves. His work on The Batman reportedly focuses on Batman’s crime solving and detective work more than anything.
8 Star Wars Genres – Creature Based Movie
Now this title may be a bit confusing at first. In the end it may not be an actual genre, but there is a specific type of movie I have in mind for this one. Think about almost every movie made. It always tells the story from teh human point of view. In Star Wars if the character is not human, it might as well be. Twi’Leks, Togruta, Rodian…these are all humanoid creatures, so the story stays the same.
What I mean here comes from the remade Planet of the Apes movies created by Matt Reeves. Look at how he told the story largely from the apes viewpoint. What I would like to see is a movie, directed by Reeves, that follows some species that is far enough removed from human standards that it can tell a very unique story. The society needs to be less evolved and perhaps striving for more. No matter the species, we need to feel the conflict from their point of view. See their struggles and how the galaxy treats them.
8 Star Wars Genres – Cops
One of the very first mega-hit fan films, Troops, covered this topic, but what about doing a movie based around Stormtroopers simply trying to do their job. Of course many Imperials were corrupt, but as big as the Empire was, many simply attempted to do their jobs. Follow a unit of Stormies as they attempt to maintain peace in their district. One could make this a tale of battling corruption and eventually have them defect to the Rebels, but honestly, the defection story has been over done.
I keep coming back to her because she is currently the greatest modern Star Wars author, but another great example would be Claudia Gray’s Lost Stars. Filmmakers could even make her story into the movie. Two people who fall in love end up on opposite sides of the war. Neither is evil. They only attempt to do their job according to their beliefs.
8 Star Wars Genres – Horror
The horror genre really begs to be done in the Star Wars universe. If fact creators could go about this two ways. The first would be the obvious creature feature. Jedi run from Gundarks, or soldiers infiltrate and planet only to be hunted by a beast (ala Predator). This type could be a lot of fun, but I think there comes a better way to execute this.
Follow a family or lesser Jedi, then introduce a bounty hunter. Boba would be great, but a new, scarier type of bounty hunter would be great too. Tell the entire story from the prey’s point of view and keep the bounty hunter in the shadows. This follows the Predator/Terminator template, but done correctly could really work. Creators do not need to go R-rated, but pushing that boundary would definitely help.
You can read more about Star Wars horror with Star Wars: Death Troopers here.
8 Star Wars Genres – Political Thriller
Like the Winter Soldier or any of the other great political dramas, follow the machinations and maneuverings of the senate. Naturally, the greatest person to follow would be Palpatine. His mastery at manipulation, maneuvering and planning fit perfectly into this type of movie. The movie itself can follow Palpatine, or perhaps better yet, follow a senator or governor working against Palatine.
Most might think of Palpatine as Chancellor, but a better set up might be to follow him as a Senator from Naboo. Either way if done correctly this could be an amazing film. Of course it needs to happen fast. Only Ian McDiarmid can successfully play Palpatine. Then again another option might be to follow a reporter trying to uncover one of Palpatine’s intrigues and his attempts to stop them. This type of film may not play well to much of the Star Wars fan base, but that does not stop it from having great potential.
8 Star Wars Genres – Mobster Movie
The final genre Star Wars needs to do not only strikes fans as obvious, but sits on the horizon begging to be made because it would be a direct sequel to an existing movie! Mobster movies can take on many tones, but with Jabba the Hutt sitting on his dais since 1983, how do creators not make this genre?
In the years since Return of the Jedi, multiple mob organizations sprung into existence. The oldest of this being Black Sun, but the newest and most popular is Crimson Dawn. Solo may have bombed, thanks to Iger, but a sequel never drew such demand to be made. The ending to Solo set this mobster/mob war movie up perfectly. It would draw in the Hutts, Crimson Dawn and any other crime syndicate creators want to add. While most of these movies need to be fresh takes and stay away from existing characters as much as possible, a mob movie done as a sequel to Solo could use dozens of known names and species. This genre, more than any other, sits prime and ready to be done. It NEEDS to be done!
8 Star Wars Genres – Make Them Unique
I really hope we see some of these genres pop up on the big screen even though some, like the political thriller, may fair better on Disney+. Streaming allows for episodic development and the ability to dive deeper into characters and their personal stories.
No matter the genre I really want to see a unique spin on some of these. The biggest place to do this might be the most risque as far as fans go – music. We all love John Williams and the scores he created over the decades, but at some point they should change things up. Sword and sandal movies are known for their sweeping musical scores, but then along comes A Knight’s Tale. Instead of the usual music, it used modern 70s rock songs as the backdrop. It worked perfectly and gave the movie a very unique feel. You cannot tell me that Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone didn’t fit the above fighter clip perfectly.
In the end the only problem will be how willing are the ‘fans’ to accept change and something different? Directors need to be allowed to put their own unique touches on these projects, and it The Mandalorian, Cassian and Kenobi all hold true, we will get this.
