Looking back… and ahead

Hello there!

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday period! Today for my last article of 2022, I wanted to look back at the series that were released this year to rank them, and then look ahead to the series that we know are due out in 2023 and rank them by how much I am currently looking forward to them. Had I done this last year as well, I think I’d have been shocked by some of the results…

2022

So first, let’s look back to the series we were treated to this year, which I am ranking from in terms of my enjoyment and buy-in from least to most.

Tales of the Jedi

Was great to learn more about Dooku, and his final episode with Yaddle was a highlight, but coming out in the middle of Andor meant that it did not get the focus it deserved, while the final Ahoska episode was just another example of Lucasfilm breaking their promise that every story going forwards would be part of 1 cohesive canon, made worse by the erasure of a LQBTQ+ character.

The Book of Boba Fett

Had some great moments, but the present-day story appeared to meander for half a season before just turning into season 2.5 of The Mandalorian. Needed to be marketed better to set expectations, and I hope people don’t miss this show and get confused in The Mandalorian season 3.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

We were getting Ewan, Hayden and Joel back, so this was without a doubt my most anticipated series of 2022… and yet I nearly ranked it below The Book of Boba Fett! We saw the limits of filming in the Volume during a pandemic, while the writing of the story was far too reliant on convenience driving the plot forward. Saved by some great performances and some emotional moments that really hit the spot, but the stellar cast deserved so much better.

Andor

A lot of people didn’t seem to interested in this ahead of time, but as a big fan of Rogue One, I was looking forward to his show, yet even I was blown away by how amazing this show was. Darker and grittier than anything before, the performances were incredible, while it was great to return to filming on location and on real sets. The love and attention to creating the best possible product needs to be the benchmark for any future Star Wars series.

2023

And now let’s look at what is confirmed for the coming year and rank them by how much I am anticipating them, again from least to most.

Young Jedi Adventures

I know I’m not really the target demographic for this and details have been very minimal, but has the potential to pleasantly surprise me as has supposedly been made so that parents can enjoy as well.

Visions (season 2)

Details have been minimal so far, but if season 1 is anything to go by, I can probably expect a couple of stories that I enjoy and 4 or 5 that I have little to no interest in. Unfortunately, as the stories aren’t canon, it means that even any stories I enjoy won’t really go anywhere, so it’s more a nice distraction than anything else.

Skeleton Crew

I’d probably be more excited if I knew more about this. I’m really looking forward to seeing Jude Law in the franchise, but with many of the main cast being youngsters and minimal story details as of yet, I’m nervos that this one won’t quite be right for me.

The Bad Batch (season 2)

I love the characters, but got frustrated by the lack of stakes or progression for the vast majority of season 1. While I’m excited at the return of Cody and seeing the Bad Batch again (which is enough to put this above Skeleton Crew), I will remain cautious until I see an improvement in the story.

Ahsoka

As a massive fan of Ahsoka and Rebels, I’m definitely looking forward to this, while the castings, both confirmed and heavily rumoured, get me very excited, but I still haven’t seen any footage to get me hyped, and I’m conscious that if the story is what I believe it to be, we’re almost joining in the middle of a larger story, so worry how they will make this work.

The Mandalorian (season 3)

I am so fully on board with this show, this was always going to be my most anticipated series this year! More Din and Grogu, more Bo-Katan, more Mandos, Mandalore… March cannot come soon enough!

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How would these ranking look for you?

Thanks for reading. May the Force be with you….

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