Credit: LucasfilmWhat if Anakin Skywalker hadn’t turned to the dark side in Revenge of the Sith? Or suppose Luke Skywalker had turned to the dark side in Return of the Jedi? Perhaps we’re about to find out, as a Star Wars What If…? series is now rumored to be in development.
Fans of the faraway galaxy set themselves up for failure last year when they expected the beloved franchise to finally dip its toes into the Multiverse with the Disney+ series Ahsoka (2023), the live-action sequel to Star Wars: Rebels (2014 — 2018).
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The idea this might happen started with the Rebels Season 4 episode “A World Between Worlds,” in which Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) and Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) find themselves exploring the titular mystical realm, a place where space and time don’t exist and where the voices of Jedi past, present, and future can be heard echoing all around.
Before Ahsoka premiered on Disney+, the Internet was flooded with theories and speculation about how the World Between Worlds might be used to “reset” the franchise, or, at the very least, introduce new timelines.
While Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) did return to the mysterious dimension, she didn’t make use of its time-traveling capabilities, instead spending all her time talking and fighting with her Jedi master Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). So the faraway galaxy still has next to no experience in exploring alternate dimensions.
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When it comes to all things Multiverse, we know that Marvel is the true master. Since Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) united three different cinematic versions of the titular wall-crawler, alternate dimensions have become the norm for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), and Loki (2021) each explore the MCU Multiverse. But it’s Marvel’s What If…? (2021) that has the most fun out of them all.
The cel-shaded animated series imagines many diverging scenarios that might play out in different timelines. Now, industry insider Daniel Richtman (via SFFGazette.com) claims that Lucasfilm is creating its very own What If…? television series.
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Though there are no further details beyond the rumor, last year, What If…? director and executive producer Bryan Andrews revealed that we already came quite close to a Star Wars What If…? series, as he’d pitched a Star Wars/Marvel crossover, telling Moovy TV, “I think Kevin [Feige] really doesn’t want to cross certain streams. But we did pitch… we actually had a Star Wars/Marvel crossover.”
Star Wars isn’t a total stranger to alternate timelines. The graphic novel trilogy Star Wars Infinities (2002) by Dark Horse Comics tells a different version of events that follow each film in the original trilogy.
The only installment on the screen, however, that comes even remotely close to What If…?-style storytelling is the anime anthology series Star Wars: Visions (2021), which, like Infinities, is also non-canon within the wider franchise.
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Whether animated or live action, a Star Wars series that focuses exclusively on alternate timelines would go down well with fans. After all, Marvel’s What If…? has been a huge hit with fans and critics, with the recent Season 2 having been praised for its voice acting, animation, and storylines. Now, a spinoff series titled Marvel Zombies is in development.
What stories would you like to see in a Star Wars What If…? series? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!