Lucasfilm Moving Away From Disney-Era ‘Star Wars,’ Starting With Next Season of ‘Ahsoka’

Lucasfilm is officially moving one from one of the biggest hallmarks of Disney-era Star Wars, starting with the next season of Ahsoka.

Ask any fan their opinion of Disney-era Star Wars and you’ll get a different response. The sequel trilogy and the many Star Wars TV shows on Disney+ have received mixed responses, with a certain portion of fans accusing Mickey Mouse of ruining the beloved franchise.

Some praise the revitalization of the franchise, citing the introduction of new characters, diverse representation, and high production values in films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). However, less enthusiastic viewers argue that the films often rely too heavily on nostalgia and fail to capture the innovative spirit of George Lucas’s original trilogy.

For example, the divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) received praise for its bold storytelling choices but alienated some fans who felt it strayed too far from established lore (the less we say about that scene of Leia (Carrie Fisher) flying through space, the better).

Mixed Responses to Lucasfilm’s Disney+ Era

While Lucasfilm’s first stab at a Disney+ series – the first season of The Mandalorian – was extremely well-received, reviews have generally decreased in enthusiasm with each passing season.

Other shows on the streaming service, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett, have also been met with mixed responses. Most divisive of all is The Acolyte, which faced a barrage of abuse (a significant portion of which was racist and misogynistic) after it aired this summer.

A chunk of the criticism aimed at these shows stems from their aesthetic. Starting with The Mandalorian, the Star Wars franchise has embraced the use of Industrial Light & Magic’s The Volume – a 270-degree wall of LED screens that can create an immersive environment around an actor.

Innovative though the technology may be, fans have accused The Volume of making shows feel “small” and look “cheap as all hell.” As one pointed out, “I think it may have gone from a new technology they used in conjunction with traditional film-making to a crutch to save themselves the bother and expense of real sets and locations.”

This isn’t always the case. The Volume has proven more impactful for some projects than others. A standout for fans is Obi-Wan Kenobi, specifically the fourth episode, where fans complained that “the camera was stiflingly close, and it made it hard … to grasp where everyone was in relation to each other. That hangar was immense, but we didn’t get any shots from afar.”

Is This Farewell to The Volume?

If you’re on Team No-Volume, we have some good news.

As per IndieWire, the second season of Ahsoka – which follows Anakin Skywalker’s (Hayden Christensen) former Padawan, played by Rosario Dawson– is relocating filming from Los Angeles to the UK.

This move comes with the added bonus of embracing alternative ways filming methods which means that, unlike the first season, it won’t be filmed entirely with The Volume when production begins in April 2025.

Notably, Andor also filmed in the UK. This show holds the distinction of using The Volume in a grand total of zero scenes, instead embracing practical sets and locations. Not coincidentally, Andor has received some of the most consistently strong reviews from critics of all Disney-era Star Wars projects.

While Ahsoka‘s plan to ditch The Volume doesn’t necessarily mean that Lucasfilm won’t embrace the technology again in the future, it’s definitely a positive sign. For many, this quick-and-easy technology embodies what’s wrong with Disney’s take on a galaxy far, far away, so for it to embrace traditional, pre-buyout filming methods can only be a good thing.

We’ll have to wait and see whether Disney utilizes the tech for upcoming projects, such as the long-awaited (and seemingly doomed) Rey film. This will see Daisy Ridley return to the series for the first time since Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (2019). Lucasfilm also has plans for a Jedi origins film, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, which will take place 25,000 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).

How do you feel about The Volume?