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Looking over George Lucas' filmography, one can find no films set in the present day. Indeed, only one of Lucas' feature films is set in the future, and his "Thx 1138" is a dystopian hellscape of corporate control and utter emotionlessness. His other five directorial efforts are all set in the past, where youth was enjoyable and heroes existed in distant galaxies (even if "American Graffiti" was set just a decade before its release date). The past was bright. It's the future we have to be suspicious of. 

Lucas once said that he was influenced by Arthur Lipsett's 1964 short film "21-87," a heady, abstract film about how humanity has reached an inflection point, and that society is now officially primed for collapse. This film, however obscure, offers a handy primer on Lucas' entire body of work. If there is a hero's journey to be had, it belongs in the ancient world.

Warning! Spoilers for Andor episode 6

Disney+ has introduced a new, four-armed alien in Andor episode 6, but their origins and influences stretch further back into Star Wars lore. Andor's Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) has fallen in with a small group of scrappy rebels after a meeting with their mysterious organizer, Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård). The group planned to rob an Imperial garrison of its payroll during a celestial event, but the heist did not go as intended, leaving two of the crew dead, one left behind, and another grievously injured. In an attempt to save their injured friend, the remaining rebellion members traveled to the planet Frenzo, where they sought the aid of Star Wars’ newest alien, Doctor Quadpaw (Aiden Cook).

As Quadpaw is a new addition to the Star Wars canon, there are many potential explanations for the four-armed doctor. Notably, Doctor Quadpaw has many characteristics that are similar to...

Let’s face it, things don’t look so good for Obi-Wan Kenobi. The upcoming Disney+ series seems to find the Jedi Master at his lowest point, living in exile after Order 66, hiding from the Grand Inquisitor, and still reeling from his failure with Anakin Skywalker. With increasing reports that the series will show the full horror of the Empire’s rise to power, it’s no wonder that some Star Wars fans are longing for happier times for the future Ben Kenobi.

Fortunately, the new novel Star Wars: Brotherhood returns readers to a slightly longer long time ago, before everything went so wrong for Kenobi. Written by Mike Chen and set shortly after Attack of the Clones, the novel follows Obi-Wan and Anakin’s investigation into terrorist activity on Cato Neimoidia, a hub world in the Trade Federation.

Not yet the loner he will become, Obi-Wan has many allies to turn to,...