The One Thing Star Wars Does Better Than Marvel
Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are two very successful franchises that have made a promise of creating an interconnected universe throughout various media, such as books, comics, television shows, and movies. This might come as a surprise to many, but only one universe comes out on top. If we were to look at which franchise does a better job of interconnectivity between the various means of storytelling, we will have to say that Star Wars is more successful than the MCU in its entire existence as a movie franchise.
Both Star Wars and the MCU advertise themselves as expansive franchises where everything counts. For the MCU, this refers to movies and television. For Star Wars, it is movies, books, television, games, and comics. The first big test for the MCU is the television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Taking place between the first Avengers and Winter Soldier, we see the return of Agent Phil Coulson, who had died in Avengers. For a while it seems the show is filling in the gap between the movies nicely. We see the actions of S.H.I.E.L.D. leading up to HYDRA's reveal in Winter Soldier, and its subsequent fallout from said revelation. However, things started to feel different around Season 2. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are dealing with many big crises. One would think the Avengers will come in any time to save the day. They never did, however. Furthermore, the Avengers in the movies act as if Phil Coulson was still very much dead. He never appears again in any of the movies after Avengers.
RELATED: Why 'Star Wars' Should Not Be Like The MCU
This lack of cohesion is also apparent in Marvel's Netflix series. Each hero is content with the staying in their own particular series, never reaching out to the wider MCU. We do not see Daredevil meeting Spider-Man or helping Tony Stark, or vice versa. There is a clear divide between the Marvel movies and television side of things. This is not the case for Star Wars.
Star Wars for the most part demonstrates better cohesion throughout its various mediums, especially when we look at its animated series and live action materials. The first example is Saw Gerrera in Rogue One. At first, Saw is supposed to only be a character unique to the Clone Wars series. His later appearance in Rogue One is an example of a Star Wars character crossing over from one media to another. Played by the great Forest Whittaker, Gerrera will later appear in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, videogame Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and in a few books as well.
The link between Star Wars television series and its movies is clearly shown in the film Solo. Near the end of the film, we see Darth Maul in the flesh as the leader of the criminal organization Crimson Dawn. Darth Maul's return has only been something that the animated series touch upon. He is still very much dead for fans of the films. His appearance in Solo is proof of Lucasfilm's commitment to making its animated materials just as important to the overall Star Wars lore as its live action materials. All of this culminates with Season 2 of Mandalorian with appearances of Bo Katan and Ahsoka from Clone Wars, and Cobb Vanth from the book Aftermath. Something from a Star Wars novel can make a return in a film, or vice versa, making it feel like one cohesive universe.
Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been the two biggest franchises of the twenty-first century. Both claim to be massive cinematic universes covering a variety of media. However, Star Wars is the only franchise that stays committed to this. Of course, there will be flubs and errors, as no continuity is perfect. After all the evidence, the galaxy far, far away feels more like one true singular universe.
READ NEXT: Would Star Wars Adopting A Multiverse Be A Good Idea?