“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” With that piece of text the greatest sci-fi franchise was born, and 46 years later, the words have finally been spoken on screen for the first time. When George Lucas introduced the world toStar Warsin 1977, the opening crawl of the movie became an iconic part of the franchise, detailing a summary of events that had led up to the first moments of each movie. In August, the premiere episode ofAhsokabrought back the opening crawl for the first time in a Disney+ TV series, and the latest episode took things one step further.
In episode 6 of the series, Ahsoka and Huyang, played by Rosario Dawson and David Tennant respectively, are seen traveling to another galaxy where it is believedGrand Admiral Thrawnand Ezra Bridger are exiled following the end of theStar Wars: Rebelsseries. As the pair head to the planet of Peridea, Ahsoka recalls the Jedi stories that she was told when she was younger. Huyang, being much better at data storage then any being of flesh in theStar Warsuniverse, then begins recounting stories from “History of the Galaxy Parts 1, 2 & 3.” In doing so, he begins with the very familiar line of, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”
The line being spoken in the series is just one of the many Easter eggs thatDave Filoni, and his biblical knowledge of the franchise, has added into the series, but it goes beyond being just another throwaway, point at the screen moment. In having Huyang speak the line, Filoni has expanded the entire scope of the franchise, making it no long a story set in a time and galaxy far from Earth, but having an origin in another galaxy far from that which has housed the entireStar Warsfranchise to date.
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Ahsoka Opens Up Many New Star Wars Possibilities.
WhileAhsokaseemed to be a story firmly rooted inthe “Mandoverse”ofStar Warsstories, the ramifications of showing that there is so much outside theStar Warsgalaxy, found so far in the past, that the franchise can find a new lease of life in stories that have not even been contemplated yet.
Ahsokamay have introduced a new galaxy to the live-action branch of the franchise, but now it has been made clear that this actually a galaxy that is seemingly older than anywhere previously seen inStar Wars. In doing so, the series could well be dropping the first hints at James Mangold’s upcoming moviedelving into the origins of the Jedi Order and the Force.
Mangold’s entry,Dawn of the Jedi, is one of three movies that have been announced as the new era ofStar Warsbig screen offerings, and beingset 25,000 years before theSkywalker Sagawould certainly suggest that it constitutes as being “long ago” and potentially “far, far away.” In the inclusion of that iconic line as a piece of dialogue, Lucasfilm seems to have secured an endless canvass for the future of theStar Warsfranchise.
