"Narkina 5, the eighth episode of Andor, is Star Wars remembering that it takes place in a dystopia. Sure, the spectre of fascism looms over plenty of other Star Wars projects, but this episode really leans into the cosmic injustice, oppressive aesthetics, and generally nightmarish conditions of life under the Empire's thumb, instead of deftly evading capture or even dying at Imperial hands."
— Jesse Hessenger, Vulture
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Film — Live Action
- The Empire Strikes Back is noticeably darker in tone than A New Hope, clearly showing that destroying the Empire's most powerful superweapon hasn't taken them out of the fight — in fact, the Rebels spend most of the movie outgunned and on the run. In an interview with critic Leonard Maltin for a VHS reissue of the film, George Lucas explains that the middle act of a trilogy is usually the darker, bleaker chapter, setting up the dilemma that the final act solves.
- Return of the Jedi. While there are definitive Lighter and Softer elements such as the Ewoks, it also has a much darker main villain in Palpatine, compared to Darth Vader and Tarkin, who not only revels in his vileness openly, hoping for a father and a son to kill the other in order to solidify one's darker impulses taking hold, but also enjoys torturing a young man in front of his father with Force-based electric torture. Another major villain Jabba the Hutt, a gluttonous, sadistic lech who runs an equally sadistic court that enjoy sending villains to be eaten alive by monsters for entertainment and a truly horrific, prolonged digestion for the latter. And the final conflict is much more personal for both parties and covers themes of redemption of the soul.
- Attack of the Clones has a much darker and more mature tone than the more light-hearted and kid-friendly The Phantom Menace with assassination attempts on Padmé's life, the growing tensions in the Republic, Anakin's Start of Darkness when he slaughters the Tusken Raiders after they kidnapped, tortured and killed his mother, Jango Fett getting beheaded on-screen in front of his son, Anakin's arm getting cut off, and the start of the Clone Wars after major deaths in the Battle of Geonosis.
- Revenge of the Sith. This sequel manages to be the darkest of all prequels, and probably the darkest of the entire saga so far. (Notably, it is the first Star Wars film to garner a PG-13 rating). This is where you know the plot of the Fallen Hero, and The Bad Guy Wins this time. The movie contains an infamous scene of Vader igniting his saber to murder children.
- Under the Disney umbrella, the franchise as a whole has become even darker and more adult (except for Solo), as ALL movies released so far under Disney have the PG-13 rating:
- The Force Awakens could give ROTS a run for its money. The movie opens with a village on Jakku being invaded and destroyed by the First Order as its inhabitants are slaughtered and keeps up the darker tone from there with more realistic violence (with some blood) and a minimal amount of kid-oriented "whimsical" humor compared to the previous movies.
- Rogue One manages to be even darker still, to the point that the already dark The Force Awakens has been called "family-friendly" in comparison. It has an aesthetic and tone closer to a war movie than a space opera. The film is bleak throughout, introduces Black-and-Gray Morality into the franchise, and contains much more realistic violence than the previous entries, with a very brutal scene in particular of Vader wordlessly hacking through a group of Rebel soldiers like Jason Voorhees. Oh, and all the named characters introduced in this movie die.
- The Last Jedi is even darker than The Force Awakens, with the teaser poster giving the Star Wars logo red coloring instead of the traditional yellow to emphasize that. The teaser trailer also showcased a darker tone, even hinting at Luke Skywalker having crossed the Despair Event Horizon following the events between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It's certainly the most morally ambiguous installment in the entire series, making Rogue One look almost straightforward in comparison. A good chunk of the film is members of the Resistance taking on each other for various reasons.
Literature
- Although the Star Wars films had their share of dark and edgy moments (Han and Leia's respective torture scenes, Anakin being burned alive, the death of Shmi, the death of Owen and Beru etc.), the Star Wars Legends books still manage to get even darker and edgier. There's a lot more torture and gruesome death and bloody war, especially with New Jedi Order, which was Darker and Edgier than some of the previous novels. The next two series, Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi continue the trend, as do some of the comics.
Western Animation
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars becomes darker and more violent as the show progresses. The Clone Wars presents a couple of Jedi betraying the Jedi Order and killing clone troopers. It also shows some Jedi disregarding clone trooper’s lives. The installment's darker tone and violence increase when Darth Maul and Savage Opress are first introduced; the Nightsisters and Brothers arc presents Savage killing his brother in order to be a Sith and lightsabers going through their chests. Ahsoka is thrown out of the Jedi Order and becomes a traitor to the Republic. In Season 6, it shows a clone trooper killing a Jedi due to being brainwashed by a control chip in his brain, and in Season 7, we deal with ORDER 66, with most of the Jedi dead.
- Star Wars Rebels starts out as a lighthearted TV series, but it becomes darker every season. In season two, a major antagonist switches sides and is killed off, and the season ends with one of the Jedi using the dark side in order to try to save his friends. Season three shows Darth Maul hunting Ezra, and he also kills off several rebels. Ezra uses the dark side and forces stormtroopers to fire on their allies and then has him walk off a cliff. Season four ends with one of the characters killing himself in order to try to stop the Imperial Navy. The Grand Finale has Ezra committing a Heroic Sacrifice in order to protect the future of the Rebellion, and the final moments of the series heavily imply that it might not be a Disney Death either.
- Given that Star Wars: The Bad Batch is a sequel series to The Clone Wars set after Order 66, this trope was bound to apply. Numerous examples include:
- Omega being constantly endangered in life or death situations.
- Innocent civilians being brutally executed.
- Slavery.
- Dismemberment.
- The aftermath of Order 66 on the clones and them serving the Empire.
- Ex-Soldiers forced to work as mercenaries for the criminal underworld.
- The clone troopers slowly being replaced by enlisted stormtroopers despite all of their sacrifices in the Clone Wars.
- Betrayal.
- Intentional destruction of all cities on a planet with limited allowance for the residents to evacuate, if at all.
