A Star Wars Artist Made A Bold Prediction About The Sequel Trilogy (And He's Probably Right)

Will the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy eventually be positively reassessed the way the prequel trilogy was? According to Brian Herring, the puppeteer who helped bring BB-8 and the Porgs to life, it's bound to happen. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is already over a decade old. The idea of folks being nostalgic for that movie isn't so far-fetched.

The sequels were, on the whole, divisive. "The Last Jedi" changed "Star Wars" forever, for better or worse. It was a $1.33 billion box office success, but it also inspired intense division within the "Star Wars" fanbase. That left Disney and Lucasfilm in a tricky spot in terms of creative direction. Several years removed, is the tide turning?

Speaking with Gamesreactor, Herring stated that, in his view, the sequels are no more polarizing than the prequels were in their day. And they absolutely were divisive. George Lucas ignored warnings about the prequels destroying the "Star Wars" franchise. In the end, he was right to (more on that in a moment). Here's what Herring had to say about it:

"I think the sequels are no more polarizing than the prequels were when they came out. [...] All the people who are upset about the sequels are too young to remember how upset the people when the [prequels] came out were, except they now have the internet. If the internet had been around to the extent it was around when the prequels came out, you'd have seen exactly the same stuff play out."

"I think in 10 years' time, you're going to see what you're seeing with the sequels, because the sequels have a huge fan base, and I meet them all the time, but they're all much younger than the people complaining on the internet about how much they didn't like," Herring added.

What Brian Herring is getting at is the idea that "The Phantom Menace" created a new generation of "Star Wars" fans. Yes, older fans who grew up with the original trilogy were vocal in their hatred of Jar Jar Binks and whatnot at the time, but for younger fans, that film and the rest of the prequel trilogy came to embody their version of a galaxy far, far away.

Recall that "Revenge of the Sith" became a box office hit again thanks to its 20-year anniversary re-release in theaters in 2025. That was something of a mic drop on the prequel trilogy redemption tour. The narrative that the prequels are a stain on the reputation of this franchise is no longer something one can say with any real credibility. As Herring sees it, the sequel trilogy is going to get that same treatment in due time.

"It's perfectly fine, if you don't like [the sequels], you don't like them. Everything's not for everyone," Herring concluded. "I just think that these things are all generational and I think 'Battlestar Galactica' said it best: 'This has all happened before, it will all happen again.'"

Indeed, we've seen this generational redemption happen when it comes to the "Star Wars" property before with the prequels. A certain level of nostalgia for the sequel trilogy feels similarly inevitable. To what degree that permeates? That's a larger, unanswerable question. A lot of what happens will come down to how Disney and Lucasfilm approach the "The Force Awakens," "The Last Jedi," and "The Rise of Skywalker," as well as the characters those movies gave us, in the coming years.

Disney and Lucasfilm are currently planning to make a new Rey movie starring Daisy Ridley. And since we're already nearly 11 years removed from "The Force Awakens," by the time that movie comes out, the people who grew up with Rey will be old enough to feel nostalgic about it. That's a good start. John Boyega's Finn also may return to the "Star Wars" universe. That's another plus.

The point is that Disney and Lucasfilm need to foster love for the sequel trilogy and its characters to help ensure a similar level of love develops the way it did for the prequels. George Lucas had a hard time selling the "Clone Wars" animated series to Cartoon Network. Once he did, though, that show truly helped develop the prequel fandom in a major way.

As of now, there is no similar animated series set in the sequel era. That, in turn, means there hasn't been as much "fixing" the perceived problems with those movies yet, so to speak. That said, there's reason to believe the era of "Star Wars" sequel trilogy nostalgia is already upon us.

Take the full-length trailer for "The Mandalorian and Grogu," which includes a clear homage to a famous shot in "The Force Awakens." The other, bigger thing is the fact that Disney scrapped a Kyle Ren "Star Wars" movie starring Adam Driver and titled "The Hunt for Ben Solo." The response to this revelation was loud, with many fans begging the studio to reconsider and some even taking out billboards. That doesn't happen for movies people roundly hate. It sounds like Brian Herring may be onto something here.

"The Mandalorian and Grogu" hits theaters on May 22, 2026.