Let’s get this out of the way: Star Wars is great. It has its ups and downs, sure, but it’s nearly universally beloved for a reason. It’s Star Wars! It’s hard not to love it. Movies, TV shows, costumes, theme park rides — there’s a lot of Star Wars out there to engage with, and all of it is fun as hell.
But before you start tossing glasses of blue milk Glee-style, consider: some things can be great, and also not be everyone’s cup of tea. Perhaps someone prefers their sci-fi a little nerdier — in that case, Star Trek might rank higher than Star Wars for them. Or perhaps they like their Harrison Ford a little grimier, and sporting an iconic fedora — you know, likeIndiana Jones. The truth is, some things are better than Star Wars for certain people. And that’s okay!
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe
It’s hard to argue whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe is better than Star Wars, or if it’s actually on par with it. The two Disney-owned properties have unfolded in similar ways in the last decade or so, with both franchises launching TV spin-offs centered around major and minor characters, both getting the theme park treatment, and both nabbing some truly A-list talent for their roster of seemingly never-ending sequels.
The MCU was a fresh, fun idea when Iron Man kicked it off in 2008. Jon Favereau’s take on the Marvel hero saw Tony (Robert Downey Jr) suffer the consequences of his playboy and weapons-manufacturing lifestyle, turning him from devil-may-care capitalist to anti-war, clean-energy-creating superhero in just one film. The message of the first film certainly faded as the MCU grew bigger and bigger, and these days it’s a rare Marvel film that explores issues like that (thank you, Thunderbolts*), but still — there’s something special about what the MCU used to be.
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Indiana Jones
If we had a nickel for every movie franchise where Harrison Ford plays a charming, adventurous guy with a brunette love interest and wound up reprising that role in a series of sequels that were greenlit decades after the franchise’s first trilogy concluded…we’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
While Star Wars is for the part of us that dreamed of becoming an astronaut, Indiana Jones is for the part that longed to one day be an archaeologist. Indy is suave but nerdy (a trait that arguably makes him more attractive than Han Solo), and has a moral compass that drives his life mission: recover ancient artifacts, and punch fascists. Pair that character with an iconic John Williams score, some mustache-twirling villains, and one truly gorgeous hat, and you’ve got the franchise recipe for success.
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Godzilla
What’s better than gigantic monsters fighting each other across the ocean, major cities, or even alternate dimensions? Nothing. Literally nothing. Hence why the MonsterVerse — aka everything to do with Godzilla and friends — is superior. To what? Everything. Obviously.
The fun of Godzilla and his ilk is the sheer variety of universes audiences can dive into. There’s the original, villainous Godzilla created by Ishirō Honda in 1954 — a kaiju dreamed up in response to the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. There’s the anti-hero Godzilla — first introduced in 1964’s Ghidorah, and the one we know today. There are versions of Godzilla and media of the giant creature being made all over the world, both as political statements and as popcorn fare for blockbuster-craving audiences. Want prestige? Try Godzilla Minus One. Want kaiju vs kaiju? Try Godzilla vs. Kong. Want a Godzilla movie with Vera Farmiga in it? Try Godzilla: King of the Monsters. (What? More movies should have Vera Farmiga in them.)
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The Conjuring Universe
Speaking of Vera Farmiga: let’s talk horror. Originally conceived as a single film based on the case files of real-life demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, James Wan’s The Conjuring was a box office and critical hit. A spin-off film centered around the Warrens’ haunted doll, Annabelle, quickly followed. But it was the original film’s sequel — The Conjuring 2 — that really launched the series into a full franchise. The introduction of the demonic nun Valak (aka he Nun) spawned a spin-off that quickly became the highest-grossing film of the franchise’s offerings. Nuns, man.
Not only is The Conjuring universe a treasure trove of Easter eggs for horror fans (finding and connecting the dots between the films is a true joy), it’s a franchise built on something magical: love. The fictional marriage between Ed (Patrick Wilson ) and Lorraine (Farmiga) is the foundation that keeps the films grounded. Everything always comes back to the Warrens. All the demons, all the ghosts, all the jump scares and screams and decades of lore — it all ends with the Warrens in their cozy little home in Connecticut.
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Alien
Credit where credit is due: Alien owes part of its success — and its release at all — to Star Wars. Studios were eager to green light the Ridley Scott-directed project after seeing the success of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and 20th Century Fox eventually nabbed the project. The film’s horror flavour was exactly what audiences were looking for in 1979, and Alien became a hit — so much so that 3 sequels were made centered around Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), as well as 4 crossovers and spin-offs, 2 prequels, and now a TV series: Alien: Earth.
Alien had something from the jump that Star Wars took decades to finally commit to: a female lead. (With no shade to Princess Leia, who is iconic and beyond reproach, but who had to share space with her main character brother.) Ripley immediately became a staple of pop culture history and one of the first legendary final girls. Anyone with a craving to watch a terrifyingly competent woman fight off nearly un-killable aliens with a big gun and her even bigger brain need look no further than the Alien franchise.
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Jurassic World
What do we want? Dinosaurs! Where do we find them? Not Star Wars! Which is a shame, because everything is better with dinosaurs. Jurassic Park was the late Michael Crichton’s idea of a “dark Disneyland,” in which the Pirates of the Caribbean do quite literally eat the tourists. That premise alone is worth its weight in gold — to the tune of over a billion dollars or so, with adjustments for inflation.
Those who like their sci-fi a little more grounded (literally) and a little more speculative surely prefer the Jurassic World franchise. It’s a series built on the dangers of weaponizing science for profit, so it has something to say, and it also stars some of the most beautiful people ever committed to film (looking at you, Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Howard, Scarlett Johansson, and Mahershala Ali). It’s got something for everyone. What more could you want? Oh right — dinosaurs. No worries, it had those in spades, and they’re all so wonderful that you just might find yourself getting emotionally attached to them. (Looking at you, Rexy.)
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The Hunger Games
It feels almost distasteful to refer to such an anti-everything film series as a franchise, but a franchise The Hunger Games is all the same. Based on the trilogy by Suzanne Collins, the original Hunger Games series comprises four films — with Mockingjay split into two parts — following Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) as she becomes the at times reluctant face of a class revolution to overthrow the Capitol.
If any franchise has something to say, it’s The Hunger Games. It’s a series that warns of the dangers of propaganda and how easily power can be taken and misused, even in the name of doing good. It explores the heartbreak and rage that comes from an oppressed people pushed to the breaking point. In today’s day and age, stories like The Hunger Games and its prequels, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, are more important than ever.
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Star Trek Universe
Ah yes, we now come to the one of the oldest (and most controversial) debates in pop culture: Kirk, or Picard? Wait. No, sorry, wrong one. Here we go: Star Trek, or Star Wars? It’s an age-old question, of course, but can we really definitively say which of the oldest running sci-fi franchises with “star” in the title is better? Is that really a question that can be easily answered?
Yes. It’s Star Trek. And it’s not even close. Even when Star Trek is bad (and boy has it been bad), it’s always entertaining — and more importantly, it’s always trying to say something. A core principle of Vulcan philosophy is IDIC: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. It’s a core principle of Star Trek itself, too. Star Trek was created as a way for Gene Roddenberry to explore complex social issues through a fictional lens. Star Trek always explored those issues far before Star Wars, whether they involved race, gender identity, or sexuality. Star Trek may not always get it right, but damn if it doesn’t try — and that’s the most important part of all.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
- Release Date
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May 24, 2024
- Network
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Paramount+
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Karim Diane
Jay-Den Kraag
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Kerrice Brooks
Series Acclimation Mil ‘Sam’
