After years of waiting, Traveller's Tales finally released LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga to immense praise. The game serves as a celebration of the Star Wars franchise, letting players adventure through the galaxy for all nine mainline films. They can battle the Trade Federation on Naboo, fly the trench run to destroy the Death Star, and battle the vile Kylo Ren. Almost all the iconic Star Wars moments have been recreated in hilarious LEGO fashion, except for the two Star Wars Story films.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga adapts the prequel, original, and sequel trilogies. The two other theatrically released Star Wars projects are absent here, save for some character DLC packs. Players are not able to fight on the planet of Scarif during Rogue One, or attempt the Kessel run from Solo: A Star Wars Story. While the focus of the game is on the Skywalker saga, leaving the Star Wars Story films out keeps it from being the definitive celebration that it wants to be.
Solo and Rogue One are Absent From LEGO Star Wars
From the announcement of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Traveller's Tales made it clear that Rogue One and Solo were not going to have a major presence. The story was going to focus on the nine films from the Skywalker Saga, and none of the extra Star Wars content would have levels. That meant shows such as The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Mandalorian, and The Bad Batch would receive no recognition in the story either.
Instead of receiving story content, Rogue One and Solo would receive character DLC. All the DLC for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is character packs that include people from other Star Wars projects. Many characters from Rogue One, Solo, The Bad Batch, and The Mandalorian have already been released. While these DLC packs do give the projects some recognition, leaving their stories out of the game prevents LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga from being the best it can be
The Star Wars Stories are Integral to the Skywalker Saga
Both Solo: A Star Wars Story and Rogue One are not considered part of the larger Skywalker Saga. Neither movie contains a Skywalker character as a main player, and thus the story is not considered a part of the mainline series. Instead, both movies were given the moniker of Star Wars Story, denoting that they were supplementary material. However, both movies help to build out the overarching saga, and serve a much larger purpose than a simple adventure in the galaxy.
Rogue One tells the story of how the Rebel Alliance retrieved the Death Star plans for Princess Leia at the start of A New Hope. It chronicles the days of the Rebellion before they first appeared in theaters, and gives viewers a deeper look into the interworkings of the galaxy. They get to learn that the Rebels were not necessarily flawless heroes, and that they were not the only ones fighting for freedom. The film introduced characters like Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor, who served pivotal roles in the overarching story. On top of that, viewers got to learn more about the Empire and the power struggle between Darth Vader and those serving under him.
Solo: A Star Wars Story served as an origin for the infamous Han Solo. It gave viewers more insight into the scoundrel's past, and finally shed some light on what the Kessel Run was. It also let people see the start of the friendship between Han Solo and Lando Calrissian that would come into play in The Empire Strikes Back, along with the first time Han and Chewbacca met. The film also continued plot threads from The Clone Wars by involving Darth Maul and his crime syndicates.
Solo and Rogue One are Must-Haves for DLC
The majority of DLC that Traveller's Tales releases tends to be centered around character packs, but it has also done level packs. In LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, players can purchase DLC that let them play a scene from The Dark Knight, Man of Steel, and even a level that includes the Suicide Squad. Owners of LEGO Marvel's Avengers can pick up DLC that includes missions based on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. At one point, Traveller's Tales was even considering a large-scale DLC for LEGO The Hobbit that would have added the third Hobbit film.
Traveller's Tales is no stranger to adding DLC levels post-launch. While it currently has no plans to add Rogue One or Solo-based DLC, not doing so would be a disservice. Traveller's Tales wants to craft a celebration of the franchise, and it has mostly succeeded in that. Many fans are also calling for the inclusion of the TV shows, but if Traveller's Tales is not willing to add story DLC around the other two films in the saga, TV shows are likely out of the question.
The form that these DLC packs take does not have to be large. In the past, LEGO DLC has mostly included one or two levels per-pack. While adding the full five levels per-movie would be preferred, Traveller's Tales could just deliver a couple that recreate the iconic Scarif battle in LEGO form for Rogue One, as well as make a playable Kessel run for Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Even if Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story are not considered a part of The Skywalker Saga, they are both integral parts of the Star Wars story and deserve to be recognized. While it does not seem like Traveller's Tales has any plans for level DLC after the character packs are released, it should reconsider. Leaving those two films out of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga prevents it from being the best Star Wars experience it can be.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.