Teaching Media Franchises: A Case Study Lesson Plan Using the New Filoni-Era Star Wars Slate

Hook: Turn a viral controversy into a standards-aligned, project-based lesson

Teachers: you have 45 minutes, a class of mixed-readiness learners, and the expectation to teach critical media skills that matter in 2026. Use the recent conversation around Dave Filoni’s new Star Wars project list as a real-world case study to teach franchise management, audience expectations, and media criticism without turning your classroom into a fandom echo chamber. This turnkey lesson plan gives you timelines, rubrics, tech tools, and assessment strategies so students produce tangible work — pitches, critiques, and data-backed strategy briefs — while you collect meaningful evidence of learning.

Quick overview (inverted pyramid): what students will do and why it matters

In this multi-week, project-based unit, students will investigate the recent 2026 news about Lucasfilm’s leadership change and the early Filoni-era project list (widely discussed in outlets such as Forbes in January 2026). They will analyze audience reactions, map story arcs across a franchise, and design a responsible franchise-management plan that balances creative vision, audience trust, and market realities.

Outcomes: students will produce a 5-minute pitch, a one-page strategy brief, and a 600–900 word critical review. Assessments use a clear rubric aligned to media literacy standards and Common Core ELA skills.

Why this case study matters in 2026

By early 2026 the entertainment industry is defined by three trends that make this lesson timely:

• Creator-led eras: studios increasingly hand creative reins to franchise caretakers (a shift reporters noted when Dave Filoni moved into a co-lead role at Lucasfilm in January 2026), changing how continuity and audience trust are managed.
• AI and fan data: streaming platforms and social analytics now guide release strategies and narrative choices; students need to interpret these data ethically.
• Transmedia fatigue vs. demand: audiences crave coherent story arcs across shows, films, games, and merch — but respond poorly to perceived cash-grabs, sparking sustained public criticism and debate.

Use this lesson to teach students how media companies balance creative risk, brand stewardship, and audience expectations — skills useful in journalism, marketing, and digital citizenship.

Learning objectives & standards

• Analyze how franchise decisions (character focus, release cadence, transmedia ties) shape audience response and critical reception.
• Evaluate evidence from reviews, social metrics, and official announcements to support claims about franchise strategy.
• Create a franchise-management plan and persuasive pitch that demonstrates synthesis of data, narrative theory, and ethical considerations.
• Communicate findings clearly in written and oral formats, using multimedia elements responsibly.

Standards alignment (examples): Common Core ELA R.9-10.2 (central ideas and text support), W.9-10.1 (argument), and ISTE Empowered Learner & Knowledge Constructor standards. Also aligns with NAMLE core competencies for media literacy (analysis, evaluation, creation).

Materials and tech (2026-ready)

• Selected articles and primary sources (e.g., reputable reporting on the Filoni-era list, official Lucasfilm statements) — pre-curated to avoid spoilers and bias.
• Access to social listening snapshots (teacher-provided dashboards from free tools or classroom exports) to show audience reaction in real time.
• Storyboard and pitch templates (Google Slides/Docs or equivalent).
• Optional: generative tools for concept art and storyboarding (use with an ethics contract). Examples: licensed AI image tools, script-assistants that require teacher supervision in 2026 classrooms.
• Rubric handout and peer-evaluation forms.

Unit timeline: adaptable for 2–4 weeks

1. Day 1 — Hook + background (45–60 min): introduce the news event, essential questions, and group roles. Quick debrief: what is franchise management?
2. Days 2–3 — Source analysis + media criticism (2 class periods): students analyze primary sources and critical responses. Teach evidence weighting and bias detection.
3. Days 4–6 — Audience data + transmedia mapping (3 periods): students examine social metrics and map existing story arcs across films, shows, and games.
4. Week 2 — Project development (3–5 periods): teams draft a franchise-management plan and 5-minute pitch, create visuals, and peer-review.
5. Week 3 — Presentations and reflection (2–3 periods): pitches, critiques, and class vote on the most responsible strategic plan. Final individual reflective essay.

Classroom activities: step-by-step

1. Warm-up: 5-minute quickwrite

Prompt: "When a beloved franchise announces multiple upcoming projects, what do you expect? List three things you want from creators and three things that make you skeptical." Share in small groups to surface expectations vs. concerns.

2. Source triage: teach critical reading

Provide 4–6 curated pieces: an official statement, a critical analysis (e.g., Forbes piece from Jan 2026), a fan-reaction thread snapshot, and an industry trade report. Use a source-evaluation worksheet with categories: claim, evidence, perspective, usefulness, credibility.

3. Transmedia story-arc mapping

In groups, students create a timeline showing how characters and plotlines move across media. Ask: where are the logical arcs? Where are forced tie-ins? This visual aids pitches that respect narrative continuity.

4. Audience-analysis lab

Show anonymized social-listening data: sentiment trends, top hashtags, demographics. Teach students to identify representative vs. loud-minority reactions. Discuss ethical use of data and the limits of extrapolating fandom sentiment to general audiences.

5. Team project: Franchise-management plan + pitch

Each team prepares a one-page plan and a 5-minute multimedia pitch for a responsible slate. Required sections:

• Creative thesis (what the slate aims to do artistically)
• Target audiences and risk assessment
• Continuity rules and transmedia map
• Release strategy with data justification (timing, platform mix)
• Ethical guidelines for AI, merchandising, and fan engagement

6. Peer review and public critique

Use structured peer feedback: 'I like / I wonder / What if' format. Encourage evidence-backed critique that separates taste from analysis.

7. Individual assessment: critical review

Students write a 600–900 word critique of the real 2026 Filoni-era slate coverage (teacher-provided) that evaluates reporting, studio messaging, and audience response. They must cite at least two sources and include a data paragraph referencing social metrics or trade info.

Sample rubrics (concise, teacher-ready)

Rubric categories for the franchise-management plan (20 points each):

• Evidence & Analysis (20): Uses primary sources and data to justify decisions.
• Narrative Coherence (20): Demonstrates a clear understanding of story arcs, continuity, and character stakes.
• Audience Strategy (20): Identifies audiences, potential fractures, and mitigation tactics.
• Ethical & Practical Considerations (20): Addresses AI, merchandising, and fan engagement responsibly.
• Presentation (20): Clear, persuasive pitch with visuals and time management.

Adapt the rubric for older or younger students by scaling expectations for data sophistication and written length.

Differentiation & accessibility

• Provide simplified source packets and graphic organizers for students who need support.
• Offer extension tasks: an advanced data modeling brief predicting revenue based on release windows, or a transmedia design for an interactive game.
• Allow multimodal submissions (audio pitch, infographic) for students with different strengths.
• Use peer mentors and clear role assignments (researcher, writer, designer, presenter) to scaffold teamwork.

Teacher tips for limited time & resources

• Pre-curate sources and create a Google Classroom folder so students spend class time analyzing, not searching.
• Use a shared rubric and a single formative checkpoint to avoid last-minute grading pileups.
• Leverage free or school-approved tools for social snapshots (e.g., Talkwalker free alerts, TweetDeck archives) rather than live monitoring.
• Turn presentations into asynchronous micro-lessons by recording exemplar pitches for future classes.

Addressing the controversy sensitively

News about leadership changes and controversial slates can generate strong feelings. Keep the classroom focused on analysis, not partisanship. Set ground rules:

• Focus on evidence, not personal attacks on creators or fans.
• Recognize fandom voices as valuable qualitative data but teach students to distinguish anecdote from trend.
• Discuss the limits of opinion pieces and the difference between criticism and rumors.

Classroom norm example: "We evaluate claims by their evidence. We critique decisions, not people."

Assessment: measuring learning beyond grades

Use a mix of formative and summative checks:

• Formative: source-evaluation worksheet, transmedia map draft, peer feedback logs.
• Summative: franchise-management plan (team), pitch (team), independent critique (individual).
• Self-assessment: students complete a short reflection on what they changed after peer feedback.

Collect artifacts in an e-portfolio to demonstrate progress in digital citizenship and media literacy for parent conferences or administrative review.

Examples & mini-case studies to use in class

Bring short case studies to compare Filoni-era planning with other franchise moves. Suggested comparisons:

• Marvel’s early 2020s multiverse rollout (coherent but complex)
• The Sonic movie reworks (audience feedback leading to creative changes)
• Indie franchise models that pivoted to limited, high-quality arcs to rebuild trust

These mini-cases help students see that franchise success isn't one formula — it's a blend of narrative care, audience respect, and sound business planning.

Ethics and AI: a short policy to discuss

Given the rise of AI content tools in 2025–2026, require teams to document any AI use. A simple classroom policy:

• Disclose tools used and provide prompt logs.
• Verify AI outputs against primary sources.
• Discuss creative ownership and bias in generated content.

Teaching students to use AI ethically prepares them for media careers and responsible digital citizenship.

Advanced strategies and future-facing extensions (for high school or media electives)

• Have students build a simple dashboard forecasting engagement using historical release data and sentiment trends — teach basic spreadsheet modeling and visualization.
• Assign role-play simulations: students become studio execs, showrunners, or fan community managers to negotiate strategy in a mock press conference.
• Design a transmedia MVP (minimum viable product): a proof-of-concept short film, serialized podcast episode, or interactive web experience that honors narrative continuity.

Evidence of success: indicators to track

Track classroom impact using:

• Improvement in students' ability to cite evidence in written critiques (compare baseline quickwrites to final essays).
• Quality of pitch rationales — do students link creative choices to data and narrative theory?
• Engagement metrics: number of substantive peer-feedback exchanges, depth of revision between drafts.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

• Pitfall: Lessons become fan forums. Fix: enforce evidence-based critique and rotate roles to keep analysis objective.
• Pitfall: Overreliance on social noise as data. Fix: teach sampling, representativeness, and triangulation with other sources.
• Pitfall: AI-generated visuals replace student creativity. Fix: require disclosures and place value on original student-authored components.

Printable teacher checklist

• Curate 4–6 vetted sources (official + critical + fan + industry)
• Create social-listening snapshot (teacher-prep)
• Prepare rubrics and peer-review forms
• Set timeline and assign roles
• Decide on acceptable tech tools and AI policy

Final classroom-ready prompts (pick one)

1. Design a three-project slate that rebuilds audience trust after a controversial announcement. Include continuity rules and a release plan.
2. Write a critical review evaluating media coverage of the January 2026 Filoni-era slate. Focus on evidence quality and narrative framing.
3. Pitch a transmedia tie-in (game, podcast, short film) that strengthens an existing story arc without exploiting the brand.

Closing: a teacher’s reflection and future prediction

Instructors who run this unit report increased student engagement, clearer argumentative writing, and stronger comfort with data in storytelling. Looking ahead in 2026, expect studios to rely even more on creator-led stewardship and data-informed narrative choices — which makes these classroom conversations essential. Students who learn to analyze those choices critically will be ready for careers in media, marketing, policy, and civic life.

Call-to-action

Ready to try this project in your classroom? Download the printable lesson packet, rubric, and student-facing templates from our resources hub. Run the unit, share a student pitch, and tag us so we can feature exemplary student work and classroom adaptations. For more turnkey units like this one — focused on current 2026 media trends, AI ethics, and franchise stewardship — subscribe to our monthly teacher toolkit.

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