assignmentmedia businesscritical thinking

Classroom Activity: Analyzing Franchise Strategy Through Star Wars’ New Movie List

tthebooks

2026-02-12

8 min read

A classroom assignment that uses Star Wars’ 2026 slate to teach students how to analyze franchise strategy, IP risks, and adaptations.

Hook: Turn student frustration about blockbuster clutter into a teaching moment

Students and teachers in media studies, film clubs, and adaptation seminars often tell us the same thing: there are too many franchise announcements, not enough tools to judge whether a slate is creative strategy or corporate noise. If your class struggles to move from opinion to analysis, this classroom activity uses the 2026 Star Wars movie list and recent industry moves to teach students how to evaluate franchise strategy, weigh IP risks, and connect creative decisions to adaptation theory.

The evolution of franchise strategy in 2026 — why this moment matters

Late 2025 and early 2026 brought rapid, public shifts in franchise leadership and IP strategy: Kathleen Kennedy’s departure from Lucasfilm and the elevation of Dave Filoni signaled a pivot in creative stewardship of Star Wars, and independent transmedia studios (for example, The Orangery signing with WME) show how rights management is becoming global and collaborative in new ways. These developments make 2026 an ideal teaching moment to study franchise strategy in action.

The industry now operates on four converging pressures:

Creative continuity vs. novelty — balancing a recognizable brand voice with fresh storytelling.
Platform strategy — theatrical windows, streaming exclusives, and transmedia tie-ins affect creative choices.
IP monetization — merchandising, licensing, and regional adaptations are central to risk assessment.
Audience fragmentation — global fandoms have different expectations; what works in one market may fail in another. See how experiential work and fan engagement strategies changed premieres in 2026.

Assignment overview: Analyze the risks and creative decisions behind a franchise line-up

Goal: Students will apply adaptation and IP readings to evaluate a proposed or actual franchise slate (we use the 2026 Star Wars movie list as the case study), produce a risk assessment, and create a justified creative/market strategy pitch.

Learning objectives

Practice evidence-based critical analysis of franchise strategy and marketing choices.
Apply adaptation theory to understand how source materials are transformed for different media and markets.
Assess IP and legal considerations that influence creative decisions.
Develop a persuasive pitch that balances risk, creativity, and commercial viability.

Required readings and industry sources (2026-focused)

Assign a mix of scholarly and industry material so students learn both theory and current practice:

Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation — use for concepts of fidelity, appropriation, and intertextuality.
Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture — for transmedia storytelling and audience participation frameworks.
Recent reporting: Paul Tassi, Forbes (Jan 2026) on the Filoni-era Star Wars list — case study of public reaction and executive change. (Forbes Innovation)
Industry deal coverage: Variety’s reporting on transmedia IP studios like The Orangery signing with WME (Jan 2026) — shows how IP is packaged and sold across markets. (Variety)
Supplemental: select academic articles on franchise fatigue, platform economics (2023–2025 reviews), and case law excerpts about derivative works and licensing.

Week-by-week assignment plan (6 weeks)

Week 1 — Framing and sources

Lecture: 2026 franchise landscape — leadership shifts, transmedia deals, and platform economics.
Readings: Hutcheon & Jenkins excerpts; Forbes and Variety articles.
Deliverable: One-page annotated bibliography (primary industry sources + theory).

Week 2 — Data collection & baseline analysis

Activity: Create a timeline of announced projects (the movie list) and map each project to audience, platform, and revenue streams.
Introduce frameworks: SWOT, PESTEL, and a media-adapted Porter’s Five Forces.
Deliverable: Project mapping spreadsheet.

Week 3 — Risk classification and adaptation mapping

Class workshop: Categorize risks — creative, market, IP/legal, reputational.
Adaptation exercise: For each film, identify what source elements (characters, themes, world-building) are likely to be preserved, changed, or invented.
Deliverable: Risk matrix + adaptation map for two assigned films.

Week 4 — Stakeholder role-plays and transmedia strategy

Role-play: Students represent studio execs, showrunners, merch partners, and fandom coalitions.
Discuss transmedia partnerships (use Orangery/WME deal as a model of IP packaging).
Deliverable: 10-minute stakeholder brief and strategy memo.

Week 5 — Pitch development

Team work: Create a 7–10 slide pitch (or 6–8 page brief) that balances creative vision and risk mitigation.
Include distribution strategy, IP licensing plan, and an adaptation justification grounded in readings.
Deliverable: Pitch deck + 500-word executive summary. See practical notes on pitching to streaming execs for real-world expectations.

Week 6 — Presentation, peer review, and final memo

Teams present and receive peer feedback using a rubric informed by micro-feedback workflows.
Final deliverable: 1,500–2,000 word analytical memo synthesizing theory, industry context, and the team’s creative/financial strategy.

Analytical frameworks and practical tools (actionable)

Give students hands-on frameworks they can use again in internships or industry analysis:

1. Franchise Risk Matrix (template)

Columns: Project name | Creative risk (high/med/low) | Market risk | IP/legal risk | Mitigation strategy
How to score: Use evidence — prior box office data, fandom reactions, scope of new characters, and licensing complexity.

2. Adaptation Mapping Sheet

Original element (book, series, concept) —> Screen approach (faithful/adapted/invented) —> Rationale (audience, legal, narrative).
Ask students to cite Hutcheon for the conceptual vocabulary: appropriation vs fidelity and to use Jenkins for transmedia expansion choices. For ethical casting and living-history questions that surface in adaptation mapping, see approaches in AI casting & living history.

3. Short-form pitch checklist (for presentations)

Logline (15 words), unique selling proposition, target demos by region, monetization streams, IP/licensing overview, three primary risks and mitigations, and a one-year timeline.

Class activities that deepen engagement

Debate: “Greenlight the Filoni slate now” vs. “Pause and restructure.” Students use both theory and industry data to argue.
Fan ethnography: Small groups sample fan forums and social metrics to map sentiment and potential backlash.
Case clinic: Analyze a past franchise misstep (pick an example) and compare to predicted risks for the 2026 list.

Rubric: How to grade insight, not opinion

Use a rubric that emphasizes evidence, application of theory, and pragmatic thinking.

Argument & evidence (35%): Clear thesis, use of industry reporting and academic readings, and accurate risk assessment.
Theory application (25%): Effective use of adaptation/transmedia/IP concepts to illuminate creative choices.
Practical strategy (20%): Viability of distribution, licensing, and mitigation tactics.
Communication & teamwork (10%): Clarity of the pitch and collaborative work.
Original thinking (10%): Creative, feasible ideas for differentiation or de-risking.

Sample student deliverables (models instructors can reuse)

One-page risk memo: Condense the matrix into an executive page that studio leadership could scan.
Adaptation reflection (1,000 words): A comparative essay using Hutcheon that explains why fidelity might help or hurt this title.
Transmedia roadmap: A six-month plan showing comic tie-ins, streaming miniseries, and merchandising rollouts integrating a partner like The Orangery.

Connecting to real-world 2026 trends

Use current events as teachable data points. For example:

Leadership shifts at Lucasfilm (Jan 2026) highlight how creative vision can change rapidly and reframe projects — discuss timeline risks for films already in development.
Deals between transmedia IP studios and agencies (The Orangery & WME, Jan 2026) illustrate how IP is bought, packaged, and prepared for global exploitation.
Streaming economics after the 2024–2025 consolidation period mean studios often hedge theatrical risk with platform-first tie-ins and serialized content; consult examples of pitching expectations in streaming pitches.

Common pitfalls students should avoid

Opinion without sourcing — avoid “this looks bad” statements without evidence from box office, social metrics, or precedent.
Ignoring legal/IP realities — derivative works have licensing constraints; students should at least note the legal complexity when proposing major changes.
Treating fandom as monolithic — different regional and platform-based communities will react differently.

Assessment: What mastery looks like

A top-scoring student project will:

Use primary industry reporting and scholarly theory in dialogue (e.g., citing Forbes/Variety reporting alongside Hutcheon and Jenkins).
Produce a feasible, evidence-backed strategy that clearly explains trade-offs between creative risk and commercial reward.
Show original mitigation tactics that reflect 2026 realities (e.g., tiered release windows, regional licensing partners, modular transmedia tie-ins).

Extension activities and assessment alternatives

Independent study: Students trace one announced film from concept through merchandising and forecast 18-month revenue streams.
Community engagement: Host a public panel with a local studio exec or IP agent to discuss practical negotiation and packaging choices; look to real-world event models like hybrid afterparties & premieres.
Cross-discipline: Partner with business students to run a simulated greenlight meeting with budget models.

Instructor resources and slide-ready talking points

Downloadable checklist suggestions (that you can copy into slides):

Slide 1: Context — what changed in 2026 and why it matters for franchise strategy.
Slide 2: Key readings — theory + industry.
Slide 3: The movie list — visual timeline.
Slide 4: Risk matrix example.
Slide 5: Assignment timeline and deliverables.
Slide 6: Grading rubric and peer review process (pair with a vertical-video assessment rubric for short-form deliverables).

Takeaways — practical insights your students will leave with

Evidence-based critique: How to move from fandom to professional analysis using data and theory.
Framework fluency: SWOT, PESTEL, adaptation mapping, and media-centric Porter’s Five Forces adapted for IP-heavy industries.
Real-world readiness: Pitch skills that address both creative and commercial stakeholders; consult real pitching and event playbooks like micro-popups and low-cost tech stacks for experiential tie-ins (pop-up tech).

“Studying a current franchise slate lets students interrogate real decisions — leadership changes, transmedia deals, and market strategy — as they happen.”

Final notes: Why this assignment matters in 2026

Franchises are now ecosystems: leadership shifts like those at Lucasfilm and deal-making between transmedia IP studios and major agencies mean students must understand creative choices alongside legal, commercial, and cultural forces. This assignment trains them to be the analysts, creatives, and negotiators the industry needs.

Call to action

Ready to run this module in your course or book club? Download our free classroom kit with the risk matrix template, adaptation mapping sheet, and a sample rubric — and join thebooks.club educators’ forum to swap student outputs, guest speakers, and assessment ideas. Click to download the kit and get the slide-ready materials you can use tomorrow.

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