Evolution of Storytelling in Transmedia Storyworlds : Free Will and the Force in Different Star Wars Adaptations

Sammanfattning: The universe of Star Wars is an ever-expanding transmedia storyworld that comprehends entries in many different media. As it is inevitable for a very expansive universe, different authors contribute to the storyworld across different media. Moreover, each medium imposes changes in the storytelling based on its characteristics. The presence of different authors and the change in media affect how free will is portrayed in the different adaptations. The Force is an entity that characterizes the Star Wars universe and affects the free will of every living being in the storyworld. One of the main characteristics of Star Wars is the constant referencing to fate and prophecy enforced by the Force and how these entities affect free will. The concept of free will and how different boundaries affect it are portrayed differently in each media adaptation. What makes this topic interesting is the presence of a character named Anakin, whose free will is represented differently in each adaptation, and his relation to the Force also changes in the different adaptations.  Anakin is an interesting character to look at because of his constant struggles with his free will. Some of those struggles are caused by the influence the Force has on him. The same character in the same storyworld can take a very different shape in a different medium. This thesis argues that Star Wars as a transfictional transmedia storyworld changes in a way that causes an evolution in the representation of Anakin's free will and a shift in his relation to the Force. Furthermore, I argue that transmedia storyworlds, thanks to their transfictionality, hold the ability to develop significant changes in new works without leaving the original storyworld. Finally, in the conclusion of the thesis I discuss a problematic aspect of the concept of transfictionality.  The thesis is developed mainly through the use of the theory of free will by Graham McFee and with the concept of Force as law by Timothy Peters. The boundaries of the transmedia storyworld and its definition are set by Marie-Laure Ryan and Jan-Noël Thorn. Moreover, this thesis uses the theory on transfictionality as defined by Marie-Laure Ryan to develop the analysis. The primary works selected for the analysis are the movies Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The novels taken into analysis are the novelizations of the same movies. Moreover, the movies belonging to the original trilogy are discussed as a whole and compared to the movies taken into analysis that are part of the prequel trilogy. Finally, the TV series taken into consideration is Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The primary sources selected are interesting to analyse because they portray the story of Anakin and his free will in relation to the Force. Moreover, the different media adaptations allow the discussion of the differences between the representation of free will in each media adaptation.