Star Wars remains one of the biggest influences on modern-day sci-fi, impacting media from Firefly to Guardians of the Galaxy. While the franchise does use a lot of sci-fi cliches, such as a grand sweeping space opera structure and spaceship battles, it does manage to avoid a lot of overused tropes as well. Indeed, the tropes that Star Wars does use only bolsters the story that is being told. Well, maybe it depends on the film, but this is especially true in the original trilogy and in The Mandalorian.
The overused sci-fi tropes that Star Wars manages to avoid range from things that audiences wouldn't even consider, such as First Contact, to genuine surprise that it hasn't happened yet, such as the appearance of an evil A.I. These tropes that Star Wars has managed to avoid has left the franchise stronger for it.
First Contact
There are plenty of unique alien species seen throughout the Star Wars universe. However, by the time the earliest movie in the timeline, Phantom Menace, took place, it seems like all species are aware of each other. At no point in the films are characters seen making first contact with a new species.
Yes, alliances are seen being made, but each party is already aware of the existence of the other. This is a trope that has been seen all over sci-fi, namely in Star Trek. The latter franchise even has a movie titled First Contact, which many fans claim is the most underrated Trek film.
Time Travel
Time travel is one of the biggest sci-fi tropes of all time, yet it is absent from the films. Certain forms of time travel are seen in various forms of Star Wars media both canon, and non, but the movies or television series haven't even referenced this. This could be a good thing. Introducing time travel into the Star Wars movies could create some serious plot holes.
In many ways, Star Wars is already an admittedly cliched franchise. Adding in one of the best-known sci-fi tropes would just be overcrowded. Time travel can be a great trope, even creating some underrated movies. The Star Wars movies are better off without it.
Alternate Timelines
Alternate timelines and parallel universes are a great way to show audiences different sides of their favorite characters. Star Wars Infinities is a trilogy of what-if comics revolving around the original trilogy.
This series is the closest to alternate timelines as the movies got, but at no point has fans seen characters enter another reality to face evil or good versions of themselves. Once again Star Trek has taken this on, with the TOS episode Mirror, Mirror being one of the highest-rated episodes.
Food Replicators
Wildlife and plants are seen in large quantities throughout Star Wars, so it is no secret where the food comes from. Oftentimes in sci-fi, food is shown to be mostly artificial having been made in a replicator of some sort. These replicators are typically seen on spaceships for the crew to use.
The Star Wars movies have shown no such thing, instead of making it clear that food is prepared in the same manner as it is in real life. Works of science fiction that do have replicators usually make it clear that the replicated foods taste nearly identical, but this isn't an issue in the George Lucas-created universe.
Cryosleep
Cryosleep is shown in science fiction to make space travel easier, such as in Alien. Typically it takes months or even years to get from one point to another, so the crew is put into cryosleep to make the journey seem more or less instant. Not only is this not present in the Star Wars films, but it also isn't necessary.
Thanks to hyperspace travel, it takes at most a few hours for characters to hop between planets. In some ways, this works to the advantage of the movies as characters have time to develop or action can take place while the ship is traveling.
Earth
The movies make it clear from the first frame that they take place "in a galaxy far, far away", so it comes as no surprise why Earth never makes an appearance. Earth has been used as a trope in a multitude of different ways in the genre. Perhaps the planet has been long abandoned for one reason or another. Maybe the planet is advanced in a way that it is filled with high-tech cities.
In some cases, Earth is shown to have been created by some alien race. Whatever the case, the fate of the planet is unknown in Star Wars. This isn't an issue, since there are plenty of other planets to have adventures on.
Post-Apocolypse
An incredibly popular backdrop in more than a few sci-fi movies is a setting that has suffered through some kind of apocalypse that occurred before the events of the story. While there are plenty of war-torn or destruction-filled locations seen in Star Wars, there hasn't been any kind of universe destroying apocalypse.
Planets have been destroyed and entire species have been wiped out of existence, but there is no evidence of a widespread event that wiped out numerous planets or civilizations simultaneously. there have been threats of such events, such as the Starkiller Base's super laser. Nothing extremely cataclysmic, however, happened before the event of the story that affected the backdrop of the story.
Humans Are Evil
Oftentimes, sci-fi films have a plot point where human characters are shown to be evil, while the aliens are the ones who are peaceful. If one identifies humans as coming from Earth, then technically there aren't any humans in Star Wars, even if a majority of characters resemble them.
Even if characters such as Han or Luke are classified as human, this trope still isn't present. Good and evil are shown to exist in Star Wars, and alien species are shown to be just as evil as humans. There are plenty of species in Star Wars, but none are eviler than the others, there are just evil characters.
Soulless Tech
Sci-fi films often act as a cautionary tale, especially regarding technology. Films like 2001: A Space Odyssey show that tech is soulless and will turn on humans at a moment's notice. For the most part, this isn't the case in Star Wars. There are absolutely some droids that act, for lack of a better word, robotic and some that will kill others for no good reason.
Whether good to evil, most tech seen throughout the series are capable of emotion and self-thought. From C-3PO to the Millennium Falcon's onboard computer seen in Solo, technology in Star Wars has as much of a soul as the organic characters.
Aliens Created Humanity
Once again Earth is not shown so humans in the traditional sense technically don't exist in Star Wars. Because of this humanity, in terms of life on Earth, is not shown to have been created by aliens. This trope shows characters on Earth discovering that certain landmarks such as Stonehenge or the pyramids were created by aliens.
Through further research, they discover that humanity's very existence was created by aliens for one reason or another. At one point, this was a decent twist. It has since been used so much that it has become predictable and bland to most. This is a plot that, as far as fans know, does not exist in Star Wars. Honestly, this may be for the best, as many agree it is a tired trope.