Like any kid, I cycled through my phases with the classic boy shows and movies. I was really into Spiderman, Batman, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and other things depending on the week. But one day my older brother put on Star Wars IV: A New Hope. And I had a new favorite movie. But this one wasn’t a phase.
From that moment on Star Wars was always my favorite. In no time I had watched all the films and got into the Clone Wars 3D animated show. I was on top of every piece of Star Wars news and all the infamous leaks about games, movies, and everything else. I read books, comics, encyclopedias and whatever I could get my hands on.
What’s interesting is Revenge of the Sith came out when I was about 6 years old, meaning that by the time I joined the fandom, Star Wars movies were done. The saga was complete, and the animated show was the only new film content. Then, when I was 15, the life of every Star Wars fan changed. Episode VII: The Force Awakens released. A few years prior, Disney had purchased Lucasfilm from George Lucas, and now the story was continuing. And the war had just begun.
A fandom was torn apart. While children enjoyed the excitement of all the Star Wars projects being released, a fandom civil war raged, and it continues to this day. One side that says Disney ruined Star Wars, and another that has embraced all the new content with open arms, treating it as a long last family member. (There’s also sane people in the middle, but they aren’t as much fun to write about). The question is, who’s right?
First, let’s talk about everything of the Disney era outside of the infamous sequel trilogy. In my opinion, both anthology films were a success. Rogue One was a fantastic introduction to seeing Star Wars done in an earthier, grittier tone. It was exciting and made me hope for more of the same (and the Andor series did not disappoint). Although not a box office success and said to be the reason Disney canceled the one-off anthology films, Solo is one of my personal favorite projects from the Disney era. I believe that art can sometimes mesh with a person’s soul so perfectly, that it moves them in a way nothing else can. Solo is that for me. Maybe I’ll give it a whole blog one day.
And of course, the streaming series have been a highlight since the Disney purchase. The animated series have continued to knock it out of the park. What else would we expect from Dave Filoni? Dave has spearheaded most animated content since he started on the Clone Wars with Lucas, and he is now branching into live action as well. (His understanding of storytelling and Star Wars make him the spiritual successor to George in my opinion). The completion of The Clone Wars with season 7 was a huge gift to the fans of the show who had never gotten a proper ending.
The live-action shows have been mixed in terms of success, but the good ones have been great. The Mandalorian took the world by storm with Baby Yoda (Grogu), and it gave us the most Star Wars-like storytelling since George Lucas’s own films lol. (We have Dave Filoni to thank for that, as well as the obvious western/samurai inspiration). Andor was some of the most sophisticated content Star Wars has seen, and it is beautiful. To top it all off, Ahsoka is off to a strong start.
All that content makes me think rather positively of the Disney era of Star Wars, but we have left out the most important detail: the sequel trilogy. The continuation and completion of the Skywalker saga has caused the most intense debate, and for good reason.
The sequel trilogy is the most important piece; it trumps everything, as it builds directly on the story George told. Although I enjoyed watching the movies as they were released (and still enjoy watching them from time to time ), they are clouded in disappointment. I am most bothered by the lack of unity amongst the three films. Unlike with the previous trilogies, it is clear that the creators did not follow a predetermined story front to back.
Abrams made a good Star Wars film with The Force Awakens. It was nostalgic, sure, but these straightforward hero’s journey stories can be, because they are worth repeating. Episode VII set up the trilogy for a promising run. Then The Last Jedi happened. This was the Antietam of the fandom civil war. Rian Johnson made a film in a very different style from the others, that seemed to want to tell a very different story than Abram’s script started. I don’t absolutely hate The Last Jedi, but some strong political agenda coupled with some pretty rough sequences did nothing to help it. On top of that, the film completely undermined Luke Skywalker’s character and arc. It did irreparable damage to the golden boy of Star Wars, and that’s just not okay.
Finally, The Rise of Skywalker completed the Skywalker saga. I really like the movie in some ways. It salvaged what was left of Abram’s initial story and mashed together an ending with that and what Johnson did. I believe it was likely the best ending that could be afforded considering the disunity of the previous two films.
How did Disney/Lucasfilm fumble the bag like this? How did they decide to take on the task of extending one of the most popular stories of multiple generations, only to make a disconnected trilogy that managed to destroy one of pop culture’s most iconic characters? I don’t know. There’s rumors and leaks and stuff that explain what went down… and who knows. It’s worth mentioning that with Lucasfilm being owned by the entertainment empire that is Disney, its content has to go through all these corporate executives and whatever else, meaning that corporate America has a grip on our beloved Star Wars. What we do know is that every Star Wars fan wishes they could have seen George’s script ideas and what his movies would have looked like had he continued the saga (ironically, the fans forget how unkind to him they were when he made the prequels).
Based on the trilogy alone, someone could make a decent argument that Disney ruined Star Wars. Honestly, a part of me agrees. Not fully though, because, again, I enjoy the stories and some of the characters. And more importantly, I remind myself that Star Wars is for kids, and if I was a child when these movies came out, I would probably take less issue with them. Nonetheless, I can’t help but be disappointed.
But where does Disney save itself from completely disgracing Lucas’s legacy? Everything besides the movies. Despite some ugly moments, Lucasfilm has put out content that would not exist outside of Disney. The Mandalorian is liked by almost everyone (stan or not) with few exceptions. The animated series have continued to thrive. Rogue One and Andor have shown a different side of Star Wars. Ahsoka has good hype and may end up being one of the best series. This is the duality of the situation. Disney really mishandled the most important part of Star Wars, and there is no fixing it. That said, Disney knows how much money Star Wars can make, so they will keep telling Star Wars stories. And they hire talented people, so naturally some of the content will be very good. Quantity over quality. It’s a little sad, but honestly that’s where I would say we are at as far as hope for Star Wars. With enough content being made, some of it is bound to be good.
In conclusion, Disney did not ruin Star Wars (yet). It fumbled the sequel trilogy. But it is also the empire that fuels the big budgets required to make content from a galaxy far, far away. It is the reason we have seen so many Star Wars projects in the last several years. In the end, Star Wars has always been intended for kids. And as long as the Star Wars content continues to instill magic and awe in kids, the way it did for me, then Star Wars is going to be okay.
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