HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!
Just as Jesus was resurrected on this day, so is my Star Wars frustration!
One of the more toxic trends I’ve seen lately is this act of making money off of complaining about franchises, Star Wars being one of the biggest examples. These complaining videos started out genuine. They were people who loved Star Wars voicing their frustrations over the questionable choices Lucasfilm was making. But what happened, unexpectedly, was the channels became gigantic financial successes and everyone realized you could make a lot of money complaining about big franchises.
It’s quite ironic, this cottage industry of hate-mongering, as one of their biggest criticisms is that Disney and Lucasfilm have all these shills propping up Star Wars when it doesn’t deserve it. Yet if you look through the history of these posters, their videos all read the same, “Star Wars is Dead,” “Mandalorian Worse Ratings than Rings of Power!” “How Grogu Became Nothing But a Meme.” “Kathleen Kennedy Hates You.” These Youtubers would never post a positive review because positive reviews aren’t on brand and, therefore, don’t make them money. So they’ve become just as untrustworthy.
The problem with this Evil Empire of Criticism is that it’s made talking about the very real problems that Star Wars has difficult. Cause people just assume you’re one of the for-profit haters. It allows Lucasfilm to protect itself against real introspection. If they can paint every negative critique as disingenuous, they don’t have to look inside themselves.
For those who don’t know, Star Wars had their official Star Wars Celebration this weekend where they announced three new movies. The weekend had a bit of “gun to the head” feel to it. Kathleen Kennedy has done everything in her power to avoid announcing a Star Wars feature film slate due to the PTSD she’s suffered from the recent trilogy. But she had to announce something this weekend. And this is what we got:
James Mangold Film – Of the three films announced, this one has the most potential. It’s about the birth of the very first Jedi, set 25,000 years before Star Wars. We’ve never explored that far back in the Star Wars universe, which allows for some really unique possibilities. Just the way you design that universe could allow for a Star Wars film that looks and feels different from anything we’ve seen before. Mangold, who’s best known in nerd circles for directing Wolverine, says that his movie is inspired by Ben-Hur. So it’s going to have major religious undertones, which makes sense considering it’s about The Force. Lucasfilm just made the latest Indiana Jones film with Mangold. This would imply that they’re happy with him. However, there is one thing that worries me. If Indiana Jones doesn’t do well – which is a real possibility considering it features an 80 year old action star (I know, I know, 80 is the new 40) – this film probably won’t get made. We know that from what happened to Patty Jenkins after Wonder Woman 1984, Colin Trevorrow after The Book of Henry, and Taika Waititi after Thor: Love and Thunder (I know Taika’s movie is supposedly still in development but the fact that it has no script yet after two years tells me it’s probably not happening).
Dave Filoni Film – What Dave Filoni is great at is animated storytelling. His child-like sensibilities and basic storytelling skills are perfect for a non-discerning audience such as 10 year olds and ultra-hardcore Star Wars fans who will eat up anything the franchise serves them. Which is why his Rebels show is so popular. But the niche world of animated TV is a completely different ballgame compared to the feature film world. The stakes in feature films have to be gigantic. The characters have to be bigger, more grounded, and have more depth. The plot and pacing need an 8 cylinder engine running underneath them at all times. I just don’t see those skills in Filoni. I see him as someone who loves Star Wars and loves to – successfully I may add – incorporate deep-cut characters into the universe in fun ways. But those skills mean nothing in a feature film. So I was concerned when Filoni’s project was announced. But then I heard that his movie is going to be a culmination of all of the Star Wars shows (Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Boba Fett). And what that tells me is that it’s going to be a Disney Plus TV exclusive. They did not announce that. That’s my own assumption. But it makes sense. This allows Filoni to play in this bigger higher-stakes sandbox to see if he’s got the chops to be there without putting a ridiculous amount of money and resources on the line. A Disney Plus exclusive Star Wars movie is literally perfect for Filoni. And look, if he knocks it out of the park, by all means, give him a real feature film.
Rey Film – This project is the one that not only shocked me, but shocked the world. Rey is a barely above average character. And she’s just come off a trilogy that left a bad taste in peoples’ mouths. By the way, this is the project Damon Lindelof just left. In his classic self-deprecating manner, Lindelof said it was because he just couldn’t write a good enough script. But what he really seemed to be saying was, “I’m not sure this is a story worth telling.” The project is being directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a director who wasn’t even the best director on the fourth best Marvel TV show. If you’re going to give a Star Wars movie to a director from Ms. Marvel, give it to Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah! Their pilot episode to that show was awesome! The only way I see this movie succeeding is if they bring back Kylo Ren. Rey becomes infinitely more interesting when he’s around. I know he just died. But what does death even mean in movies these days? But I could see a potentially fun movie if Rey and Kylo were teamed up.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with my assessments of the trio of announced projects, one thing was very clear about the celebration: Kennedy is unsure of herself. Even the fact that they’re only announcing one Rey movie, as opposed to a trilogy, which is standard procedure – that indicates how gun-shy she is. And that, more than anything, is what makes me skeptical that we’ll see all of these films. Filoni’s film is supposedly 5 years down the line. So much can change in that time period. Will there even be a Disney Plus?
As a Star Wars mega-fan whose love for the franchise has been waning as of late, I know something needs to change. But I don’t know what. There’s some indescribable magic to the formula George Lucas brought to the table that seems to be harder to replicate than we thought. There have been low-key rumors that Lucas is coming back into the mix in some way. That’s probably the smartest move Lucasfilm could make right now. Bring back those weird ideas he had for Episodes 7-9 and reimagine them for the next wave of films. If you really wanted the fandom back on your side, that’s the move you would make.
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