10 Years After Disney Buys Lucasfilm… how are we feeling?

I've loved almost all of it, with only a couple of small exceptions (an episode here and there, and some issues with Rogue One), which haven't negatively impacted the rest for me. This has definitely been the best 10 years to be a Star Wars fan thus far, well, except for the fandom itself, which has been bantha poodoo, to be honest.

 

Same for me, simple as.

Boba was underwhelming to say the least. As for OWK, there were a couple of epic scenes.... but the whole story was unsatisfying.
I have no desire for another season.

I really wanted to like this show, like I was excited enough to get Disney + for it. Buggers. I fell asleep (about halfway thru) during the first episode and the 3 attempts to get back into it have failed. Turned it off after I started fast forwarding thru the 3rd episode. I lurked in the show thread to see what I've missed and well, I don't feel like I've missed anything. So that was it; Andor never got off the ground with me.

Prequel fleshing is so stale. having said that, the only PT related Tale that I will ever want to see is the Murder of Darth Plagueis.


Tales in ANY other era would have been spectacular.

Might I suggest cupcakes?

Small doses of tasty goodness are always fun.... like little force chokes on Imperial dim-wits.

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From Bane & Zannah's clan....

to the Padawan Zarrick,

the old Jedi Celeste Morne

& ancient Sith Karness Muur.

- So much sand to play around with in the box.

 

My feelings are mixed. There are productions that I really enjoyed - namely "Rogue One", "Solo", "The Mandalorian", "The Bad Batch", and "Obi-Wan Kenobi". But there is the Sequel Trilogy that I disliked. I have mixed feelings about "The Book of Boba Fett" and "Tales of the Jedi". I don't know what to make of "Andor". I like the story, but I think the pacing is too slow and it doesn't feel like a Star Wars production.

 

10 years ago I had checked out on Star Wars. The prequels are pretty awful. The Clone Wars film was also pretty bad so I never got around to watching the series. I loved Star Wars, but my interest had become casual. The last 10 years have been fantastic. The Force Awakens was the first movie I've seen more than twice in a theater. I haven't loved everything, but hasn't been my expectation. I went to Celebration for the first time in 2017 and it was a blast. Meeting so many fans who love the same thing and people didn't moan about what they didn't like. The discourse online has been pretty bad for the past few years, but in general Star Wars fans are great.

I have no regrets about Lucas selling to Disney. They have revigorated the entire IP.

 

After the PTs and STs, I never thought I'd recapture that old Star Wars spirit that gobsmacked me in the theatres back in 1977. But with The Mandalorian on Disney+, I fell back in love with SW again. The Mandalorian Seasons 1 & 2 have been (IMO) The Best Star Wars content since The Empire Strikes back in 1980.

While I agree with critics who say The Book of Boba Fett story could have been a lot better, It needs to be pointed out that Episodes 5 & 6 of TBoBF were incredible. The Luke and Grogu training episode was One of The Best things on TV ever!

I liked the first ST movie but was disappointed by the next two. I thought OB1 and the Bad Batch were fine TV shows but, in the end, neither one shook my world. Same with Tales of the Jedi.

But I wasn't really expecting to like the Andor series and have been shocked by how much I'm loving it. IMO, it's gotten richer and richer -- and better and better -- with each episode. I think the problem for some fans is that it 'doesn't feel enough like Star Wars.' But if you like a setting that takes place in the GFFA and you like a compelling action/drama series for adults, this show is right up your alley. I give it a Huge Thumb's Up!

But most of all, I'm anxiously waiting for the return of Mando in Season 3 and the appearance of Ahsoka in her own series. 2023 is gonna be a GREAT year for Star Wars fans!!!

 

Bantha shat the bed!! I totally forgot about SOLO - I made it my head canon that film was a story being told by a Corellian-rum sipping, scruffy-looking, nerf-herder in some dank saloon on a random backwater planet and as such, it rocks. - Worth noting that I watched it with my helmet on, so my POV might be jaded by the rose colored lenses.

The frequency of flashbacks basically put me to sleep.... and Star Wars never makes me sleepy.

 

The showrunners made it clear from the outset that this was an adult drama, not a Saturday afternoon matinee for kids. What you call slow pacing, I call building up the tension and suspense.

The frequency of flashbacks?

We've been through nine episodes now and the only flashbacks we've had were of a young Cassian fighting on his home world in the earliest episodes.

 

I have mixed feelings as well...can't afford Disney + and I've always been more of a film fan, but I did see some of Mando, which I liked, I liked TFA and loved TLJ....not mentioning TROS as I've already said, many times, what I think of it!
But, I am really a Skywalker/Solo fan more than a fan of the general SWU, so regretfully I don't really have much interest in new films going forward, as all my fave characters are dead. But I'm curious at what DLF will do now the legacy characters are all gone. They can't keep revisiting the past, at some time they will have to move on past the ST.

 

It's a shame you can't afford Disney+ because The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett prominently featured your guy Luke -- and word is that he'll pop up again in the upcoming Ahsoka series next year.

 

For those paying attention, I already explained that I fell asleep during the first episode... and the flashbacks are what I remember most about the show.

So this I'll think harder - OK - The new kid is more Lloyd than Logan, I guess. The backstory stuff failed to hold my interest and that sucks because I thought Andor was perfectly cast in R.O. - 35 minutes into this series I was nodding off - very disappointing.... but, certainly not the end of the world. Maybe someone with more time and better software will produce a condensed version of the show in the future... I'd give that a shot.


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Just watched the Tano vs 6th Brother duel self imposed death sentence again & was immediately reminded of Maul vs Ben in the Dune Sea.

Its almost like the thing is to see how short they can make them last.

Not complaining, just saying....

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Also, that gritty saber sound is my new favorite.

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Last point: Master Luke grabbing Kylo Ren's lightsaber blade with his bare hand is the second greatest thing I never saw on film.

 

To me, the sequel trilogy is highly disposable. To say the least : it absolutely did not justify the total wiping of the EU that occurred.

Rebels was not so smart but it was intended for kids. Even younger was the spirit of Resistance. Definitely not for adults.

Per contra, Rogue One is a true a masterpiece, and following it, the live actions series about Mando, Boba, Obiwan and Andor are great things. It's delightful to dive deep into that galaxy far away, its planets, its inhabitants and their customs : seeing Mando deal "hand vs hand" with the Tuskens in S1 was great, oh my gosh! this people don't simply bark, agitating their stick over their head - no! they are fully able to communicate! And the Jawas who play hide-and-seek on the sandcrawler in the "Mudhorn" episode! And Kuill the Ugnaught! And IG-88 in full action! And a surprisingly wide Mos Espa! And Mon Mothma's painful family. And the destruction of the Saarlac with a sonar bomb. And green-babe, of course
These things were very exciting.
It was a great pleasure to be introduced to all of this.
We need more TOTJ, to know how did Yoda spend his time on Dagobah, how did Quinlan Vos escape from Tatooine (episode 1, The Fantom Menace) and also what is the story behind Sifo Dyas. And who are the Lost Twenty, whose busts adorn the Sacred Jedi Temple of Coruscant. Oh. And how and why a Jedi Temple Guard became the Great Inquisitor.......

To me, that is what D/LFL should have done : fill all those holes and gaps inside the existing story. There is enough room to tell numerous stories.


But you know.
It is really, really, I mean REALLY a great time to be a SW fan nowadays. No doubt.

 

Which begs the question, why opine nine weeks into a weekly show you gave up on early on?

Ah, NOW we know why you were bored with Andor.

 

Because I wanted to annoy all of the people who were waiting on the edge of their seat for muh opinions since the day the show began.

Akshually, I waited to begin because I was hoping to view the show in 3 installments at a time.

Derpy me; for thinking that waiting another week (to try again) would make a dif.

"Ah - yes, *wheeze* - NOW.... we do."​

 

Really....oh boy, this will sound lame....but now I know how the story ends I feel sad looking back at everyone. I can't even watch the PT or OT any more.

 

Thinking back to when I first heard the announcement, I'd say that I think the past decade has definitely been a net positive of content. I think it might be kind of interesting for me to journal my feelings over the years.

Spoiler: Pre-Acquisition

Pre-Acquisition
I grew up loving Star Wars. My dad brought me to the cinema re-releases in the late 90s, I got some of the toys from the Shadows of the Empire line, played games like Rogue Squadron and Battlefront all the time as a kid.

Then, I feel I kinda "outgrew" it in high school and college, which is when the Disney acquisition was announced. I thought that was interesting news, and I definitely planned on going to the new movies when the came out, but that was about it.

Spoiler: 2015

2015
I rented all six previous films the week before TFA, and my wife and I binged them. She'd never seen them before, and really liked the originals. Then, we went to the "midnight" (well, more like 7:00PM, since our theater does it early for some reason) release of TFA and it was just such an event- so many excited people, decorations, hype! The moment the "Long Ago..." blue text popped up, I WAS BACK! And we loved TFA!

Spoiler: 2016

2016
The months after that, we were so into Star Wars. We picked up Star Wars Imperial Assault and its expansions, playing the tactical dungeon crawler with our friends. A few months later in April of 2016, we got the Rebellion board game too- another instant favorite!

Later, on Halloween, my wife and dressed as Rey and Kylo, with our cat Bowie as Yoda and our frenchie Mikey as a tusken raider riding a bantha.

And Rogue One was another massive hit!

Spoiler: 2017

2017
We had Celebration streaming at our house for pretty much its entire runtime. We were so excited for the TLJ trailer, got really emotional over Mark's tribute to Carrie.

More expansions for Imperial Assault and Rebellion continued to release, and a new Battlefront was announced. In fact, I even got to see the Battlefront 2 booth at E3 in person that year!

Started collecting some Star Wars comics this year. My collection is far from complete, but I have quite a bit still.

I also got into Rebels this year. Really slept on the series for a while, but I got caught up just in time for the season 3 finale. One of my favorite series in Star Wars now.

I took two days off for TLJ (day of, and the day after). My idea was to party (just a little), play some Battlefront 2, then enjoy the film. And enjoy we did, we loved it!

Then, we got online and saw what the rest of the internet thought... while it didn't change our mind, it did somewhat mar the experience.

Spoiler: 2018

2018
Rebels finale was excellent. That much I can say.

Solo came out in May. Again, I really liked the film, but it was also kind of depressing too. Comparing our almost entirely empty theater on release night to the hypefest that had been TFA's release just felt sad.

Not much else really to say for Star Wars on this year.

Spoiler: 2019

2019
I remember taking lunch off and watching the TROS reveal. Definitely felt good to have something Star Wars-related to be excited about again.

I watched Resistance. Really don't have much to say about it- not because I think it was explicitly bad or anything, I just literally don't remember it well enough to talk about it.

Then having a Mando premier the same week as Fallen Order? Not quite the hype-level of TFA's release, but still... what a great week for our hobby! And I enjoyed them both!

Took just the day after TROS off this time. I walked out of this film so hyped! I remember thinking it was one of my favorites!
The feeling didn't last long. Not because of the internet this time. Just because the more I thought about it, the more I realized what I liked were just a small handful of scenes, surrounded by things I actively disliked.

The year had some strong points in it for me, and almost got my Star Wars hype up again... but ultimately, Episode IX killed all momentum again.

Spoiler: 2020

2020
Well, we got new Clone Wars. Didn't love that final season, but the last arc was great.

Got a big raise at work, and started collecting some more books and comics.

Then there's Mando S2. It was fine. Some great moments, some that felt terribly forced.

Spoiler: 2021

2021
The Bad Batch was, once again, fine. Didn't blow my mind, but it had some good moments.

Visions was cool, and the Halloween thing was fun. Neither were really my thing, but they were enjoyable for what they were.

I think maybe that's it for this year? Technically TBOBF started before they year's end, I guess, and I'll admit that first episode seemed promising.

Spoiler: 2022

2022
Aaaaannnnnddd.... we get the rest of TBoBF. A baffling show, to say the least. Not because it was all bad- far from it! But because of how much really good stuff was buried in an unnecessary and extremely weirdly paced frame story. We've been over this before, no need to draw it out.

Andor's pretty cool. I wasn't sold on it at first, but I'm liking it well now. Would love to see more Star Wars projects like this, maybe with just a bit more imagination.

Tales of the Jedi really surprised me. Would love to see more like that.

Oh, and after moving last year, I finally got some bookshelves to store my board games on again! Can't wait to play some Rebellion again soon, it's been too long!

I won't lie, the trajectory of the last decade has gone downhill, and even journaling it here has me kinda bummed out. But part of that is just how strong it started. What we're getting is still good- we just need to ramp up that momentum a bit again.