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

Nice personal review---but I have to ask: What exactly were you trying not to spoil??!?

 

Nothing- just trying to prevent a giant block of text taking up space on the page.

 

Rogue One is a masterpiece, Mandalorian/Boba Fett is good, everything else is poodoo.

 

So... R1 is a masterpiece, but you don't like Andor?

 

I'm bugged some by not being able to get films in the pipeline but overall been happy with them minus Rise of Skywalker and to a much lesser extent Solo. Last Jedi and Rogue One are top shelf for me.

Other than Resistance I've been even happier with the television side. Andor and Mandalorian so far so fantastic. Mando has a couple of episodes I don't love but those are tolerable, even decent.

Rebels has some of the best Star Wars (and some meh for sure but more consistent than Clone Wars with similar highs). Bad Batch was surprisingly enjoyable.
Obi-wan for me is quite good, mostly hurt by the back to back Leia rescues, could have used some tightening up but comes through with it's fair share of awesome.

Visions not my jam exactly but interesting some really cool.
Loved some of Boba, mid on some but like it overall. It had the old Saturday Night Live great skits that ran out of steam factor. Like they never figured out an actual middle of a story so they borrowed some very good Mandalorian episodes to hold it over.

I'm pretty happy looking back but a bit disconcerted about a feeling of being rudderless on the film front going forward that has been an issue the whole way but now has become a major drag on all productions.

Luckily, the TV side is pretty strong and keeps Star Wars going and vibrant while hopefully film gets its head on.

 

I was being a bit exaggerated/humorous, but… yeah, kinda. Andor isn’t terrible, but so far it is kind of a “meh” from me. It’s one of those projects that tacks on unnecessary side adventures rather than adding to the existing story.

 

I remember how hyped I was... Episode VII announcement, trailers and cinema experience was surreal... altough a bit lacking, as it had different atmosphere from Lucas and I had some gripes about First Order aesthethics and lack of some worldbuilding (piecing and guessing stuff based on discontinued EU), I was hyped still about anthology movies and more Episodes in the series, that will definitely expand on Episode VII back then and surprise me with new stuff.
What angered me from the start was cancelation of Clone Wars and introducing Rebels, even tho the second season and the latter ones with Thrawn were actually a lot better and quite good. But I hated Lothal and the limited production quality with passion back then.

Now, seven years later since E/7, I can look back and say, that as a fan, I love and dislike some things.

The love part:
- Canon - everything is canon now and I was actually happy about cancelling the EU.
- I have liked most of the Disney production.
- Kathleen Kenedy is hated for wrong reasons, so far, she brought a lot of talent like Favreau, Filoni, Gilroy, Johnson (I am probably in minority here).
- Yes, I do love Episode VIII, it was the best original SW movie I have seen in Cinema since Disney brought Lucasfilm.
- Rogue One was good and fun!
- I was actually surprised after reading first three books in High Republic era, as they are actually fun.

Before I go into hate, I have to say, that Lucasfilm fell into the universe trap that broke a lot of other studios and other practices, that unfortunately hurt a lot of project
and many of the things I don't like are direct result, the hate:
- hasty production instead of taking time.
- announcing every fart from executive table before actual production is scheduled, talents hired and starts.
- weird business choices, like cancelling the anthology movies for taking advantage from Disney Plus

The hate part:
- recycled designs from Ralph McQuarrie plus updating familiar old ones, to play it safe, instead of being more brave
- the whole Episode IX - even tho I have loved Dark Empire as a kid, you expect more from a movie than a cheesy comic book.
Ep. IX.1 instead of taking more time after Carrie Fisher left us, to honor her legacy and rewrite script, they had to push to get that slot and make the money in time.
Ep. IX.2 this resulted in poor design quality like recycling Rogue One Star Destroyers and adding canons on them and other elements in the movie not really making sense towards what came before or to each other! Not to mention that the battle at the end of the movie with starfighters was probably the worse in Star Wars saga.
The whole movie as an end to the whole Skywalker saga is like a slap to my face. At least the cinematography is superb for the most part, so it is nice to look at.
- Solo felt like an unnecesary movie, when you have a lot more interesting stories to tell.
- Obi-wan - it is clear that the move from movie to show format had some issues. There are dubious production choices and it feels like fan movie at times - cheap and jarring things like ship models and movements. The overall quality going down from Episode 3 forward.
- all the saga movies having continuity gaps, that you have to explore through other media, which makes my initial excitement for everything canon a bit colder now.
- Somehow, all the projects with legacy characters have some issues.
- Star Wars Resistance... the artstyle was great, but the whole premise, stories and characters - I did forget about the show totally and I guess it's not even on Disney Plus!
- Missing Gallery episodes for Mandalorian on European Disney Plus.

But as a fan, I have never felt that Disney era destroyed my childhood. I am greatful for so much of a new and quality content.
The biggest flops that I have trouble with for me are Episode 9, that kinda killed the sequels for me and Obi-Wan series.
But, I enjoy Mandalorian and the kickstarted shared universe in shows after Episode 6 and I am a fan of Dave Filoni's work. Them ressurecting Clone Wars and bringing in Bad Batch as a sequel with other cool things, like Andor. I have something to look forward.
Tales Of The Jedi was fun content and I did enjoy Visions a lot.

So my feelings are good towards the Disney era in general, albeit a bit sour because of Sequels and what happened.
You can see such fails happening in companies, oriented towards fast profit, but I would expect such a franchise to take more caution and love.
Damage was done.
I still watch all nine movies on marathons as I take the canon with all there is and thus I am thorn like Kylo Ren. After the saga ended before I was born and then growing up on prequels and Thrawn Trilogy, I am happy for extra stuff and that the Universe expands.

So I am feeling positive and I really hope, that there will be again some huge movie series happening in the future, so I can experience Star Wars in cinema!
With new characters, new designs and new stories that will excite me for the unknown.

The last bit I want to share... I don't understand the hate on Kathleen Kenedy. George Lucas brought her in and with such fans and nerds like George Lucas alumni Dave Filoni or Jon Favreau, the franchise is actually in good hands. It must be a tough position to be in and seriously, she has my gratitude on being at the helm of Lucasfilm, also with her past quality resume.
There were some hickups, sure, but majority of Lucasfilm production after GL departure is awesome.
Haters gonna hate

 

To be perfectly honest, I think it would be, overall, better.

Dark Horse would still be drawing and writing awesome comics instead of low-cost Marvel. (Blegh.) Because of that change in particular I virtually never buy comics anymore.

The Sequel Trilogy... do I even have to say it?!?

EA wouldn't be mishandling the videogame scene, I'm very certain, and we would simply HAVE MORE STAR WARS GAMES. Period.

I will confess that I have liked Rogue One, Rebels, Solo (it grew on me, and while it starts slow it does get there), and these series that have been coming out. The Resistance cartoon is crap.

The only thing saving Star Wars is Filoni and John Favreau. Without them and those working for them to promote their ideas we'd be skrewed. We're looking at you, Kathleen Kennedy...

We did get some gems but that's largely because we got LOUD. 'Nuff said.

 

That's some pretty spectacular saving is you asked me.

 

Yes.

In the name of Alderaan, I miss shooting the Star Wars bantha poo doo with Jan D. / Johnny-O & Randy. Those three (along w/ Omar Francia) are all cut from the same cloth as Filoni & Fav's.... The average fan has no idea how much of an impact Dark Horse had regarding the prequels.

The new Marvel stuff was so underwhelming that I stopped collecting all together and gave my SW-comics away to an autistic boy who luvs him sum Star Wars. So it all worked out well in the end.

 

I knew it wasn't just me. Dark Horse was... magnificent. And the DH Legacy series with Cade Skywalker was a BLAST. I love me some Darth Talon...

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 8, 2023, Original Post Date: Feb 8, 2023 ---

True enough. Those guys are like the Prophets of the Force.

 

Republic, Tales, Legacy & Legacy: War are the absolute pinnacle of Star Wars off-screen storytelling in 64 page form.

LIKE, ITS NOT EVEN HARD TO WRITE 4 GOATS IN ONE SENTENCE, SO I'LL STOP SCREAMING AND KEEP IT SHORT.

could PEN a novel covering Republic's contribution to the SAGA and Tales provided some of the finest Old Republic lore which in turn led us all to Bioware's Epic then Bane & Zannah's Trilogy. All of which led to mmo - ToR, but I digress. Legacy & Legacy: War - were in a word, brilliant. {My choice for the ST material, but my last name isn't Mouse.} Before I found out that Rey was the daughter of Palpatine's lab created progeny.... she sort of reminded me of Ania Solo at first, then the end of TFA broke said connection and here I am digressing again.

*Almost 5 GOATS - John Jackson Miller crushed it with Zayne Carrick & co, but I never chatted with him enough to learn the same amount of behind the scenes detail.

 

it seems like you have a nuanced perspective on the Disney era of Star Wars, recognizing both its strengths and limitations. It will be interesting to see where the franchise goes in the next ten years and whether Disney will be able to meet your expectations for more originality and creativity.

 

The public loves to TALK about wanting 'more originality' and creativity,' but more often than not, their ACTIONS (i.e.pocketbooks) say otherwise. If it's orignality that we crave so much, why do we flock to sequel after sequel of hit films?

 

Well, if Disney haven't bought Star Wars, there be no BB8, Porgs, Do, Grogu, The Mandalorian, Andor, BD-1 and Boba Fett's own series (it not great to some people).

 

Its ironic. They hope to capture the essence of an "original" and transfer it to a sequel.

 

If Disney haven't bought Star Wars, there be no BB8, Porgs, D0, Grogu, The Mandalorian, Andor, BD-1 and Boba Fett's own new series. I become Star Wars fan on Disney's owned Star Wars, but before I did enjoyed Star Wars, played two games on PC and Playstation, like Starkiller and own few lightsabers and few Star Wars.

 

Update for 2023 so far- a few weeks after the post I'm quoting, we had our first son.

He loves The Mandalorian. He has all sorts of Baby Yoda stuff, and he is enthralled by Young Jedi Adventures. He's hung out with my when I play Jedi Survivor.

Feeling pretty good about Star Wars right now.