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

@cawatrooper I totally share your sentiment and feeling, it's a blast to be fan.
And also, I share that internet experience. This is probably the only place where I am going to discuss Star Wars, where we can be critical to things we don't like, nitpicking, sharing our voices and I really enjoy being a Star Wars fan and being happy to hang around with all of you.
But going to youtube, facebook and other social media, the vitriol is incredible... Yeah, we all know that Episode IX as a finale to 9 part epic was a bit underwhelming, but it's almost 4 years after and everyone and anyone on the internet takes every chance under almost every SW related post, to remind you that sequel trilogy sucks, your are in idiot for liking it, not a fan, fire Kathleen Kennedy, blah blah blah and it indeed kinda leaves sour taste in your mouth...
More so, when studios look at these vocal people and because their mission is to cash in on their properties and make money and this might affect any future works.
I think that everything Disney did until The Rise Of Skywalker, was good, even tho Solo was OK, it wasn't a bad film by any chance...
They probably played it safe with TROS because of the TLJ backlash and it was even worse...
TLJ was mindblowing for me, because none of the expectations came through and hence it felt fresh and I remember seeing it with my younger brother, 15 at the time, who sat during the end credits and told me: "Man, I am shaking from how good it was." And his response on TROS was quite lukewarm, as we both expected more from the finale after TLJ. Then came the shaky ground with Book Of Boba Fett feeling disjointed, Obi-wan having some quality issues, Mandalorian S3 feels disjointed even more than Boba Fett and if it wasn't for Andor, that was superb and brought me back the feeling of the previous Disney works, the sense of epic scale and not questioning behind the scenes and just really focus on the story, I don't know... Might have been covid related issues as well, right now, people almost forgot about covid, myself included, living the old pre-covid life like nothing happened... But being on lockdowns for almost two years, productions halted, projects postponed... huge depression that left mark on many people mentally.

I really hope for Ahsoka to be unquestionably good! I can't even think that it wouldn't, but if it turns south, I wonder what's happening behind the scenes for the last 5 years.

 

Something has happened over the last 10 years (it's not just one thing) that has mixed up pop culture/entertainment/politics into a mess soup on the internet and it's clear to me that a portion of modern society isn't coping well. Meanwhile an entire industry has been monetized to feed people full of deranged ideas. I see it in every facet of life. People believe strange things about all kinds of topics and most of it is coming from the internet. I hope people can wake up soon because the discourse is ruining everything.

 

Sadly, I've seen A LOT of areas within our society where the quality of the product/service has significantly diminished over the years. But IMO TV entertainment is not one of them In fact, i would call the times we're currently living through as 'a Golden Age' of Television.

The fact that Disney+'s SW shows have received the kind of criticism that used to be reserved for mega-budget threatrical releases highlights just how far TV productions have grown from the old days of network TV.

 

You can thank HBO and Game of Thrones for that; Netflix shows are mostly trash... ( I was so excited for Cowboy-Bebop live action on Netflix. I could not finish the series... one day I will... mostly because a certain character shows up in the final episode) ...some good shows on Netflix, but mostly throw aways... For me, I've enjoyed all of the Disney+ Star Wars shows including the Book of Boba Fett. I have the Boba Fett trilogy of novels and I've been collecting Boba Fett comicbooks from Dark Horse and Marvel, so it was great to see how the character escaped the Sarlacc pit and evolved over time. I believe if one wanted to see a seasoned Boba Fett they should hired a younger actor and set the time period between ANH & Empire... Temuera Morrison is an old man and he got in good shape for the series. The only thing I dislike is how Morrison is now agreeing with the fans that the series is awful. I don't think we're ever gonna see Morrison in another Star Wars project for very long time... so maybe he is butt hurt.

 

Did that actually happen? I saw some out of context quotes spread by the outrage merchants so I'm not sure it's legitimate.

 

I hope you're right, ( @DailyPlunge outrage merchants... HAHA I'm gonna use that) because LFL brought him back, and he was initially excited for the role. Star Wars celebration 2022 Morrison sang a song... it felt like an apology to fans for negative reception to TBOBF. You can hear it in his voice... I gotta find it and post it here.

Fans were calling Tem: Boba FAT... HAHA...

...sadly he sang the song, DRIFT AWAY by Dobie Gray... some Star Wars fans can be a cruel lot, Boba Fett has drifted away... isn't it a shame ( listen to the lyrics, he chose to sing this song for a reason).

I love his war-cry at the end...

 

I hope that Morrison isn't doing that. Aside from those two Mandalorian episodes, I found "Boba Fett" tolerable.

However, I still wish that George Lucas had never sold Lucasfilm to Disney.

 

After the prequels I had quit consuming anything related to Star Wars. The sequels warts and all were more entertaining and better made than the prequels. The prequels did a better job on the world building side, but while I haven't loved everything since Disney took over there's been so much fantastic content I don't have any complaints. People need to be better at letting go of the stuff they don't like and enjoy what they can. Also, a wise way to get through life.

 

The "golden age" for TV actually ended in the 2010s. At least after the official definition.

The current age of "streaming wars" has its benefits, but I really miss the TV shows of the 2000s.

IMO shows had a much more fun marketing back then. I have to think about Dexter for example. Every season had these promos and skits which where only filmed for marketing purpose. Then shows like Dexter had these special events - Anniversary events and such things.

There are reasons why alot of shows - which are considered to be the best shows ever - are all created in this time period. Every new episode was an event which you shared with friends and family.

Yes, today shows are much better produced and have a much better quality, but IMO they also feel more unpersonal. At least alot of shows these days have this "throw-away" vibe. You binge a show and forget about it in the next couple of weeks.

Sorry about this little rant. There are obviously a lot of great shows these days as well.


Back to the actual topic- I'm actually quite excited about Disney's plan for future Star Wars movies. Now they have a lot of experience to draw from.

 

THIS!!! ^^^^^

 

Yep. Also the streaming services found out that the streaming model of paying fee and getting everything all at once hurts their staying power, so they've adopted the TV practice of releasing shows weekly and the catalogue also doesn't stay, so it pushes you to check all the time on what is currently on.

And while the production shifted immensely from the 90s childhood, watching all this adventure fantasy shows shot in forest areas, the writing and dramaturgy can save or kill the show and the trend of adapting trends (ha, weird) got even faster... Take Willow for example, I think it's breaking point was to push the original more to modern audiences liking, exactly as 40ish/50ish writer would. It might sound like old man talking, but I have a feeling, that there are less original creators, who don't give a damn and are that IT in their time and more creators who try to cater to the target audience as hard as they can (have you seen this s**t on Tik Tok, Instagram or behind that house, we have to get it in!).
I am quite happy, that Disney at least sticks with their backcatalogue (except for total dissasters, like Willow) and keeps all SW and Disney in.
A can also applaud them for making each season of their shows so far, except for Andor obviously, to be self contained stories, so you don't start to watch multi-season show like 1899, to find out that it was canned suddenly, which is Netflix's modus operandi.

But to say we are in golden age... I am not sure, most of the productions are lacking. We just got to an age, where we can see anything on TV, because they can. The technology got better and cheaper, hence they could've brought the likes of Flash and other super heroes on the screen and while not movie grade, some of the tricks and scenes where the budget was poured in, were pretty much impressive in comparison to back then fairly recent show Smallville that looked laughable even in it's time (and few seasons in, Flash was killed by abysmal writing).
But again, if the story sucks, actors are fed bad lines and most of the acting crew is subpar, it doesn't matter how great it looks.
See Rings Of Power, awesome looking, fine cast, but the dialogues and overall story, it could be better and the lines are rubbish most of the time... and once you release something like that, it can not be undone.

I can see why there is such pressure on Disney shows, because Disney can pour tons of money into their IPs and is one of the industry behemoths, so people expect great things and are overly critical when something doesn't add up.
What was going on behind Boba Fett and Mandalorian Season 3 is something, I would like to read on someday and hear the story, because something had to happen after two seasons of Mandalorian, as the team is the same. Don't need such a thing for Obi-Wan as that clearly lacked in funds for the VFX at times and storyboards were probably done in opium dens in some of the scenes – I guess the shift from movie to the show is to blame for a bit as well.
Because in the end, if anyone ever worked in a corporation, with all the BS and drama inside, Disney is pretty much a corporation like any other, with all it's ups and downs. When they fail, it's super noticeable tho.
They still fare better than Warner Bros... They've opened the business pandora's box with Game Of Thrones just to set themselves and in the end the other copycats, to fail miserably.
Which is a second thing next to the original idea makers – when the studio pushes you into trends and executive forces are meddling with your original idea with business demands. This might turn out great, when you have desperate pro's and craftsmen in the mix and things like Batman Beyond turn up (show that nobody wanted on paper, but it is a cult classic today), but that's a rare occasion as it mostly fails in both movies and shows.
Star Wars has the advantage of being in it's own world, with it's own rules and pretty much it's look, so it's seems it's hard to screw up in that regard, but the more important the story is.

 

The thing with Temuera Morrison is, that I have no idea when he is joking and when he is serious
Sure, he might have a moment or two ala Mark Hamill in a more personal space and voice his opinion, but so far, he was always happy and supportive for the franchise. While some people might read too deep into his public appearances, when I saw him interact with fans on Celebration, and I just thought that he was himself and enjoyed the time, without any hidden connotations.

Same with his statement about not being in Mandalorian Season 3, I wouldn't be surprised, if he just made one of his tongue in cheek jokes as he often does.
While many people around the internet take it as a fact, that Season 3 was heavily re-written and Boba Fett cut because of his remark.
But something indeed had to happen. They had loooong time to make and postpro Season 3 thanks to covid and interlude it with TBOBF and that also had to be planned during the preproduction of S2, as they pulled off the aftercredits scene, but Season 3 was kinda all over the place in comparison to the previous ones.
But who knows.

 

Better than I did a few years ago, not nearly as good as I felt in the first 4-5 years. Lucasfilm has made some (General) grievous mistakes, but they've made some phenomenal products and progress as well. They've burnt bridges and built new ones. They've lived and learned, as one - both an individual and a company - does. I can't complain I guess, but I've grown FAR less tolerant of what I take in. I'm not longer buying every book and comic and reading every piece about canon. I take it as it comes, and if I like it, I like it. If I don't, I don't.

My old views of Star Wars were wrong, and the unmet expectations I placed on the franchise are on me. But at the same time...if Star Wars wanted to be more...if Star Wars WANTS to be more, then it needs to earn it, and right now it isn't doing that IMO. It's trying, but it's not enough, not right now. Maybe I'm just getting older and jaded, but that's how I feel. Either way, I've enjoyed the last three Star Wars things I've consumed (Visions S2, Jedi: Survivor, Brotherhood), so I'm content. Besides, it's not like I don't have other things to keep me busy. Between movie and book releases, new recipes, catching up on shows and trying new ones, and other video games I own, I've got a lot to look forward to.

Star Wars was here before I was born, and I suspect it'll be here for a long time yet.

 

That's a wise way of approaching it!!! ^^^^

Anything beyond a one-shot movie or book is bound to disappoint somewhere along the line. And in a society that expects 'more of the same' from its entertainment, some letdowns along the way are a given.

I smile when I think about the passionate fanbase that pushed the original Highlander movie on to a series of movies and a long-running TV show. After a lot of fan hoopla surrounding the release of the first movie, the producers rushed out a sequel: The Quickening. The film was arguably One of The Worst of All Time and destroyed the original's world-building with a bizarre, 'aliens' storyline. Fans trashed it and dubbed it "The Sickening."

But then --- to their credit, fans universally acted like the sequel never existed and called for a Do-Over. Given a second chance, the franchise followed the fans lead and also acted like the sequel they'd released never existed. The franchise went on from there to create some really fun stuff, particularly from the TV series.

The moral of the story. One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole batch---unless you let it.