Is The Force falling behind?

It's not a matter of the Force falling behind, but the market is bigger now. There are more options for the nerd community which has now also expanded into "pop culture" thanks to other media, the MCU being a big part of that.
I'm 30. In high school, this was nerd stuff. The guys I played football with didn't read comics or watch Star Wars like I did. They didn't get giddy when Nick Fury shows up in Iron Man or Cap's shield is used to level Tony's particle accelerator thing. Now? Those same people are discussing the significance of the Soul Stone and what it means going forward and never miss a MCU opening night.

If this edition of Star Wars isn't your thing, you have the MCU, DC movies, Transformers, Fox superheroes, Sony superheroes, all the content from streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, the CW shows, Fox and FX have shows...this is the golden age of nerd culture. You don't have to just accept this one thing anymore. You have options.

Besides all that, IMO, if you are watching Star Wars for wicked awesome Force powers, you are kind of watching for the wrong reasons. You will get them but they've always been more in the background than the star. In superhero movies they are kind of the star or at least more inherently tied to the actual characters than what the Force is to Star Wars characters (ex Luke isn't defined by his force powers but rather his refusal to give into the emotions like fear, anger and hate; Caps powers are what make him who he is)

 

The irony is that the prequels were more focused on the powers of what a Jedi/Sith can do vs the emotions (the OT) of one. I think there are people that don't understand what Luke did was something that no other FORCE USER has done before.

 

this x1000. the heart of Star Wars is not magical power.

i would argue that's also true of the original superhero media (comic books), but i could likewise also argue that it's new superhero media that has actually lost its way (and for a long time now). is it ruining the curve for Star Wars? maybe for younger audiences? it's definitely an interesting question. i'm personally burnt out on superhero movies. the powers bore me and the special effects aren't so special at this point. i'll take something with more restraint any day of the week.

 

it's an interesting topic @Flyboy, and perhaps impossible for us obsessive star wars fans to answer.

there have been many a fan over the years calling for Luke Skywalker to pull Star Destroyers down from the sky.. and then there are fans screaming that a new force user shouldn't be able to move rocks so quickly. we're a broad bunch to say the least lol.

whether you like the MCU or not, it's unquestionably having a huge impact on cinema right now.
i want LF to challenge me with new Star Wars content. I don't need jedi performing like marvel super heroes, but that's just me.

whatever they do and whatever direction they go in.. the saga is still the solid base for it all, and i don't expect them to go nuts with force powers.

 

we may well be in the minority on this, i agree, but i also don't worry about what the rest of the world thinks. so long as LFL is staying the course (and they appear to be, generally ~ dark sabers and calisthenics in Rebels notwithstanding), we'll be okay. if they do start pulling down star destroyers for no genuinely narrative good reason except to make increasingly crazy Force powers that leave established characters in the dust, as @Maximus said, then we may be in trouble.

but i honestly think LFL is holding its own right now. it knows that its priority should be working to tell good stories, not keeping up with the Jones. whether they are succeeding may be a point of division for the fandom right now, but i don't think the use or abuse of Force powers is a significant part of that discourse except in the age-old Mary-Gary Sue That's Not How the Force Works sort of way that it's always been. i.e. i've yet to hear broad Marvel power/Star Wars Force comparisons as a point of denigration against Star Wars.

 

Sooooo Thanos is Darth Bane?