So, Star Wars is apparently ‘dead’, at least according to some fans.
First of all, I think it’s crazy to say Star Wars is ‘dead’. It’s not. The franchise is still one of the biggest in entertainment, and there’s no shortage of new content. Fandom called Star Wars its biggest franchise of 2023. People have been saying the franchise is dying for 20 years since George Lucas supposedly killed it. Star Wars is still here. There are problems, but they’re being blown out of proportion quite frankly.
So where are the most extreme opinions coming from? From doing my research I’ve boiled it down to 2 reasons – firstly, some fans think the writers and actors show a lack of respect for Star Wars tradition and established rules. Secondly (and in my opinion less rationally), some fans think it’s become too woke.
Is there a lack of respect for the characters? Maybe. Having Ki-Adi-Mundi in the latest episode of The Acolyte probably doesn’t help their case (even though Legends isn’t strictly canon). Rian Johnson’s portrayal of Luke probably doesn’t help the case either. The issue isn’t that no one understands the characters, they’re not hard to get. The issue is there is only so much you can do with Luke and Anakin. To avoid telling the same story again the execs have had to add new elements to these characters and that’s clearly making people angry. I think the fanbase and the executives just need to let them go, these characters have had full arcs and stories, just let them be. Otherwise, you end up having Indiana Jones 5 with an 80-year-old Harrison Ford still trying to be an action hero and run around with no shirt on (no offence dude but no one needs to see that). As for the rules of the franchise? At best, they’re up for debate, the Force has been defined in a million different ways and there’s no right answer.
Is Star Wars too woke? No. It’s just that the supposedly ‘woke’ characters are written poorly. Star Wars has always had diversity, fans are just mad that the new characters suck. Padme is a female politician and former head of state, she has unwavering faith in democracy and can take care of herself. She’s fucking awesome. Mace Windu and Lando are fan favourites. Including diversity isn’t the problem. Some fans need to start realising that it’s not wokeness that they have a problem with. You aren’t mad that the force witch is a lesbian, you’re annoyed that she can get pregnant through the force and that makes no sense. Nobody threw a fit when they made Loki bisexual, and that’s because he’s a well-written character.
Star Wars isn’t dead, it’s stuck. What the franchise really needs is direction, it needs a Kevin Feige, a figurehead who keeps everything ticking and going in a unified direction (Kathleen Kennedy isn’t really doing that). Disney hasn’t found that special someone yet. We can’t keep referencing the Skywalkers in increasingly boring ways. We need new stories, which lead to something interesting, so they feel impactful. Take a page out of Marvel’s book, they knew when to let Tony Stark go. It may not be going as well as they had hoped it would, but at least they’re trying to move on without him.
So, stop overreacting. Star Wars isn’t dead, it’s not too woke, stop fixating on confusing rules from Legends (that isn’t canon) and the Skywalker saga (which we should’ve left behind 2 decades ago). Star Wars isn’t going anywhere, and that’s the problem.
p.s. Star Wars games? Those are dead. We’ve gone from EA to Ubisoft, I’ll see you all at the funeral.