In Some Corporate Offices Far, Far Away…
Every fan remembers the first time they watched Star Wars, myself included.
With stars in our eyes, a childlike wonder for infinite space ignited with the boom of the opening credits scene. Accompanied by the epic soundtracks of John Williams, a golden title sequence blazed across the screen, and just like that, we were hooked—lifelong Star Wars fans were born. This was the moment that sci-fi fans found a new hope in the Force. What we didn’t realize then was that George Lucas, the director of the original six films and movie-making mogul, originally set out into the lands far, far away as… A cash-grab.
That’s right, our favorite nostalgic, space movies from our childhood were originally created for the sake of monetization and toy sales. According to Medium’s culture journalist Vargas Salvatierra, “George Lucas’ main objective was to entertain and inspire children in the same way he was by those Flash Gordon serials as a kid. [Star Wars] was clearly aimed at being nothing but fun entertainment for children and a vehicle for selling toys.” Because of this, the films were saturated with cool laser swords, space wizards, funny-looking aliens, and totally rad spacecrafts that would undoubtedly lead to merchandise sales post-release. At the same time, Lucas also imbibed the movies with his quirky sense of artistry and humor, which gave them much of the charm that we still revere to this day.
However, because of its raging fiscal success, the Star Wars movies were watched not only by starstruck audiences and jedi-lovers, but by the familiar corporate empire we call, “Disney.” The release of Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith prompted corporate America to find a new way to squeeze every last penny out of this beloved universe, without Lucas’ involvement. With Disney as the Death Star and greed to fuel it, the downfall of the franchise began.
Ron Seoul-Oh, a journalist for The Ringer, says “Nothing in pop culture is evergreen… Star Wars, once considered an invulnerable franchise, has seen its Force powers weakened.” Following in the footsteps of the impetuously assembled Marvelverse, Disney gripped the Star Wars franchise and used the Force to squeeze every last penny out of this universe. Predictably, this has weakened the already unstable relationship between audiences and filmmakers with the passing of the torch, leaving original fans with a bad taste in their mouths—as well as souring the six days, 22 hours, and 36 minutes of content they feel obliged to watch.
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This IS NOT the Way
The original three Star Wars movies were epic, groundbreaking, and captivating and inspired a generation of sci-fi nerds to fall back in love with space. And it's no surprise that decades later, when the prequel trilogy came out, fans were motivated to sprint back into the arms of the Jedi order. But since Disney purchased the franchise in 2012, the magic of it all has puttered out. Why? As a lifelong Star Wars fan myself, I can confidently say it’s because it's all just too much. The “multiverse” feel of the infinite storylines of the galaxy has stolen the nuance and charm from the originals. Like a glutinous vampire sucking the life out of its latest victim, Disney effectively turned Star Wars into a husk of its former glory.
While the corporation set their sights on Star Wars for similar reasons as George Lucas, new releases lack the magic and intrigue of the original movies. As Salvatierra says, “Disney completely misses the point.” Granted, the amazing costume design, impressive set builds, and Star Wars lore remain, but the stories are flimsy copycats of the old movies and each new release requires intensive study of some other random spinoff to understand the plot. Salvatierra continues, “the action scenes were flashy and the characters were charming, but ultimately [the new] movie doesn’t offer a new creative vision, rather it was purely a nostalgic shadow of the past.”
“There's one thing that most people didn’t like [about Disney’s Star Wars], and that was the plot,” says long-time Star Wars fan and blogger, Nathaniel Perez Hernandez. “Disney had a chance to create a great start to the new Star Wars trilogy but instead made a lazy and unoriginal start.” Unsurprisingly, audiences prefer stories that actually tell a story.
Since Disney’s acquisition, they have released five movies and nine Star Wars related TV shows (401 episodes of content). While a surplus of quantity isn’t always a problem in storytelling—as we’ve seen in ridiculously long TV shows like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones—Disney was only able to churn these releases in rapid succession by sacrificing the quality. Grasping at whatever straws remain of the original idea and counting on the seemingly endless devotion of the Star Wars fandom. Disney has completely oversaturated the market, smothering fans with too much of a mediocre thing. Because of this, we’ve now seen 406 mildly different, watered-down versions of the exact same storylines that once captivated us in our childhood.
On top of that, Disney has attempted to maintain the childlike charm of the original films, while introducing half-baked, dramatic, political, or adult themes, thus ruining the fun and the lightheartedness of the original movies. Salvatierra says, “the point of Star Wars was to make money, to make money by entertaining children and selling toys, toys based on weird aliens, strange vehicles and cool weapons… Lucas’ movies weren’t trying to be serious political dramas, they were meant to be fun content for children.”
Perhaps the reason the original six movies were so special and so supremely rewatchable wasn't because they were Star Wars related, but because there was a certain level of intergalactic scarcity and originality that made them exceptional.
Crumbling Mouse House
Star Wars is the fourth-most valuable media franchise of all time, so it’s no surprise that Disney wants to keep it that way. However, oversaturating the market by making more movies isn’t the continuation their fandom was looking for. Wonderfully nostalgic stories don’t need a remake or a reboot in the eyes of fans, which is why franchises like Lord of the Rings are so timeless and heartwarming. Like the Marvel movies, where each new Star Wars release complicates an already nonlinear, complex, and laborious universe, putting them on a precipice of money-making obsolescence.
Viewers may have become morbidly curious about the Frankensteinian concoctions that are afoot in the Disney movie-labs, but there’s nothing new or creative wowing us anymore. The Star Wars stories are tired, give it a rest. Disney needs to stop ripping off the movies of the past, forge some original takes, and tackle creative risks that may elevate the franchise instead of diluting it.
New-age Star Wars may be creatively bankrupt, but at least we’ll always have the Lucas-era films to warm our passenger seat on the Millennium Falcon. And for devout fans of the original movies, that’s more than enough.
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