Could Star Wars Be saved?

Without getting toooo off topic into political stuff here, we ALL know what is wrong with lucas film these days. After the Last Jedi, it all fell apart and never recovered. Adding to this, cheap Disney plus shows pushed out fast to fill out the platform and star wars is basically now a dead brand.

But, is it too late to be saved?

The Sequel Trilogy COULD have been amazing. You had a great leading lady in Rey. You had an amazing Plot point with Fin, a storm trooper who over comes his brainwashed training and retreats to the hero side. What they where missing was a plan, in their rush to get things out, and people who knew what ho w to produce good movies.

What I would have done. Fin is the hero and leader of the trilogy. The Force Speaks to him (hence, Force Awakens), and he realizes heā€™s been betrayed by the Empire and is on the wrong side, after we follow him for a bit doing loads of evil deeds. After he refuses to do one thing (like, say, mass murder)ā€¦he finally breaks free, realizes he has the force, and seeks out Luke.

Luke is training jedi at his academy, and here, we are introduced to Rey. There is no Ben Solo, but there IS Jacen, Jaina and Anakin. Jacen is starting to go toward the dark side, and tempts rey to join him, as she doesā€¦during Fins training. the First movie would show the bond between Rey and Fin, and eventual romance forming. It would also show Jacenā€™s fall to the dark side, and the slow temptation of rey. Firs movie ends with an ominous feeling and Jacen and Rey fleeing to the empire.

Second Movie shows Jaina and Anakin taking over Finā€™s training, as they go on missions to try and track down the missing Jedi, now turned Sith. With the help of the Sith, the Empire Remnant is resurging. and that is a problem for the new republic, who is starting to suffer defeat after defeat, with many systems fleeing to the Empire out of fear. Fin manages to find Rey, and after a huge fight, gets her to see the light again, and brings her back to the Jedi. Jacen isnā€™t so lucky, and stays with the Empire. End Movie 2.

Movie 3 - the Final Confrontation. Jaina and Fin go after Jacen. the entire movie is a chase, with one battle after another. culminating on a fight over the Skyscrapers of Coruscant, still in the hands of the Empire. Once the Republic finds out where they are, they mount a massive campaign to free Coruscant, and take down the Sith once and for all.

THAT too me, would have been a fine sequel trilogy. IT doesnā€™t repeat the EU. It doesnā€™t destroy the legacy characters (who would be in it with major supporting roles). it doesnā€™t retread old ground. At the end, I would have introduced that whole planet of Sith as a end credit teaser. the good guys donā€™t know they are out there yet, but they are coming.

Now, Rebels gave us an out to re do the sequel trilogy right. that time and space force realm. And now is the time to do it, unless star wars dies forever.

what would you do to save star wars and return it to glory?

2 Likes

Thereā€™s no need to ā€œsaveā€ Star Wars, itā€™s doing just fine.

I donā€™t like the fact that Luke, Han, and Leia were killed off (in the case of Leia, they didnā€™t have much choice). I do not agree with the whole kill the past to bring in the future philosophy.

With that said, the Disney-produced shows have been good. Mandalorian is great. Obi Wan was fun and enteraining. Boba Fettā€™s biggest issue was it was basically a season of Mandolorian instead of showcasing Boba Fett. I havenā€™t watched Andor yet. Iā€™m saving that one to binge over the holidays, but Iā€™ve heard good things.

Star Wars is a huge universe, between the movies, the D+ shows, the comics, the novels, and even the fanfiction, there is a massive amount of content out there. This is not a fandom or a franchise thatā€™s in need of saving. Thereā€™s something out there to feed every type of fan.

7 Likes

Sameā€¦I donā€™t think Star Wars needs to be saved, as it were. Thereā€™s more SW now than ever! Some of it better than others, and I dunno if Iā€™m ever going to get ā€œcaught upā€ on it entirely, but I enjoy it. The sequel trilogy wasnā€™t my faveā€¦though I do love BB-8, Poe, Rey, and Finnā€¦yet I still own the blurays.

Not everything a franchise does is going to be a hit (giggles in Star Trek), but Iā€™ll take what I like, pass on what I donā€™t, and be happy that a long-time sci-fi institution still gets people excited!

4 Likes

image
Granted it was a philosophy espoused by the villain, so Iā€™d take it with a grain of salt

No, I meant the production idea that the only way to give the franchise a future was to kill off the original characters. There were any number of ways to phase Han, Luke, and Leia out without killing them off. For whatever reason, the production chose the ā€œkill our childhoodsā€ route.

But like I said, the current content is good. Itā€™s entertaining, which is the most I ask from a franchise like Star Wars. And if you donā€™t enjoy one part, there are plenty of other bits and bobs out there.

1 Like

Yeah I get it, though I remember a bit where Han was spared in the original trilogy because they didnā€™t think there would be a market for ā€œdead Hanā€ action figures.

2 Likes

Yes, this! Iā€™m always so worried when I see a sequel / semi-reboot a long time after the originals of anything I like because to a lot of filmmakers/showrunners, the only way to ā€œpass the torchā€ is to kill off the originals for the finality. And I HATE that.

I put off seeing Jurassic World Dominion for months because I love the original so much and was certain they were going to kill off Alan, Ellie, and Ian. They didnā€™t, but I spent the whole movie on edge over it. :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

ā€œKill the Pastā€ is just lazy storytelling in a lot of ways.

2 Likes

Thatā€™s one of the main reasons folks were concerned about the possibility the Willow series could be based on the Claremont novels.

1 Like

I would respectfully disagree with this one.

No one is buying the merchandise. thatā€™s sign number one right there. A large scale RANCOR couldnā€™t even get crowd funded. usually original trilogy stuff is what is known as ā€˜ever greenā€™ merchandise. Meaning, it will ALWAYS move figures. this time it didnā€™t. thatā€™s a problem.

Obi-Wan MIGHT be fun, but only if you could look past itā€™s flaws, of which there are a bunch. the Vader/Obi-wan ā€˜non fightā€™ took place in an earthly gravel pit. they didnā€™t even try to spruce it up.
you got mcgregor back. you got Bail Organa back. you got James Freakinā€™ Earl Jones back, as well as Palpy, and hardly anyone was talking about the actual series online. that, to me is also a problem.

I completely skipped Boba Fett, based on the reviews, and even his own actor saying ā€˜he talked too muchā€™. Andor is a forgettable character that didnā€™t need a series. and from what Iā€™ve heard, itā€™s boring until ep 4. All of the ā€˜ratings chartsā€™, such as they are for streaming shows, shows itā€™s in the middle, towards the bottom.

Kathy is throwing out star wars trilogy and stand alone movies, as well as D+ series that either never happen due to ā€˜creative differencesā€™ or upper management knowing itā€™s a bad idea. this latest one with the two Lost failures helming it is a prime example. that movie will never happen.

Itā€™s OK if people like the Disney stuff, but My opinion is it needs to be saved :), as well as better managed.

I GARUNTEE other opinions WILL Vary :smile:

3 Likes

I agree on the ā€˜Kill the Pastā€™ thing. they wanted people to forget about lucas star wars and focus on their 25% different star wars, in the hopes merchandise sales would pick up. that, obviously, didnā€™t happen.

I also agree that there is alot for people to like, and if you donā€™t like something, wait for the next thing you DO like. But for alot of people, mostly the old guard pre prequal era (Iā€™d guess), there really is not alot to like.

1 Like

The sequel trilogy already ā€œsavedā€ it, as much as anything needed saving, after the technologically marvelous but emotionally soulless prequels.

Rogue One is excellent, imo arguably the best single movie in the franchise.

Solo is OK; like the Star Trek reboot I found it hard to accept anyone other than Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, and I hated the continuity breaking return of Darth Maul, but judging it on itā€™s own merits its a perfectly serviceable sci-fi action flick.

I havenā€™t watched any of the Disney seriesā€™, though Iā€™ve only heard good things about them from people who have seen them - again thereā€™s a continuity breaking back-from-the-dead twist thatā€™s mildly off-putting for me.

Tl;dr: if Star Wars needed saving from people who hate sand, it was saved in about 2015.

1 Like

Again, and I have a feeling Iā€™ll be in the major minority here, Iā€™d respectfully disagree.

As for Darth Maulā€¦while the idea was goofy, it didnā€™t break continuity. he was brought back in the Clone Wars series. so it does tie in to that.

1 Like

I donā€™t understand this argument.

I have Star Wars fans in my family that had no issues buying merch for the newer movies. My wife and I are still looking forward to when we can go to Galaxyā€™s Edge. I was still working at TRU when the Rise of Skywalker stuff was released and we sold thru the stock we had.

Using the Rancor as a metric isnā€™t great, heck the Cookie Monster Haslab that should have been a slam dunk also failed. I followed a couple Haslab projects very intensely but didnā€™t back either as I couldnā€™t justify spending the money for Unicron and didnā€™t feel the cost was worth it for the Classified HISS Tank. A lot of the feedback I was seeing for the Rancor was similar to what I saw for the HISS, which had the advantage of not having other projects running at the same time.

2 Likes

Yeah. Project competition sure didnā€™t help things, in regards to the HasLab Rancor.

On the show/movie side of things, I like Filoni, but Iā€™m hoping he can break away
from his constant Clone Wars connected stuff and actually do a project that isnā€™t focused on that era.

1 Like

You had the Rancor, the GIJoe Skystriker and the Ghostbusters Proton Pack all on top of each other. and had I jumped, I would have gone for the brilliant GB Pack.

Also the Haslab for the Sail Barge and Razor Crest did just fine. Yes the Reva Lightsaber also failed, but itā€™s not like there arenā€™t other options if you want one of those.

1 Like

So you are basing your entire thesis on toy sales?

Mandalorian, Boba Fett, and Obi Wan were all in the Streaming Top Ten and all of them, except Andor (as it hasnā€™t finished yet), were in the top five and have accumulated more than a billion minutes of streaming time.

So yeah, the Star Wars content seems to be thriving.

Iā€™m not sure how old you think I am, but I was around when Star Wars was in theaters in 1977. :slight_smile:

4 Likes

actually, the GI Joe Tank is a great example.

I THINK that reached itā€™s goal in ONE DAYā€¦maybe a bit under. I would think that proves that GI Joe fandom is in a much better spot than star wars.

And I agree about the Cookie Monster project. Iā€™m still ticked that one didnā€™t go through. I want more 1:1 muppets. Poseable or otherwise.

1 Like

I TOTALLY agree on this. Clone wars stuff is all well and fine. But I want to see what he can do OUTSIDE of t hat arena. Iā€™d like to see him tackle a Thrawn return and see how good that does.

But, if it all leads to the sequel trilogy, many fans wouldnā€™t be excited for it. of course, some would.

1 Like

I would have guessed alot younger ;o). Most older folks I know donā€™t really care for the Disney stuff, and itā€™s not because they are too old for star wars.

Where is the ratings graphic for obi wan and bobba fett? The ONLY time I remember Fett trending, was when that speeder bike gang with the Power Ranger like racers showed up. and how the colors not only didnā€™t mesh with tatooine, they looked far too NEW compared to the rest of the town.

As for Andor, I saw a ratings breakdown of the major streaming services. netflix, et al. I THINK that Dahlmer was on top. Andor ranked somewhere around 5 or 6. I was not sure if that was the series as a whole, or just by episode numbers, though. and Obi Wan has all but been forgotten about online by now. most people are talking about House of Drargon or that Westfield NJ series (The Watcher?)

1 Like

Yes, but again without another Haslab project running against it. While there are fans of singular properties, the number of brands under Hasbroā€™s umbrella that compete for the same wallets is a thing. And while the Rancor was unique, between that where people were complaining about add-ons, a prop level GB item, and something that Joe fans have wanted for ages and were given add-ons they were happy about, yes it was just the odd one out. I put that more on Hasbro over saturating their ā€œpremierā€ customers and not reading the room, over anything from the Lucas/Mouse House.

Iā€™m old enough to remember when Return came out looking at ewoks in the small toy shop down the road when small toy shops were still a viable business option. and the box I received from BBTS yesterday had 5 Star Wars figures all from newer projects in them.

2 Likes