Done With Star Wars

November 3rd, 2019 by


In a previous post, I explained I was done with comics. After forty years enjoying comic books, my heart was no longer into the whole hobby. Sadly the same goes for a hobby I had invested more time and effort. Star Wars is over for me. After nearly fifty years of being a fan, I cannot go to the movie theater and see a Star Wars movie. The new “Star Wars Holiday Special”, i.e. “The Last Jedi” almost killed the love for the brand. It would not have been as hard or bad, I could forgive Disney for making a bad Star Wars movie, except, reaction to the angst by fans really killed things for me.

Calling Star Wars fans racist, misogynistic, and all sorts of nasty things for not appreciating what had been done to the beloved franchise was bad karma. Lando Calrissian was black. Star Wars fans loved him. Princess Leia was a strong woman, fans adored her. Throughout the entire four decades of Star Wars lore, there was plenty of none white, human characters fans loved. Now suddenly, the new Star Wars movies were introducing black and female characters, people not liking the story were doing so because of race or sex? Did a “Back To The Future” time travel happen, and all the past movies were not valid. Actually, that is how Disney does view the past movies. When a company spends 4.2 Billion to acquire a built in fan base, and franchise, that company will want to take control and start making the money back. Look at the ambitious plans to have two Star Wars movies a year? At least one a year.

When I saw “Force Awakens”, I was excited and happy. Star Wars has returned! Yes, the movie was a deviation, some say rip off, of “A New Hope”. New Empire, the First Order. New Rebels, The Resistance. New Death Star, Star Killer Base. Essentially the “Force Awakens” was sort of like the New Coke of Star Wars. I did not care. The original cast was coming back, how would the original cast fit into the movie?

I had a new hope, Star Wars was going to be revised a bit, new characters added, and the old characters would pass the torch. Luke would train Rey, then become a force ghost. The new villain, Kylo Ren or Ben Solo, would die being redeemed. The New Emperor, Snoke, would die. The First Order would fail, and then a New Star Wars setting would be established. One problem. Star Wars needs bad guys to exist. Rehashing the old tropes would not do after the current rehashing. What new dangers were going to be brought forward from the furthest reaches of the Star Wars galaxy?


In “Force Awakens”, my heart stopped and I wanted to cry, but cheered, when Han Solo entered the Millennium Falcon, and stated “Chewie, We’re Home.” OK. My first thoughts were Han would bring Rey to Luke for training. When the First Order tries to kill or arrest Han, Chewie, Finn and Rey, then the Resistance saves the day. It was great. Everyone knew Leia would be arriving. Leia shows up and hugs Han, and seems to have some affection for Rey. That implied that there might have been familiarity. Rey was rumored to be of possible Skywalker lineage. Maybe Luke’s unknown child. Maybe Leia had met Rey when she was a young child. Leia realized Rey had the same force potential as her son, even more so, understood somehow Ben was being corrupted by Snoke. Leia informs Rey’s mother about her daughter’s potential, and tried to get Rey to be sent to Luke’s Jedi training school. “She needs to be with her father.” Rey’s mother knew what could happen, and did not want her daughter being a Jedi or potential Sith. Rather than take Rey to be trained, Rey is abandoned on Jakuu.

When Han was killed, I was fine with the situation. Harrison Ford made it one hundred percent clear, he was not going to do another Star Wars movie after “Force Awakens”. Killing Han set up several potential plot points. Ben Solo killed his father, and thus became Kylo Ren. Anakin die to save his son. Han died hoping to save his son. Which made the movie somewhat antithesis to the other Star Wars movies.

There were several valid points made by YouTube channels revolving around Star Wars. With Han dead, why did Rey get the Falcon, and not Chewie? This could be a reenforcement of the concept that Rey was Luke’s daughter. Han’s niece get’s the ship.

The disappointment was Luke did not show up until the end of the movie. Mark Hamill talked about how he expected Luke to show up during the battle in the forest. The lightsaber flying into Luke’s hand. Luke faces down Ben, whom flees, to fight another day. Luke sees his daughter, now a young woman. Though the cliff hanger ending of Rey holding out the lightsaber wanting to learn about the force was brilliant.


Then along came “The Last Jedi”. The first moments were the whole foreshadowing of what Disney intended to do with the old Star Wars. Toss it aside. Maybe Han being killed was foreshadowing? Rian Johnson essentially created his own strong female leads, sent the strongest, most developed female lead in science fiction, into space, like trash. Instead of a Poe and Finn team up. Rose Tico went with Finn to Space Vegas, trashed the place with bunny-lama hybrids, then ended up being sold out to the First Order.

Meanwhile Rey had to make her own way and train herself. When Luke finally decided to train Rey, he boiled things down to three steps. Congratulations, Rey is a Jedi. Luke astral projects himself to the planet where the Resistance was hold up, and confronts his nephew. Big lightsaber battle, Luke dies. It sucked. One of the most powerful, well developed characters, Luke Skywalker, turned into a bitter old man who yells at kids to stay off his lawn. Rey saves the day. The handful of Resistance survivors party on the Falcon.

From the trailers put out for “Rise of Skywalker” so far, it is a MUST NOT SEE, until Blu-Ray movie for me. Space Horses? What the fuck? Did the guys from “Game of Thrones” get some early input? Guys on horses with lances charging tanks are not going to win. Then again, a bunch of teddy bears with primitive weapons beat the empire.

Thanks for stopping by.

PS: I went to Walmart before I posted this. It is less than two months before Christmas. Normally the toy aisles would be packed with Star Wars merchandise, especially before a new movie. There was not even a half a dozen pegs full of Star Wars figures. There were the “retro” figures, all of which were Lando as Jabba Palace Guard or whatever. Out of the half dozen black figures, none really tickled my Star Wars fancy. The glee is gone. Apparently Hasbro is not putting any effort, nor is Walmart to even push the toys for Christmas. Looks like there is no more Star Wars Holiday Special of sorts.

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