Why Star Wars is Falling Apart | Video Essay

Star Wars has been very disappointing under Disney. Recently as a long time Star Wars fan I have become increasingly frustrated with the current state of Star Wars. After the disappointment of the Sequel Trilogy, Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, things have been seemingly getting worse. Although shows like The Mandalorian and Andor have been great, it still doesn't make up for how Lucasfilm has handled Star Wars lately. The entire IP has become an unfocused mess, with seemingly more of the same on the way. We take a deep dive into Disney's Star Wars reign and dive deep in this Star Wars Video Essay!

Andor - (2022)
Obi-Wan Kenobi - (2022)
Book of Boba Fett - (2021)
The Mandalorian - (2019)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - (2016)
The Rise of Skywalker - (2019)
The Last Jedi - (2017)

[geek]

Honestly, I'd say the force awakens was the real start to the downfall. Because in episode six the empire was defeated and luke was to build a new jedi order. TFA just hit the reset button and brought back the empire and destroyed the new republic and we didn't see luke's new jedi order. Fans accepted it, because it was the first time in over ten years a new star wars movie came out and it was a nostalgia trip and we fell for it. The last jedi was more of a wake up call if anything.

[whitewalker]

There's absolutely nothing defendable about how Disney treated Star Wars IP. Even J.J. Abrams and some actors admitted there was absolutely no plan for the three movies when they started shooting the sequel trilogy and Disney CEO Bob Iger said the main thing they focused while doing Episode 7 was copying the original movie. There was absolutely no creative vision. They treated the IP as cash cow ready to milk as much as possible.

[jamessizemore]

I remember seeing a full plot leak for the rise of skywalker before it came out, and I thought to myself
"wow, this can't be real, this is worse than fan-fiction. if the movie is like this I don't even want to see it."
And then I went to the theaters and the leak was accurate word for word, and that's when I gave up on disney star wars

[Xanlet]

When Rey mind controlled a storm trooper when she didn't even fully believe the force was real yet, and then the first time she turned on a light saber beat someone who had trained their whole life, that was when I knew Disney Star Wars was bad. Throw in Fin gunning down his squad mates in glee just a few scenes after being too traumatized by combat to even shoot his blaster, and it's clear as day. TFA was a bad movie, but if you got carried away with the cultural hype it's understandable. It just means you have difficulty independently judging a film and instead use popular opinion in lieu of your own.

[vonneely]

Please don't let Disney find out the Old Republic even exists. It's the only thing left that they haven't ruined. Let it sit in our hearts forever untarnished by Disney's incompetence.

[Netanya-qb]

You nailed it with "couldn't let Boba Fett be Boba Fett in his own show."

[grandmasterchris]

As Darth Traya would say: “Apathy is death, worse than death, because at least a rotting corpse feeds the beasts and insects.”

[supergonk]

I’m so glad I gave Andor a second chance it’s phenomenal

[shreebington]

The saddest part is that in Legends, the entire story following ROTJ is written. But Disney chose to completely ignore it, and then in a last ditch effort, cherry picked the Emperor coming back from Dark Empire. I will never forgive Disney for robbing us of Jaina and Jacen Solo.

[MrRawnerves]

Kathelen Kennedy has a long resume of successful shows but when you analyze her role in the development of those shows, she was not the show runner . She was an assistant. She didn’t learn anything. But she rose to the top the same way that shit floats up.

[lordtornado]

Some wise guy said this on the other side of Youtube:
"It actually all started with the Force Awakens. It literally undid everything the original heroes achieved. Relagated Luke to an island, leia to a failed general, and Han back to his smuggling ways. Turned a rebellion that won back into a small pack of "resistance" It also narrowed the world down again to just Skywalkers and recloned Vader and the empire in Kylo and the first order. I don't know why so many people fail to see how terrible of a setup TFA was for the rest of the sequels"


And it sums it up perfectly most of the problems with sequels IMO.

[nohbodhi]

Im really glad you mentioned Fallen Order. Cal Kestis is pretty interesting but what makes that games story great are the villians. They're so well written into the story with actual legitimate reasons for their existence and their reasoning for fighting Cal

[peter-paulkutschlojenga]

I hope Disney sees the response to Andor and realizes which way to go forward. however, andor isn't nearly as popular as shows like kenobi so I doubt they're going the quality route

[SoldierSpiderx]

The saddest thing is knowing what this franchise could have been if it was in the right hands.

[annabanana]

I'm still a bit sore on how the new "canon" treated Luke and turned him into a bitter hermit. In Legends, while he wasn't perfect, he matured over time and the lessons he learned about the Force shaped the new Jedi Order. Seeing Luke act like in BoBF hurts especially when he made Grogu choose between becoming a Jedi and his foster father. Heck, he would've encouraged Grogu to spend more time with Din before continuing his training as a Padawan because for Legends Luke, attachment is something you must treasure but also be mindful of.

[RoachDoggJr]

Filoni taking over Star Wars would be the death knell. He is a 14 year old boy slamming his action figures together. He will go out of his way to decanonize the OT. He DOES NOT understand Star Wars.

[MonoKrohm_]

I could never begin to put into words how painful it is that the passion I once had for Star Wars has now been replaced with cold indifference; and I hold Disney ENTIRELY responsible.

[haroldb]

Disney has consistently attacked the thinking fans, the ones who value character development, storytelling, continuity and the lore of the Star Wars universe. Disney wants mindless, unquestioning, consumption of assembly line spectacle. The old fandom would have appreciated Andor, but they're gone now. Andor is failing because the new "fans" don't have the patience or passion to sit through five minutes without an action sequence, a bad joke or a cameo. So, there's your future of Star Wars.

[Nightlizard]

Honestly I’m super excited Andor is getting another season. It’s been one of the best Star Wars shows that have been released along with the mandolorian. Especially with the amount of good writing in that show. Also I’m fine with not having another trilogy. I just hope they stick with the shows for rn. If people are really calling andor boring and slow then In my mind if films like war for planet of the apes and lord of the rings had came out this year people would’ve called that boring too. Sad thing is because of commercial movies like the whole marvel franchise and Disney in general modern audiences no longer care for a good story or plot. They rather have a movie or show with non stop action, cameos, and quips.

[rekunta]

The worst thing that can happen to Star Wars has already happened: audience apathy.

Most people simply don’t care anymore, and once you lose that momentum and fan passion, it is _incredibly_ difficult to regain it. I have absolutely zero interest in Star Wars under Disney’s purview. None. It’s dead to me because not only is it creatively bankrupt and incompetently executed, it represents nothing I adore about the property. For as bad as the prequels were in execution, at least the soul of the IP was there. At least it was about the universe, characters, mythology, and journey. About the trials and triumphs. Now, it’s all about treating it like a commodity and shell to cash in on. Show after show after show barfed up from the Mickey Mouse factory assembly line to sell tickets and fill rides. _This is not what people want, or why we were fans._ The absolute cluelessness of Disney and those managing Lucasfilm is remarkable to witness.

I’m only immensely grateful that we have the three (unaltered) OT films, and they can never be taken away from us. I will treasure and remain incredibly thankful for those brilliant visions by people who strived to tell us wonderful stories that spoke to fundamental human truths and values, and who put commercial considerations in the background.

Do it to tell us great stories, and the money will pour in. Do it for the money, and you will fail.