Anything Goes : Revisiting the failure of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy by Preston Poulter

Hi, Preston Poulter. I’m a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. I wanted to let you know I moved your post from the Screenwriting Lounge to the Anything Goes Lounge. The Anything Goes Lounge is for discussion about the industry, movies, shows, plays, etc. If you reword your post so it relates to screenwriting (like character arc, theme, dialogue, structure, writing IP, etc.), it can go in the Screenwriting Lounge. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

You're welcome, Preston Poulter.

I thought those movies were good. Luke Skywalker and his friends passed the torch to the next generation.

Kevin Hager From a writing perspective, the things set up in The Force Awakens, were not paid off in The Last Jedi, which killed off the villain. Then Rise of the Skywalker had to dust of Palpatine and act like that was the plan the whole time.

As a triology, it's a hot mess.

Exactly Preston Poulter and with this void you Indies can fill it and many are doing just that. It is also a great opportunity for us writers as well.

Palpatine was a madman who toyed with lives. Maniac's like to cheat death, plus there is nothing like the greatest evil and enemy of the Skywalker family attempting revenge. Then we see Luke Skywalker and his friends passing the torch to a new generation, and I think The Mandalorian helps fill in the void.

I haven't watched it (I still need to give the original trilogy a proper rewatch, and boyfriend really wants me to watch the prequel trilogy, too), but I've seen a few critiques of it on YouTube (I really like The Critical Drinker's analyses in particular). Seems it's a very good case of what NOT to do when you're writing for a big franchise ^^;

I originally wanted to like these sequels, but once my mental thinking and analytical skills improved, as a result of therapy, I can no longer watch the sequel trilogy.

They were just cash grabs by Disney. And movie sequels ALWAYS drop in quality with each entry.

I have a different take. One that hasn't necessarily been addressed by the millions of 3 hour youtube videos about how Star Wars is "RUINNEEEDDD!!!!" every time anything comes out.

First, I thought Force Awakens was copy and paste a new hope. If you want to talk about creative bankruptcy, and film as business instead of art, I think JJ Abrams has to be part of that conversation. It was fine. Didn't hate it. But it was the opposite of creative. On the other hand, Last Jedi was very creative. Really bold. And some SW "fans" lost their minds over it, harassing people online etc, which they did that to George Lucas for the prequels too. But I've talked to people who aren't terminally online who don't even know people were mad about TLJ. I think people who are in that "I'm mad about TLJ" bubble think it was a universal feeling but its really a small group of loud people who misunderstood Luke Skywalker (who has always been whiny and conflicted, which is why he's an interesting character, and not an infallible space jesus).

There are Disney Star Wars things I like and don't like, and Star Wars stuff before that which I do and don't like too. But if I don't like it I just move on. The problem with Star Wars is not that every thing they produce aren't home runs, it's that it is a franchise for 10 years (according to George Lucas) whose elderly fanbase (including me) keeps demanding that Star Wars grow old and miserable with them. I mean, look at C 3P0, if he was introduced today he would get the full Jar Jar treatment. They'd say he's woke. It would be nuts. But when you're 10 years old it doesn't bother you. It would be #Notmyvader when he declared he was Luke's father. Adult Star Wars fans watch the new stuff and don't feel the same way they did as a 10 year old and lose their minds. A big part of that though is not that Star Wars changed, it's that they did. Disney knows that. It impacts their decisions. They're afraid of SW fans. That's why ROS was basically an acid trip of incoherent fan service.

I'm not saying people have to love everything Star Wars. I'm saying, to your point, the problem with modern Star Wars isn't money. If being creative made money, then they'd be creative. But Star Wars fans demand fan service, and endless fan service will just doom Star Wars to grow old and die with its fanbase and prevent it from reaching the young people it is for. Skeleton Crew for example was a really fun, creative show, great reviews, but nobody watched it because it didn't have fan service and cameos etc.

I'm not saying everything Disney has done is great but I'm just saying I empathize with them because adult Star Wars fans kind of put them in a no win situation. They won't watch anything that isn't cameos, references, and fan service. They get mad, insanely mad, if they try to do anything new or creative. But then also make fun of them for doing fan service and not being creative.

I just feel like there are generations of people who project their anxieties about aging and getting bitter onto this space adventure franchise for children and that is robbing future generations of children from loving Star Wars like we all did. I remember being 10 years old and hearing grown ups write songs about George Lucas on youtube about how much they hated Jar Jar Binks. When I was 10 years old, Jar Jar Binks did not make me like Star Wars less. But grown adults using words that are not for 10 year olds to describe George Lucas kind of did start to make Star Wars not fun for me. Anyone who runs Star Wars is going to run into the problem of adult Star Wars fans, whether its Disney or anyone else.

I do think they overdid it on the tv shows though. But again, that might be them testing a bunch of things to see what won't make Star Wars fans freak out. Idk