I don’t know if it’s a matter of quality over quantity, or if I’m just being that guy. The one who can’t just let these fiendish corporations do their thing, ie cultivating a thirsty cult of fanboys who wants Star Wars flooding their eyes, nose, ears and mouth (and other orifices too!) for all of eternity. It’s their approach to this that is just exhausting. For starters, these announcements are for investors. It’s to show shareholders that they are going to blue milk the franchise absolutely dry to make as much profit as possible because that is literally the American way and in some ways it would be illegal for them not to do this.
But as a fan (even one who kicks himself every time I see how much Disney Stock is worth), it does ruin the magic to see how the sausage is made. It looks like they took a bunch of writers, directors and producers, sat them around a table and had them pick Star Wars words out of a hat. Rogue One is one of my favourite Star Wars movies. But, even from that movie, Cassian Andor is not my favourite character. He’s not my fourth or fifth favourite character in Rogue One. But he gets a show? And it’s just called “Andor”?
A more obvious, but in an annoying, pandering kind of way, is a Lando series. Who doesn’t like Lando? I personally love him. But, I can’t even imagine what a Lando show would be about or look or feel like. They haven’t even announced whether or not Donald Glover will be playing him or not. In fact, the only thing we know about this Lando… thing? Is that the showrunner will be a Black guy. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but the optics are just hilarious. The logic seems to be: “Lando is a Black guy, therefore Lando is our Black Star Wars property and therefore needs a Black showrunner.”
Justin Simien: “You want me to direct a Star Wars story? Please be Mace Windu! Please be Mace Windu! ….. Lando!? F**k!”
Well, at least it wasn’t Grizz Frix.
This quote from Kathleen Kennedy sums it up: “Taika’s approach to Star Wars will be fresh, unexpected, and…unique.” Taika’s approach. Taika’s approach is to, allegedly, do something creative and original. Everyone else? We know what this is folks! It’s a Star Wars mill. We put the words through the machine and see what comes out.
- Mon Mothma: A Star Wars Story.
- Something, Something Jedi Something.
- Black Star Wars Character: A Star War for Blacks.
- C3PO and R2D2: A Star Wars show or movie.
- Blizzle Blam Shaboobala: A Star Wars thing.
Let’s just see what sticks! I like this description too: “. . . this new live-action series from executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni will intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event.” Okay…. What is it about? It’s just, “Star Wars thing”. “His (Taika) enormous talent and sense of humor will ensure that audiences are in for an unforgettable ride.” Again, all movies should strive for this. So it’s just, Star Wars “thing”.
Perhaps they’ve learned something from the last 10 years. A lot of this stuff will probably be somewhat planned out, I guess? No mention of Rey and Co., so that’s nice. Looks like Rian Johnson has been politely dismissed, which I’m neither here nor there about. I think Rian Johnson is a good director. The Last Jedi was pretty boring though.
And here we are. Nine-hundred and seventy-seven Star Wars things in the next 3 years. We knew it was coming to this and that’s fine. Statistically, some of this will be good. I love Filoni and Favreau. I love Taika. I love “fresh, unexpected” things. A show where Ahsoka Tano hunts down Thrawn? Sure, I’m down. But, I think it’s fair to say the more you saturate the market with something, the less special it will become. Of the last five Star Wars movies to come out, Solo wasn’t necessarily the worst, in my opinion, but it still bombed either from so-called “Star Wars fatigue” or as a result of fans hating the Last Jedi. Apparently, didn’t stop them from taking a secondary character from that failed movie (Lando) and giving him his own Star Wars thing. Best joke about the Lando series I read online: “There will be a scene where an imperial officer names him Lando because he saw him land a ship.”
At the end of the day, too much is really only a measure of how much money they make so. You don’t like the shows? Don’t watch. I can see myself checking out a few of these. But the real lesson here, and I’m talking to myself, is to stop dragging our feet and buy some Disney stock! Also worth remembering, this is just crap they tell to investors. Some of this may not even happen.
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