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david-talks-sw · 1 year

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An argument I hear from time to time is the following:

"I don't care that this novel is considered Legends, if it was canon when George Lucas was in charge of Lucasfilm, it's still canon to me now. Whatever George says is what counts, I don't care what Disney says."

Putting the Expanded Universe's Star Wars and George Lucas' Star Wars in the same basket. And that's, uh... inaccurate.

So without further ado, let's explore:

George Lucas’ involvement in the Expanded Universe

Early years of the EU...

When the first bit of EU content came out in the form of the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Lucas was too busy working on the films, so Alan Dean Foster wrote it by himself (which explains why Luke and Leia's relationship plays out romantically).

After the movies came out, when new material was going to be created, George told Lucas Licensing and other authors that the Prequel era was off-limits to write about, because he might tell that story one day.

Beyond that, they could go to town and write sequels, for instance. After all, part of why Star Wars was created was to let people's imagination run wild and George was happy to let other artists play in the sandbox he created.

That said, things were very clear from the get-go.

These weren't his stories.

The Thrawn books, Dark Empire, all this material was explicitly just Tom Veitch and Timothy Zahn and whoever else's creation. Not George's, who was described by Lucas Licensing's Lucy Autrey Wilson as "not very involved".

The most he did was answers "OK/Not OK" questionnaires about what the EU writers could or couldn't write.

Telling Yoda's backstory? Not OK.

Telling Han's backstory, between the Prequel and Ep. 4? OK.

Having someone wear Vader's suit after his death? Not OK.

The Emperor returning in a clone body? OK.

So that's it. That was his involvement in the 90s.

Him saying "don't write something set during this/that period".

"OK/Not OK" questionnaires.

It's also worth mentioning he didn't approve of Mara Jade, Luke's wife in the EU. In his mind, "Jedi don't marry".

Rather, the character herself wasn't an issue... until she married Luke. When Timothy Zahn asked for Luke and Mara to be married or engaged, back in 1993, Lucasfilm initially vetoed the idea.

According to Brian Jay Jones (author of "A Life", George Lucas' biography), in 1995 George convened a 'Star Wars Summit' wherein he gathered licensees and international agents to Skywalker Ranch to reinforce "the need for him to maintain quality control, especially in the areas of publishing, where some characters—such as Luke Skywalker, who’d been given a love interest in a fiery smuggler named Mara Jade—were living lives far beyond the ones he had written for them in the original trilogy".

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During the Prequels...

George Lucas was writing and directing three movies with large themes, shot almost back-to-back, commuting between Australia and California. That's hard enough as it is.

Also, in the 90s, most movies were still shot on film. During the making of Phantom Menace, Lucas shot parts of the film by combining prototype digital Sony cameras and using them in combination with videotapes, rather than shooting on film.

For Attack of the Clones, George worked with Panavision and Sony to develop fully digital cameras, which eventually became the standard.

As if that wasn't enough, by making the Prequels, Lucas and ILM were also creating fully-digitized worlds (Coruscant, Geonosis) and characters (Jar Jar, Yoda) and laying the groundwork for the CGI technology that has now become essential for today's blockbusters.

Having established all this...

Do you really think he had the time or the patience to read through a bunch of novels and guidebooks?!

Simply put: George Lucas was too busy revolutionizing cinema to be involved in the development of the EU.

So if you ask George who Tahl or Vitiate are, or what the Stark Hyperspace War or a vapor manifold are, if you ask him to recite you the Sith Code... he'll grumble and say "heck if I know".

He outright admitted that fans know more Star Wars lore than him.

Because SOMEBODY ELSE wrote that stuff.

And he let them do it because:

It made money. A lot of money, especially after TPM came out. Money that could fund his next films. You don't mess with licensing. Hell, it's why he was so cool with there being all those Star Wars parodies.

He didn't see those stories as canon anyway, so it couldn't hurt. He saw them as a separate universe, an alternate timeline wherein the films happened ALONG with all these other tales.

So associating the EU content with Lucas is unreasonable. He was too busy, so he just let Howard Roffman, Lucy Autrey Wilson, Sue Rostoni and Lucas Licensing do their thing and crank out new stories and transmedia content for the fans.

It was a one-way relationship. The licensing parallel universe needed to have some internal consistency AND adhere to what Lucas established in the new films movies (which was difficult because they weren't involved in the production process), but he didn't need to be in line or consistent with anything they established.

Now, George did set some guidelines/boundaries and there were obviously do's and don'ts. But once those boundaries were set and the brief was established, the authors had a lot of freedom and, like, 99% of their interaction was with their editors from the respective publishing houses (Scholastic, Del Rey, Dark Horse) and the folks at Lucas Licensing.

George was only really brought in to sign off on, like, some of the major plot points only once in a blue moon. Stuff like:

"Let's make a Maul novel". George would go "fine, just keep him mysterious."

"What species should Plagueis be?" George: "he could be a Muun, here's concept art."

Nothing more than that. Again: the Expanded Universe was other storyteller's interpretation of what Lucas had created.

Sometimes, it was spot on and it aligned with George's vision.

Other times, this additional lore was created by writers who didn't know what he was doing with the Prequels, so they were in the dark regarding certain plot points.

And then you have the authors who absolutely disagreed with George's vision of the Prequels, or of Star Wars, in general, but wanted to engage with the material nonetheless.

Which is why, whilst sometimes the EU fixed some plot-holes, sometimes the EU had inconsistencies.

Inconsistencies such as Ki-Adi Mundi being a Knight on the Council, who is married and has kids (when the Jedi being prohibited from marrying is a major plot point in the Prequels)...

… or the Jedi being essentially superhuman (when one of the narrative reasons Qui-Gon is killed is to show that the Jedi are mortals, not supermen)…

... or other stuff like Mace having a blue lightsaber for a period (because who the hell knew purple was an option?!) or some Jedi having red lightsabers, or Sith Lords being able to become ghosts after death, when that's a feat you can only achieve by being selfless.

It's also why you get conflicting definitions of what the Jedi call "attachment" or conflicting narratives trying to reframe midi-chlorians as a cold, intentionally-flawed way of seeing the Force (when they're meant to be a beautiful metaphor for symbiosis and how the Force works).

And it makes sense that some of this stuff wouldn't track, considering how Lucas stated multiple times that he didn't have anything to do with it, that it was a separate universe from his own...

Safe to say that if George had any involvement in the EU, it was so minimal that he, himself, didn't count it as "involvement".

Additional sources:

Later years of the EU...

After the Prequels were over and done with, Lucas created The Clone Wars with Dave Filoni. At first, he'd just suggest a few storylines, but he quickly got VERY involved in the whole process. Far more involved than he ever was with EU content.

And y'know... Dave Filoni is a massive Star Wars fan and an avid EU reader. So, from time to time, Filoni would bring up EU material for Lucas to consider during the story conferences, and they'd look at what was out there together.

But it's important to note that George's stance toward the EU didn't change and became a rule for everyone on the writing staff: the EU content was nothing more than a pool of "fun what-if ideas" that they could draw inspiration from.

If they could, they'd try to not mess with continuity... but if the story called for it, they could retcon anything without batting an eye. Because it wasn't canon to them.

It's why author Karen Traviss quit working with Lucasfilm after the Mandalorians were retconned into pacifists in The Clone Wars.

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The only things that were truly canon were:

George Lucas' own word.

The movies.

Previously established The Clone Wars lore.

And that's it.

Everything else was somebody's else's concern. Not George's.

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This way of seeing the EU continued all the way to the time shortly before George sold the company to Disney as his drafts for the Sequels featured:

no Jacen, Jaina or Anakin Solo (Han and Leia's kids from the EU),

a still-alive Chewbacca (who died, later in the EU),

no "New Jedi Order".

Every version of George's Sequels ignored the EU.

Which would explain why the EU reboot was planned in the summer of 2012 (when Lucas was in charge)!

I'll repeat: the EU reboot was planned months BEFORE George Lucas sold the company to Disney.

Because of course it was! It's a natural result of 30 years' worth of content that's so intermeshed that it would stop future artists - namely George himself - from creating anything else.

Sources:

Exceptions to the rule:

1. Comics (kinda)

He did read the comics. Or at least, he gave them a glance.

Aside from the fact that he grew up reading comics, understand that George Lucas is a visual artist, first and foremost.

That's what he's about and that's what he loves, that's what speaks to him. There's a reason his upcoming Museum of Narrative Art will feature comic panels and pages of all kind.

During pre-production on Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Lucas had the art team draw concept art before a script had ever been written so he'd have ideas for set-pieces.

Later on, J.W. Rinzler pitched him the idea of adapting his early drafts for Star Wars into comic form. Lucas' initial reaction was going "hell no". Rinzler had concept art made…

… and George took one look and was on board.

So it's not a stretch to assume that a book telling a story through beautiful drawings would catch his attention more than a novel.

Case in point: He knew who Quinlan Vos was and was enamored with the character. He knew Aayla enough to put her in Attack of the Clones after seeing a cover of Republic by John Forster featuring her (below, left).

(although, it's worth pointing out that he doesn't call her out by name a single time, in the director's commentary of the Attack of the Clones, she's just the "Twi'Lek Jedi" and her inclusion was done mainly to add more diversity to the Jedi fighting in the arena)

Over a decade later, when the comic Star Wars #7 came out in 2015, Lucasfilm acquired artist Simone Bianchi's original 20 pages and cover art for George, so he could feature it in his the Museum of Narrative Art:

So at the very least, he looked at the comics and admired the visuals.

Whether he actually read the comics in detail or just skimmed through most of them because he liked the pretty pictures (likelier, imo) is an entirely different matter.

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2. Video-Games (kinda)

Lucas would periodically check in on the status of LucasArts games, lending creative input and advice.

Sometimes, his advice ranged from "weird" to "he's gotta be fucking with us, right?"

Apparently, he advised the team developing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed that they dub Starkiller "Darth Insanius" or "Darth Icky".

And you know what? I have no trouble believing it.

Firstly because if you're going by the idea that he gave no fucks about the EU, then of course he'll come up with "meh" names. But also, this is the same guy who created "Winkie" in 2012/2013, the character who'd go on to be named "Rey".

He also told the team creating Star Wars: 1313 that he wanted a fresh face as the main character, then only weeks before the game was announced he went "let's make it Boba Fett".

Finally... the cancelled Darth Maul game by Red Fly.

Codenamed “Damage”, then “Battle of the Sith Lords”. Think Batman: Arkham City meets Star Wars.

Red Fly pitched it as a coming of age story where we see Maul be kidnapped, tortured, eventually joining the Dark Side, and ending in TPM. Then they had interactions with LucasArts and found out Maul survived his fight with Obi-Wan.

The game went through several iterations, partly because the people at Red Fly were kept in the dark about the developments in The Clone Wars (Season 4 wasn't out yet), and even when some tidbits came out and they knew characters like Savage Oppress and Death Watch would be included, they didn't get more details.

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Whatever. They do their best to make something from what they're told. Then they have a meeting with George. As this GameInformer article explains:

“A friendly George Lucas entered the room and was eager to hear the pitch from Red Fly’s creatives. “Before they could finish their spiel, Lucas cut them off, stood up, walked over to [two Sideshow Collectibles statues of Darth Maul and Darth Talon], rotated them to be facing the same direction, pushed them together, and said ‘They’re friends!’” adds the source. “He wanted these characters to be friends, and to play off of each other. […] The problem with the idea of Maul and Talon teaming up for a buddy cop-like experience was that they were separated by over 170 years […] When this vast time divide was brought up to Lucas’ attention, he brushed off the notion of it not working, and said that it could instead be a descendant of Darth Maul or a clone of him.”

So now the game is about a descendant of Maul, guided by his ancestor and fighting a redesigned Darth Krayt, etc?

The game was eventually cancelled when George sold the company.

Worth pointing out that this was circa 2010/2011... around the time that George started working on his Sequels, according to Jett Lucas. And we know that the treatment for the Sequels that Lucas presented to Bob Iger featured old man Maul and Darth Talon as the villains of the trilogy... take from that what you will.

3. The Prequel novelizations (kinda)

They were all given a copy of Lucas' screenplay.

While most of their work was with Sue Rostoni, Lucy Autrey Wilson, and Howard Roffman on the Lucasfilm team (like some of the other authors), Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore and Matthew Stover all spent a bit of time with George before writing their respective novels.

George told Terry Brooks to write some additional material for Anakin Skywalker because there wasn't enough of that in the movie. He was shown rushes from the set, they "opened the safe" for him. When Terry had further questions re: midi-chlorians and the history of the Sith, George goes on a 30-minute monologue about all that.

R.A. Salvatore had a 45-minute interview with him that turned into a 3-hour chat. He was able to go back to the Ranch a few times during the writing process, and one of those times George chatted with him and his wife during lunch. He was shown various cuts of the film and concept art.

Matthew Stover and George talked for a whole afternoon (I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume he was also shown the other stuff like some cuts/deleted scenes, concept art, etc etc).

Was there a line-edit of the ROTS novel from Lucas? Regarding the Revenge of the Sith novelization, some people bring up the idea that George Lucas did a line-edit on the book because Stover wrote this statement on theforce.net:

That said...

Stover, also stated that Lucas told him to write whatever he wanted as long as it was good,

he also said he didn't actually see Lucas type the edits,

an anonymous Del Rey editor stated on theforce.net that the notion that George edited the novel himself is "extremely incorrect".

There's enough "reasonable doubt" for the argument to be made that the Revenge of the Sith novelization was edited the same way as any other Star Wars novel, rather than by George himself.

The fact remains, though, that it was a novel written by someone who understood the source material, as it was explained to him in detail by George Lucas himself (a luxury many SW authors never got).

Lucas' backstory for the Sith in the TPM novel: If Pablo Hidalgo is to be believed, the backstory of the Sith, as detailed in the Phantom Menace novelization, came from Lucas.

(Obviously, I'd allow for the very likely possibility that there was some embellishment by Terry Brooks)

20 years later, however, it seems George decided to stick to the idea that there was no war between the Jedi and the Sith.

Final thought:

A lot of people will insist that George was involved in spite of all the above-posted evidence. Saying stuff like:

"But [X person] said that it was canon..."

Sometimes, they’ll link you to this whole website collecting quotes of other people saying "the EU was canon" (never George Lucas except for, like, one/two quotes where he acknowledges the existence of Sequel books which MUST mean he saw them as canon, right?) and...

On the one hand... of course they'll all vaguely say he's "involved" and tip-toe around the subject; it's technically true and, again, they're trying to make money. It's a business, folks.

On the other... yeah? Duh. Of course it was canon to Lucas Licensing and the authors who wrote for the EU. But it wasn't canon to George. And I just gave you a whole bunch of quotes directly from him and/or the same people quoted on that website, all confirming that he didn't see them as canon and he wasn't involved (or barely was).

Other times, we're straight-up approaching "burying head in the sand/lalalala I'm not listening!" levels of justifications.

Like, we just talked about the Sith's origins, right?

I remember a while ago, this Star Wars YouTuber was reviewing this quote from Lucas, in The Star Wars Archives: 1999-1995:

The YouTuber's reaction the second after reading the quote is saying:

"And of course, what George is referring to, here, is the Battle of Ruusan and the Brotherhood of Darkness using the Thought Bomb created by Lord Khan to kill the Jedi Lord Hoth and…"

My guy! You read a whole excerpt that started with "there was never a war between the Jedi and the Sith" and the words "Ruusan" or "Thought Bomb" never being mentioned once in the passage (or in the TPM novelization)... and concluded that George was referring to the Jedi/Sith Battle of Ruusan? And all that other EU stuff?

See what I mean, folks?

Now, look, I grew up with these stories (heck, I grew up with these stories in three different languages). So I get it. I know they're awesome.

And, yes, there is a difference between the kind of content we used to get and the content we're getting now (for one, lightsabers used to be lightsabers, in video-games, not baseball bats).

But if you're trying to prop up the EU, the facts show that the "George Lucas signed off on them" authority argument isn't a valid one. Because he clearly wasn't very interested or involved in it.

And why would you want to use this authority argument, anyway?

You shouldn't need to say "this came from Lucas" to like those stories. They don't need to be George Lucas Approved™ to matter and to be validated as "worthy of appreciation". They're valid on their own, they're great stories. And if you like them better than the Sequels, go to town. I know I do.

The only thing you can't do (with a straight face, at least) is hold them up as "the True Lucas-Approved Canon™ as opposed to the Disney Trash" in a rant, because you'd be wrong and/or lying. Neither had Lucas' hand in them in any meaningful way.

Finally... I was devastated when the EU was officially made non-canon, in 2014. And for a few years, I saw the new Star Wars continuity through this lens:

"Any EU content is still canon unless it's directly retconned...!"

Trust me, when I say that only pain lies that way. Because that's not how a lot of Star Wars creators, including the Flanelled One himself, see it. The way they saw/see it is:

"Unless it's been shown in a movie or TCW... it's a legend, it might have happened."

This line of thought seems to be increasingly applied to the new Disney canon too, by the way. "If it's not shown on a screen, then it's probably canon yet also up for grabs to be retconned."

And the sooner you accept that this is how it's being treated, the sooner you accept that the EU was never canon to Lucas or Filoni...

... the less painful it'll be when, I dunno, you watch The Acolyte and it's nothing like the Darth Plagueis novel or Plagueis himself is absent, or he's there, but as an Ithorian instead of a Muun.

(note how I didn't use the word "painless")

#Lucas Canon & EU Canon & Disney Canon are all different things.#the only downside to this notion is that you can't use Lucas' name in conjunction with the EU to win a debate or rant about LF.#or use Lucas' name to validate a headcanon that came from the EU #Aside from being glad he got to create a universe that inspired so many artists and creators to let their imagination go wild #he barely gave a crap about what other writers did in a parallel universe that he didn't even see as canon.#and that's FINE #collection of quotes #89 quotes I think #this may be the longest or second post I've written yet #meta #sw meta #expanded universe #george lucas #lucas quotes #dave filoni #youtube #star wars #star wars analysis #TCW #star wars comics #star wars novels #lucasfilm #EU #Legends #star wars legends #sw legends #supplementary material #long post

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lierenprotectionsquad · 3 months

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If you want to read the Maze Runner books, but the size of the universe is intimidating, here’s my recommendation.

Obviously, you’d need the main trilogy, The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. But after that is where it gets optional and interesting.

The Kill Order is the origin of WICKED and the flare, and is very good for anyone who wants more exposition and world-building. As well as a deeper look into Teresa and her motivations.

The Fever Code is the origin of the maze and the gladers. It’s very bts-heavy, and dives deep into Thomas’ motivations, as well as his relationships, not only with his friends, but the people in charge as well. It’s also where you want to go if you want more backstory on Newt, both his life before WICKED and during. Also if you just wanna see Newt living rent free in Thomas’ head for three hundred-something pages.

Crank Palace is for us mentally ill Newt-girlies (gender neutral) who just want to see him happy and loved, and is somehow naive enough to think we’ll get the former in this novella.

The sequel series is also heavy on what was going on behind the scenes for Newt, but it’s a whole other commitment, especially since it’s an ongoing series. I’d mostly recommend it if you read everything else and miss the universe and want to go back. I will say, tho, Crank Palace is imperative to these two books.

There’s also the short e-book, The Maze Runner Files, which contains some exposition, and some short stories about Thomas, Minho and Frypan.

Now, everything I listed that isn’t the main trilogy is a fully optional read, they are not necessary. However! I will list the entire series, both in chronological order and my recommended first-time-reading order, in case anyone else might want to try all of it.

So the chronological order goes as follows:

The Kill Order, The Fever Code, The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, The Maze Runner Files, Crank Palace, The Maze Cutter, The Godhead Complex

And for my recommended reading order for first time readers:

The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, The Kill Order, The Fever Code, The Maze Runner Files, Crank Palace, The Maze Cutter, The Godhead Complex

TLDR

The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure are must-reads

The Kill Order is for world building and Teresa

The Fever Code is for maze building, Thomas and Newt

The Maze Runner Files is an add-on that is wholly unnecessary for understanding the context of any of the books, but is just kinda fun

Crank Palace is for Newt and being very very depressed

The Maze Cutter and The Godhead Complex is for continuing in the universe, longing for Newt and depression

#newtmas #the maze runner #the scorch trials #the death cure #the kill order #the fever code #the maze runner files #crank palace #the maze cutter #the godhead complex #newt #newt tmr #tmr newt #thomas #tmr thomas #thomas tmr #teresa agnes #james dashner #shut up sparky

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walkawaytall · 5 months

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No, but I continue to be salty about the fact that someone decided it was canon for Poe to not meet Leia until he was an adult.

I just feel like him being the kid of two people she and Han knew, him losing his mother so young…it’s like solid plot points, motivations, and drama were just laid out on a silver platter and everyone was like, “Nah, we’ll make this make less sense and also worse.”

Like, we never even got specific motivation from Ben about why he’s so bitter about Han in particular (okay, at least not that I remember. I admittedly haven’t seen any of the sequel trilogy in nearly four years, but what I recall was some one-off vague comment about Han not being around that sounded about like the reason every kid in every ‘90s movie with a Busy Business Dad would give for why their father wasn’t at a soccer game or whatever).

You know what would be more interesting? Han and Leia — both orphans themselves, and Leia twice over — doing their best to help Kes out after Shara dies, taking Poe on a weekend every-so-often, whatever, so he and Ben are basically cousins. And, like, Poe’s interested in ships, right, because his mother was a pilot and that’s what he wants to be, and Han’s more than happy to talk shop with the kid for as long as his attention span lasts. And when Ben’s, like, five he could not possibly care less about this, but as he gets older, he misinterprets common interest as abject favoritism of Poe or even a sort of rejection of himself because, while Han absolutely tries, he’s never going to fully understand the Jedi stuff and talking about flying is simple for him.

And Leia and Poe bond over old Rebellion stuff. He wants to hear about Shara and wants more stories to ask his dad about once he goes home and Ben’s kind of over it, so it’s just another area where he feels like his parents are better-bonded with someone who isn’t him. It’s not negligence or actual favoritism or rejection; it’s a complicated situation where Han and Leia are trying to do right by both boys and misunderstandings and hurt feelings ensue because kids don’t always see the big picture or whatever. And also I’m sure Han and Leia make mistakes, but they also want to be there for an old friend and this child who they have known his entire life who lost his mother — their friend and colleague — way, way too young.

And it would continue to add to the complex feelings Ben has about his mother when she starts another rebellion, which is already complicated for him, but then he finds out that Dameron kid, who’s basically family but also who he has a lot of bitterness toward, is not only involved in this rebellion; he’s kind of Leia’s go-to guy. So, Ben’s become the monster his mother always feared resided in her own blood while Poe’s a shiny, good-guy pilot just like Shara…just like Han.

Wouldn’t that have been more interesting than “My dad was never there for vague reasons, Rey, plz feel bad for me”?

Anyway, I said it when I talked about my Ewok makeover montage idea and I’ll say it again: I should be in charge of more things.

#Star Wars #sequel trilogy #leia organa #han solo #poe dameron #kes dameron #shara bey #kylo ren #ben solo

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starwarspilotstournament · 6 months

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Star Wars Pilots Tournament - Round 4

Who's the better pilot?

Propaganda:

Poe Dameron:

I love him so much

not only does he rapidly familiarize himself with a ship he has no prior experience flying (the TIE fighter in TFA) he is able to fly it well, until they get distracted squabbling and one of the missiles land (and when he does crash, he keeps them both alive which is especially impressive considering the design of a TIE). Furthermore, he's not just considered the best pilot in the Resistance in the movies, in the comics he is referred to as the best pilot in the galaxy — and considering how gracefully he flies (which we see during his 1 on 1 with the dreadnought in tlj), its no surprise hes considered that! He literally flies like/better than most Jedi I've ever seen and he isn't even the least bit force sensitive!! And altho he has a little trouble with the falcon, he's able to successfully navigate the lightspeed skipping and do the calculations himself while avoiding crashing at any of the new locations, and keeping the ties off them at the same time that he's trying to fill Finn in on what he's doing. Extra bonus propaganda: he was canonically trained by Wedge Antilles, and lightspeed skipped for the first time when he was just 16 years old. It's also heavily implied that he graduated the flight academy early by a year in various canonical timelines cited, and he very quickly rose through the ranks in the New Republic Defense Fleet, becoming a Commander of his own squadron, and holding that rank when he joined the resistance and was instantly put in charge of his own flight wing.

Han Solo:

I mean he did the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs, I mean it’s Han Solo how much propaganda does an iconic character like Han Solo need

#star wars pilots round 4 #star wars #star wars bracket #tournament #bracket #star wars pilots bracket #poll tournament #pollblr #showdown #star wars tournament #polls #star wars pilot poll #poe dameron #star wars sequel trilogy #han solo #original trilogy

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antianakin · 4 months

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@theneutralmime

That's incredibly subjective at this point, since we've got at LEAST 3-4 different "canons" depending on how you look at it right now.

The first is Lucas's personal canon, which I imagine is what you're remembering having read somewhere as being just the films and TCW, although this would just be the first SIX films and the first SIX seasons of TCW and nothing else (this includes the sequel trilogy and season 7 of TCW, as well as films like Solo and Rogue One).

Anything beyond those things but that was created prior to the Disney buyout in 2014 is considered "Legends" canon (previously known as the Extended Universe before the buyout). This includes things like the original Thrawn trilogy, the Jedi Apprentice/Quest novels, the 2003 Clone Wars show, etc. Lucas did not consider them part of HIS Star Wars story and had no problem with ignoring anything introduced in Legends material if he didn't like it (nor did he have an issue with USING things he DID like from Legends material, but he often warped it to fit into his own story). Disney doesn't consider any of it as canon, but different creators have been slowly "re-canonizing" some of it in recent media (like Jango/Boba Fett being Mandalorians, or Siri Tachi's existence).

Anything created AFTER the 2014 buyout is considered "Disney canon." Unlike Lucas, Disney doesn't seem to be really separating their films/TV shows from their other content like books/comics/games in terms of continuity, but not everyone is actually consuming everything so sometimes shit doesn't match anyway. Generally the films and Disney+ TV shows (which for this purpose will include things like Rebels even though that show was created prior to Disney+ existing) are probably considered "higher" canon than things like the books, comics, and games, but it isn't as clear cut as it used to be under Lucas. While I think many of the things created under Disney canon, especially the films and Disney+ shows, are TRYING to be considered part of the same continuity as Lucas's canon, they're also definitely still doing their own thing and Lucas himself has no influence on them.

Rebels would be considered DISNEY canon since it was created after the buyout. Same goes for The Bad Batch as well as the Obi-Wan Kenobi show.

Tales of the Jedi is weird because it technically is within Disney canon, but I believe Filoni has claimed that audiences should see it less as actual canon events and more as like... "fables" or something like that. So basically the dude in charge said we can disregard anything in this show as canon if you want to, I guess. That being said, there's nothing in it that completely contradicts the more accepted canon (Lucas's stuff and the Disney films and TV shows), so I think that most people generally consider this show as "canon" no matter what Filoni said.

And of course, there's always your personal canon, which is just whatever you decide to SEE as canon regardless of anything "official." I personally dislike Tales of the Jedi and the Ahsoka show and am fully willing to just... pretend they're not canon. Neither of them has any real bearing on the larger narrative Lucas wrote anyway and you can obviously understand and enjoy the original six films without them.

I mostly use these distinctions when I'm having a discussion with someone about something like, say, the intentions behind the story. Because that can obviously change WILDLY depending on who is writing the story. Lucas and Filoni are not the same person, much as Filoni might like to believe otherwise, and so they have radically different approaches to Star Wars, its messages, and its worldbuilding. Something Filoni writes in a Disney canon show does NOT have any relevance to a discussion about what Lucas was trying to say about the Prequels Jedi, for example. Same goes for anything written in a Legends novel or comic book.

Star Wars is relatively easy to cherry pick from depending on what you enjoy. Especially these days, with how much content is being cycled out all the time. So if you just don't care for Disney canon at all, you can just... ignore it and focus on Lucas's canon and Legends material if you want. If you happen to be one of the people who just doesn't vibe with Lucas's messages, you can focus more on Legends canon and Filoni's more recent work. Or you can exclusively enjoy Lucas's canon and absolutely nothing else. Or you can pick and choose from within each "canon" depending on what vibes with you. The galaxy far far away is your oyster!

#star wars #legends #george lucas #disney #star wars original trilogy #star wars prequel trilogy #star wars sequel trilogy

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nicosraf · 5 months

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hiyaaa finishing abm was so incredible! i loved how you tied in lucifer’s fall from heaven as the meteor that impacted earth. that being said, I’m also a big fan of paradise lost. if lucifer wasn’t cast into hell from the initial fall (like from what milton describes), will hell be a place in a&m? does it not exist at all? or does lucifer create hell himself?

hello!! i'm glad u liked it! and that u liked the meteor thing!! it's very silly and i love it very much

also, i need you to know that i'm laughing a lot right now. i was starting to think no one would mention this before the sequel came out!! but yes you're right, Lucifer didn't get cast down to hell :) he landed on earth, along with all the other demons. hm ! i wonder what that means for A&M!

something theological is that hell as a concept is pretty silly; it's hardly in the Bible itself, if at all (this is an article I read a long time ago that has stuck with me). Most of Christian hell is stolen from Dante's Inferno, but where did Dante get his ideas from? Mostly Islam. Briefly, I considered not writing in hell at all.

Back when I was conceptualizing the trilogy for the first time, though, I read the Book of Enoch and did some research. I remember learning that the story of Enoch was one of the first (known) scriptures to bring up this idea that there existed some kind of good-evil judgment after death, as opposed to the general Sheol, where all souls go. You can see this in the passage where Raphael explains to Enoch why there are separate places for the dead:

I had the thought that maybe the events of Enoch could be tied to the creation of hell. And, you know, the Christian hell is really amusing — the devil being in charge of this random burning place where he punishes bad people, seemingly with God's permission.

So, in short, yes Lucifer will receive his hell in A&M :)

#this is one of those things that i was REALLY unsure drafting because I felt like i was bending over backwards to make #any theological sense #but oooooh im so so happy with it #also im happy you asked!!!#i really thought no one would notice this ajajakdh #mine #ask

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jessicas-pi · 1 year

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Okay so @kanerallels and @lone-star-ranger said they'd love to see how I would have done the Sequel Trilogy if I had been put in charge of it. This is a mere sampling of how I would abuse the power of frankensteining the movies into my own masterpiece of nonsense:

During Rey's first appearance in TFA, when she's scavenging, she's listening to music on a space walkman in an obvious GotG spoof.

Jacen Syndulla would appear once every movie, but never as a character with the rebellion. just Some Guy In A Situation.

whenever there's background music, at least one extra in the background would be dancing to it.

Poe and Kylo used to be friends as kids and Poe tells everyone he can about all the stupid stuff mini-Ben did when he was little

There would be an option in the extras menu for BB-8 to have subtitles.

pretty sure they deleted a scene where rose bit hux. i'm undeleting it.

I keep the "somehow palpatine returned" line but Poe looks right into the camera as he says it

Rey's past is never revealed. Just to mess with people. I would secretly go online and provide dozens of contradictory "leaks" about who her parents were and then never publicly acknowledge any of them.

someone calls poe's fashion sense "rebel chic"

Finn swears the rebel base is haunted and nobody believes him. turns out he's force-sensitive and it's qui-gon jinn trolling him.

The real reason Han and Leia split up was that Han kept forgetting to put his dishes in the dishwasher

#star wars sequel trilogy #jessica's writing nonsense #i guess?

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lokiondisneyplus · 9 months

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Disney has revealed that it has spent $141.3 million (£110.6 million) on pre-production and filming of the second season of its Loki streaming series as it attempts to reinvigorate its struggling Marvel Studios division after a string of critical and commercial failures.

No expense has been spared on Loki Season 2 which cost more in pre-production and filming than many big screen Marvel movies including Doctor Strange (£102.7 million), Thor 2: The Dark World (£99.4 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy (£91.1 million).

Due to debut on the Disney+ platform in October, the sequel to the hit 2021 series stars Tom Hiddleston as the eponymous Asgardian god of mischief. He is joined by Owen Wilson and a new addition to the cast, Oscar-winning Indiana Jones actor Ke Huy Quan who team up to stop a time-travelling conqueror called Kang.

Indiana Jones star Ke Huy Quan is joining Loki for Season 2.2023 MARVEL

Quan's role has been particularly well-received with one fan gushing that "this is the greatest thing to ever happen. I adore this man". Another described it as "like seeing an old friend. It is comforting to see him on screen." One fan even went as far as to say that Quan is reason enough for tuning in. "I was on the fence on watching Loki season 2 but I saw that Ke Huy Quan is in it and yeah...I'm definitely watching that." It is more than can be said for most of Marvel's productions this year.

The studio kicked off 2023 with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a sci-fi film which opened in February and introduced the Kang character. Its domestic debut weekend box office of $106 million was the highest in the Ant-Man trilogy but then it fell by 70%, resulting in the biggest second-weekend drop in the franchise's history. The movie ended up grossing $476.1 million worldwide which was lower than both of its prequels. As we revealed, Disney spent $193.2 million on pre-production and filming alone.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was widely criticised for its CGI Photo courtesy of Marvel ... [+]COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS

Just days after her departure, Marvel was rocked again when Kang actor Jonathan Majors was arrested on assault and harassment charges. He denies them and will get a chance to explain why when he goes on trial this month.

Then came Secret Invasion. Disney had high hopes for the streaming series which launched in June and was based on a beloved comic series about a race of shape-shifting aliens secretly invading the corridors of power. However, its serious tone, gaping plot holes and poor CGI put off fans leading to its crescendo becoming the single lowest-rated episode of any Marvel series with just a 7% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

As we revealed, staggeringly, it had a budget of $211.6 million. It explains why Disney's chief executive Bob Iger said in February that the studio needs to "reduce costs on everything that we make because, while we're extremely proud of what's on the screen, it's gotten to a point where it's extraordinarily expensive."

A total of 7,000 job cuts and $5.5 billion of cost-savings followed, but even that wasn't enough. Just last month, Iger told CNBC that Disney is slowing down when it comes to making movies and streaming series for its Marvel and Star Wars franchises. "You pull back not just to focus, but also as part of our cost containment initiative. Spending less on what we make, and making less," he said.

Season 2 of Loki was given the green light long before these comments and before Iger even returned to the helm of Disney in November last year. It shows.

The series was filmed at the historic Pinewood Studios just outside London as well as on location across the UK capital. It's a far cry from tinsel town and this shines a spotlight on the otherwise secretive cost of film-making.

Budgets of streaming shows are usually confidential as studios combine the cost of them in their overall expenses and don't itemise how much they spent on each one.

Shows made in the UK are an exception. They benefit from the government's Television Tax Relief scheme which allows studios to claim a cash reimbursement of up to 25% of the money they spend in the country.

To qualify, shows must pass a points test based on factors such as how much filming was done in the UK, the level of UK content and how much they promote UK heritage. Furthermore, at least 10% of the core costs of the production need to relate to activities in the UK and in order to demonstrate this to the government, studios set up a separate Television Production Company (TPC) there for each picture.

These TPCs have to file publicly-available financial statements showing everything from the headcount and salaries to the total cost of the production and the amount of cash they have got back.

The UK government's regulations state that each TPC must be "responsible for pre-production, principal photography and post-production of the television programme; and for delivery of the completed programme." Accordingly, there is no doubt that their financial statements show all of the costs of each series. It isn't even possible for studios to hide costs in other companies as the law also states that "there can only be one TPC in relation to a programme."

The companies usually have code names so that they don’t raise attention when filing for permits to film on location. The Disney subsidiary behind Loki Season 2 is called Limbo Productions I UK in a nod to title character's transient status. Its first set of financial statements were filed on Sunday and cover the 18-month period to October 31 2022 which is when filming wrapped.

They reveal that the company was handed a $27.9 million (£21.8 million) reimbursement bringing its net spending down to $113.4 million which is still far from small beer. The colossal cost dates back to the peak of the pandemic when much of the world was locked indoors addicted to streaming content. Disney was eagerly adding shows to its streaming platform in a bid to attract more subscribers than its rivals.

Season 1 of Loki was the most-watched Marvel TV show to date on Disney+ ©Marvel Studios 2020. All ... [+]COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS

According to industry analysts Samba TV, Loki's first episode was watched by 2.5 million households in its first five days giving it a higher audience than any of Marvel's other streaming shows - a record which stands to this day. The streaming bubble has long since burst thanks to the easing of the pandemic and pure strings being pulled due to rising inflation. However, Season 2's budget could be more important now than ever. Disney doesn't just need it to succeed in order to give a glow to Marvel but to its entire streaming platform.

Unlike theatrical releases, which share ticket sales between studios and exhibitors, Disney receives all of the revenue from its streaming platform. Subscribers pay a single fee which grants them access to all of its new content throughout the year, with or without advertising depending on how much they pay. This makes it impossible to calculate how much subscription revenue is generated by each streaming show.

Instead, the total costs of the shows are deducted from the total revenue to determine whether the platform overall made a profit or a loss. The more subscribers it has, the higher the revenue and the greater the potential for profit. However, Disney wisely changed its goal of chasing subscribers in light of the bleak economic backdrop. Its aim now is to reduce the cost of the programming which also gives a greater potential for profit. It is badly needed.

Disney+ hasn't made a profit since it was launched in 2019 and made an operating loss of $659 million in the first quarter of 2023 alone. Disney has assured investors that the platform will be profitable by the end of its 2024 fiscal year and time will tell whether Loki Season 2's blockbuster budget is a help or a hindrance to that.

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thedrunkenreadersreviews · 6 months

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Review of "A Curse for True Love"

SPOILERS, BEWARE! 👻

For tonight's review, let's sip a little bit of some fine, spiked apple cider (it seemed incredibly fitting) and talk about this book.

*Sip, sip*

Now, let's start off with the previous two books in the Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber real quick.

*Sip, sip*

Going into the trilogy, I hated Jacks. Not for the reason you think. I hated Jacks because of how Garber depicted him in the Caraval trilogy---which is perfect! I had not come across a villain I enjoyed reading and loved to hate until I came across Jacks. It was amazing! And when I found out he was getting his own sequel trilogy I felt obliged to give it a try. So I picked up "Once Upon a Broken Heart" and read through it with a bit of drag until the crypt scene 😳. And then there was Ballad.

*Long sip, sip*

Ahhhhhhhh, "The Ballad of Never After." That was my guilty pleasure. My sweet symphony. The only time I felt Garber getting risqué with her writing and I ate. It. Up. Like I needed to stop so my cheeks would calm down. I felt the tension between Jacks and Eva, I felt the yearning, and then I felt the heartache. All without a single kiss between them. THAT is an accomplishment on Garber's part, so bravo to her! 👏 I typically don't cry when reading books. It takes a lot. While I did not cry at the end of Ballad, I did shed a tear and felt devastated.

"Time will take something of equal value from you."

"There is nothing of equal value to me."

And then *BOOM* memory gone! Eva is no longer yours yet again!

Well played, Garber.

*Sip, sip*

Now my anticipation for "A Curse for True Love" was over the moon. I hadn't been that excited for a book release since "The Queen of Nothing" by Holly Black. Now, did Curse live up to my expectations ...

*Sip, sip*

...

*Sip, sip*

Unfortunately, no. BUT! I do not think it is nearly as bad as other people say it is nor do I believe it is beyond the possibilities of being redeemed in the future (more on that later).

Where did it glow?

The ending. Honestly, I agree with most reviewers that the last 20% of the book was top-tier. What the entire book should have been. How fantastic it could have been. In fact, the last 20% of the book is the reason why I do not believe it is as bad as people are saying. Do I wish the love confession was a bit more ... well, more? At least on Jacks' part, yes. I thought Eva's confession was beautiful and perfect and stunning in every way. I love how the first kiss happened and it made sense that she took charge of it given that Jacks was utterly terrified of her dying again. I was, for the first time, hoping Eva (the MFC) confessed first because I felt it was the boost that Jacks would need to trust himself to not only kiss her but believe that she actually loves him since he deems himself as unlovable and a villain, even in his own story.

I wish---so desperately wish---that Jacks had showered Eva's face in kisses when he realized she would not die from them. I wish it led to a scene that contained the heat (not spice, just heat) that a lot of the scenes from "Ballad" possessed. I think it would have just tied up their journey of falling in love and trusting each other, as well as themselves, nicely because moments like that do require an awful amount of trust. Scenes like that are not meant to just get the reader hot and bothered, especially not in YA books. No, us adults are mere visitors in the realm of YA and we must keep that in mind when it comes to these types of scenes. Moments like those are useful in storytelling if done properly and can be utilized as a form of character development and character relationship development, as it could have been done here. Was it necessary? No, but it could have added something to both the characters as individuals as well as their relationship with each other since a majority of that relationship was about trust and denial of feelings.

The rest of the ending though, was exceptional. Jacks punching Apollo was sooooooooo satisfying and I love how the countdown to this book's release included Apollo getting punched in the face by Jacks actually came into existence. Seeing the Valors and Jacks interact was incredible and I felt the familiarity between them (I mean Jacks is the only one with the ENORMOUS STONES to punch not one but two Valors and stab another). I love how Lala and Jacks have such a brother-sister relationship. I adore Jacks' disdain for Aurora and his utter devotion towards Eva.

*Sip, sip*

And another thing, I thought the characters WERE acting like themselves (for the most part). Eva was acting like herself before her memories returned and especially after. I thought Apollo was acting like himself and it was made very clear based on what Garber revealed in his POVs (which I did believe were essential for the plot). His actions made sense based on what he had gone through and what he endured. I do not sympathize with Apollo but I understood his actions. I also think we saw some growth from him in this book, specifically because of his POVs and I enjoyed that.

The only one who didn't seem to fully be acting like themselves in the beginning and the beginning only was Jacks---but THAT MADE SENSE.

*Sip, sip*

You see, at that point, Jacks was in love with Eva. He knew it. The North knew it. Time knew it. The Story Curse knew it. We knew it. The only person who didn't know it was Eva herself. Believing he had already met his true love, despite being in love with Eva, he was terrified that he would kill her. He had no idea Apollo took her memories, he thought Time did (which, it did, to be fair and I still believe that taking Eva's memories through Apollo was Time's way of taking Eva from Jacks even if she didn't die). However, so obsessed with her and in love with her was he that he couldn't just leave. He HAD to find excuses to stay because he wasn't ready to let go. I would have loved to see Jacks try to find a way to restore Eva's memories, kidnap her, bring her to the Hollow, try to convince her that he was the one she was supposed to be with. BUT I understand why Garber took the route of Jacks trying to step away from Eva.

One scene I was really hoping to see was something along the lines of Eva reading her letter, arguing with Jacks, trying to stay away from Jacks but Jacks not relenting and alone, preferably in the Hollow, Eva breaks and says something along the lines of "My mind and my words are telling me to hate you, to not trust you. Yet my heart yearns for you like it belongs to you. Like you're my home." Alas, we cannot have everything we desire.

*Sip, sip*

Oh, and yes, I love how Garber answered the apple question. We always suspected and I love how she made us into the Story Curse, wanting to know the answer to that one burning question that we have had ever since Legendary. That was beautifully done.

*Sip, sip*

Now, where does it sour?

*Sip, sip*

The first 80% of the book with the exception of a few scenes. Every scene with Jacks and Eva I thought was great. I still felt the tension and I enjoyed how Eva still had feelings for Jacks even when not having memories of him. Every scene Jacks was in was gold. I particularly enjoyed that midnight chat he had with Castor. You really get a sense of just how much Jacks and Castor have leaned on each other throughout the years. Which brings me to my greatest gripes with this book:

*Sip, sip, sip*

While the ending is not spelt out, I don't believe Jacks is a Fate anymore. It was established (like a lot of things) in the Caraval trilogy that immortal beings lose their immortality but not their powers when they fall in love. Jacks obviously falls in love with Eva as Legend fell in love with Tella, but it has to be a clear decision on the immortal's part to give in to their love and accept their mortal life with their mortal lover. So while Jacks is in love with Eva by the end of Ballad and obviously throughout Curse, he saw it as no good, that their love would not be enough to break his curse and he would kill her because she was not Tella so there was no chance nor point in him giving up his immortality (which he gained so Castor wouldn't be alone which like, awwwwwww sweet Jacks is a ride or die homie 🥺). However, he does give in to his love and chooses to stay with Eva when they are at the Phoenix Tree. So while he still possesses his powers, albeit not to the extent that he used to as evident from later events, he is no longer immortal, no longer a Fate as I think Garber hints at by calling him a "not-quite-human boy." Not quite human because he used to be a Fate and still possesses his powers. It is like calling Legend a not-quite-human boy because he still has his magic.

*Sip, sip*

But my biggest issue with the book, the thing that really disappoints me, its unforgivable sin, is the LACK of Eva and Jacks together. More time should have been dedicated to them as a couple, finding their way back to each other. Had the plot of the last 20% of the book been expanded into the majority plot of the book, MAN would this thing have blown me away.

Seeing evil Jacks again, reading how awful he could be reminded me of just how fantastic of a villain he was in Caraval and just how much I missed that evil side of him. Damn, I missed me some Prince of Hearts vileness. It was delicious! Ahhhhhh....

*Sip, sip*

But, there are also the many questions I still have and while having questions at the end is not always a bad thing, a reader shouldn't have more questions than answers. Some questions I feel I have been cheated out of the answers of are:

Who exactly was the first fox?

How did Jacks beat the Archer's Curse?

How did Jacks become a Fate?

Why the Prince of Hearts Fate?

Who the heck put the Valors in the arch?

What happened to the cuff?

Finally, while I do love tragic backstories and having Jacks' heart have been broken pretty much for his entire adult life to the point where he had lost all hope is exceptionally tragic, the whole twist on Jacks' lethal kiss curse was ... bad. That tragedy of Jacks constantly killing a potential happily ever after could have remained without his curse having been rewritten. I appreciate Aurora being the one to curse him with the Archer's Curse but for her to be responsible for the thing that essentially makes him the FATED Prince of Hearts took so much mysticism and magical whimsy out of his Fate status for me. Like, I would have loved it to be tied directly to his Fate status and Fate design, not something he entered Fate status already cursed with.

*Sip, sip, sip,sip*

Now, how can it be redeemed?

Well, I mentioned previously my anticipation for "The Queen of Nothing." And while I did enjoy that book, it didn't live up to my expectations either and I believe it is the weakest in the trilogy. That does NOT mean it's bad, it just isn't what it could have been much like this book. But it was redeemed with a simple novella.

And I believe the same could happen here. Should Garber answer some of those questions that we are still reeling over in a novella, I think it would appease a lot of the disappointed fans. A novella about Jacks becoming a Fate, of the whole debacle at Merrywood Manor, Jacks' time in the Hollow, befriending the Valors. Like, where did Jacks come from? A backstory on Jacks as we got a bit more depth on Cardan in his novella. Heck, Gabrer can even split it between past and present like Black did; give us domestic Jacks and Eva like we LOVED in Ballad while giving us a backstory on Jacks might just be able to save this book. Though, future Jacks and Eva, I do not foresee happening if we ever do return to this world considering the fact that there are three alternate endings out there.

*Sip, sip*

So, my dear readers and drinkers, is "A Curse for True Love" bad? No. Is it great? No. It is enjoyable, a nice ending to a heartbreaking love story, and satisfying. It wasn't exceptional, fantastic, or great, though it did have those moments within it. In essence, "Ballad" is exactly that; a sweet ballad, the shining star in this trilogy. My ranking of the books in order from best to weakest: Ballad, Once, Curse.

*Sip, sip*

And for all of you out there so horribly upset with this book, I do understand, but please, Ms. Garber does not deserve hatred. She is a kind-hearted human with a beautiful heart who just wants to write sweet love stories, and we should let her. I will always wish Eva and Jacks got a cataclysmic ending like they deserved upon a candle-lit dock with Lala and Castor and maybe even Luc being the only witnesses as they profess their love and promise to each other, but I am content knowing that they are at least together. Thank you, Stephanie Garber, for this beautiful trilogy. I hope that one day we get to return to this wonderful, magical realm.

Now with Halloween just around the corner, I raise my spiked apple cider to you and say this:

Happily live the Prince of Hearts, one of the only two blond-haired main male characters that I adore.

May peace always be with Eva, a fantastic female main character who wields not swords nor exceptional magic, but is just a hopeless romantic like the lot of us.

And goodnight to you, dear readers. Be well, and always, always keep it creepy and stay spooky, friends.

*Sip, sip*

#acftl #evajacks #jacks the prince of hearts #jacks x evangeline #stephanie garber #the ballad of never after #Once upon a broken heart #tbona #ouabh #acftl spoilers #review #acftl review #book review

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ahsoka-its-all-of-us · 1 year

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Concepts in case Disney randomly decides to put me in charge of a new Disney Infinity Star Wars line

Okay so obviously in terms of additional playable characters we need CLONES. The most logical options here are Rex, Cody, and the Bad Batch, including Omega. But what if we would go one step further and also add Fives? I dunno I just think he’s earned it ;-; And maybe Rebels-Era Wolffe and Gregor, cause old clones can be just as fierce

Speaking of Rebels era: it’s a deep disgrace that Hera isn’t a playable character yet, so of course she should be first choice. Additional characters that deserve to get a figure are Kallus and Thrawn, because both of them are simply awesome and both visually and in play appealing enough to get their own figures. The Grand Inquisitor could also be added

Additional Jedi: Mace Windu, Plo Koon, Shaak Ti and Kit Fisto

From the live action series and Rogue One: Din Djarin, Cassion Andor, Jyn Erso, Fennec Shand. I will literally die if Grogu becomes a playable character, imagine the cuteness overload

DROIDS DESERVE TO BE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS TOO!!! Obviously C-3PO and R2-D2, but I’d like to see BB-8, Chopper and K-2S0 as well

I don’t really have anyone from the sequel era because I’ve only seen those movies once, but I would vote for Klaud if only for the meme potential of recreating live slug reaction moments

Additional Clone Wars era characters: Cad Bane, Hondo, Dooku, Ventress, Padmé (in a travel outfit), Grievous, perhaps Bail Organa? Senators deserve more love and I dunno it just seems hilarious to me that you perform his special move and it’s just him pulling out a soapbox and holding an oration

Chancellor Palpatine as a playable character lol. Imagine playing as Palps and getting killed by Grievous, what a twist that would be

Lando Calrissian as a playable character, because he’s awesome and come on he was pretty much the only POC in the original trilogy, if anyone deserves to be a playable character it’s him

Playsets: a The Mandalorian/The Book Of Boba Fett playset, a Rebels playset, a Bad Batch playset. And of course additional ones for the trilogies and The Clone Wars are welcome as well

Circular power discs that change appearance: a disc for Chancellor Friendpatine that turns him into the Emperor, one for Echo that gives him back his ARC armour, one for Padmé that turns her into Queen Amidala, one for Kallus that gives him his Rebellion outfit, one for Ahsoka that turns her into her (post-)Rebels era self including the white lightsabers, one for Obi-Wan that turns him into his older Episode IV version. And maybe one for Din that removes his helmet 👀👀👀

Purple hexagonal power discs: featuring locations such as Coruscant, Tatooine, Hoth, Dagobah, Kamino, Scarif, and Lothal

Orange hexagonal power discs: featuring an AT-AT, an Imperial speeder bike, a Star Destroyer, a Separatist tank, the Ghost, etc.

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 5 months

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Yet Another Disney Rant, Because...

... Bob Iger is just not reading the room...

Bob Iger, CEO of Disney for those who may live under a rock, did some talking today in the wake of WISH flopping... In addition to a centennial year full of financial flops...

Never mind the many ways Disney as a corporation could go about this set of failures... He chose to say stuff like:

“THE MARVELS was shot during COVID, and there wasn't enough supervision on set [from execs]”

Also...

He stated that the **creatives** at the studio "lost sight" of "what their job should be"...

That is... "Entertain first. It's not about messages."

So we're kowtowing to the defective geese that honk "WOKE WOKE WOKE" at everything that so as much moves?

This ain't it, Bob...

More executive interference is not the answer. Remember how buckling Disney Feature Animation top to bottom with execs that warded off the creatives every step of the way worked out?

Ideally, they should just let the filmmaker do as they please (and be open to suggestions, of course) with a reasonable budget at their side. We saw a taste of that in big budget moviemaking this year pay off quite nicely... BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER, hello!!

Disney made that happen on a few occasions outside of all-animated features. Remember how they gave the director of MOUSE HUNT and THE RING a massive budget to make a goddamn pirate movie? In an era where pirate movies were considered "box office poison"? Yeah...

Now let's look at some of Disney's biggest hits when Iger was in charge. The STAR WARS sequel trilogy and ROGUE ONE? No messages? No themes? Not political? Whatever qualms one may have with the sequel trilogy, the one thing you can't say is that they're not political or have some kind of message. It's always been the people vs. space fascists, who are very clearly based on real-life fascists. Aaaaaaall the way back to the original 1977 STAR WARS, which George Lucas based on the Vietnam War, the Richard Nixon administration, you get the idea!

The AVATAR sequel that opened just a month after Iger's return? Like, need I say more?

Marvel? Absolutely, for all the MCU's faults, they are political and message-y. All the IRON MAN movies, THE WINTER SOLDIER, CIVIL WAR, RAGNAROK, BLACK PANTHER, CAPTAIN MARVEL, they all chipped at something like that. If not that, then they're all basically propaganda for the military industrial-complex. Not the desired political message, but it is one nonetheless. If we're saying "dial down the messaging in these movies"... See how contradictory this all is??

Animation, both Disney Animation and Pixar. ZOOTOPIA, made a billion, the whole damn thing is an Aesop-like parable of prejudice. MOANA, very much a parallel to colonialism and environmentalism. FROZEN II is also about colonialism in some way or another, sins of the past. ENCANTO's generational trauma is completely rooted in its setting's history. Even something like COCO or TURNING RED (the latter greenlit when Iger was in charge) are still political in some way or another - having representation in a large white male-dominated field, that these movies exist and are somewhat doing something for representation. All art is political, really. It's silly to suggest that art isn't, or that art doesn't have some kind of "message".

If this was about poorly integrating the messages into the narratives, like - say - STRANGE WORLD does, then I would understand... But this reads to me as "hey now, don't get political, just giving the masses mindless entertainment comes first"...

Like... Why?

These dunderheaded statements don't make any sense to me.

Especially when the whole history of Disney films and entertainment has some kind of "message" or theme or idea that it's all relaying to the audience. Hell, they made a ton of World War II propaganda films back in the day! You think something like, say, BAMBI was just about cute deer and forest critters? And not about how human beings carelessly cause mass destruction to an animals' habitat and callously take the lives of animals? You think DUMBO was just a cute elephant tale and not at all about prejudice and not othering others for their differences? Or how's about movies like THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and MULAN? Which were slandered as "politically correct" (the late '90s version of "woke") back in the day? Hell, it doesn't have to be overtly political. It can be a personal kind of message, like there was in - say - MARY POPPINS. Like hey, maybe be nicer to your kids?

Like, there's messaging in Disney's legacy. It's how stories work and connect. And that's aaaaall the way down to the parks, too. Hell, a whole park in Walt Disney World - Epcot - is *supposed* to be educational, didactic, and pushing a message in some way or another. Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, etc. etc. The future, space, the world around us and how we must keep it safe. C'mon now.

Instead of meaningfully addressing the situation, and realizing that what was popular circa 2015 isn't all that big anymore and that maybe Disney should be less concerned with how "Disney" they should make their films, it seems to me that Iger just wants to meddle in the productions more and tailor-make them for audiences that are far smarter than they'd like to believe. Prolonging the funk that they're in...

Like, look at other distribution companies. BARBIE is first and foremost Greta Gerwig's movie, not "Warner Bros. Discovery's BARBIE". OPPENHEIMER is Christopher Nolan's movie, not "Universal's OPPENHEIMER"... Disney needs to get past this "Disney's [Insert Movie Title Here]"... If they did that, they'd be able to make more dynamic movies that the public loves, stuff that wouldn't normally be associated with them. This is why they regularly don't lock acclaimed directors for more original productions, or ones that aren't 20th Century Studios or Searchlight. If they do get one, like Best Picture winner MOONLIGHT director Barry Jenkins, it's because they're attached to some Disney franchise extension. Like wouldn't it be so cool if Jenkins was directing his own movie for Disney and not a fucking tech demo LION KING prequel? They may as well have put him on a Marvel movie!

I mean, yes, Disney did try this a few times in the more recent years to little success. Ava DuVernay directed the massive flop that was A WRINKLE IN TIME (based on the classic novel), and Gore Verbinski didn't find pirate treasure with THE LONE RANGER (based on a character from old radio dramas from the '30s). Even animation familiar Andrew Stanton, who was behind some of Pixar's most beloved films, couldn't turn his John Carter of Mars movie into a franchise starter.

Disney has a sorry history of that, unfortunately. In the '70s and '80s, they turned down the likes of STAR WARS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, and a rather curious Steven Spielberg alien movie that would later morph into E.T.

It even goes back to Walt Disney's later years. Upon seeing TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRG, he remarked "That's the kind of film I'd like to make, but I can't."

Disney has long pigeonholed themselves, they spend too much on their movies, and it's also just fucking hard to second-guess the zeitgeist when something is a year out from release... That should be the evaluation from Iger, NOT "less messaging" and "more executive interference."

I know what Disney CAN be, but it just seems like - between the two Bobs - they actively don't want to pursue that. Well, for the most part. I did say on a piece three-or-so posts ago that I still see interesting stuff coming out of Pixar, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight. Films like TURNING RED, BARBARIAN, THE MENU, and such have been the highlights of these past couple of years of the Mouse House's movie offerings in my not-so-humble opinion. POOR THINGS looks ten times more interesting than half of the stuff that came out from Disney this year alone.

You may say "but it's all about money." Yeah, I get that! But audiences are clearly rejecting the same ol' same ol! If Disney wants money, maybe they should stop doing this same ol' same ol thing!

A suggestion you know?

As for what he said about sequels today... Iger repeated some well-worn statements there, sorta-kinda "we make too much of them" and "now we'll only make them if there's an artistic reason"... Ehhhhh, maybe do something cool with the sequels to old chestnuts. What if TOY STORY 5 or ZOOTOPIA 2 said "screw it" and went all PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH-style soft reboot on these franchises? People will keep coming for sequels if the storytelling doesn't feel like moldy oldies. Your stale old favorites. "Disney, the way you always liked it."

Right? Another suggestion.

Add-on: It's as if Bob Iger, David Zaslav, and El*on M*usk are in a race to see how they can devolve and strip the respective companies they run of what makes them special.

#disney #rant #whatever

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