I don’t think there was ever a time where Star Wars fans were not mad about something. I probably wouldn’t believe anyone who said such a period ever existed. There is literally nowhere you can go online – where Star Wars is mentioned – and not see the conversation eventually devolve into people arguing.
Nowadays, most of that stuff revolves around the Disney era of Star Wars, with fans complaining about the sequel trilogy and its treatment of characters like Luke Skywalker. Many of these people direct their grievances towards Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and often say that things were better when series creator George Lucas was involved.
Now, if you’re younger or you didn’t really get into the fandom until after the prequels, there’s something you need to understand and that is that these people are completely full of garbage. I know this because I remember how fans talked about George Lucas before he sold the franchise. I remember how hated the prequels were by people, and this revisionist history that so many of them are trying to create regarding them is honestly getting on my nerves.It’s because I know for a fact that all of it is not true and I’ll explain why.
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Prior to the prequels, fans were already angry with George. This arguably started in 1997, when the special editions first came out. People were furious that Lucas went back and made changes to the original trilogy with the most infamous one being the “Han shot first” sequence. In the original version of A New Hope, it very clearly looks like Han shoots and kills Greedo without hesitation. In the special edition, however, Greedo shoots first and Han shoots in self defense. Fans were annoyed by this change and still to this day bring it up to people like Harrison Ford who has made it clear that he doesn’t care about it because he’s a normal person. However, things really blew up when The Phantom Menace came out. The movie was notably highly anticipated by fans, but upon its release it got a mixed reception from critics and those same fans.
Growing up, I was always under the impression that the prequels got absolutely panned by critics. The reason for this was because all I ever heard from people was how they were the worst movies ever made yet if you look at a site like Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 51% which isn’t great, but it also isn’t as bad as a score as some of the worst films ever made. Today fans will try and act like the backlash to The Phantom Menace wasn’t that bad, and that people are just exaggerating when they bring it up. Try telling that to some of the film’s actors.
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Jake Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalker in the film, reportedly quit acting not just because of bullying he got from other kids but from adults as well. For years, I remember seeing people making fun of Lloyd’s performance. Grown men were calling a 9-year-old kid a terrible actor. Today, Lloyd struggles with serious mental health issues that very well could’ve been the result of what he went through as a kid. Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks, in the film has also publicly spoken about how the backlash to his character nearly drove him to suicide. This man almost ended his life over fans harassing him for playing a character.
The biggest shift I’ve seen is towards Hayden Christensen, who played adult Anakin. For a good decade or so, whenever the prequels were brought up, one of the main complaints towards them was “whiny Anakin”. There were also the countless jokes about the “I hate sand” line, the scenes of him crying and the romance between him and Padme. Nowadays, people act like it was just all in good fun, but that was not the vibe when those films first came out. They treated Christensen as if he was the worst actor on the planet. And not just the public. Hollywood too. The man has barely done anything since the prequel trilogy. Now, there’s a chance that maybe he made so much money he never felt the need to pursue other roles, but considering that he was in his prime after the films came out, it’s surprising that he didn’t get nearly as many opportunities as his co-star Ewan McGregor, or Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher did back in the 1970s.
Today, it is nice to see both him and Best get positive receptions, timed with their return to the franchise in shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka. However, I just can’t help but feel like so many of the people now welcoming them with open arms aren’t acting like complete hypocrites. As if they weren’t part of the reason these guys waited so long to come back.
Going back to George Lucas himself, all of this negativity was directed towards him more than anyone else. There’s literally an entire documentary where people are given a platform to complain about him.
I remember the day it was announced that he sold the franchise to Disney and, no matter what anyone tries to tell you now, I remember what people’s reaction to the news was: joy and excitment. They were elated that Lucas wouldn’t be involved anymore and that it was the best thing that could possibly happen for the franchise.
So, for these fans saying Lucas should take the rights back or return to the franchise let me ask you this: WHY SHOULD HE? Why would anybody in their right mind want to go back after everything this ridiculous fandom put both him and the cast through? And for a fandom that is still causing controversy today. Let’s not forget to mention the ridiculous outrage against actresses like Kelly Marie Tran and Moses Ingram. The latter of which caused Ewan McGregor himself to take to social media to defend her.
You know what Lucas said when he retired? He said, ” Why would I make any more when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?” The only thing Lucas probably regrets about selling the franchise is that his friend Kathleen Kennedy is now subjected to the exact same thing he was, but even worse with the added sexism towards her.
While Lucasfilm and Disney have so much Star Wars content planned for years to come, the question remains if the fandom deserves it. While not every fan is toxic, if past behavior has taught us anything it’s that negative behavior is inevitable. It forces the characters, the actors playing them, and the people who created them to confront a real life dark side. Unlike the films, no matter how hard they try there is no winning.
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