On Star Wars

3:00 pm, Tuesday, October 30, 2012.

PATRICK'S BRAIN EXPLODED.

Ok, I just have to blog about THE news.  Even though this really isn't a blog anymore but a place to dump my rare explosions of pop culture long-form writing.  WHATEVER.

So as you MUST be aware, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, and Disney greenlit a "Star Wars Episode 7" for 2015.

Like most people, I think my reactions have moved from shock to hopefulness.  George Lucas is the mind from which it all sprung, but he's a weird fucking dude.  He thinks Jar Jar Binks, midi-chlorians, and not releasing proper versions of the OT are all good ideas.

And in a hypothetical universe where the pre- and post- prequel marketing hammer didn't come down, we would all be aching for a fresh take on Star Wars.  But part of what makes it weird is that there is currently a ton of Star Wars shit going on in the usual comic-novel axes but also on TV.  There's something wretched and cynical about this, as if Star Wars took on a life of its own and the only way it could make EVEN MORE MONEY was to have Lucas throw up his hands and give up the idea that he was the only one making theatrical Star Wars "Episodes."

And yet...

Well, artistically, the franchise sucks right now.

A great number of people feel this way, differing only in where they date the suckage starting.  Maybe it's just me but I haven't perceived enthusiasm about Star Wars for a long time, except when a beloved author happens to write a Star Wars book.  The show gets some hype but it hasn't attracted this longtime fan, and I know I'm not alone.

I think that's why the social media conversation has so quickly taken a hopeful note.

Myself, my own feeling are very complex and conflicted.  Part of the charm of Star Wars was that no matter how bloated or ridiculous it became, and no matter how many big companies were making stuff for it, it all went back to Lucas and his not-very-big, personally-controlled film company.  Depending on how you look at it, the Star Wars films could be argued to be independent films; distributed by Fox but financed by Lucas himself and his unprecedented merchandise machine.  Whether a Star Wars entry was good or terrible, there was always a certain unique charm.

At one point, even the tie-in "Expanded Universe" had that, though in my opinion it has since lost it.

I grew up in the Interregnum.  I rented "The Ewok Adventure" at the video store, played "Star Wars: X-Wing" on the computer, and heard breathless tales of how the Star Wars movies used to have these great action figures that came with them.  I wanted more.  And soon, the figures came back, and the "Expanded Universe" entered its exciting infancy.  My very first "big" novel was Star Wars: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron by Michael Stackpole, which I read in early 1995.  It was soon followed by the classic Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn.  A real effort was made to keep the various official Star Wars works in continuity with each other, building a cohesive universe from the endless hints dropped in the original films.  It was very exciting in every way, and blended seamlessly with the Special Editions released in 1997, and even pretty well with The Phantom Menace in 1999.

Much as with the Marvel Universe though, what started as immersive continuity became annoying wankery.  The canonical Star Wars universe is crammed to the gills with invasions by stupid-looking aliens, beloved relatives of Han/Leia/Luke becoming psychopathic monsters, Boba Fett saving the universe, and Anakin Skywalker having about ten lifetimes worth of canonical pre-Vader adventures.

So I have a feeling that Disney is going to put an axe in it.

I'd much rather that they SAVE it.

Picture this, fellow children of the Interregnum: Disney's Star Wars team makes it a goal to not copy, but ADAPT, and DISTILL, the best printed Star Wars stories into new films, just like any other novel or comic.  Recast the lead characters, throw some good money and talent at it, but use the bona fide classics that have come before instead of throwing it all away.

Imagine: Star Wars Episode VII: Heir to the Empire.  Doesn't that just send a shiver down your spine (if you're my age)?

But maybe...now it doesn't conflict with the prequels, and maybe Thrawn is working for the Reborn Emperor (or retcon him out altogether, I can see the case for that) who's the villain of the next arc, and maybe Mara Jade marries Luke at the end instead of having like 10 more years happen. 

And maybe Robert Downey, Jr. plays Talon Karrde.

Just...Disney, know your audience.  Honestly, you are probably more comfortable playing ball with the 12 year olds who watch Clone Wars.  But you do a little research and you find out what young-ish adults are and aren't happy with in the franchise, you are going to wind up with Avengers money.  Which is probably why you made this deal anyway...

Either way, this is the end of an era.  Star Wars, for better or for worse, will become more like the other shared universes owned by conglomerates...Marvel, DC, Star Trek, Transformers/GIJoe, ALIENS.  Whatever happens to continuity, this is a Reboot, and the biggest franchise-related news since Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker about his parentage.