There seems to be this misconception that, in order for The Rise of Skywalker to be a success, it has to please every single Star Wars fan, and that anything short of that will mean JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm haven’t done their job. To be quite honest, I think that is pretty ridiculous and will only lead to more people being… unfriendly to each other when they inevitably disagree. Star Wars is divisive. There’s my hot take for the week, (I bet you’re glad you’re reading this because where else would you find something so controversial). Division among Star Wars fans has become an infamous part of life, and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.
I don’t think it’s possible for a piece of Star Wars content to please everyone. This is because we all love Star Wars for different reasons- it’s been around for 42 years and has been enjoyed by multiple generations. Some people love the battles, others come for the gritty aesthetic, the characters, the humour, the designs, the morals, the romance or the alien worlds. These are all valid things to love about Star Wars, but the varied spectrum of reasons means that a film can be pure perfection for some and a childhood-ruining abomination for others.
The popularity of the Prequel Trilogy has skyrocketed in recent years, as the generation who watched it as children have grown up to defend and discuss it. The type of Star Wars that these guys love is a type of Star Wars that was almost universally hated at the time. Are these fans wrong for enjoying the films? Absolutely not. Were the fans in the 90s wrong for hating the films? No. The Prequel films aren’t my cup of tea, but they don’t have to be! They are loved by so many, just as so many enjoy the new films. Fans need to realise that something is not a “Total Cinematic Failure” just because it isn’t what they’re looking for in a Star Wars film. Obviously, negative opinions towards these things are not the same as acting horrible online- the bullying and harassment of Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best was just as bad in 1999 as the bullying of Kelly Marie Tran last year.
My point is that, when a director is bound by a checklist of things to include in order to please every fan the world, their creative process will be severely restricted. I would much rather a director told the story they wanted to tell than the story they felt would piss off the lowest number of fans- that’s why I love The Last Jedi and respect The Phantom Menace. They are the visions of singular creators, made passionately and without much compromise. I’d rather a film that took big risks that didn’t pay off than one that played it safe and was lifeless.
So what’s the solution to this division? I think certain fans need to accept that the films aren’t made specifically for them and their tastes, and Disney need to start making a wider variety of content. Let Dave Filoni make more Prequel-era material, let Jon Favreau play in an Original Trilogy sandbox, let Rian Johnson establish a brand-new type of Star Wars that brings in brand-new fans. We’ll all be a lot happier once we accept that we don’t have to like everything to still be fans.
Episode IX isn’t going to please everybody. It can’t, it shouldn’t, and it won’t. To be honest, I think a lot of people have already made their minds up about loving or hating it. I really hope I enjoy it, but I also hope that it’s the story that the filmmakers wanted to tell. As long as it is enjoyed by someone, it’s Star Wars and that’s pretty wizard.
