I published a new In the Frame piece at Escapist Magazine a few weeks back, looking at the ways in which Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker worked so hard to erase Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, and in doing so played to the worst aspects of fandom. It proved controversial.
It is hard to determine exactly what The Rise of Skywalker is about, beyond the vague hope of parents that their radicalised children might be redeemed. Indeed, The Rise of Skywalker is largely defined by reaction. It exists primarily as a rejection of The Last Jedi, often feeling as though it was written from a beat sheet punctuated by angry replies to Rian Johnson over the past two years. The result is a movie that knows what it isn’t, but desperately unsure of what it actually is.
You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.
Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: angry, continuity, fan fiction, fan service, retcon, reversal, shouty, star wars, the last jedi, the rise of skywalker |
“Wrong fans”?? As the saying goes, “Dance with the one that brung ya.”
I don’t think those fans were the ones who brought Star Wars.
I mean, look at the reviews, the CinemaScore, the backloaded dropoff at the box office. Those people who complained about The Last Jedi got exactly the Star Wars movie they wanted, and the results were… not good.