The Problem with Galaxy's Edge

[Kestryl]

For Avengers Campus comparisons: I would bet the multiverse is coming soon. You watch. The theme park version could just be one of the many multiverses, making it “canon.”

For Tatooine: To paraphrase Finn, “Why does everyone want to go back to [Tatooine]?” Yeah, a hot sand planet is exactly where I want to go to in Florida. Now Hoth... that would have been interesting. Though seeing people run around in shorts would look strange.

 

[Kestryl]

I do think Darth Maul should have lasted longer. He was a favorite among the fans.

I have some EXCELLENT news for you. Have you heard of this little series called The Clone Wars, or this other series called Rebels...

 

[Robbydj13]

100%. My dad has been a fan since the 70s. He’s one of those who would bike down to the theater and take turns with his friends standing up in the back and reading the crawl out loud. He’s the reason why we have so many versions of the OT on tape, DVD, and Blu-ray.

When TLJ came out and there were all these comments about how it was terrible and wrecked Star Wars, he said that it reminded him of fans complaining about ESB back in 1980. People hated that it was so dark; that it was different from the first film; that, effectively, Luke didn’t “win.” And then all of a sudden, after RotJ comes out and years pass, it becomes this darling of the franchise.

So yeah. Let’s see where things stand in 10 or so years.

TLJ is hardly anywhere close to ESB…Show me in ESB where they killed off the star of the franchise and destroyed so many peoples hopes and view of Star Wars. Like it or not, TLJ was a divisive movie and left no direction for the finale. Which is why the final film struggled and never connected to the others, much less connect the story together.

 

[Robbydj13]

I have some EXCELLENT news for you. Have you heard of this little series called The Clone Wars, or this other series called Rebels...

Yea, cartoons… and I have seen them. I’d hardly say it is the same. But I think that was a good example of them realizing they shouldn’t have killed him off and bringing him back

 

[ShadowBoxer]

They also nearly drove Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks, to suicide. They hated the prequels. I saw the midnight show of Phantom Menace and someone shouted “LAME!!” when it ended. They were awful to little Jake Lloyd. They booed when Darth Maul died. They hated Hayden. Fans were just...not good.

They held mock trials of George Lucas for “ruining their childhoods” (I won’t repeat the song they came up with). More recently, they drove Kelly Marie Tran off of social media, and she wound up in therapy.

One of the reasons George Lucas sold his company to Disney was because he was tired of being yelled at by “fans”.

Also the fan base bullied Daisy Ridley off social media as well. I use to enjoy her work out videos and her funny posts with John Boyega. Also her videos during the production of Force Awakens proved that she was indeed a fan of the franchise. Star Wars fans tried to bully John Boyega on social media but he usually stands up to trolls or puts them on blast. I also remember the racist stuff he got when the very first teaser trailer for Force Awakens came out. Some fans were mad about a black stormtrooper which made me look at the fan base differently since I am a black Star Wars fan. I hope the community becomes less toxic one of these days.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

TLJ is hardly anywhere close to ESB…Show me in ESB where they killed off the star of the franchise and destroyed so many peoples hopes and view of Star Wars. Like it or not, TLJ was a divisive movie and left no direction for the finale. Which is why the final film struggled and never connected to the others, much less connect the story together.

Well when Force Awakens came out a lot of fans complained that it was just a "A New Hope" remake and didn't do anything new. Then Last Jedi comes out and people were saying it was going to be an Empire Strikes Back remake. Then of course the movie took a left turn and didn't follow the Star Wars formula so fans hated it. I totally understand even though I am not crazy about how Luke is portrayed in that movie, I still like it. It is interesting to see a grumpy Luke who has lost faith in the Force and Jedi stuff.

But if Disney didn't try to make Rise of Skywalker an apology movie to cater to all the fans who hated Last Jedi we would have gotten a much better finale. There were parts of Rise of Skywalker where I was waiting for Force ghost Luke to look directly at the camera and say " sorry for that last movie folks, here is some lazy fan service". Anyway, I definitely encourage research into the script by Collin Trevorrow for Episode 9. It's not bad at all and connects to Last Jedi and Force Awakens.

Here is an article that talks about the major points here
Star Wars 9: Colin Trevorrow's Script Leaks; Plot Details Revealed (collider.com)

 

[carlosalonsor]

Avengers Land isn't set in a specific time frame like GE and it's no doubt in response to the mixed response GE got.

This way, ALL the fan favorite characters can show up at some point. It's definitely the smartest move. People want to see all the heroes, not just those who survived "Endgame."

The vast majority of people don't give a crap about the "narrative" of the land.

I agree, only hardcore fans will be bothered if the land isn't "canon"... to the rest of us it simply doesn't matter.

I can agree with more. I wish they would utilize more characters. While I am not a fan of the sequels, so I do have my bias, I think its too dominant in the land. Give us OT characters, give us Mandalorian characters, give us fan favorites. Jawas, droids, random background characters from the movies. Something more than Rey, Chewie and Kylo. Love to see a Mando or Boba. R2 and 3PO walking around.

This! But they prefer to have of only three main characters in the land and that's it.

 

[Robbydj13]

Well when Force Awakens came out a lot of fans complained that it was just a "A New Hope" remake and didn't do anything new. Then Last Jedi comes out and people were saying it was going to be an Empire Strikes Back remake. Then of course the movie took a left turn and didn't follow the Star Wars formula so fans hated it. I totally understand even though I am not crazy about how Luke is portrayed in that movie, I still like it. It is interesting to see a grumpy Luke who has lost faith in the Force and Jedi stuff.

But if Disney didn't try to make Rise of Skywalker an apology movie to cater to all the fans who hated Last Jedi we would have gotten a much better finale. There were parts of Rise of Skywalker where I was waiting for Force ghost Luke to look directly at the camera and say " sorry for that last movie folks, here is some lazy fan service". Anyway, I definitely encourage research into the script by Collin Trevorrow for Episode 9. It's not bad at all and connects to Last Jedi and Force Awakens.

Here is an article that talks about the major points here
Star Wars 9: Colin Trevorrow's Script Leaks; Plot Details Revealed (collider.com)

I do get what you’re saying about fan service but I do think a certain amount of fan service is required. There’s a way to blend the 2 franchises together (OT and Sequels) without pissing off the OT fans. But they chose not to go that way. They chose to divide the fan base. They missed the opportunities to have Luke, Leia, and Han on screen together for a final time. There’s so many things they could’ve done to keep both sets of fans happy and make a quality product. But they were trying so hard to be different.
fan service is important. Why do you think the final episode of mando last season was so popular? It gave the fans what they wanted. I’m quite sure the Kenobi series will follow that pay as well, while also creating its own path. Rogue one even gave the fans the Vader scene at the end. It’s give a little here and there to keep everyone happy. The sequels didn’t do that. Episode 7 set it up so there could be good and bad, but then TLJ came in and ripped it apart and they couldnt recover. That was obvious as they had to bring back an OT villain, which really didn’t fit along with many other plot lines that were never explained.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

I do get what you’re saying about fan service but I do think a certain amount of fan service is required. There’s a way to blend the 2 franchises together (OT and Sequels) without pissing off the OT fans. But they chose not to go that way. They chose to divide the fan base. They missed the opportunities to have Luke, Leia, and Han on screen together for a final time. There’s so many things they could’ve done to keep both sets of fans happy and make a quality product. But they were trying so hard to be different.
fan service is important. Why do you think the final episode of mando last season was so popular? It gave the fans what they wanted. I’m quite sure the Kenobi series will follow that pay as well, while also creating its own path. Rogue one even gave the fans the Vader scene at the end. It’s give a little here and there to keep everyone happy. The sequels didn’t do that. Episode 7 set it up so there could be good and bad, but then TLJ came in and ripped it apart and they couldnt recover. That was obvious as they had to bring back an OT villain, which really didn’t fit along with many other plot lines that were never explained.

Yea Season 2 of Mando was great and I get what your saying. But like I mentioned it seems Disney did have a plan as Collin's script was far superior to what we got with Rise of Skywalker. To sum it up

-There would have been no Emperor
- Rey's parents would have still been nobodies ( though it would have been revealed Kylo killed them by the request of Snoke)
- General Huxx would have been more of a threat. He was going to be a sith in training so to speak
- Force Ghost Luke would appear to try and reason with Kylo
-Kylo would have had an force ghost fight with Vader
- Rose and Finn are on a mission to Coruscant to ignite an ancient beacon in the old Jedi Temple, which will call the galaxy to war
-Kylo comes into contact with the Sith teacher of Palpatine, Tor Valum, via an ancient Sith device as he’s trying to put an end to the Jedi and the Sith once and for all.
-Rey and Poe go on a mission to stop the sith on their own

-The finale of the movie finds Rey and Kylo Ren duking it out on the mystical planet Mortis, with Rey getting an assist from the Force Ghosts of Luke, Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor, presumably), and Yoda. The Jedi try unsuccessfully to bring Kylo Ren back to the light, but he's too far gone and in the end he is “extinguished.”

- very end of the movie, Finn and Rose lead a group of Force Sensitive youth to a remote planet where Rey is waiting to train the next generation of Jedi.

All that sound like it has a strong connection to the previous movies and sorta redeems some issues from the Last Jedi. They just caved to the massive backlash of fans.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I would love to see OT characters represented in GE, but I think the reason they didn't just make a Star Wars "themed" land that could include characters from different eras is that the original concept was for the land to be 100% immersive/interactive, with guests cosplaying and being a part of the story (kind of like the marketing for Galactic Starcruiser). To remain true to that concept, you can't suddenly have characters who are now dead walking around the land.

Of course, a lot of those elements fell by the wayside in the actual execution of the land. Also, what percentage of guests are committed enough to play acting the whole time instead of just tourists sight-seeing and riding rides?

Back in the day, I loved the Hyperspace Hoopla at the Star Wars Weekends. But think about how utterly ridiculous it is for Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, etc. doing the YMCA!!!! Even if they didn't go to that extreme, just having Darth Vader make an appearance would break the immersion on some level because it's an acknowledgment that you are visiting a Star Wars themed amusement park and not actually ON that alien planet and you are part of the saga (unless they announce that he's a cloned reincarnation that Palpatine and the darkside cult created).

It's kind of like how Pandora was (still is?) portrayed at AK... I remember on my first visit asking about gift cards in the gift shop and, without missing a beat, the CM told me I would need to "return to Earth" in order to find one.

So I don't think we'll see any OT or PT characters unless Disney shifts gears and abandons the concept that guests are "living out the story." That can only remain consistent if they keep GE "locked in time."

They could, technically, include Luke, Leia, Han, etc. by slightly adjusting the "date" of when the land is locked in time, but they would have to be the older versions of them if they want to maintain consistency to the timeline... unless Disney perfects a new holographic technology that would allow force ghosts to walk freely about the park (even better than "real" lightsabers). Also, you get into nitpicky details like the fact that Luke is still MIA until after Han is killed, so having both present creates a plot hole/inconsistency.

I think both approaches have their merits, but as someone who watched the original Star Wars in the theater as a kid in 1977, I think the trade-off would be worth it to include "all things Star Wars" in GE, especially since many of the interactive/immersive elements that were originally conceived have already been largely abandoned (I'm looking at you... Docking Bay 7 Menu!).

 

[Robbydj13]

Yea Season 2 of Mando was great and I get what your saying. But like I mentioned it seems Disney did have a plan as Collin's script was far superior to what we got with Rise of Skywalker. To sum it up

-There would have been no Emperor
- Rey's parents would have still been nobodies ( though it would have been revealed Kylo killed them by the request of Snoke)
- General Huxx would have been more of a threat. He was going to be a sith in training so to speak
- Force Ghost Luke would appear to try and reason with Kylo
-Kylo would have had an force ghost fight with Vader
- Rose and Finn are on a mission to Coruscant to ignite an ancient beacon in the old Jedi Temple, which will call the galaxy to war
-Kylo comes into contact with the Sith teacher of Palpatine, Tor Valum, via an ancient Sith device as he’s trying to put an end to the Jedi and the Sith once and for all.
-Rey and Poe go on a mission to stop the sith on their own

-The finale of the movie finds Rey and Kylo Ren duking it out on the mystical planet Mortis, with Rey getting an assist from the Force Ghosts of Luke, Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor, presumably), and Yoda. The Jedi try unsuccessfully to bring Kylo Ren back to the light, but he's too far gone and in the end he is “extinguished.”

- very end of the movie, Finn and Rose lead a group of Force Sensitive youth to a remote planet where Rey is waiting to train the next generation of Jedi.

All that sound like it has a strong connection to the previous movies and sorta redeems some issues from the Last Jedi. They just caved to the massive backlash of fans.

Sounds like a horrible movie plot honestly, especially with the fact that there is still no real villain. Kylo was never a great villain which is why they had to bring the emperor back. Snoke was mediocre but they randomly killed him without much effort. I have no issue with Luke dying, but it should have happened in the final film, not the second, and it should have been him sacrificing himself for the others, inperson not by using force projection. Killing him set up the last film for failure. TLJ had a lot of nonsense in it that did not contribute to the story at all...the gambling planet, the whole 2 hours where they were chasing the ship, Rey only spent 2 days with Luke....so many aspects that did not develop characters or story. Not to mention them throwing out all the interesting plot points that TFA set up. So to be honest, they tried to cave to the fans, but they failed at that too

 

[Kestryl]

TLJ is hardly anywhere close to ESB…Show me in ESP where they killed off the star of the franchise and destroyed so many peoples hopes and view of Star Wars. Like it or not, TLJ was a divisive movie and left no direction for the finale. Which is why the final film struggled and never connected to the others, much less connect the story together.

I’m sorry, but I have to laugh because this comment displays exactly what I meant. ESB absolutely “wrecked” Star Wars for some fans. Vader was lying. Luke was going to end up with Leia. The “I know” joke was awful. Lando was a bad addition. Han and Leia failed their mission in Cloud City and were captured. Luke lost. It was a cliffhanger, how arrogant and depressing.

The only difference is that the arguments are playing out rapid-fire online.

What’s the line? It’s like poetry; it rhymes.

 

[Robbydj13]

I’m sorry, but I have to laugh because this comment displays exactly what I meant. ESB absolutely “wrecked” Star Wars for some fans. Vader was lying. Luke was going to end up with Leia. The “I know” joke was awful. Lando was a bad addition. Han and Leia failed their mission in Cloud City and were captured. Luke lost. It was a cliffhanger, how arrogant and depressing.

The only difference is that the arguments are playing out rapid-fire online.

What’s the line? It’s like poetry; it rhymes.

Some fans does not equal ""divide the fan base in half"

If you thing the storyline of the sequels makes sense, then all the more power to you. I, for one do not. As do a lot of other people. It is very clear, whether you like the films or not, that the movies failed greatly upon what the writers, directors, and disney were wanting/expecting. However, shows like The Mandalorian and Kenobi will no doubt be successful.... Why do you think that is?

 

[cdatkins]

I’m sorry, but I have to laugh because this comment displays exactly what I meant. ESB absolutely “wrecked” Star Wars for some fans. Vader was lying. Luke was going to end up with Leia. The “I know” joke was awful. Lando was a bad addition. Han and Leia failed their mission in Cloud City and were captured. Luke lost. It was a cliffhanger, how arrogant and depressing.

The only difference is that the arguments are playing out rapid-fire online.

What’s the line? It’s like poetry; it rhymes.

I was alive too when ESB came out. It was a massive hit. There was not a huge divide in the fan base over it. And the cliffhanger had people invested in seeing the third film, which did even more business than ESB. That is nothing like what happened with TLJ and TROS. Rian Johnson can say it all he wants, but that doesn't make it true.

 

[Robbydj13]

I was alive too when ESB came out. It was a massive hit. There was not a huge divide in the fan base over it. And the cliffhanger had people invested in seeing the third film, which did even more business than ESB. That is nothing like what happened with TLJ and TROS. Rian Johnson can say it all he wants, but that doesn't make it true.

Very true. TLJ made people not want to see the movie. ESB did nothing of the sort. The problem was mainly with character development from the beginning. No one truly cared about the new characters.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Well this trend has proven the point that star wars fans are very much divided lol. Like someone else said, there are star wars fans that want every piece of content going forward to be stuck in the OT timeline and that's it and others that are more open to new ideas. It's tough to please everyone lol.

 

[Robbydj13]

Well this trend has proven the point that star wars fans are very much divided lol. Like someone else said, there are star wars fans that want every piece of content going forward to be stuck in the OT timeline and that's it and others that are more open to new ideas. It's tough to please everyone lol.

New ideas are one thing, but continuing the story of the OT, which is what the sequels were supposed to do, but not having any continuity in the story lines is another story. The stand alones would do just fine on their own, but thats not what happened

 

[ST1TCH]

What I find hilarious is the revisionist history that has happened with the prequels. Prior to the new trilogy, they were soundly criticized and absolutely hated by some. Once the new films came out, especially TLJ, suddenly everyone thinks the prequels are great and TLJ has ruined Star Wars. Even calling for George Lucas to come back and take it all over. I'm sorry, I've been a Star Wars fan since 77 and have lived and breathed this stuff most of my young life but the prequels just are not good. I have recently been watching through the films again after May the 4th and I finished up the prequels last week. So much cringe in the first 2 and I find it very interesting that the acting and dialog seemed to change for the final film. I'm convinced that Lucas sought directing and writing help for it even though he got the credit. It was a night and day difference. ROTS still has it's issues but it's certainly the best of the prequels. And for the ones who want George Lucas to take over everything again and write and direct all on his own, be prepared for more prequel cringe.

I'm also in a very small minority evidently who likes TLJ but I can see that ROS was quite a mess. While there were fan service moments in ROS I loved, it just felt like too much shoehorned into a single film. And having watched TFA last night, Abrams still left many stones unturned that he established in TFA.

In Galaxy's Edge defense......I think we've quickly forgotten that it had barely gotten off the ground with ROTR also working and then Covid hit. I seem to remember interviews and articles that said there would be more interaction and the land would grow past where it started between TLJ and ROS but thanks to 2020 I doubt they've been able to really plan any of that.

 

[Robbydj13]

I'm also in a very small minority evidently who likes TLJ but I can see that ROS was quite a mess. While there were fan service moments in ROS I loved, it just felt like too much shoehorned into a single film. And having watched TFA last night, Abrams still left many stones unturned that he established in TFA.

But did Abrams leave them unturned, or did Rian Johnson not care about TFA at all, because nothing from TLJ came from TFA.....TLJ was basically a stand alone film of nonsense

 

[LanceQ]

The original imagineer's plan for the land was for it to be Tattooine. That is what they should have stuck with. The executives steered them away from that for "synergy" reasons. It was the wrong move. At the heart of it, Star Wars is the story of the Skywalkers. Tattooinne is the home planet and main setting of many of the most iconic Star Wars moments. Additional "planets" could have been accessed via rides.

No, terrible idea. They made the right call. Star Wars is about going new places, seeing new sights, having unique adventures.

It's not about hanging around the same place, over and over (though GL is certainly guilty of overusing Tatooine.)

Batuu is the best of both worlds. It absolutely "feels" like the SW universe, while also being a new place to explore and bring that sense of discovery.