Disney and Lucasfilm - a StarWars fan's comment

I had avoided to write about this subject for some time but I decided to  finally say something about it. Trust me I am trying to force myself to be as brief as possible.

I am a fan of Star Wars since I was 10 years old. I discovered the movies thanks to the 20th  STARWARS Anniversary when a special edition of the movies was released.
It was a good moment to become a fan because soon after that , the new episodes came along so the world was filling up with “galactic” excitement.

Being a kid and a  fan of Star Wars means that I have watched the movies too many times , have collected figures , magazines , bought all the DVDs and so on – but above all it means growing up with those characters and getting very attached to them.

Lucasfilm seemed to be something special for me . It was Lucas’s creation. I have always though that after he retires he will leave the company to some of his colleagues from the company to run it .
I consider him to be very good business above all else .  I have though that he would like his company to remain independent as long as it is possible. But maybe being a good businessmen for him meant to do this final deal with Disney .

Lucas said that he wants to give STARWARS a future . But I wonder : Can’t StarWars have a future of its own ? Can't Lucasfilm produce and make their own movies even without Lucas?
Apparently not . Hollywood becomes more and more monopolistic …. but the monopole of the filming industry  (and not only )  is another topic that I wont talk about now.

Ok , so Disney buys Lucasfilm . With StarWars in one pocket and Marvel in the other , Disney now gets the loyalty of millions of fans from some of the biggest fandoms in the world . By loyalty I mean that those people WILL watch their movies , no matter if they like them or not . Add to this all those curious movie-goers and you get a very big number of audience .
As long as this loyalty exist and as long as it brings profit more movies will be done from the same merchandise . It is as simple. It seems only fair that Disney will want to earn from its StarWars investment  by making the most of it – new movies .

Now let me be honest - I was disappointed and surprised with Lucas selling the company but  at the end of the day I am ok with it . Nothings is to be done. Nevertheless,  I am still not sure  how I feel about any future StarWars movies being done .

To have more StarWars movies could be really great idea but of course only if the movies are really good or at least good enough .
It is useless to say , that  NO new movie will EVER bring the same feeling and atmosphere as of the old StarWars because of many many  reasons .( I'm doing  you a favor for not listing them all … it will take me pages - but if you want me to - I will  ) .  Even though it will "never be the same" for the old fans the new StarWars  might however win new followers - those who are not emotionally attached to the old series . But I am an old fan so I have my doubts .

Let me share a few of them :

1. the characters – I really deeply and sincerely hope that they wont re-cast Luke , Leia and Han . They are emblematic characters and I feel it is too soon for them to be re-casted .
For sure many people who are new to the saga won’t have a problem with that but I would definitely feel bad about it ! Even if the new actors are great or whatever I just don’t want the image I have of them to be destroyed … or changed. As far as those original  characters go ,  I am a nostalgic and stubborn fan . I am very open-minded for anything else .

It is because of the nature and origin of the characters .  If we talk about Batman or even Dracula – those characters who have been created by book or a comics,  no matter how one adaptation of them could become emblematic , still  they are free to be reinterpreted .

In the case of StarWars the movie characters are the original ones – it would look like a fake to copy them and it would lack continuity to reinterpreted them . It could be such a tremendous risk for Disney to try to revive those characters now.

I hope the story will deal with their children or even distant relatives , decades after what happened in the previous movies. Reference can be created between the episodes but I prefer that Disney would choose to start something of their own , something new and exciting that can make people love those new characters . No one will compare any new characters to the old ones in the same way as inevitable will happen if there is a new Luke Skywalker. I am sure that 80% of the StarWars fans will already hate any potential new Luke before even know who will play him – this is how many fans react . You cannot create something almost "sacred" for someone and then easily alter it as you want– it just won’t be “sacred “ anymore …. But what do I know ? Maybe re-casting Luke , Leia and Han will be Disney winning card … ( hope not )

2 – My other preoccupation is the possible “infinity” of the Star Wars project .
The problem is that if those 3 movies are successful they will keep making more until … someone is watching them .  Over-stretched stories are never too good. I hope they make this new trilogy complete in itself.  But lets not look too much into the future now

3 - How about one thing that really annoys me – labels . Something like  “Star Wars fits Disney because it is perfect family entertainment movie “ ….. how about some more dark and twisted and “advanced”  StarWars ? Noooo ,  it has to be watchable by everyone , it has to be just entertaining , it must fit the formula …This is the keyword I am afraid of . To stay true to a story is one thing , putting a story into " a frame" is another .
This is how StarWars might lose most of its initial charm – if they try to make it fit to any kind of standards and expectations. Maybe this same reason made the recent StarWars Episodes to suffer a little in quality . Any future StarWars movies are already creatively limited by such labels. Limited by the fact they will be turned into a product that is to be released every few years on an exact schedule ... Some may thing this is a good thing ..It works with other movie franchises. In any case , it  lowers my personal expectations to be really amazed by Episode 7 , so I just can hope to be entertained by it at least . I don't blame Disney -  it is only understandable that any company that invest a lot in anything has to be sure it will sell .

When StarWars was made it was revolutionary movie for its time , it was different , made with  enthusiasm by young  people who wanted to explore new possibilities … now it will be just the next in line blockbuster . I am afraid of it becoming too closed and confined in its own shadow ….

Said all this , I can assure you that I will go to watch Episode 7 and  I might even like it  but this would never be that StarWars of before , the one I loved . I can watch something with the  mind of 10 years old kid just ones . That StarWars that I saw back then is forever part of my and my childhood and nothing can ever ruined it for me - because it is a memory . I hope the new StarWars can become such kind of a memory for the nowadays 10-years-olds ...but something makes me doubt that it will . Please , Disney , prove me wrong  !

In the end of the day , the StarWars "re-birth" makes me thing of a kind of sad pattern I notice about Hollywood – they don’t want to take risks , they prefer to invest in projects that will bring a secure profit .
I believe they are a lot of people full of ideas about new worlds , new characters and new stories – many of which maybe more relevant to our own time and society but those often remain unnoticed .

It is true that most great stories are universal and they are going to be retold many, many times for generation to come . But which are  the great film stories that our own generation has to tell and to leave into history ? I refer to those special stories that last in time – those with characters you remember, created with visual imagination that amaze you , stories that relate to everyone.
Even “new stories” as Twilight or Harry Potter had a chance to be produced as movies only because they had attracted people’s attentions as books.
Can filmmakers be given a chance to make something big out of an original idea ? I don’t say original movies don’t exist but they seems to be too few . And please do not talk to me about Avatar ! It had the most unoriginal story ever ! It was about special effects and even those couldn’t make me think of this movie as something revolutionary or at least special ( note:  I am not  anti-avatar ... the movie  had its moments but too much expectations leads to no good in my case ) . I went out track as usual and started a topic that  is very long so I stop here .

Just if I could I would suggest to the producers in Hollywood to give a chance to new stories to come to live  because I do not really want to spend my life as a movie fan only in waiting  episode after episode to come out ….

written by Viki 

photo source : www.cinefish.bg