Does Disney/Lucasfilm not want some of their fans back? (And more questions)

[@miragewizard]

I agree. I'm White, Male, Heterosexual, been a fan for 47 years. I'm convinced that Disney would drop me faster than lava on Mustafar.

[@Needler13]

I'm 33 and male. I also feel they would drop me but I'm not white. I just don't buy into their views and they would hate me because of it. And this is coming from someone who voted for Harris in Florida and voted to have access to abortions in Florida as well and said yes to legal weed. I am very liberal but I'm not Hollywood liberal. LA liberal is not the same to overall American liberals

[@genghisgahan9623]

I'm the same as you- I'm fairly confident they hate us.

[@Thed538dhsk]

What has convinced you of this?

[@Thed538dhsk]

​@@Needler13why do you feel That Disney would drop you?

[@alieninsectbass]

@@Needler13I had a friend that worked at Disney as an artist. Despite the fact that he was Black and liberal, he was harassed by Disney's employees even after he got laid off by the company. He told me his experience, and it was not fun at all. Incredibly toxic work environment where he was constantly belittled. Even after he got a job at a store, Disney employees would walk in and repeatedly verbally harass him at the counter. I can promise you that Hollywood isn't genuinely liberal. They're unfortunately just doing it for the money. That's usually where I draw the line of being woke, where you're flouting liberal principles but not actually adhering to them except for when it's about the money being on the line.

[@ToonamiT0M]

I love that Jay Bauman's line about corporations not wanting us to think and to just consume their products has become so prolific, because it's sadly true.

[@achaudhari101]

Except it comes off as being used to think people should be criticized for liking it and those two aren’t exactly smart either.

[@generalgrievous4708]

It is maybe the most accurate description of the way media companies operate - and it is only 6 words.

[@YegRon]

It describes well how they behave. They paid for the built in audience and they assumed we would continue to shell over our money regardless of what they did story wise, so long as they slapped Star Wars on it.

[@ChaoticMartian]

​@@achaudhari101 ok consoomer. You have been arguing your brainless take for years.

[@ToonamiT0M]

@@YegRon The problem is that there are fans who don't care about quality and only that it has Star Wars label slapped on it. After the terrible TLJ, I commented somewhere that I was done and was not going to watch Episode 9. No joke, someone responded saying that because I had seen the previous two films I was required to watch the third and that I owed it to Disney to do so.

[@Turtle3000]

Commenting before the end of the video, but my opinion, agrees with the the questioner's point at the end of his question. For Disney, "WHO CARES ABOUT STORY OR LORE. If it has Star Wars on it, shut up, watch and pay us." That's all they care about. Oh, and agenda pushing.

[@generalgrievous4708]

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm they expected that the audience would follow the brand label "STAR WARS" blindly - and fair enough, Episode 9 was a huge hit....but that can only last so long before you have to deliver quality things to bring in new customers and retain old ones. Eventually, people began to figure out they changed the recipes at their favorite restaurant. That's why the food sucks. We are not going to just allow the things we like to degrade in quality in silence - we have to keep sending the slop back to the kitchen. Make it right this time.

[@Blackened30]

Every company exists to make money for their share holders, and the majority of Disney's Star Wars projects have made them money. The Mandalorian alone was a license to print money because of the popularity of Grogu merchandise. Star Wars isn't Disney's dream in the way it was Lucas', so expecting them to care about Star Wars in that way is too much. Its an IP iike every other IP they posses. More dangerously it seems they view Star Wars as a vehicle they can use for whatever social change they deem as positive. In the last 20 years its been accepted that all corporations have a duty that goes beyond simply making money into being a positive force for "change", to the point where this is taught at business schools. I'm not comfortable with corporations pushing any agenda, no matter how beneficial or good hearted it may be. Making a positive work place for all their employees is good, but aiming what amounts to propaganda at the very people your company exists to entertain is a step too far.

[@cybertramon0012]

Another thing I would consider is that Disney has spent so much time, effort, and especially money on their new stories and characters, and on labelling anyone who has a problem as 'toxic'. They basically burnt several bridges trying to appeal to an audience that didn't really exist in big enough numbers to make up for the fans they chased away. To course correct and apologise would mean admitting that they screwed up; that every complaint we had was real. And they're really unwilling to eat crow over this because of that.

[@amfitness5598]

I’ll answer that. No. They have had 10 plus years to do right by the fans. They want new fans but the thing is their “ mythical new fans that they seek” do not spend money, and aren’t as invested and on top they are a minority. (Often loud) so it seems like there are more but look at the pathetic numbers that save the acolyte petition got. That’s their current fanbase😂

[@achaudhari101]

Not entirely.

[@SiriuslyBlack7]

There's more of them out there ("new fans"),but not enough to financially invest in the shows that don't get the positive feedback that they crave..You hit the nail on the head,they DID purchase Lucasfilm from one guy (not another company) in order to rake in the dough from a worldwide fanbase that spans 4 generations.( I was 5 when my Dad had me standing in line with a ton of 20 year olds that spanned several blocks to see A New Hope,I just turned 52 last Sunday).Disney/Lucasfilm knows this, and THAT'S what they're honestly banking on,even if they're still hoping that their coveted "modern audience" will actually spend the kind of money that we've spent over the last 47 years.

[@amfitness5598]

@@SiriuslyBlack7 well said. I was 7 when my dad took me to the cinemas in Bulgaria (country of my birth) I’m to see a re-release of a ANH in 1986. I’m in my mid 40’s and I want nothing more than to pass on my SW fan hood to my kids but not this new Disney SW material.

[@slimjimnyc270]

​@@amfitness5598Took my 20-something Son to the the re-release of the Phantom Menace this year. Even though he has seen it multiple times on TV, he said watching it larger than life in a darken theater was a wonderful experience. He's working, but I still paid for the ticket & popcorn just like when he was a little kid. To me, It felt great to pass on my love of GL Star Wars.

[@SiriuslyBlack7]

@@slimjimnyc270 It's like a rite of passage.

[@genghisgahan9623]

Funny how coca cola did not blame it's customers when "new coke" failed. Instead they scrapped it and went back to the original.

[@fredlusyk6741]

...i was just thinking the same thing!!!

[@loganslegacyeuhater]

COCA COLA DRINKERS ARE JUST TOO TOXIC!!!!¡

[@emancoy]

At the time, they know their customer

[@YegRon]

That was back when businesses were more concerned about the bottom line than some sort of virtue signalling.

[@cjlafleur7585]

That was before wokeness went mainstream. If the same incident happened in 2024 you'd be called a racist for not liking new coke.

[@SuperLuis225]

Hey if Accolyte numbers are anything to go by, Disney FINALLY got their target audience... I hope they now realise how few they are and that the og fans were better

[@eyeofhorus99]

All the Star Wars Explained hive

[@generalgrievous4708]

Thanks for answering my question, Thor! I think your point about the nature of self-reflection after criticism is a poignant one. I hold Star Wars creators to such high standards because they are stewards of existing stories. I no doubt would be more lenient with criticism for a brand new setting. However, I think criticism can ALWAYS be constructive. Your focus determines your reality, and our Star Wars creators can always driect their frustration into making better things, rather than lashing out at us as "hateful bigots"

[@Thed538dhsk]

Criticism can ALWAYS be constructive? How can hateful bigoted comments be constructive

[@Pandemia616]

@@generalgrievous4708 very well put. An inability to accept criticism is plaguing society as a whole, frankly.

[@YegRon]

Great question!

[@generalgrievous4708]

​@@YegRonThank you!

[@pointeddown]

They insult the fan base every chance they get. Why would anyone think they want any of us back.

[@NomicFin]

I think a big problem modern SW has is that a lot of the writers, at least the ones who worked on the films, don't really care about following any kinds of established rules and just throw stuff on the screen because it looks cool. Old SW material also had its fair share if bad writing, but at least you could usually take the basic plot and explain it in a better way (i.e. the problem wasn't necessarily that the gist of what happened made no sense in the setting, just that the writing was low quality). On the other hand a lot of the new stuff just breaks the rules of the setting with little regard for consequences or comes up with stuff that works entirely on rules of cool but doesn't stand up to any logical scrutiny. Like take Palpatine's fleet to planet-destroying star destroyers in episode 9. It's purely there to raise up stakes (wow, instead of just one superweapon that can blow up a planet, there's thousands of star destroyers that can each blow up a planet!) with no thought actually put into how the fuck that actually works. Like, the whole reason the Death Star was the size of a small moon was because it needed an absolutely massive hypermatter reactor to power the planet-cracking superlaser array. The closest thing in the old canon to mounting a similar weapon on a ship was the Eclipse, which was an absolutely massive vessel (shorter than the Executor but considerably more massive, in any case several times the size of the standard star destroyer) and even then could only mount one of the component lasers of the Death Star's array on a spinal mount, giving it maybe 1/6th of the firepower of the Death Star. Yet now they're trying to claim that despite technology in SW having been relatively stagnant for millenia Palpatine was in about 20 years able to develop a version of the Death Star's main weapon that was not only small enough to be able to be mounted on a turret on the hull of a regular star destroyer without losing any of its power, but also able to be mass-produced in the thousands? Did anybody look at this beyond the "rules of cool" effect and think whether it made any logical sense?

[@Axterix13]

And beyond the logical, it shows a complete lack of thought as to the consequences going forward. That size of a ship, that can be produced in those quantities, means you now have a universe where, going forward, that fire power exists, and, in the Star Wars universe, someone will use it. If not on a planet, then to blow up ships.

[@Pandemia616]

I agree that they don't understand the fans, as much as hate us. They can't wrap their heads around why we are so disenfranchised with the IP. They really think they are creating good content.

[@Thed538dhsk]

If they think they are a doing a good job how does that = they hate you? Do you hate those currently employed by Lucasfilm?

[@Pandemia616]

@Thed538dhsk They hate the fans because they think they are making good Star Wars movies and we are just toxic and impossible to please. And there are definitely toxic fans, but they are the vocal minority and most of us just want well written stories that don't needlessly retcon the lore and ruin beloved characters.

[@tomcustis9272]

They don’t care about creating gd content. It’s about pushing their message so who cares if no one likes it.

[@Thed538dhsk]

@@Pandemia616 Are you personally toxic and impossible to please as a star wars fan? You admit there is a minority of definitely toxic fans. What % of the fandom do you feel is toxic fans? Which Star wars films do you feel are well written? Would you support well written star wars films with original characters that don't retcon the lore or ruin beloved characters like Mando and Grogu film since these are new characters?

[@Thed538dhsk]

@@tomcustis9272 what message are they pushing?

[@jknetwork6211]

The Disney fans annoy me more than lucasfilm does. They agree the sequels are bad but go out of their way to defend shit like the Kenobi show, Ahsoka show and acolyte when they are literally no better if not worse. “Oh Luke was assassinated”. So was obi wan in his own show. He was made into an idiot who let the worse mf besides Palpatine live for no reason when he could have killed him Acolyte’s morals are just dead on arrival as osha literally falls in love with a child murderer who’s only excuse for killing her friends was “eh who cares they deserved it lol.” Makes Reylo look like a masterpiece And yet people act like these shows are as good as the OT and prequels

[@achaudhari101]

Some of them are overhated though like Ahsoka for example.

[@cptndunsel2670]

The Disney Fans defended the new Sequel Trilogy movies when they came out. I think with time, the live action shows will also come to be regarded as mediocre.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

@@achaudhari101No, it wasn't. It was boring and only existed for fanservice while destroying characters like Thrawn.

[@Thed538dhsk]

Why do fans enjoying their fandom annoy you? Its theur personal and subjective opinions. Are you sure you're just bot jealous they enjoy that which you don't? Do you feel you are being pulled to the darkside?

[@achaudhari101]

@Lobsterwithinternet I wouldn’t call it boring like that and Thrawn wasn’t ruined if he’s still going to be shown off again.

[@jarbear2179]

Can you image if a restaurant owner who’s restaurant is losing money and customers and thinking “it’s the public’s problem, not our cooking or business practice.” And whenever any leaves reviews about the bad food/ cooking / service, etc, they say “ah they are an ist of sort and hate woman since I’m a woman and own the business.” Crazy times we live in where the customer is now “always wrong”. Don’t question, just consume.

[@Veylon]

You occasionally saw this on Kitchen Nightmares. In particular, there was one where the owner blamed all their problems on one random Yelp reviewers.

[@jarbear2179]

KK viewed Star Wars as having a problem and needs to change it to fit her view. She wants a different audience. It’s like a person who comes into a beer company thinking there’s a problem with their customers and kinda hates beer. No wonder it is losing money.

[@theimperialist2686]

Well it seems that way, since certain individuals in Disney/Lucasfilm, seem to love blaming us Star Wars fans when we don't like their failed projects. They label us as "immature, childish misogynists".

[@achaudhari101]

Not Favreau or Filoni or Gilroy.

[@theimperialist2686]

​@@achaudhari101 Not them, but definitely folks like Kathleen Kennedy, and Amandla Stenberg.

[@Jayjs20]

There's literally a cut of the last jedi where some loser went through and cut out all of the wOmENz. Yes, some of you people are immature, childish and misogynistic.

[@Thed538dhsk]

If you behave like an immature childish misogynist then you'll probably be called an immature childish misogynist. If you don't behave that way then you arent that

[@Thed538dhsk]

​@@theimperialist2686when has Kennedy ever said that?

[@debelmeis2311]

We have to accept Disney doesn't care about consumers in any capacity, including those that go to the parks, they just want our money and will allow us to be pissed as long as someone keeps paying, we'd all have to stop paying and watching/going.

[@achaudhari101]

If you’re expecting corporations to be like Jesus, you can forget about it.

[@debelmeis2311]

I should also add I say this having worked in the parks and been part of meetings and conversations that highlight they do not care

[@damiantirado9616]

That is capitalism dude

[@debelmeis2311]

@@damiantirado9616 this is a socialist society which does the same by the point of authoritarianism. We have not been a capitalist society in quite some time.

[@damiantirado9616]

@@debelmeis2311 bro you clearly have no idea what capitalism or socialism is stop getting your information from the daily wire or any of those right wing Nazi news outlets dude they brainwashed your brain with lies.

[@strikeflyer]

Darth Angelus is really talented and I've been watching his Heir to the Empire animated series since the first chapter was animated and its amazing how spot on a lot of the stuff was. Heck even snuck in Corran Horn from the X-wing books as well as Inyri Forge.

[@Pandemia616]

@strikeflyer yeah I'm gonna check that out! Seems really cool.

[@saberiandream316]

I just wish it got more views.

[@ABCDyeahyeahyeah]

He’s almost done with the first book (one chapter left). I’m curious if he will undertake doing Dark Force Rising and the Last Command.

[@ABCDyeahyeahyeah]

I would also strongly recommend the channel Skywalker Stories. Clone Wars style animated shorts mostly featuring Luke in his prime.

[@youdontknow7190]

0:55 that’s what every company wants. Just look at call of duty just look at EA sports with Madden. That’s they want people just buying things and not questioning things.

[@bobjason7540]

Exactly. I think people have overlooked the video game market in this regard. Entertainment products: movies, video games, shows, music used to be created by people as passion projects and then distributed as our markets allow, but capitalism will always incentivise corporations to form and to turn these works of art and soul into shallow, souless, assembly line driven cash-grabs. Someone who doesn't understand this reality(often kids) will fall prey to this and that is exactly what our corporate masters want in a consumer base: Mindless Consumers. Just consume until you die and be propagandized to hate the people that say: "We want more for our time, because time is money, and we don't want to waste it."

[@RaikenXion]

1:43 This is the thing for me personally I do very much appreciate all the time, work and effort that goes into the production side of all these Disney+ shows, the detail in the sets, the buildings, streets and locations to bring all these various biomes of the starwars Galaxy to life. Places like Navarro from the Mandalorian, that worker planet Cassian lived on in Andor, and so many other locales look 100% authentic, lived in and just simply alive. Especially combined perfectly with green/blue screens and the volume to fill in the backgrounds and flesh it all out where you see really see the landscapes of these places. Not to mention all the many cool costumes, prosthetics for alien characters, weapons, props and puppets for close ups of alien creatures. All of this I think is amazing and so many talented craft-people, designers artists etc have devoted time and really built these places putting all their love and just creativity and imagination into it. For me my issue is purely just the writing really, it's the writing quality itself that is the main issue I have. Visually these shows all mostly look great, but are just let down by poor writing from the "Story Group" or whatever writing teams employed to actually create the *Stories* for these shows. It's really NOT the production peoples, set designers and costume makers that I as a fan have issue with, all those people I love and respect alot and I do try to point out and give those creators some love for their work. I do mention a certain show and i'll point out it's visual splendor and set design. It does seem though that Fans got a lot of shtick when TLJ went down, there did become this air of "if you don't like TLJ you have a issue against women in starwars" and I think that did cause this whole division and since then, Disney themselves seem to deflect anykind of valid criticism, for "toxic negativity" from those of us who do criticise what Disney is doing with starwars. But more than that, I have gotten the feeling for some time now that overall Disney just despise us oldskool fans mainly, and just keep telling themselves that we're all "White" and *Male* and therefore are ists, bigots, and speaking for myself here I'm mixed race. Disney need to extend a olive branch to the fans now, and really make effort to try and mend, heal this division in our fandom. A good start would be to do a "Tales of...." one of the EU stories and in one off animated CW/Bad Batch style. Fans would love that i think.

[@F0XRunner]

Disney doesn't want mindless consumer fans (though they do like those too) they want passionate fans that engage, but agree with the "narrative" directions that Disney has chosen.

[@Lilac-and-Gooseberries]

Hey Thor, what’s your favourite Star Wars game ever?

[@Magemo7]

I felt the same the way how ubisoft treated older Assassin's Creed fans when their most recent game got rejected by oler fans but liked by new more casual or younger gamers. Now that ubisoft released outlaws ang got ignored we got more insight on how they were completely oblivious treating disappointed fans as a toxic minority and developets being in some kind of safe space just like Disney did and it backfired. Outlaws is at that crossroads and at the same time Ubisoft delayed their next Assasin's Creed title but it's too late. 10 years too late

[@J-Salamander69]

You're WAY WAY underestimating how ideological these employees are. It's not just getting mad because fans have negative views, it's a malicious intentional provocation. Their ideological superiority enshrouds them in a self-righteous do-no-wrong shield - AND - the weaponized backlash can then be used as fuel to further double-down on that righteousness. It's totally demented that you believe those employees have the capacity for self-reflection. How long have they had the opportunity to do that Thor? Has it gotten better? Thor, you need to start accepting some hard truths about the state of the corporate culture. Otherwise prepare yourself for an ongoing struggle of disappointment when Disney/Lucasfilm defiantly continue operating entirely counter to your sensible rationale and awfully naïve thoughts. If it were 20 years ago, what you're saying here might actually resonate - but that time has long passed.

[@nelsontorres6855]

Please do a video on what books to read. I want to start reading them, but I don't really know where to start, I guess besides the Thrawn trilogy now.

[@RedEveTillDawn]

I came to ask why there were so few comments then realized this is less than 10 minutes old!! Haha

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

I still think people should support independent projects rather than continually re-re-rehashing the decade-long issue with Didnay. There are great artists out there who are NOT backed by billions of dollars and really need the help. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ "Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind's journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul's fate revealed. In time, all points converge; hope's strength, resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe's endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again." 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ --Diamond Dragons (series)

[@DylanH2196]

Hey Thor, I was watching a podcast with Star Wars theory and stupendous wave and in the comments someone mentioned about you being on the podcast, which Star Wars theory liked. Is that something you would want to do?

[@achaudhari101]

I’d rather not Thor get invovled with this dumb stuff.

[@jspaingreene6350]

​@@achaudhari101he could bring balance to discussions. SW Theory isn't that bad with the mean stuff... But Thor knows the EU much better and his knowledge is baked in. That could help discussions

[@saberiandream316]

@@jspaingreene6350 Theory is deliberately blind when it comes to Filoni.

[@andrewbrennan2891]

No-one at Disney/Lucasfilm give a damn about fans. If they write, produce, film and release The Acolyte and think it's a good body of work. They are writing for themselves about themselves. It doesn't help shill media agreeing with people like Headland and Stenberg to raise the shield of 'toxic' fans against any criticism of an appallingly bad TV show. Criticisng a poor performance isnt any kind of 'ist' or 'ism'. My question would be how on earth did The Acolyte get made in the first place, it's not just bad Star Wars it's just bad period.

[@saberiandream316]

And they never will.

[@Beaker709]

Disney LucasFilm is stuck in a zero-sum mindset in which a 'win' for one set of fans means a 'loss' for the others. Make quality movies and shows that most fans like, then use that success to fund other projects that appeal to a smaller audience. The Star Wars Universe is huge with plenty of room for different genres - romance, humour, horror, mystery, etc.

[@jacobscott1854]

Hey Thor, I really wish more people watched the South Park panderverse episode. They nailed it on the head, the vast majority of people are just tired of bad stories while the 1% of Cartmans are the only ones who have their voices actually heard by the corporate and media side. Then that same corporate media side labels all the fans negative against any of the new stuff as a Cartman rather than a stan or Kyle.

[@coletrain583]

I’m kind on the same boat with Stan and Kyle. There is a lot of stuff that doesn’t make sense, but we’re not radicals. Honestly I find myself arguing with Wolfwren shippers, they think I’m a homophobe (even one of my closer friends is bi sexual and in a relationship with another guy, and a few of my sisters’ old high school friends are gay and we get along great). For Wolfwren, I just criticize over it not really making any sense of either of the characters of Sabine Wren (who seemed close to Ezra Bridger) and Shin Hatti (who didn’t seem to care about Sabine other than just an obstacle for her). From a character standpoint, it just never made any sense for them to ever be a couple, especially since Shin stabbed Sabine in the chest, nearly chocked her and even almost killed her friends. For the fans’ blaming of KK, they don’t seem any better when comes to something that just won’t work. That’s what I’m saying. A lot of others fans noted I take this personal, mainly cause it seems to be an example of what the fans’ complain about when they handle female characters in Star Wars.

[@Mjolnir117]

I read the title of this video and immediately thought “What fans?” Lucas SW and Disney SW are two very different franchises, one has passionate fans and the other has mindless consumers.

[@bradmccauley2816]

They can celebrate our leaving in a dark, lonely, cold room since it is those of us leaving who kept the lights and heat on.

[@tequilamockingbird758]

I'm not coming back.

[@achaudhari101]

You will at some point.

[@skepticalsmurf]

you will,l can foresee it,you can’t hide from your destiny 😉

[@vetarlittorf1807]

I miss independent Lucasfilm. It had its flaws, but at least it felt like they put in more effort and they were in better touch with the fans.

[@saberiandream316]

I'm rereading Star Wars Republic. They were definitely more fan-interactive, answering fan letters and being very polite and professional.

[@metronome8471]

Lucas film being indie was the only time they were cool.

[@cjlafleur7585]

We don't fully understand how much they hate us, and we most certainly do not hate them enough.

[@otakubullfrog1665]

If Star Wars and other major brands decide to pivot to profit, pay attention to who cleans house and who doesn't. People who are left over from this era that would rather be making the sort of shows and movies we see today are probably going to do the bare minimum for the classic fans and to resent them for even needing to do that.

[@beskamir5977]

You answered my question! I didn't expect it. Thanks! DarthAngelus definitely deserves all the attention especially after the latest episode! That battle was so good!

[@norman7566]

Hey, Thor!!! I have a question that thankful will not be about Disney Star Wars versus anything else. Firstly, though, I want to take this time to thank you for your channel and what you and your wife do with it. I think your take on all things Star Wars is a very reasonable take. Yes, you and I seem to agree on all if not most things (especially the balance of the Force thing) and that is why I listen to you so much. I enjoy the banter between you and your better half and can appreciate the love both of you have for this franchise. You have such a well balanced view and are not too forgiving nor too hostile with the content we consume from them, it's just right. So, thank you and thank you to your wife. And now for my big question: What do you collect when it comes to Star Wars? I have heard you do spend some money on collecting and remember once you said you bought Haslabs Razor Crest. So, are you a collector of all things 3 3/4? Black Series? Cosplay things? Funko? Ornaments? Star Wars houseware products? Thank you, a curious mind and fellow collector wants to know...

[@tubetop123]

Totally agree with you. We are at a very bad stalemate. To resolve this one side needs to take the high road and change. Disney is the business so they need to change for the customers. Imagine your restaurant has no business because the fans hate the food, owners can be stubborn and not change for so long (watch any episode of Gordon Ramsay's kitchen nightmares). But eventually they will run out of money and must change. Hence they call in Ramsey to help them. Disney needs to listen and change and hopefully soon turn back to trust off the fans and it will be a very happy ending

[@GAdmThrawn]

I would argue that Darth Plagueis absolutely requires additional reading before you get into that book. There are references, name drops, plot threads, and other elements in that book that are attached to the wider EU. Most of which would not be familiar to your casual fan, let alone newcomers. That is the book that is reserved for people who've read enough of Star Wars that they can enjoy everything that it brings up and connects with. No, what I usually recommend to people is ask what Trilogy that they most enjoyed after watching the movies, Prequels or OT? If they enjoyed the Prequels, then I recommend books that are in-between those films such as Outbound Flight, Republic Commando novels, Med-Star Duology, the Jedi Quest and Jedi Apprentice series (I know it's for kids, so maybe if you're a parent you can read those to your kids), Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, Darth Maul: Unchained, Labyrinth of Evil, Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader, Kenobi, and the movie novelizations. If you're a fan of the OT, then I recommend the Han Solo Trilogy, Death Star, Allegiance, Choices of One, Scoundrels, Tatooine Ghost, Shadows of the Empire, and the Tales books before getting into the post-Jedi stuff. But if you want to avoid anything connected to the movies and explore the wider galaxy, there's Shadow Games, the Darth Bane Trilogy, Lost Tribe of the Sith series, X-Wing Rogue Squadron series, and the Corellion Trilogy. Then there's the comics, of which there's just as many options there.

[@kimmccarthy7747]

When they first started, they had their chance. The fans were right there, begging. But first you had Kathleen Kennedy and her brood, with their blackboard of changes, starting with getting rid of Luke. Then they had bad writers who couldn't even get the three actors together for one lousy scene, let alone a movie, which narced fans off right from the start. Follow that with two more movies ruined by lousy directors and more bad writing, and an emphasis on a Mary Sue character over a potential new Jedi in training character that might have been a true breakout hit, and a ridiculous forced romance that only Twilight fans would enjoy. I review all this because this is what they did that got the fans mad at them. Were there too many wrong comments sent in against actors who didn't deserve it? Yes, but common sense and courtesy have gone the way of normal politics. You are right, that had to hurt everyone involved. But there was still Kennedy and the ones in charge with their agenda, whatever it was, and their decision to double down, when any other studio would have stepped back and said, "Whoa, that didn't work. We can't lose that kind of money again. What can we do to right this?" Just look at the people who do the Sonic movies. I don't think at this point they want any of the old fans back. I don't think they ever did want us. Just look at the entire message of the Acolyte, from the people in charge to the ending of the show. They are in their own world now, making what they want to do, and we can go jump out the nearest airlock. Someday though, someone at Disney will have to take a hard look and cut the purse strings on the whole crew, because companies are out to make money, and Kennedy isn't, and maybe then we will get something better.

[@Beaker709]

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

[@Pelicanzzz]

That's the thing, stupidity really doesn't explain it.

[@Veylon]

Stupidity would blindly recycle what came before without understanding it. I was expecting Disney to stupidly make cargo cult Star Wars when they bought it. That's not what they did.

[@OgamiItto70]

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action."

[@trepathy1]

Only a Sith deals in absolutes

[@seanmurphy7011]

KOTOR was an evolution out of BG1&2, like the ability to look UP

[@AirplaneDoctor_]

Lets get realistic, it's not Lucasfilm as whole that detests a good portion of SW fans, it's Kathleen Kennedy specifically and those she has hired who are either of the same mentality or just abide by her personal beliefs to get ahead within the company.

[@spacecalifornian7924]

excellent video, honestly better than the usually fairly high quality

[@cjlafleur7585]

The first question doesn't go far enough. We truly cannot understand the depth of their hatred for us, and we certainly don't hate them enough. What many don't understand is that this is ultimately religious for these Hollywood types. Their worship of themselves and the spirit of the age gives them religious fervor to the point where they revel in the misery they cause us as fans, because their hatred for us is boundless. They are the most hateful people on the planet. They are so zealous that they are happy to lose hundreds of millions of dollars to spite us and ruin the things we love. We should give them no sympathy, and no quarter. They provoked every but if criticism, overheated or not that they get. They intentionally set out to burn Star Wars to the ground from day one. This was never about making money. This was about inflicting pain. The commenter is kind of late to the party in just barely starting to see that they hate us, but I'm truth, the hatred in their heart is the only thing that gives them the strength to get out of bed in the morning.

[@cubeflinger]

Most fans would still be fans if disney could write and direct star wars shows.

[@gregoryb3793]

Moo

[@howard7073]

Well whether they want them back or not some people have gone for good anyway

[@achaudhari101]

That part I doubt.

[@coletrain583]

Hey, Thor, I have a question regarding the connection between between Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren.Ever since the Ahsoka series ended, my complaint is that why nobody is willing to talk about the confusing relationship between them. Whatever Dave Filoni said about their dynamic, the execution says something different. I’m kinda speaking from a narrative observation with a bit of suspicion based on their interactions, which raises a lot of red flags (mainly with Sabine’s touching of the mural, her handing the map to Baylon Skoll and even her reunion with Ezra). As a romantic arc it’s makes perfect sense. As an arc involving them as friends, we were left wonder why someone who would be obsessive over someone she platonically likes. I just never see that as justifiable or understandable motivation in regards to the gravity this situation shows. If there is a plot point that reveals that Sabine’s feelings of Ezra are indeed romantic, it would really explain and even fix the story in the Ahsoka series. Even from a non-shipper point of view, they do notice something strange about Sabine’s motives and interactions with Ezra. Not to mention two of the songs, one in episode 7 and the finale, had an echo of Anakin and Padame’s love theme, “Across the Stars”. Could be Dave taking the long game on possible relationship between them. I don’t know. But, hopefully something could be cleared up, at least if done well.

[@trepathy1]

It doesn't matter...I'm never going back. The last time I was excited for Star Wars was before The Phantom Menace

[@artiemedley9369]

I can genuinely see them definitely not wanting SOME of these so-called fans back. Being fair and honest, some of these "fans" just suck. Crapping on the new stuff simply because it's new stuff, is the literal prevention of moving a story forward. You're one of my favorite Star Wars channels because of your fairness and honesty. Some of the things said by avid fans that might come off as overkill, might be so because they're tired of repeating their grievances, and therefore, their criticisms might come off as a little angrier than it probably should...like telling your kid not to do something for the 5th time.

[@namelesssomebody2557]

Disney/Lucasfilm want "the Modern Audience". They deserve them

[@Awakeandalive1]

The SW:TOR novel "Deceived" by Paul S. Kemp is honestly great.

[@bobafett006]

Banes books are super easy to read just finished the first book and I already know more about the sith than the acolyte could tell you 😂

[@ChoseeComprende]

Hey Thor, i would like to ask for your help: Lately there is many videos online about Daisy Ridley interview, where she among other things stated that she "cant change the way some people see woman in Star Wars" (have you seen that interview?) ... sadly, most of those videos i have seen are reading her words as if she would complain that fans of Star Wars are core of its curent problems ... But ... and maybe i read it wrong, since english is not my first, nor second, or even a third language ... still tho, it never seemed to me like that was what she was trying to say: The way i see it, she didnt start talking about this ... she was asked, and at first she dismissed the rhetoric about bad experience with people ... even tho she lately admited (in very next sentence) that she did actually encountered few bad people, but she didnt pay any atention to them specificly, bcs of how they behaved. Do i read it wrong? Could you provide me your interpretation? Thanks.

[@doubleupload5620]

Yes they do

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

*Let it go.* Support something fresh, new, and independent. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ "Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind's journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul's fate revealed. In time, all points converge; hope's strength, resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe's endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again." 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ --Diamond Dragons (series)

[@darielemiliosevillabueso4558]

Hey Thor, 2 things, more about star wars lore than the situation around it for a change . 1, I got into the EU through the new jedi order books (yes I know it's a terrible place to start) and I recently finished the enemy lines duology. I am wondering what's your take on that particular story? Do you think it is possible to make a good adaptation of it considering how long it is? Second, ain't really a question but wow honestly your original characters fit so well into your fan fics I didn't even notice that they were original characters P.S. I know my username is too long so if you answer this question on a video you can just call me Dariel

[@mihailos8701]

Thanks for another good solid video, and pointing out another fan project

[@tremontefr5617]

As long as Rey Palpatine is cannon SW is beyond repair.

[@MKojiro]

There are people now who claim canon doesn't matter. Who honestly see no problem with Kermit the Frog showing up in 40k or Gandalf being revealed to be Rey's great great grandfather. They literally do not care as long as the flashing lights gives them their endorphin hit. These are the customers modern corporations like Disney want. People who do not think on things for a moment, who have no investment beyond it's the cool new thing (so they will buy the merch before promptly moving on to the next content- to buy that merch...). For whom franchises can't be ruined or indeed have any storytelling quality at all. Disney cares only for the dollar. And the mindless 'get hyped for next product and consume!' fan is a much easier mark. The reason they hate those of us with standards is simply that we make their job harder. When we point out 'hey this makes no sense' and the 'consumer' actually stops to think for a minute, they might just loose income. THAT is what they hate- people who show that things could, and worse have been, far better than what those with all the power, all the tech and all the resources can muster. Not because they can't, but because it's not profitable.

[@ThreadBareHope1234]

Hey Thor, Thanks for these lightning responses. I've been thinking about Star Wars' quality, and wondering when Star Wars peaked. I'm of the opinion that overall quality peaked with the originals. (And we've had *rare* gems since then). But I think Star Wars peaked thematically with the Prequels. Not just because of the blunt "don't trust the bureaucrats" dialogue, but the romance is even based. It strongly resembles other romances in the media. Anakin and Padme aren't as bad as the Twilight couple, but still shallow, all about the intensity, obsessive, maybe a few moments of joy, but mostly mentally ill. And that's where Cal and Anakin are not even comparable. I can appreciate Cal and Merrin's relationship because though also simplistic and shallow, they have mutual respect, mutual compassion, and support each other, never suffocating the other's individuality to "protect" them. Respect and faith are a strong foundation for any relationship, and are what make their love feel right, rather than hit harder. Though I wish more media would depict real love. I know most "love" stories wouldn't thrive if they weren't appealing to people's happily ever after fantasy, feelings, fetishes, and obsessions. George Lucas was on to something making Anakin's and Padme's romance like many others -- all about the drug-like feelings--, then ending it in a brutal tragedy. The Prequels had unintentionally deep themes. Also, hope things are going really well for you and your family.❤

[@brandenmanuel2037]

No they don’t want the old fans They only want “fans” that will just blindly accept and consume whatever crap they put out there

[@saberiandream316]

Because they're too proud and arrogant to think they could use some good-faith criticism.

[@Cynfulbrew82]

Disney Lucas film does hate us. They were the ones that started the whole nonsense of calling fans that didn’t like the last Jedi and basement dwellers and Russian bots. To quote Rambo, they drew first blood.

[@petersanzen4106]

Unpopular opinion here but The heir to the empire series has more in common with the sequel trilogy than most would admit. An op female character that upstages Luke in every situation, a mysterious fleet that shows up from nowhere, an incompetent Republic that does not tale the remnant serious, an OP villian that feels so ridiculous in a world where there are soace wizards.

[@koutaXkaede]

There really is a ton of absolutely horrible people involved in the star wars fandom. And 99% of them all work at Lucasfilm and disney

[@dfolz1101]

1. Characters i can care about (not a high bar) 2. Expand upon already established lore It is really that simple

[@MMZERO9]

I can imagine if anyone was to mention old EU characters like Mara Jade Skywalker or Jaina Solo directly to anyone in the executive branch of LucasFilm some of those executives may get triggered.

[@dovahfett5919]

Maybe I'm just weird but if I'm being told I'm doing a pisspoor job I stop and reevaluate what I'm doing

[@Da1Dez]

Since 2018 I've watched more videos like this than I have minutes of Disney Star Wars.

[@YegRon]

At some point, someone in Hollywood decided that one way to boost the publicity of your project while simultaneously defending it from criticism is to blame the fans and attack them as bigots. Any criticism, both constructive and hyperbolic is painted as the fans’ own prejudices causing them not to see the brilliance of their stories.

[@WildZephyr]

Correct, Disney does not want the old fans back. They want the new, modern audience fans. I wish them good luck with that.

[@BingleBonko]

It really feels like they're banking on the new fans. Everything seems like a hit piece and it feels like Everytime they release something and it flops on its own, it's always someone else's fault. Never their own.

[@StefSis]

Hey Thor Did you make your own sequel story? I remember something happening in the woods. Was that your story? Chewbacca was there too. Where can I find it if you made your own sequel trilogy?

[@paulemge9156]

What they want is to do the stories they want but still make lots of money. And I will always point to Mandalorian first 2 seasons as proof that you can make new stuff people like

[@Area1313J]

Make a character of your boy J-Ar’ea and make me weequay 🙏🏽💪🏽

[@rd-um4sp]

there is one flawed assumption at that first question: to think that anyone at The Rat Company knows or care about fans and fandoms. Some of the more public figures may be vocal to one side or the other but when you get to meetings that decide anything, it is all spreadsheets and marketing research powerpoints. And whoever gets to convince they got a project with a good or fast ROI gets the budget. Politics and silver tongues and any "dissent" that eventually may be brought up is readily dismissed as vocal minority. From any side. Progressive themes only gets passed more easily nowadays because investment firms and asset managers give more money to whatever company have a high ESG profile. It s all about making money and getting more money to make more money.

[@kendrathompson5207]

One of the things that George Lucas got very right was his casting. Every actor chosen for his characters was a perfect cast. He must have had a nose for it. Whether they were good or bad actors, they were certainly memorable. Disney hasn't delivered

[@leebishop7591]

Living in LA and talking to ppl in the industry, the word of mouth take in Holy-wood is that alot of ppl working BTS are there from nepotism and/or just business. They dont care abt lore, they care abt money. They care abt numbers, a la Joker 2 and the Marvels. The other part of that is; yes writers and showrunners do watch youtube and the fans.

[@GrievousReborn]

For me I would say start with Plagueis

[@brandonbaggaley2317]

Hey, Thor. Have you played any of the recent Zelda games like Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Skyward Sword HD, the Link’s Awakening remake, Tears of the Kingdom, and/or the recently released Echoes of Wisdom?

[@MikeSidious]

I've been a fan since 1977. Star Wars was the first live action film I saw at the theatre and instantly became a mega fan. What Disney Lucasfilm has done to the IP is inexcusable in my eyes. It's obvious that they're no longer interested in catering to fans like me anymore, so I've walked away from (modern) Star Wars. I used to think (Disney) Star Wars was worth saving, but I've come to the conclusion that there's really nothing worth saving anymore. Let their new fans have (modern) Star Wars. It's just fan fiction anyway and will never be real Star Wars. Real Star Wars comes from The Maker, whether you want to admit it or not.

[@gryce9077]

In spite of everything Disney has done there’s still an amazing amount of good will - we’re just waiting for something to cheer for. Andor is the way to go - I’m going to resubscribe to D+ and invite my kids to watch when Season Two comes out. If Lucasfilm is smart they’ll have some other good content come out at the same time.

[@TFedits85]

Hey Thor, had a question surrounding internet hate & trolling that actors face in large franchises like star wars. We've seen it as far back as the prequels and it's only gotten worse as the internet and social media has gotten more and more prolific. Most recently, Acolyte star Jodie Turner-Smith went on a rant about getting "dog piled" by racist trolls. Now, this may initially seem insensitive, but my reaction to that is "so what?" Seriously, what do you want companies to do? Nothing Disney or anyone says to these awful people will change their behavior. Additionally, nobody is making these stars use social media, they can just not read these comments. This big spotlight is something that just comes with the territory of being an actor in a major franchise. You just simply have to ignore it, because all you're doing by calling attention to it is encouraging them to keep it up. If the one downside of being a star in a major Hollywood project is you don't get to use social media as comfortabley as the rest of us, I say that's a pretty inconsequential sacrifice, and frankly a blessing in disguise. Thanks for all you do!

[@range78]

disney has treated fans so poorly, i am not going to encourage my son at all to watch ANY of the starwars universe, old or new. im not raising a toxic sexist starwars fan. i know he's not toxic or racist and now i can work to ensure he's not a starwars fan either.

[@amarcellus1714]

I am all for new characters and stories outside the Skywalker era. But in order for me to care about these new stories and characters you have to treat the original characters with respect and write good new compelling characters an stories. Lucasfilm, under Disney, disrespected Luke, Han and Leia and the Jedi Order. After seeing the sequel trilogy it was very hard for me to stay invested. Mando and Andor gave me momentary moments of happiness but it quickly faded because I know it all leads to the same timeline where I will never see Grandmaster Luke with rebuilt Jedi Order

[@ndhNATEDOG]

The deceived novel is pretty good, and the people in charge of Disney clearly don’t want us back otherwise they’d have changed their ways a while ago

[@timidwolf]

"... They are human, and humans are not always going to act professionally ..." Even though it is their job to be professional, that is literally what professional means. It is not on the consumer to be professional, we're the ones PAYING for them to be professional.

[@joshuamueller3206]

The bad thing is lawyers and medical doctors are the only real professionals [engineers half count], the rest are just jobs.

[@timidwolf]

@@joshuamueller3206 Professional just means you're being paid for your work, it's not specific to certain jobs. It includes those jobs in Hollywood.

[@varundattoo9512]

Like others have said, 'professional' can mean many things to many people/organisations. The company that I worked at used it as a title for specialist consultants that did specific projects or contract work, this is in tandem whilst also having 'contractors'.

[@vetarlittorf1807]

Hey Thor. What do you think of the Ysalamiri in the Thrawn trilogy? Do you think their ability to negate the Force goes against the concept of the Force?

[@CloneScavengerVulpin8389]

I would like to see more fan created characters.

[@NefariousSpecter]

I believe it, and they are finding out those mindless fans don't care to support Star Wars outside of the movie or live action shows. And don't bother with the toys, animated shows, or video games.

[@skepticalsmurf]

I surrender,SW is just another IP to me now(l’m kidding,kinda but l still hold out hope for actual quality content)😬

[@hamiltoncox7651]

There is a real disconnect between "fans" and i.p. holders. I've been in the industry my entire adult life and I can safely say that those who are in charge cannot comprehend fandom, never having been fans of anything except power, prestige and money. They REALLY DO think that fans are toxic losers who live in the basement of their parents homes. If you are over thirty, you are of no interest to them (even though they are all 70 and above) because they are always trying to cater to the newest generation because that's where the money has always been. Except it isn't now, and they can't comprehend that either.

[@thehikingcucumber3410]

They can take the Star Wars out of Star Wars, but they will never take the Star Wars out of me.

[@Paradox-es3bl]

Not sure how many people care about my recommendation for books to read, but as someone who pretty much hates reading because I have a severely limited imagination, so I vastly prefer anything with visuals… I have to say I quite enjoyed the Republic/Imperial Commando novels. Although, you have to be willing to be cucked or something because you’ll never get to finish unless they convince Karen Travis’s to come back and finish the last 2 books. (It was meant to be 2 Trilogies, one before Order 66 and one after, and only 4/6 books got made. KT didn’t like the idea of changing things for new canon or whatever)

[@rawnchydeard4669]

Ya know, if Disney actually understood the IP, they’d be able to create content for the OG fans. But they don’t, and even if they want us back, they’re unable to give us what we want. This won’t change anytime soon. But I’m at peace with it now. I’m a former mega consumer of Star Wars. And that’s okay.

[@GGBlaster]

I don’t think it’s a Star Wars thing anymore. These debates over the quality of Star Wars content are happening all over the entertainment industry. Movies, shows, video games, everywhere it’s the same story: pissed off fans, deaf or antagonistic companies, and news media and defenders lashing out at all criticism. Maybe Star Wars was the harbinger back in 2015 or 2017, but since then it’s all evolved into what some people are calling a culture war.

[@saberiandream316]

It's too much corporatizing, not whether a piece of art has liberal themes, people were just fine with that before 2017.

[@Axterix13]

I agree that it has just hit a certain critical mass across the entertainment industry. Things are watered down in an attempt to appeal to everyone, everywhere, but that means it can't really speak to anyone. The depth isn't there. At the same time, everything needs a known IP because that gets a bigger audience, needed to justify the cost. But this means some writer can't get their own project funded, and instead leads to them trying to insert their ideas into the IPs they do get to work with. Meanwhile, the focus is more and more on "all the money", but the suits in charge don't get what makes the IP appealing to the fans in the first place, and don't care about those fans when there are all those other people out there that could be sold to. And due to that, they've changed us, the audience. We were optimistic, looking for a reason to consume whatever. But we are more and more becoming pessimistic, looking for a reason not to consume. Mind you, they can still win us back. When we do see a project created with passion, that respects its IP, that knows its demographic and aims to please that subset, we're on board. Elden Ring, BG3, Deadpool movies, the monkey game, One Piece live action adaptation, and so on have all done well. But these are the exception in a sea of mediocrity made up of content by people who don't get their audience, don't respect the IP, aren't good enough at their jobs to be heading projects with budgets in the 10s or 100s of millions of dollars, and only care about how things can be monetized.

[@RobMacc]

Short answer: No. Long answer: Certainly no, comprehensively no, absolutely no.

[@Hello-bi1pm]

Hey Thor, do you think bringing back Lumiya would be way easier than Mara Jade. You could even take the character in the different direction of redemption because there isn't that much attachment to her outcome in the Legacy of the Force. The stories are kinda similar where it concerns Luke Skywalker, but there's no baggage of marriage. (So similar in fact I wonder if Zahn didn't ripoff Lumiya)

[@TheChristianPsychopath]

I think I'd be extremely annoyed if they brought back Lumiya and not Mara.

[@tom2gunzbombadil689]

I genuinely LOL when ppl n or LF call me toxic, hater and not a real fan. I've been around since ESB. I wore out my Ep 4 vhs. I was Luke for Halloween multiple times. Ppl like me/us are the reason SW sold for 4 billion dollars.

[@Robert_Westwood]

I would think the vast majority of fans who criticize the state of Star Wars today are sincere in their expressions and critiques of the current quality of the product. The problem is, many do not articulate their critiques beyond ad hominems and straw man commentary. The Internet has given a voice to many people who probably shouldn't have one. And I am including myself in that group, ironically enough. The best way, i am starting to think, is to say nothing and just vote with our wallets. Didn't like something, don't pay for it; don't give the powers-that-be ammunition of "racist" or "misogynist". Like the saying goes, never argue with a (studio) idiot. They beat you down with their experience every time...