It is time for Disney and its access media to recognize it is not the fans who are toxic. Instead, it is the brand they have built with Star Wars leading to negative commentary.
The Reckoning – An Idiot’s Array…or calling a spade, a spade.
This week has seen a number of rumors surface on this site and others regarding the futures of Star Wars, Kathleen Kennedy, and Jon Favreau. These stories tend to bubble up during slow periods, and the rumors of internal conflicts and backbiting seem to pop up on a fairly regular basis. What made this week different is that it’s the first time I’ve heard WDW Pro ever confirm that he is hearing these rumors from internal sources as well. I’ve been following Pro for a long time, and I’ve learned from watching him to take what he reports seriously. While I don’t think Kathleen will be forced into retirement – (my guess is that she’s contractually covered through the release of Indy 5, with her retirement likely to be announced at the end of next year) – I think this particular tranche of rumors/leaks may have been a gambit on the part of Bob Chapek.
Say what you will about whether or not Chapek is truly a mastermind playing 4D chess; there are certainly things about the man that I think we can dislike, particularly when it comes to maintenance of the parks and/or gouging the customer. Chapek is by definition a money man and he will find the exact level of profit he can squeeze out of a customer without incurring a loss. Even so, I believe it is unwise to dismiss him as “Just a bean counter.” Over the last year, we have seen that Bob Chapek plays the long game. If you believe as I and others do that Chapek has largely waged a PR war through friendly trades, strategically leaking stories that turn things to his advantage. Stories leaked in the last year have put members of the board who are ideologically opposed to moderation on the defensive, called into question the soundness of board decisions, bolstered the arguments of those in favor of correction and moderation, AND caused his enemies to become complacent and/or out themselves.
In a previous article, I had suggested that the teachings of Sun Tzu could be referenced to fight in this culture war. Bob certainly seems to be guiding things with the strategies of The Art of War in mind. If this is so, and not wishful thinking, I think the intent is to force the board to make a decision regarding Jon Favreaus elevation within the Disney organization. Elevating Jon to a similar level as Alan Bergman, becoming the gatekeeper of Disney Storytelling would be a significant promotion, and technically place Jon ABOVE Kathleen Kennedy. Potentially losing Jon to Warner Brothers adds a level of threat to the board refusing to make this decision. This becoming public knowledge puts pressure on the board to pull the trigger – Kennedy – or Favreau?
The question is – is it too late? I think it depends.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was the breaking point for many despirited Star Wars fans. It was the one story that they absolutely could not afford to screw up. I found some things to like in the show, and I know others did too – but the sheer number of plot holes and inconsistencies that the show created for the rest of the saga are impossible to ignore, and do incalculable damage if viewed as “canon.” For some time now, Lucasfilm itself appears to have either not known or cared about Star Wars as a cohesive story. Since 2017 (at least), it has been used as merely a vehicle for shoveling ideological pablum at an audience that was looking for escapism and entertainment. Those who refused to swallow the swill or called out the lack of quality were called every name in the book. Reading the comments on Pros article left me unsettled, and I’ve been sitting on those feelings for several days, trying to puzzle out what exactly was irritating me. The gist of it came down to this – the fan base has been contentious for some time. There are factions within the fanbase that vehemently disagree with each other, and the acrimony has risen to heights that were unseen even during the prequel era. A lot of the heat in these arguments depends on where you stand in regards to “The Fandom Menace.”
The term in some ways is meaningless – there is no organized “Fandom Menace”, just a loose affiliation of fan groups that reject the sequel trilogy (or Disney Star Wars as a whole.) I consider myself roughly aligned with the Fandom Menace, though I do accept some portions of Disney Star Wars and ultimately root for their success in storytelling. I think like most reasonable people, we can accept some things we don’t like as long as the majority of the content we’re getting is good and aligns with the wider Star Wars galaxy of storytelling as whole. However – no matter HOW you feel about Disney Star Wars, the one thing that stuck in my craw regarding the conversation was the idea that we, the fans – passionate and hotheaded as we may be – bear some responsibility for the state of Star Wars as it is now, or the state that Lucasfilm/Disney has found itself in.
We do not. We do not make the movies. We do not make the shows. We do not produce the merchandise. Words are not weapons. Negative opinions and criticism are not “toxic.” Demanding quality from a producer is not having an entitlement mindset nor gatekeeping. We are customers, plain and simple.
I understand that Disney doesn’t care about “art”. They care (or SHOULD care) about profit. They are meant to be in the business of maximizing return on investment and preserving profit margins. Because that is the lens through which a corporation can understand something, some grace has to be given to them because they really DON’T understand what makes these properties tick. But the people who work for them do, or once did. Many of the people who work at Lucasfilm have been there since long before the Disney acquisition. Many of them saw what worked to revive the property in the 90’s and beyond. Many of them that are still there are responsible for forcing out the former caretakers, so great was their ambition and lack of patience. THESE people should know better. These people have been told better, by the people who actually are responsible for them drawing salaries – you and me, the fans who kept Star Wars alive through the Dark Times.
In the words of an Evil Mastermind and Future Ruler of Earth – without respect, we reject. Disney is now learning that lesson the hard way, and since they have refused to moderate or correct their mistakes, Star Wars is better off dead (yes, dead – not merely damaged) than to allow them to continue to desecrate its corpse.
For all the latest news that should be fun, keep reading That Park Place. If you agree or disagree with Lorn’s assessment of the Star Wars situation, drop a comment down below and let us know!
