image 29 Aidan and I doing the final Star Wars run in 2015 at the domes at Howe 'bout Arden (2015)

So, the Disney Star Wars.  I guess I should start with some context. Unfortunately George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars empire, decided in the 10s to sell the IP to Disney. I saw unfortunately because no matter what people say, Disney does have a long history of watering down the ideas of others. Now I get it some people like bland foods, but Disney being in control of something entertainment wise to some of us is always worrisome since they are like the TCG player that looks up the current most popular deck in their game on the internet, then buys and only plays that until it goes out of favor.

They aren’t a trend setter or artists. They just look at the numbers and try to make a product that will entertain whatever is popular that moment is the best way to say that I guess. So getting Star Wars which had always been kind of an insider on the outside as far as it’s story telling sent up a lot of red flags when they said they would release a new trilogy in a couple years time.

Honestly in retrospect that was a huge flag, that I remember being worried about at the time, all the real cannon main line films from the 70-00s had at least a three year turn around between them during their heydays, Now Disney said they were doing to do it faster with no experience in the genre. Well if you can’t tell it fell flat. But I’m not here to critique it, the interesting history of the whole thing is out there on the internet. One positive is that Disney helped invigorate the prequels from the 00s which I liked into being acceptable to the internet trolls because of the job they did with the IP in the 10s.

But we are here for The Force Awakens. Regardless of how things turned out, this movie had some great timing life wise. Coming out in December of 2015, Aidan, who didn’t even exist when the last Star Wars film came out was old enough to be excited for the film. So, even though slightly worried about the Disney direction on things went through doing a Star Wars movie the right way.

I was able to order midnight tickets at the same theater that I and his mother saw the last film, ROTS, at. Now Nora decided not to come with us for this showing but still the ability to tie his first midnight Star Wars with the last one Nora and I went to was pretty neat. Beyond that, this was going to be the last Star Wars at the dome theaters which sadly got torn down a few months later in the name of progress. Those unique theaters had not only been home to some Star Wars films with us, I had also gone with Dad back in the 80s out there and seen countless other odd titles with friends and family, so their passing was sad but it was pretty cool Aidan got to go on the last trip out there with me.

Now one of the things I look at as a mistake with this new Disney trilogy was that the film came out in December. As part of them wanting to tackle family movies in time for Christmas. This is a marketing ploy and I hated it. Mainly because Star Wars is a blockbuster, and part of the fun of opening night is the wait outside with everyone else. Well during May, when all the other movies had released being outside for hours in 70-80 degree weather is a non issue. In December when its freezing all day and night it kind of sucks.

As one can see we had to sort of bundle up even in California. This to me is another oversight of the Disney release system they came up with. They forgot that Star Wars isn’t some mindless thing like Avatar, where people go to it because they are corralled there, watch it, and then forget it exists, which is great for the holiday dollar because people just go to the movies to see something on Christmas, not as an event.

Star Wars has kind of a tailgating aspect to it, but since its not a football game where people are prepared for the cold, the spring versus winter weather does put a hamper on the fun.

Aidan and I pressed on though. We played some Pokemon, at the time we were trying to get down the official rules to the game. Aidan was now getting old enough that the kid rules version needed some updating. We also got lucky enough to be sitting next to a group that had brough a small theater setup and were able to watch some of the older Star Wars films while waiting in line. All in all the line worked out although it was damn cold the whole time.

We eventually got let in and ill be honest all issues with the story of the film aside, Aidan and I had a fun time with the movie and I wouldn’t not see it just because it was a tragic step down in quality from the previous six. In the moment, being able to pass on the let’s go see a Star Wars film legacy was great. Do I wish Aidan could have opened with a better version on screen, of course, but we had fun in the moment so that counts.

However, as one can tell I didn’t make individual sections for the Disney product. So while this moment is special, there is a lot with the new product that is not. However, with that in mind, as I said Aidan and I had fun, so the next year with the first non mainline Star Wars film, Rogue One, Aidan and I got ready and set out to see it again.

This time with the domes gone we went to the new theaters that had just opened up in their place. I rented us two of the reclining chairs and we made a day of it. This time we didn’t hit midnight, instead since seats were reserved, we went in the evening and did a course of Holiday shopping at the Mall before hand. Most notably Aidan picked out a remote control BB8 to give his little sister for Christmas.

While not the domes, the movie was fun to see in the comfy chairs, and Rogue One is just better than the Force Awakens, so we got to have a good time on the car ride home talking about our fallen homie KSO. But this also is the close of the adventure. Since seeing ANH in the church, I always had some fun opening night adventure with the Star Wars films, have it be Dad trying to sneak in extra viewings, getting drunk before episode 2 with Karl or fitting in a war story with Aidan while Christmas shopping for the girls, opening night was always fun. Rogue One was also the last.

I admittedly didn’t know when The Last Jedi was coming out. Turned out one night while ubering two kids from the dorms to the local movie theater, I asked what movie they were going to see so late at night. That’s when I was shocked to find out I didn’t know about a Star Wars movie coming out.

Aidan by this time wasn’t as keen on the franchise anymore, kids and trends can change quickly and something else was more important. Also at the time I was working all day and all night, so I had very little wiggle room. So it was a few days later when I ended a bunch of drop offs and kept having people talking about the film while I worked I decided to just get tickets at the same theater as always and at least see the movie before a passenger spoiled it.

It was okay. Maybe I was a little heartbroken no one wanted to go so it with me. But it still wasn’t as neat as the old films. So I moved on with my life. The same thing happened with the stand alone Han Solo movie Disney put out a few months later. I actually liked the movie a fair amount to be honest, and it was cute that Mom ordered me the tickets so I would stop working that evening. But it was still a lonely event.

Luckily though that means by the last Disney trilogy film, the birth of sky, oh the name doesn’t matter. When it came out I didn’t care after seeing the trailers and seeing all the media with it, this return of Palpatine thing seemed so bad that I was kind of afraid to watch it. But then opening day while eating dinner at an all you can eat Chinese buffet in Sacramento I got curious and, yup, tickets were available at the same theater, and I decided tradition would make it worth it.

I was wrong. But I am glad I didn’t have to subject any friends, family and or Loved ones to seeing that movie as an example of something that was important to me. Take all the hyperbole from people being angry at any of the films since the Holiday special way back when, The Rise of Skywalker, this was the only time it was actually embarrassing to like the franchise. This was the Dan Orlovsky running out of the back of the end zone to cap a 0-16 season for the Detroit Lions. It’s the only time something I have liked has made me sigh.

I have been sad after bad losses with the Niners and football. Been angry at other outcomes, Not liked some reboots etc. of other believed franchises, but the film I watched that night, its one positive was that I was so glad I didn’t bring anyone else with me to see that. This was the first time the trolls were right and I couldn’t even say, it was an okay film, or had some merit and was at least fun to go to. Nope this is a stain. This is something I love, but not I have to go around feeling like, well I love Star Wars, but there was that one time it cheated on me with someone I hated. It was bad and does ruin the legacy a bit because now I have to pretty much define what I like about Star Wars and just pretend a part of it doesn’t exists. Like Lucas with the Holiday special, except the Holiday Special was so cheesy, you can enjoy its crapiness, Rise is actually just bad without a, so bad its good bone in its body.

And it leaves a doom fog over all other things. Since then, I have been good about watching the TV shows Disney switched to after that debacle.  And I will say this, The Mandalorian was a successful saving throw. Unlike the narrative driven with the JJ Abrahams films about a fan trying to “fix” Star Wars, our group behind the Mandalorian seemed to actually work with the cannon and made something fun to watch.

Now, I like some of the clone wars cartoon, and am okay with some of the directions Dave Filoni goes with the stories, but I have noticed the original stuff with John Favreau seems a little more on point. But all in all so far, as of quarter one 2023, season’s one and two, pretty fun, the Boba Fett series, Okay, weird in a couple parts, all three though make a much more Star Wars-esque fun story than the Disney trilogy at least.

The Obi-wan series, after the first fifteen minutes just seemed like a fan fiction that I didn’t care for. So that got me worried. But I will now finally lay a little bit more praise, the Andor series, based off the good Disney Star Wars film, so far, way better than the Disney large scale attempts. Interestingly as one might think if they were into the series for a long time, Star Wars isn’t just about lightsaber toys. And even though the prequel triligoy’s main focus was a jedi and the order’s down fall, that’s not the heart of the matter. So its no surprise the their less built up tv show off shoots about a bounty hunter and just people living in the Star Wars universe make for better stories than trying to tell the one that has already been out there for almost fifty years.

So maybe there is some hope, maybe someone will see that there is Star Wars to be made with new material about other cultures and people dealing with the same timeline. However there is a sense that the Mandolorian and Andor may end up being exceptions to the safe marketing and sales of telling the safe Star Wars trilogy stories over and over again that Disney wants to stick with.

And, like with my nephews Justin’s boys, who have remained into Star Wars as they’ve got older, their generation is now growing up with the Disney trilogy, but they don’t like it, it isn’t the prequels 2.0, no Rise of Skywalker is actually a danger to the legacy of families loving these silly little films in a far away galaxy in actual practice and not just in an old man in a basement saying his childhood is ruined by it.