Credit: LucasfilmThere’s been a slew of recent announcements coming from Disney lately about what fans can expect from its various properties, including Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar. The company has suffered from a variety of delayed projects within the last several months, and an even bleaker outlook with the ongoing Hollywood strikes.
In a recent Tweet, user @TheFirstOkiro made a striking comparison between the real-life Walt Disney Company and the fictional Galactic Empire from the iconic Star Wars franchise. The Tweet, which quickly went viral, drew attention to certain aspects of the entertainment giant that seem eerily reminiscent of the infamous galactic totalitarian regime.
The Tweet came as a comment on Andor halting its filming of Season 2 due to the ongoing strike between the studios and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. Andor is a favorite amongst many Star Wars fans who celebrate its writing and strong performances throughout the series, which also earned it a “Best Drama Series” nomination in this year’s Emmy Awards. Although highly anticipated, it seems the studio’s reluctance to negotiate with both guilds is going to set back Andor for at least a few more weeks.
Okiro draws a direct parallel between the fictional empire and the very real corporate one saying, “Andor is literally a show about fighting fascism and corruption, but y’all acting like the literal empire again. The show is literally as good as it is BECAUSE of the actors and writers. Not Bobby Iger.” They go on to say that Disney needs to compensate their workers as they are the ones whose work directly creates the show and who are responsible for its quality.
Disney, just pay your actors and writers fairly
Andor is literally a show about fighting fascism and corruption, but y’all acting like the literal empire again
The show is literally as good as it is BECAUSE of the actors and writers. Not Bobby Iger https://t.co/EhP1xsDbGY
— Okiro (@TheFirstOkiro) July 21, 2023
Most of the comments are in agreement with the Tweet, pointing out the inequality between the international mega-corporations and the people they employ. “I think that is the problem with a multinational corporation. It always comes down to money over art,” said @alfin35, adding “Multinational corporations view these properties as things to exploit for profit and not for the love of the property and lore.”
Disney’s CEO Bob Iger even got some flak from those pointing out how a multimillionaire refuses to deal with the people who make his content. The reinstated CEO, who’s just resigned as head of The Walt Disney Company until 2026, has recently commented about the state of the Star Wars franchise, claiming that the company will be making less content related to the previous Lucasfilm property along with cutting back on the amount of Marvel content.
Iger has also recently been accused of being the studio executive claiming that they’ll wait out the strikes until the workers are being forced out of their houses. The Disney head has reportedly earned over $27 million since coming back to lead the company. Unfortunately, although the fans see the hypocrisy and irony as clear as day, it’s obvious that “Darth Iger” either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care about the parallels.
What do you think about Andor’s delay in the midst of everything? Share your thoughts in the comments below.