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Credit: LucasfilmDespite years of resistance to Disney’s Star Wars, fans can now rejoice, as George Lucas’ Star Wars is finally about to be restored.
Once again, Star Wars has found itself in troubled waters with fans. While, of course, we cannot speak for every single fan when the galaxy far, far away disappoints, it’s hard not to hear the complaints of the masses, and the latest entry has caused almost as much controversy — not quite as much because it’s not a theatrical release — as The Last Jedi.
The Acolyte Backlash
Unless you’ve been living in another galaxy for the past eight weeks (or maybe you prefer to avoid the Internet altogether these days), you’ll have no doubt seen all the discourse surrounding the latest live-action Star Wars television show on Disney+, The Acolyte.
The eight-part series takes place 100 years before George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999), focusing on twin sisters Osha and Mae, both played by Amandla Stenberg, and their struggle between the light and the dark, or the Jedi and the Sith.
Putting aside all the backlash regarding the show’s LGBTQ themes, The Acolyte has mostly come under fire for its canon-breaking story, which involves the aforementioned twins being conceived by the Force long before Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd/Hayden Christensen) was.
The Acolyte also features an appearance from Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, who first appeared in The Phantom Menace but supposedly shouldn’t even be alive at the time the show takes place. But canon and cameos barely scratch the surface of what’s been going on.
In a nutshell, some fans have been calling those who like The Acolyte “shills” (which means to say that they only pretend to like Disney Star Wars content so they can get free Lucasfilm event access), while those who don’t like the show have been accused of “review-bombing” it, as it currently holds an 80% critics score and 16% audience score on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes — a stark contrast that doesn’t bring any balance to the Force.
Either way, there hasn’t been this much discourse surrounding Star Wars since Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017) was released in theaters seven years ago.
It has become increasingly apparent — especially since 2015’s The Force Awakens — that the Star Wars franchise goes through phases, or peaks and troughs, whereby fans are united in their excitement and love for new projects for a few years, and then divided and crushed by objectively disappointing content for the next wave. And then the cycle starts over.
The Prequel Trilogy Hate Led To Suffering
After the original trilogy ended in 1983 with Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, which followed Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars was practically immune to criticism for 16 years.
It wasn’t until George Lucas released Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace in 1999 that the discourse began. Its sequels, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones (2003) and Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005), were equally divisive among fans.
As such, the prequel trilogy was widely hated for many years. Putting the more controversial aspects aside (the abuse Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best and young Anakin Skywalker actor Jake Lloyd faced from fans), the films were criticized for weak dialogue and overuse of CGI.
Now, in the face of Disney’s Star Wars, the prequels are widely praised, which is a testament to the fact that many fans have the habit of romanticizing the George Lucas era. While that era is objectively better, it doesn’t mean that it is without flaw simply by comparison.
Disney Bought Lucasfilm, Gave Fans “A New Hope”
In the seven years after the release of Revenge of the Sith (although, let it be said that the prequels grossed a combined $2.6B worldwide), for the most part, things went quiet. But in 2012, Disney purchased Lucasfilm for over $4B and acquired the rights to Star Wars.
Before any of the films hit theaters, it was merchandise and animated shows galore, with things such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 — 2020) and Star Wars: Rebels (2014 — 2018). However, any pre-acquisition material (bar the first six films and The Clone Wars) was de-canonized and dubbed “Star Wars Legends.”
But, in 2015, fans truly rejoiced, as Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, the first chapter in the sequel trilogy, was released. While many labeled it a “soft reboot” of A New Hope, the film was mostly well received by fans and critics and grossed over $2B.
The spark that lit the fire that brought Star Wars down had yet to be lit.
Related: All 14 ‘Star Wars’ Movies Ranked From Worst to Best
The Last Jedi Destroyed Star Wars For Many Fans
Two years later, Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi shattered the fanbase. Its portrayal of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) came under heavy fire, as did the cheap “gotcha” storytelling moments that negated any setup The Force Awakens had firmly established.
Still, its $1.3B takings guaranteed Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019), which brought in slightly less with $1.07B. But the film was another huge disappointment for fans, as it wasted precious time trying to undo the mess The Last Jedi had created.
At this point, fans were convinced there had been no direction for the sequels from the start. But while The Rise of Skywalker came and went without much fuss (no compliment for any Star Wars film), there had been nothing quite like the disaster The Last Jedi left in its wake.
Beyond the Star Wars Skywalker Saga
Meanwhile, the oversaturation of Star Wars films didn’t help Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), which became the franchise’s first “box office bomb” with $393.2M. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), on the other hand, which grossed $1.05B, remains a beloved entry.
Fortunately, 2019, the year the sequel trilogy ended, saw the arrival of the first live-action Star Wars show on Disney+: The Mandalorian (2019). Feeling like a renaissance of sorts, the birth of the “Mando-Verse” gave fans “a new hope” for the Star Wars franchise.
But, just as history had already taught us, it didn’t last. While The Mandalorian Season 2 was also a big hit with fans, The Book of Boba Fett (2021) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) were not. And though Andor (2022) restored some faith, it was swiftly undone by Ahsoka (2023).
And then, of course, as we’ve already talked about, there was The Acolyte.
Star Wars Isn’t Dead
To say that “Star Wars is dead”, a sentiment many fans are now echoing in the hope that by saying so it will magically erase the last 13 years’ worth of canon thus reinstating “George Lucas’ Star Wars“, is untrue. Regardless of what you think of The Acolyte, life goes on.
Star Wars tie-in media, such as comic books, novels, video games, and animated shows, continues to be a mostly unscathed side of the faraway galaxy.
If we’d thrown “theme park attractions” in there with all the tie-in media, though, you might suddenly remember Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, the disastrous, overly-priced Disney World experience that famously shut its doors last year after only 18 months of operation.
Still, that hasn’t affected other Disney World and Disneyland Star Wars themed lands and attractions, such as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and all the rides, whether it’s those in Batuu such as Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or elsewhere in Disney’s Hollywood Studios like Star Tours — The Adventures Continue.
Meanwhile, there’s still plenty to look forward on the small screen and the big screen.
The upcoming Disney+ shows (Skeleton Crew) and theatrical movies (The Mandalorian & Grogu, the new Rey Skywalker movie, etc.) might not have many fans particularly excited for the future (and who can blame them), but “Star Wars Outlaws” (2024) does.
“Star Wars Outlaws”
The upcoming third-person open-world video game from Ubisoft is the first of its kind for Star Wars. You’ll play as Kay Vess (Humberly González), a criminal, scoundrel, and outlaw who’s about to undertake one big heist so that she can get out of the life for good.
But this will involve surviving the faraway galaxy’s dangerous criminal underworld, a “hive of scum and villainy”, and its many syndicates. Fortunately, you’ll have your trusted companion Nix (Dee Bradley Baker) at your side, as well as your own droid and ship.
Unsurprisingly, “Star Wars Outlaws” has had a great deal of coverage over the past year with trailers, exclusive interviews, and gameplay overviews. But now, Ubisoft has officially released 10 minutes of gameplay footage for fans to enjoy. Watch the video below:
Related: Jar Jar Binks Is the Only Character Who Can Save ‘Star Wars’
George Lucas’ Star Wars Has Been Restored
We think you’ll agree that, while “Outlaws” doesn’t look particularly ground-breaking — it doesn’t scream “Grand Theft Auto V” (2013) or “Red Dead Redemption 2” (2018) as it seems more along the lines of “Hogwarts Legacy” (2023) in terms of its janky animation and seemingly low-grade graphics — the idea of an open-world Star Wars game is appealing.
More so, what’s promising about this new 10-minute gameplay reveal is that, regardless of what you think of the character animation and the overall graphics (we’re sure this isn’t the finished product), “Outlaws” seems to capture the spirit of George Lucas’ Star Wars, particularly that of the original trilogy, an atmosphere that was seemingly lost in the past.
From the setting of Tatooine to the music composed by Wilbert Roget II, this brand-new chapter in Star Wars gaming will transport fans back to the original trilogy era, music to the ears of those tired of what Disney has been churning out lately. While it still falls under the Disney umbrella, it is unburdened by the Disney+ collection or any of the cinematic entries.
Canonically, the game slots in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and though it won’t have multiple endings like many open-world games these days, focusing solely on one story, at least fans will be given the opportunity to forge their own Star Wars adventure. And we can’t think of a better way to restore George Lucas’ iconic vision.
Are you excited about “Star Wars Outlaws”? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!