It’s weird. All I ever hear fans saying these days is that “Disney killed Star Wars.” This is despite the fact that we have more content now than we’ve ever had before.
Look, I get it. A lot of people hated the sequels (Though, I think later generations will come to love them). Many fans also don’t seem too keen on the most recent show, The Acolyte (though the critics seem to dig it).
That said, even with all of that vitriol toward the franchise, I honestly think that Star Wars is the best that it’s ever been. And no, I’m not pulling your lightsaber. I genuinely feel that way, and here’s why.
There Is Something For Every Kind Of Star Wars Fan Now
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I honestly can’t stand the Jedi portion of the Star Wars universe. Lightsabers, force abilities, force ghosts (whatever the hell those are), they’re all completely anathema to my enjoyment of the franchise.
Whenever I hear people talking about the Jedi council, or complaining that Rey is a Palpatine and not a Skywalker, I just tune them out. Because I honestly couldn’t care less. I also kind of think Luke sucks. And, even though the prequels seem to have gained a newfound appreciation these days, I don’t particularly care for Anakin, either.
But, you know what? I still really like Star Wars! How can that be, you ask? Well, it’s because I really dig the stuff around all the lightsaber swinging. Like Mandalorians. I’m totally down with the Mandalorians. I also really like the non-force side of it. You know, the boots on the ground grunts who are really fighting the wars. The fodder, the expendables. The nameless.
That’s why Rogue One is my all-time favorite Star Wars movie, and why I’m deeply into Andor. Because the franchise, despite what some fans tend to think, is not any one thing. For example, I don’t like the prequels, but there’s a whole generation that grew up with them. And, we’ve gotten some prequel love on Disney+ with the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries, and you have pretty much all of the Clone Wars cartoons you could ever want, all in one place.
Speaking of the cartoons, with Disney, we’ve gotten Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, Tales of the Jedi, The Bad Batch, Young Jedi Adventures, and the really interesting Star Wars: Visions. Now, are all of these shows for everybody? Of course not. Of the ones I just listed, the only one I really got into was Visions. That said, Disney has given me choices; choices which I never had before the company bought the brand.
A lot of people will say, well, things were much better when George Lucas had full control, but were they? Were they really? Because I remember seriously disliking Star Wars for several years during the prequels cycle. In fact, I really didn’t start liking it again until The Mandalorian debuted, and now I regularly check out what the franchise has to offer. And hell, as somebody who doesn’t particularly care for the Jedi, I even really like The Acolyte. So, yeah, go figure.
There Is Also More Diversity Than Ever, Which I Will Always See As A Positive
You know what expression I absolutely detest nowadays. WOKE. But, hear me out, because I don’t hate the concept of wokeness. I just hate how the word has been misused and weaponized over the years. Woke, when it initially started, was about being culturally aware of things. It was when people who were not of a certain race could recognize stereotypes or discrimination with regards to other races.
But, today, everything people don’t like is often considered WOKE. A Black Ariel, oh my God. That’s so WOKE (All caps). A woman lead character taking charge? You know that’s WOKE. Gay characters in significant roles?…WOKE!!! In fact, everything Disney tends to do these days is considered WOKE, and you know what I have to say to that? Please, just shut up.
I mean, everybody’s welcome to their opinions, and they can choose not to watch what they don’t like, but must they be so vocal about it? I will admit that Disney is definitely infusing more diversity in their movies and TV shows than ever before, but guess what? Some people (actually, probably a lot) LIKE that.
You have to understand. Star Wars is global, and people of every race, nationality, gender, and belief system enjoy it. Growing up as a Black kid, Lando Calrissian seemed like the only Black person in the entire galaxy. And, like, I just had to accept that. In fact, pretty much all of my heroes when I was growing up were white, because white actors were given all the major roles.
But, in 2024, Star Wars is full of diversity. Just to name a handful, John Boyega, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Rosario Dawson, Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, and Manny Jacinto, are all out there in a galaxy far, far away. That’s not to mention all of the leading roles for women that we’ve gotten out of Disney. Look, I will never turn my nose up at diversity. I don’t care how WOKE you think that is. I’m all for it, and Disney has delivered.
Disney+ Still Has All The Classics In One Place In Case You Don't Care For Any Of Their Latest Output
Okay, so you don’t care for anything new from the franchise created by Disney. Fine. You do know that all of the “classic” Star Wars stuff is all in one place, right?
When we ranked every Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back was, of course, at number one, because what else was going to take that spot? It’s pretty much unanimous that that’s everybody’s favorite movie of the property (not mine, but it seems like it’s everybody else’s). Guess what? You can watch it on Disney+.
In fact, all the movies are on Disney+. Even the ones that don’t have Kathleen Kennedy’s direct involvement with them (I know a lot of fans don’t like her, either).
Honestly, even if you think Disney is ruining Star Wars, you still have the movies/shows you fell in love with in the first place all in one spot. How can you complain about that? (I mean, other than not having the original, theatrical releases. But I don’t think you can blame Disney for that one.)
There Also Haven't Been Any Excruciatingly Long Waits Between Projects
Lastly, I’m old enough to remember when I had to wait YEARS for new Star Wars content.
As somebody who was born when The Return of the Jedi first released, I can tell you that the first new Star Wars movie that I saw in theaters was 1999’s Episode I–The Phantom Menace, which actually just had its 25th anniversary. Revenge of the Sith came out in 2005, and then…I had nothing for almost a decade until 2015’s Episode VII–The Force Awakens.
Now I have more Star Wars than I even know what to do with it. Some might see this as a detriment, as it might not seem as “important” or as “special” anymore because we have SO much of it. But honestly, I like that I have “too much” Star Wars. I have more now, so I can pick and choose what I want to watch.
I mean, did I watch Ahsoka? Nope. Because it didn’t seem interesting to me. Was the third season of The Mandalorian good? I personally didn’t think so, so I stopped watching it.
But, what about The Acolyte? Well, I wasn’t going to watch it, but since so many people said it was terrible, I gave it a shot, and I actually really like it. I’m now fully caught up and excited for the conclusion.
Which is cool, because that means that I always have something new to watch when it comes to Star Wars. There is virtually no wait for new content (Well, except for Season 2 to my beloved Andor), and I have Disney to thank for that. They’ve made Star Wars better than ever.
What do you think? Do you agree with me that Disney has only improved Star Wars rather than made it worse?
