Fan is the shortened term for the word fanatic. A fanatic is defined as “a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause.” If you love Star Wars as much as I do, then you would know it is considered to be its own genre of film. So beloved that when someone says “that The Rise of Skywalker was an amazing film” you would probably be upset. Perhaps you are skeptical if I had a hint of sarcasm. I didn’t.
The majority of the controversy comes from the content being produced by Disney. With the cancellation of Star Wars the Clone Wars, initial impressions were soured by the acquisition. “Save the Clone Wars” was a popular movement to bring it back, which eventually worked seven years later. Then premiered Star Wars Rebels, which had mixed reviews but remained rather positive. On IMDB (Internet Movie Database) it has received a positive score of 8.1 out of 10.
The Last Jedi had mixed reviews when it first came out. The major problems being the lack of focus on tone, and the mischaracterization that even the actors have negative feelings about. Mark Hamill commented, “I pretty much fundamentally disagree with every choice you’ve made for this character.” On IMDB the movie has received a 6.9 out of 10 score and an 84 on metascore. There even was the “delete The Last Jedi” petition which sought to recreate the film that featured 35,000 signatures. A fairly bad response for such a beloved franchise.
Rose from the Last Jedi, was another part of the movie that fans were upset about. Kelly Marie Tran who played Rose Tico received plenty of hate messages online. The toxicity of fans, complaining about her inclusion as messages included personal attacks on her gender and race. Because of the fan outrage, Rose was featured in the Rise of Skywalker for about a minute and sixteen seconds.
Though these views are not only reserved to the sequel trilogy as the prequels had issues as well. The Star Wars; The Phantom Menace featured the character Jar Jar Binks, who is not only found annoying now but insufferable in the past. The character was so disliked that the actor Ahmed Best, who voiced Jar Jar, had received threats to his personal house phone. Best’s return in The Mandalorian season three was received with approval by fans, but this time he was playing the role of a jedi rather than a Gungan.
While more projects were being added, the Star Wars fandom became progressively more toxic, as fans of the series have divisive opinions on the direction that it has been taking. A common argument that has been circulating is whether The Mandalorian season three was any good. It is a beloved show with an 8.7 on IMDB, but the recent season revealed a prominent complaint being that it had less focus on the narrative that it was building in favor of side stories that held no current relevance. Some people like it, some people don’t, it is hard to have a simple conversation about Star Wars where it doesn’t devolve into an argument.
