Anakin Skywalker - Kenner - Vintage The Power of the Force (1985)
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The Future Of Star Wars: Are You Really Already Moaning And Whining?

Posted by Paul | November 02, 2012 at 09:43 AM ET

The will of the Force saw it fit for me to be sitting in the pitch black darkness when the biggest announcement of our Star Wars lives was made: Disney buys Lucasfilm, Ltd. Episode VII will indeed “happen.” I thought it was a mean and very early April Fools’ joke and it took a full 48 hours before I could even begin to remotely register what was announced in my brain. You see, after being brow-beaten for years by Mr. Lucas that he would NEVER make Episode VII , Episode VIII and Episode IX, I finally accepted it would never happen. (more....)

In fact, the last time I even remember any mention of Episode VII actually happening was back in the summer of 1983, right after Return Of The Jedi was tearing apart theater records. My cousin who is two months older than me and was actually more into Star Wars than I at that point talked about how there were really nine stories of Star Wars and that the middle three is what we’ve seen. I thought he was insane (even after seeing the opening crawl clearly distinguish Return Of The Jedi as Episode VI). Then as a young professional, I had a hard time believing that I was going to see the Prequel Trilogy get made. It forever changed what we knew about Star Wars. Some argue it’s been change for the worse, but I tend to disagree with that. It brought a new perspective to Star Wars – irrespective of how good the Prequel Trilogy is or isn’t.

But you see, part of the problem is that many of us can’t let go of the past. And please don’t think I see anything wrong with that. I love that I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s. I witnessed the best films ever made as a youngling. The toy lines were the greatest and pop culture in general was a pure joy. I am a proud member of Generation X. Obviously those of us who grew up with the Original Trilogy possess a viewpoint that Generation Y or Z will never be able to see. A big part of what made us impassioned fans was all thanks to the Kenner toy line that augmented our Star Wars experience with incredible happiness and intensity. What an incredible time to grow from child to adult. (Many of us are still kids, aren’t we?) We know what it was like to go to Fun Town, KayBee Toys, Lionel Kiddie City, Two Guys, Korvettes, Sears and so many other stores (many of which are no longer in business) and hang out in the massively huge Star Wars aisles. There was nothing but black and silver to feast our eyes upon with all the little hints of multicolor thanks to the beautiful card backs and name plates that identified the products that would soon be in our possession. Obviously toys have had a major impact on how we’ve come to love Star Wars. We still live through them and have a hard time accepting things when they fit outside of this regime. And probably all of us will never be able to let this go. As the Prequel Trilogy pushed its way into our lives however, some resisted. But many others including ourselves embraced the new era of Star Wars and it looks as if the time has come to prepare for an all-new era. We admit that it’s still hard to accept things when they’re outside of that “vintage” box, isn’t it?

But this all leads me to say that I am frankly unable to understand all of the panic, resentment, fear and dread with the announcement that Disney has purchased Lucasfilm. This has no affect on how it all began. Our “vintage” Kenner experiences and seeing the Original Trilogy unaltered will never be robbed from us. Heck, as far as the toy line is concerned, Hasbro still finds ways to rekindle some of those experiences. For the last two and a half years we "lived" in the "vintage" era all thanks to the homage paying The Vintage Collection line (distribution issues aside). Will the way we see Star Wars be subject to change? I think it’s a good bet that it's possible. Is this a bad thing? That answer might be yes if you’re expecting to relive 1977-1985 all over again. I once heard an expression that “we can only possess what we experience”. My generation (in general) obviously possesses to the point of saturation the Original Trilogy. And that isn’t a bad thing at all. But I also feel it’s these same people who are unwilling to experience anything new to possess a new point of view of Star Wars. Yes, the Original Trilogy films are classics. And there is nothing that can ever take that away. Nothing! (Thank God for that!) But why freak out over something that hasn’t even happened yet? Quite a few staunchly vehement fans say that George Lucas destroyed the Prequel Trilogy. Then maybe you can find solace in the fact that he won’t be directing the new films. Don’t you think that Disney will select the greatest films crews, writers, producers and directors to make a brand new Star Wars film, especially since Mr. Lucas has stepped down from controlling this? There is a lot to look forward to now. Did you really want to live the rest of your Star Wars lives as is? Frankly, it’s been very, very boring. It’s time to move on and embrace the future!

We finally have a series of three new films (and the hints have already begun dropping that we’ll see Star Wars films above and beyond the Sequel Trilogy). This means that there will be a substantial and all-new multimedia push for a while (as far as the eye can see) right now. Do you know what this means? This means that Hasbro (or if there will be a change in licensee down the road – who knows?) will have plenty of support to take a few more chances on stuff that they normally couldn’t do in a non-movie year. Obviously many new items will be based on the new films to support them, but if Star Wars sees a huge resurgence it’s quite possible we may finally see that Sail Barge, Death Star Space Station, Rebel Blockade Runner and Star Destroyer that we so desperately want. It’s not a guarantee, but the chances are slightly more in our favor now. With all the wariness and downright complaining about the Disney merger, shouldn’t we all be taking our eyes off of our own selfish wants and desires and just for a moment or two consider the possibilities that this could be an exciting time again for Star Wars fans? The more media push that gets behind Star Wars will only mean the chances to see many things we never thought possible might happen. Could you imagine Disney parks requesting a Sail Barge for an exclusive similar to what they did for the Starspeeder 1000? There are so many opportunities now that a huge company has picked up the Star Wars branding.

If Star Wars does become a large than life franchise that takes the property into territories that we don’t want to see it go, well, then the choice is yours to do as you please. But I for one am excited that we’re all going to see an all-new rebirth of Star Wars and I for one cannot wait to see Episode VII in theaters. I am excited for a new toy line based on the films and I am excited that there is a potential for the TV series to finally take off. Will some things be hard to swallow? Sure. I don’t know how I will feel to see Episode VII begin with the music to “When You Wish Upon A Star” instead of the 20th Century Fox fanfare. But I am pretty sure that the anticipation of an all-new and highly budgeted Star Wars film will take precedence over anything else. What could the new films possibly be about this time around? Will it focus on an older Luke Skywalker? Will it be based on Jacen and Jaina Solo? Or will it literally be an all-new “original story” as the headlines have clearly printed in black and white? There is certainly a great deal of material that all of us want to see incorporated into the new films. But in order to clear our heads for what’s coming, we need to be a little more hopeful for the future. Let’s be a little more reticent with our negativity, alright? All we did for the last decade and a half was complain about how Lucas ruined “our” films and some even went further to state that their "lives" were ruined. Really? You have so many problems I don't know where to begin then. I am not saying that there weren’t valid reasons to feel disenchanted with all of the Original Trilogy tweaking, but let’s get the new era of this franchise up and running before throwing rotten tomatoes at it, shall we?

May the Force be with you…. always.

Be sure to read additional perspectives on this very topic by our friends at Yakface.com and BanthaSkull.com as well!

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