The past few years, the Star Wars franchise and I have had a somewhat…complicated relationship.
For a long time, everybody who knew me knew how much I loved Star Wars. It was my favorite franchise, the signature thing I geeked out over. When I heard the announcement Disney had purchased the Star Wars brand years ago, I actually got emotional because I was so excited that there would be more movies – something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see.
I know it was controversial amongst fans, but I really, really loved the sequel trilogy. Rey is my favorite Star Wars character, and she has a deep personal meaning to me. I also loved Rogue One and even Solo, despite some of the negative buzz surrounding the latter.
It wasn’t until post-COVID that my disconnect started happening.
I liked the first season of The Mandalorian, and I LOVED season two – I thought it struck the perfect balance of maintaining the western/lone bounty hunter style of the first season while also connecting the story to the larger Star Wars universe. The final Clone Wars series was everything I wanted it to be, and season 1 of The Bad Batch was tons of fun.
But then, I was disappointed by The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka – three series I’d really been looking forward to. I didn’t fall in love with The Mandalorian season 3, either. By that point I also felt very burned out by the online Star Wars fandom experience, and I realized I needed a break.
I got really into other franchises like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Dune. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel some sadness over how I wasn’t as connected to my favorite franchise.
I’ll admit it, I was worried about the new Mandalorian and Grogu movie. The title itself seemed more like a marketing choice than a grand Star Wars adventure. I wasn’t dreading watching it, but I wasn’t overly hyped, either.
I caught the movie at the end of Memorial Day weekend, and you know what? I enjoyed it. I didn’t quite leave the theater with my imagination fired up, but watching it did make me happy, and I was glad for that.
I feel like the third season of The Mandalorian was too bloated, trying too hard to connect to too many other threads in the Star Wars universe. The new movie flows much better; it’s a return to the simpler days of the first season, offering a satisfying, standalone adventure story.
While the movie feels more like a collection of episodes than an epic cinematic experience, I still liked it for what it was. I was engaged with the story and the visuals, and it was really cool seeing Star Wars characters on an IMAX screen again. I’ll probably try to catch it again in theaters.
I think it’s performing well enough at the box office to keep the franchise going, though I feel like some more casual fans may wait to stream it on Disney+. And I genuinely am excited for the mysterious Starfighter film project. (However, I do want Lucasfilm to know that if they mess up a Star Wars movie featuring not one but two of my favorite actors – Ryan Gosling and Matt Smith – I will not be happy.) 😉 And while I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much, seeing Daisy Ridley pop up as Rey in this movie would make me so happy.
Anyway, I didn’t mean for this to be a downer of a review. I feel like it’s natural for involvement in a fandom to ebb and flow, and I don’t want to take away from people that really loved this new movie. I think I’ve personally been missing Star Wars stories that dig really deeply into the Force and Jedi/Sith lore. Maybe next year’s Starfighter will be just the spark I need to pull me fully back into the Star Wars fandom.
What else I’ve been watching
I recently finished up the latest season of The Night Agent on Netflix. I feel like this show doesn’t always get talked about a lot, but I personally really like it. If you enjoy political/secret agent thrillers, I definitely recommend this one.
I also watched Guy Ritchie’s new action thriller In the Grey. While I didn’t love it as much as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which also features Henry Cavill, it was still a fun flick and a good time at the movie theater.
Finally, the latest book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series just released, and I am eagerly making my way through the first few chapters. While these books are getting perhaps a little long, I can’t complain because I love all the characters.
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