Callum Ward
Today marks the ninth anniversary of the release of one of the most anticipated films of all time in the form of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film marked Disney’s first foray into the Star Wars cinematic world after their $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm and was the first theatrical Star Wars release in ten years since Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith brought a conclusion to the mildly received prequel trilogy. As a result, the excitement from fans across the world was palpable in the build-up to the film, with each new trailer or TV spot being dissected to the Nth degree for any small clues.
Never has the Star Wars fandom been so united in excitement, which is unfortunately a far cry compared to the state of the fandom and franchise nine years later. The Force Awakens rekindled the magic of a galaxy far, far away with its nostalgic nods and promising new characters, but its success was short-lived. The question remains: where did it all go wrong? To understand the decline, we must first unpack the elements that made its release so electrifying and then examine the choices that left fans divided in the years that followed.
Following on from a decade without a new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens landed during a time in the film industry in which reboots and sequels were dominating the box office, and none had the masses of fans the way Star Wars did. Much of the excitement in the build-up stemmed from seeing the likes of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill return to the franchise alongside compelling new characters of which we knew very little about. It offered a perfect blend of nostalgia and excitement for the future and, upon release, The Force Awakens garnered widespread acclaim from both fans and critics alike.
It scored an impressive 93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.8/10 on IMDb and 80/100 on Metacritic as well as earning over $2 billion at the box office—ififth in the all-time box office rankings still to this day – in what was a big improvement on the general consensus around the prequel trilogy. JJ Abrams managed to mix nostalgia with modern storytelling extremely well, whilst the impressive practical effects, character-driven narrative and introduction of fresh and compelling new characters like Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren played by some of the most exciting up-and-coming actors were celebrated as refreshing and respectful of the saga’s roots. Although the film was slightly over-reliant on familiar tropes and had a near identical structure to A New Hope, it left the majority of the fanbase hopeful and seemed like the start of an exciting new trilogy in a galaxy far, far away— something that was unfortunately short-lived.
In the years following The Force Awakens, the Disney/Star Wars train was in full flow with a brand-new cinematic release every year up until 2019 – featuring a mix of standalone ‘A Star Wars Story’ films and continuations on the main saga films following The Force Awakens. These ensuing films started positively with the well-received Rogue One in 2016, however, 2017’s The Last Jedi is where the cracks really began to show in the Disney era. While well received by critics, Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi was one of the most poorly received films from the fanbase, with a meagre 41% Popcornmeter (Audience Rating) on Rotten Tomatoes compared to a critic rating of 91% on the Tomatometer. Following on from this, Solo was luke-warmly received on both fronts before The Rise of Skywalker was received almost inversely to The Last Jedi, with a strong 86% on the Popcornmeter compared to a poor 51% on the Tomatometer.
The Last Jedi in particular acted as an almost flashpoint in the franchise and fanbase, with Johnson’s subversion of the traditional hero arc with the character of Luke Skywalker in particular being an extremely divisive element. Some saw the way the film dealt with the character as a bold re-imagining. Others felt like it was a betrayal of what both the character and the franchise stood for. This division was further exacerbated by The Rise of Skywalker as that film attempted to reverse the key themes from The Last Jedi—something that left those who loved The Last Jedi alienated while simultaneously leaving those on the other side of the argument underwhelmed due to the rushed execution of the backtracking.
This inconsistency in reception was a far cry from what both fans and critics had expected following the success of The Force Awakens and led to what still seems like almost irreversible division and toxicity within the fandom to this day. While opinions will always differ, unfortunately, this mounting division within the fanbase didn’t just stop with heated debates online, instead it spiralled into a level of toxicity that took a huge personal toll on the actors themselves. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the online harassment targeted at Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley. Tran, who played Rose Tico, was relentlessly abused after The Last Jedi, with her character unfairly scapegoated by a vocal minority of fans. Ridley, who portrayed Rey, faced similar abuse and was subjected to invasive commentary about her personal life and performance. This undeserved hostility was so bad that both actors decided to delete their social media accounts, highlighting an extremely darker side of the fanbase’s polarisation that has unfortunately become a staple of the Disney/Star Wars era.
As the cinematic side of the Disney/Star Wars era came to a close, Disney pivoted their focus away from feature-length releases, instead focusing more on the streaming side of things with limited series. Early signs were strong as The Mandalorian, Disney’s flagship streaming offering in the Star Wars universe was received extremely well, but, like with the aftermath of The Force Awakens, what followed was a mixed bag when it came to both fan and critical reception. High points have included the likes of Andor and even Season 7 of the Clone Wars animated series, but the likes of The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and most recently and extremely, The Acolyte, all split the fanbase, with this discontent yet again boiling over into unacceptable abuse. Is this really what the Star Wars franchise has become, an inconsistent cycle of strong starts, disappointing follow-ups and subsequent vitriol and abuse? Furthermore, where does this leave one of cinema’s most esteemed franchises moving forward nine years on from what was meant to be its grand return?
While the scars from the divisive reception of the last few years linger, Disney has laid out an ambitious slate of upcoming projects for both the big screen and streaming platforms that they hope can bring renewed hope to the franchise. James Mangold’s upcoming standalone film, Dawn of the Jedi will delve into Star Wars’ mythic roots and explore the origins of the Force and the Jedi. Meanwhile, the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu from Jon Favreau and the untitled Mando-Verse feature film from Dave Filoni will continue to expand that part of the universe and offer a culmination to the interconnected saga built by the various streaming shows set in this era. There is also a New Jedi Order film in development following on from The Rise of Skywalker that will see Daisy Ridley return as Rey, as well a recently announced new trilogy being written and produced by Simon Kinberg. On the streaming side of things, there is also excitement around upcoming second seasons for both Andor and Ashoka.
On paper, this lineup seems to have a great mix of continuing ongoing stories within the Disney/Star Wars universe as well as expanding into new, uncharted territory with an impressive array of writers, directors and producers getting involved. The question now is whether these ventures can rebuild trust with a fractured fanbase or if history is destined to repeat itself. The last nine years of inconsistent executions cast a long shadow. For these projects to be deemed a success, they will need to deliver compelling stories and avoid the narrative missteps and over-reliance on nostalgia and fan service seen in the majority of the Disney/Star Wars projects, all while attempting to foster a healthier fan culture as opposed to the toxicity of recent times. It will be interesting to see if this is just too big of an ask for Disney.
At the moment it’s hard to argue against the fact that the Disney era of Star Wars has been a disappointment, but, as a certain green Jedi famously says, “Always in motion is the future,” and the hope for both Disney and the fanbase is that things can get back on track again and the collective excitement in the fanbase that was evident during the build-up to The Force Awakens nearly a decade ago can once again return. This future slate of Star Wars projects will ultimately carry the weight of higher expectations after the disappointment of the last few years, but if the bold new projects can recapture the heartfelt, emotional stories; strong, memorable characters and cinematic grandeur that the franchise has always been known for, Star Wars may yet reclaim its status as a cultural touchstone and unite its existing fanbase, delivering the galaxy far, far away to a brand new generation of fans.
