An open Letter to George Lucas,
Bob Iger, and Kathleen Kennedy:
“In order to give maximum creative freedom to
the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the
audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the
post-Return of the Jedi” is nothing less than a giant “Fuck You” to the
most ardent, dedicated, and financially valuable[1]
fans of Star Wars. These people, I among them, value most about the existing
Star Wars Media, in particular that which comprises the Expanded Universe,
precisely what you destroyed. Continuity: the interconnectedness
of each work. Such material was tirelessly (and fruitlessly) crafted to conform
to existing narratives and environmental details. The value of additional
novels, games, and comic books augmented those that already existed. Such
efforts are for naught should they be consigned to the realm of fantasy within
fantasy. The artistic merits of the new media shall have to prove astronomical
(they will not be) in order to make up for the cultural annihilation that has
been wrought.
Furthermore,
is the element of surprise necessary? It did not remove from the quality of
films like Dr. Zhivago and Barney’s Version. It seems more probable that something other
reason is salient. Why, also, is it necessary to “give maximum creative freedom
to the filmmakers?” Is that another way of saying that the Filmmakers are
worried about living up to the standards for narrative set in the novels? No
story seemed compelling enough for the silver screen? If that is truly the
case, I espouse you to create one that fits within the existing and adored
chronology[2],
where enormous gaps exist.
In
any case I find your decision to discard, if not the countless works
themselves, the strand which binds them, utterly distasteful, and perhaps even
morally reprehensible, given the (irrational but existing) distress at what you
have done among legions of Star Wars fans.
Signed,
Spencer Dean and whoever else deigns to like or share this post.
“I felt a great disturbance in
the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were
suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”
-
Obi
Wan Kenobi
"People who alter or destroy works of
art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are
barbarians [...]."
-
George
Lucas
[1] Financial Addendum:
These fans, for obvious reasons are the most valuable consumers of Star Wars
goods of all kinds. I am interested what calculations (or lack thereof) were
behind this decision. Is it that this group, who will not be wholly alienated,
will continue to purchase content, or even accelerate their purchases of
Legends content? Will they prove flexible and eventually adopt the new canon?
Has it been determined that the sale of new content will outweigh any potential
reductions in existing sales? Will the films’ net earnings somehow increased by
not making the effort to align with what already exists? Will the creative
costs of such material not be unnecessarily high? Are Disney and Lucasarts
employees simply eager to put their personal stamp on what will undoubtedly be
a very profitable series of new books and films? The rationality of this
decision with respect to the ultimate principals of it, Disney shareholders, is
contingent on the answers to these questions and others.
[2] Admittedly, there are works of lesser and greater quality within it
