‘The Mandalorian’ Could Convince People to Hate the Sequel Trilogy Less
The Star Wars franchise has entertained audiences for more than 40 years. In that time, it has amassed one of the largest, most devoted fan bases in film history. These fans love the lore, the characters, and the action that has made the space opera one of the most popular franchises ever.
Each new film and television series inspires new debates about a variety of issues, and many of these debates become quite heated among the most die-hard fans.
Recently, an incredible thing has happened in the Star Wars universe. A new series has united fans in a unanimous love and admiration that has been absent from every other Star Wars movie and television show so far. The love for this series is so strong, that it’s actually changing people’s views on the sequel trilogy.
‘The Mandalorian’: Uniting Star Wars fans across the globe
Star Wars fans are opinionated. Very opinionated. We’ll share those opinions with anyone who’ll listen–anyone. It doesn’t matter if they’re our best friends, our worst enemies, or a stranger standing at the next gas pump.
We’ll happily engage in an endless debate about whether Han or Greedo shot first, or whether we love Ewoks or believe them to be furry spawns of Satan. There is always an argument to be had when it comes to Star Wars.
At least, that was the case before Disney+’s The Mandalorian came around. For the first time in history, Star Wars fans aren’t arguing about this latest installment of the galaxy far, far, away. Fans are in general agreement that the show rocks, and even people unfamiliar with Star Wars are enjoying it.
The Mandalorian focuses on the journey of a bounty hunter and the child (enter the adorable baby Yoda-like specimen that the entire universe has fallen in love with) that he has sworn to protect. The relationship between the two is incredibly heartwarming to watch. Baby Yoda’s constant mischief and Mando’s monotone, exasperated responses can warm even the hardest of hearts.
The show’s incredible action sequences keep us on the edges of our seats and make the time fly by–every time the credits roll it feels like the episode just started. That’s how good it is. Jon Favreau is a true genius, as only a genius could create something that leaves 99% of Star Wars fans in agreement.
Which ‘Star Wars’ film caused the most disagreement among fans?
According to Forbes, while fans all have their own opinions on which Star Wars films are the best, most will agree that the prequels were the worst. There is one film that seems to have the huge fan base fairly equally divided, however.
The Last Jedi caused more controversy than any of the other film. Some lauded the middle of the sequel trilogy as the best Star Wars film ever, while others swore that it was the epitome of what was going wrong with the franchise.
First off, The Last Jedi reversed the typical critic-versus-audience response to a blockbuster film. Usually, audiences will love a popular title like a Star Wars film, while critics will rate it poorly (because they’re just above all that basic excitement that gets audiences all fired up). On Rotten Tomatoes, TLJ received fantastic reviews from critics while receiving a poor audience rating.
One of the biggest issues that fans had with TLJ –– and possibly the whole sequel trilogy –is that it tries too hard to push progressivism. It seems like many of the heroes and best characters are either women, while the villains are almost always white men.
It seems kind of ironic that the Disney-owned franchise would be criticized for being too progressive, as they are the company that has been bashed for not being progressive enough in the past.
Fans also didn’t like the way TLJ split up the trio from The Force Awakens. Rey, Finn, and Poe, who were such a joy to watch interact with one another in Episode VII, were barely together in TLJ.
They all had a separate story arcs, which made the film feel like it had less heart than most other Star Wars films. After all, a huge part of Star Wars is working together as a team, and that uplifting feeling of the good guys beating the bad guys.
How is ‘The Mandalorian’ helping the sequel trilogy seem more appealing?
Much of the Star Wars fandom will agree that the original trilogy–Episodes IV, V, and VI–are the best films. The prequels and the sequels both have their fair share of detractors, but now there is one fundamental difference between the two. That difference is The Mandalorian.
The Mandalorian seems to be changing some people’s views on the sequel trilogy. The engaging plot of the Disney+ series is making fans go back and watch Episodes VII, VIII, and IX with an open mind.
One Reddit fan states that Mando and his team are helping the sequels, and another Redditor wholeheartedly agreed, saying “Seriously LOL, I actually felt motivated to sit and watch 7, and 8 and 9 for the first time in a while based on what I saw on Friday.”
Some have compared the way The Mandalorian enhances the sequel trilogies to the way The Clone Wars lent a helping hand to the prequels. “Let’s remember not too long ago the sheer amount of hate the PT got (a lot of it deserved – although I’ve still always loved the prequels) until the Clone Wars came in and smoothed everything out.”
That same Redditor also pointed out that there is no time in the films to develop an engaging backstory for all the characters, and that the series have the flexibility to create those intricate stories.
“I think people forget Star Wars films are… films. They need to follow narrative structure to make sense. We can’t spent 30 minutes on Snoke’s backstory. We’ll get to it when we get it to just like the story tellers have always done.”
