A long time ago on a blog never, ever updated… I had plans to write up a post dedicated to Star Wars. I could tell you exactly when it was – about this time, in 2015. How do I remember? Because it was the year The Force Awakens released. My post was going to be published on Star Wars Day, May the 4th – because you know, us bloggers just love us some made up holidays to dedicate posts to – and I was going to focus on how much faith I had in J.J. Abrams and what he was going to do with The Force Awakens. Not only because he’s (still) one of, if not, my favorite directors/screenwriters today, but because I knew it was going to be easy for him to do it.
Haha, OK, not easy in that sense. Breathing such new life into an iconic and beloved franchise is madness. But easy in that he’s accomplished, has the capability, and most of all, he’s a fan.
Not just a fan, a superfan, as described in this 2015 Wired Magazine interview with Scott Dadich. Like that? How I am pulling interviews from 2015 like I’m a time traveler. Well, I remember reading that when it was first published so ha! Anyway, J.J. being a huge fan of Star Wars was not only amazing for him to be able to direct Episode VII – and Episode IX in 2019!!! – but it was great for us because we had essentially one of our own as a director.
Not just someone who casually knows about the franchise and wants in on the name. No, it was someone who grew up loving Star Wars and who lived and breathed it.
Look at me, getting all soap boxey. I’m not here to talk about the post that almost happened. I’m here to give you the post now!
Star Wars is everywhere. It’s always been everywhere. Like the Force, it surrounds us and penetrates us. Sometimes it lays dormant, waiting for a time to awaken. Back before Disney was making it rain and bought Lucasfilm, we had that magical time where the latest movies we had from the beloved franchise were the prequels… Yeah. Well, honestly, I can’t dog them too much. I liked the prequels for what they were and even though they weren’t as memorable as the original trilogy. They served their purpose of reminding this generation that Star Wars exists. Not to mention they gave birth to what is one of my favorite shows/eras from the universe – The Clone Wars! Soooo I may be biased.
Seriously. If you’ve never seen The Clone Wars, you need to get on it ASAP. It’s such a joy to watch. Call me a sap but I have a soft spot for good animated shows. The characters, the stories. You get to see what it was like to live in a universe where the Jedi were abundant and the war between good and evil was clear. Also, you get a lot more in depth with Anakin, watching him evolve as a Jedi Master, and slowly slipping towards the dark side in some episodes with the subtle sound of The Imperial March playing at a slow tempo in the background . UGH, SO SO good.
Ok Ok Ok, I keep getting distracted!
What I was trying to get at was that I remember a time when Star Wars wasn’t on anyone’s mind. There weren’t any TV shows, no movies to look forward to, no merchandise filling up stores like there is today. None of that. But now? It’s hard to go outside and not see or hear something about it. There are a lot of people who say everything is over saturated now. Too much of a good thing is bad. Blah blah blah. Look. Here’s how I see it… You can complain and moan and groan about your precious franchise being overdone and too mainstream or whatever else you hippies like to complain about. But the fact of the matter is, you are not the only ones who take this in. You’re not the ones who dress up like their favorite characters and parade around the house playing with toy lightsabers.
…Ok, maybe you are…
But you know what I mean. This is a great and amazing time to be alive if you’re a fan. But fact of the matter is, nothing beats living in this time as a kid.
More specifically, my kids. Hahaha. Yeah, your kids may love Star Wars too, but see, that’s the point. The next generation of kids are gobbling up all of this “over saturation” as if it was a free ice cream party in the middle of summer. They don’t care that everywhere they turn they see and hear something about Star Wars. They LOVE it!
And you know what, so do I. Not only because I actually do love it, but because I know my kids love it. And I know there was a good chance we could’ve seen things play out very differently. Lucas could’ve sat on his legacy and let it die. Some other studio that lacked the means and will Disney have could’ve bought it up and we would’ve gotten lackluster attempts at rekindling an old fire instead of starting a new one. There are so many different roads we could’ve found ourselves on. So many ways this could’ve played out.
And I’ll tell you what, I am BEYOND happy where we are. Not only for me as a fan, but for my kids. My kids who get to grow up with so many memories of playing Stormtroopers or waiting to watch the new movie or listening to The Imperial March on repeat as they’re getting dropped off at school. It’ll put a smile on my face every time.
Heck, in all honesty, I didn’t have that growing up. I was a Ghostbuster/Ninja Turtle kid and have so many memories based around those two franchises. But Star Wars was never something I was into, or even knew about. I never even watched the original trilogy until I got it on DVD as a gift from my mother in-law back when my wife was just my girlfriend. I used to work in a huge movie theater here in Orlando and when Episode II came out it was such a big deal and I just didn’t get it. I had co-workers who were older than I was telling me they know so and so from the production team and they’re this close to finding the last piece they need to complete their Stormtrooper outfit.
And I’m just there trying to act like I knew what they were talking about. I think I watched Episode I and thought to myself that I get it, this is cool. But THEN I watched the trilogy and THAT’S when it all clicked. That’s when I was all trying to use the Force to get something from across the room. Don’t act like you haven’t tried. Tell me you didn’t and you’re a freaking liar. Shoot, I just did it yesterday, come at me.
So you see, Star Wars isn’t embedded in me like others. It’s not a huge part of my childhood like it was for so many nerds my age. But you know what? My kids are 8 and 4 and it’s ingrained in them already. As you can see from the insane amount of pictures and videos in this post, they have so many experiences and memories with Star Wars already, that I can’t begin to count. And that number will only grow because next year, Star Wars land – Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – will be opening in Hollywood Studios and it will be absolute insanity. Can. Not. Wait.
Don’t get me started on all the awesomeness from the theme parks. Like what’s already in Hollywood Studios, seeing and interacting with Stormtroopers walking around, The March of the First Order, character meet and greets, Jedi Training Academy, the list goes on and on. And Star Wars Weekends! I miss Star Wars Weekends so much, it’s a shame they stopped doing them.
But when that new land opens up, I guess every day will be Star Wars Weekend, huh?
Speaking of Star Wars Weekends, remember that time we went?? I did a mega post on it, how could you forget? It was an awesome time and there are a ton of pictures from there. I think it was one of Seb’s most memorable vacations, when he got to train as a Jedi and fight Darth Vader. Ugh. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
So here’s to more Wookie-sized memories.
More lightsaber battles.
More Jedi training.
More of this fandom that makes so many people happy. Over saturate us with movies, TV shows, books, comics, everything. Enrich characters with more backstories, bring to life things we’ve only heard mentioned once in the original trilogy (like The Clone Wars!). Things like that are what make the universe so engrossing. It’s what makes this fandom such a joy to be a part of. And it’s what will keep our children making memories for themselves, so they can grow up and remember that time they imagined themselves a protector of the galaxy, or a fighter pilot of a starship, or a Captain who can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. Keep all of it coming and give our kids and most of us grown up nerds something to spark our imaginations.
And as always, may the Force be with you.
Looks like you had a ball.
As always! 🙂