*Be
really, really careful.
In
Attack of the Clones in 2002, we all
heard Yoda utter the fateful words, “Begun, the Clone Wars have.” And now in
2013, with a press release so incoherent it makes Yoda’s grammar twisting habits
sound clear, endeth, the Cone Wars have. Not with the Battle of Coruscant or even
Order 66, but rather as part of the hallowed “new direction” that Disney is
taking with Lucasfilm.
Like
a lot of the show’s fans, it is very difficult not to be heartbroken. The Clone Wars series has not only
offered up five years of groundbreaking animation, complex storylines, soulful
characters, and opened up an amazing window into some of the most epic and
mythic events in that long ago, far away galaxy, it has become the beating
heart of the franchise. After seeing the theatrically released film in 2008, my
own interest and passion for the Wars
was once again rekindled after Revenge of
the Sith.
Just
think about where the saga would be without The
Clone Wars. For one thing, the blog you’re reading right now probably
wouldn’t exist. After Episode III, it
really did seem that the bright fire reignited by the special editions and the
prequels was going to be extinguished, with nothing left to fill the void but
the occasional novel, game, or comic book. More dark times were building on the
horizon.
But
then came Dave Filoni, who won the position of supervising director of the
show. Arguably, he took the entire saga to previously unseen heights. Without a
doubt, the man bled Star Wars. He was
not only bristling with energy and supremely talented, he was one of us, even cosplaying as Plo Koon at Star Wars Celebration II. Whatever
doubts the fanbase may have harbored, he soon won almost everyone over with his
enthusiasm, knowledge, and sheer love for all things Jedi.
This
ushered in a new era for Star Wars.
To anyone listening to podcasts or reading blogs over the past few years, the
talent of the cast and crew of The Clone
Wars has only been surpassed by
their accessibility and openness to the fans. Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold
Taylor, Catherine Tabor, Matt Lanter, Tom Kane, Corey Burton, Dee Bradley
Baker, Sam Witwer, and all the rest, have been as wonderful and inclusive to us
as anyone could have ever expected them to be.
Whether
it be James Arnold Taylor co-hosting the Christmas episode of the Forcecast, or Ashley Eckstein launching
another branch of Her Universe, or
Stephen Stanton interacting with fans on Facebook,
or Sam Witwer waxing philosophical about the dark side, or any of them at
conventions or celebrations, they have so given of themselves that it’s been
incredible. Their passion and commitment to the show was evident and audible in
every interview given and every event attended.
Not
in the original trilogy era nor in the prequel era have fans ever been so
fortunate when it comes to scoring time with the cast and crew of a current Star Wars project.
It’s
meant the world to this fan, going a long way toward making our fandom a proud
and positive place to be again. They’ve given us more hours of content than
anyone thus far and, had it been this way when I was a little kid, I don’t know
that my heart could have taken all the excitement.
But
as we know, all things come to an end. Otherwise the Jedi ideal of
non-attachment wouldn’t make much sense. While fear of loss may be the path to
the dark side, it is difficult not to feel some anger and resentment at the
sudden news that the show will not be on Cartoon
Network this fall, nor even on Disney
XD. It is really sad and disheartening that the team who has given Star Wars not only a voice but a heart
and soul for years will now be going off to do other projects.
They’ve
become part of the family.
On
a side note, I don’t get the sudden about-face of many of the fans. Quite a few
of them gave Jimmy Mac of Rebel Force
Radio a lot of crap for even suggesting that The Clone Wars might be coming to an end. Then when it did, some
seem to be operating in a state of cognitive dissonance that it actually didn’t
happened.
Bizarre,
to say the least.
Also,
this whole the-show-was-going-to-end-eventually-anyhow shrug of the shoulders
doesn’t work for me. Yes, the show wasn’t going to run indefinitely. No denying
that. And newsflash, none of your lives are going to run indefinitely, either.
But that doesn’t mean Disney execs should march over to your house and shoot
you this afternoon! Come on, guys.
Frankly,
this tragedy reaches almost Darth Plageuis levels when one takes into account
the fact that season six is basically complete, with episodes from seasons
seven and eight also under production. No one knows when or where or really
even if this content will be shown or made available. There was an excellent
clip shown of an early Order 66 episode that is extremely tantalizing on the
infamous Filoni Hostage Video. Disney’s labeling of the rest of The Clone Wars as “bonus content” is
baffling, to say the least.
Not
even taking into account the more emotional reality of countless sad little
girls in Ahsoka hoodies, this is a very, very inauspicious start to Disney’s
ownership of the Star Wars franchise.
The
constant line we’ve been fed to explain all this is that the company is taking
things in a New Direction. Well, okay. New directions can be fresh and exciting
and invigorating, and can yield dynamic and unexpected results. But that
doesn’t mean in the middle of a full-on race you suddenly veer off track and
head over to start another one across town.
Since
Disney’s initial purchase of Lucasfilm, the simple fact of the matter is that
every project lined up for this year and the years to come has been either
cancelled or indefinitely postponed. Every tantalizing teaser we saw at Star Wars Celebration VI has been
mothballed or shut down. First it was the 3D re-releases. Then it was the 1313 game. Then it was Detours. But the real slap to the face
was The Clone Wars, a show blossoming
into some of the best mythic storytelling ever seen on television.
Unless
I’ve misunderstood, the deal was we were getting more Star Wars now that
Disney is in control, not less. After the initial round of announcements back
in October, however, it’s pretty much been all downhill.
Much
like Anakin and the Jedi Order, my confidence in Disney has been severely
shaken. At the very least this shows our new corporate overlords do not
understand the fanbase, nor could they care less about it.
So
much venom has been spewed at George Lucas during his thirty plus year reign of
Lucasfilm. This goes to show what good hands the company has actually been in
all this time. It seems to me that art and innovation were always prized at
Lucasfilm, far and above profit and politics. Lucas loved this show, being
personally invested in the story and the characters. It never would have been
cancelled or treated so shoddily when he was in charge.
It’s
difficult to know what to think about his role in all this. It’s amazing to me
that Lucas didn’t have some kind of contingency plan for the show. Speculation
now leads me to think maybe he doesn’t have as much input as we assumed he
would. Maybe the Lucas really is gone from Lucasfilm (Is he feeling a little
like Lando “This deal is getting worse all the time” Calrissian right about now?).
And
heaven only knows where Kathleen Kennedy is during all this. A reassuring message
to the fans would not be amiss here.
It
was hoped, or at least assumed, when the acquisition came that Disney would be
creatively hands off with the property. They absorbed Lucasfilm because it was Lucasfilm, not simply to turn it
into a vestigial appendage of their own company. Thus far, that hasn’t been the
case.
Considering The Clone Wars was successfully both critically and in the ratings, Disney’s stubborn refusal to find a real home for it speaks loud and clear. The board is being cleared for their Star Wars, for better or for worse. Anything that came before is being given the boot, with perhaps the exception of cameos of the original trilogy cast, but that’s probably more an attempt to cash in on the nostalgia factor than any fan service.
Even
at the cost of alienating a generation of young fans, they simply don’t care
about The Clone Wars or the talent
that helped create it week in and week out. This is all about their Star Wars, their way. Maybe great things
are to come, but make no mistake, this is not the fandom and the franchise that
we’ve enjoyed since 1977.
While
I am still hoping for the best with the sequel trilogy, a certain segment of
fandom is understandably getting really tired of hearing about Episode VII already. If they’re shutting
down production of The Clone Wars to
focus on the new movie, that still doesn’t mean they can’t release what they
have, polished up or no. And where does it end?
As
a friend of mine noted on Facebook,
is Disney going to shut down production on The
Avengers sequel to work on Episode
VII too? Or how about Disney XD?
Why not the theme parks while we’re at it? Just allocate all resources to work on the new trilogy.
Pfft.
P.S.
Seriously Disney, we are excited about Episode
VII, but just don’t turn it into a hose to beat us with while you’re taking
away everything we love. It’s not very endearing. Telling us how wonderful the
sequel trilogy is going to be while simultaneously holding our faces in the
toilet is disingenuous, to say the least. Some of us are going to notice.
