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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   24217 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026

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So it is official. After nearly 14 years as President of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy has stepped down. Nope, not bait this time. Dave Filoni is taking over.

In the Deadline interview, KK reiterates that she wouldn't change anything:

The lows are that you’ve got a very, very small percentage of the fan base that has enormous expectations and basically they want to continue to see pretty much the same thing. And if you’re not going to do that, then you know going in that you’re going to disappoint them. I’m not sure there’s anything you can do about that, because you can’t please everybody. All you can do is try to tell good stories and try to stick to the essence of what George created,” she said. “He embedded incredible values into Star Wars… the whole idea of hope and fun and entertainment."

But does anybody care anymore? This isn't even a twinkle in culture war discourse, KiA's response was total indifference. Despite Iger's comments a few years ago saying that "creators at Disney should entertain first, message second", I haven't seen them walk the walk. Within Star Wars itself, what immediately followed those statements was the wokest Star Wars to date, which got cancelled just one month after the finale aired due to low viewership.

While everyone was memeing about where the bodies were buried, how does anybody even expect to fix the IP at this point? Every year since Rise of Skywalker, they've been dropping a new season of a new live action show like candies. Star Wars ceased to be an "event" anymore. Sequel merchandise don't sell as well as the classics. But does it mean Star Wars is dead in the water? Probably not, Andor season 2 debuted with record viewership numbers. I guess, Star Wars fans are still more forgiving than most people think! Even if the IP may not be as bulletproof as it was during the Clone Wars era. I don't see the "Force is Female" direction being reversed for sure.

While everyone was memeing about where the bodies were buried, how does anybody even expect to fix the IP at this point?

My best guess is that before long, advances with AI will allow people to create decent sci-fi / action films without major studios and 9-figure budgets. At that point, people will (1) develop Star Wars fan fiction, some of which is very good and non-woke; and (2) develop science fiction based on new, some of which is very good and non-woke. Just continuing the trend of popular culture fracturing.

Nine figures gotta come from somewhere. You got a million bucks lying around to throw into a project that cribs the intellectual property of the most litigious company on earth?

You got a million bucks lying around to throw into a project that cribs the intellectual property of the most litigious company on earth?

No, but what happens when such a movie can be created by one person with $200 worth of software?

Anyway, just right now I did a quick search and found various Star Wars fan films on YouTube.

Well that is some cope, and I'm guilty of huffing it myself. Yup, that's also the most assured way to get faithful adaptations to your favourite novels! As a bonus, you also get to kneecap a multibillion dollar empire in the process, and AI, the apparent bane of all human workers, will be the sole culprit. A very delicious thought for sure.

Well that is some cope, and I'm guilty of huffing it myself. Yup, that's also the most assured way to get faithful adaptations to your favourite novels! As a bonus, you also get to kneecap a multibillion dollar empire in the process, and AI, the apparent bane of all human workers, will be the sole culprit. A very delicious thought for sure.

I've never experienced sympathetic Bulverism before, so thank you for that.

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