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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2438 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 16, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I want to talk about what a pulverized skullfucked corpse Star Wars is anymore without the Culture War Thread's pretense of being edifying in any way, so here we are.

Yeah so listen, there's a Star Wars movie coming out like four months from now and as far as I can tell no one gives a shit at all. There's just zero hype or awareness. I know there's a big marketing push yet to come, but come on, think of what the prelude to a Star Wars movie was like back in the pre-TLJ world where people still gave a shit.

But even when the marketing does hit?

"Hey guys remember the Mandalorian? It was on Disney Plus a few years ago. Okay yeah I know the last season was kind of bad, but remember when it was popular? Oh and attention everyone in the entire fucking world who isn't a Disney Plus subscriber, remember Baby Yoda from like keychains and plushies and stuff? Well he's part of a show called the Mandalorian that you didn't watch but will hopefully want to turn up to a theatrical movie for."

Like good fucking luck with that pitch. Star Wars is screwed and they know it. They're so screwed with this movie that Kathleen Kennedy couldn't wait another four months to retire. Seriously the timing of her stepping down is a huge red flag to me. If she really thought the movie was going to get anywhere she'd stay unretired for another twelve or thirteen weeks and go out on a high note.

I bet this is the last Star Wars movie ever made. They've been prevaricating on everything else waiting for this to flop so they can call it.

I never thought people would look fondly on the fucking prequel trilogy. Shows how badly Disney has mismanaged the franchise.

As bungled as it was, there's a lot to appreciate about the prequel trilogy! Some epic scenes. Great music throughout. Memes for days.

I liked the prequel trilogy at the time. It's not perfect, but on the whole I enjoyed it a great deal and think that it was a worthy Star Wars trilogy.

To indulge in sheer schadenfreude-driven bitterness for a moment...

Good.

I loved Star Wars when I grew up, but right now, Star Wars needs to rest. The franchise needs to just lie dormant for a while. It's done this before - 1983-1991, for instance - and probably been better for it. Our media overlords should put it down and stop trying to exploit it.

Maybe one day there can or should be a Star Wars renaissance, but it is not happening now. Give it at least a decade of rest.

I checked the official star wars channel on YT and didn't see any trailers for any upcoming movies in recent history.

I've seen the "trailer", because I regularly a bunch of movie trailers. I'd call what they've shown more of a teaser.

But even when the marketing does hit?

What was the last big marketing push for a movie that you can remember in general? In the last five years, I can remember:

  • Dune (2021)
  • Oppenheimer (2023)
  • Barbie (2023)
  • Wicked (2024)

I can't even think of anything for 2025. The wicked sequel might have had something resembling hype, if you squinted.

Maybe I'm just living under a rock or something, but it really feels like movies as a cultural touchstone have just sort of fizzled out.

Maybe F1 The Movie, heard some noise about that one.

F1 movie was itself marketing, it's a modest success based on the size of the investment but they're going ahead with a sequel because it was well received and rebates, sponsorships, and the actual involvement of F1 (and attached investor $s) saw it as good for the F1 brand.

I thought RLM's recent video on the future of the Star Wars brand made some good points. They'll probably never again be a big tentpole brand that's universally loved by almost everyone, but... maybe that's OK. Maybe even for the best. They can create lots of different content that doesn't even pretend to fit into the same universe, and each can find its own niche with a different group. So the people who like Westerns can go watch the Mandalorian, the people who like spy movies can watch Andor, the people who like Feminist Wicca stuff can watch the Acolyte, and the people who just like cuta things can buy baby Yoda plushies. Also: the box office gross of the movies hardly matters, the profits all come from things like toys, video games, and amusement park rides.

Also: the box office gross of the movies hardly matters, the profits all come from things like toys, video games, and amusement park rides.

Yeah they've had shit luck with all that too. It might shuffle on indefinitely in tertiary media, like some Depression-era comic strip no one realizes is still running, but it's dying as a cultural phenomenon.

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