Star Wars has weathered some fan storms across the decades.
The low point occured around the time a certain Gun-gun emerged from the swamp, alongside midichlorians and the worst child actor this side of Naboo.
However, the fans never abandoned their beloved franchise, never lost faith. Until now.
A major section of the fandom (hardcore and otherwise) had rebelled over what they see as a betrayal of the central themes and aims of the triple trilogy, laying the blame firmly at the feet of Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy.
Are they wrong?
Hollywood director James Magold helmed fan favourites like the recent Logan movie. He has also been linked to the expected Boba Fett Star Wars Anthology spin-off.
In a series of tweets he blasted fans for attacking directors who make bold but divisive decisions with existing franchise, although he appeared to agree that Johnson maybe should not have chosed the eighth film of a saga to rewrite the story.
Howver he also revealed that Johnson had fought many battles behnd the scenes, presumably with Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy.
Mangold tweeted: “If you feel that is the case, if you feel the film makers are just corporate tools and powerless, then why bitch at us? In the case of Rian Johnson… I assure you these cats are not “owned”. They actually fight your battles behind the scenes.”
Since the entite thread concerned fans who felt betrayed when film companies and directors made major changes to existing franchises, is Mangold saying that Johnson fought against some of the more drastic tonal and story shifts of The Last Jedi, but was over-ruled?
This seems hard to believe, since Episode 8 seems so completely Johnson’s vision and he has never given any indication otherwise, despite constant provocation.
The director and Lucasfilm have consistently closed ranks against the attacks from fans, centred on the basic theme that the past must die, along with the cherished memories and hopes of an entire generation of fans.
If they didn’t disagree over this, what, then were Johnson and Lucasfilm fighting over?
