The Best Outcome

I get the feeling that The Mandalorian and Grogu movie dying quickly as a box office bomb is the best outcome for Star Wars. This is the end of mediocre television series being turned into movies, and it puts the series back into a "stay hungry" mode, where they will need to return to the classic stories and plots.

I don't feel the news today that the Clone Wars showrunner is directing the new three sequels is great news; I would rather see the Clone Wars series put to bed and the influence of those characters and plots sunset. We have had enough Clone Wars spinoffs, please, no more of this (arguably great) series coming back from the dead, and characters and plots brought back that very few have a clue who they are.

Granted, given Lucasfilm's track record, the director will be replaced anyway.

Just get George Lucas to write, cast, and choose the director for the next movies. Seriously? He could course-correct this mess. Give him complete creative control.

We need the Legends Universe to return and for the slate to be wiped clean. Make these movies, as written, no changes, and do them justice, and the studio will have decades of billion-dollar hits on their hands. I know, they don't want to make them, but at this point, making those stories would be like Peter Jackson making The Lord of the Rings, done right, and you have a franchise again. Sure, everyone "knew the books," but treat the novels with respect, and all the fans will return.

I get the feeling that isn't what is going to happen.

But, still, the "TV movie" fading quickly is a blessing.

It means it will be forgotten, and we won't get any more of them. And I feel Grogu is a fad whose time has passed, like Bart Simpson, Groot, and other cultural icons. Time for that character to get older, wiser, and speak. Perhaps it is time to retire Grogu for good, let the animation division have him go on adventures for a younger audience in streaming shows, and move on.

But there is still hope left in Star Wars.

I have my games and stories, set in the Expanded Universe.

We have an MMO that is modernizing its engine.

I can weather the storm while everyone else calls it a dead franchise to boost their YouTube views. Most of them have moved on; the dead horse has been beaten.

There is still "life out there" in the Star Wars universe.

Treating Classic Star Wars the way we treat the OSR gives me immunity to the current bad news, keeps the torch lit, and lets me enjoy the stories I grew up with. I tell my own stories and ignore the hobby's current state, letting the negativity wash right past me, and it never affects me. The OSR does this well, with classic stories being told with whatever version of BX or 1E you have on hand.

Does 5E matter to us anymore? Only if you fall into the trap of caring. It is a cold and callous place to put yourself, but, honestly, if 5E has stopped speaking to you, why play it? Not to "play with others" or "ensure you have a game" because why do something you don't enjoy? I get it, we do put up with less fun games just to play with others, but I am done with those days. My group never got started.

And I love the old Star Wars and the classic stories, even when updated with my twists.

It is a win-win.

And there will be better days ahead.