#Star Wars Franchise

[cinelestial]

Ben Mendelsohn will officially return as Krennic in the Disney+ Star Wars series ANDOR Season 2

[boardsdonthitback]

Ewan McGregor, Ray Park - Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

[a-bluedream-posts]

Leia by vznnry

[leia04]

Luke Skywalker. 💚

The Legend Himself.

I really wish he got his own show or movie….

He definitely is one of the best characters in the Star Wars franchise!

[could-they-be-a-pro-wrestler]

Event poll series: Fictional Wrestlemania (Night 1)

Match 5: Ninja Sex Party (Danny Sexbang & Ninja Brian) vs. The Force Lads (Anakin Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi) vs. RedWing (Dick Grayson & Jason Todd) in a Triple Threat, Tables Ladders and Chairs match for the World Tag Team Championship

(NOTE: There are no special powers here, so don’t vote based on powerscaling. Everyone is equal here. Remember, wrestling is scripted!)

If you want to catch up on the lore/storyline details: Click this link

[couldtheyescortelliewilliams]

Do you want to submit a potential protector for Ellie? Click here if you do!

[claudia1829things]

Happy 25th Anniversary "THE PHANTOM MENACE"!

[thesongofpurplesummer]

My father says C-3PO is gay

I don’t even know what to say to that

[female-hysterics]

A/b/o headcanons for Poe and his s/o where one or the other goes into heat/rut for the first time around each other

I couldn’t decide on which one so I wrote for both ☺️

Poe would definitely make sure to keep his Ruts tracked so you both wouldn’t be caught off guard. He would make sure to have plenty of supplies stocked up and would make sure to have everything prepared. You think it’s adorable how fixated he is on trying to make sure everything will be perfect. During his Rut, Poe’s instincts would be pushed into overdrive at finally having an Omega to share his Rut with, and he would valiantly try to hold off on his urges to make sure you are comfortable. Leaving the bed would be a near impossible task since Poe would be wrapped around you growling and purring and scenting you with a growing desperation that leaves you breathless.

With your first shared Heat with Poe, you would probably be a bit more nervous, and would spend more time than strictly necessary nesting to help relieve the added stress. Poe would try his best to help by packing food and water within reaching distance and bringing you soft blankets for your nest that he’s already scented, but it’s still nerve-racking. He would just hold you close and soothe your fears or concerns when you eventually confide in him about your feelings. Once your Heat starts, Poe takes his role as your Alpha very seriously, and you quickly realize that you didn’t have to be so nervous after all. He makes sure you have everything you could possibly want and never leaves your side.

[calvincell]

It’s absolutely astounding how much more I enjoy Star Wars as an overall franchise when I engage with Extended Universe & Legends Era projects that aren’t the shows or films (exceptions being Andor & Visons).

Even in regards to the Disney Era, so many of the most compelling writing & stories come from several of the prose books/short story collections (ie Alphabet Squadron & From A Certain Point Of View) and comics (ie many of the Darth Vader graphic novels).

On a lark, after putting off reading my copy for so long, I finally decided to read the often praised Star Wars Legends novel Darth Plagueis via Audiobook on YouTube and, despite watching the sequel trilogy in theaters, the audiobook was the most engaged & invested I’ve been in Star Wars as a storytelling playground since Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars back in 2003. The book is brimming with engaging characters & fantastic rich writing & plotting.

Now I’ve moved on to the YT channel The Archivist Publishing & its Audiobooks for Tales of the Bounty Hunters and the truly outstanding novel Death Star which is an incredible ensemble drama about the compelling lives of multiple characters either willingly, conscripted or outright forced to work on the 2/3rds constructed superweapon. It covers a gamut of perspectives from icons of Imperial command like Tarkin & Vader, to political prisoners of the Empire forced to apply their skills to the Death Star’s construction, to rank & file guards & pilots steeped in worship of the Empire eager for reassignment to the doomed battlestation, and even several individuals from discriminated species simply looking to eek out a semblance of a stable life under the thumb of the Empire. The book is absolutely overflowing with intrigue, magnetic & complex characters, spectacular worldbuilding & just generally terrific writing.

Ultimately, as someone who gravitated more towards Star Trek as my mainstream space scifi franchise of choice for years, I’m glad to finally get truly engrossed in the Star Wars universe & franchise earnestly rather than keeping it at arms length & only watching most of the post-Original Trilogy content out of social obligation to listlessly follow the zeitgeist instead of real interest. And as such I highly recommend that anyone who wants to truly see what can be done in this universe beyond the multitude of mid & low tier live action content we’ve gotten pre & post-Disney or simply just want to read good space opera fiction, definitely check out the Star Wars Legends-branded books & short fiction collections as well as several of the modern Star Wars comics.

[cinelestial]

"I came here today to thank you all. I'm just a kid who grew up in the middle of California, surrounded by vineyards, and made films in San Francisco with my friend Francis Coppola. So we spent our entire careers in parallel, and in San Francisco in particular. In fact, I've never made a Hollywood film as a director. So it's a great honor to be here. I can tell you that."

- George Lucas, Honorary Palme d'or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival

[solossweater]

How I’m tryin to be.

[a-bluedream-posts]

Mara Jade by AyyaSAP

[leia04]

Luke Skywalker.

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

[noperopesaredope]

One thing I always find to be fascinating about the Star Wars fandom/franchise is just how many sub-fandoms (and sub-sub-fandoms) it has, especially how there are different kinds and how they overlap.

For example, you can say you're a fan of Star Wars, but most of the time, everyone is part of a different niche. The big three niches are the Original Trilogy Fandom, the Prequel Trilogy Fandom, and the Sequel Trilogy Fandom. Those are specifically in relation to the movies, where you like the theatrical films and the way they tell a story in three parts.

This is similar to, yet slightly different from the ERA sub-fandoms. The Prequel/Clone Wars/Republic Era, the Original/Empire Era, and the Sequel/First Order Era. There's also the Pre-Films Era, but that's a little complicated and not something I can easily tackle right now. These eras are not confined to the films, and instead are about the periods of time in which they take place. They can (and usually do) include the shows and books and comics and games and all sorts of external content. Someone can hate one trilogy, but love the era.

For example, a lot of people may say that the like the Original Trilogy as a set of films and that the other two trilogies aren't as good, but those same people will say that they love the era in which the prequels take place. This includes me, as I mostly dislike the Prequel films, but love learning about the lore and history of the Republic Era. So these are two distinct types of sub-fandoms within the Star Wars fanbase that can overlap and contradict each other in an interesting way.

But that's not all. As with most franchises, there are also sub-fandoms (though some may even hesitate to call them sub-fandoms) for specific shows/mediums in said franchise. Each show has it's own unique fandom, almost similar to how the trilogies have their own fandoms, but a little different. I and many others are fans of The Clone Wars specifically while not being as interested in other SW content (unless it heavily relates to TCW, like "Ahsoka" and other spinoffs).

This can kind of apply to other mediums as well, where someone may only be interested in the comics, or the games (which have their own sub-fandoms).

One of the other most interesting types of sub-fandoms in the SW fanbase (that is somewhat unique to expanded universes like this) is what I call the Lore fandoms. These fandoms likely don't just exist in the SW fandom (as is the case with extended universe with a large emphasis on worldbuilding), but they are a very notable and unique aspect of the SW fandom since it's actually one of the bigger categories.

They are basically sub-fandoms centered around a specific aspect of the lore/worldbuilding within Star Wars as a franchise. For example, there is a sub-fandom specifically for the Clone Troopers and their lore, which I am a part of. I also have a friend who is mainly interested in Mandalorian lore, which is it's own sub-fandom. One of the biggest sub-fandoms in this category is the Jedi-lore sub-fandom, where people are interested specifically in the lore and history of the Jedi (and often the Sith as well, but mainly just the Jedi).

While Star Wars is very story driven and can often contradict itself lore-wise, the worldbuilding is a big aspect of the franchise outside the movies. I think we owe a lot of that to the Prequel Era, which gave us the most lore in terms of overall worldbuilding and made the SW universe feel a lot bigger and more fleshed out than before. The Clone Wars was a pretty big player here, but I'd also give a lot of credit to the comics, which really seemed to push for extending and fleshing out the lore and worldbuilding of SW as a whole. The Clone Wars just solidified things and made it more mainstream.

This type of sub-fandom is overall very interesting and I think what a lot of people love about Star Wars: despite it's flaws and occasional retcons, the lore and worldbuilding of Star Wars is fascinating, and while the movies may hook a lot of people in, the lore is what makes a lot of people stay.

A common type of sub-fandom across many fandoms is character-centric fandoms, where a specific character has a whole fanbase dedicated specifically to them. I won't get too into this, since there are a lot of characters in SW, but I'd say that a pretty notable one (at least from my perspective) is the micro-sub-fandom centered around Ahsoka Tano in particular, as she is an incredibly interesting character who captured a lot of people's attention.

One type of sub-fandom that is mostly unique to the Sequel films and one of it's biggest sub-fandoms is the Reylo fandom, which is a ship-centric fandom. The other eras/trilogies don't seem to have sub-fandoms centered around specific ships (though they do probably exist), which is pretty unusual considering how many other fandoms have ship-centric sub-fandoms. Then again, I have noticed that most extended universes don't really focus on shipping quite as hard as others.

A similar, most difficult to explain fandom is one I call the "group fandom", where the (often micro) sub-fandom is focused around a specific group of characters, usually a friendgroup of some kind. Due to there being so many subplots and whatnot in the SW universe, there a multiple different groups of protagonists who may not have even met, but are all protagonists in different ways. An interesting non-SW example one may think of is the Marauders fandom in the HP universe, which is focused on a specific friendgroup.

In the SW universe, a few I can think of are the Obi-Wan/Ahsoka/Anakin trio (sometimes includes Rex as well), the 501st (slightly different from the Clone Lore fandom, though often an offshoot of it) and other Clone groups like the Bad Batch and Domino Squad, the Ghost Crew, the Corries, the OG trio (Luke/Leia/Hans), the Sequel trio, etc. These are usually confined to specific era fandoms, but they don't have to be.

So there aren't just different sub-fandoms within the SW fanbase, but also different types/categories of fandom:

Trilogies

Eras

Shows

Games

Comics

Lore Aspects

Characters

Ships(?)

Groups

And probably many more that I haven't even thought of yet. I just find it all so interesting how diverse the fanbase is in terms of groups within and what different people like about Star Wars.

Feel free to mention any other categories you think should be added to the list.

[claudia1829things]

"ANDOR" Season One (2022) Commentary

"ANDOR" SEASON ONE (2022) COMMENTARY

Ever since Season One of the Lucasfilm series, "ANDOR" was released on the DisneyPlus streaming channel, it has received a great deal of accolades and high praise. In fact, the series is now regarded as one of the best productions from the STAR WARS franchise, if not the best.

I find this high regard ironic, considering how many STAR WARS fans had reacted to Disney Studios' announcement about a series focused around the character of Cassian Andor, from the 2016 hit film, "ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY". Many were not happy. I, on the other hand, had looked forward to the series. Not only had I been a major fan of "ROGUE ONE", I had regarded both the Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso characters as one of the film's highlights. So, when I finally sat in front of my television series and watched an episode of "ANDOR" unfold each week during the fall of 2022, my reaction resulted in . . . hmmm, mixed feelings?

Season One of "ANDOR" certainly had its highlights. I admired the excellent performances from a cast led by the very talented Diego Luna. I thought showrunner Tony Gilroy's portrayal of a corrupt and violent Galactic Empire seemed pretty spot on. In fact, Gilroy's portrayal of the galaxy at this point in the timeline pretty much matched his, Chris Weitz and director Gareth Edwards' portrayal of the galaxy in "ROGUE ONE". Although the 1980 movie, "STAR WARS: EPISODE FIVE - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK" was the first STAR WARS film to portray its protagonists ambiguously, the ambiguous portrayal of the Rebel Alliance first appeared in "ROGUE ONE". Gilroy continued this ambiguity of the Rebel Alliance in the "ANDOR" series. Season One featured scenes that impressed me very much. They included Cassian Andor’s escape from Ferrix in the third episode, (1.03) "Reckoning"; the Rebels Alliance of heist of the payroll of the Imperial garrison on Aldhani in (1.06) "The Eye"; and Cassian’s rescue of Bix and the anti-Imperial riot on Ferrix. Featured in (1.12) "Rix Road", the season finale. But the sequence featuring his stint at the Narkina 5 prison and especially his escape in (1.10) "One Way Out" nearly struck me as brilliant.

Despite these virtues, Season One of "ANDOR" also featured issues that I either found questionable or simply did not work for me. The season's narrative structure of a group of three (or four) episodes per arc barely worked for me. I say barely, because the arcs still managed to form one season-long arc. But it did so in a way that some of the episodes felt like mere padding. And this proved to be one of my main problems with "ANDOR". As I have stated before, the first two episodes could have merged into one. And the fourth and fifth episodes could have merged into one. I also believe that the seventh episode could have merged into the eighth one. For me, twelve episodes seemed like too much for the narrative featured in the series. And I found some of the episodes' endings rather abrupt and problematic. This especially seemed to be the case with the earlier episodes.

I still find myself wondering about the purpose behind those flashbacks featuring Cassian Andor’s childhood in the first two episodes were about, other than revealing his origins. But why feature flashbacks of his past, when they had no real impact on the season’s main narrative? Also, the last two episodes seemed anti-climactic to me. This especially seemed to be the case for "Rix Road", the season's finale. One might questioned this opinion, considering "Rix Road" featured the funeral of Maarva Andor, the protagonist's adoptive mother, her pre-recorded speech bashing the Galactic Empire, the riot that followed and the Rebel Alliance's attempt to kill Cassian before the Empire could capture him. The reason I found all of this anti-climatic is that the series' protagonist had played little or no role in these incidents. During all of these events, Cassian was busy trying to rescue his captured close friend, Bix Caleen, from the Empire's Imperial Security Bureau (ISB). Cassian's rescue of his friend proved to be a lot less difficult than I had assumed it would be. And the Rebel Alliance had decided not to kill him at the last moment.

Speaking of "Rix Road", it had provided one aspect of "ANDOR" that really annoyed me. The episode had paused its narrative to convey Maarva Andor's pre-recorded speech against the Empire. But this was not the first time something like this happened. Two or three times, the series paused the story in order for a character to give this great speech or monologue on the evils of fascism and tyranny. It almost felt as if Tony Gilroy was trying to shove politics down our throats. I am not one of those yahoos who constantly complain about "woke" politics in pop culture movies and TV. But the numerous pauses that resulted in a monologue or speech really got on my nerves. George Lucas managed to do the same with two lines in two separate movies. One line came from the mouth of Princess Leia Organa in "STAR WARS: EPISODE FOUR - A NEW HOPE". Her mother, Senator Padmé Amidala, had uttered an even more famous line in "STAR WARS: EPISODE THREE - REVENGE OF THE SITH". Two separate lines. It seemed a pity that Gilroy was unable to do the same.

My last major issues regarding "ANDOR" revolved around the characters of Syril Karn, a security inspector for a corporate conglomerate and Senator Mon Mothma of the Imperial Senate. Karn spent the first two episodes investigating the deaths of two fellow security officers killed by Cassian on Morlana One. The security officer's investigation led to his violent encounter with Cassian on Ferrix during the third episode, (1.03) "Reckoning". Following Cassian's escape, Karn spent the next nine episodes developing two obsessions - finding and capturing Cassian and developing a romantic (if you want to call it that) fixation for ISB Agent Dedra Meero, while he continuously engaged in verbal combat with his domineering mother. After wasting away for eight episode, Karn learned about Maarva Andor's death and decided to travel to Ferrix to snatch Cassian. Only . . . he never encountered his prey. Not once. Karn only ended up saving Agent Meero from angry rioters. One could say this was a lead up to Karn joining the ISB. But this all felt like such a waste. Perhaps Gilroy could have allowed Karn to be an ISB agent from the beginning. This could have allowed him to take a more active role in the season's narrative.

Finally we come to Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila. I had assumed her presence in the series would be a repeat of her presence in "ROGUE ONE" - simply there to fill in the role as one of the Rebel Alliance's leaders. Instead, Gilroy provided an in-depth look into her private life and her efforts to keep her role as one of the Rebels' leaders a secret. To my surprise, Senator Mothma's arc came dangerously close to dominating this series . . . in which Cassian served as the main protagonist. The worst part - at least for me - is that her arc had no real impact on Cassian’s arc. Or served as any kind of catalyst to Cassian’s arc during this first season.

I find this ironic, considering the numerous complaints lobbied at 2022's "OBI-WAN KENOBI" limited series over the strong presence of the Reva Sevander character. What many have forgotten was that Reva's experiences during the Order 66 purge had led her to seek revenge against former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader. Reva's quest for revenge led her to use both the 10 year-old Princess Leia and former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to achieve it. Her actions ended up serving as a catalyst for Obi-Wan's character arc in the series. Senator Mothma had no such impact on Cassian Andor's arc. Hell, she never met him in person in any of the season's twelve episodes. The only connection they had was Mothma's cousin Vel Sartha, who had led Cassian and others in the Aldhani heist. If Tony Gilroy and Lucasfilm had wanted a heavy emphasis on Senator Mothma that badly, they could have made her serve as the catalyst for Cassian's recruitment into the Rebel Alliance, not Luthen Rael. Or they could have created a separate limited series for her. Tony Gilroy, Lucasfilm and many critics and fans had forgotten the name of this series, which is "ANDOR"; not "THE REBEL ALLIANCE", "REBELS II" or "MOTHMA".

Ever since I had expressed my complaints about Season One of "ANDOR", many have accused me of not liking the series. As if my opinions of it was a damn crime or something. One, I am entitled to my opinion of any movie, television series or any other form of entertainment. Due to my positive opinion of the Cassian Andor character, I had hoped to really enjoy "ANDOR". Unfortunately, that never happened. The first season possessed enough virtues for me to like it. But I believe it also possessed enough flaws for me not to regard it as highly as many others have. Frankly, I believe Season One of "ANDOR" proved to be one of the most overrated productions created by Lucasfilm.