On Lucasfilm and Disney and Fandom

 

I watched Tron once when I was growing up. It was the 90’s and I was already into computers so it felt a bit hokey. I vaguely remember liking it, but it didn’t stick with me. The prospect of Tron Legacy intrigued me, but it was months after it came out on DVD that I actually watched it.

 

Tron Legacy had respect for the original, but it felt like it was more about nostalgia than a story that needed to be told. I didn’t care much what happened to Flynn after the first movie, but it felt good to revisit some of the old ideas from the first movie and meet an older Flynn with a decidedly Dude-like streak to his personality.

 

But Tron isn’t the only pattern. It’s entirely likely that we could get a movie like The Avengers. I don’t know anything about the comics and I haven’t seen most of the individual characters’ movies, but it was still enjoyable, especially with Joss Whedon at the helm.

 

However, Star Wars is a different beast than either of these two movies. I admit this is a totally subjective distinction on my part, but if you’re going to call a Star Wars movie "Episode 7," it had better contribute to the overall movie story arc in a meaningful way. It’s not enough to be an entertaining movie.

 

If you call it The Clone Wars or Shadows of the Empire or Dark Forces and stick it between the movies, I won’t be so touchy. If you stick it completely outside the movie continuity and call it The Old Republic I’ll be happy. But for me, "Episode 7" really needs to carry forward the tradition of the original trilogy, and that includes the aesthetics and philosophy.