May the 4th Be With You: Timmy’s Tantrum

I'm a fanboy. Love "Star Wars," always have been. Even through the prequels, which looking back, weren't so bad (though opinions may vary). Now that Disney controls the force, there are some things that I feel they really have dropped the ball on. These are my thoughts and do not reflect the views of those at 94.5 KATS or Townsquare Media... at least not the ones who agree with me and are cool.

(Possible spoilers ahead for anyone who has not caught up with everything from a galaxy far far away).

Doing away with JEDI:  After decades of war and conflict, it would have been nice to start Episode 7 with things being happy, especially 30 years after the last movie where the Emperor died. Yes, wars just don't end when the Ewoks dance, and in the books it talks about how the war went on for about another 11 months, before a treaty, and then the broken empire who wouldn't surrender hid in the outer rim of unknown space before coming back as The First Order. It would have been nice to let the Jedi Order under Luke Skywalker fully grow. Even from a money and merchandise standpoint, this was a bummer move by Disney. What little kid didn't want to be a Jedi at some point? They could have made all sorts of new characters and backstories. Start the story with peace in the Galaxy only to then have something big and badass come in (The First Order) and give them a new challenge. No, we get missing Jedi, and a small hint of what might have happened with Luke. Yes Disney gave us the suggestion that the universe was "going in that direction" until a bad vision set off events, but I think it would have been more fruitful to just give us that happy time... at least in the beginning of the new stuff. I'm sure they are gearing up for more Jedi, especially with the little kid and broom at the end of "The Last Jedi", but it would have been better for fans, story, and the almighty dollar if they would have started off with more Jedi.

Doing away with the EU: For those who don't know, the "Star Wars" story continued after the 1983's "Return of the Jedi." It talked about Luke rebuilding the Jedi Order, Han and Leia getting married, having three kids, all of them with Force Powers, Luke getting married to a hot redhead and having a son. The EU (Expanded Universe) had everything from Chewbacca's uncle being a Force-using Wookie, to an Ewok bounty hunter. Yes, some of this stuff did not need to happen, and Disney has picked certain things from the EU for their "new cannon." Grand Admiral Thrawn, for example, is now in the storyline. Luke never got married, but the name of his son "Ben" became the name of Han and Leia's kid... and like in the books, their son did go to the dark side. Let's hope Disney continues to pick things from this now "fan fiction" because it would be awesome to see Boba Fett back on the big screen. He survived the Saracc pit once... he can do it again.

The Books Suck: With the EU, I'd say 75 percent of the books written in the "Star Wars" universe were awesome. With the "House of Mouse" in charge, the books have been pretty lackluster. With them trying to fill 40 years of a gap between Episodes 6 and 7, they have the opportunity to create great stories. I feel they have really dropped the ball on this. Some of the books (especially by Claudia Gray: "Lost Stars" and "Bloodlines") are really good and help bridge the gap. Others like the Chuck Windig "Aftermath" trilogy really dropped the ball, promising to tell the events after ROTJ, but instead gave us a book about new characters that even after the whole trilogy was done, I still really didn't care about or what happened to them. To be fair, the books did get better toward the end, but too little too late for me. Then you have the books that have been released solely for money, "Canto Bight" & "From A Certain Point of View". "Canto Bight" was the tie-in to "The Last Jedi" about the casino planet. Didn't need to read, nothing happened, and 90 percent of the book was pointless unless you're interested in the misadventures of an honest salesman, a vicious battle for wine and two other stories. "From A Certain Point of View" had some good and bad. Hearing about the story of how the cantina band became the cantina band was entertaining, but then learning how the tentacle monster in the trash compactor from "A New Hope" was a force user "baptizing" Luke into the force... why?

Ignoring The Stuff They Just Created: (POSSIBLE SPOILERS) With Episode VII "The Force Awakens" it left so many questions, and then with the next installment "The Last Jedi" they decide to ignore a lot of them. Rey's family, Knights of Ren, how Ben became Kylo, where did Snoke come from, why was Rey familiar with the Millenium Falcon and why were Han and Leia familiar with Rey? WHY DOES C-3PO HAVE A RED ARM, AND WHY DOES HE NOT HAVE IT IN THE NEXT MOVIE? Some of these are (or hopefully will be) explained in the books and comics, but I feel with the line of dialog "Forget the Past" uttered numerous times throughout "The Last Jedi," it really makes me think that Mickey & friends started getting tired of things making sense. My only hope is that with Episode 9 in the hands of J.J. Abrahams, we might get some continuity back with these questions.

Jar Jar a Sith Lord: There is a fan theory that I love, and talks simply about Jar Jar being a master manipulator and Sith Lord in hiding. It makes sense, but Disney and Chuck Windig ruined it (possibly) with Jar Jar's mention as a street clown in the third "Aftermath" book, "Empire's End". Fingers crossed they Jar Jar back in Episode 9, as the string puller behind Snoke & The First Order, and help tie all nine movies together. I doubt it'll happen, but it would make one of "Star Wars'" worst characters into one of the most badass!

Removing Kylo Ren's Mask: (POSSIBLE SPOILER) The mask was badass. The mask was one of the things that gave Darth Vader his timelessness. I really think Disney did a bad thing by having Kylo destroy it. Might have been good for character development, but not for money and badass-ness of "Star Wars." I love Adam Driver, but I don't need to see his mug on countless toys that I buy.

New Stories, New Characters: Yes, the new Star Wars: SOLO movie looks badass, and I will go see it and probably love/like it, but there are many characters and stories, they can be told, too... I don't think we need as much "filler" between the episodes as they are giving us.

Slave Leia Bikini Is Done: Disney has gone on record saying that the Slave Leia outfit will not be re-created or used anymore in any form of toys or merchandise... this is just a dumb move financially. Even Carrie Fisher who wore the gold piping thought this was a bad idea.

There are many more things I can think of concerning how Disney is hurting "Star Wars," but the one thing they did that is great: THEY CONTINUED THE STORY, AND DID NOT DO A REBOOT. For that, Disney, I do thank you! I will continue giving you my money until my wife takes it all in the divorce due to my "Star Wars" addiction.