It’s May the 4th. Usually, a day I look forward to. Star Wars Day. A day when all things Star Wars permeate the internet. New trailers. Tons of announcements. Excitement! That’s pretty much all over now. Time to come to grips with the harsh reality that Star Wars is dead. Yes, there’s an occasional surprise like Andor. But sadly, that show is the very rare exception now. It’s over. They have systematically destroyed the thing that we all thought was indestructible. It’s beyond tragic. Almost inconcievable. Yet here we are.

So, what happened? You ask. I’ll try to distill it down to this: Disney Star Wars doesn’t know why Star Wars works in the first place. I’m certain people at Disney and LucasFilm genuinely love Star Wars. But they don’t understand why it works. Or rather why it used to work. If they did? They wouldn’t do what they are doing. Star Wars is an American Myth. Much like Lord of the Rings is an English Myth. It is classic story telling. It’s epic. It is the epitome of the hero’s journey. Yes, the ships are cool. Yes, lightsabers are awesome. But it is the characters and what they are going through that makes all the difference. Luke Skywalker is King Arthur. Complete with Magic Sword. Rey? She’s an overpowered 2-dimensional video game character. That’s not a hit on the actress. It’s a hit on the writers. The directors and the studio. That’s the heart of it. They aren’t good storytellers. And to all the defenders of JJ and Rian, ask yourself this: Why did they introduce clone Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker? Why wait that long to introduce the villain? The answer is simple: They didn’t have a plan. They had no idea what story they were telling. It’s criminal. Now to make matters worse, Disney Star Wars continues down this path of self-destruction. Boba Fett has no clue how gangs work. The Mandalorian is a hand off to show about Bo Katan. Obi Wan Kenobi was barely about Obi Wan. They don’t know how to tell stories. They splash special effects all over the screen in hopes of distracting you from the fact you are watching wet shit dry on asphalt. Then attack the fans when you point out its shit. Star Wars isn’t idiot-proof. How long it can hang on to life support remains to be seen. But yeah, the glory days are over. Star Wars is dead. May the 4th be with you, Star Wars fans.