With the release of the second The Force Awakens teaser trailer on the 16th of April, Star Wars has once again positioned itself as a major Force to be reckoned with. I myself was swept right along by the excitement and spent the following days in a state of ecstasy while watching the live feed from Star Wars Celebration: Anaheim. In the excitement, however, there were a number of extremely bittersweet moments for me, starting during the opening panel with JJ Abrahms and Kathleen Kennedy. It seems that not a single conversation about Star Wars can occur without subtle, or not so subtle, shade being thrown at the prequel films (The Phantom Menace, The Attack of the Clones, The Revenge of the Sith). And after mulling it over, and over, I have realized I can’t be the only Star Wars-fan who is wondering why and questioning what this will do to the fandom.
Continue reading “The Risk of Ignoring the Prequels”