What May the 4th Used to Mean to Me

May the 4th used to mean something extra special to me. Something fun, where I got a little more enjoyment about something I've loved since I was a kid. In recent years however, it's become a day of mixed emotions.

First and foremost, I am still a Star Wars fan, nothing will ever change that. But when did my enjoyment turn lukewarm? Well, I'd safely say it began with the later seasons of the Clone Wars TV series that aired on Cartoon Network. Things started to become more and more retconned and I found myself hating the show.

And certainly a major part was the announcement of Disney acquiring LucasFilms and the news of a sequel trilogy. When I heard it, I was not at all happy. Why? Simply put, I feared that the new trilogy would end up retconning over twenty years worth of novels and comics that tell the story of what happens after The Return of the Jedi, which in deed happened. The Expanded Universe, something that had been a integral part of what made me love Star Wars, was deemed no longer canon and re-branded as “Legends”. A cruel irony of it all is that without the Expanded Universe, this new trilogy wouldn't even be happening, in my opinion. The main thing, the Thrawn Trilogy, the story that got people back to being interested in Star Wars and what introduced such memorable characters that made great impacts. (And where the name of Coruscant first came in.) However, I can take it in stride, but still enjoy the stories of yesterday.

Personal Favorites/Recommendations of mine:

Comics:

The “Clone Wars” comics (in omnibus form or by these titles)
-The Defense of Kamino and other tales
-Victories and Sacrifices
-Last Stand on Jabiim
-Light and Dark
-The Best Blades
-On the Fields of Battle
-When They Were Brothers
-The Last Siege, the Final Truth
-Endgame

The “Rebellion and Empire” comic series

Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand

The “Dark Empire” series

Union

The “Legacy” series

Novels:

The “Republic Commando/Imperial Commando” series

Splinter of the Mind's Eye

Shadows of the Empire

The Truce at Bakura

The Courtship of Princess Leia

The “X-Wing” series

“Ghosts of Tatooine”

The Thrawn trilogy

The “Hand of Thrawn” duology

“The New Jedi Order” series

“The Legacy of the Force” series

Movie wise, I love the original trilogy, that much is a given. It's what started it all, of course. While I do  watch the special editions more often, there are some things about the very original versions I still prefer.

Now with the prequels, yes I can say they weren't as good as they could've been, they had their flaws, but then again, what doesn't? Really I think it came to the fact Lucas did everything all by himself, the writing and directing especially. I think the results would've been vast different had he brought in others to help write and others to direct, while he would produce the movies. (Actually I wonder what things might've been like had Steven Spielberg had been in the fold, as I do believe he had been Lucas' first pick for The Empire Strikes Back.)

Which brings me to this, as a little fun project, I do plan on doing a thing on sort of re-imaging the prequels and how they could've gone. I plan on posting them here and include some photos to give some visual aids to it.

With the new trilogy, will I ever see it? I don't really plan to. But if it had been set in say the era of the Old Republic, like about two or three thousand years before Episode 1, then I'd be more excited. But, people close to me have suggested change can happen. I really don't know.

TV series, yeah I did like The Clone Wars micro series that was done by Genndy Tartakovsky, and with the CGI series, I enjoyed it for really just the first season. After that, it was a slow downhill decline for me. What was done with the Mandolorians (which resulted in author Karen Traviss leaving the franchise), Darth Maul, the character of Bariss Offee becoming a Dark Jedi, and finally with the events of the “lost episodes” (especially Order 66 and then the Sith homeworld...), I felt like something I had once had great joy for had become a thing of irritation.

Concerning Rebels, I really do have mixed feelings about the show. A few things I have liked, the rest, not so much. But I'm still giving it a go, and with the trailer for season 2, I can have some hope.


While I currently have very mixed opinions about the state of Star Wars right now, I will never stop being a fan. And while certain things are now considered no longer canon, it's still a fun, fascinating series I will always enjoy.