It should go without saying that you can tell how much someone cares about something based on how well they take care of it.
Being good stewards — of anything — shows the world a genuine care and desire to nurture something.
Conversely, if someone or something treats a property poorly or in negligent fashion, it’s more than fair to question if that someone actually cares about the product.
At this point in 2024, it is more than fair to question if Disney actually cares about “Star Wars” as a media property.
Look, this isn’t some angry nerd shaking his fist at the sky like much of the discourse surrounding “Star Wars” online can often resemble.
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This is just an objective look at the way Disney has treated the property, irrespective of whether you think the new Disney trilogy is a masterpiece or an abomination.
The latest example of Disney’s apparent contempt for the “Star Wars” intellectual property came buried underneath the latest round of layoffs to rock the video game industry.
Massive video game publisher Electronic Arts announced a number of layoffs (a disturbingly common occurrence in the video game industry this year) late Wednesday.
While the announcement primarily focused on the actual downsizing (EA will reduce its workforce by about 5 percent, which will result in about 670 layoffs), the update from company CEO Andrew Wilson also noted some project cancellations.
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“We are also sunsetting games and moving away from the development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry,” Wilson said.
According to IGN follow-up, that “sunsetting” will include an unnamed “Star Wars” project that a number of fans had eagerly been anticipating.
The project was being developed by Respawn Entertainment, an EA studio, and was purported to be a first-person shooter based on “The Mandalorian” franchise.
“It’s always hard to walk away from a project, and this decision is not a reflection of the team’s talent, tenacity, or passion they have for the game,” EA Entertainment president Laura Miele wrote in a note to staff.
IGN adds that another “Star Wars” game, this one a strategy game, is also on the rocks.
Now, one may posit that this is an EA issue and not a Disney issue, but to that, I counter: Is a parent not responsible for knowing what’s going on at his child’s school?
Yes, there is an assumed level of trust and expectation when you hand off your beloved child to be nurtured by someone else — but we all know what assuming entails.
Besides, it’s not just EA that Disney has let drive the “Star Wars” franchise into the ground.
Disney has similarly dropped the ball with a different “Star Wars” project, leaving “Knights of the Old Republic” in a similar sort of limbo.
And the less said about Disney’s insistence on pumping out “Star Wars” movies — quality be damned — the better.
This is all to say: “Star Wars” once had genuine, indisputable cultural heft.
Thanks to Disney’s utter and gross mismanagement of “Star Wars,” a franchise once synonymous with quality and bombast is now more known for canceled projects and oversaturation.
For shame.
