George Lucas never cared about the legend, which made Star Wars The irony of fans’ obsession with it is all the more apparent. Lucasfilm’s latest creation, Acolytewas controversial before it aired; but it only got worse with each episode, with frequent claims that it broke canon and lore in some way. Some argued that Osha and May diminished the importance of the Chosen One prophecy, while others debated esoteric issues such as the age of Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi.
Questions of motivation aside, it’s interesting to look at the angle from which this latest attack by a popular YouTuber is coming. Star Wars Disney+ TV shows. Although some people are discussing Acolyte For its part, it argues about writing, narrative momentum, and performances—the main focus is always the legend. This paid off; many videos have generated considerable profits for YouTubers and have been viewed millions of times. But why Star Wars Fans are so obsessed with legends?
George Lucas doesn’t care about legends
Star Wars creator thinks lore is a distraction from storytelling
Lightsaber is Star Wars Legend has it, but you might be surprised to hear that the original drafts called them “laser swords.” Lucas didn’t like the name, though, because he felt the reference to lasers would lead some viewers to debate the scientific accuracy of it all. He wanted to tell a sci-fi story, not a science fiction one, which meant he wanted the rules to be more flexible. And so the lightsaber was born — because Lucas didn’t want people to be distracted by asking how a lightsaber worked. Such was his disregard for consistency.
Fast entry into production The Empire Strikes Backit’s notable that Lucas was willing to rewrite everything he’d done before. Because that’s what the iconic “I am your father” moment was really about — a rewrite that revealed that everything Obi-Wan told Luke about his father was a lie. The idea that Leia was Luke’s sister Return of the JediIt was also a retroactive continuity move that even necessitated changing Leia’s age to make her Luke’s twin. Lucas didn’t care about continuity if it got in the way of his story.
I’ll never forget a story told by Lucas protégé Dave Filoni, in which he discussed working with Lucas. Star Wars: The Clone WarsAt one point, Lucas decided he wanted a small ship that was essentially a stealth fighter and equipped with a cloaking field. Filoni, who knew the lore well, objected, saying a ship of that size shouldn’t have a cloaking field due to power limitations.This is indeed the case.“Lucas insisted that this was the way it was. Therefore, the legend was not important to Lucas.”
Star Wars fans have always been into the lore
There are good reasons why people are interested in legend, even if it has its flaws.
Star Wars Of course, fans always have different opinions. I think there is a reason for that; they are Star Wars Meaning they want to immerse themselves in the world Lucas created, and that’s a lot easier when you have a consistent set of rules and a history that allows you to place things in it. It’s worth remembering that fan fiction and role-playing games have always been a big part of the series, and these works take advantage of that consistency.
Further complicating matters, however, is the sense of entitlement that parts of the fan base have developed. Again, I think there’s a reason for this; it’s hard for modern audiences to imagine, but there was a time when Star Wars Seems to be dead, with a few comics at most at the time, and certainly no upcoming ones Star Wars The upcoming film. At that point, the series essentially did belong to the audience, and they quickly developed a sense of ownership.
This is, of course, one of the main reasons why fans clashed so violently with Lucas when he returned to make the prequels. I was one of the fans at the time, and I remember vividly us discussing and debating the finer points of the latest films to figure out how to make them work with the EU. Many people seemed to take this as an almost personal insult, forgetting one simple fact: George Lucas has Star Warsthey didn’t, and he didn’t really care about their legend.
Lucas’ attitude towards legends is healthy
But still shouldn’t go too far
George Lucas wasn’t really invested in the world he created, or the rules and history that tied everything together. No, he was a storyteller first and foremost, and he wanted to tell his story. He didn’t care if that meant contradicting what had come before, whether established in his own movies, random CD-ROMs, or RPG sourcebooks. To Lucas, the story was all that mattered.
This feels like a much healthier way to tell stories. Too often, canon and continuity can feel like shackles that tie writers down, limiting them rather than freeing them to tell exciting stories. However, I can’t help but feel that it’s limiting, and that retrospectives aren’t smart because they completely negate what came before. I’m thinking Star Wars: Bad Productpremiere, directly with some excellent Canaan Comics, or Jedi Legend Erasing LGBTQ+ characters from EK Johnston’s novels Ahsoka.
Note, though, how these two examples differ from Lucas’s invisible ship. Poor quality batchit shrinks the galaxy because it means everyone is connected to everyone else in some way. Jedi Legendcharacters and ideas are actively erased, a narrative choice that is all the more frustrating because these characters bring some much-needed diversity to the galaxy. Upon reflection, I think there are two approaches we can take when it comes to retroactive continuity like this, and if you’ll excuse me for borrowing some terminology from the field of geography:
- Cumulative rewrites: These rewrites add content to the galaxy, establishing new concepts and ideas that can be further explored later.
- Erosive Retrofits: These retrofits weaken the galaxy, removing things, or weakening it
Of course, this is still a very subjective question. AcolyteI personally don’t see anything about Osha and May that detracts from the Chosen One; they were consciously created by Force-sensitive beings using the Force, which is inferred to be Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the SithWhereas Anakin was created by the will of the Force itself. Overall I think the best approach is to give the benefit of the doubt and actively look for things to add rather than take away.
One thing is for sure. George Lucas himself doesn’t care about this level of thought at all; he just wants to tell whatever story he comes up with at that particular moment, and pretty much anything can be rewritten based on a spur of the moment decision. Maybe Star Wars Fans should at least try to lighten the mood of this debate, recognize the fact that the story isn’t a Wikipedia entry (or a Wookieepedia biography), and then… let people tell their stories.
Upcoming Star Wars Movies | release date |
|---|---|
The Mandalorian and Grogu | May 22, 2026 |