The state of Star Wars fandom is currently complicated, to say the least, leading Lucasfilm to seemingly struggle to determine the best way to not only appease as many fans as possible but also push the saga in new directions. Recent reports regarding the licenses that Lucasfilm is seeking for its upcoming live-action Star Wars: The Mandalorian series could confirm they expect the show to become the key to reviving excitement about the galaxy far, far away.
According to The Blast, Lucasfilm recently filed a number of trademarks for "toys, games, hand-held units for video games, books, school supplies, temporary tattoos, clothing, and footwear."
While all of this merchandise has often been emblazoned with Star Wars branding ot celebrate past projects, the series is likely a year away from debuting, with these trademark applications likely hinting that the promotional campaign will start long before the series debuts. Given the mixed reactions to most Star Wars offerings of the past year, and with Star Wars: Episode IX still 14 months away, The Mandalorian could help get Lucasfilm's fanbase back on track.
Dating back decades, and most famously kicking off with the release of the prequel films, Star Wars fans have always been passionate about the saga, no matter whether they love or hate elements of the series.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story weren't universally loved by fans, but they both saw more positive responses than the films in the prequel trilogy, captivating audiences with adventure and excitement. The release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, on the other hand, wasn't entirely the success the studio was looking for.
Audiences might have been as mixed on the film as its predecessors, but certain subsets of "fans" focused on sexist and racist motivations for their critiques, which inadvertently lumped all critics of the film in with the hate groups. The numbers of fans vs. critics of the film are debatable, but the detractors are undeniably the most vocal, making the entire fanbase at large feel more toxic than ever.
Six months after the release of The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story hit theaters and, while it still took in hundreds of millions of dollars, didn't live up to financial nor critical expectations, failing to win back the fans who were turned off from Last Jedi.
Following the relatively successful response to Rogue One, The Mandalorian could be the first opportunity Lucasfilm has in three years to deliver audiences something that pleases fans new and old alike, while also being the first live-action series set in the Star Wars universe.
Stay tuned for details about Star Wars: The Mandalorian.
Do you think Lucasfilm can reinvigorate the franchise with the new series? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
Scodo on October 17th, 2018 at 15:12 UTC »
How much overlap do they think there is between people who actually know what a Mandalorian is and people who subscribe to Disney streaming?
TheMerge on October 17th, 2018 at 14:19 UTC »
I'm not paying for another streaming service. I use 4 and that is enough.
Exostrike on October 17th, 2018 at 12:00 UTC »
Article title is a bit clickbaity, the actual article simply says that the mandalorian is going to be central to a star wars marketing push, which does make sense, it is the launch offering for disney's streaming platform.
Ultimately the cause is there is nothing else on the horizon for star wars.