Star Wars is a hokey, shallow, high-fantasy IP pretending to be sci-fi; and the problem with the prequels is that in the absence of Han Solo's charisma, Vader's faceless badassery, and the glamour of all that never-before-seen visual effects in the 70s, that fundamental truth about the IP was exposed in full for the first time.

The thing is, the only way Abrams can actually put some modern polish and sophistication into this glorified B-movie space opera is if he significantly 'remixes' a bit about it all, much like he's already doing with Star Trek.

And the veteran Star Wars fans will surely go apeshit in rage over it... I don't think they'll deal with it anywhere near as well as the 'Trekies' did, already being so upset with what's come before. And this is why I think it'd just be for the best if the franchise were simply allowed to rest in peace.

At worst, Abrams' attempts at a more modern vision for Star Wars will be hamstrung by Disney execs looking to milk the proven formula of the prequels (which while broadly derided, still made a ton of money anyway)... at best, Abrams will be permitted to effectively quasi-reboot the IP to make it fresh again, but the legions of neck-beard Star Wars fans suffering from the delusion that the 1970s magic can somehow be perfectly replicated in the 21st century will be just as frothing at the mouth over it as they were with the prequels.


Maybe I'm just being too cynical. Maybe Abrams will be given the license he needs to be bold and fresh with the IP, and maybe the fans will be more reasonable about it than I give them credit for.

Can't help but doubt it, though.