I'm giving all the credit to The Mandalorian, but there's been a heightened feeling of excitement regarding the overall Star Wars brand lately. I even went back and watched the last trilogy recently. It took me a couple days, but I muscled through. It was the first time that I watched the three latest movies in sequence that close together like that. And, wow. Rise of Skywalker was a movie. In the grand scheme of everything when putting all the movies together in perspective, that last one almost feels like a cartoon to me. An over the top fan service that left the previous two films awkwardly just flapping out in the wind. Please tell me I wasn't the only one who cringed when Rey and Kylo kissed. Not what I thought I was going to see as the climax to everything when The Force Awakens kicked it all off again.
Obviously Mando is also a huge fan service in a crazy amount of ways, but there's just something about the delivery that makes it so different than the last three movies. From references to the original trilogy, canon graphic novels, and animated series, The Mandalorian is giving Star Wars fans all the references, with amazing action and special effects, but have also been keeping the integrity of the original Star Wars trilogy. It doesn't feel rushed. It doesn't feel (pardon the pun here) FORCED.
Premiering a new episode once a week was also a contributing factor to Mando's success. WandaVision will follow the same format, and after its debut this past Friday, I can already tell there will be a weekly buzz surrounding it. If more shows on streaming services released episodes a week at a time, it would help keep their product in the public eye for a couple months as opposed to just a couple weekends. (looking at you Stranger Things)
But I digress. I originally just wanted to make a post and share a couple of my favorite Star Wars videos for you to enjoy on this lovely Sunday. So, here ya go:
(but totally let me know what you think about all my Star Wars thoughts in the comments on Facebook or tweet at me, at @magiccitymayhem)