There’s always been talk of how Disney is mishandling Star Wars, but dispute and drama within Lucasfilm is something that we never took seriously, even in spite of all the rumors. That is, until now.
Even when The Force Awakens premiered in 2015, a lot of fans were already questioning Disney’s approach to the Sequel Trilogy’s narration. Courtesy of J.J. Abrams and his love for mystery boxes, though, fans hoped that the next two installments would shake things up. And boy, did that backfire in their faces. The Last Jedi, on a crusade to subvert expectations and redefine the story of that galaxy far, far away, not only failed to live up to the hype but ended up dividing fans, serving as the final nail in the coffin for Disney’s Star Wars.
At this point, a lot of people were accusing the studio of pushing their SJW agenda and “woke” politics through the Sequel Trilogy, and rumors sprang up about how Kathleen Kennedy is botching the new projects to her own advantage, with some sort of a civil war brewing inside Lucasfilm. While we may never know the truth about these matters, a former employee, J.W. Rinzler, who served as executive editor and wrote various The Making of Star Wars books, has now spoken out about the toxic work environment at Lucasfilm after the Mouse House took over in 2012.
“When Disney came on, and I will say this, I don’t think it violates any NDA, I’d been there for 15 years,” He said recently. “I worked with George Lucas for all those 15 years. And, I couldn’t see a script for the longest time, for The Force Awakens.”
Rinzler continued by saying that working under Disney was all about “control, and fear, and paranoia.” As he explains:
“Like day compared to that night, it was just so much easier, and you know, we didn’t torture the licensees,” He added. “Some of them could come in and read the script. Not everybody. But like, you know, the head person, whoever needed to read it for that company, could read it. So that they knew what was going on.”
The former editor has revealed that there was a lot of “autonomy” and “cooperation” within the group before Disney. But apparently, the Mouse House values secrecy above all else and keeps most of the employees in the dark. While we can’t simply undermine the company’s strategies, given the fact that they usually pay off, Lucasfilm may have to undergo some change for the sake of Star Wars, lest they lose fan interest even more than they already have.
