It’s Ironic…
Just to give you my backstory: born in ‘92 and my dad introduced me to the Original Trilogy via VHS tapes as a child… never watched the IV-VI Special Editions when they released in theaters but did see the Prequels as they came out, being a big fan that had and played with plenty of the action figures. I loved the universe, and with likewise friends who shared the same passions we were all autistically obsessed with it. Episode III was undoubtedly the cinematic highlight of my childhood, as friends and I watched Tartakovsky’s ‘03 Clone Wars with great interest leading up to it on Cartoon Network, saw it at midnight with a full crowd of fans that were just ecstatic to be there. Me and my friends would duel each other with the plastic lightsabers, read comics and books and even buy the music to play with our respective instruments we played with at school. tl;dr we were nerdy fanboys of the highest order.
My interest started waning with Filoni’s 2008 TCW movie and subsequent show, the brand had grown too childish for my growing interest in horror films at the time (now in high school), I never bothered to see the film in theaters and would change the channel if it was on Cartoon Network at the time. I’d later have a growing interest in the EU, and I bought Dark Horse’s hardcover editions of the Thrawn Trilogy, Dark Empire Trilogy and Crimson Empire Saga as a starting point. I had little to no patience or interest in the books at the time as a pothead and only read a handful of the books as a child while collecting many (I’d read I, Jedi and the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, being a massive Boba Fett fan). When Disney acquired the rights in ‘12 and would later announce a movie, I was optimistic. I’d go back and rewatch everything to prepare for Episode VII, including all episodes of TCW that I’d skipped out on years ago alongside the movie and let me tell you, it was a slog to get through many of the early episodes, having to be drunk or high or both (I’d run out of time to see Episode VI, though).
My initial doubts crept in with the first trailer, when a coworker of mine told me about it I’d asked him if a character with blue skin and red eyes was in it and he said no. That told me Disney was not going to be adapting the Thrawn Trilogy that I’d recently read, which was not surprising after decanonizing the EU but still left me dismayed. I left the theater after seeing VII confounded, which was due in part to dropping acid prior to viewing. It was a bit of an existential experience for me. I’d go on home later that night to finish my incomplete viewing cycle with Episode VI, washing the unknowingly-bad taste from my mouth that I couldn’t quite place a finger on. Upon later rewatches I’d come to the realization that VII was a beat-for-beat remake and rehash of Episode IV. All goodwill was lost with VIII.
I’d given up on Star Wars, like most of my friends by now. Ironically, in a twist of fate, I’d started to listen to audiobooks and thought I would give the old Star Wars EU audiobooks a try one day, starting out with Heir to the Empire as I’d enjoyed the Thrawn Trilogy quite a lot in comic book format. I was amazed. The sheer production quality was astounding, with full music, audio effects and voice acting these books now drew me in, and I would go on to start a SW odyssey of my own: listening to every unabridged audiobook and audio drama alongside reading every Legends comic book side-by-side with one another in chronological order, and I’ve finished Darth Plagueis as of an hour ago. To put it bluntly my Star Wars (EU) boner has never been stronger. So it saddens me to see fellow disillusioned fans, both online and irl, who refuse to even give it a try; I understand though, having been there once myself. I still watch the shows and movies with my gf (who is a fan), albeit with less interest compared to the Legends universe. At this point Disney can fuck up the canon as much as they want, I don’t care for their universe anymore. I have a treasure trove of more stories to get through and simply cannot wait, my obsession for Star Wars has been reborn. My question to you is, have you given up too? And would you ever consider giving Legends a try? A lot of my friends are too burned out and I understand wholeheartedly, I’m just curious to hear opinions.