Respecting Fan Knowledge

The biggest obstacle most entertainment franchises have to deal with is the fans. I’m not talking about pleasing the fans with a good story. The real issue is writing stories for the casual fan while keeping the fully invested fan. What I mean by a fully invested fan is one that has a Ph.D. in the lore. While all fandoms have this, the ones I’m most familiar with is Star Wars and the MCU. Fan knowledge has to be acknowledged by creators. Respecting fan knowledge is a treacherous, but mandatory course, that needs to be traveled by creators.

First of all, I’m not gatekeeping. I want to be precise. My mom is as big of a fan of the Marvel movies as I am. Do I know more about the backstories of the characters? Yes, I do. But that doesn’t make me a bigger fan. Maybe a more curious one, but her love for Iron Man runs strong and deep.

One of the strengths of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that while they had all this lore do deal with and choose from, they managed to please both the casual fan and those with deep-seated knowledge of the characters.

This balance isn’t an easy task. Batman vs. Superman pleased a lot of the DC fans that are deep-rooted in the lore. It also left a lot of people who don’t possess that knowledge bored to tears (I’m the latter).

I listened to one podcast after BvS that said they didn’t care about the fans that didn’t get all the references. But at the end of the day, DC and Warner Brothers have to. They make up the majority of ticket buyers.

If you spend any time on nerdy twitter, whether it be Star Wars, Doctor Who, Marvel, etc., you would start to see that most people on there think they are the fandom. While yes, I spend a lot of time there, I was like to think of my mom. She is as much of the fandom as I am, even though she has no idea what a Reylo is.

Star Wars Canon and Story Telling

I’m not insulting these people since I would be insulting my self. But, for creators respecting fan knowledge without insulting them is a tricky tightrope to walk.

And of all the franchises, my favorite, Star Wars might be the hardest.

When Disney took over Lucasfilm, they decided to start the canon fresh. This action meant scrapping a ton of books and comics.

Disney did the right thing. The EU was massive but uncontrolled. George Lucas liked some of it, didn’t want a lot of it, and probably didn’t bother with a good deal of it.

For Disney to go forward, they needed to create their
Star Wars mythology to make the pieces fit. For the most part, they have done an excellent job.

However, some aspects of the showcase part of the canon, the films – and in particular the Sequel Trilogy – show that allowing creatives too much freedom can hurt Star Wars. I’ve discussed this before in that there are areas that didn’t come together nicely in the trilogy (Rose Tico, not having Anakin and Ben at the end) that made it seem disjointed.

A lot of people have criticisms for The Last Jedi. However, most of the better ones that I have heard have more to do with how TLJ approaches some of the mystery boxes that The Force Awakens presents. And then there are critiques of how Abrams retconned TLJ again. So basically, people that hate TLJ think it retconned TFA while those that hate TROS think it retconned TLJ.

Well, this comes from not having a singular vision for the Sequel Trilogy. Say what you will about the Prequel Trilogy, but you have to admit they have a singular idea.

We didn’t get that in the Sequel Trilogy. I don’t particularly think Abrams and Johnson retconned each other, but I don’t think they worked hand in hand either. And the final film proves this.

And let’s be honest. Abrams and Johnson don’t spend as much time with Star Wars as the super knowledgeable fans do. They know a lot, but they are driven by creative desires. Directors, authors, and creators have other projects they are working on. They have other mountains to climb.

Yet the super knowledgeable fans are still here, especially on twitter. People are still discussing every single point of The Rise of Skywalker and the Sequel Trilogy as if they are preparing for their dissertation.

I know. I’m one of them.

Canon Runner

Most television shows have a showrunner. Star Wars and other universes like it need a canon runner.

For the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is Kevin Feige. One of his most significant successes is stating what part of the MCU is and what is not. Films were; comics weren’t. Some TV shows were; some were not, and others were just tangentially. This simple move allowed him to steer the ship he wanted. Now his job is not to come up with individual scripts but give the creators checkpoints to anchor their movies on. This allows the individual directors to tell a singular story while at the same time giving us a more extensive, unified story.

Star Wars doesn’t have this luxury, it seems. Everything so far is part of the larger universe. There is a story group, but from what I have read, they are there to advise and assist. They don’t seem to drive the story.

Now granted, for Star Wars, this would be a difficult job. It would mean working with comic creators, directors, authors, and all the parts that go along with them.

Star Wars does have a story group with a very talented roster. They need more power and should be the creative force behind the canon. Not only should they advise the directors and other creators, but they should be planning out the overall arch. Giving creators carte blanche forces them to be reactive instead of proactive.

Now, I don’t work for Lucasfilm, nor am I in any way a creative person. But fan knowledge has become such a powerful force that “maintaining the continuity of the “Star Wars” universe” needs to not be the focus of the story group. After all, you don’t get to be in the story group unless you are the biggest and most knowledgeable fans. Understanding and respecting the fan knowledge means creating with them in mind. No you don’t need to design only for the fans who studying your universe, but you have to design with this fact in mind. It’s a difficult job, but the story group can and should do it.

And there in the story group, either as a team or having a czar, they need to set the coordinates. Instead of course correction, they need to drive the ship.

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