By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 21 seconds ago

Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about one of the coolest things from the Star Wars prequels: podracing! Even the biggest critics of The Phantom Menace readily admitted that the podracing scenes were some of the most thrilling moments ever captured on film. This high-speed racing in a galaxy far, far away was so popular that it led to multiple podracing video games. Now, another game is on the horizon: Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Releasing on October 6th, this game will feature a solo campaign mode as well as a variety of multiplayer modes that pit players against different races.

Between excitement for this game and social media users rediscovering the darkly hilarious story of racer Ratts Tyerell, it’s clear that excitement for podracing is greater than ever before. That excitement is so great that it seems like a no-brainer for Lucasfilm to create a Star Wars TV show about a plucky young racer trying to win big. Unfortunately, we’re never going to get this or countless other great show ideas for a simple, depressing reason: the MCU. You see, Star Wars authorities like Dave Filoni are obsessed with creating their own Marvel-style cinematic universe, meaning that any shows that don’t directly connect to other series or movies will never see the light of day.

The Mando Cinematic Universe

If you somehow don’t know (what, you didn’t feel a disturbance in the Force?), there’s a slowly growing mountain of exciting Star Wars projects that got canceled before they ever got off the ground. This includes things like Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron movie, Guillermo del Toro’s Jabba the Hutt film, an untitled movie from Taika Waititi, and even an entire new trilogy from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. Some canceled projects were later transformed into TV shows for Disney+. This includes a solo Boba Fett movie and what was meant to be a solo Obi-Wan Kenobi trilogy. Interestingly, both TV shows featuring these characters underscore why Star Wars is doomed to fail.

You see, part of why The Book of Boba Fett sucked is that a huge chunk of its runtime was dedicated to other characters. Like, midway through its first and only season, this Boba Fett spinoff focuses on the Mandalorian and Grogu, with a bit of Ahsoka thrown in for good measure. Similarly, Obi-Wan Kenobi couldn’t simply focus on the wacky dessert misadventures of its titular character. Instead, Lucasfilm inexplicably threw in both Darth Vader and Princess Leia, which threatened to disrupt established Star Wars lore. Ahsoka is, of course, a live-action Rebels sequel with plenty of character overlap, and even The Acolyte features appearances by familiar names like Yoda, Ki-adi-Mundi, and even Darth Plagueis.

Let Me See That Thrawn

Why are potentially solid Star Wars shows getting clogged with characters that ultimately hurt the overall story? Simple: Dave Filoni wants this franchise to be more like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Part of the MCU’s charm is that characters can pop into each other’s movies. Iron Man is in the first Spider-Man movie, Black Widow is in the second Captain America movie, and so on. Done well, this lays the groundwork for major team-ups, like The Avengers. For years, there have been rumors that Star Wars is trying to put its own interconnected characters in place to loosely adapt Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire book into a show or film.

That sounds fine on paper; after all, Heir to the Empire is one of the best Star Wars books ever written. But it’s a book featuring characters that Disney likely won’t feature in their own adaptation, including all of the Original Trilogy’s primary heroes and fan-favorite new characters like Mara Jade. Even if we do eventually get an Heir to the Empire adaptation, it’s clear that it would have almost nothing in common with the book besides the presence of Thrawn. Adding some salt to the wound, the lack of any official updates means that this project is very likely dead.

No Heir, No Spare

If Filoni’s dream of creating an Heir to the Empire movie or series is over, then it means that we’ve had years of wasted Star Wars TV shows. Why bother using The Book of Boba Fett to set up more Mandalorian stuff? Why use The Mandalorian to set up Ashoka? Why try (and fail) to cause Ahsoka to set up Heir to the Empire? From the outside looking in, it seems like these shows were extensively tweaked to set up a project that we’ll never see. Episodes and entire series that could have been great ended up sucking, and for what? To set up yet another franchise project that ended up getting canceled.

Star Wars is dying because it can’t stop copying the MCU, which itself is on life support thanks to superhero fatigue. Just like that, two great franchises ruined themselves because they were too busy setting up the next big thing instead of giving fans what they really want: something original, for once!

By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 25 seconds ago

While younger fans have done their best to rehabilitate the Star Wars prequels, most older fans still agree that The Phantom Menace was pretty bad and that Attack of the Clones was an overstuffed, equally embarrassing sequel. However, the third time was the charm for George Lucas: Revenge of the Sith felt like a proper Star Wars movie, especially after the disappointing films that preceded it. Unfortunately, the film is held back by some of Lucas’ trademark excess and bizarre dialogue. The most famous example of this is Obi-Wan Kenobi infamously warning Anakin Skywalker, “I have the high ground;” Anakin attacks anyway, getting sliced up and left to burn.

It’s a notoriously goofy moment in franchise history. Like, when they’re dunking on Star Wars writing in shows as normy as Gilmore Girls, you know you wrote something pretty stupid. Interestingly, though, this notorious line was almost removed from Revenge of the Sith altogether. In one version of the duel scene, Obi-Wan never says anything about the high ground, but he still ends up beating Anakin by accidentally slicing his former apprentice. This would have ruined the movie’s most iconic scene by turning it into accidental comedy. Fortunately, Lucas changed things up and added the high ground dialogue, effectively saving the best Star Wars prequel by giving it the worst line in the franchise!

Dueling Fates

All of this information comes to us courtesy of Revenge of the Sith stunt coordinator Nick Gillard. In an interview with Empire, he revealed how the first version of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s duel went down. “Originally, they both land on the side of the lava flow and immediately start fighting. Anakin disarms Obi and grabs him by the throat,” he said. “He’s about to chop his head off, but Obi sucks the lightsaber into his hand in a defensive move to try and block it, and in doing so cuts straight through Anakin’s arms and legs.”

What happened? George Lucas. According to Gillard, “[George Lucas] wanted something else.” He then added that, “George is the creator. We would be foolish to second-guess him.” While Gillard’s loyalty is laudable, he accidentally shed some light on why most of the stupidest stuff ended up in the prequels. Basically, Lucas would get some weird idea or another in his head, and he was surrounded by so many sycophants that nobody wanted to tell him this was a bad idea. This is presumably why Jar-Jar gets farted on, why Anakin rambles about sand, and why Qui-Gon’s obsessed with midichlorians. Lucas came up with these things without anyone to tell them these are dumb ideas. 

Burn, Baby, Burn

In this case, though, George Lucas had the right idea. Sure, the high ground dialogue is dumb, but at least it’s charming, adding some levity (even if by accident) to one of the franchise’s most serious scenes. Speaking of unintentional comedy, the original scene that Gillard describes sounds like it would have been a little too goofy. Like, Obi-Wan wins the duel through an act of self-defense, which some might think seems fitting for a Jedi. But this description also makes it sound like the Jedi Master dismembered his old apprentice completely by accident, which would arguably ruin Star Wars far more than hearing Obi-Wan screaming out, “I have the high ground!”

In the final version of the duel that made it onscreen, Obi-Wan Kenobi is forced to make a haunting decision. He has to fight Anakin to save his own life, but he can’t bring himself to kill his old apprentice. Instead, he dismembers him, which ends up being far crueler. Anakin is disabled and disfigured, and instead of getting a clean death, he slowly burns, nearly to death, before getting rescued. All of this adds weight to Obi-Wan’s words about Anakin in A New Hope: he truly loved his former apprentice, and that final duel hurt him as much (okay, almost as much) as it hurt young Skywalker. 

Saving The Best Prequel With The Worst Dialogue

There you have it, Star Wars fiends. Originally, Revenge of the Sith lacked any dialogue about having the high ground, and Obi-Wan and Anakin’s final duel was very different. But George Lucas personally intervened to create the scene that we know and love (or perhaps loathe). It’s the kind of decision that only the Maker could, uh, make, and it was a good one. With a single decision, Lucas saved the best of the Star Wars prequels, and he did so by adding the worst dialogue in the galaxy. 

Sadly, nobody was willing to clap back at him like Harrison Ford reportedly did on the set of A New Hope: “You can type this sh*t, but you sure can’t say it!

By Steven Nelson
| Published 1 minute ago

If you’ve ever wondered where the “disaster film” genre really took flight, look no further than Airport. Streaming now on Netflix, this ’70s classic offers a blend of over-the-top drama, impressive-for-its-time special effects, and a cast more packed than your last overbooked flight. Get ready to buckle up and enjoy some in-flight entertainment that doesn’t involve tiny screens or questionable headphones!

A Multi-Layered Disaster Flick With A Stacked Cast

Airport gives us a 24-hour peek into the chaotic world of a fictional Chicago airport (which, let’s be honest, sometimes doesn’t feel all that fictional when you’re waiting at an actual airport). Directed by George Seaton, the film is based on Arthur Hailey’s 1968 novel of the same name.

The story revolves around Mel Bakersfeld (played by Burt Lancaster), the weary, duty-driven airport manager. On one snowy night, he’s juggling runway closures, irate passengers, a wife who’s had it with his job, and oh, did I mention a bomb on an airborne plane? Yep, Mel’s got his hands full.

Our lead man Lancaster is ably supported by Dean Martin, who slips into the shoes of playboy pilot, Vernon Demerest. Vernon’s got his own share of problems, mainly an unplanned pregnancy with a flight attendant (the iconic Jacqueline Bisset).

However, the real tension in Airport boils down to a distraught bomber on board the flight. He’s schemed up a plan to blow up the plane, hoping his wife will get the insurance money (talk about going to extremes, right?). Enter Joe Patroni (George Kennedy), a sassy and tough chief mechanic, tasked with getting a stuck plane off the snowy runway and playing an unexpected hero in the climax.

As for our supporting cast, it’s an ensemble to write home about. We’ve got Jean Seberg as Tanya Livingston, Mel’s sidekick and chief customer relations agent. There’s also the Oscar-nominated Helen Hayes playing the cunning little old stowaway, Ada Quonsett. She’s an absolute scene-stealer, weaving in and out of the story, scoring free flights with her wits.

Through gripping narratives, the film, in a rather dramatic manner, showcases the underbelly of 1970s air travel. From technical dilemmas, personal dramas, to the palpable tension of an impending disaster, the movie paints a turbulent (pun intended!) picture of the aviation world. All in all, Airport is a joyride filled with drama, suspense, romance, and a bit of old-school airport glamour. They sure don’t make ’em like this anymore!

Airport Cleaned Up At The Box Office

The ’70s began with a bang for Universal Pictures, as Airport soared high on the box office charts. The movie grossed a whopping $128 million, making it one of the top grossers of 1970. That’s a lot of tickets and probably a ton of popcorn. Considering the film had a budget of around $10 million, Universal must’ve been throwing some pretty swanky office parties that year.

“Brace for impact!”—is probably what the producers thought when the reviews started pouring in, because, let’s face it, critics can be a tricky bunch. The film garnered mixed reviews, but even the harshest critics couldn’t deny its entertainment value.

While some found it a touch melodramatic (it is a disaster flick, after all), others appreciated the film’s meticulous production design and multi-layered narrative. The highlight? Helen Hayes snagged an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the sprightly stowaway, Ada Quonsett. I mean, come on, a cheeky old lady outsmarting airport security? Who wouldn’t give her an award?

Airport also earned nine other Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It may not have been the darling of every critic, but the Academy sure showed it some love. The film’s success also spawned a slew of sequels and arguably gave birth to the “disaster film” genre of the ’70s. So, while Airport had its fair share of turbulence with critics, its legacy is undeniably grounded in cinema history.

Alright, let’s land this plane! Airport might be packed with dramatic moments, campy scenes, and iconic performances, but it’s these exact qualities that make it a must-watch. Whether you’re in for the nostalgia trip or just curious about the roots of the disaster genre, hopping aboard this cinematic flight on Netflix is a journey worth taking. Airport is streaming now.