How to Be a Proper Star Wars Fan
So you like Star Wars.
Big deal. So does everyone. The real question is...what part?
There are a lot of parts, and most of them probably defy your particular corner of fandom by just existing.
Before I started writing this article, I decided to go find out approximately how many parts there really are.
Here's what I found:
The Original Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983) - Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Darth Vader, etc
A Novelization of Star Wars, and a sequel (1976, 1978)
Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
Star Wars Marvel comic book series (1977 - 1986)
The Han Solo Adventures novel trilogy (1979 - 1980)
The Adventures of Lando Calrissian novel trilogy (1983)
Spinoff TV films and an animated series featuring Ewoks (1984, 1985. 1986)
Also a series called Droids (same years)
More comics about the Ewoks and Droids
But that was all just before 1987. In the 1990s, the Star Wars universe officially metastasized into more than 380 novels; many, many hundreds of comic books; and over a hundred video, computer, and board games.
On top of all that, of course, there were way more movies and TV series, including:
A bunch of damned re-releases https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changes_in_Star_Wars_re-releases
The Prequels (1999, 2002, 2005) - Anakin, Amidala, Darth Maul, Ewan McGreggor
The Clone Wars animated series (2008 - 2014)
Star Wars Rebels animated series (2014 - 2018)
The Force Awakens (2015) - Rey, Finn, Po, Kylo Ren, Old Han Solo, Old Leia
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
The Last Jedi (2017)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Star Wars Resistance animated series (2018 - present)
The Mandalorian on Disney Plus (2019)
The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Oh yeah, also, Disneyland.
I'll tell you what that is, that's a lot of Star Wars love. That's a vast and terrible appetite, and a whole ecosystem to feed it.
There are parts of it that you probably don't like. Maybe even most of it.
But I would argue one of the things that makes Star Wars great is the size of its universe. There's something for almost everyone. Some people love the clone wars animated series. Some people love episodes one, two, and three. Some people probably read the books.
In my corner, I keep the original (UNALTERED) trilogy, the new trilogy (I'm assuming I'll like Star Wars 9: The Rise of Skywalker well enough), and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
That's it. I ignore pretty much everything else.
Over the years, it's been fun to discover who else occupies this corner. When I talk to someone about Star Wars, triangulating our respective positions is an important preface. If that person is a fan of any of the novels or comic books, it's important for them to know I have no interest, lest they cast their pearls before me.
And I prefer to keep Last Jedi haters on the other side of a high wall.
But am I going to sit here at my little chiclet keyboard and demand that you live in my corner of the Star Wars universe?
No.
Like what you like, love what you love, and ignore the rest. That's the Nerd Critic way.