Join our host Marie-Claire Gould (@mariecgould) and our guest Charles Soule author of multiple amazing Star Wars Comic and is an architect and writer for the upcoming High Republic Era.
Due to the delay in the release of the High Republic, that section of the interview was requested to be removed. When we get closer to release we will be speaking with Charles again to get all the exciting details. At that time we will ask for listener questions because on of the charity questions was also removed.
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Hi Marie,
Thank you for this amazing interview. For a Star Wars fan like me, it’s quite possibly, the interview of the century. I really looked forward to hearing what Charles had to say, as I really loved The Rise Of Kylo Ren comic. What I kept feeling as I listened to his insights though, was a profound sense of disappointment in the way he seemed inoculated from the emotional consequences of the heaped on pain and suffering experienced by the major players in the Star Wars universe. Rey’s gonna have an unhappy future; word. Ben’s death was quick and efficient and sacrifice through death is a good thing and bonus, it’s done and dusted. I’m not ok with this or the dawning realisation that The Force is a bitch and a curse on anyone it touches. The other one that got me unexpectedly because it got the ball rolling, was the spacing of Padme’s dresses as a mere plot point to make the bad guy do a bad thing. Leia had the dresses for a little while so it’s all good. Let’s not get too worked up. Any symbolism there? No, none. The fact that it might foreshadow a life with no grandchildren because legacy just got spaced? Nope. Just a fact now. Her kid’s dead so doesn’t matter. I didn’t expect the author of TROKR to be like this. He came across as warm and convivial on a personal level, but deep down it’s the words. There’s an emotional disconnect here. I never expect creatives to be this cold. My bad, I guess.
I am an OG OT fan (and older than Charles) so of course Han, Luke, Leia and co have a special place. A New Hope was my most seminal movie experience as a kid and it sparked my lifelong love for Star Wars but I am not in that camp that just wants to eat from the OT buffet. I never stopped hankering for new stuff. The PT got off to a rocky start with TPM but by the time ROTS came round, I absolutely adored Anakin and appreciated the story arc, so I was really excited when the ST came up. I really loved the new characters of the ST. I was rooting for them, I was invested and it was a delight for two films. Enjoyed TFA, and The Last Jedi was most certainly my adult version of being completely wowed as a fan. Loved it! Then TROS happened and it wrecked me. Ben’s death really hurt me in a way nothing in my movie going experience ever had before. It hurt A LOT of people but Charles and Co, just don’t get it. It makes me want to tear my hair out. I honestly thought Charles seemingly empathetic treatment of Ben’s fall would make him more empathetic to Ben’s end in TROS but it doesn’t and it floors me. He’s exactly like everyone else at DLF in that regard. I just don’t understand that. The same goes for what happened to Rey and how her journey ended. Who would want that for their own daughter? Or the little girls out there who loved Rey? Yet DLF is selling this as a happy ending. A hopeful ending.
This interview educated me and going forward, I will be more guarded with how I invest in Star Wars products in future. My worldview diverges from The DLF mindset to a degree that may have me reassessing how deeply I drink from this well. Seriously though, thank you Marie for being an amazing voice for the fandom. I really appreciate all the fantastic content you provide. Well done to you! I do apologise for this message being a bit of a vent but it’s hard to convey my thoughts on this dispassionately. I hope you understand. 🙂
My take is “The Proof is in the pudding” literally be okay with waiting to see what they do.
Vagabond Debris pretty well represented exactly how I felt listening to Mr. Soule’s remarks. I am not sure I have ever been more disappointed to hear the thoughts of a writer who I had so overestimated. He appeared to have all the emotional insight of a turnip. After hearing his comments, I am sorry I was ever excited to donate to his fundraiser (which I did) and I’m not sure I’ll bother to read the story that resulted, as I expect it to be just as coldly detached and emotionally void as its author. I’m not sure which is the truer tragedy of Star Wars – how this joyous thing I’ve loved from my youth has become this hollow, fatalistic, nihilistic, joyless thing I don’t recognize anymore, or how the people creating it think that’s what use supposed to be. Supremely depressing.