James Gunn Calls out Negative ‘Star Wars’ Fans
Soon after the release of The Last Jedi, fans went directly to the place they always do to air their grievances-social media. To some, this included personal attacks towards the cast and the crew of the show. Most fans praised the cast and crew. A good number were negative. This is something that’s been happening ever since the release of The Phantom Menace. Fans made it clear they did not like some of the light-hearted moments.
Director James Gunn of the Guardians of the Galaxy had a few opinions to share concerning these attacks, and had some advice as well.
This week, the voice of Jar Jar Binks, Ahmed Best revealed that the backlash he received for his character nearly led him to suicide. James Gunn commented on a story about it, saying that people should calm down.
People need to chill out. https://t.co/2gdc3VakzC
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 4, 2018
James Gunn also tweeted two more messages about the hatred:
“People responding to this post saying ‘yeah, it wasn’t the actor’s fault! It was the writer’s!’ are missing the point. Critique it. Don’t like it. But spewing hate and bile at individuals just doing their best to tell a story, even if the story sucks, is lame. Don’t watch it!”
People responding to this post saying, “Yeah, it wasn’t the actor’s fault! It was the writer’s!” are missing the point. Critique it. Don’t like it. But spewing hate and bile at individuals just doing their best to tell a story, even if the story sucks, is lame. Don’t watch it!
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 4, 2018
This was an echo of The Last Jedi actors who think that focusing all the anger towards writer/director Rian Johnson is wrong. Most comments are intentionally hurtful and other just think that placing the blame on Rian Johnson is fair.
Gunn continued,
“Star Wars (or any movie) may be important to you, but it doesn’t belong to you. If your self-esteem depends on how good you think the current Star Wars is, or your childhood is ruined because you don’t like something in a movie, GO TO THERAPY.”
Star Wars (or any movie) may be important to you, but it doesn’t belong to you. If your self-esteem depends on how good you think the current Star Wars is, or your childhood is ruined because you don’t like something in a movie, GO TO THERAPY.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 4, 2018
Gunn’s aim was to show them that in the thick of things, it really doesn’t matter how the story goes and it certainly shouldn’t be negatively affecting fans’ lives.
Star Wars Episode IX will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.
Micajah McGregor, Editor in Chief of FanFest.com and renowned entertainment journalist, graduated from USC with a focus on Journalism and Film Studies. With an MBA from The Wharton School, he began his career at “PopCulture Pulse” and has been instrumental in shaping FanFest into a prime entertainment news source. Known for his financial analysis of celebrity net worths, Micajah received the ‘Digital Editor of the Year’ award in 2018. He’s also an active blogger, sharing his passion for superhero films and ’90s TV. Contact him at [email protected] for engaging entertainment insights.
