Did Disney target the wrong audience with Sequel Trilogy

[Username taken]

To avoid confusion-

OT-Original trilogy
PT- Prequel trilogy
ST- Sequel trilogy

This is a bit of a hot topic but there's some debate that Disney targeted the wrong audience with ST.

For all the complaints about the prequels, Lucas directed them at kids (although Revenge of the Sith was somewhat darker than the previous ones) and he himself stated that Star Wars was for kids. Disney on the other hand went for the audiences that loved the OT because these were the guys that were very vocal about how bad the prequels were. However, these guys have largely aged up and just might have moved on from Star Wars (to a certain extent).

The guys that grew up loving the OT are in their late 30s and early 40s and long term, these people can't be the focus of Star Wars long term (it's also a big reason for the "politics" discussion going around because the PT was steeped heavily in the politics of war and security but with all aging fan bases, people tend to read things into things). It seems Disney didn't take into account that we now we have a very, very vocal group of fans that grew up with PT that now boldly state how much they loved them....a good chunk of these guys really detest the ST because it's done everything possible to move away from the PT. A lot of people (and Disney themselves apparently) are now just coming to the realization that the a generation of kids were brought in and grew up with Prequel era Star Wars.

So, what we have now is a very, very fractured fan base. Should Disney simply have adopted the Lucas approach and targeted kids and built up the franchise towards the future? Because targeting an aging fandom based on nostalgia hasn't exactly panned out as expected.

[Beaddle]

Star Wars is family. its also fantasy meaning they have a fan base from 7 year olds to 77 year olds.

Disney did not target the wrong audience, Disney targeted false ignorance and you don't target false ignorance with star wars.

As for the kids debate, just because something is said to be for kids, does not make it okay to tell dumb derivate stories. if star wars was made for kids most importantly, how can Vader have so many grown fans who dress up like him?

[motherofpearl1]

I loved the first two sequels.
But TROS was a shattering disappointment for me.
I'm an old time fan. But looking back, I'm genuinely bewildered at the decisions they made with the last film.

[Username taken]

Star Wars is family. its also fantasy meaning they have a fan base from 7 year olds to 77 year olds.

Disney did not target the wrong audience, Disney targeted false ignorance and you don't target false ignorance with star wars.

As for the kids debate, just because something is said to be for kids, does not make it okay to tell dumb derivate stories. if star wars was made for kids most importantly, how can Vader have so many grown fans who dress up like him?

I agree that just because a movie is for kids that adults shouldn't enjoy it.

But I'm looking at it from the perspective of continuing the franchise towards the future. Appealing to the nostalgia of a middle aged fandom might have worked for TFA but going forward, it's like folks didn't buy into it again.

Personally, I think Disney should have just tried something completely new and not even reacted to the controversy of TLJ. Going back and forth within an ongoing, saga doesn't help. WB managed to get out of it by just saying "**** it" and decided to do something completely new with their characters.

[dkrook]

I don't get the question, they target the same audience 98% most movies do. White men and women. They just switched the order this time. You can tell when they did the bait and switch that there was a hard course correction to their default targets.

[basbash99]

To avoid confusion-

OT-Original trilogy
PT- Prequel trilogy
ST- Sequel trilogy

This is a bit of a hot topic but there's some debate that Disney targeted the wrong audience with ST.

For all the complaints about the prequels, Lucas directed them at kids (although Revenge of the Sith was somewhat darker than the previous ones) and he himself stated that Star Wars was for kids. Disney on the other hand went for the audiences that loved the OT because these were the guys that were very vocal about how bad the prequels were. However, these guys have largely aged up and just might have moved on from Star Wars (to a certain extent).

The guys that grew up loving the OT are in their late 30s and early 40s and long term, these people can't be the focus of Star Wars long term (it's also a big reason for the "politics" discussion going around because the PT was steeped heavily in the politics of war and security but with all aging fan bases, people tend to read things into things). It seems Disney didn't take into account that we now we have a very, very vocal group of fans that grew up with PT that now boldly state how much they loved them....a good chunk of these guys really detest the ST because it's done everything possible to move away from the PT. A lot of people (and Disney themselves apparently) are now just coming to the realization that the a generation of kids were brought in and grew up with Prequel era Star Wars.

So, what we have now is a very, very fractured fan base. Should Disney simply have adopted the Lucas approach and targeted kids and built up the franchise towards the future? Because targeting an aging fandom based on nostalgia hasn't exactly panned out as expected.

What elements of the PT do you think should have been incorporated into the ST, given that it was supposed to be leading us into the future of Star Wars (i.e, taking place after the OT). All i'm getting is that maybe you think the ST should have been more targeted at kids, but i felt like it was about as kid friendly as any of the other movies.

I think the decision to bring back the OT characters was a good one, meant to lure in OT fans who didn't like the prequels. I think Disney assumed that PT fans, who presumably also like clone wars, rebels, etc. would just be happy for more live action star wars and were already on board, so to speak.

I think that TFA basically undoing the victory achieved in ROTJ was a big mistake, as was undoing the character development that Han and Luke had undergone in the OT. You can argue that its logical that Han and Luke would turn out the way they did but OT fans wanted to see these guys as heroes, not Han as a pathetic senior citizen smuggler still on the run and especially not Luke as a cynical & bitter recluse. And really they should have come up with a new threat rather than rehashing and remixing the plot beats of the OT... i mean a few nods and easter eggs would've been fine, but they really went overboard with it.

To sum up, bringing back the OT characters = good, but they should have come up with a new plot and allowed the new characters more space to develop.

But the biggest mistake of all was not having an overarching vision for the trilogy as a whole. So Kathleen Kennedy & Bob Iger deserve the lion's share of the blame for any criticisms imo.

[WillieMorgan]

Judging from the enormous amounts of unsold toys and other items of merchandise that are clogging up discount aisles in supermarkets the world over, including here in the UK, Disney were definitely always looking to appeal to the family demographic with these films. Disney are always looking to appeal to the largest audience possible with all their numerous franchises. That's where the real money is and that's all that they care about. I can't see any scenario where a company as relentlessly greedy as Disney would ever try to potentially limit their profitability by only targeting a certain demographic. Disney Star Wars has been a family orientated brand from day one.

I also don't know anyone that dislikes the PT for the reasons stated above. Those three films had the potential to be awesome but were let down badly by their hammy, awkward execution. I personally don't like the PT but that's because of the terrible writing, crummy dialogue and occasional scenery-chewing performances from otherwise fine actors. The kiddy elements and political themes didn't even come into it. I highly doubt that there is a significant PT loving audience out there that Disney is losing money over by not paying attention to.

[superduperman]

The problem with the sequels is now and always was JJ Abrams. I don't know how this guy ever got the reputation of being a great director but he really doesn't deserve it. Disney should have learned from his Star Trek ten years ago. Lost was a confusing mess. TFA was just a rehash of the first movie. None of the main characters got happy endings. Leia spent her whole life fighting the Empire in various forms. Han went back to being a smuggler. Luke went into exile after trying to murder his nephew. Any other director would have known not to do that. All the whining about "GIRLS ARE TOUCHING MY STUFF!!!!!11111" is irrelevant and distracts from the larger problem which is that they got a director who doesn't understand the franchise and just wanted to re-hash the first movies.

[Robotman]

I always found Lucas’ claim that he targeted the prequels to kids to be BS. “It’s dumbed down for a reason.” Just trying to cover up the fact that the dialogue was cringe inducing and a lot of it was just poorly made (plus there was some crazy racial stereotypes). Jeezus the opening crawl was about taxation of trade routes. Yeah kids love that stuff! Disney animation has shown that you can make clever and well thought out kids movies that people of all ages can enjoy.

I don’t think calling back to the previous movies while introducing new characters and passing them the torch is bad at all. In fact it’s the best way to continue a franchise.

[ChrisIII]

ROS seems to owe a lot more to the PT's version of the Sith + OTT Palpatine than ROTJ does.

[Anthony W]

The problem with the sequels is now and always was JJ Abrams. I don't know how this guy ever got the reputation of being a great director but he really doesn't deserve it.

Abrams is a great director, but he is not a great writer. If he just stops trying to contribute on the story side of things and just pair up with a great writer he would be so much better.

It's a problem most directors have. They all think they can write.

[PwrdOn]

Star Wars has always been a kids' movie for all the reasons that fans like to claim that it's not - it certainly has the appearance of being something more serious and important than your average cheap throwaway kiddie fare, but that's exactly what most kids are actually looking for. Kids tend to grow out of movies and shows explicitly aimed at them pretty quickly, they tend to prefer things that feel like they're meant for grown ups, but not so full of actual adult themes that it ends up being too complicated and confusing for them. And that's exactly what Star Wars is, sure it feels like a much bigger deal than some silly kids movie, but once you really get to thinking about it, it has always been a ludicrously dumbed down and simplistic franchise whose main purpose has to been to sell merchandise to people who are easily distracted by shiny objects.

The real litmus test that I've found is that practically everyone who enjoys Star Wars first discovered it as a kid and carried that fandom to adulthood. People who come upon the series as adults tend to be dismissive of it, being at best confused as to why people love it so much, and at worst seeing it as the embodiment of commercialized mass media garbage. That is to say, the "normies" tend to regard ALL of Star Wars in the same way that the most rabid of hardcore fans treat the parts of the sequel trilogy they don't like.

[wjowski]

"It was supposed to be for kids" is an always been an excuse for mediocrity.

[WebLurker]

"It was supposed to be for kids" is an always been an excuse for mediocrity.

"A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." - C.S. Lewis

[Buried Alien]

Star Wars has always been a kids' movie for all the reasons that fans like to claim that it's not - it certainly has the appearance of being something more serious and important than your average cheap throwaway kiddie fare, but that's exactly what most kids are actually looking for. Kids tend to grow out of movies and shows explicitly aimed at them pretty quickly, they tend to prefer things that feel like they're meant for grown ups, but not so full of actual adult themes that it ends up being too complicated and confusing for them. And that's exactly what Star Wars is, sure it feels like a much bigger deal than some silly kids movie, but once you really get to thinking about it, it has always been a ludicrously dumbed down and simplistic franchise whose main purpose has to been to sell merchandise to people who are easily distracted by shiny objects.

The real litmus test that I've found is that practically everyone who enjoys Star Wars first discovered it as a kid and carried that fandom to adulthood. People who come upon the series as adults tend to be dismissive of it, being at best confused as to why people love it so much, and at worst seeing it as the embodiment of commercialized mass media garbage. That is to say, the "normies" tend to regard ALL of Star Wars in the same way that the most rabid of hardcore fans treat the parts of the sequel trilogy they don't like.

I remember the core audience for the Original Trilogy in its heyday (1977-1983) seemed to range between age five at the low end and age thirty at the high end. People over thirty seemed less enthusiastic. Those five year olds from 1977 are now nearly fifty years old, and those who were thirty back then are at or near seventy.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)