Those pesky Rotten Tomatoes review bombers are back on their bs. Following Star Wars and star Ewan McGregor‘s very public anti-bullying and anti-racist statements, the audience score for the new Disney+ series has plummeted. True, one could assume this is simply because the audience didn’t care for episode 3, but, we all know that’s not what’s happening here.
Diego Luna couldn’t trust the driver. He didn’t think he could trust anybody. And hadn’t he read something about an epidemic of eavesdroppers hacking phones? “That was just my paranoia,” the actor says now. “Not connected to reality.” Still, he pressed his phone so tightly to his ear that it made his face hot, as a voice from thousands of miles away told him secrets from another galaxy. The car was stuck in traffic on the top tier of a double-decker highway in Mexico City. “I was speaking in code words because I was trying not to say too much in the car,” says Luna. The words he was avoiding most strenuously were star and wars.
Luna had played the dauntless Rebel spy Cassian Andor in the 2016 film Rogue One. Now, on the other end of the phone, was Tony Gilroy, who had punched up the movie’s script for reshoots. Gilroy—whose credits include writing the first four Bourne thrillers and writing and directing Michael Clayton—was developing a series that would explore Andor’s backstory, revealing what drew him into the galactic Rebellion and how he evolved from a self-serving nihilist into a selfless martyr. Luna’s call with Gilroy—the first time he heard the full plan for the Andor story—happened more than three years ago. “One thing I remember, from being part of this since day one, is how little you can share of what happens,” says the actor. “I have kids, man. It’s painful for them—and for me.”
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Darth Vader: In the new show Obi-Wan Kenobi, the lord of the dark side hunts his old mentor, setting up their fateful confrontation in 1977’s Star Wars. Reva the Inquisitor: Moses Ingram costars as a fearsome exterminator of Jedi, wielding a double-bladed spinning lightsaber. Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres May 27. Obi-Wan Kenobi: In the eponymous new show, Ewan McGregor reprises his role as the young(er) version of Alec Guinness’s wise old man, now in exile in the desert.EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANNIE LEIBOVITZ
“Kenobi” star Moses Ingram publicly shared the harassment and hate-filled messages and interactions she’s been getting from ‘fans.’ The official Star Wars social media accounts issued a statement, “There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.” McGregor took it a step further, and directly addressed those ‘fans’ in a video.
Many fans saw these steps as too little too late following the ongoing harassment of Amed Best, Jake Lloyd, Kelly Marie Tran, and John Boyega. [Do these ‘fans’ not realize Darth Vader is voiced by a black man? Because seriously. James Earl Jones is god-tier.]
But, shortly thereafter, the “Kenobi” audience score plummeted from the high 80s to a low of mid 50s. (It’s back up to 60% at the time of this writing.) Painfully obvious where this sudden decent comes from.
This isn’t as simple as the “Captain Marvel” review bombing, which did prompt the aggregator site to attempt to change their requirements for critics’ filing. Amazon’s “The Kids in the Hall” is experiencing similar problems with their review system, as the appearance of a penis has caused a rush of 1-star reviews. This prompted the show’s official account to ask for help, via Twitter.
It’s highly unlikely a Twitter post from any account, Star Wars or no, is not going to suddenly stop racism. All we can do is drown out those idiots. Star Wars is for everyone.
New episodes of “Kenobi” hit Disney+ on Wednesdays.
Mary Anne Butler (Mab) has been part of the fast-paced world of journalism since she was 15, getting her start in album reviews and live concert coverage for a nationally published (print) music magazine. She eventually transitioned to online media, writing for such sites as UGO/IGN, ComicsOnline, Geek Magazine, Ace of Geeks, Aggressive Comix (where she is still Editor-in-Chief), Bleeding Cool (where she was News Editor), and now Nerdbot as Editor-In-Chief.
Over the past 10 years, she’s built a reputation at conventions across the globe as a cosplayer (occasionally), photographer (constantly), panelist and moderator (mostly), and reporter (always). Interviews, reviews, observations, breaking news, and objective reporting are the name of the game for the founder of Harkonnen Knife Fight, a Dune-themed band with an international presence.
Though she be but little, she is fierce.
