Yeah, I didn’t think the sets and cinematography looked cheap before, but that trailer has me thinking it now. The Ahsoka show just had its second and most informative trailer drop, yet I found this newest one to be way worse and cheaper than the teaser trailer.
Disney is a company that made $82.7B in 2022, right?
The eagerly anticipated and hyped Ahsoka show just had its second trailer release the other day and even though I was extremely exciting for this series after the teaser trailer, my expectations have gone down quite a bit with the scenes showcased in this latest trailer. And I’ll give you three words why: it looks CHEAP!
Now, before I get into my skepticism over this show, let me just say that I really liked the casting and set of characters on display as I may be one of the few people who actually liked Rebels.
Sure, the opening season was dogcrap and it took a long time for me to get adjusted to the 2-D-like animation style after The Clone Wars (the PREDECESSOR show) practically mastered the art, but the story of Kanan Jarus, Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Chopper, Hera Syndulla, Zeb, and the early parts of the Rebellion forming together and taking on the might of the Empire was truly underrated in my opinion.
Seeing these new characters fight against legendary villains, both in the canon Star Wars and EU, like Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Emperor Palpatine, and Grand Admiral Thrawn and meeting up with the legendary heroes of yesteryear, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Commander Wolf, and Captain Rex as the Rebellion formed together was a fantastic narrative into the lives these characters lived once Revenge of the Sith wrapped up and before A New Hope began.
Honestly, given how awful Disney has handled Star Wars and Lucasfilm, Rebels was one of their few wins.
So, when I saw that the Rebels cast was getting a live-action exposure (that’s not a stupid cameo in The Mandalorian) in a show focusing on Ahsoka, who is one of my favorite Jedi, and her travels during the New Republic era (aka: after the fall of the Empire), you can only imagine my joy and happiness.
Plus, with Disney teasing that “Heir to the Empire” line (which is a nod to Timothy Zahn’s epic Heir to the Empire EU trilogy series) while showing an over-the-shoulder scene of Thrawn alive and well, there was no going back for me and my anticipation of this show…until this newest trailer.
(Disney/Lucasfilm-Ahsoka-Official Trailer)
As I said, I don’t really have any issue with the story or characters so far (except for Sabrine is now going to be a Jedi? Does EVERYONE have to be a Jedi apprentice with a master that refuses to teach them/abandons them, Disney?), but I am starting to question the budget on this show. Or, more specifically, if this show even has a budget.
I noticed the scenes in the last trailer looked a little funky (especially the backgrounds), but this trailer looked like the show was filmed in a literal warehouse and in front of a $10 greenscreen stage. I know it’s only a Disney+ show, but none of the other live-action shows, such as The Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, Andor, and even Obi-Wan Kenobi, looked as fake and staged as some of the sets showcased in the trailer.
Hell, even the original trilogy sets, which were built over 50 years ago with primitive technology compared to the stuff at Disney’s disposal today, looked better than the cockpit scenes and space scenes that Sabrine Wren and Ahsoka were in.
Along with the CGI, the shots on Lothal, and the battle scenes between Ahsoka and Ray Stevenson’s (RIP Legionary Pullo) Baylan, the show just looks low budget and shoddily constructed, which is extremely worrying when you see that a company like Disney, who generated $80B in revenue last year, can’t ensure quality production. It makes you wonder what the actual writing, story, and character treatments will be like.
Anyway, we’ll have to wait and see if my fears are realized, but I really hope they’re not as this show has the potential of being really good if Ahsoka isn’t “Last Jedied” (which it sounds like she is) and Disney follows Timothy Zahn’s storyline somewhat.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Disney/Lucasfilm) (Ahsoka | Official Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Disney/Lucasfilm) (Ahsoka | Official Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube)
