The release of the newest Star Wars movie, “The Rise of Skywalker,” was met with significant excitement and a social media frenzy. My friends could not wait to watch it in the theaters as soon as it came out, but I did not feel the same way. To identify why I felt this way, I reflected on my elementary school years when I used to be an avid Star Wars fan.

My Star Wars obsession began when I was about 6 years old. I had overheard my brother and his friend discussing the franchise and was immediately drawn in. After a few days, I knew the entire plot up until the most recent storyline at that time, “The Clone Wars.” As my love for the series grew stronger, my brother and I would beg our parents to buy us Star Wars legos. Together, we reenacted scenes and made skits with the Legos in which we created our own storyline, adjusting the plot to our liking. 

However, our interest in the most recent movie trilogy began to dwindle when the creative team made the decision to kill off some of our favorite characters on screen. With all the original characters such as Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, among others, playing big roles in the “Lego Star Wars” video game that I owned, their deaths had me questioning what Star Wars would become without them. I realized that these characters were what defined Star Wars for me, and having them die had a huge impact on my view of what was to come in the later parts of the series. These characters first drew me in with their ability to use the Force and wield lightsabers, which all fascinated me since it was a new fictional method of combat that I had never seen before. The characters were all so intelligent and smooth, which ultimately intrigued me. Although some of them still play important roles in becoming Force ghosts and coming back to talk to other characters in visions, I was still heartbroken when they died, and subsequently lost hope and interest in the movie series.

Another major factor that played into me losing interest was the 2015 Star Wars movie, “The Force Awakens.” I watched this movie in an attempt to give Star Wars a second chance, but I just did not enjoy it at all. The plot was really slow and boring, and it did not keep my attention. I walked out of the theater unsatisfied and went home to discuss how terrible it was with my brother and friends. I decided that I will never watch another Star Wars movie again. This was the last Star Wars movie I watched, and it is what finally made me realize that I will never be as much of a Star Wars fan as I used to be. This really makes me sad since I have been a Star Wars fan throughout my whole childhood.

Despite my loss in interest, Star Wars was definitely a prominent part of my childhood and I can thank the movie series for helping me grow up. Star Wars was always a topic I could bring up when talking to my brother and my friends since it was something we all had in common; whether we were debating which character was stronger and more skilled or what would happen in the next episode, we always had lots to share. We would go to each others’ houses and play games related to Star Wars such as the “Lego Star Wars” video game. The characters will always be important to me, but despite being an important part of my childhood, the plot has failed to grow up with me. It is disappointing for me to realize that I will never appreciate this movie franchise as much as I did before, but I will always recognize how it helped me bond with my brother and childhood friends.