The Mandalorian actor Jake Cannavale apparently isn’t too fussed if he gets invited back for season 2, at least if his recent criticism of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is anything to by.
Cannavale made his Star Wars galaxy debut earlier this month playing bounty hunter Toro Calican in the fifth episode of Jon Favreau’s new Disney Plus series. Nonetheless, over on Instagram, the actor pulled no punches in expressing his disappointment over J.J. Abrams’ latest feature, prefacing his thoughts by writing:
“I’m in the Star Wars universe now!!! So surely I can’t speak ill of Episode IX right??? … WRONG.”
Cannavale also referred to The Rise of Skywalker as the worst film in the Star Wars franchise, and said that he “woke up still mad” after seeing it the night before. When asked if he thought he’d be as angry about the movie if he were directly involved in it, Cannavale suggested that he’d be probably be even madder, before conceding that the film’s cast may feel a little differently:
“Honestly, I think I’d be more mad. Obviously I can’t speak on behalf of the cast. To some actors this is just a job and maybe they’re just happy to be working. To which I say more power to them. Also, maybe they f-cking loved the new Star Wars! In which case that’s f-cking dope that they got to work on something they truly got to enjoy.”
The actor went on to decry the Sequel Trilogy as a whole, suggesting that he felt betrayed as a longtime fan of the franchise:
“Personally, I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan since I was a kid. And I felt pretty let down by the overall laziness of this new trilogy, and also a bit angry at the entitlement of it for pretty much seizing control of the franchise as a whole by basically [saying] ‘Nah we don’t like the ending that everybody’s been cool with for decades, let’s change it!’ I personally would feel pretty depressed if I was in the new Star Wars movie (as a main character I mean. If I was a dude wearing an alien puppet or whatever I’d be f-cking stoked…but still.)”
Indeed, Cannavale is hardly alone in his objections to the new movie, which has garnered mixed reviews since its premiere last Monday. But while many viewers have criticized the flick as a messy, overcrowded work that tries too hard to pander to fans, it must be said that the film still has its defenders.
Right now, for example, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has an audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 86% – a huge step up from The Last Jedi’s 43%. With that in mind, it could be interesting to see how the film holds up at the box office – whether word of mouth keeps it afloat, or the negative reactions ultimately sink it.
Either way, most of us would probably agree that the time is right for the franchise to take a break from the big screen, even if Lucasfilm’s schedule of upcoming Disney Plus shows ensures the fans will hardly be starved for content over the next few years.