When Does Star Wars Collecting Die?

[dukefett]

It'll be around for a while, I think you guys are dismissing prequel/TCW fans by a lot. I know there's some people on here, but if you look at Reddit, all those kids are HUGE into Anakin and TCW. Fans who started with the prequels/TCW will be around for a while. I think The Mandalorian is helping keep the aged SW fans involved, but it seems to be loved by all fans generally. And no offense to the ST, but I did not see it capture the heart of any kids I know like the PT did back then. I just don't see any "big" resurgence in popularity 10-15 years from now like the PT had once those fans grew up. There may be a collecting drag at that time. Sure late 90's/early 2000's there was more to do than there was in the late 70's/early 80's, but now everyone is getting bombarded with entertainment options everywhere you look. Marvel is just the tip of the iceberg, but it's a giant ******* iceberg.


I'm 37, I figure I've got until about 60ish until I call it quits or highly condense my collection. But I still don't ever see SW disappearing. Elvis is music, he's movies too I guess, but by and large music. There will always be old fans or parents playing music for their kids, but 90% of kids just stick with the music they great up with, so it makes sense that Elvis would slip away. Plus he's been dead for a while, lets face it. If Elvis died 10 years ago, you'd have a totally different conversation.

 

[DioramaMaker]

I just think the idea of collecting is going out of vogue for kids. It's interesting because I do think there's a dichotomy in that collecting and being a nerd is more acceptable now than it ever was, but the audience propelling it
isn't large enough to sustain a mass market the way it did in the 90s and 00s. The influx of those who will collect is something that will become increasingly niche.

 

[SwedishHeat]

Disney didn't pay $4 billion for something that was going to die in 20 years.

Star Wars collecting will never die. They will keep producing multiple TV series, more movies, more comics, and more collectibles based on all the other media they create.

 

[SixthScaleEdward]

Never!

If all else fails, Disney can easily release EU-based stuff and they'll be good for another X decades.

 

[ZE_501]

Disney didn't pay $4 billion for something that was going to die in 20 years.[...]

This introduces another, tangential question:

We assume that certain corporate entities are such behemoths, so woven into the fabric of modern society, that they will exist in perpetuity.

Outside of catastrophe or profound disruption, this isn't an unreasonable assumption given the current system of the world. But in what form? Between vertical integration and the march of technology, is there a future where Disney still exists as a multi-billion dollar entertainment machine, but much less recognizable?

Is there another Lucas or Kubrick on the way, in some future medium, that will unseat the old masters of that archaic contrivance called 'film'? A new story and a new medium that will render 'Star Wars' as quaint and dated as the 'Buck Rogers' serials it was based on?

Just because we can't imagine it doesn't mean it won't happen.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Many here are too young to remember Disney as a forgotten entity in the late 70's and 80's. It was dead and an embarrassing moniker; kiddie crap at its worst.

Until Ariel.

Times can change. I hope y'all are aware of what's happening right now. There are some very severe changes in our near future. A generation can turn against Disney in the blink of an eye. Don't think it can't happen.

I just think the idea of collecting is going out of vogue for kids.

This is also an interesting point. Kids keep their movie and music collections in the cloud. Will they ever want so 'hard' toys laying around. So much clutter. Maybe they'll just have virtual 'action figures'... or better yet, just 3D avatars of their favorites characters that they can be in their VR worlds. The future of cosplay.

 

[ObiGlennKenobi]

morbid thread.

Star wars is forever!!!

 

[ZE_501]

morbid thread.

Star wars is forever!!!

LOL.... *nothing* is forever. And as Wor said ... we?re in the midst of profound change, a lot of which will only be clear in hindsight.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mad Old Lu]

This introduces another, tangential question:

We assume that certain corporate entities are such behemoths, so woven into the fabric of modern society, that they will exist in perpetuity.

Outside of catastrophe or profound disruption, this isn't an unreasonable assumption given the current system of the world. But in what form? Between vertical integration and the march of technology, is there a future where Disney still exists as a multi-billion dollar entertainment machine, but much less recognizable?

Is there another Lucas or Kubrick on the way, in some future medium, that will unseat the old masters of that archaic contrivance called 'film'? A new story and a new medium that will render 'Star Wars' as quaint and dated as the 'Buck Rogers' serials it was based on?

Just because we can't imagine it doesn't mean it won't happen.

Absolutely!

 

[Getter Dragon]

When they make more films like the sequel trilogy.

This is the correct answer.

 

[DarkChocobi]

Im not sure what is your definition of "DIE" in this context, I'm collecting purely out of the reminiscence from childhood, and that sensation will never "die" . But Im 100% sure that Sequel collecting is completely dead, terminated from the very existence of civilized pop-culture .

 

[sithocan]

I thought it was "The Beauty and The Beast" and "The Lion King" that revived Disney.

 

[DarthAlias]

Legends never die.

 

[matticus]

When I die.

 

[Triton77]

I give it 50 years at most...that allows for bored senior citizens to have their fun, and some nostalgic PT fans to have their day. My reasoning is that PT fans of a certain age are still more likely to be nostalgic about toys and collectibles in ways that subsequent generations may not be, but are likely to be less engaged/committed than OT fans of a certain age.

I don't see the ST having the same lingering impact, and things like The Mandalorian or Rogue One IMO are more likely to wind up with obscure cult followings than cheering throngs of fans, in the future.

In 20 years I'll be creeping up on 70, and personally, not likely to be an *active* collector of anything. In 50 years I don't think culture will be all that comparable to what we see now.

I don't collect with financial value in mind, either ... for myself I just think that one day Star Wars isn't going to exert the pull it once did and I'm curious as to when that day will be.

The Internet is a funny thing. It gives an afterlife to cultural phenomena that should be forgotten, but even the Internet is going to change and with it, content.

I really think the 20 to 50 year range is bang on. As a parent my kids have never been engaged with toys in the physical medium beyond that 7-8 years of age...from there it was all about electronics and digital character assets they buy on their videogames, like in the fortnight ect... I think the likely hood of there still be some interest in STAR WARS beyond 50 years is possible, but from a toy collector standpoint I highly doubt it. They will probably be selling digital likeness character keys or something LOL...it will be all the rage

 

[SOU7567]

If you mean "when does it die from disinterest?", then the answer is pretty much 'never'. People who primarily grew up on the OT can dislike the PT/ST/CW all they want, but there will always be newer generations that like them, and will develop a fondness for blowing their disposable income on items from Star Wars properties that aren't necessarily OT-based. There are little kids right now who are big fans of The Mandalorian, who have probably never seen the OT. There will always be new Star Wars stories to keep kids and adults engaged on some level.

Barring some kind of disaster that knocks humanity back to the stone ages, Star Wars collectibles, both high-end and low-end, will continue to be produced long after those of us who grew up in the 70's and 80's are gone.

This right here^

 

[Marvelito]

It really depends what happens with Star Wars itself, and you can look at Star Trek as a pretty good example. ST TOS was The ST show for many people, and the driving force behind their collectibles. TNG came around and slowly took that over, releases shifted to TNG, as less and less TOS things were released. Subsequent series like DS9, Voyager and Enterprise were released but they never really caught on with fans and even less so with fans who collected. The brand new stuff has had a few releases here and there, but nothing that has really garnered any interest or even had any great sales. It's only things related to TOS or TNG that sell, and the releases are few and far between. So going back to SW, you can say the same thing as it relates to OT and PT, those are the main driving sales forces. You'll get some sales for other things but it's mainly those two eras for the time being. The Mandalorian seems to generate interest among collectors. So as long as there are buzz worthy shows or films you'll see sales and collecting will probably continue, but to what degree remains to be seen.

 

[DakRen]

Im not sure what is your definition of "DIE" in this context, I'm collecting purely out of the reminiscence from childhood, and that sensation will never "die" . But Im 100% sure that Sequel collecting is completely dead, terminated from the very existence of civilized pop-culture .

Considering the aftermarket prices for TLJ Kylo and Rey and not to mention Praetorians you’d be wrong.

 

[zeiss]

To take that a step further, superhero comics have certain qualities that Star Wars doesn't:

They're open-ended in a way that the SW universe is not. You can have Superman in 1938 or in 2020, and he's the same character doing super-stuff.

Luke Skywalker exists for x number of films and that's it. Then you're either interested in previous or subsequent eras, or you're not. Luke and the gang are hemmed in by in-universe history, whereas superheros are truly atemporal and arguably more mythic because of it.

For this reason, I think Disney should have recast Luke, Han, and Leia and made the sequel trilogy about them. Make them the mythic characters that the Star Wars franchise focuses on with other charters coming and going from the limelight. I think this would have meant more staying power than rebooting with new characters every trilogy or set of movies. Though it would have gotten old seeing Luke, Han, and Leia constantly being thrust in new universe spanning adventures. Like the EU. I would say it would have also made their victory in ROTJ seem meaningless but Disney already had that covered in the sequel trilogy.

 

[DarkChocobi]

Considering the aftermarket prices for TLJ Kylo and Rey and not to mention Praetorians you’d be wrong.

Whatever floats your boat sunshine.