With the arrival of a new series, Star Wars: The Acolyte, you think all would be peaceful. Of course not. This is the modern-day Internet. What was a surprise to read this morning was that some parts of the Star Wars fandom have shown their true colours. The notable Star Wars Fan Wiki, Wookieepedia, which keeps up-to-date records of all the happenings in the Star Wars Universe, has reportedly received “death threats”.
Nothing can justify the need to send death threats to anyone. However, this situation is even more troubling because it concerns such a minor detail. For example, it stems from the most recent episode of The Acolyte, in which the character of Ki-Adi-Mundi appears. This is what has caused the issues online. The character’s minor appearance in the latest episode has reportedly sparked “death threats” towards Wookiepedia’s editors. It seems certain members of the community are not happy with his appearance. But why?
The Star Wars Details
If you’re a Star Wars fan who enjoys learning about lore, you have likely visited the Star Wars Fan Wiki called Wookieepedia. It’s your main stop as a wiki-based online encyclopedia containing detailed information about the Star Wars universe, including movies, books, video games, characters, locations, technology, weapons, vehicles, and everything else. Most importantly, the website is maintained by Fans, for the fans. Disney or Lucasfilm does not have control over what is on the site.
Due to the complex nature of Star Wars storytelling, Wookieepedia typically contains TWO pages for known characters. One page is a “Canon” page, the other being a “Legends” page. Canon for Star Wars mainly appears on-screen in George Lucas’s six original films, then the sequel films. This was most recently defined in 2014, following the completion of the Walt Disney Company Lucasfilm acquisition. Canon is officially described as: the six movies and the seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars he developed and producered – and the movies, television series, novels, comics, toys and video games created by Lucasfilm after the acquisition.
This is where some of the issues over Ki-Adi-Mundi’s character arise. Certain areas of the Star Wars fandom are accusing Wookieepediea of changing the truth. However, there is a simple answer here. The character’s birth is listed as 93 BBY in the LEGENDS continuity, but there was never a confirmed date in canon. Instead, community wiki editors have added new context to the CANON side of the character’s biography. Nothing has been erased; nothing has changed. LEGENDS remains the same.
No Words Really
If I’m being honest, there has been a crazy amount of weird actions in the Star Wars community lately. However, this, unfortunately, might top it. I can’t fathom why people would resort to attacking a fan-led wiki. A wiki that updates its pages based on what appears on-screen. A brand-new series should not cause so much toxicity and outrage online. It should not cause so much hatred towards a fan group for simply writing about what is being shown on our screens.
What is even more concerning is that those who have chosen to act against Wookieepedia did not do their research. Simply entering the Jed Masters page into The Way Back Machine or checking the page edit history reveals there was never a canon birthdate. It also reveals the Legends page has not changed with the birthdate. Simply, the updates following the New Acolyte episode reflect the new information. For example, Ki-Adi-Mundi was active and born before 132 BBY. The year the series takes place.
Thankfully, many members of the Star Wars community rallied around Wookieepedia. The hashtag “#WeStandWithWookiepedia” was trending for several hours last night. People supporting them are a fine example of how fandoms should properly act. We should be able to discuss our favourite shows in a civilized manner. However, it seems The Acolyte has brought out some of the worst actions within the community. As fans, we can only hope that, eventually, these participants depart. Actions such as death threats towards community members or anyone are not something that can be tolerated.
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