That’s what WDW Pro is claiming at Pirates and Princesses:

Luke Skywalker Damaged High Republic’s Launch

Star Wars: The High Republic is launching and the response has been underwhelming for Lucasfilm. Now the blame game has begun as the “mega-story” limps out of the gate. The prime target is blaming Jon Favreau for the perception that he has enabled what individuals in Lucasfilm view as toxic demographics. More specifically, Luke Skywalker emboldened one part of a divided audience.

Sources tell me that the Lucasfilm Story Group that has been heavily involved in the development of The High Republic is frustrated for several reasons. First, the reveal of Luke Skywalker in the finale of The Mandalorian’s second season took all the oxygen out of High Republic. Who cares about The High Republic if they’re all wondering what happens with Luke Skywalker and his new padawan Grogu (baby Yoda’s revealed name)? Worse, I’m told they’re furious because they weren’t informed about Luke Skywalker being the season send-off surprise. 

The result is that I’m told meetings and discussions are forthcoming about how to manage the public relations situation. People behind High Republic want Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni to speak in a complimentary fashion in regards to Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, and The High Republic. They feel that in the absence of those kind words, toxic parts of the “fandom” are filling the gap. Internal financial projections for High Republic have reportedly tanked since the online trailer was released. Initial reception of Light of the Jedi has been tepid at best.

You can read the whole thing at Pirates and Princesses:

I have no idea if any of this is true, but I can totally imagine the Story Group looking at pie charts with one slice labeled “toxic demographic” rather than focusing on good storytelling.

And if any of this is true, then that’s the problem here as always. The focus on political activism over art. The three words I can think of to best describe the High Republic publishing effort are bland, dull, and silly. Of course that has no hope of competing with a live action Luke Skywalker.

But in a perfect world, if the focus were put on storytelling rather than political activism, then there’s no reason that fans wouldn’t be highly interested in both, just as they were interested in all forms of media during the EU days.

Any blame for the failure of the High Republic doesn’t lie with Luke Skywalker or The Mandalorian, but instead with the lackluster creations of the subpar creators.

That Star Wars Girl comments:

Originally published here.