Fans Can’t Bully Studios And Actors Forever

Toxic fans have always been a problem and there isn’t a simple solution to getting rid of them. After the flop of Joss Whedon’s Justice League, it was understandable that fans wanted to see the Zack Snyder cut since he was the one who was initially in charge of the project. Hash tag, #ReleaseTheSnyderCut began to trend, which no one expected it to happen or even really care if it did. However, Warner Bros decided to listen to the fans and release the Snyder Cut which turned out pretty well to much surprise. Unfortunately, this gave some fans the idea that they could recreate this trend with other films like #ReleaseTheLucasCut for Star Wars. Some fans seem to think that because they don’t like something, they can simply demand a reshoot of something that many people spent a lot of time, energy, and money working on.

The People On These Projects Are Still People

It’s okay to not enjoy or agree with the way an actor or actress portrays their characters, or the way directors decide how those characters should be portrayed. Regardless, It’s important to keep in mind that in the end these people are just doing their jobs, even if they enjoy the work they are doing. Actresses Kelly Marie Tran (actor for Rose in Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and Laura Bailey (voice actor for Abby in The Last Of Us 2) received sexist and racist messages, and even severe cases of death threats, just because of their performances. Fortunately, they took it in stride and continued working. Nevertheless, this kind of behavior is unacceptable. They are human beings who don’t deserve that kind of treatment, even if you don’t like the people they play as. It’s okay to not like a certain character in a film or show, because sometimes they are designed for you to not like them. Sometimes it’s fun to not like characters with other people. However, we need to make sure that we differentiate the character from the actor. Even now, Wyatt Russell is facing death threats for his portrayal of Captain America in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. If you harass an actor for doing their job, then you are the problem.

Studios Will Eventually Stop Listening To Fans

Here’s the thing, It’s already hard to gauge what audiences will like because no one really knows if a show or movie will succeed or fail. Sometimes, it’s great when a studio or director decides to listen to their fans and make decisions based on our responses. However, when our responses are based on bullying and harassment of anyone either in front or behind the camera, eventually the people who make the media we like aren’t going to listen to us anymore. We need to learn to trust the creative directors that they will do a good job with the content. When they don’t, we make it a learning curve with constructive criticism to discuss what worked and what didn’t. Harassment will only discourage those who work so hard in the entertainment industry and could ultimately become its downfall.

Fans Aren’t Owed Anything

The studios don’t have to listen to their fans. They choose to. When the first trailer for Sonic The Hedgehog was released, they saw fans didn’t like the way Sonic looked, and made the decision to change it as a result. Fans should be able to make a request or express constructive criticism for something without harassing studios and actors. The studios for Star Wars and the MCU will continue to make shows and movies the way in which they want to and fans need to learn to either accept it or move on.