Star Wars nerds, er, fans freak out after Disney tweaks opening fanfare
There is a disturbance in the Force.
After decades of hearing an iconic blast of trumpets herald the latest installment of their favourite saga in space, Star Wars fans will no longer hear the 20th Century Fox fanfare at the start of a Star Wars flick.
While the classic opening tune - which has appeared on all 20th Century Fox films after its composition in 1933 by music head Alfred Newman - was always expected to be dropped for future sequels after Disney acquired the sci-fi franchise in 2012, the actual disappearance was not felt until the first six films saw a digital re-release by Disney on Friday.
It was replaced by a Lucasfilm fanfare, which doesn't quite hit the same epic notes to drum up the same sense of anticipation.
The change affected all of the movies except the original Star Wars (also known as Episode IV depending on your reference point) as Fox still owns the distribution rights for that film.
Aside from fans' familiarity with something that hasn't changed for more than 35 years, the reason for the change being so jarring is that composer John Williams actually tailored the Star Wars opening theme to act as an extension of the 20th Century Fox fanfare.
Unsurprisingly, this led to a nerd rage-filled outcry across the Internet from geeks everywhere.
And as was expected as well, some bemoaned the cruel destruction of their precious childhood memories...
...going so far as to blame Sith Lord Mickey...
...and at least one person expressed her regret for future generations to come.
Of course, Star Wars references were used:
And while the move might have driven exasperated fans to prop up DVD and BluRay sales, it could have caused a few to turn to piracy.
I sincerely hope the last guy has the actual discs in his possession for his sake.
Of course, there was a rare minority that actually approved of the new theme:
And at least one person noticed that the fanfare wasn't entirely unique to the Star Wars franchise:
All being said and done, it's probably safe to say that the majority of Star Wars fans are experiencing their own Darth Vader moment from the end of Episode III:
Source: Observation Deck, StarWars.com, Twitter
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