For folks of a certain age, Freddie Prinze Jr. is that one dude from a lot of ’90s teen movies. But for Star Wars fans, he is one of the greatest Jedi who ever lived. For four seasons, he portrayed Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus on the animated series Star Wars: Rebels. Prinze was already a life long Star Wars fan before landing the role. But while working under series creator Dave Filoni, he became immersed in the ways of the ins and outs of the Force and the entire Star Wars mythology. Because Filoni learned everything from George Lucas himself. So, we’ll go out on a limb and call Freddie Prinze Jr. a certified Star Wars expert.
Disney / YouTube
Now, there’s a new Instagram video of the actor going on a truly epic rant about modern Star Wars fans, their toxicity, and their inability to admit that at it’s core, Star Wars has always been a fable for children. The rant is actually in a preview for Jeff Dye’s Friendship Podcast, which will surely cover many other topics. But this Star Wars rant is just pure gold.
At one point in the video, Prinze says “Luke Skywalker is Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty! He can talk to things that don’t speak English, and he understands what they’re f***ing saying; he gets a fairy godfather instead of a fairy godmother, who teaches him how to be the best Jedi in the world in no time f***ing flat”. So, where’s the lie?
One of the biggest complaints over the past two years from a certain set of Star Wars fans is how powerful Rey is in comparison to Luke at the start of the current trilogy. But Freddie pokes holes in that theory with his precision lightsaber. And he points out the hypocrisy some fans have in relation to how many give Luke a pass on how fast he became a badass Jedi. After all, Obi-Wan never taught him to lift things with his mind. But he did it at the start of Empire anyway! And yet Rey gets eviscerated by some for holding her own against Kylo Ren. Double standard much?
Lucasfilm
Prinze’s Rebels character Kanan was a padawan learner who survived the Jedi Purge of Order 66, and went into hiding after his Master was killed. He then grew up to be the leader of the group of rebels who traveled the galaxy on board the ship known as The Ghost. He reluctantly became a Jedi again during the early days of the Galactic Civil War; and sacrificed his life for the good of the galaxy. But not before passing on his Jedi knowledge to his young student, Ezra Bridger. Although his character died a few episodes before the finale, there could be untold stories about Kanan we haven’t seen yet. Now more than ever, we’d love to see Freddie Prinze Jr. get another crack at the character. Clearly, he gets Star Wars better than most.
Images: Lucasfilm