The latest South Park special, South Park: Joining the Panderverse, has targeted the divided Star Wars fandom. The special is twice the length of a normal episode and tackles the increasing diversity in Hollywood, concerns by Star Wars fans about Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The special was released on Paramount+ on October 27.
Ahead of South Park season 27, the Joining the Panderverse special offers insight into Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s takes on several divisive issues in Hollywood. There have been numerous reactions to the special with @RedTeamReview on Twitter praising the episode.
The praise specifically relates to the dual insults against Disney’s “virtue signaling” and those who target Kennedy specifically, rather than focusing on the rest of Lucasfilm. RedTeamReview also posted a clip from the episode, featuring Randy Marsh realizing that he can blame all of his problems on Kennedy without having to reckon with his own failures.
Some Parts Of Star Wars Fandom Are Taking South Park Seriously
While RedTeamReview hints at the existence of viewers who may assume that South Park was being entirely genuine in its critique of Kennedy, there is evidence that those viewers do exist. Gina Carano, who starred as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, released her own statement about the special and appears to have taken the special seriously. Check out Carano’s comments below, via @GeeksGamersCom:
Carano was fired from The Mandalorian after season 2 and her character was subsequently written out of the show. The firing came after Carano posted several controversial statements on social media. Carano’s posts included comments about Jeffrey Epstein, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 presidential election results. Carano also compared the treatment of Republicans to the Holocaust. As such, she is in a unique position to use her platform against Kennedy.
Carano believes that Kennedy will order widespread political action against the South Park creators after the episode and will require a public apology and “re-education“. She also expects an “online mob” to attack the special and its creators due to presumed racism and bigotry. Carano appears to be taking the special seriously, which proves every argument that South Park: Joining the Panderverse makes about the divided Star Wars fandom.
