Move over, Haley Stevens: There’s a new competitor for the most pathetic reaction to plummeting political fortunes. Elon Musk, the former Trump administration member and the world’s richest man, has seen the midterm election forecast for conservative candidates, and he’s responded by petulantly playing with his toys.

The X owner started “Anakin-posting” on Monday. The purely online phenomenon finds far-right and MAGA nerds recasting Star Wars’ Anakin Skywalker, the man who will become Darth Vader, as a tragic hero and paragon of traditional values. A typical post uses generative AI to reframe the “Star Wars” films’ genocidal space monk as a masculine, hyper-conservative, attentive father. Musk’s post shows Anakin, as played by actor Hayden Christensen, sitting on a throne surrounded by his children, Luke and Leia, and his wife, Padme. The AI illustration has pulled liberally from all three trilogies, placing the adult faces of Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher on the children. Natalie Portman’s Padme appears to be wearing her makeup and crown from “Black Swan.” The Sith first family is surrounded by 1970s-era storm troopers and 2010s imperial guards.  

“This is what they stole from us,” Musk captioned the computer-generated photo of his sci-fi fan fiction.

For the unfamiliar, Anakin was a member of an order of space knights. As a young man, he began having prophetic dreams of his wife dying in childbirth. Consumed by ambition and anger, and desperate to avoid the fate he envisioned, he was manipulated by several elderly politicians into betraying his chivalric order, killing many of his fellow knights and slaughtering an entire school full of squires for fear of retribution. Unable to save his wife, and grievously injured from a battle with his former mentor, he became a running dog of a fascist empire that aimed to rule the entire galaxy. 

Right-wing young men have warped that story through the established MAGA lens of “returning to tradition,” picturing a world where having the conviction to kill a bunch of toddlers is celebrated. 

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The typical example of “Anakin-posting” expresses rage at a stagnant economy or lack of prospects by sharing images of Christensen’s Anakin looking stoic. MAGA influencers like Jack Posobiec have added a dash of intergalactic racism, sharing images of a young Anakin surrounded by literal aliens to hint at a pro-segregationist message. Others have reimagined Anakin’s mentors as chiding liberal scolds, grafting pink hair and a keffiyeh onto Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the pathetic galaxy of Gen Z men, anything from mid-century magazine ads to a Disney-owned sci-fi epic for children can be a stand in for their cultural grievances. 

Enough time has passed between the prequels and the present that Anakin can be presented as a brooding badass. The primary criticism of the movies at the time concerned Christensen’s portrayal of Anakin as a whiny child throwing a deadly tantrum. The knotty and boring political intrigue subplots of the films have been forgotten, making it easy to gloss over Anakin being a stooge for politicians playing a game beyond his ken.

Musk, in particular, does have reasons to empathize with the “Star Wars” villain. After believing he had found a way to reshape the government toward his own ends via DOGE, he was booted when the program proved deeply unpopular. Seeing visions of a blue wave washout, he used his financial superpower to try and avoid what appears to be an oncoming loss. Separated from the levers of power and now half a billion dollars poorer, Musk has been forced to play-act a scenario where he won. His image-generating toy gave him the happy ending that politics, relationships and wealth couldn’t.

But all the AI bots can’t undo the facts of Anakin’s story. He was ultimately killed by the evil emperor he served, dying in front of the son he abandoned. His “return to tradition” was a last-minute awakening, when he was forced to confront all the harm he had done and the miserable life he had led. Now there’s something for Musk to aspire to. 

The post Elon Musk is using Anakin Skywalker to cope with the midterm forecast appeared first on Salon.com.

The future is uncertain at Electronic Arts after the surprise shuttering of BioWare, but at least one trusted industry insider suggests that Respawn’s third Star Wars Jedi game is still safe from the chopping block.

Jedi Survivor 3 is ‘Far in Development’ According to Schreier

Respawn released Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order all the way back in 2019 to kick off the Cal Kestis storyline. The game was incredibly well-received and ended up getting a popular sequel in 2023.

Although the sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, ended with a major cliffhanger, the third installment in Cal’s story hasn’t been officially revealed quite yet. That said, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier suggests that work is still progressing and that the game will be announced very soon.

Schreier recently released an in-depth report on why Electronic Arts shut down BioWare that dug into the strategy and finances behind the controversial decision that sent shockwaves through the gaming industry.

After sharing the EA story, Schreier recently a handful of related questions on social media. In response to one question that asked, “What does this mean for the third Star Wars Jedi from Respawn?”, Schreier explained that:

“That’s still coming, should be officially announced soon.”

Another user asked about Star Wars Jedi 3 being far in development and whether it might be seen as internal competition for Battlefront 3. In response to this question, Schreier explained that:

“Jedi 3 is far in development; Battlefront 3 hasn’t even started yet.”

Although Schreier is a very reliable source whose reporting can be trusted, fans should keep in mind that these are not official announcements and plans can always change behind closed doors.

That said, if Schreier’s information is correct, it seems likely that the 2026 Game Awards could be a logical spot for Star Wars Jedi 3 to be officially revealed.

It should be very interesting to see what announcements arrive before the end of the calendar year and whether or not consumers are willing to overlook EA’s closure of BioWare if they are excited enough about a new project coming out of the publisher.

Be sure to check back soon for lots more Star Wars and other gaming news and updates.

The third installment in the Star Wars Jedi series has not officially been revealed yet and has no estimated release window.

The post Star Wars Jedi 3 May Be Officially Announced Very Soon appeared first on VICE.

This is George Lucas' vision. Forget the sequel trilogy or The Acolyte somehow managing to be one of the most expensive TV shows ever made and still ending up mid: Secondhand Movie Co.'s recreation of the original Star Wars with nothing but a metric ton of cardboard and a dream is where it's at. — Read the rest

The post Star Wars on a ten-dollar budget appeared first on Boing Boing.