15 Huge Controversies That Rocked Star Wars

Fired directors are just the start of it...

By Simon Gallagher /

LucasFilm

When any brand gets into the multi-billion dollar stratosphere, you're bound to see some disparaging things about them in the press. Contrarians and hipsters will take the down as uncool, former fans will say they've sold out and a whole new army of cynics will queue up to knock them off their pedestal.

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It's a minefield that ensures that good publicity executives are some of the most employable people in the world, and one that has wiped value off stocks at the worst times. With those potential pitfalls in their path, you'd think that brands as big as Star Wars would be incredibly careful not to court any controversy. But then, they also seem to like to sack directors, or wipe their work out, and George Lucas always had a thing for pissing everyone off...

Now, not every scandal or controversy associated with Star Wars is down to their own actions: occasionally it's the fan-base who act up, or individuals going rogue, but it's that association that proves to be pretty toxic. And it's the big brand that it all tends to stick to most.

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Looking back over the years, Star Wars has had some truly questionable moments...