So, about that Generation 5 Movie...

If you haven't heard, Entertainment Weekly has released a short synopsis and the first official picture from the upcoming generation 5 Netflix film. I took a look at it and... well, I think it's a slap in the face to not only fans of Generation 4, but to Twilight and her friends, because all their struggles and sacrifices, all their loses and their triumphs were ultimately pointless.

All their attempts to protect Equestria from outside threats? All for nothing.

All their efforts to help others learn about friendship and harmony? All for nothing.

Everyone's efforts to keep Equestria going after the three tribes put away their differences thousands of years ago? All for nothing.

That incredible finale where everyone put aside their distrust and fear of each other to come together and save Equestria in one of the show's greatest moments?

All of that was for nothing.

Thanks, Hasbro. Thanks for invalidating all our character's efforts, growth, and accomplishments so they can be tossed into the garbage and forgotten so some hot, new youngsters can come in and perform awesome feats that Twilight and the others could never have dreamed off, and be the ones to truly bring lasting peace and happiness to Equestria. I mean, that worked out perfectly in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, right? Wrong.

There is no faster way to turn off fans of your franchise by announcing that everything their beloved characters did was for nothing.

Instead of starting new from scratch and creating another self-contained universe independent of Generation 4 that could feature new characters who could have their own adventures, and show us a new version of Equestria and its inhabitants, Hasbro has chosen to bind 4 and 5 together so that the former can be invalidated, and the latter can use its corpse as a stepping stone.

Now, I could be wrong about this, but I'm not hopeful. I've already watched one saga that I love be torn down and thrown out for the sake of money, and now here I am, watching it happen again to something that's been a part of my life for ten years.

In the words of The Critical Drinker, f*** off, Hasbro.

Comments

[Artist]

I hope that I watching that movie, don't really care about why Hasbro does that

[Kaipony]

I was born a year before Return of the Jedi was released, so I was inducted at a young age into the same corps that was dismayed at what that sequel trilogy did. We all felt that pain.

My entire feeling of cautious optimism, art style aside, hinges almost entirely on your fears being wrong. This isn't 2010/2011 again where so many of us pushed past those early ponderings of "why am I watching cartoon ponies" and found that special spark that ignited something inside so many people. We've lived in this universe for over a decade. In many ways, we've made it our own. When we had to say goodbye, we were given a wonderful vision of the future. We're not coming into this blind or native this time. Perhaps a new group will join us without the benefit, or curse, of having known the heights to which the previous generation soared.

The possibility of that chapter being being casually tossed into a waste bin stinks to the heavens of corporate thoughtlessness. If we are still in the same Equestria and not some alternate version, then I could conceive of a move in which we are so far in the future that the work of Twilight and her friends have been relegated to the status of legend. Such a legend could provide new characters looking to change the world with material upon which to draw should they have some repository to seek out. I don't think this is likely, but it's a minor hope to cling to while we wait.

But yeah. I'm pulling a bottle down tonight from the top shelf for this and raising one up for hope.

[Artist]

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I agree

[Horse Voice]

5461148

I could conceive of a move in which we are so far in the future that the work of Twilight and her friends have been relegated to the status of legend. Such a legend could provide new characters looking to change the world with material upon which to draw should they have some repository to seek out. I don't think this is likely, but it's a minor hope to cling to while we wait.

Agreed. Looking in the background of that teaser image, we can see small models of the mane six, as well as posters referencing Celestia and Rainbow Dash. This suggests the heroine admires them and wants to strive for the ideals they fought for in their day.

Thus, if your guess is right and this show takes place hundreds of years after the golden age that was the rein of Princess Twilight, then maybe, just maybe, it will be respectful and plausible enough.

If not, well, there's always the option of Fanon Discontinuity:

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fanon-discontinuity_xkcd4_9883.png

[Trick Question]

I'd reserve judgment until I see it. Images make it look like the protagonist idolizes and draws inspiration from the Mane 6, so I'm not sure how that means their work was for nothing.

There's no such thing as happily ever after; it's a constant struggle to help Friendship win over the forces of darkness.

[mycutiemarkisagun]

This is obviously just you projecting your same tired-ass bullshit Star Wars hot take onto MLP. Tired of seeing this nonsense from people too stupid to enjoy The Mandalorian with the rest of the world. Boy, that Rian Johnson PTSD is strong huh?

"How dare they DISRESPECT the FICTIONAL CHARACTER!!!!" Twilight is not a real person my dude. Her "struggles and sacrifices" are not real. She does not have feelings. She did not cry when Hasbro announced this. She is a fictional character and half the stories on this website are about her magically growing a dick. Stop getting offended on behalf of fictional characters. Why do folks do this lol. Go worry about the disrespected "struggles and sacrifices" of actual IRL breathing humans, please.

"How dare they say HAPPILY EVER AFTER DIDN'T LAST EVER AFTER!!!!" You yourself have written sequels to a story that, ahem, arguably did not need 2 sequels. So is Silverspeak da Sad Earth Pony's first adventure invalidated (or disrespected or whatever butthurt nonsense you people come up with) by that second adventure on the floating glass orb thing and whatever the hell happened in that 3rd one? Furthermore, in-universe, are historical figures generally considered failures because they couldn't fix everything and utopia didn't commence? No. Its like arguing that Abraham Lincoln is a failure because Reconstruction failed. Does that mean everything Lincoln did was all for nothing? The Mane Six couldn't permanently protect Equestria from all bad things forever.

But no, according to your logic, if a Big Bad or some sort of magical catastrophe shows up 100 years after Twilight Sparkle dies of old age, then Twilight Sparkle's efforts were............................"all for nothing"?

I didn't want Equestria replaced by some vaguely pseudo-Nordic worldbuilding like the old leaks suggested. I wanted FIM: The Next Generation. G4 far surpassed the previous generations and its world deserves more exploration in G5. Well this is that. And dead-enders like you are gonna BITCH AND MOAN about it while making Fandom Menace comparisons like Disney+ didn't smash their four-year subscriber goal in 14 months lol. Rest in Piss, Cara Dune.

[Kaipony]

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5461209

We’ll just have to wait and see.

5461211
Wholeheartedly agree that judgment should come after we all watch it with an open mind. I’ve been burned before by getting my hopes up, but I refuse to allow that to completely cloud my expectations. If what we get is a version of future in which our past heroine’s efforts are at least acknowledged as having happened, with a plausible explanation as to why they’ve apparently failed, then I’ll be satisfied.

And honestly, even if none of that comes to pass, but I still can find the characters and story to be enjoyable, then I’ll gladly welcome more pony. Because, at the end of it, that’s really all we want, isn’t it? Something new to dive into and explore together. Even if it’s different, bound to be something that we can all enjoy.

[Artist]

5461402
Yes we will

[Greenback]

5461262

The point I'm trying to make is that just because you can tell a story after the events of the original doesn't mean you should. I freely admit that my sequels to the Monster Below were a mistake, but I'm still glad I wrote them because I learned how important it is to end a story when the main conflict is resolved. Going any further is like taking that story, ripping off the back cover, and stitching in several new chapters. It's awkward, it doesn't fit, and you can tell that the story was never written with the new chapters in mind, which is what the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy did.

You also make a good point that there is no finish line in life. No one would disagree with you on that. But I would also say that fiction is meant to be an escape from all, a place where good can triumph, and we can close the book satisfied in knowing that our characters have earned their happy ending. Logically, we know that it's not forever, but we can put aside logic to pretend that everything worked out in the long run; plus, do we really want sequels to our favorite stories that show that things didn't work out? Or would we rather stick with a story that has a solid ending that allows our imaginations to decide what comes next?

Even after sleeping on my original post, I'm still not excited about Generation 5. Kai brought up a good point about the possibility that Generation 5 takes place so far in the future that Twilight and the others are legends. That's more acceptable because it would show that things did at least work out for a few generations. If the Mane Six are still remembered and admired after all that, then it would be a good way to show respect and honor what they did. But it's still my opinion that it would have been better to make Generation 5 a completely new show and give it a chance to tell its own mythology independent from anything that came before.

Oh, and on the topic of Star Wars, I adore the Mandalorian. I love the world building, the characters, and pretty much everything about it. I can't wait to see where the series goes after that awesome finale and cameo of season 2.

[SIGAWESOME]

I will just shamelessly copy and paste what Significant Other said elsewhere regarding the upcoming G5:

From what I have heard of this, I am a bit disheartened at the direction they are taking it. To me the art style is inconsequential; I really like the new 3d style all told. Cutesy art assets aside though, that really was not what drew my interest back in the paleolithic times of 2011. There was a quote from season 1 from somewhere that really encapsulates how I felt about Lauren's original vision of the show (and to varying degrees the rest of the seasons):

"It's funny, it's cute, it had great characters. Even when it's dark, it's so cheerful and optimistic that I can't help but love it.

"And most importantly, the show completely and utterly rejects cynicism and irony. This is a big deal, because the conventional wisdom is that you can't do a kids show that will appeal to adults unless you are really cynical about it, having the character point out how stupid everything is and shoehorning in lots of cheap forced pop culture jokes for the adults. Any time a show like Spongebob gets in danger of approaching genuine human feeling, it always diffuses it with a cheap gag. Most shows are scared to be optimistic or sincere.

"MLP, meanwhile, is unashamed of how cheerful and happy it is, and absolutely RUNS on sincerity. In a world where we've become afraid to connect with each other, here's a show that does a 4 minute musical number with lines like "fill my heart up with sunshine", and does not give the slightest fk if you have a problem with that.

"So yay for a show that runs on sincerity and optimism. There isn't enough of it in this world, and it's nice that there's still 1 show that isn't afraid of it."

THAT is what caught my interest in G4 all those years ago. When the season premier Netflix synopsis pitch appears to have cynically dynamited all of what everyone worked so hard for and sacrificed for in G4, it does not bode well...

Oh I think the premise is quite promising. Goodness knows the whole "hatred and division" thing is quite apropos. Still, it is waaay too early to make any judgements.

I just hope they don't go all cynical and sarcastic with G5. Give me a good-natured, honest, optimistic approach (not to be confused with "bumblingly saccharine naïveté"), please!

The difference between "The world is a mess, and look what a silly, naïve fool you are to think they made any difference" and "The world is a mess, and let's build upon what came before and endeavour to be better."