Amid Backlash Over Jimmy Kimmel, Disney’s Star Wars Trailer Feels Like a Jedi Mind Trick

Credit: Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.

On the morning of Monday, September 22, 2025, Disney and Lucasfilm released the first trailer for the long-awaited film Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. The feature, due in 2026, picks up the story threads left by the Disney+ series in 2023 — a gap that, in today’s rapid news cycle, already feels like ages ago.

Rather than landing as an unalloyed pop-culture moment, the trailer’s debut felt more like a corporate sleight of hand — the cinematic equivalent of Obi-Wan’s Force persuasion. The timing follows Disney’s controversial decision on September 17 to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the schedule after host Jimmy Kimmel referenced “the MAGA gang” in relation to the suspected shooter of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Critics argue the move looked like corporate surrender to pressure from FCC chair Brendan Carr and the Trump administration, prompting immediate calls for reversals and boycotts amid an extended corporate silence.

Trade reporting has suggested Disney delayed the trailer in the aftermath of Kimmel’s suspension, and the unannounced Monday-morning drop only added to suspicions. The timing and quiet rollout have struck many observers as unusually calculated. Polygon has reached out to Disney for clarification about the trailer’s release timeline and will update this piece if we hear back.

John Oliver underscored those concerns on his September 21 episode of Last Week Tonight, joining others in late-night television who criticized Disney for what they framed as an appeasement of political forces. Over a 27-minute segment Oliver dissected the episode as a troubling instance of self-censorship, referenced Disney’s broader dealings — including a reported late-2024 settlement — and mixed biting satire (and an eyebrow-raising aside about a certain cartoon duck’s anatomy) with a clear call to action: if viewers object to a corporation silencing critics, they should respond through concrete actions like canceling subscriptions.

“As for Disney, I’d argue they need to stand by Kimmel and his staff,” Oliver said. “There are ways you can encourage them to do that: you could cancel Disney+ or Hulu and, if prompted, explain your reason — things like ‘cowardice in the face of pressure’ or ‘refusing to protect freedom of speech.’”

The controversy quickly attracted public support for Kimmel from high-profile figures. Mark Ruffalo warned on Threads that Disney’s stock could fall further if the suspension became permanent, suggesting the company did not want to “be the ones that broke America.” Tatiana Maslany urged fans to cancel subscriptions in protest, and Olivia Rodrigo described the suspension as “blatant censorship and abuse of power.” Pedro Pascal posted in solidarity on Instagram, while other talent and creators criticized Disney’s handling more forcefully.

Writers with ties to Disney also chimed in. Damon Lindelof published a lengthy defense of Kimmel and said he could not, in good conscience, continue working for a company that enacted the suspension. In a Deadline op-ed, Andor writer Dan Gilroy connected Disney’s actions to the authoritarian themes explored in recent Star Wars storytelling, warning that corporate compliance risks normalizing intimidation. The backlash spilled into public protest, and searches for “cancel Disney Plus” and “cancel Hulu” spiked.

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Whether the speeches, op-eds and subscription cancellations will produce tangible consequences remains to be seen. Negotiations over Jimmy Kimmel’s future were ongoing as of Monday, and the debate around Disney’s deference to political pressure continued unabated despite the Mandalorian trailer’s arrival. Even the Star Wars subreddit — typically a hub of unrestrained excitement — contained fans who said they felt temporarily alienated by the company’s choices.

“Shame, would’ve loved to have seen this. Right your wrongs Disney and maybe I’ll consider supporting your projects again,” one fan wrote. Another commented, “I’m not giving Disney another dime until they decide to get back on the right side of history.” Many forum responses were more profane.

Details about The Mandalorian and Grogu’s plot remain sparse, though the series’ cinematic extension is unlikely to match the overt political tenor of shows like Andor. Still, Star Wars has always carried political undercurrents, and that makes the trailer’s release amid a censorship controversy feel awkwardly tone-deaf to some observers. If the drop was meant to diffuse criticism, it has so far failed to quell discussion; if it was unrelated, its proximity to the controversy is an uncomfortable coincidence. Fans seem less interested in hypothetical monsters than in clarity about Kimmel’s status — and whether collective action can affect Disney’s bottom line.

Oliver’s closing note captured the prevailing mood across many online Star Wars communities: “History is going to remember the cowards who definitely knew better, but still let things happen,” he said. “If we’ve learned anything from this administration’s second term so far, it’s that giving the bully your lunch money doesn’t make him go away.”

Source: Polygon