This is a great analogy because, as others have pointed out, even IF you let a toddler decide what they get to eat for dinner, there is a nonzero chance they'll still pitch a fit when you put it down in front of them.
Toddler Muriel from Courage the Cowardly dog , but 5 or more sweaty dudes who have palpitations when a lady shows up. "Mooore maccarooooni"
I wonder ... who precisely is "they" in "they will tell us"? My experience with fandom frequently amounts to a wide spectrum of opinions. Uhm ... but there's probably an algorithm for that. And the feeble excuse, "But we talked to the fans. Please." (Excuse towards big money, probably - not fans.)
I felt like Frozen Empire was like 92% fan bait and 8% half-hearted attempt at movie-making, for example
I feel like this is what happened with the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
The dino nuggets are *touching*!
This is too bad, really. Some of the new stuff from these franchises have been great! I love Rings of Power.
I really hate fan-service movies, books, etc. I want a good story, with a plot that makes sense, characters who don't insult my intelligence, and no - or minimal - deus et machina plot contrivances. It's almost impossible to do "fan service" w/o violating at least one of those factors.
Giving the people who outrage farm for clicks the keys to the city, what could go wrong?
I've learned the hard way that the worst thing you can make kids is exactly what they asked for. The one thing most commonly said before getting McDonald's is "oh for fuck's sake"
Toddler? Hell, my *ten year old* will do this.