I notice a gradual blurring of the line between fiction and reality.

Characters are no longer just a set of traits that can be adapted and updated to keep with the times. They're treated like real people, but in a fixed state with a right or wrong canon.

One of the earliest examples I can think of is Optimus Prime. A lot of lonely kids saw him as a father figure in the 80s and now it's hard to tell stories with him that break away from that image.

The recent Transformers canon describes the robots as genderless, using terms and knowledge that wasn't widely shared forty years ago. It's jarring to particularly reactionary fans who don't want to think of their projected father figure as anything but male.

I bring this up because the idea of canon can be really dangerous in the hands of a soulless corporation. This soulless corporation is selling canon to the highest bidder. Companies do it regularly, but with extra steps involved.

IP laws and the commodification of canon sets a bad precedent for art.