Drop everything you’re doing and get ready for this massive Star Wars news that’s about to make some Star Wars fans incredibly happy and others, start a hunger strike in front of the Lucasfilm office. According to an exclusive piece written by Steve ‘Frosty’ Weintraub on Collider.com, Lucasfilm has reportedly decided to shelve plans for more Star Wars anthology movies.
“Sources with knowledge of the situation tell Collider that Lucasfilm has decided to put plans for more A Star Wars Story spinoff movies on hold, instead opting to focus their attention on Star Wars: Episode IX and what the next trilogy of Star Wars films will be after that film.
Sources tell us that the previously rumoured Obi-Wan movie was in active development, but those who were working on the film are no longer involved. It was recently reported that Logan filmmaker James Mangold was in early talks to write and direct the Boba Fett film, but that was before Solo’s release.”
If we are to believe the reports by Collider (I do), then it’s safe to assume that one of the biggest reasons Disney/Lucasfilm has decided to shelve future anthology movies is because of Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s box office performance.
Note: Everything from this point on is written based on the assumption that Disney has decided to shelve these spin-off movies BECAUSE of Solo‘s box office numbers.
As of right now, the second anthology movie has only grossed US$ 196 million in the US and US$ 147 million outside of the US, putting its global total at US$ 343 million. Regardless of what you think of this Ron Howard film — you may call it the best Star Wars movie since the original trilogy and that’s fine — there’s no denying its abysmal box office numbers.
To put things into perspective, the first spin-off movie, Rogue One, grossed more than US$ 1 billion at the end of its run. Solo is also the lowest grossing Star Wars movie of all time and that’s WITHOUT adjusting the original and prequel trilogy to inflation.
Things look even worse when you take Solo’s bloated production budget into account. Solo‘s budget (after massive reshoots) is estimated to be around the US$ 250 – 300 million range, making it the most expensive Star Wars movie ever made, even more so than The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Which is completely bonkers!
But despite all that and despite my personal feelings towards Solo, I still am against Disney’s decision to shelve future spin-off movies. Sure, Solo performed terribly at the box office, but that’s just one bump in a road that has been smoother than a baby’s bottom thus far.
The first of the Star Wars stories, Rogue One, is a great film that not only provided a different perspective on the Star Wars universe, it also enhanced A New Hope in ways many of us didn’t think possible. It received favourable reviews and crushed at the box office. Sure, it didn’t make as much as The Force Awakens, but no one expected it to. The fact that it grossed over US$ 1 billion dollars with entirely new characters (besides brief appearances from Vader, Tarkin and Leia) proves that people will rush out to see a Star Wars film despite its lack of Skywalker family drama and lightsabers.
So why did Solo turn out to be unreliable at the box office?
Because of Disney’s own misjudgement and overconfidence!
For some odd reason, Disney truly believed that Solo stood a fighting chance against their very own juggernaut, Infinity War. The previous three Star Wars movies rocked the 12th month of the calendar — Star Wars wasn’t during Christmas, Christmas was during Star Wars. And then for some odd reason, Disney decided to release Solo in May where it went up against Deadpool, Infinity War and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Disney had to know that it isn’t the late 70s and early 80s anymore. Don’t they have a damn calendar? Star Wars is huge, but it’s 2018 and the galaxy far far away isn’t the only big boy in the playground. In fact, it can be argued that Star Wars doesn’t even sit on the Iron Throne anymore. The Force Awakens may be the third highest grossing movie of all time worldwide, beating every comic book movie out there, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe has three movies nestled in the Top 10, compared to Star Wars’ one.
Solo may not have grossed a billion dollars even if it had been released in December (because let’s face it, nobody asked for a Han Solo movie starring not-Harrison Ford) but it sure as hell would’ve made at least double the amount it’s currently raking in.
Release date aside, Solo also had a terrible marketing campaign. The marketing campaign for The Force Awakens kicked off a year in advance. The Last Jedi and Rogue One had marketing campaigns that spanned months. Solo on the other hand only had its first full-length trailer drop a month or so before the film’s release, which is ridiculous. There was literally no hype heading into this movie. It didn’t feel like a Star Wars event, but rather any random ass summer movie — a damn shame if you ask me.
Which is exactly why Disney shouldn’t be hitting the panic button just yet. Sure, The Mouse probably lost a lot of money because of Solo, but that for the most part, that has got nothing to do with the (mediocre) quality of the movie. Disney should make another spin-off movie, release it in December, market it well and then evaluate the value of these Star Wars stories.
