Is Disney's Star Wars Pause a Good Thing?
by EG
Disney's Solo: A Star Wars Story was a major disappointment at the box office, and its performance caused the studio to rethink its plan for flooding the market with Star Wars movies. That might be very good news for the franchise. Read on to see if you agree.
It’s beginning to look like visits to a galaxy far, far away might become a little less frequent in the future, with Disney CEO Bob Iger talking about “some slowdown” in the frequency of upcoming Star Wars movies. But is that the right way to fix the perception of fading interest in the franchise?
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter for the annual THR 100 list, Iger addressed the notion that perhaps Disney should not keep releasing a Star Wars movie every year.
“I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to make films, he said, adding, “I think we’re going to be a little bit more careful about volume and timing.”
It’s undeniable that Solo: A Star Wars Story massively underperformed, fueling a narrative that Star Wars as a whole is in trouble as opposed to simply experiencing the inevitable first dud. According to that version of events, the franchise has been listing ever since 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which “only” made $620 million dollars in theaters domestically, easily becoming the top movie of the year. That, however, is far less than the $936 million of 2014’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and therefore a sign that The Last Jedi — and, goes the argument, Disney’s handling of Star Wars in general — is actually in trouble.
The fact that The Force Awakens was a much-hyped event that not only resurrected one of the most beloved movie franchises of all time, but also brought back the original cast to the franchise for the first time in 30 years — and, as a result, a trick that couldn’t really be repeated two years later — is dismissed in the “Star Wars is in trouble” telling.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
Do you think Disney needs to pause its Star Wars releases? Let us know in the comments below.