Has Solo changed the future for Star Wars?
June 2018
Alastair Clark
Whilst we await official confirmation, we can now be pretty certain that all Star Wars spin-off movies have been put on hold after disappointing box-office results for Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Globally, Solo’s total is now $343.3m, well off the pace to match Rogue One’s final $1.06bn. Industry analysts have predicted Solo will lose at least $50m making it the first time that a Star Wars film has failed financially.
Collider first reported the news yesterday night, claiming that sources with knowledge of the situation have told it that all spin-off movies are currently on hold and that focus has instead shifted to Star Wars: Episode IX and the trilogy of new saga films that will follow it.
So let’s get straight to the point, have the “haters won”? On the surface, it would appear yes, the #BoycottSolo tweeters and their friends have had their way and for the moment production has been stopped on the spin offs. We will instead have cartoon and live action television episodes to fill the void before the theatrical releases.
Disney are not accustomed to being unsuccessful and they certainly do not want their brand tarnished at a time when Star Wars theme parks are being built and the Marvel cinematic universe continues to be their cash cow. In our last podcast I warned that Disney could pull the plug on films and would not tolerate another box-office bomb, I just didn’t think it would happen this quickly.
We have previously examined at length why Solo has not found its audience so I will not re-tread old ground. What is clear from this decision is that Lucasfilm and Disney have concluded that fans do not have a huge appetite to see a character's origin and whilst backstories can be filled, it does not necessarily mean they should be in film form.
In the short term, this is a troubling decision and I will be upset if we never find out what would have happened in a Solo trilogy. However, the truth is that films are not the only way of distributing content and I am sure we haven’t seen the end of Han Solo.
I am also encouraged by the decision to focus on saga movies completely. With the vast creative resources at the disposal of Kathleen Kennedy and her team, they now have the opportunity to regroup and return to the successful formula of arc storytelling, I am now more confident that a future facing Star Wars will be delivered.
My big hope is that this is the jolt that Star Wars fandom needed and that we can all now join together once again with the prospect of exploring new areas of the Star Wars universe. The Galaxy's Edge theme park may be the first part of this, but as Star Wars grows I hope the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the theology and fun of Star Wars can resurface and all of us as fans can all agree on one thing, some Star Wars is better than no Star Wars at all.
What do you think? Is this a good decision? What will this mean?
As always we would love to hear from you, reach out on social media and tell us your thoughts, and remember #MTFBWY
Alastair Clark
Whilst we await official confirmation, we can now be pretty certain that all Star Wars spin-off movies have been put on hold after disappointing box-office results for Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Globally, Solo’s total is now $343.3m, well off the pace to match Rogue One’s final $1.06bn. Industry analysts have predicted Solo will lose at least $50m making it the first time that a Star Wars film has failed financially.
Collider first reported the news yesterday night, claiming that sources with knowledge of the situation have told it that all spin-off movies are currently on hold and that focus has instead shifted to Star Wars: Episode IX and the trilogy of new saga films that will follow it.
So let’s get straight to the point, have the “haters won”? On the surface, it would appear yes, the #BoycottSolo tweeters and their friends have had their way and for the moment production has been stopped on the spin offs. We will instead have cartoon and live action television episodes to fill the void before the theatrical releases.
Disney are not accustomed to being unsuccessful and they certainly do not want their brand tarnished at a time when Star Wars theme parks are being built and the Marvel cinematic universe continues to be their cash cow. In our last podcast I warned that Disney could pull the plug on films and would not tolerate another box-office bomb, I just didn’t think it would happen this quickly.
We have previously examined at length why Solo has not found its audience so I will not re-tread old ground. What is clear from this decision is that Lucasfilm and Disney have concluded that fans do not have a huge appetite to see a character's origin and whilst backstories can be filled, it does not necessarily mean they should be in film form.
In the short term, this is a troubling decision and I will be upset if we never find out what would have happened in a Solo trilogy. However, the truth is that films are not the only way of distributing content and I am sure we haven’t seen the end of Han Solo.
I am also encouraged by the decision to focus on saga movies completely. With the vast creative resources at the disposal of Kathleen Kennedy and her team, they now have the opportunity to regroup and return to the successful formula of arc storytelling, I am now more confident that a future facing Star Wars will be delivered.
My big hope is that this is the jolt that Star Wars fandom needed and that we can all now join together once again with the prospect of exploring new areas of the Star Wars universe. The Galaxy's Edge theme park may be the first part of this, but as Star Wars grows I hope the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the theology and fun of Star Wars can resurface and all of us as fans can all agree on one thing, some Star Wars is better than no Star Wars at all.
What do you think? Is this a good decision? What will this mean?
As always we would love to hear from you, reach out on social media and tell us your thoughts, and remember #MTFBWY