Lucasfilm to put future plans for spin-off Star Wars films on hold.
The latest news out of Lucasfilm suggests that future plans for spin off films in the Star Wars saga have been put on hold. The assumed reason for this is pretty obvious – the failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story to ignite the box office.
There have been two Star Wars spin-off films so far. The first, Rogue One, was a massive hit. It opened to a very impressive $155 million in its first weekend and went on to gross over $530 million at the US box Office and a total of $1,056,057,273 worldwide.
This was back when the coalition of Disney and Lucasfilm was young and fresh. Solo, however, was beset with problems seemingly from the start. First came the news that its two original directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, were fired for creative differences with the Lucasfilm brass and replaced by Ron Howard. But then the fan furore that followed in the wake of The Last Jedi and the fact that Solo was released only 5 months later, seems to have contributed to its difficulties. Solo has yet to break the $200 million mark in the US. You can read more about the trials and tribulations of Solo here.
This news seems to put an end to the James Mangold directed Boba Fett film which was only announced just before Solo’s debut. Whether Lucasfilm will continue to make Star Wars spin-offs in the future will depend on the continued success of the franchise.
Lucasfilm will now concentrate on Episode IX which is to be directed by The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams. More crucially, they are also going to dedicate more time to developing the next trilogy of films, something that will determine the future of the franchise.
When Disney announced that they were buying Lucasfilm a few years ago, who could have foreseen the trouble that they now find themselves in? It is indeed a dark time for the Rebellion.
Side projects featuring main characters in prequels will never be successful. What is the attraction in spending money to see a film when you know the main characters are in no danger? Give us a movie like Rogue One, where there is real danger and risk and people will see it. This applies to all projects, including TV. I never bothered with the Psycho or Hannibal shows as I was already aware the main characters would never be in danger. No real drama.