You’ll remember that when Disney first bought LucasFilm, we heard that we could be getting a new Star Wars movie once a year, every year until the sun exploded and decimated us all. That wasn’t very surprising either, audiences had experienced a Star Wars drought and were eager to be thrust back into the universe created by George Lucas. Plus, Disney promised that we would get spin-off movies exploring characters and worlds that fans had always been dying to see more of. Movie theaters were about to be dominated by lots and lots of Star Wars.
Or so we thought.
Skip ahead a few years and now we are on the verge of Rise of Skywalker’s release. And after that? Well, things are a bit cloudy. Of course Disney+ has a few Star Wars projects on the horizon but theatrically things seem pretty light. J.J. Abrams will conclude the Skywalker saga with Rise and Rian Johnson will be launching his own trilogy in a few years but that’s pretty much all we know of the future of the cinematic projects regarding Star Wars.
That’s all part of the plan, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger. Speaking with BBC Radio, Iger had this to say about Disney’s mentality moving forward:
“I have said publicly that I think we made and released too many Star Wars films over a short period of time. I have not said that they were disappointing in any way. I’ve not said that I’m disappointed in their performance. I just think that there’s something so special about a Star Wars film, and less is more.”
Iger seems to be referencing the fast and furious release of the first couple Star Wars films in the new trilogy, paired with Rogue One and Solo. The two main SW movies were obviously massive hits but Rogue One didn’t do as well at the box office (though it still performed strongly) and with critics while Solo was considered an embarrassing commercial disappointment that didn’t win over critics either. All in all, the movies that weren’t part of the main saga didn’t set the world on fire like Disney had hoped.
So it’s smart of Iger and his fellow Disney execs to slow things down and make all future Star Wars films feel more rare. There is still something very special about a new SW movie but it’s like a wonderful dessert: if you have it too often, it loses its appeal. If we really did end up getting a new Star Wars movie every single year then they wouldn’t feel so special and the box office returns would continue to dwindle until they were just another franchise. Star Wars should never be just another franchise.
Obviously Disney originally intended Star Wars to be similar to the Marvel movies in terms of quantity. They are still turning those things out like crazy. But after a few minor bumps in the road, Disney has changed their plans. Good. The last thing the world needs is to grow tired of Star Wars. Who wants to grow tired of dessert?