Bad news, "Star Wars" fans. After "Solo: A Star Wars Story" totally bombed at the box office, Disney has put all future "Star Wars" spinoff films on hold. The film grossed $192.8 million domestically, which is nothing to sneeze at. Comparatively speaking, however, "Rogue One" made twice that four weeks after it opened. Disney basically said that this is why we can’t have nice things and they’re taking
the ball and going home.
Disney previously had an Obi Wan Kenobi spinoff in
active development, with Stephen Daldry ("Billy Elliot" ) attached to direct, and James Mangold ("Logan") was in talks to write and direct a Boba Fett stand-alone.
Both projects have since been paused indefinitely.
But maybe this isn't Han Solo’s fault! Daldry left the
Obi Wan project before "Solo" was released. Josh Trank was removed
from the "Boba Fett" project. Colin Trevorrow was fired from still-untitled "Episode IX" after
the abysmal performance of his last film, "The Book of Henry." He was replaced
with J.J. Abrams, director of "The Force Awakens." Ron
Howard took over "Solo" after Chris Miller and Phil Lord were fired for clashing
with the Lucasfilm team. Basically, it's no secret that Lucasfilm has a bit of a director problem. They're not used to having new players in
their sandbox and are having some growing pains as they assemble a long-term
strategy.
In my opinion, the franchise could use a little consistency
and needs a repeat director they can depend on. J.J. Abrams should have directed "The Last Jedi" instead of Rian Johnson, who left fans rioting on Twitter and asking for a do-over. Fans are upset that some of the groundwork Abrams laid in "The Force Awakens" -- Rey’s unknown parentage and the entire
character arc of General Snoke -- were laid to rest by Johnson and now no one knows how Abrams is going to dig himself out of this hole. I
assume there’s a plan, but have to admit I’m getting kind of nervous.
So what’s next in the galaxy far, far away? Don’t worry, there’s
plenty to keep you busy.
"Episode IX"
This film isn't set to release until Dec. 20, 2019, which is
plenty of time to make fans hungry again. The film will focus on the same crew
as "Episodes VII" and "VIII": Rey, Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron, Rose and Finn. No word yet
on how the film will deal with the death of Carrie Fisher, since Princess Leia
was still very integral to the plot in "Episode VIII." Yoda is set to make an appearance as a Force Ghost.
Rian Johnson Trilogy
Johnson will return for a new three-part trilogy with
completely new characters and a completely new galaxy. Maybe this one won’t be
so long ago and as far, far away? No release date has been set.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Trilogy
The "Game of Thrones" creators are working on a new set of
films, also with new characters, not connected to the Rian Johnson films. No release date has been set here either.