When Disney purchased Lucasfilm and re-launched the Star Wars film series, it wasn't just to make another trilogy. The Mouse House also started making standalone movies unconnected to the main saga, with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story arriving at the end of 2016 and Solo: A Star Wars Story coming out last month. While both movies were met with decent critical reception, Solo performed poorly commercially, and has only made $342 million worldwide so far. Now there's word that Disney and Lucasfilm might be pressing pause on more of these self-contained stories set in a galaxy far, far away.
According to Collider, in the wake of Solo: A Star Wars Story underperforming at the box office, Lucasfilm has supposedly decided to focus on Episode IX and the next trilogy that will follow, and subsequently have put the Star Wars spinoffs on hold. The article specifically states that the individuals attached to the Obi-Wan Kenobi movie, which has never been officially confirmed by Lucasfilm, are no longer involved. It was also recently announced that Logan director James Mangold had been tapped to helm the Boba Fett movie, but there's no word on that project's status.
While Lucasfilm had dedicated a 2020 release date intended for the third standalone Star Wars spinoff, the company has stayed tight-lipped about what the movie is. If the above information is accurate, then it sounds like we shouldn't expect that particular project to arrive as scheduled. That said, it also doesn't sound like Lucasfilm has put the kibosh on these Star Wars spinoffs permanently. Instead, it's decided to prioritize Episode IX (which is understandable) and the "main" films that will come after, whether it's the trilogy being overseen by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson or the film series that has Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss at the helm.
It's worth noting that the Star Wars spinoffs that have been released so far went through their fair share of behind-the-scenes issues. While Rogue One: A Star Wars Story did end up making over $1 billion worldwide, it went through major reshoots that were overseen by The Bourne Legacy's Tony Gilroy and changed much of the third act. Then there was Solo: A Star Wars Story, which originally had Phil Lord and Chris Miller directing, but after they exited approximately 75% of the way through production, Ron Howard was brought in their replacement, and filming was subsequently extended. Looking at that movie's underwhelming box office numbers, it would certainly make sense if Lucasfilm doesn't want to rush into any more of these spinoffs just yet. Let's also not forget that the Boba Fett movie once had Fantastic Four's Josh Trank attached to direct, but he was subsequently removed from it.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the latest news concerning the Star Wars movies, whether they're spinoffs or part of the main saga. For now, you can look forward to Episode IX coming out on December 20, 2019.
