Since Disney purchased the rights to George Lucas' Star Wars franchise, there's been a ton of new and exciting content brought to the masses. This includes both main installments and standalone films, which help to expand the galaxy far, far away. And while the House of Mouse has made a ton of money with the franchise and already recouped the $4.05 billion investment made to acquire Lucasfilm, there have been some missteps as of late.
The last two Star Wars released were Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi, which continued the main narrative of the Skywalker Saga and Solo: A Star Wars Story. The latter was the second standalone film of the franchise, explaining the backstory behind characters like Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca. But Solo was a box office disappointment, while The Last Jedi is arguably the most divisive film in the entire franchise.
But J.J Abrams is reportedly hoping to change this narrative, put the franchise back on a better course. Abrams is continuing to make massive deals, and a new report by Variety alleges that he's been tasked with putting the ultra-popular space opera back on track. There are no details as to how this might come about, but it should be fascinating to see how the galaxy far, far away continues to grow and change.
In the wake of Solo and The Last Jedi, it appears that Disney may be reevaluating its plans moving forward, in order to best service the fans and make oodles of money at the box office. Early rumors indicated that Star Wars may be abandoning their standalone movie plans, despite the massive success of Gareth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. With Solo ultimately being a box office bust and chock full of bad press, it's unclear if any more spinoffs are going to be produced.
If J.J. Abrams is helping to get the Star Wars back on track through some "course correction", it should be wild to see exactly how the franchise changes with Episode IX and beyond. Perhaps he'll bring things back to basics, and tell a story that is a bit more classic than the purposefully subversive one Rian Johnson brought with The Last Jedi. And with Solo a victim of behind the scenes dramatics, Abrams should also bring a more focused an relaxed set.
Should J.J. Abrams be trying to undo the "damage' done by Rian Johnson in The Last Jedi, it may be in vain. Johnson has been hired to develop his own trilogy of Star Wars films, which will go into affect after Episode IX hits theaters.
The Star Wars franchise will continue with Episode IX arrives on December 20th, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
