All Future ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Films On Hold, Lucasfilm Decides Fate After ‘Solo’ Disappoints
After underwhelming box office numbers for Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story, it has been reported that the company has halted development on future films in the franchise. Collider reported on Wednesday, June 20 that Lucasfilm has stopped development on rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett movies, as well as contracted sequels to Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Only two movies thus far have been released under the Star Wars Story label: Rogue One and Solo. Each film was intended as a one-off narrative dealing with both the characters and events set apart from the ongoing storyline developed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
Collider reported that the next two entries in the series were rumored to be an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie directed by Stephen Daldry and a Boba Fett movie written and directed by James Mangold. The decision to put both films on hold will likely disappoint long-time fans of the franchise. The decision was made after disappointing box office receipts for Solo, which has made $343 million worldwide thus far, according to Newsweek.
The site reported the total thus far for Solo is about one-sixth of the total gross for Star Wars: The Force Awakens with a gross of over $2 billion.
Collider reported that the May box office release date for Solo could have put the proverbial nail in the coffin for the film. The site stated, “As opposed to Rogue One or the episodic films by J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, Solo went head-to-head with a slew of summer blockbusters in May, opening mere weeks after box office juggernauts Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2. One wonders how the film would have fared had Lucasfilm pushed Solo‘s release to December instead.”
Instead of moving forward with new spinoff installments of the franchise, Collider reported that Lucasfilm will instead opt to focus their attention towards Star Wars: Episode IX and future Star Wars trilogy films.
EXCLUSIVE: The Star Wars "Story" Spinoffs have been put on hold at Lucasfilm! #StarWars
Details: https://t.co/XztBDgsHzH pic.twitter.com/x7aZcmJb73
— Collider Extras (@ColliderVideo) June 20, 2018
In addition to Episode IX, Lucasfilm announced the development on a new Star Wars trilogy focused on new characters from The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson. The company has also greenlit a new series of films written by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Collider reported that the aforementioned projects are not part of the halted production schedule at Lucasfilm.
