Disney confirms Star Wars slowdown

[Michael Knight 13,198]

When asked about Disney releasing a new Star Wars film every year (Solocame out only five months after The Last Jedi), Iger replied, “I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna make films.” He continued, “J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode IX]. We have creative entities, including [Game of Thronescreators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about. And we are just at the point where we’re gonna start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.’s.”

Iger added that Disney and Lucasfilm are going to be “a little bit more careful about volume and timing,” but don’t expect the Star Wars factory to go out of business any time soon. (The factory is overseen by the torture droid from Return of the Jedi. He’s tough, but fair.) There’s still the “multiple” TV series coming to Disney’s streaming service, as well as the endless stream of officially licensed books, comics, video games, and the boozy Star Wars Land.

 

 

https://uproxx.com/hitfix/star-wars-slowdown/

[Gene Parmesan 4,062]

How does Marvel get away with it and not Star Wars?  Is it just because fans nerd out too much over Star Wars, and they recognize Marvel as just typical summer blockbuster stuff?

[bernorange 8,385]

9 minutes ago, Gene Parmesan said:

How does Marvel get away with it and not Star Wars? ...

I think Star Wars' good will died with Jar Jar Binks.  Marvel has yet to make so egregious a mistake.

[irishtexan 11,692]

The movies haven't performed well most recently because The Last Jedi was such a steaming pile of shit that Solo didn't get the benefit of the doubt. 

[kevwun 16,360]

32 minutes ago, Gene Parmesan said:

How does Marvel get away with it and not Star Wars?  Is it just because fans nerd out too much over Star Wars, and they recognize Marvel as just typical summer blockbuster stuff?

Marvel came up with a plan that spanned years and many movies.  Everyone was has been on the same page from the beginning.  Disney didn't even both to plan out their new Star Wars trilogy.  They thought it would be a good idea to let the directors take the story wherever they wanted with little to no oversight.  Unsurprisingly, shit went south real fast.

Edited September 20, 2018 by kevwun

[crash_davis 23,465]

comparing marvel to star wars is an insult to marvel.  

marvel is headed by great writers and great directors.  not all movies are hit but the majority are very enjoyable to watch.  also marvel has a grand plan of how each character and movies should fit the greater narrative.

star wars is run by a bunch of disparate idiots who forced their shit on the directors and writers.   this goes back to lucas.  hire great people and get the fuck out of the way.  they can't help to step on their own dicks, or in stars wars case, inserting her foot in her own pussy.  same shit can be said about DC universe.

this makes what marvel has accomplished even more amazing.  disney and dc need to get their shit together.

[UTDD 362]

Marvel clearly planned ahead with multiple films and years of connected stories and made everything tie together even with very distinct films and different heroes, etc.  Star Wars clearly did not have a good plan for their new trilogy and having one director set up a bunch of story-lines and then the next one completely deviating in a disconnected way with his own take and the director replacements, etc.  They should have had a complete trilogy planned with all three laid out right from the start and planned accordingly.   

[RomaVicta 30,512]

First, I know it's a matter of taste. I'm not denigrating people who like different types of movies than I do.

I find it depressing as a film fan that smart people are debating the merits of Marvel, DC, and Disney because those studios with their franchises are flooding the lion's share of screens everywhere. It's all largely the same to me. There have been some good super hero movies such as Iron Man or Deadpool that I liked. I've never been much of a fan of Star Wars.

I do like a solid action movie or a military thriller. I like mainstream movies that were made on a smaller scale than saving the planet/galaxy from destruction. I miss that part of the spectrum. Think Thief, Ronin, The Road Warrior, or LA Confidential. Go way back and look at Warren Oats as Dillinger, Sean Connery in The Wind and the Lion or The Man Who Would Be King.

These were good movies with audience appeal. Fortunately TV has taken up some of the slack. Maybe my lament is based on my age. I miss going to the theater as often as I used to.

[Red Five 41,618]

There hasn’t been a great Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi in 1983.

[Michael Knight 13,198]

7 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

First, I know it's a matter of taste. I'm not denigrating people who like different types of movies than I do.

I find it depressing as a film fan that smart people are debating the merits of Marvel, DC, and Disney because those studios with their franchises are flooding the lion's share of screens everywhere. It's all largely the same to me. There have been some good super hero movies such as Iron Man or Deadpool that I liked. I've never been much of a fan of Star Wars.

I do like a solid action movie or a military thriller. I like mainstream movies that were made on a smaller scale than saving the planet/galaxy from destruction. I miss that part of the spectrum. Think Thief, Ronin, The Road Warrior, or LA Confidential. Go way back and look at Warren Oats as Dillinger, Sean Connery in The Wind and the Lion or The Man Who Would Be King.

These were good movies with audience appeal. Fortunately TV has taken up some of the slack. Maybe my lament is based on my age. I miss going to the theater as often as I used to.

Good movies are still being made every year, you're a fool to believe otherwise. 

[RomaVicta 30,512]

Just now, Michael Knight said:

Good movies are still being made every year, you're a fool to believe otherwise. 

No doubt. That's not my claim. I meant to focus on entertaining mainstream films coming out of Hollywood. Foolish I may be.

[NOMAAA 1,699]

i liked solo a lot.

[Michael Knight 13,198]

8 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

No doubt. That's not my claim. I meant to focus on entertaining mainstream films coming out of Hollywood. Foolish I may be.

I'd argue that the "entertaining mainstream" films coming out of Hollywood are smarter than previous generations mainstream movies

[destroya 396]

1 hour ago, kevwun said:

Marvel came up with a plan that spanned years and many movies.  Everyone was has been on the same page from the beginning.  Disney didn't even both to plan out their new Star Wars trilogy.  They thought it would be a good idea to let the directors take the story wherever they wanted with little to no oversight.  Unsurprisingly, shit went south real fast.

 

1 hour ago, UTDD said:

Marvel clearly planned ahead with multiple films and years of connected stories and made everything tie together even with very distinct films and different heroes, etc.  Star Wars clearly did not have a good plan for their new trilogy and having one director set up a bunch of story-lines and then the next one completely deviating in a disconnected way with his own take and the director replacements, etc.  They should have had a complete trilogy planned with all three laid out right from the start and planned accordingly.   

I can't believe they didn't do this.  What a colossal fuck up.

[WBT 20,892]

1 hour ago, RomaVicta said:

First, I know it's a matter of taste. I'm not denigrating people who like different types of movies than I do.

I find it depressing as a film fan that smart people are debating the merits of Marvel, DC, and Disney because those studios with their franchises are flooding the lion's share of screens everywhere. It's all largely the same to me. There have been some good super hero movies such as Iron Man or Deadpool that I liked. I've never been much of a fan of Star Wars.

I do like a solid action movie or a military thriller. I like mainstream movies that were made on a smaller scale than saving the planet/galaxy from destruction. I miss that part of the spectrum. Think Thief, Ronin, The Road Warrior, or LA Confidential. Go way back and look at Warren Oats as Dillinger, Sean Connery in The Wind and the Lion or The Man Who Would Be King.

These were good movies with audience appeal. Fortunately TV has taken up some of the slack. Maybe my lament is based on my age. I miss going to the theater as often as I used to.

I agree with you.  Comic book movies are such money makers that not as many traditional action movies are being made.

And I guess I'm part of the problem as I go see a lot of comic book movies but they're way beyond the point of diminishing returns for me.  There are only so many ways you can make cartoonish CGI fights entertaining.

Edited September 20, 2018 by WBT

[Flaming Moderate 112]

I thought Solo was good. I refuse to watch TLJ.

[MoJames 8,258]

I don't refuse to watch movies.

[DanRydell 799]

5 hours ago, Gene Parmesan said:

How does Marvel get away with it and not Star Wars?  Is it just because fans nerd out too much over Star Wars, and they recognize Marvel as just typical summer blockbuster stuff?

Solo is the only flop so far (if we're calling $400m worldwide gross a flop) but Marvel has had similar "failures" with First Avenger and Incredible Hulk. 

The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and the Last Jedi all grossed over $1b worldwide so I'm not sure it's fair to say there is a problem or if Solo just didn't resonate for whatever reason. 

[kevwun 16,360]

It suffered because it was the first movie to follow The Last Jedi.  It would have done much better if it had come out before of it.  TLJ damaged the brand so badly that they're scrambling to try to save the franchise.

Edited September 20, 2018 by kevwun

[mdmost 43,857]

Solo got some backlash from people who didn't like TLJ but it was beyond stupid to move it off the normal December release schedule where it could stand alone to a crowded schedule with Infinity War and Deadpool 2. It could've had a longer gestation period and been a Christmas event like the last 3 movies. In general, sure, it's an unnecessary film but I enjoyed the hell out of it. It should've gotten more play than it did.

[Spankytoes 1,748]

5 hours ago, kevwun said:

Marvel came up with a plan that spanned years and many movies.  Everyone was has been on the same page from the beginning.  Disney didn't even both to plan out their new Star Wars trilogy.  They thought it would be a good idea to let the directors take the story wherever they wanted with little to no oversight.  Unsurprisingly, shit went south real fast.

Disney makes $1B every time a SW film is released. They will continue to do so regardless of how good or bad the films are. They could not care less about the quality of the film to the casual fan. 

[Snake Diggity 4,706]

34 minutes ago, Spankytoes said:

Disney makes $1B every time a SW film is released. They will continue to do so regardless of how good or bad the films are. They could not care less about the quality of the film to the casual fan. 

I don’t think they are guaranteed $1B/movie.  I think if they do it right they can average $500M/yr on feature films for the next 10+ years.  Releasing more than 1 movie every 2 years is flooding the market and releasing more than 1 movie in a 12 month span is actively destroying their brand.  Star Wars can be a $5B/yr business but not if they milk the teat so hard it falls off.

[Brandywine 1,326]

I didn’t buy the back story on Solo. I didn’t feel the story or character in that movie grew up to be the same character Harrison Ford played. To me that was the problem. Solo was way too dark and not fun. Harrison Ford’s character was fun, more colorful, simi in control - similar to Indiana Jones.

[The People’s Elbow 707]

1 hour ago, Spankytoes said:

Disney makes $1B every time a SW film is released. They will continue to do so regardless of how good or bad the films are. They could not care less about the quality of the film to the casual fan. 

I don’t believe that’s entirely true, especially when considering a longitudinal view of brand value. Moreover, I don’t think the mouse sees story quality and the business as zero sum concepts. They can and have created quality asses AND made their nut. 

[David Dennison 19,442]

I finally saw Solo.

I thought it was excellent.

[ChickenSandwich 9,925]

7 hours ago, NOMAAA said:

i liked solo a lot.

Enjoyed the shit out of it. FUN was the first thought. 

[High Plains Drifter 11,163]

I finally tried to watch TLJ on cable a few weeks ago. I had to turn it off. I rarely don't finish a movie I start, but that shit was so bad it was insulting. Prometheus-level bad.

Edited September 21, 2018 by High Plains Drifter

[RPM 26,575]

8 hours ago, MoJames said:

I don't refuse to watch movies.

I do. I might accidentally wind up seeing it as part of a group, but there are movies I'd watch 24 hours of infomercials before voluntarily watching. There's a variety of reasons why.

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,280]

I really enjoyed Solo. I think a lot of the panning of it by critics and fanboys alike was due to backlash from The Last Jedi.

[NOMAAA 1,699]

20 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I really enjoyed Solo. I think a lot of the panning of it by critics and fanboys alike was due to backlash from The Last Jedi.

100%.  which was dumb. 

[irishtexan 11,692]

15 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

I don’t think they are guaranteed $1B/movie.  I think if they do it right they can average $500M/yr on feature films for the next 10+ years.  Releasing more than 1 movie every 2 years is flooding the market and releasing more than 1 movie in a 12 month span is actively destroying their brand.  Star Wars can be a $5B/yr business but not if they milk the teat so hard it falls off.

I think they should have planned for one film a year, to come out at Christmas. One year would have been an official "Star Wars" movie, and then on off years, another background or spinoff film. 

Still haven't seen Solo. I just don't get to movies that much with two small kids. I usually wait until i can on-demand it. I've heard good things about it. TLJ just gets worse and worse each time I try to rewatch it, which I only do because my kids love Star Wars and after watching TFA a couple of dozen times, sometimes I just want new dialogue in the background. But christ almighty that movie is as bad as the prequels. 

[oSuJeff97 3,438]

20 hours ago, Red Five said:

There hasn’t been a great Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi in 1983.

Probably.

But I find both The Force Awakens and Rogue One highly enjoyable. 

[oSuJeff97 3,438]

2 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

Still haven't seen Solo. I just don't get to movies that much with two small kids. I usually wait until i can on-demand it. I've heard good things about it. 

 

Solo isn't great by any stretch, but I found it to be an enjoyable watch. If you're a Star Wars fan you'll probably find some stuff to enjoy in it.  

[irishtexan 11,692]

2 minutes ago, oSuJeff97 said:

Probably.

But I find both The Force Awakens and Rogue One highly enjoyable. 

The Force Awakens and Rogue One are both better than Return of the Jedi.

[ChickenSandwich 9,925]

34 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I really enjoyed Solo. I think a lot of the panning of it by critics and fanboys alike was due to backlash from The Last Jedi.

anecdotal, but most people I know who actually saw it liked it.  The problem was only 1/4 of the people who normally would have gone no matter, saw it.  The rest were in wait until video mode.  They had no excitement to go to a theater after TLJ. 

They killed off the SJW robot quickly, of course the critics panned it.

[NOMAAA 1,699]

solo was better than rogue one. 

[ChickenSandwich 9,925]

47 minutes ago, NOMAAA said:

solo was better than rogue one. 

think I'm here too

[Js1 87,030]

1 hour ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I really enjoyed Solo. I think a lot of the panning of it by critics and fanboys alike was due to backlash from The Last Jedi.

I enjoyed Solo.  I liked Rogue One better, but Solo + Rogue One > TLJ and TFA.

[longhrnfan 61]

They do better when they don't try to shove half the movies into pre-existing canon. It feels artificial at times. 

They should focus on the live action television/streaming show, with the only overlap being the type of alien life/droids. No jedi. No sith. No focus on the rebellion/resistance vs. empire/first order. New characters, new conflicts. All those things can be easter eggs. 

We don't need to know about mandalore. We dont need to know about the hutts rise to prominence. They can touch on those things, but we better get ALL new characters. 

[RomaVicta 30,512]

21 hours ago, Michael Knight said:

I'd argue that the "entertaining mainstream" films coming out of Hollywood are smarter than previous generations mainstream movies

I've been thinking about this, MK. I don't have an opinion about this and can't really generate one because the bodies of work are too broad. I'm also not sure what makes my examples comparatively smart. I'm just talking about a broader spectrum of mainstream movies.

I do believe that whatever the genre of movie or type of production (foreign, independent, Hollywood, Bollywood, etc.), most of them are poor. All of those sources produce oceans of idiocy every year and they always have.

People who prefer independent films to Hollywood films often have a romantic vision of indy filmmakers largely producing gems of human insight. Go to an indy film festival and watch ten movies. They're mostly awful. Same with Hollywood, foreign, etc.

It's hard to make a good movie. I just wish the studios of Hollywood would spread out their resources for attempts along a broader spectrum like they used to do. 

[RomaVicta 30,512]

15 minutes ago, longhrnfan said:

New characters, new conflicts. 

We don't need to know about mandalore. We dont need to know about the hutts rise to prominence. They can touch on those things, but we better get ALL new characters. 

They don't all need to be so prosaic and heroic, either. The Last Jedi framed every scene and phrase as though it was The Ten Commandments. Do a noir Star Wars or small scale Star Wars and they might get my interest if they cared about my interest. 

If you're going make a million of these movies, take some chances. Great post, longhrnfan.

 

[mulletpelini 5,220]

R1, Force Awakens, Solo, whatever that other piece of shit was, in that order.  Fuck Disney

[DanRydell 799]

Rogue One is the best of all the Star Wars movies. Fight me.

[Bateshorn 9,989]

I haven't seen Solo, but the main problem seems lie with almost all of the Star Wars movies since ROTJ have been complete trash. The series is struggling because there's 60+% chance the movie you're about to see is garbage.   And TLJ wasn't just garbage, it was prequel level unwatchable.

By and large, the Marvel series duds have just been "meh".  Even Dark World and Hulk.  Fuck, even Mickey Rouke gives Iron Man 2 it's moments. You can totally rewatch them on TBS and not hate yourself.  If you put a list together of the top earning truly terrible movies of all time, I bet at 4 are Star Wars movies.  There's a myriad of reasons why, but as pointed out, the failure to properly map out the story and direction of the 3 new main SW movies is a prime reason.

Edited September 21, 2018 by Bateshorn

[Rimbo 26,866]

I'm well on the record for loving everything since Disney took over, and this is very much the right move. It just seems like too much, too fast.

Part of the joy of Star Wars is the anticipation, the fact that the movies are rare.

[Don Johnson 4,822]

3 hours ago, NOMAAA said:

solo was better than rogue one. 

Avatar checks out.

[hayden_horn 11,402]

5 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I really enjoyed Solo. I think a lot of the panning of it by critics and fanboys alike was due to backlash from The Last Jedi.

absolutely, solo was a fun movie. it sufferd from the TLJ hangover, which sucks for that cast and that possible spinoff, because that movie worked very well.

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,280]

absolutely, solo was a fun movie. it sufferd from the TLJ hangover, which sucks for that cast and that possible spinoff, because that movie worked very well.

While I liked Rogue One, I actually preferred Solo.

[tokamak 6,686]

Saw Solo on a plane the other day. The actual plot is kinda crap but I still throughly enjoyed it. Very entertaining. I'd watch Ehrenreich and Glover do their thing again but that seems unlikely. Haven't seen TLJ or R1. TFA was fine.

As for Marvel, those movies are entertaining, they really have the formula down to a science. But I've seen like 4 of them so I have no reason to ever see any others. Judging by the box office, I'm the only person that feels that way.

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3,861]

Do A listers not want to do SW movies?  I wonder if they saw Natalie Portman and Ewan Mcgregor kind of have their careers sullied by it and stay away.  

 

Because I think there are casting problems in SW that aren’t in Marvel too.  I don’t think SW got it right with Fin, Rose, Poe.  Carrie Fisher lost her charm. Harrison Ford ways banged up on the one he did and it made him look over the hill.  Donmhall Gleeson’s character is poorly written but I’m sure he didn’t have to play the over the top impotent rage machine so much.  

 

Compare to Marvel: RD Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Rudd, Josh Brolin, ScarJo.  These are all A listers in both glow and actual ability.  

 

The only real actor I can think of in SW is Benecio del Toro in his stupid role. After that it is who? Adam Driver (no complaints about him but he isn’t exactly box office gold)? Max von Sydow I guess (dead immediately). Oscar Isaac?  You get down to a list of I Don’t Cares really quickly.