Lucasfilm Reportedly Puts All ‘Star Wars Story’ Spinoffs on Hold
Seems that Lucasfilm is reassessing its priorities following the underwhelming debut of Solo: A Star Wars Story. The studio has now released two spinoffs that have failed to dazzle audiences, and while neither movie is outright horrible, they aren’t exactly memorable, either. According to a new report, Lucasfilm has decided to put its future Star Wars spinoffs on hold for the time being while they focus on the franchise’s meat and potatoes.
Collider reports that the folks at Lucasfilm are choosing to focus their creative energies on the upcoming Episode IX (directed by J.J. Abrams), as well as their plans for new films — like the trilogy being developed by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, and a new series of movies being developed by Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Per the site’s sources, the long-rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi movie — which recently tapped Stephen Daldry to direct — is no longer in the works, and “those who were working on the film are no longer involved.” That also means that James Mangold’s Boba Fett spinoff, which was announced the weekend that Solo opened, probably isn’t happening for the foreseeable future.
It’s the latest hiccup for Lucasfilm, which has had its share of highly-publicized struggles in production. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired from Solo and replaced with Ron Howard, who reportedly re-shot about 70 percent of the film (it shows). Colin Trevorrow was fired from Episode IX and replaced by a reluctant J.J. Abrams (let that guy take a nap already). A hefty amount of Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One was reshot by Tony Gilroy. And let’s not forget that other Boba Fett movie, which was originally set to be directed by Josh Trank before Lucasfilm fired him, too.
While you could hardly say that Solo and Rogue One bombed at the box office, they weren’t massive hits like the movies in the main Star Wars trilogy. And though some fans certainly enjoyed both spinoffs, the reviews and reactions weren’t overwhelmingly glowing. Between the lesser critical and financial successes and the ongoing struggles behind the scenes, it’s clear that Lucasfilm needs to reassess their strategy. Whether that means getting rid of the spinoffs altogether, or taking a hint from Marvel and actually letting filmmakers tell stories in their own voices with less interference remains to be seen.
Maybe Kathleen Kennedy can hire a woman to direct a Star Wars movie while they’re at it. Just a thought.