Disney CEO Confirms “Slowdown” on STAR WARS Movie Releases

When Disney first acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the studio made plans to release a Star Wars movie every year, beginning in 2015. However, that plan has led to concerns of franchise fatigue, and it has manifested in the lackluster performance of this year’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. Since then, Lucasfilm has been mum on future franchise plans, but now we have a hint of what’s to come…or when, more accurately.

Disney CEO Bob Iger confirms to The Hollywood Reporter that there will be a “slowdown” for releasing future Star Wars movies. While the studio will absolutely keep making these movies, there will be more caution about when they will be released. “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 going to make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX. We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators 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 going to start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.’s. But I think we’re going to be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that.”

So far, Disney hasn’t dated any films beyond 2019’s Episode IX. While Rian Johnson’s trilogy and Benioff and Weiss’ series are still in development, the main saga’s future remains in question, along with the anthology films. And really, Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises in history, so there’s no way Disney is going to stop making movies. It’s just the “when” factor that will change.

Stay tuned for more as we have it.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter