Star Wars Story Spin-Off Movies Reportedly On Hold at Lucasfilm
Collider has sensed a great disturbance in the Force, and we're not just referring to Lucasfilm's alleged decision to halt production on its Star Wars spinoff movies. Jon Favreau's live-action TV show doesn't appear to be affected, either. It seems that Lucasfilm will now focus on what the next set of films will be after the J.J. Abrams-directed "Episode IX" hits theaters next December. But this new report from Collider indicates that those movies might be on the backburner after "Solo" disappointed at the box office. "Solo" made $84.4 million on opening weekend and has brought in $339.5 million worldwide in four weeks, but that falls short of how "Rogue One" performed during that same time period. The film is the lowest grossing of the recent Lucasfilm features by a significant margin, trailing behind Rogue One by over $700 million, behind The Last Jedi by almost $1 billion, and sitting in a different galaxy from The Force Awakens which grossed $1.7 billion more.
Following Solo's box office performance, the debate over Star Wars fatigue surfaced as some fans questioned whether a Han Solo movie was necessary. The fate of James Mangold's rumored Boba Fett spin-off, however, remains unknown. They're meant to fill in gaps between some of the galaxy's big events and delve into its biggest characters.
Although those figures aren't bad compared to other movies at the same budget, Rogue One - the only other Star Wars Story to make it to movie theaters - opened at $155 million, almost double Solo, and pulled in $424 million domestically in a month. And between Star Wars Rebels and the official Star Wars comic, we've already filled some gaps in Obi-Wan's timeline, like what he did after watching over Luke Skywalker on Tatooine.