Last week Star Wars fans heard the worrisome but unsurprising news that any future installments in the Star Wars Story spin-off banner from Lucasfilm were on hold.
The news came in the wake of the less than satisfying box office performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was meant to kick off an entire franchise of movies following young Han Solo. However, Lucasfilm released a statement saying that report was “premature” and “speculative,” and multiple Star Wars movies were still in development that hadn’t been officially announced. So what’s the deal here?
New details about future Star Wars spin-offs have emerged, and it sounds like the situation lies somewhere in between. A report indicates that Lucasfilm isn’t slowing down development of any future Star Wars movies, but “they are licking their wounds.” Let’s dive into what that means, including the status of previously reported future Star Wars spin-off movies focusing on Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett.
The Hollywood Reporter has word on the status of future Star Wars spin-off movies with one insider saying, “It doesn’t mean those spinoffs don’t happen. It just means they’re trying to figure out how to make, and market, them differently.” No one really thought that Star Wars spin-offs were going to stop completely, but after the disappointing performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story, it’s clear that they need to reassess how to approach these movies, from both a creative and financial standpoint.
The future of the Solo franchise looks bleak, despite laying the groundwork for a story that would have brought back the villain Darth Maul. There were also rumblings that a Lando Calrissian movie might get off the ground following Donald Glover’s scene-stealing debut as the scoundrel from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It’s likely that any plans Lucasfilm might have had for those story arcs to continue are being reconsidered as they take a breath following the performance of Solo. And the same can be said for other spin-offs focusing on legacy characters.
Boba Fett May Be Reconfigured
Meanwhile, Han Solo’s nemesis Boba Fett is also in a holding pattern because of the underperforming origin story. James Mangold was recently reported to direct the movie with a script he was co-writing with Simon Kinberg. Apparently Lucasfilm is thinking that if a movie about an iconic character like Han Solo didn’t rake in a lot of money, then a movie about a lesser known character won’t be a hit either. So the movie might be reconfigured to be smaller and less expensive.
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The good news is the movie wouldn’t come together until Mangold is done with his period racing drama Ford vs. Ferrari starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale. So Lucasfilm has plenty of time to figure out what to do with Boba Fett. Personally, I think the best decision would be abandoning a solo Boba Fett project altogether and merely making the character a supporting part of a different kind of Star Wars spin-off, perhaps one focusing on a band of bounty hunters all going after the same target. Imagine something like Smokin’ Aces set in the Star Wars universe.
(Excerpt) Read More at: SlashFilm.com
