SPOILER More Bantha Poodoo

Gotta love internet hyperbole.

 

They know it isn't going anywhere. They know negativity gets clicks. If they had an article about, say how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise isn't doing so hot these days, it wouldn't get the clicks that talking about Star Wars does.

Solo didn't do as well as the others, so must be proof that everyone hates Star Wars huh?

Well, Terminator 3 didn't make as much as Terminator 2. So I guess everyone hated that second one, right?

Empire Strikes Back made less than A New Hope. Guess the world showed how much they hated A New Hope then.

Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World made less than Jurassic Park. Guess it was being boycotted then...

AntMan 2 made a fraction of what the previous Marvel entry, Endgame did. Endgame killed the Marvel franchise I guess...

 

What's funny is Solo still had ticket sales that most movies would kill for. It was disappointing for Star Wars, sure, but not for Hollywood itself.

 

I think it's a combination of factors:
1. You had a film that no one really wanted.
2. Marketing for the film was, to be honest, blast.
3. Iger stubbornly insisted on a May release. Should have been held until Xmas.
4. Also you had some big films come out around then as well. Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2
5. The behind the scenes problems/bad press didn't do it any favors.
6. Fans upset with The Last Jedi.

I don't think it was just any one thing, but a perfect storm so to speak. Certainly not due to "Star Wars fatigue" as Iger continues to insist.

And yeah, if this was, say, Shazaam they'd probably see that box office take as good. A good start. However, this isn't just any old film. It is/was a Star Wars film with a massive budget (what, about $300 million if I remember rightly?) and losing money is just not acceptable.

Personally, I enjoyed the film very much. I'd like to see them do another one and release it to Disney Plus.

As to whether or not The Mandalorian can save the franchise... This is the world we live in. A world of hyperbole. One where the sky is falling every 10 minutes.

I personally wonder what is the future of Star Wars? They mentioned "Project luminosity" but what is that? Will they go back into the past and deal with "The Knights of the Old Republic"? Will they go forward? Will they fill in the gaps between VI and VII? Personally, and it's just me, I think they need to get away from the PT/OT/ST timeline. Go back in time. Fill in all of that major gap. Deal with the foundation of the Jedi and the Sith. Otherwise, in my opinion, you will be trapped in a small time frame, similar to what we see with Star Trek. Just retreading over well worn soil again and again and again.