Although it may seem like Disney is doing nothing more than cashing in on the Star Wars franchise, Disney CEO Bob Iger recently revealed that there are fewer Star Wars projects in development than most fans think. With the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the original saga that began in 1977 will come to an end, but there are already plans to create new movies and TV shows set within a galaxy far, far away.
Disney currently has several Star Wars films in development, including one produced by Marvel’s Kevin Feige. Fans can also expect a second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, as well as an Obi-Wan Kenobi series and a Rogue One prequel series with Cassian Andor. Iger also recently confirmed that there are additional Star Wars shows in development for the streaming subscription site. Even after the Skywalker saga ends with The Rise of Skywalker, Disney doesn’t have any plans to abandon the Star Wars universe as long as it remains profitable. Considering the mania surrounding Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian, Star Wars should continue to rake in fan interest and lots of cold hard cash for the unforeseeable future.
However, Iger recently revealed that the company doesn’t have as many Star Wars projects in the pipeline as fans might think. When asked by Variety about the number of Star Wars projects Disney has in the works, Iger said:
Iger also spoke about how the company respects Star Wars fans and tries not to overreact when they criticize the franchise. He understands the new movies and TV shows won’t please everyone, but he feels that the latest projects have done a good job of “threading that needle, walking that fine line.” There is still a lot of backlash coming from fans who hated The Last Jedi, so much that they bullied one of the movie’s actors off of social media, and are still going on about it two years later. Fortunately, the new Disney+ series The Mandalorian doesn’t seem to suffer from the same fate: most fans seem to like it.
“Probably smaller than you think because what we do is, we look to pick a few and see how they gestate. In some cases, bring them out and see how the audience reacts and then react accordingly. It’s not as many as I think most people think. I think the number is endless, but we’re gonna be careful, the next one is really important.”
Although Star Wars fans tend to hate on Star Wars more than anyone else, most will still appreciate that Disney isn’t milking that cow as much as they thought. It’s not only a good thing that the Skywalker saga is coming to an end, but it’s also good that the company seems to be putting a lot of thought into future projects set in the Star Wars universe.
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Source: Variety
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Release Date: 2019-12-20