The future of Star Wars - The Last Jedi, Solo and more...

The Star Wars franchise is currently in a strange place. There are some fans who didn't like The Force Awakens - Episode VII in the "saga" films - yet it managed to gross over $2 billion worldwide with generally positive reviews. Sure-fire hit was sure-fire hit, and most people liked it. All good.

A year later and Rogue One comes out - the first in Disney's "anthology" films, set between Episodes III and IV - and was met with very positive reviews, a billion-dollar box office...and some very strong criticisms. If the main critique with The Force Awakens was its unoriginal story, Rogue One's overriding problem seemed to be the characters and the over-stuffed narrative. Seriously, I didn't originally want to start voicing my own opinion so early on, but Rogue One could easily be a good half-hour shorter at least, with some of the unnecessary padding cut out. But, alas, check out my review of the film if you want to know my full thoughts on it. No one disliked Rogue One though. There wasn't a passionate hatred, it was just more positively received by some people over others.

In December 2017 though, Disney released their latest Star Wars picture in the form of The Last Jedi - Episode VIII in the "saga" films - and despite a (so far) $1.2 billion box office and a very positive critical response...the fan reaction has been mixed, to say the least. Accusations of all sorts have been thrown at the film, and at the "agenda" being pushed by Disney and Rian Johnson. There's a clear majority who love the film, but even if those who hated the film make up the minority, they're certainly very vocal. That's not to say that everyone adored The Last Jedi: some found it to be a flawed by enjoyable experience, whilst others thought it was something truly brilliant (myself included, and my appreciation grows day-by-day). However, a very vocal section of the Star Wars fan base (and they all appear to be "hardcore" Star Wars fans), absolutely hate the film.

So...where does this leave Disney? The Last Jedi was praised for taking some huge risks, but criticised by some for essentially being "too risky". Not to mention that there are some who believe still that the film didn't take enough risks. With a divided fan base, what direction does Disney take the franchise? More risky films could cause more controversy, and potentially lower box office returns. Safer films could result in audiences losing any of their invested interest, and thus create a case of diminishing returns for the franchise. The Force Awakens' $2 billion box office is unlikely to be matched again, although a $1 billion total for Rogue One is nothing to scoff at. The Last Jedi, meanwhile has toppled Rogue One, and even with its controversy is battling Sony's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - a $500 million success which opened a mere five days after the latest Star Wars. With surprisingly strong competition and fan controversy, it's not real surprise that The Last Jedi isn't climbing as high as the previous "saga" entry.

Then of course we have Solo - the second "anthology" film focusing on the "origin story" (yes, you read that right) of Han Solo. When this film was announced, many groaned at the thought. With the hiring of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (of 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie fame), Solo had gained some interest, but when the two directors were sacked for being "too adventurous" with the film (reportedly because of its strong focus on improvised comedy and fourth-wall-breaking quips), accomplished director Ron Howard was brought on. Howard kicked off by finishing principal photography as promised (with some minor changes thrown in) and then conducting a considerable amount of potentially rushed re-shoots. Solo still retains its May 25th 2018 release date, but without a teaser trailer or even a single poster, one has to question what's going on. Are Disney hoping to surprise us? Is this so awful that the company is keeping marketing to a minimum?

The latter seems unlikely to myself, given that both the original directing duo and Howard are incredibly popular directors with strong track records, but one does start to wonder...

Another option that hasn't been thrown around too much though is that, given the re-shoots were conducted so close to the film's release, the large amounts of visual FX need to be finished before Disney can be comfortable releasing a full trailer. The lack of promotional photographs - or promotion of any kind - is noticeable though. Are Disney engineering the perfect quick and cheap marketing campaign for us? It's entirely possible that they'll spring a trailer onto the internet and see what happens, determine the fan response. Heck, if they don't put a release date in the trailer, they could even conduct more re-shoots based on the trailer's feedback, and delay the film for another year. Anything's possible at this point, but the situation is interesting to say the least.

So where does this leave Star Wars? Well, I for one am expecting Solo: a Star Wars Story (yes, that sadly is its full official title) to release on-time, garner some modest reviews and a fairly strong box office. After that, Disney will be keeping a close eye on the as-of-yet untitled Episode IX. Multiple screenwriters have reportedly already taken a stab at the project, and original director Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World, The Book of Henry) has been replaced by The Force Awakens' JJ Abrams. There's clearly already been some re-working on the studios' part, but here's hoping they're able to strike a balance in the force when the film opens on December 20th 2019.

Beyond that? Well, everyone wants an Obi Wan movie. Ewan McGreggor seemed to be growing a similar-ish beard last I checked. There's a rumoured series coming to Disney's streaming platform too. Oh, and Rian Johnson's new trilogy. Whatever that is...

The future for the world may not be consistently bright, but the future for Star Wars appears to be...okay. Not brilliant, but safe enough for now.