If Rogue One was so good, why drop Anthology films because of Solo?

I don't work in the film industry so I do not know how such decisions are usually approached. My question may be naive, even, to people who understand the business, but we regular fans may still want to understand the dynamics.

Solo failed financially, yes. Terrible. However, RO was a definite success. Why drop the bomb on anthologies altogether? Why the fear and dread that "RO" style success won't be repeated?

What do you guys think?

 

I don't think Disney is ready to handle trilogies. I think it should stick to stand alone films and television shows. As for the failure of "Solo", I blame the bad publicity and scheduling of the movie.

 

The scheduling for Solo was a disaster as it was up against Avengers Infinity Wars and Deadpool 2. The bad publicity on the production issues did hinder it as did the severe lack of promotion for the film. Also being released a few month after TLJ didn't help it's cause, a lot of fans were unhappy with TLJ and that possibly made them stay away.

Sticking with a December release date would have been ideal.

 

I must have misconstrued my question a bit...I'm not so much questioning the reason for Solo's bad performance (I liked Solo but that's beside the point)....I'm curious why they dropped single-movie Anthologies to begin with after Solo did not perform well.

Why not try to make more successful films like Rogue One? One financial failure and that's it? Lid closed despite the previous movie's great success?

 

Solo was very expensive with the reshoots so Disney prob. just decided to stick to TV for the time being. They will probably reevaluate in a year or two. My guess is they were taken aback that not everything SW will make money and thought perhaps they were putting out too much too soon.

 

I really wouldn't say that they have dropped the anthologies though. We don't really know what is coming up next, whether it will be a one-off or the start of a larger series.

At this point there is a general break in releasing movies, lasting at least three years, possibly amplified further by the corona-virus delaying work in Hollywood in general.

 

What happened is Disney Plus - which is why the Anthology film that did great is getting its own spinoff TV show. I think the assumption in the OP is problematic. There is no evidence suggesting that the Anthology film series was cancelled because of Solo’s weak BO. The films were all converted into TV shows, for the time being, and for all we know, more standalone films are on the way from Waititi, Headland, Feige, etc.

 

TV is cheaper and less of a risk.

 

There were definitely reports going around claiming that the Anthology series was being put on hold after Solo bombed, basically blaming "Star Wars fatigue" as the reason for it's poor box office. I didn't really click on them so I can't vouch for the validity of those claims, but it was definitely the narrative that was out there. Post-Solo was the first time Disney ever publicly deviated from the "one Star Wars movie a year, every year" proclamation they made when they bought the franchise, but I don't think they actually had a plan in place for the post ST movies when they said that, I think they just figured they'd be able to come up with ideas for more movies by then. I don't think it's crazy to imagine that when Solo bombed they felt like they needed to be a lot more discerning about the ideas they approved for Anthology movies.

 

That’s what I think, too.

 

Yes, but that’s not the same as “the Anthology films were cancelled because of Solo.” No. Solo’s difficulties simply led Lucasfilm to decide to convert a lot of those plans into TV, and as you said, be more discerning about standalone films. Both those things seem to be happening, given the Cassian, Mando and Obi-wan oriented shows (the latter two originally conceived of as anthology films). The idea behind anthology stories seems alive and well, and Rogue One’s success may have a lot to do with that. And then the Disney+ platform comes along and offers an irresistible incentive for anthology films as TV shows - a much less financially risky option, and one that offers creators a lot more freedom.

 

Because Solo was super expensive. Due to the re-shoots, the budget ballooned to $275 million. Compare that to Rogue One's $200 million (which also ballooned due to more minor re-shoots than Solo).
Also note that Rogue One was a critical and commercial success, but not an earth-shattering hit like Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No need to flood theaters with an anthology every year or so when you can spend less money on TV series and potentially TV movies.

 

Yup they nearly shot 2 movies of Solo. One with the fired guys and one with Ron Howard. TV seems the way to go. Maybe an anthology film every 3 years. You are better off with building anticipation than people being sick of SW. The Mandalorian is SW done right imo.

 

Rogue One and the Mandalorian are clearly the best of Star Wars under Lucasfilm. I think Kennedy agrees with that. Which is why to me it looks like the examples set by those products are informing so much of their current and future plans. Rogue One spinoff TV show, a Mando show with the exact same aesthetic as Rogue One (including the same DPs and lead artists), an Obi-wan show led by a Mando Director, a new film led by a Mando Director (Waititi), etc. The anthology mindset is a lot more deeply ingrained in Lucasfilm than is popularly understood. I think that has to do with Kennedy’s attraction to these stories that exist on the edges of the more purely pop mythic saga stories. This syncretic style is both still deeply and spiritually Star Wars, while also meeting modern expectations of realism. I fully expect almost all future Star Wars to look and feel a lot like Rogue One and Mando. Even if the stories are wildly different.

 

Especially in a post-covid world. When was the last time anybody went to a cinema?

 

even if theaters reopen will the seats be 6 feet apart?

 

And how long will they be open before the next pandemic closes them down again? It's possible we've seen the end of the golden age of cinema.

 

Anthology Movies are a great concept however I think Trilogy movies for Star Wars works best in the movies for now

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Riots and protests are okay, cinema gatherings are not.

 

True. Some mythic stories would be very fun to explore, however. For example: Palpaltine's origins?

 

I'm wondering if they're using the TV shows as testing grounds for anthology movies. One of the reported anthology movies was to be Boba Fett. Now we reportedly have Boba Fett appearing in The Mandalorian. This could be a case of waiting to see the reception certain characters receive in the shows to gauge whether it makes sense to move forward with an anthology movie for the character. Solo falling flat at the box office, as well as receiving mixed reviews, could have been the impetus to slowing down the spin-offs. To the point of not wanting to flood the market with movies that may not be financially beneficial.

 

I'd still like to see Anthology films as well as TV shows.

There have been many successful TV series that came off the back of a film, SOLO would be perfect for this. This way seems to work far better than creating a film from a TV series.

 

I think SW at the movies needs a break. We've gotten 5 movies in under 5 years. Wouldn't want the GA to be sick of SW; that is bad for BO. Rebuild the brand with quality TV as they are now doing.

 

I have no interest in Boba Fett making a reappearance in the franchise. This clearly smacks of the nostalgia factor to me.