After the commercial failure and the backstage drama of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story', it's only understandable that Disney are now beginning to pull back on their intention to turn to 'Star Wars' into the next Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In an interview with THR, Disney CEO Bob Iger laid out his plans for the IP in the future and admitted frankly that mistakes were made. "I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast," said Iger. "You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn't mean we're not going to make films."
Iger pointed out that JJ Abrams is working on 'Episode IX' and name-checked 'Game Of Thrones' showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss who are working on their own saga. On top of that, Iger also pointed out that with the central story of 'Star Wars' coming to an end with 'Episode IX', a decision is going to be made about what happens after. "But I think we're going to be a little bit more careful about volume and timing," Iger added.
In a lot of ways, it makes complete sense. The fact that 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' followed so closely after 'The Last Jedi' was ill-advised at best. Very often with franchises of this kind, it's a case of walking before running and Warner Bros. and the DC Expanded Universe is a perfect example of that general truth in action.
'Star Wars: Episode IX' arrives in Irish cinemas in December 2019.
