Solo: A Star Wars Storyprovided the backstory of the iconic character Han Solo, but the film did not go as well as Disney had hoped. Now, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has commented on the lessons learned from the disappointing response to theStar Warsanthology flick.
Disney has tried their darndest to expand theStar Warsuniverse through prequels and spinoffs for the past several years. With how many properties they’ve released over the past few years, they had to anticipate that not everything would go swimmingly. While the critical reception forSolowas okay, it went on to be the lowest-grossing film intheStar Warsfranchise. The lack of return proved to be a massive setback for Disney’s goals of expandingStar Wars.
RELATED:Ewan McGregor Predicts How Son Will React To Mary Elizabeth Winstead Joining Star Wars
Kennedy recently reflected on what she and Disney learned from the experience withVanity Fair. Most notably, what she learned is that re-casting isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when it comes to a character with the popularity that Han Solo has possessed for half a century now. In her interview, Kennedy acknowledged that she learned a lesson fromSolo: A Star Wars Storywhen trying to expand theStar WarsUniverse by getting new and younger actors to try to capture the spirit of iconic characters. “There should be moments along the way when you learn things,” Kennedy said. “Now it does seem so abundantly clear that we can’t do that.”
Through all of the miscues and obstacles they’ve had to face since the very beginning,Star Warsis still a very popular film franchise with a fiercely loyal (and arguably toxic) fanbase. It makes sense why those at Lucasfilm would try to explore every avenue they can to expand the story. It should comfort the fans that Kennedy is acknowledging that they have made mistakes in the past and have vowed to learn from them instead of doubling down and blaming the fans for how things turned out.
Whether you likeSolo: A Star Wars Storyor not, one thing is for sure. These days, it’s clear that Disney can’t just slapStar Warson any propertyand fully expect it to succeed. For one thing,Star Warsisn’t Marvel. When the franchise started, it was supposed to be a six-episode story with a few animated series to fill the gaps. Disney then changed the formula and made it a cinematic universe when the fans weren’t ready for that kind of change. It’s especially hard since the new trilogy, while financially profitable, was not unanimously received well by the fanbase, so they go into every property with a little skepticism.
Where Lucasfilm and Disney go from here following theSolo’s failure is what fans should certainly keep an eye on. It’s great that Kennedy and those runningStar Warsacknowledge that they’ve made their mistakes. Now they need to prove that they’ve learned from them. In the past few years, it has felt likeStar Warshas overcompensatedwith the movies and shows they’ve given fans since 2015. With any luck, the not-so-great reception to them will show executives that it’s the franchise’s original quality that got fans to be invested in the story, not the quantity of the material they were getting.
Solo: A Star Wars Storycan currently be streamed on Disney Plus.
