Disney should retire the Star Wars franchise while they still can.
Star Wars opens today and is likely to divide a loyal and fanatic audience just as this weeks impeachment of President Donald Trump has divided a nation.
Rise of the Skywalker marks the 9th and closed the circle on the 42 year old franchise. I write that loosely as there will be articles and questions. Reddit users will spot clues to the fate of the galaxy in a split second of film.
Disney’s Star Wars
Disney acquired Luscafilm in 2012 for $4 billion. This gave the studio the rights to create the new Star Wars films, build a theme park and access an already devoted and eager audience.
Star Wars A Space Western
The new movie will have critics and devotees, but we should remember the first Star Wars “ A New Hope” was panned by many critics as nothing more than a space western 42 years ago. This is probably the most beloved of all the movies. The following 2 movies “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return Of the Jedi” delighted audiences if not many critics.
George Lucas went on to revamp and re-release the movies in another attempt to tap in to the hearts and pockets of punters. A few cosmetic changes and Anakins ghost at the end of the trilogy didn’t really merit the hype. Jar Jar Binks was not able to tug at heart strings.
The Phantom Menace
The dark years of his prequel trilogy, probably the hardest movies to watch, you want to like them, you want to feel something but the tree movies did nothing more than push special effects and green screens to the forefront of movie making. The prequels were cold, and lost in the Bantha fodder.
For the older generation of fans the was a new hope with the a new trilogy that was to be human and less concerned with CGI. With a new studio in charge fans waited and there was a a surge in nostalgia.
Star Wars was everywhere in 2016, even Game Of Thrones lacked the conviction, intent and purpose that was given to the new trilogy.
The Force Awakens
The Force Awakens was new, it felt new but comfortable. Cheers in the movie theaters as their beloved characters entered on screen. No critic could have dissuaded the outpouring of “back to basics” feeling.
Lurking under all this was a darker force. Disney was planning to take the franchise and bring up pre-prequels, in between stories and give one character his own movie. Some of this worked and some fell flat. It’s not the character that matters it’s the feelings for the actors, the memories of a childhood. This is why fans watching tribute bands don’t rush the stage.
Star Wars Box Office Totals by Film:
| Release Date |
Title | Production Budget |
Opening Weekend |
Domestic Box Office |
Worldwide Box Office |
| May 25, 1977 | Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope | $11,000,000 | $1,554,475 | $460,998,007 | $775,398,007 |
| May 21, 1980 | Star Wars Ep. V: The Empire… | $23,000,000 | $4,910,483 | $290,271,960 | $547,969,004 |
| May 25, 1983 | Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of… | $32,500,000 | $23,019,618 | $309,205,079 | $475,106,177 |
| May 19, 1999 | Star Wars Ep. I: The Phanto… | $115,000,000 | $64,810,970 | $474,544,677 | $1,027,044,677 |
| May 16, 2002 | Star Wars Ep. II: Attack of… | $115,000,000 | $80,027,814 | $310,676,740 | $656,695,615 |
| May 19, 2005 | Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge … | $115,000,000 | $108,435,841 | $380,270,577 | $848,998,877 |
| Aug 15, 2008 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | $8,500,000 | $14,611,273 | $35,161,554 | $68,695,443 |
| Dec 18, 2015 | Star Wars Ep. VII: The Forc… | $306,000,000 | $247,966,675 | $936,662,225 | $2,068,223,624 |
| Dec 16, 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | $200,000,000 | $155,081,681 | $532,177,324 | $1,056,057,273 |
| Dec 15, 2017 | Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Las… | $262,000,000 | $220,009,584 | $620,181,382 | $1,332,539,889 |
| May 25, 2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | $275,000,000 | $84,420,489 | $213,767,512 | $393,151,347 |
| Dec 20, 2019 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skyw… | $40,000,000 | $99,100,000 | ||
| Dec 16, 2022 | Untitled Star Wars Movie | ||||
| Dec 20, 2024 | Untitled Star Wars Movie | ||||
| Dec 18, 2026 | Untitled Star Wars Movie | ||||
| Averages | $133,000,000 | $91,349,900 | $383,659,753 | $779,081,661 | |
| Totals | 15 | $1,463,000,000 | $4,603,917,037 | $9,348,979,933 | |
Disney’s New Star Wars Trilogy
Yes, Disney is planning 3 more Star Wars movies.
Disney has re-released “The Lion King” as a live action movie “Dumbo” and “Aladdin”, with more on the way.
Disney has been buying up more franchises, Fox was purchased last year and they have Pixar whos success was unprecedented with “Toy Story” and “Up” to name a few.
The Jedi needs to End
It’s over, it’s done, like all good things it should come to an end. The more Disney will try to rejuvenate an audience it will simply case exhaustion. Some of the original Star Wars fans are bringing their Grandchildren to the movie. The Jedi needs to end.
It’s time to look ahead, but. Disney will create more movies, more storylines that repeat time after time, more cliff hangers that really are not that at all. Will their friends show up to save them ? Of course they will at the very last minute. It’s all too cliched, too repetitive and too familiar.
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