In thirty years, George Lucas produced six Star Wars films of uneven quality (two masterpieces, two disasters, two pretty good movies). The last was 10 years ago. Revenge of the Sith, released in 2005, was pretty good. Today, I’d say that movie is underrated, though by no means required viewing. Not great by original trilogy standards, but still, a smashing success; the highest grossing movie of the year, and a moderate critical hit that brought to a close the three decades long saga of Star Wars.
I mention this slow progress, because this week we learned that Han Solo will be getting his own movie, to be released on May 25, 2018. The film will be a part of what Disney is calling the Star Wars Anthology, individual spin-off films that will accompany the next Star Wars Trilogy. These films will tie tie-in to the old and new trilogies.
This makes Han Solo the sixth Star Wars film announced by Disney since they bought the Lucasfilm in 2012. Here are the films that Disney has announced:
- Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Directed by J.J. Abrams, released December 2015.
- Star Wars: Rogue One. Gareth Edwards will direct the first installment in the Star Wars Anthology, with a 2016 release date.
- Episode VIII. Directed by Rian Johnson, released in 2017.
- Han Solo Stand-Alone. Christopher Miller and Phil Lord will direct, released in 2018.
- Boba Fett Origin Story. To be released in 2018. Josh Trank originally signed on to direct, but ended up leaving that project for Fantastic Four. Boba Fett is looking for a director.
- Episode IX. To be released in 2019. No director is announced, but Rian Johnson will also write that film.
I find a lot of good reason to be excited about that list. One of the many ways that I am not unique, as a white mid-30s nerd, is that I have been a fan of Star Wars for pretty much my entire life. I’ve read the comics, read the books, played the games, collected the action figures and versions and all that stuff filling up boxes in my basement. To me, and my Star Wars brethren, bringing new stories to the Star Wars universe is and always will be a cause for excitement.
But there are reasons to be nervous, too. Primarily: Disney will do in five years what Lucas did in thirty.
This pace isn’t inherently a bad thing. Given the names attached, the odds are good that some of these movies will be fun and enjoyable, if not excellent. Rian Johnson has shown himself capable of making great work. Gareth Edwards has promise. And the palate they’re working in, the extended Star Wars Universe, is fodder for countless interesting stories.
Still. All this makes me worry. There’s no reason to assume the fabric of the Star Wars universe can be stretched infinitely. While no one is surprised that Disney will try to maximize their profits after purchasing Lucasfilm, they do run the risk of over-producing content for a beloved franchise.
There was magic in the time between the Star Wars films. Passion and fever built, and Star Wars became more than intellectual property. It became a way of life. People actually practice Jediism. Now, everything happens so fast. It used to take a couple years to make a movie. Not anymore. Now we can get an entire trilogy released in the time it used to take to make a single installment. We’ve lost the anticipation. For this, I think we can, at least in part, blame Marvel, and their owner, Disney.
Over-saturation is real; and all it takes is one major disaster to turn people away from a franchise (and Star Wars has already had two). Star Wars is as beloved as any film franchise, ever, but it’s not immune to effects of overexposure. As long as Disney’s new Star Wars Trilogy and Star Wars Anthologies installments are creative and rewarding, then we lifelong Star Wars fans have much to look forward to in these next five years.
But there’s no guarantee these movies will be creative and rewarding. Obvious attempts to exploit a beloved franchise tend to show themselves for what they are. If Disney’s racing to get as much Star Wars cash return on their investment, well, they may get their money, but at what cost? Say what you will about the George Lucas prequels, but the point of all those Imperial Senate hearings and Jedi Councils was never to cash out on Star Wars. Leave that to the merchandising.
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