By Nial Parmanan
The reshoots for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker recently began. One can only speculate about what elements will be added in post-production. However, a specter of uncertainty has plagued all the media hype surrounding the film. This is mainly due to a divided fandom following the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a film that proved to be more divisive than religion, politics, and pineapple on pizza in the Star Wars fandom.
The Last Jedi is one of the most unique films in cinematic history. No other film has devastated a fandom as badly as this controversial take on the Star Wars universe. Following this Schism of Star Wars fandom there has been considerably less hype for Solo and Episode 9. At least when compared to the excitement generated from previous installments. As shown in the graph below which was created using information from Box Office, the Disney Regime has not yielded the profits that were expected from the most valuable IP on Earth. The Force Awakens, which raked in nearly a billion dollars, served as the politically correct and bland relaunch of the franchise. However, Disney has been unable to maintain such success.
This is seen clearly in the Star Wars spin-offs. Rogue One brought positive attention, but nothing groundbreaking for the franchise. Solo released to abysmal box office numbers with the memory of The Last Jedi still present in everyone’s mind. The film resulted in the lowest-grossing live-action Star Wars movie ever. The recent buzz surrounding the Rise of Skywalker gives the franchise some hope. Nonetheless, the existing problems of the franchise cannot be ignored by Disney nor will be forgotten by the Stans and casual audience.
One can only hope that Episode 9 will redeem the mistakes of this current era of Star Wars without relying too much on cheap nostalgia. For the sake of this franchise the movie should try it’s best to remedy the sense of betrayal felt by many. The malaise of Star Wars is clear, now more than ever. The new Disney attraction Galaxy Edge has unimpressive attendance, Star Wars Battlefront 2 (the ass one) was a hotbed for controversy, the literature division has been greatly ignored, merchandising sales are down, and box office returns are disappointing. With all these issues, hopefully this monolithic franchise can return to form.
Graph:
- Star Wars: A New Hope
- Empire Strikes Back
- The Return of the Jedi
- The Phantom Menace
- Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Revenge of the Sith
- The Force Awakens
- Rogue One
- The Last Jedi
- Solo
- The Rise of Skywalker (TBD)