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Solo : A Star Wars Storywas an unprecedented loge function failure , but it could have been a hit if Lucasfilm play their card differently . After being acquired by Disney in 2012 , the studio went to forge on develop a number of newStar Warsfilms , some of which hold blank space outside the mainline Skywalker saga . Rogue Onewas the first of these out of the logic gate , and it ’s hard to reason with the results . receive widespread decisive extolment , the spinoff became one of the big boxful office hits of 2016 , garner more than $ 1 billion worldwide . The Last Jedibecame the third straightStar Warsmovie to reach $ 1 billion last December , but then the galaxy fell upon some hard clip .
Lucasfilm hadSolopositioned to be their prominent summertime tentpole , but the prequel come up well short of arithmetic mean . Despite generally positive Good Book - of - oral fissure , Solotanked at the box office , grossing less thanJustice Leaguein its curtain raising weekend . As of this penning , it ’s garner only $ 369.8 million globally andSolowill go down asthe firstStar Warsinstallment to drop off moneyfor its distributor . In the aftermath , the time to come of the motion picture serial is reportedly in a state of magnetic field , though Lucasfilm and Disney could have been able-bodied to nullify this position . Let ’s explore how .
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Lucasfilm’s Mismanagement of Solo
On - paper , a movie about untried Han Solo ’s exploits has all the making of a hit picture show . It ’s probably why Lucasfilm opted to employ the motion picture sensitive to research the runner ’s origins , while other lover - favorite characters ( such as Leia and Obi - Wan ) were demote to other area of canon . regrettably , the studio altogether mismanagedSolo , nearly from the jump . We ’ll get to the obvious in a minute , but even before Phil Lord & Chris Miller improvize their way out ofStar Wars , Lucasfilm made a conclusion that may have alteredSolo’sentire trajectory : its exit date .
We are n’t talking about the decision to keep it in May 2018 ( more on that in a bit ) . The officialArt of Solobook revealed Lucasfilm ’s original planwas forSoloto be the firstStar Warsmovie publish afterThe Force Awakens . thing changed whenSoloco - author Lawrence Kasdan was ring upon to help rewriteEpisode VII , and the spinoff was afterward put on hold . Given how prominent Han is inThe Force Awakens , it make sense this was the initial strategy . There are legion thematic parallel between vernal Han and Rey that would have been more interesting to explore before Rey ’s story progress further . to boot , audiences ' sexual love for the iconic smuggler was rekindled thanks to Harrison Ford ’s well - encounter sendoff , meaning involvement in consider another account about the character ( even with a new doer ) might have been gamey in 2016 than it was in 2018 . AfterRogue OneandThe Last Jedicame and set up their disjoined preaching , Han was mostly in the background knowledge of the general consciousness .
Related:Solo’s Ending Explained
WhereSolowas placed on the slating is a matter of semantics . thing did n’t truly go south onSolountil motion-picture photography get down . As many know by now , original directors Lord & Miller were force out four months into production due to originative differences that became too much to bear . With three weeks remaining for principal photography , Kathleen Kennedy made the substitution to Ron Howard , who manage material reshoots thatessentially entailed the total photographic film . Of course , that decision did n’t hail cheap , andSolo’sproduction budget balloon past $ 250 million- make it the most expensive Lucasfilm film ever . The project was initially fancy as a " smaller"Star Warsfilm with a price tag end of $ 125 million . That would have placed the break even period at approximately $ 250 million , soSolowould have become a nonaged net income by now ( though nowhere near the same amount as its harbinger ) .
Rogue Onedemonstrated aStar Warsspinoff could be saved with additional photography , but theSolosituation was several whole step too far . It will forever be amaze that Lucasfilm was fine with Lord & Miller ’s plan of attack for the almost two old age of pre - production work ( include casting the entire film ) and only involve exit when the cameras start to wheel . It goes without saying there should have been a greater accent on what the studio apartment ’s visual modality forSolowas , as it evidently conflict withwhat Lord & Miller had in psyche . Perhaps then , cherry-red flags are elicit well before things go too bass , and Howard ( or someone like him ) issue forth on display panel before product is underway . From a certain point of view , it ’s admirable Kennedy was uncoerced to make the problematic Lord & Miller conclusion , but she also deserves her share of the rap for allow the movie to fall out from under Lucasfilm .
Speaking of blame , Disney made some questionable call onSoloas well .
Page 2:How Disney Hurt Solo’s Prospects
Disney Played Hardball With Solo
Lucasfilm discovered a goldmine by releasingStar Warsfilms in December . The three installments that premiered over Christmascollectively bring in more than $ 4 billion worldwide , recouping what Disney pay for Lucasfilm . It was rummy , then , whenSoloremained embedded in its summertime ( the traditional home ofStar Wars ) date , where it would spread out on the bounder ofAvengers : Infinity WarandDeadpool 2- two extremely - foresee sequels . Especially whenSolo’sproduction woes get hold , many felt Lucasfilm would gain from delaying it , allowing Howard more time to fine - tune the picture . But that was n’t their call to make .
Knowing the severity of the site , Lucasfilm proposed to pushSoloback to December 2018 , but Disney winnow out it , citing frustration with the numerous otherStar Warsdelays . It ’s worth pointing out that the Mouse House hadMary Poppins Returnson the schedule for this Christmas long before anything bad pass off withSolo , but they still could have reconfigured thing ( perhaps findingSoloa less - competitive fall window ) . As the unveiling of the spinoff drew near , there was a consummate contrast between how it and its Disney brethren were comprehend . Force Awakens , Rogue One , andLast Jediwere alltheholiday moviegoing event of their respective years , whileSolowas just another summer tentpole . If it had came out during a different clip , it might have been able to monopolise the marketplace and capitalise on the demand to see a genre film .
Related:No, Disney Isn’t Killing Star Wars
Arguably , what really didSoloin ( more than franchise tiredness , Last Jedibacklash , or anything else ) wasan uninspired merchandising campaign . Disney reportedly inform Lucasfilm there would be no"preferential treatment"in regards toSolomarketing so it did n’t interfere withInfinity War . The first aspect at the spinoff was n’t bring out until the Super Bowl in February 2018 , about three months before tone ending . antecedently , Disney - eraStar Warsmovies saw promotional campaigns that spanned eight months , slow building up over that prolonged menstruation . At the time , the preview delay seemed genius , but all it did was reward the negative narrative fence the project . Casual viewers felt Lucasfilm was hidingSolofrom the public and had for the most part checked out .
When selling did rev up , it did little to get citizenry mad . Disney , under the impression fans were completely onboard for a immature Han Solo movie , keep principal Alden Ehrenreich in the trace for a while . It was recite when Donald Glover ’s Lando Calrissian became the most talked - about facet of the Super Bowl spot . Ehrenreich bear a strong performance as Hanand is perhaps the best part of the flick . Lucasfilm should not have been so afraid to exhibit him front and center from the root . TV spots ( most notably the one featuring the sabacc biz ) did their part to sell viewers on Ehrenreich , but by then it was too late . Most viewers were disinterested inSolo , or else turn their tending toInfinity WarandDeadpool- both of which had fantabulous marketing campaigns . Star Wars , for the first time in its existence , was merely an afterthought and mislay out . Soloalways calculate like a fun heist picture show in space , but there was never a greater hook shot to it than that .
oddly enough , Lucasfilm and Disney got the opportunity to apply the lessons they learned fromSolovery quickly . Kennedy moved on from originalEpisode IXdirector Colin Trevorrow well before film began , and Disney agreed to move the film from May 2019 to December 2019 once J.J. Abrams was hired as a replacing . WithStar Warsback in its Christmas windowpane , the marketing campaign should emulate the other films of the subsequence trilogy , meaningEpisode IXwill likely be a major hit . Hopefully , Solois just a one - time bump in the road all franchise go through , and when Lucasfilm reveals their nextStar Warsslate , they can move forward without any hinderances .
MORE:What Star Wars Movies Are Coming Out?
