Disney’s Star Wars is 2023’s top film franchise without a new movie

Every movie seems to be completely different from the previous one. If 2015’s The Force Awakens was criticized for mirroring the original trilogy too much, 2017’s The Last Jedi was criticized for doing the exact opposite. 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker canceled major storylines from its predecessor and sidelined key characters. Emperor Palpatine, killed by Darth Vader in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, somehow returns.

Between each film in the sequel trilogy, Disney released films that recalled key plot points from past Star Wars films. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which follows the rebels who stole the Death Star blueprints given to Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars,” received generally positive reviews when it was released in theaters in 2018. However, it was released in two years. Solo, which centered on Han Solo’s origins, was poorly received by critics and much of the fan community.

“Disney’s strategy at the time was basically to release one new Star Wars movie in theaters every year,” said Peter Casasi, founder and chairman of advisory firm Creative Media. “But as the years went by, box office revenue declined.”

After Solo was the only real box office flop, Disney decided to cancel the theatrical release of Star Wars and retool it. He had already enjoyed success with the first season of his TV spinoff, The Mandalorian, which launched in late 2019. This series proved that Star Wars could balance nostalgia and innovation, and that the series didn’t need to continue. For theaters to prosper.

“The Mouse House pivots to a scarcity strategy for the big screen, fleshing out the characters and stories on television and introducing them, and the entire Star Wars universe, to a new generation with new viewing habits. We moved it and basically went where the audience wanted it to go,” Kathy said. “This builds anticipation and buzz for future major events at theaters near you.”

Disney has no plans to release any new Star Wars movies in theaters until 2026. But in producing televised Star Wars content, the company is rebuilding goodwill within its established community and attracting new fans.

Overall, the live-action Star Wars series (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Kenobi, and Ahsoka) have received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. .

These stories explore past Star Wars stories by recalling characters from previous films or exploring parts of the Star Wars timeline, and are part of the story in future theatrical releases. Although it is unlikely to be relevant to viewers, it provides moviegoers with a sense of consistency and quality.

In animation, Disney released the final season of the Clone Wars saga, which debuted fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano, and also followed a number of clone troopers from this era in The Bad Batch. Additionally, Disney has offered viewers several different ways to watch Star Wars stories through streaming.

There’s also “The Jedi Story,” which explores the backstory of Ahsoka and Count Dooku. “Young Jedi Adventures” is aimed at a pre-school age group. and “Visions”, a collection of short animations featuring different genres and varying degrees of maturity.

By establishing such diversity, Disney is entertaining its existing fan base and offering an olive branch to newcomers of all ages.

“Creators in these worlds must find ways to build content and grow their audiences while not straying too far from what their core fans like,” said Stephanie Freed, chief marketing officer at Fandom. I think so,” he said.

Another key for Disney is to parse these series slowly over several years.

“The key lesson is that theatrical releases of franchises need breathing room,” Casasi said. “We’ve seen the rapid release schedules of the past few years reduce revenues, and there’s now widespread recognition that expectations need to be elevated to ignite box-office dynamite.” That and these. The fact is that none of the shows will be necessary to watch in future Star Wars projects.

Disney found itself in a tough position with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it began introducing major characters into Marvel’s streaming shows before appearing in theatrical projects. Therefore, fans had to watch hours of television content to understand what was happening on the big screen.

For example, while some viewers may want to catch up on episodes of “The Clone Wars” before getting into “Ahsoka,” viewers often watch these shows without doing their homework. can.