After The Force Awakens exploded into theaters to become the first movie in history not directed by James Cameron to earn over $2 billion at the box office, you could almost hear Disney and Lucasfilm rubbing their hands in glee once they realized that Star Wars was back in a bigger way than they could have ever imagined.
Initially, the plan was for the studio to debut a new blockbuster set in a galaxy far, far away on an annual basis, with Anthology spinoffs premiering in alternate years. Once Rogue One garnered critical acclaim and sailed past a billion dollars globally, it looked as though the expansion plans were a masterstroke of marketing and maximizing the potential of the brand.
The honeymoon period ended once The Last Jedi split opinion down the middle while going on to earn $700 million less than its predecessor, before Solo bombed outright and ended the Anthology idea forever. There’s a trio of feature films from Patty Jenkins, Taika Waititi and Kevin Feige all in development as we speak and slated for release in 2023, 2025 and 2027, but we’re hearing from our sources – the same ones who told us Ahsoka Tano would cameo in The Mandalorian‘s second season long before Rosario Dawson was cast – that the Mouse House could be planning to ramp things up once again.
Having failed already with the annual model just four movies in, it would be awfully foolish for Disney and Lucasfilm to try the exact same thing all over again and increase the level of content without clear plans or goals in mind, especially when there’s a slew of Disney Plus content on the way to tide us over. Of course, it’s a financially-driven business at the end of the day, and fans would be thrilled to get a new Star Wars epic every twelve months on the condition the quality was there to justify the quantity.