It’s unsurprising that Solo: A Star Wars Story has led Lucasfilm and Disney to reconsider their future plans for Star Wars. After all, while the ill-fated spinoff might not have killed the golden goose, it’s certainly bruised its beak a bit. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Lucasfilm are “licking their wounds,” but still forging ahead with plans for future Anthology movies. This will be good news for fans of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, both of whom have been strongly rumored to have projects in development at the studio.
But while these pics may still be in the pipeline, their development, production and release strategy could be modified in the wake of Solo. Or, as a THR insider put it the other week, “It just means they’re trying to figure out how to make, and market, them differently.” Though if a new report is to be believed, Disney may also be trying to figure out a different way to release upcoming films from that galaxy far, far away, as well.
The Playlist is saying that they’ve heard the planned Obi-Wan spinoff may actually skip theaters and instead debut on Disney’s “unnamed subscription-based streaming service; the one they hope to compete against Netflix with.” Of course, we’d take this with a grain of salt as there hasn’t been any confirmation from the studio themselves that the film’s even happening, but it’s long been rumored and to be fair, releasing it on the streaming service would certainly be one way of making a big splash and getting people to sign up right away.
Then again, there’s also an argument to be made that most folks would probably want to experience an Obi-Wan movie on the big screen. Even if it might be a smaller-scale Star Wars pic, which apparently Lucasfilm is thinking of making it. Not to mention that unlike some of the other projects they’re considering, this one is almost a sure bet to do well at the box office since it’s one of the few that fans actually want, so it’d be foolish to not release it in theaters.
At this stage, though, there’s no point in debating where it’d be a better fit, as again, neither Disney nor Lucasfilm have openly confirmed that the Obi-Wan Kenobi movie is actually happening. Still, it’s clear that there are big changes in store for the franchise and whether it’s this film or another, the Mouse House will no doubt be using their new streaming service to debut future content from that galaxy far, far away.