Bob Iger confirms Solo set back Star Wars franchise: ‘We’re being really careful there’

Disney CEO Bob Iger has acknowledged the shortcomings of Solo: A Star Wars Story had an impact in setting back Star Wars franchise plans.

There have been a lot of exciting developments within the Star Wars franchise in recent years when it comes to the franchise’s forrays into television. The Mandalorian and Andor have both received praise from both critics and fans, and a handful of new series are still to come including The Mandalorian spinoff Ashoka and the new original series The Acolyte. 

The same cannot be said about the franchise’s cinematic offerings. While the final film in the Skywalker trilogy was a success, the studio’s attempt at expanding the brand hasn’t quite worked out in the franchise’s favor.

Solo: A Star Wars Saga proved to be a flop at the box office, one that apparently set the Star Wars franchise back as evident by recent comments by Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Bob Iger reveals Solo made them pause on Star Wars plans

During an appearance at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke candidly with those in attendance about the company’s biggest brands including Marvel and Star Wars which was when he dropped some unexpected truth bombs on attendees.

It seems the box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story not only disappointed Disney, but also made the studio press pause on plans to expand the franchise.

“Solo was a little disappointing to us. It gave us pause just to think maybe the cadence was a little too aggressive. So we decided to pull back a bit,” Iger revealed.

While Iger revealed that the studio is still looking at ways to expand the Star Wars franchise, it was clear they felt burned by Solo‘s shortcomings and have scaled back their approach to expanding the franchise.

“We still are developing Star Wars films,” Iger assured attendees. “We’re going to make sure that when we make one that it’s the right one, and so we’re being really careful there.”

Upcoming Star Wars movies (2023) 

Following the critical failure that was Solo: A Star Wars Story, which became the first box-office bomb for the uber-successful franchise, Disney CEO Bob Iger has made it clear the studio is looking to be more strategic with its plans for upcoming Star Wars films. While additional Star Wars movies are in development, there are no confirmed titles on the books at Disney.

The Patty Jenkins directed Rogue Squadron film and the untiled Star Wars movie from Kevin Feige are both rumored to have been shelved, suggesting neither will be moving forward. Meanwhile, it does appear that Taika Waititi’s standalone film is starting to gain traction — though its exact status remains unclear.

Lucasfilm has not released a Star Wars movie since 2019 and it’s likely to be years until a new one hits theaters. As for the exact timeline for when the next film in the Star Wars franchise will arrive or what the film will be about, nothing has been confirmed by Disney as of March 2023.