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Originally Posted by Jamie
I understand there are multiple revenue streams for a property like Star Wars. But I think the theatrical films are still the most important piece. They're the thing that dictates where the franchise is going.
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It's not "just" about the movies, it's about the entire IP, from video games to merch to theme parks to animated series to Live Action series to yes, feature films.
Disney spent more than $1 BILLION on Galaxy's Edge in Orlando and Anaheim, which basically equals the cost of three Feature Films.
They've invested in three new Live Action TV series and the 7th season of their extremely popular animated series, The Clone Wars. There's at least one more Live Action series in development along with another animated series.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamie
You can do whatever TV shoes, but to me, when you ask what the future of Star Wars is, you're asking where they're going with the movies. To put it another way, do you really believe Disney is content to not make theatrical Star Wars movies anymore?
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They cleared the slate after the issues with RoS. Fired Benioff & Weiss. Brought in screenwriters from all over Hollywood and everyone's rejected them to date.
Maybe this report about the High Republic becomes true but if so, the deal happened the last two weeks of December, which would be unusual, to say the least.
It's not just about the feature films any longer. TV, comics, books video games - those are the key to future theatrical success.
People aren't going to just show up because the words Star Wars are on the marquee.
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Originally Posted by Jamie
Citation needed. And what is "huge" specifically? I would guess more people have seen Solo than have watched The Clone Wars. So it was so popular Disney cancelled it before it was finished? (Before you explain to me the circumstances of the cancellation of Clone Wars, I'm being facetious)
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Disney's FIRST MOVE was to obliterate the entire Expanded Universe from Star Wars history. Games, books and comics were immediately labeled as "Legends" and Star Wars: The Clone Wars series was cancelled.
Now, 8 years later, Season 7 will premiere later this year. Considering that The Clone Wars series aired on the Cartoon Network for 5 years, then Netflix for the following seven years (and The Disney Channel from time to time) before being pulled in April 2019 ahead of the launch of Disney+, I'm pretty certain that it's been seen by more people than saw Solo.
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Originally Posted by Jamie
Yes, how ridiculous of me to make a prediction about the future of Star Wars, in this thread about the future of Star Wars.
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This isn't a "prediction" thread.
It's a thread based off of a well-known Star Wars "insider" in Jason Ward, who lives in Long Beach, CA and has provided real insider scoops the past several years.
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Originally Posted by Jamie
I guess I missed where Disney told their shareholders that they've made enough money on Star Wars.
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Good grief. Disney crossed the $7 BILLION dollar mark from their feature films in 2019, something no studio had ever crossed.
No one is fretting over Disney's profits.
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Originally Posted by Jamie
So I guess I didn't read all those stories about disappointing attendance at Galaxy's Edge? I was going to link some, but you can just google "Galaxy's Edge attendance" and click literally any link that comes up.
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And there it is: I was absolutely correct in that you hadn't been to Orlando or Anaheim and waited in line for The Millennium Falcon Ride or been to Galaxy's Edge.
We're Disney Annual Passholders. We've been multiple times since Galaxy's Edge opened and despite those "reports", the lines have been atrocious. As a family, we've waited as long as 2.5 hours to ride the Falcon.
We entered the park at 8am one late September morning and I went directly to the Falcon while everyone else went to Pixar Pier. The Single Rider line was 45 minutes long by 8:30 am and by 10am, it was 90 minutes.
Disney doesn't issue Fast Passes for Galaxy's Edge although you can make a reservation for the Cantina. But, if you don't make it before 9am, forget about getting in that day because people will wait in line for 6 hours or more just to get in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamie
But it was a disaster for Disney when TLJ didn't make as much as TFA?
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For whom? Media outlets? Dopey internet writers?
TFA more than doubled what Disney initially expected from Episode VII, as did Rogue One. TLJ still made a massive amount of money although Solo barely broke even at the box office (but has done well on Blu Ray/Digital/Streaming).
Disney re-adjusted their earnings expectations in the mean time and they're more concerned about the future of their IP than making a quick buck at this point in time.