Director Ron Howard answered in an interview with NME, when asked about a sequel to the 2018 film, that he doesn’t “think it’s a Lucasfilm priority“. Some fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Solo 2 is not in the works, for now, while others might still be hoping for another movie. Solo: A Star Wars Story was a part of Disney’s first batch of films it released following the purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.05 billion. The launch of a new trilogy and a branch of spin-off series of films labeled “A Star Wars Story”, Rogue One, and Solo, were to be the tentpoles for Disney’s expansion of the Star Wars theatrical franchise but things did not go as planned.
The End of Theatrical Releases
Backlash, poor reviews, and decreasing ticket sales eventually led to the multiple theatrical projects either being canceled (Yoda) or put on hold indefinitely (Rogue Squadron), and once the new trilogy had concluded no other film has been released in theaters since. Solo: A Star Wars Story is said to have been budgeted upwards of $300 million but only brought in $393 million which is hardly considered a success for an expected blockbuster and at the time was the least amount of ticket sales ever reported for a Star Wars film. The film saw multiple iconic characters recast in an attempt to tell a new origin story while creating a new story arc. Fans were less than enthusiastic about the recasting and that, in part, could be partly to blame for the film’s less-than-stellar performance at the box office as head of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy explained to Vanity Fair, there were lessons learned regarding recasting characters.
“There should be moments along the way when you learn things,” said Kennedy. “Now it does seem so abundantly clear that we can’t do that.”
Revived on Streaming
Disney/Lucasfilm would go on to re-strategize its approach with the Star Wars franchise. It would use the launch of the Disney+ streaming service as a platform to continue releasing Star Wars content and while still getting a mixed reception from fans and reviewers alike it has witnessed substantial viewership for the growing list of shows. One of the “A Story Wars Story” films, Rogue One, managed to see its lead character return for a series of his own in Andor and has even received praise from numerous reviewers for its lack of the usual Star Wars storytelling patterns.
Lucasfilm has not been afraid to bring back other iconic characters in their own shows either as seen with The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ironically though Obi-Wan Kenobi actually uses original actors that are recast versions from the prequels portraying roles of the original trilogy in an attempt to do the same thing that Solo had tried to do. Ron Howard says that while Solo 2 is not happening, for those who are hoping for a sequel, hope still exists if fans put enough pressure on Lucasfilm to do it.
“But there’s some great characters launched, and the folks from Lucasfilm love the fans and really do listen so I would never say never – but I’m not aware of any concrete plans right now to extend the story or deal with that particular set of characters.”
Discussion (14 replies)
Join Discussion →The sequel to the biggest flop* of star wars history is not happening? You don't say! Thank you, captain obvious.
*Movie flop that is, because TV is another story entirely. After the measured success of the Mandalorian, they managed to make two shows so atrociously bad, that now almost nobody watches their current show Andor. Which might not be as bad, except the brand is so damaged, that being labelled as Star Wars on tv does more to keep viewers away than reel them in. I'd sooner watch an off brand startup sci-fi show, than anything with ties to Lucasfilm and SW. (same for Star Trek)
1. You're missing a good series. Andor is a lot of fun to watch IF you enjoy crime movies that don't spell every little thing out. It comes across more like Ronin or Heat set in a Star Wars universe than it does a star wars simple schlock. So don't go there.
2. Solo was a fun movie for what it was. Yea a few things didn't make sense but over all it was enjoyable. At least in my circle of friends.
I would see a Solo 2 most likely. Not sure if I would wait for streaming or not. Depends on my situation when it came out.
It is sad that SOLO didn't do well. That happens. I bet if you went back and watched Willow you would think that was trash, or Never ending Story.
I'm pretty sure Andor was a big success from what I've read. Solo wasn't a bad movie either, but not sure a sequel is needed or wanted at this time as they mentioned. Can't wait for season two of the Bad Batch to start.
I didn't hate Solo but wasn't enthralled by it either. A number of people I know gave it some praise so I bought the 4K disc, especially since you really need a DV/OLED setup to set past all those dark scenes. I think the cast is ok but ultimately the story just didn't feel epic enough. It was more like a two-part tv episode. I think I've watched it maybe 2-3 times all the way through since release but meanwhile, I've probably watched Rogue One about a half dozen times.
I've heard great things about Andor but haven't made it past the 1st episode yet but that's pretty common for me these days with new shows. I'll start watching a new show to get a feel for it and then come back when I'm ready. I probably have about a half dozen or more like that now.
Can't wait for S2 of the Bad Batch either!
I never read anything like that, outside of disney PR bullshit trying to paint it as a success, much like paramount tried to paint discovery as a success when that launched.
Anyway outside of being stupidly boring the only things I heard about andor is that it is not as bad as obi wan and boba fett, and that it doesn't feel like star wars. Not exactly praising recommendation.
There was even an article with the showrunner coping and seething not understanding how is it that they got all the critics praise, but are chasing the audience. Perhaps he didn't get the memo that the critics have been fully out of touch with the audience for years.
Yes, I can't imagine why after they tarnish the legacy of Han Solo in Force Awakens and kill him off. I was just so excited to see what the Young Han Solo movie would be like after that.
I think the Last Jedi has done more than that for Solo's "success"
I admit it, if I had not seen The Last Jedi before Solo I'd probably have watched Solo, but after it, I lost my appetite.
This is exactly what my wife says, who is (was) the biggest SW fan I’ve ever met: Star Wars died when Solo died.
I agree killing solo like that was a mistake. Have the character burned and then get a different star if there isn't enough money to motivate Harrison Ford.
Solo sucked, I fell asleep. Also with rogue one twice!. No I don't fall asleep except if real bad. What little I remember is action didn't feel like action, and im out like a baby. I did finished tfa ( horrible movie) and tlj I watched drunk, which I recommend, becuase that movie is comedy gold.
Solo wasn't bad if you just think of it as a heist movie that just happens to be set in a SW setting.
Well, the omelette the restaurant gave me didn't taste like omelette, but if you think of it as a raw shoe sole then it wasn't that bad.
I feel that if they'd kept it as a heist movie instead of cramming all of the other world-building stuff it could've been a lot better. Start off with some character intros, move into the heist stuff, and end with a couple of teasers, and it probably would've made more sense.
Solo... the "Dukes of Hazard" of Star Wars.... could have been fun. lol.