Bob Iger admits Disney rushed itself with ‘Star Wars’.
The media giant bought Lucasfilm in 2012 and has been relentless with its movie output over the past seven years, including three main instalments – with ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ coming in December – and standalone films ‘Rogue One’ and ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, but the latter failure to deliver at the box office has sparked a rethink.
Disney CEO Iger told the New Your Times: "I just think that we might’ve put a little bit too much in the marketplace too fast.
"I think the storytelling capabilities of the company are endless because of the talent we have at the company, and the talent we have at the company is better than it’s ever been, in part because of the influx of people from Fox."
His honesty comes after he confirmed earlier this year that the money-spinning franchise’s production schedule will slow down dramatically after the release of the J.J. Abrams-directed ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’.
He said: "We will take a pause, some time, and reset, because the Skywalker saga comes to an end with this ninth movie. There will be other ‘Stars Wars’ movies, but there will be a bit of a hiatus."
It’s been suggested that Disney’s decision has been influenced by the underwhelming box-office performance of 2018’s ‘Solo’, and plans for further spin-off movies have been thrown into doubt as the studio considers how it plans to progress with the iconic franchise.
Iger added at the time: "We have not announced any specific plans for movies thereafter. There are movies in development, but we have not announced them."