Star Wars fans are processing some news from Disney CEO Bob Iger that rocked their world.
Initially, when Disney picked up the Star Wars franchise, they opted to do things the Disney way.
Being a major corporation known for their branding and marketing prowess, they committed to getting a product out and keeping new items on the shelves. In order to do that, they started releasing a new Star Wars film every year.
According to a recent interview, Disney regrets the move and Bob Iger is taking the blame for it.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Bob confessed:
"I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made—I take the blame—was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn't mean we're not going to make films."
"J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX. We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven't been specific about. And we are just at the point where we're going to start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.'s."
"But I think we're going to be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that."
Star Wars purists have long complained that "Disneyfying" the franchise would kill the magic of the storyline. Others were convinced that only Disney had the money and resources to try and continue the story and characters we all loved with the same sort of passion that George Lucas initially sparked.
Now that Bob has spoken out announcing that the pace of project releases will be slowing down, the argument is flaring back up on Twitter.
@TwigitalTwawg @verge Star Wars used to feel special. Now it just feels like Marvel, new movie every 12 months takes the shine off it.— ashnathan (@ashnathan) 1537658606.0
@empiremagazine It’s not his fault, it’s that critics slammed it and people weren’t clever enough to make up their… https://t.co/VJCh9rnIek— Tim Oldland (@Tim Oldland) 1537610999.0
@CNNMoney It is when you hire and fire multiple directors for one movie, use old rehashed formulaic story lines tha… https://t.co/wEY2lQMlRp— Jay (@Jay) 1537664827.0
@empiremagazine You can’t win, you either over saturate and some of the films end up not being of quality because y… https://t.co/AgYuzfkCXQ— Infamous (@Infamous) 1537630732.0
@empiremagazine Also... let's be honest. The Last Jedi killed the franchise.— Obi-Wan Kenobi (@Obi-Wan Kenobi) 1537611697.0
@CNNMoney Regardless, "Solo" was an amazing film.— Ol' Whisker-Biscuits (@Ol' Whisker-Biscuits) 1537665056.0
@realAmandaWard If an Obi Wan stand-alone came out in a December my god would it not only surpass box office for th… https://t.co/Z1ngiDglEQ— NOSTROMO (@NOSTROMO) 1537600281.0
@empiremagazine Yes. Because $392 million is an absolute bomb... has the mousehouse become that desperate that ever… https://t.co/7EG9GeqbyV— Cookiee Munster (@Cookiee Munster) 1537611883.0
Fans cannot seem to agree on whether or not the current Disney formula is working. And even those who agree that it is not, cannot seem to agree on WHY it is not.
If we are honest, though, that is not surprising. Star Wars is just one of those things that people have been so passionate about for so long that there probably is not a way for everyone to agree on everything.
Whatever Disney decides to do with the franchise, we hope the force is with them.