Like many of you, I saw “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” last weekend, and I’m still drifting down from my nerd high.
Generally, I enter an emotional slump at times like this when I realize I have nothing new to get excited about. This time, however, I needn’t worry because the fires at the Disney Story Factory are at full stoke as its creative armies prepare a slew of spin-offs and sequels.
Casey PhillipsExcepting the decade-long gaps between trilogies, fans have had to wait an average of three years between Star Wars films. Long before we got our first glimpse of “The Force Awakens,” however, Disney announced plans to release a new Star Wars movie every single year.
Granted, these won’t all be episodic releases, which are set to arrive in 2017 (“Episode VIII”) and 2019 (“Episode IX”). A two-year gap would still be an improvement, but Disney isn’t resting on its laurels – or mountains of cash – during the off years. That’s when we’ll get so-called “anthology” films that shine a light on what’s happening in the rest of the galaxy far, far away when Darth Vader and Son are napping.
Next year will see the release of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” starring Simon “I’m also in ‘Star Trek'” Pegg and centered on the spies who stole the plans to the Death Star. For 2018, Disney is preparing a movie about the exploits of a young Han Solo, and another undated film is rumored to focus on bounty hunter Boba Fett.
But it won’t stop there, because asking Disney to do finite releases is like asking Mickey Mouse to sing baritone.
Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion in 2009, and to date, it has released seven films – and four TV series – set in the comic giant’s universe, with another 14 movies slated through 2020. The price tag for Star Wars was also $4 billion, and Disney has already told Wired Magazine that it will keep churning out films indefinitely.
On its face, that’s wonderful news, but I worry about losing that nervous buildup of excitement from waiting to see what happens next. If new stories arrive on such an aggressive schedule, new entries could become a by-rote expectation rather than the cultural phenomenon they’ve been in the past.
Do I want to know more about Han’s backstory? Sure. Am I excited at the prospect of the 2026 release of “Jar Jar Binks: Meesa Back?” I think I’d rather eat bantha poodoo.
What about you? Is nine films enough, or will you take all the Star Wars you can get? Email me, and we’ll compare notes.
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.