Collider has sensed a great disturbance in the Force, and we’re not just referring to Lucasfilm’s alleged decision to halt production on its Star Wars spinoff movies.
In light of Solo and its poor opening at the worldwide box office, it’s being reported that Lucasfilm had initially hoped to delay the Anthology movie until December of 2018 – not unlike how Star Wars: Episode IX slipped to December following the appointment of J.J. Abrams.
Much like that particular trilogy-capper, this postponement would have allowed Ron Howard and his team extra time to course-correct Solo: A Star Wars Story following the loss of erstwhile directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, but it appears Disney refused. Citing budgetary concerns, the Mouse House reportedly put its foot down, thereby forcing Howard to pull off the impossible: overhaul a big-name blockbuster in a matter of weeks.
That’s according to a source close to Star Wars News Net, who alleges that:
In light of the director change and having to nearly reshoot the entire movie, Lucasfilm wanted to move Solo: A Star Wars Story to December 2018, but Disney had enough of their previous films’ delays and put their foot down. Our source tells us that Disney granted Lucasfilm the budget and time to make all the production changes they needed to fix anything broken with Solo, but that they had to make the May 25th release date.
It would certainly explain why Solo: A Star Wars Story at times felt a little rough around the edges, and the fact that it opened in close proximity to both Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 meant the origins pic was always fighting an uphill battle.
Alas, it’s one that not even the great Han Solo could overcome, leaving the immediate future of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars movie franchise – Episode IX notwithstanding – up for debate.